Where were you when…

It’s been on the news to remind us. A friend posted the question on Facebook. The OJ Simpson slow-chase in Los Angeles was 25 years ago on Monday evening. Do you remember it? Where were you?

I remember it very well because I was at the home of a church member and we were starting the search for a new pastor. It would be another year before we found the person who would become the pastor, but for that evening we were meeting to discuss the process. The news was on as we arrived and we all watched for a few minutes. Then the tv went off and we went on with our work.

As I remembered the evening, I realized that there are only a few of the committee members still alive. At the time those four remaining members were considered the young people on the committee, yet I was 41 and didn’t feel all that young. In thinking about the past 25 years, I also realized that I will be 91 in another 25 years. Wonder if I’ll still be around to remember the OJ slow-chase on its fiftieth anniversary?

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Keeping our days straight

Terry and I were talking about certain events for today when I said it was Flag Day.

Terry:  No, that’s June 11.

Me:  No, I’m pretty sure it’s today, June 12.

Terry:  Today is June 14.

Me:

So, there you have it, dear Reader. Neither of us can keep our days straight. And if you are unsure of what day it is after reading that confusing conversation, it is Friday, June 14, and it is Flag Day in the United States.

Plans change

Sometimes you just got to change up your plans. Like today, for instance. My plan for Wednesday morning had been to be up early and work in the backyard. The forecast is for 106 degrees so I knew I couldn’t be out there long, but could get some pruning done because I would be in the shade.

Tuesday was supposed to be set aside to process the blackberries into jam, but then I got busy running errands and didn’t get home until 1 p.m. Too late to get the jam made and be ready to take Terry back to pick up his car at the mechanic’s at 3:30.

The berries had been picked on Monday morning. I had kept them refrigerated so I knew they were still fresh, but I wanted to get them processed before they sat any longer. The backyard could wait. I now have seven jars of blackberry jam sitting on the kitchen table.

There are four boxes of berries left in the fridge that will go into a blackberry cobbler. I’ll bake that tomorrow morning as the heat has set in for today, and I have a book I picked up from the library yesterday that keeps pulling me in. It’s an old book that most have already read, but I never was interested in Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar until I read Three Martini Lunch  by Suzanne Rindell. She listed a series of books that had been inspiration for her novel, with Plath’s being one. There are others that I have requested from the local library, all old books, but unread by me.

Good friends, good food, good times

Monday was a super-duper day. Very hot though, 101 degrees here and close to 100 in San Francisco. We have the air conditioned cars, homes, and businesses. San Francisco does not.

The Ladies Who Lunch went on a short road trip for lunch. An old-time Mexican restaurant in Selma that is in its original location which is a residential area. The family started the cafe back in the 1950s out of their own home and just continued to grow and build in the same place. The food is the same as the 1950s, too. The family has built a dynasty on those recipes.

After lunch we headed further south to a large berry operation where we have been coming once a year for six years. The owner knows us and greets us. We chat about family and crops, prices and tariffs. These are some of the best berries in the country and we always get bfruit that was just picked. I bought a crate of blueberries just for Terry as he likes them with his breakfast cereals and pancakes. I bought a crate of blackberries to make jam, and maybe a cobbler. I was fortunate enough to be chauffeured yesterday by two of the ladies whose husbands love berry cobbler. It will make a nice thank-you gift.

These are perfect days. Warm, sun-filled, with good friends.

My rant for the day

If you have something that doesn’t work

GET RID OF IT.

We have two neighbors with cars that do not work. One hasn’t worked for years. Yet, the cars just keep sitting there. Taking up space. Being an eyesore.

I housesat, many years ago, for a friend who never got rid of what quit working. She just got a new one and set it next to the broken one. Two toasters. One on the floor. One on the kitchen table. Three floor lamps. Two didn’t work. One did. A broken chair. Two desks in the living room piled so high with papers that neither was usable.

Why is it so hard for people to get rid of things?

The wildlife in my small world

I just read a blog post by a writer bemoaning their experience with doves. It made me sad. We have doves here and they are quite delightful. Also squirrels and opossums. I love the wildlife and try hard to work with it so we all coexist. It would make me sad if they should leave.

One neighbor feeds the birds. Another feeds the hummingbirds. I feed the squirrels and the opossums. Of course, we all three have cats and one neighbor has two dogs. We love the animal life that goes on around us. Just recently the neighbor behind us got a rooster. He and I talk every time I’m in the backyard.

I wanted to say all of this on the writer’s blog, but it’s one of those that only allows comments by Bloggers (Google) so decided my thoughts deserved their own blog post!

It’s summer and the living is easy

Although the first week of summer break was spent with our kids and helping take care of the grandchildren, I am feeling a bit more relaxed and rested after a second week of doing very little.

The weather has been sunny and warm which helps me feel good. Terry took my car on Monday to be smogged and washed. I got it serviced on Tuesday. Next week I will go to AAA and get the car’s registration for 2020. My new glasses were picked up on Friday so now I can make an appointment to renew my driver’s license. I wanted new glasses as I will have to take an eye exam at this year’s renewal as well as take all the paperwork for a “real” ID. All the work that revolves around driving and the car I drive!

Since I missed the last chaplain’s meeting, I had to take my books and leftover materials down to the chaplain’s office. I had a couple of articles to share with the director of the program on how being engaged in life and working with others as we age helps us to live longer and healthier lives. Our local hospital had printed one of the articles in their latest newsletter and it sounded like good recruitment “propaganda.”

The article talks about loneliness and how loneliness can lead to higher risk of health issues like cardiovascular disease and depression. The University of California at San Diego has found that people are less likely to feel lonely when they have more “wisdom” in these areas: general knowledge of life, emotion management, compassion and a sense of fairness, insight, acceptance of divergent values, and decisiveness. These are also the concepts we teach to the first graders.

I enjoy the work I do with others and I also enjoy getting to rest and stay home and get some chores done. I was able to orange oil all of the kitchen cabinets as well as the wall unit in the living room. I read lots of books and have ordered more from Powells and the local library. Our hot summer afternoons are perfect for staying indoors and reading after getting chores done in the cool of the morning.

Next week I will work in the backyard and also have some fun with the Ladies Who Lunch as we are heading out to buy berries at a large growing operation south of town. The berry season only lasts about a month so we have to be prompt or we will miss out on these local berries.