Why We Clean For the New Year

When I was working at the Molokai Public Library, one of our staff insisted the library be cleaned from ceiling to floor before we closed on the last day of the old year. While the library certainly needed cleaning, getting it all done before closing was stressful, especially when jobs didn't meet her standard and had to be done over. (Here's a story about some New Year's traditions; here's one about Chinese traditions.)

I find myself doing the same thing with my desk around this time every year. Papers stacked up to be handled "later," jobs without a fixed deadline, e-mails in the "pending" folder, journals with articles marked for reading - all get re-prioritized in those last few hours before the old year ends, and either done, read, filed, or trashed. This year is no different. But it won't be finished before December 31, because today is the last day of my work week, and I'll be on vacation for the entire first week of January. But if I get around to it later, here are some techniques I might find helpful.

Still a day late and a dollar short. Happy New Year!

Only Two Weeks Till Christmas

Where's all the hubbub? Where's the tree? Somehow, this year, the Christmas spirit has been slow in coming to this household. Maybe it's because they started advertising Christmas specials before Halloween, and we're already jaded by the hype; maybe it's because the week I would have been preparing for Christmas we were in Malta. Maybe it's because we no longer have children in the house getting fired up about trees, Santa, and toys. In any case, we missed the boat. Now there's only two weeks left, and we still have all our prep to do!

We've started receiving Christmas cards from family and friends, but I haven't even looked at my stash to see if we have enough to send this year, nor have I even started to look for gifts for the family. Um ... does enyone know where I can get a shot of Christmas energy and inspiration?

California enacted burn restrictions effective December 1st. That means we have to check the air quality before using the fireplace or face fines up to $50. Right now, we're having some cold weather, and a fire would be cozy and comforting, but the fireplace is sitting dark and cold smack in the middle of the living room wall.

Getting Back to my Local World

I've been back for a few days now, and have pretty-much recovered from jet lag. I still need to upload some photos to Flickr, and caption them and the others that I've already uploaded. I've lost my momentum, but I will get it done this weekend.

I have traveled some, but not often abroad. Each time I go, I try to use the experience to make my packing list perfect, and each time, there's something I didn't get quite right. Guess I need to take a few more trips for practice!

Here's my list of observations from this recent trip:
1. Taking a packable backpack was a good idea. When folded up, it fits into the carry-on bag, but can be used on sightseeing excursions to hold a jacket, map, camera, snacks, and souvenirs.
2. Sometimes room service is more economical than the hotel buffet.
3. I don't like using hotel fitness centers, so unless there will be beach swimming, forget the swimsuit.
4. Make a local guidebook and map one of the first purchases when you get there. I couldn't find much about Malta in Sacramento, but there was an abundance of materials in local shops in Malta.
5. Carry a normal purse - a waist pack, even though convenient for tour buses, screams "TOURIST! Wearing a concealed travel wallet worked very well. If you wear your shirts "out' or wear a jacket, it is not discernible under your clothes.
6. Take plenty of batteries - I burned up four sets of AAs in my camera in a week, and missed some photo-ops while waiting to get to a store that sold batteries.
7. Leave room for souvenirs and purchases. British Airways and Aer Lingus allow only one carry on item per passenger (strictly enforced.) I managed the 10 days comfortably with one carry-on bag, but had no room to bring back purchases. Next time, I plan to use the packable backpack as the carry-on for the return trip, and check the rolling bag (containing dirty clothes).
8. Use the hotel's business center to check in online and print boarding passes.
9.British Airways does not allow in-person check-in more than three hours ahead of the flight time, so trying to beat the rush was counterproductive.
10. (Most important) Eat a good breakfast every morning, even if it's the most expensive meal of the day. Getting too hungry is bad for concentration and also bad for general health.

The Last Day in Malta

Marty's conference got over on Friday night, so we packed that evening for an early checkout the next morning. I had booked a Saturday morning harbor cruise with Captain Morgan, so we checked our bags with the front desk and took the bus to Sliema, where the cruise began. The day was dark and drizzly in the morning, but about halfway through the cruise, the clouds dissipated and the sun came out. The guide's comentary was delivered in both English and German, and I was gratified to learn I can still understand German fluently - even if I am really rusty in the "speaking it" department.

Here are some interesting anecdotes and observations from the cruise:

• Malta has eight active dry docks and a shipbuilding industry.
• The city of Valletta was built and fortified by the Order of St. John after the Great Siege. It grew up behind the older Fort St. Elmo, which was originally built by Arabs.
• The old Royal Navy Hospital at Bughi commissioned by Admiral Lord Nelson has a lift from sea level up several floors and over the wall so wounded sailors could be taken there directly from their ship instead of needing to be transported up rough and winding roads.
• The largest yacht marina in the Mediterranean is housed in one of the "creeks" off the Grand Harbor.
• Warehouses on the shores outside the walls had colored doors and windows as a guide for shippers - who were instructed to pick up or deliver according to the designated color, rather than the warehouse street address - since there were no streets outside the walls. Today, those warehouses are shops and restaurants.
  

The rest of the next two days, we spent waiting - at the hotel until it was time to go to the airport; at the airport because we got there 5 hours ahead of our flight; at Gatwick because the coaches to Heathrow airport didn't start running until two hours after we landed; at Heathrow because we overestimated the length of the coach ride. By the time we arrived at San Francisco, we were SO GLAD to be able to just pick up the rented car and come home without having to wait any more.

I'm still putting photos up on Flickr and annotating them all - it may take a while - and I'll also be deleting the ones that are not so interesting.

Gozo, Where Malta Goes to Grow

Today, I took an all-day cruise to Malta's second-largest island of Gozo. An Oasis tour van picked up about 10 guests at local hotels, then drove us across the island to the ferry terminal at Cirkewwa. The ferry costs Lm2.oo, or about $6.75 for a round trip. Twenty minutes later, we arrived at the cute ferry terminal on Gozo, where another Oasis mini-van picked up and drove us to the major visitor stops on the island.

The church of Ta' Pinu was first - Our Lady is credited with many miracles, and the church has a room filled with testimonials; also, the Pope visited the church, and another room is devoted to photographs of that occasion. The driver pointed out the 14 stations of the cross carved up a hilside on the road just before the basilica.

Next, we visited the megalithic temple of Ggantija, said to have been built by some super-race of giant women. It is the best-preserved of the megaliths, and is said to be a thousand years older than the pyramids of Egypt.

Fontana, named for its central fountain where women still go on weekdays to wash their clothes, also contains a shop where local artisans sell their handiwork. There is knitting, crochet, lace, pottery, and other local crafts for visitors to buy - at very reasonable prices.

Next, the Citadel, at the top of the island. From the walls of the Citadel, one can get an almost 360-degree view of Gozo. The streets are steep, but the panoramic view and the cool breeze at the top are definitely worth the hike.

I won't go into all the other places we visited - you can explore the Malta web site for additional information. Gozo is green. It is agricultural, and produces about 60% of the produce consumed in Malta. Driving around, there are many terraces set off by the limestone rocks, so it looks like its main crop is rocks - but I'm told this is not so. Gozo also boasts the best SCUBA site in Malta, near the Azure Window in Dwejra. I took LOTS of photos - use the photo-montage in the sidebar to go to the collection.

Mdina is Medieval

Public transportation in Malta is a trip and a half. The buses are mostly owned by the drivers, so vary in age from those built in the 1950s to those built in the 21st Century. No bus is the same - from where the bus number is displayed to how you signal the driver to stop.

Street signs are mostly absent; towns run one into the other; the bus drivers do not announce stops. If you miss the welcome sign at the beginning of a town, there's no way to know where you are. The island is small, and the implication is that you should know where you are, so what's the point of belaboring the obvious? But the fares are cheap: Lm 0.20 (about $0.65) will get you most places on the east coast, and Lm 0.50 (about $1.75) will get you everywhere else.

So I sprang for the Lm 0.50 ticket and rode the bus to Mdina, near the center of Malta. Mdina was the original capital of Malta until the Knights Templars decided to relocate to Valletta, where the harbor is. It is as medieval as a town can get, with narrow curving streets that surround a church with its plaza, an enclosing wall, and big gates. Three hundred people still live in Mdina, with the rest of the nearby population in Rabat, the suburb.

Mdina is also known as the "Silent City" because it is so quiet. This is currently the "off" season, between the busy summer and winter seasons, and the streets were mostly devoid of people. The town was very clean, in contrast to St. Julian's, where we have been staying. I'm thinking that drenching rainstorm we had the night before probably swept all the debris to wherever it goes with the runoff.

Click the photo montage in the sidebar to see more photos.

Valletta, Hypogeum Hal Saflieni, and Tarxien

Valletta is a busy, bustling, and vertical city. Its main street is the highest point, and it runs down to the sea in every direction. Streets are narrow and steep, in some cases, the sidewalk is steps.

I toured the St. John's Co-Cathedral, which doesn't look like much from the outside, but inside, every inch is opulent Baroque. There is an audio tour which is interesting, and a museum which showcases additional art and an amazing collection of vellum Choir Books - illuminated manuscripts with verses from the Mass.

After spending most of the morning walking around - and not finding anything worth buying for gifts - I caught a bus to Paola, to visit the underground megalithing temple Hypogeum Hal Saflieni. Because of its fragile condition, the number of daily visitors is strictly limited, and bookings must be made weeks in advance. On the tour, I met Carolyn from New York City, and a couple from Alberta, Canada. After the Hypogeum tour, we walked to Tarxien, another megalithic temple complex, and then did the bus back to Valletta. From there, we split up, each going back to wherever they were staying.

The howling wind that kicked up yesterday continued today, and by 5 p.m. it had started to rain. During dinner, it was pouring, and then a magnificent electrical storm provided sound-and-light effects for half the night.

The dinner buffet was local Maltese food, and there were a pair of musicians with guitar and mandolin who played Portuguesd and Italian music. The first two pieces were ones Dad used to play on his guitar - "Love in Portugal" and "Back to Sorrento".

Always Have a Plan B

We were to do a SCUBA dive this morning, but circumstances conspired against us. We plan to rent masks and fins and snorkel on our own another time. So Marty came back to the room, got dressed, and attended the day's conference events, and I took a walk around the town if St. Julian's, where the hotel is located, and took pictures of this'n'that.

This view was taken from the porch of a dilapidated and unoccupied building up on the hill. I found a "mall" and bought a couple of things to bring home, and continued walking around the Paceville area and the Hilton. Additional photos are at Flickr - click the Flickr "badge" in the right sidebar to get to the Malta album.

I probably should have taken the bus and gone back to Valletta, but since I didn't have a well-thought-out "Plan B", I spent about 3+ hours exploring the area around the hotel. There are a lot of run-down buildings, trash in the streets, and abandoned storefronts. No homeless, though! and everyone is friendly and helpful. The Hilton is in a newer area and has well-paved sidewalks instead of the 10-inch cobbled walkways along most streets. There are also no street signs, so maps are useless in that respect. Scaffolding from the construction sometimes completely blocks the sidewalks, and you have to walk in the streets, dodging cars and trucks that come charging around blind corners at high speeds.

Had major problems with my phone! I tried calling home, but didn't hear ringing; Marty called me and the phone didn't ring - but it did vibrate. I couldn't call his phone nor pick up the voicemail he left. I couldn't play any ringtones - thought my phone had died! However, after I turned it off and then back on, all the sound came back - so it just needed a hard boot after finding the local phone network. I think I'm back in business.

What We Did Today

This is the balcony attached to our "tower" room - it was an upgrade, but we were so tired, we didn't want to wait a couple of hours for a room, and this one was available immediately. We face the south-east, and have a picturesque view of the Dragonara's casino on one side, and the Saint George Hotel on the other side.

After our breakfast buffet, we walked around in the town of St. Julian and did a couple of errands - the adaptor we brought for the laptop can't accommodate an American 3-pronged plug, so we went to C&M Ironmongers on the recommendation of a shopkeeper, and he had just the thing we needed. The laptop is happy again.

What's really nice for us Americans is that Malta was governed by the British for so long that English is spoken by most residents. That has made it very easy to get directions and ask for help.

Errands done, we hopped on a bus and rode to Valletta - but Marty didn't want to get out and explore, so we hopped on another bus and came right back. We ate lunch at Huggins Wine Lodge in St. Julian - they have a sidewalk cafe that serves hot meals and sandwiches - and came back to the hotel to catch up with e-mail and blogging.

Tomorrow we plan to do an intro SCUBA dive, and tomorrow night the conference begins. I'm planning to explore the islands on my own, beginning on Wednesday. I'll have four days to see what I can see. First stop on Wednesday will be Hal Saflieni, an underground megalithic temple.

Malta is for Millionaires

It was a long trip - I think it was about 24 hours from door to door - but we made it to Malta! We landed at Heathrow, then took a motor coach to Gatwick Airport, and from there hired a cab to drive us to the Copthorne Hotel London Gatwick - about 10 min. from the airport - for an overnight stay. The Copthorne Hotel would have been a great place to spend a few days! It's built on an old farm house and set in acres of woods and gardens. Lots of brick arches and windows onto the wild gardens with walkways, benches, and woods.

I had arranged to meet a couple of distant Soutar cousins, Carol and her daughter Emily, for dinner, and we had a comfortable visit along with the buffet. We've been corresponding for several years, so it was a treat to finally meet them! They drove about an hour from their home to visit in cold and drizzly weather.

Next morning, we took a very early cab to the Gatwick Airport for the flight to Malta. We arrived about 1:30 in the afternoon, and by the time we arrived at the Westin Dragonara Resort, Marty's conference hotel, it was all we could do to stay awake! The time difference of 9 hours, being unable to sleep on the plane, and getting only 5 hours sleep in the hotel caught up with us in spades. We crashed.

Knitting for Those in Need

Here's an idea for the holidays: The folks at Central Library and the branches of Sacramento Public Library are participating in a project to create and distribute knitted and crocheted blankets and afghans to families in need this winter. This is perfect! The pieces are small, great for bus or train busywork, and work up quickly so you can't get bored or stuck, like you can when you begin a bigger project. Here's Central's blog post, which contains a link to the Warm Up America Foundation and instructions for the piecework. I'm starting mine tomorrow!

Slinging Hard Work for Future Fun

I am exhausted; my back is tired and my feet hurt. This evening, I worked for 5 1/2 hours at one of the food concession stands at Arco Arena, home of the Sacramento Kings basketball team. Here's a photo of the cash registers just before they opened the doors for the public. It takes 40 workers to staff a concession stand - 12 cashiers, and about 3 people per cashier as runners, cooks, etc. I am usually assigned to "condiments", which means I wear latex gloves and wipe the counters after spills, keep the paper napkin, cup lid, and drinking straw dispensers full, and tell people where to go (ATM, BBQ, elevator, etc.)

The Maloofs, owners of the team, allow nonprofit groups to work at the concessions and keep a percentage of the take. On a good game night, each stand can earn $1,000 for the group, and each group can typically work 5-8 games per year. I am doing this to help the sophomore class parents raise the funds for a huge graduation party in 2010. Known as "Grad Nite", this all-night party is usually held at a bowling lanes and features food, games, entertainment, prizes, photos, laser tag -and bowling, too. It typically costs around $20,000, so the parents begin early and start raising funds in freshman year. In Patrick's class there were over 550 graduates; Laurel's class will be about the same size, I think.

Meebo Me!

I've been thinking of ways to keep in touch with the family while we're on vacation. Cell phone calls will cost almost $3 per minute in roaming fees, even though I've activated worldwide roaming service through my carrier. So I needed to find a way to manage keeping in touch without using a cell phone. Here's what I've worked out so far:

1. Skype - make voice calls using a computer, microphone and speakers. Adding a webcam allows live video, as well. My Skype ID is asowens51us.


2. Old-fashioned e-mail, the asynchronous way to communicate. It's not real time, but allows lengthy and descriptive communiques.


3. Meebo Me - I've created a Meebo widget in the right sidebar of this blog which allows you to send me a message in real time, even if you don't have an instant messenger account. You will see instantly whether or not I'm online. Just type in the lower box, and your message appears in the top box, along with my replies. You can edit your "nickname" so I know who you are. Even if I'm not online at the moment, you can still leave a message. Try it out!
   

8th and K

It looks like a prison, but actually, you're looking at a picture of Sacramento's early history. In the late 1800s, businessmen banded together and trucked in enough dirt to raise the streets of the downtown area closest to the river by 10 feet to resist the annual floods. This made the 2nd floor the first floor, and the former street-level 1st floor became the basement. Recently, a building was torn down at the corner of 8th and K Streets, and in the empty lot, the arches raising the street are visible. The pavement in the foreground is the current street level.

There is an underground warren of tunnels and basements that few have ever visited, and that is used by homeless people for shelter. Occasionally, the fires they build to cook over or warm themselves by get out of hand and the old building overhead becomes a blazing inferno. That's what happened to the building that used to stand where the empty lot is. There have been holes like this one in the blocks around the library for the last 15 years. They are slowly being built up again - too slowly - but the new buildings are adding cachet to the old downtown area. This one is right across the street from the library.

I Think my Skype is Fixed

Skype is a service that provides voice communication via your computer, instead of a telephone. The only requirements are the free software download, a microphone and speakers or headset. If you also have a webcam, you can even send video of yourself, so the other person can see you while you're talking. If he, in turn, has a webcam, you can have a two-way video conversation. For Free! Worldwide!

Here's me, as you would see me if we were skyping.

I was really disappointed this summer, while visiting Mom, to find that somehow my Skype couldn't record my audio. I was hoping to be able to set up a connection with Michael in Toronto, so Mom could talk to him. Although I could hear incoming calls, the microphone couldn't send my voice. I think there was a conflict with something else that was trying to use the sound card, but we weren't able to resolve the problem before we left.

Finally, tonight, I uninstalled, then reinstalled the camera drivers, and made two successful Skype test calls. I think I'm back in business, just in time for our trip to Malta later this month. If we leave one of the laptops at home, we should be able to have video conversations with the kids while we're away, and save the cost of an international cellphone call.

In case you get inspired, my Skype ID is "asowens51us". Skype me if I'm online!

The Podcast Debate

A while ago, Marty was invited by Business Week to participate in a written debate about the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) with Guy C. Clark, of Albuquerque, NM. Readers of the exchange in the online Debate Room were invited to comment, and Business Week followed up by inviting Marty and Clark to address some of those comments in a podcast debate recorded this past Tuesday. The exchange was posted online today.

After listening, we asked L which side she thought was stronger, and she surprised us both by remarking that, if a listener were already leaning to one or the other side, the arguments would reinforce their positions, but probably weren't strong enough (given the strict time constraints of the podcast) to convince anyone to switch camps. What do you think?

Catch of the Day

This year the salmon season appeared to be jinxed. First, it wasn't very wet last year, so the river is not cold. If the water is not cold enough, the salmon don't run. No one caught anything for the entire first month! Second, Marty was diagnosed with a cardiac insufficiency, and was required to rest until the meds took care of the problem - so, no fishing.

But this afternoon, it was so beautiful, it was impossible to stay indoors. So he took his pole and his net and went up on the Sacramento River levee.

Most of the regulars fish in the morning, and they also avoid weekends because of the recreational boating and waterskiing that goes on. So this afternoon, no one else was fishing! Marty had to land this 27-pounder himself. He said it almost got away when the leader broke, but by that time, the fish was within reach of his net, so he scooped it quickly onto the bank. The freezer's full!

¡Hasta la Vista, olé!

Marty got back yesterday from a week in Barcelona, where he did two presentations at the EIG conference. It took nearly 24 hours for him to get back home from the time he got to the Barcelona airport!

Seems like more conferences are scheduled for international venues now - traveling to Las Vegas and Montreal sound so tame, after Dublin, Barcelona, and - soon - Malta.

Planning Commission Hearing

The Planning Commission approved and accepted the application from the Southwood owners to convert the complex to townhomes. The next step will be to get the City Council's approval at the November meeting, I believe.

There has been little interest among the tenants during this process - I don't think many will want to buy, because the price is too high for what they'll be getting. The result is that there will be a rash of new landlords who will turn around and rent the units - so the illusion of a homeownership opportunity for low and moderate income families is basically just that. The units will continue as rentals under a plethora of owners instead of just one, and the maintenance and security issues will multiply.

Southwood Condo Conversion

It's been four years - but it looks like it may happen after all. The Development Services Department approved the owner's application to convert Southwood Gardens Townhomes from rentals to condos. This is not an easy or fast process, because the City of Sacramento has stringent requirements for such conversions (Chapter 17.192 of the City Code). It is actually the second such approval. The first was in the 1980s, but the then-owners failed to make even a single sale and the approval lapsed.

A public hearing before the City Planning Commission is scheduled for Thursday, September 27. If the Planning Commission approves it, the application will go to the City Council in November.

If the conversion is approved by the City Council, the owners may proceed with the unit renovations, evictions, sales ... which puts our tenancy in jeopardy. We are supposed to be able to negotiate up to a 3 yr lease before our unit must be renovated - and although the market is pretty bad, just now, for home sales and mortgages, I think the writing is on the wall. We'll need to get our finances in order in the next couple of years, and look for another place - house? - to buy or rent.

The Southwood units have not been well-maintained over the years, and we don't want to buy ours. It's OK as a rental, but not as a home we would own. We are afraid that the homeowner association will need to perform expensive repairs and maintenance soon, and the cost will be added to the mortgage payment - beyond what we can afford.

Stay tuned.

How Many Doctors Does it Take to Change ...

When I returned from two weeks in Hawaii, Marty pulled up at the airport with an inflamed shin. The red was alarming! Three doctors later, they decided it was not a blood clot, but cellulitis, whose symptoms are similar to deep vein thrombosis (blood clots.)

So, now they're embarrassed that it took three physicians to make the diagnosis. He's doing the antibiotics regimen, and has a follow-up appointment on Monday. But he's on the mend!

Through Other Eyes

John posted photos of his and Alison's visit to Hawaii. It was fun to watch them experience Hawaii for the first time, and to notice things that seemed extraordinary to them, but normal to me - like why the bathroom mirror doesn't fog up, or whether the cockroach or the gecko would win in battle with the other, or the magic of color changes on the mountains.

Kayaking

For a lark, Laurel and I signed up for a kayak tour to the Mokulua Islands. We met the group at the Twogood Kayaks shop, launched in the canal near Buzz's Steak House, and paddled to Lanikai Beach for a short snorkel, then on to the islands. The beach was hot, steep, and sandy. We ate lunch and hiked around the end of the island to a tide pool, then played in the water for a while. The trip back was harder and longer, because we were tired and we didn't break the trip. It took an hour to paddle back.

Patriotism to da Max

Kailua Library staff redeemed itself today. Laurel was looking for a book she needs to read and comment on for the first day of school. Kailua's copy was checked out, but someone remembered they had just received a gift copy of the same title, and let Laurel have it to use until she leaves on Thursday. That was classy!

On our way back to the car, we spotted this patriotic antenna. I remarked to Laurel that it would be a trip if there were seventeen seventy-six balls, and I went back to count them. There are, in fact seventeen of the little orange spheres, for a patriotic 1776!

Birthday Girl

Sunday was Aunt Jo's birthday. We brought her over from her home to mom's house, and Les & Dorrie came over, along with Earl. J cooked the most delicious grilled fish and chicken, and accompanied them with risotto, salad, Okinawan sweet potatoes and pineapple salsa.

For years, Rose, from the vet's office where I used to work, joked that she felt like she was eighty-eight years old. Well, today, Aunt Jo staked a legitimate claim.

Touring at Home

It's been many years since I've had the pleasure of escorting visitors around my island home. This past week, I've been at my mom's while my brother and sister-in-law get their kids settled at various schools on the east coast, and my friends from California are visiting me. During the day, when mom's caregiver is here, we've been touring Oahu and visiting places like the Byodo-In temple, Pali lookout and Punchbowl, I'olani Palace and the other historic buildings downtown.

We had an ukulele lesson at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie, saw the Halona Blowhole spouting, and snorkeled at Shark's Cove. We also attended the kanikapila slack-key festival at Kapiolani Park, walked along Kailua Beach and swam at Lanikai. We visited Waimea Falls Park, and dipped our toes into the water at Queen's Beach in Waikiki before doing some shopping at Ala Moana Center. Here's the Flickr Photo Set.

Now it's time for my friends to return home, and I'll have one more week here before I, too, must return to California. I always think of the song, "Honolulu City Lights" when it's time to leave, and it makes me homesick before I even start packing.

Perseids

Every August, our earth cycles through the Perseid meteor shower. This weekend, there is supposed to be exceptional viewing, as there is a new moon, and the sky will be very dark. The downside is that the greatest volume of meteors is expected around 4 a.m. Monday, August 13 - dozens per hour. Will I get up to see it? I'm going to try. I've set my alarm.

ER We Come!

M's got "reactive airways." It's like asthma, leaving him short of breath. He called the advice nurse this morning, and she convinced him he needed to go to the ER - so he picked me up from work and we spent the next 4 hours waiting for tests, getting breathing treatments, and precautionary chest x-ray and EKG. Bottom line: heart's fine, needs to take medicine to relax the lungs, and come back for a checkup in a week. He felt embarrassed to be taking up ER space and staff time, but they were cool with it - 6 people on the "team" made sure he got a thorough checkup, and we didn't have to wait in line at the pharmacy.

Geronimo!

Last Sunday, before returning home, we drove the 17 Mile Drive and then went to the Salinas River State Beach so the kid could enjoy a horseback ride sponsored by the Monterey Bay Equestrian Center.

17 Mile Drive was interesting, but because it was so overcast and foggy, the scenery at the beach wasn't the best. There are some very swanky homes along there, and the strongest impression I came away with was how very different that little eco-area is from the eco-area on the other side of the bay. It's so mountain-y and woodsy on the drive, and so beachy and arid on the other side. Part of the road winds by the Pebble Beach Golf Course, so now I can say I've seen where Jack Nidklaus and Tiger Woods have played.

The Salinas River State Beach was very dunes-y - and actually reminded me a little of Kailua Bay, because of the sandy beach and lack of rocks. We saw a seal in the water, and little cottontail bunnies in the dunes. I tried to take a photo, but, of course, the bunny was pretty well camouflaged. The weather was overcast, so we could hang around the beach waiting for the ride to finish without getting fried.

Kelp Forest Exhibit

This past weekend, we drove to Monterey for a combined-event vacation: birthday and anniversary. Getting there was an Herculean effort - both I-80 and I-5 were stop-and-go, and the 3.5 hour trip took 6 hours! But we got there, and the hotel was pleasantly situated near Monterey, and we had an ocean view.

This photo is from the Kelp Forest exhibit in the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It's so peaceful there, with mood music and a small section of bleachers for those who just want to meditate. I'll be posting more photos, and sending a "photostream" to Flickr in the next day or so.

Harry Potter-Mania

So the hysteria is abating, and Harry didn't die. It was interesting to observe the silence in the 'burbs on Saturday, as people waited for their pre-ordered books to arrive in the mail. There was no traffic, no birds, no children making noise, no washing-machines, no leaf-blowers, no freeway noise, no helicopters or small planes ... it was uncanny!

Our book was delivered around lunch time, and the postman took a few minutes to tell about his son, who waited in line at midnight at the bookstore for his copy. Laurel immediately appropriated the book and finished it before bedtime. I lucked into a second copy, because my walking-buddy had a deadline project to do over the weekend, and she asked me to please take her copy so she wouldn't be tempted to read it. The proviso was that I must return it by this evening, which I did. So, Both Marty and Laurel have finished the book, and I'm about a third of the way through it.

On Friday, there were about 750 holds on the title at the library; here are links to the book and to the audiobook - watch as the holds are slowly filled.

The Nugget Truckbed

Here's the same truck bed that showcased a pile of watermelons in the Nugget Market the other day - now it's featuring asparagus, onions, potatoes and flowers.

Fresh produce is abundant now, with summer in full swing. The Farmer's Market in Cesar Chavez Park attracts hundreds of shoppers every Wednesday afternoon. I haven't visited it yet, because it is on the same day as my Weight Watchers meeting.

Watermelon Days at Nugget

Our local grocery store, The Nugget, has always mounted interesting seasonal displays. Tonight, I spotted this bed of a pickup truck heaped high with watermelons. I wish I knew where they get their antiques. The beer, for example, is displayed inside a really old icebox, and their soaps in an old footed porcelain bathtub.

We give the store lots of business, because we feel they offer the freshest produce as well as an eclectic selection of common and regional items, including fresh papayas and pineapples from Hawaii (at $5 per fruit). The staff is known for its friendly customer service, and regular shoppers are rewarded with discount coupons a couple times a year and with a free poinsettia plant at Christmastime.

Mom's Back Yard

The Plumeria branch I brought back last February has bloomed! It smells just like Mom's back yard when her plumeria trees are blossoming. It is very cool! My back patio is looking more like Auntie Julia's back yard in San Leandro. i remember she had hibiscus, ti, anthuriums, and other tropical plants she had brought from Hawaii. In my case, because the summers are so hot and the winters so cold, I have to be able to bring them indoors in winter and move them around in summer to take advantage of the available sun/shade. I wonder what else I can find to bring back this summer?

Mercury is Retrograde

For the past couple of weeks, there have been many mis-communications at home and at work, some of them serious, others seriously funny. I thought there were too many for coincidence, so I went online to see what Mercury has been doing these days. Sure enough, Mercury is retrograde from June 15 till July 10. You can read more about it here.

Mercury is the planet that influences communication, thinking, perception, processing and disseminating information, commerce, education and transportation. That Mercury is currently in Cancer means that people will seem to be moodier and more emotional than usual.

Lucretia was right! Way back in the early 80s when I was working at the Molokai Branch Library, Lucretia was the program coordinator. She kept careful track of Mercury, and refused to organize anything when Mercury was retrograde. I'm thinking she may have had a point!

Father's Day, 2007

As the kids grow up, it's harder to get together for a meal. Pat has insane hours at his job (works 3 a.m. to 9 a.m.) so he goes to sleep around dinnertime. Laurel was invited to a farewell party at her best friend's house (the friend is going to be in Florida for a week at a national health sciences competition.) But we did come together long enough to get this shot. Laurel took the picture.

School is out for the summer for both kids now. Pat's looking for a third job until school starts again, and Laurel will have a week off before starting summer school. She's taking two fun courses, and one remedial class - she blew off her algebra this year, so will have to make it up in July and August. The other two classes are "Constitutional and Criminal Law" and "Beginning Guitar."

I'm taking some courses now, too - all three are online, so I can read the materials and do the exercises when I have time, instead of being required to show up at a specific place and time. One, however, is taught in the game world of Second Life. That one is an experimental class, and participants come from all kinds of libraries and have provided some interesting and incisive comments about the potential for providing library services in that world. Just this afternoon, I was offered a parcel of land in Second Life. I am deciding whether I want to buy it and build ... hey, this could be the modern equivalent of "The Game of Life" board game that we used to play as kids. Simulations teach lessons about the Real World.

Negro Bar

This is the state recreation area called Negro Bar. It's on the American River, and has a boat launching ramp, multiple park tables and barbecues, a stand where you can rent kayaks, and clean public restrooms. There are also miles of bike and hiking trails. It was so pretty, I think I'd like to picnic there for my birthday. And it's not far from home - maybe a 40 minute drive, in Folsom-Orangevale.

'Course, by the end of July, it might be a hundred degrees, but the river will still be cold and refreshing. I did notice that no one at all was swimming, even though the river was calm. Must be something I don't know about - will need to do some checking before July.

Birthday Drive

Yesterday was Marty's birthday. Since I had to work, we decided to celebrate today. We planned to visit the Gekkeikan Sake Brewery in Folsom but it was closed. We stopped at Negro Bar to see the state recreation area and liked it so well I'd like to go there for my birthday in July. We could go rafting or kayaking, barbecue lunch, lie in the sun, feed the geese, ride bikes on the trails ... spend the day in the outdoors for a change.

One Life is No Longer Enough

Last month I registered for a continuing-ed course called "Virtual World Librarianship" offered by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's library school. Our first meeting was yesterday, and wouldn't you know it - I misread the starting time. I was all ready with my laptop at the library at 1:30, only to find the session was just ending. It had started at 1:30 CENTRAL time. I live in PACIFIC time. Won't make that mistake again! How embarrassing! Thank goodness there is an alternative way to communicate with the instructors and students via the UIUC's Moodle, or distance-ed course management software.

Some of my classmates wonder what the point is - what is there in Second Life that we should spend time and money learning about it. Our instructor says one reason is that academic libraries are looking at it as a potential way to offer distance education. This class I'm taking is an experiment in distance education, for example. I'm looking at it as a way to think "out of the box" about ways to deliver library services remotely - what library services should patrons be able to receive after hours, from their home computer or telephone? What services lend themselves well to self-service? What are some ways to teach patrons how to "use their library at home"? Can these lessons be delivered via distance-ed modules?

One Person's Junk

This morning, as my walking buddy and I were heading out, we saw that one of our neighbors was holding a moving sale, and selling everything in her house! The dining table, wool rugs, and hutch looked really good, but I'm still happy with my grandmothers rattan and koa dining table set and we have no room for a hutch. However, I did pick up the George Foreman electric grill - it's a domed model that can be used outside or inside, is big enough for several pounds of chicken or steak, and only cost me $25! She said she had used it only a couple of times, and it was in near-pristine condition.

We used it tonight to grill steaks, potatoes, mushrooms, onions, and asparagus. Worked like a charm! and the best part is that we don't have to wait for the fire to go out.

Our townhouse complex has a clause in the lease agreement that forbids outdoor barbecues, both charcoal and gas. With the electric grill, we are abiding by the contract, but are able to grill outdoors anyway, keeping the house cool. We were just saying last night that this 'plex must be the only one in the county that forbids outdoor barbecues, and lamenting the thought of a second summer without a single barbecue. Next weekend is the Memorial Day Holiday, the traditional beginning of the summer barbecue season. I expect it would have been embarrassing to not barbecue that day! Now we can redeem ourselves and cook outside with the rest of California next week Monday.

Curves For Mother

Marty asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day this year, and I said, "a membership in Curves." I've been maintaining a 30# weight loss for about a year and a half, and I thought a membership in a gym might kick-start the next phase of my Weight Watchers plan. I didn't want to compete for space in the downtown gyms, and I didn't want to have to drive across town to exercise. There are three or four Curves locations within a 5-minute drive of home, and I think I can manage the 3 sessions per week without losing momentum. So - he brought home the paperwork, and I filled it out. I'll take it to the Land Park Curves on Monday after work, and start on Tuesday morning!

Awards Day

Every year at the end of May, MSgt has Awards Day for his JROTC students. Cpl. Laurel has been promoted to platoon sargeant, effective today at 1600 hours. She expects to continue in JROTC next year, and wants to try out for the color guard.

This year, we're having an unusually cool May. I remember frying in blistering sun for Pat's awards day ceremonies; today, although it was sunny, the north wind was cold, and moms were wrapping their shorts-clad kids inside their windbreakers.

ROTC was a small program this year, according to MSgt, but will more than double with the entrance of over 130 freshman next September. Go Laurel!

Lunch at Mikuni Sushi

Marty and I had an errand to run week ago, so we timed it to end around lunchtime and ate at Taro's by Mikuni. Here's what his "plate" looked like. It took up the whole width of the table!

We often used to eat out on my day off, since it was a work day for everyone else and the kids were in school. It's been a while since we did that, and so these last few weeks have been a treat! My workweek now is Sunday - Thursday, so Friday, if we have something to do "out", we generally look for somewhere interesting to eat.

A few weeks ago, we ate at the Persian Garden, which was highly recommended by one of our librarians. She was known for her elegant presentations and gracious manner (she's now working for another library), and said the food was excellent and authentic. Marty and I stumbled on it by accident, and decided to give it a try. This is the kind of place we would take special guests to, or visit on a special occasion. The food was flavorful, plentiful, and reasonably priced.

This past Friday, we were planning to do Mexican, since we'd eaten at several Asian restaurants recently, so we were heading for Viento's, a couple of miles from where we live. Right next door, we saw a new restaurant, called Plan B Restaurant and Cafe, liked the menu, and stopped in. What a treat! It has a Scandinavian ambiance, French-style cooking, and reasonable prices. Marty had calamari, and I had a portobello burger with matchstick fries to die for!

Continuing Ed in Second Life

Okay, so my daughter asked, "You're paying that much real money for a virtual class that will be taught in an imaginary place by characters in a game?" So I responded, "Well, I'm not the only one who's interested. The first section is sold out, and they've opened an additional section." The course is called "Virtual World Librarianship, Your Second Life," and will take place in Second Life on six Fridays, beginning May 25, and will count as continuing ed units offered by the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

This means, though, that I'm going to be a very busy person in a few weeks, with at least one other online course plus two in-person workshops that will be happening in May and June, plus continuing to work full-time. It will be almost like being back in school!

I've been a sometime tourist in Second Life for a couple of months, and my avatar is a Goth librarian named Annot8 Greatrex. My greatest challenge has been navigation and travel - my mousing skills don't translate well enough, and sometimes I walk into walls or fall off embankments. It is interesting to meet others in the Second Life Library, though - mostly they're curious, or they're bleeding-edge professionals who are looking for ways to make the space relevant to today's young people, and to create virtual library applications and programs that exist in that sort-of gaming world. (Second Life is not actually a game, because there is no objective, no "levels" of play, and nothing to win or lose.)

Since I'm probably not going to Internet Librarian this year - boss wants to share the opportunity with librarians who haven't been to that conference - this will give me my professional technology "fix" for the year.

Queen Fifteen Blows 'em Out

Laurel's birthday ended late - I forgot I was working the night shift - so we had to wake up Pat. He came over about 8:45 p.m. so we could have birthday cake and ice cream and open gifts. Laurel is now officially fifteen years old, and already talking about taking driver's ed in October, the soonest she can qualify, according to California law.

Taxes and Second Life

This year, for the first time in my life, someone else prepared our tax returns. It was so easy! We just provided the accountant with the W-2s, 1099s, and expenses - he prepared and filed the return within a few days - have no clue what he charged for the service, but it will be deductible next year, I bet. I used to take a week off from work and labor over the phone bills, the American Express annual reports, and checkbook. I could get used to paying someone else for that priviledge.

I've been exploring Second Life a little more, recently - my avatar is a goth female named "Annot8 Greatrex". I'm still getting used to controlling her movements with the mouse - my mouse is so sensitive, if I move it too much, either Annot8 spins around, or the world spins around. Funny, but if you're trying to go somewhere, you could be walking into walls or falling off roofs! Not great for first impressions. An interesting convention in Second Life is that your name floats in a balloon over your head, and when you're typing in the chat window, your avatar's hands click on an imaginary keyboard, so others can see you're about to say something!

I met some nice folks at the Alliance Second Life Library last night, and I'm going to attend my first event in Mystery Manor on Wednesday - "Dropping the other gumshoe," a mystery book discussion group. I haven't read the book, but I'm curious to see how the discussion goes.

SacTown Architecture

Lately, now that it's light when I go home from work, there have been some dramatic views of the buildings downtown with the late afternoon sun shining on them. Here are two photos I took this month. The pink one is the US Bank Building that shares the block and parking garage with the Central Library. I took it as I was waiting for Marty to pick me up after work. The photo on the right is the First Northern Bank building on the corner of 7th and J, where I catch the bus to go home.

These photos were taken with my cell phone; but even my digital camera could not do justice to the scenes. It's tough to photograph buildings in close quarters.

This 'n' That

I'm going to do my first adult program for Central Library on Thursday: "Use Your Library @ Home." It was conceived after my presentation to the Sacramento PC Users Group last month - my supervisor thought it would be a good program for the public. Publicity was sparse - fliers at the service desks, so I don't know what kind of response we'll have.

Laurel is making plans to attend a summer class at Sac State offered by the Academic Talent Search program. This program makes enrichment classes available to students in grades 6-9 during the summer and during Spring Break. Right now, she's looking at a class in Constitutional Law; if that doesn't work out, then her plan B is Beginning Latin. She will also be taking a lifeguarding course in April; we don't think she'll get a lifeguarding job this summer, because she waited too long to apply. But we are investigating a few long-term volunteer opportunities she can work at, to meet her 35-hour community service requirement.

Pat's Mitsubishi died. Rings, I think he said. He's looking for another car now, and will be VERY happy when he finds one. It's been hard for him to find transportation to and from work because his shift is 4 a.m to 9 a.m. I printed the Frequency-of-Repair record from the April Consumer Reports, along with the list of cars to avoid. We'll help him finance another car, with the understanding that he chooses one that has a reputation for reliability and will last him for a while.

Marty is working on a revision of Internet Gaming Law and preparing for more conferences abroad. Next one, I think, will be held in Ireland again - this time in Dublin proper, which will allow him to spend more time visiting the culturally significant sites in the city.

Little Plum Blossoms

This is what happens when you go away for a week: when I left Sacramento at the end of February, the daily temps were ranging from the low 30s to the low 60s. When I returned one week later, it was not only 15 degrees warmer generally, but all the blossoms had popped out! These are blossoming ornamental plum trees in the parking area of our townhome complex. The street side showcases white ornamental cherries, as does the area behind our unit. It's gorgeous! Folks are planting pansies and cyclamen, and the ornamental dogwoods ("orchid trees") are also in full blossom down the street.

There's something about all the color that comes after grey winter days that cheers the soul.

Home Again

The flight from Honolulu to Sacramento yesterday was mostly smooth, with a few bumps about halfway. My seat-mate was a nice young man who lives in Honolulu with his wife and son, and works in Redding. He builds fire trucks, and has a painting booth where he paints semis (Wal*Mart is one of his clients.) He is a weekly commuter!

Today was a nice soft entry to the working world - an all-day leadership workshop about planning for the future. Tomorrow I go back to my regular routine at Central Library. I think I forgot to buy my March bus pass, so I'll have to pay cash for my fare in the morning.

Tomorrow I'll see about scanning some of the photos I brought back from Mom's collection. This time, I was concentrating on the Soutars; next September, when I go back, I'll pick up the Crosswells. I also need to burn a CD to send to Nicola for the book she's working on about the history of the theatre in Jamaica.

Tonight I installed skype on Marty's laptop and created a user account for him. That way, when he goes to Ireland, or Cancun, or Montreal, or Las Vegas, we can do the video thing. I installed it on David's laptop before I left Hawaii, and his daughter's eyes lit right up: her boyfriend lives in Australia!

Sackatomatoes .. and avos

I was doing some last-minute shopping this afternoon, and came across this display of avocados and tomatoes in Daiei. I've become accustomed to the tiny, dark, rough-skinned Hass avocados we have in Sacramento, so seeing these big-as-a papaya, smooth-skinned ones brought back memories for me. (But check out how pale the tomatoes are!)

The other thing I did today was go back to King Digital and pick up the photos and scrapbook pages and the shiny new gold archival CD with the scanned images. They were saved as HUGE .tiff files, so will probably have to be converted to .jpg or .pdf in order to be able to send them by e-mail or post to the web. The images are photos of Una Soutar, mostly, and her sisters Etta and Rita. They were actresses, and the photos show them costumed for their parts. I also had them scan ten pages from Grannie's scrapbook, with reviews of the plays. The photos and scrapbook pages are crumbling into dust, and I wanted to preserve them. Since I want to send some of the images to Nicola for the book about the history of theatre in Jamaica she is working on, the local photographer who took our family portrait four years ago recommended King Digital Photos as the best place to get them scanned for publication. The shop did a great job. I'll have to convert the files to another format in order to share them, though.

Hawaii, Day Seven

Today was my last full day in Hawaii. I leave around noon tomorrow to go back to winter in Sacramento, CA. Marty iand Laurel are eagerly awaiting my return - I'll get in to Sacramento around 9 p.m. Mom says she enjoyed my visit.

I was supposed to have lunch with Aunt Jo this afternoon, but she called early this morning to cancel, because she wasn't feeling well enough. We chatted a few minutes on the phone this evening, and I'll call her again before I leave tomorrow.

Dave, Lea, and Kathy returned this evening from their 6-day whirlwind tour of the east coast, and they are exhausted. No lights or sounds next door, so I think they're making it an early night. Lea will take me to the airport tomorrow.

I went to Kaiser this afternoon to have a sliver of glass removed from my foot - the doc thinks he got it, and my foot mostly doesn't hurt any more. It was so stupid! I was wearing slippers that were rubbing blisters on my toes, so after a walk on the beach on Saturday, I decided to go barefoot for one block to let the sand dry so I could brush it off and put the slippers back on. Somewhere in that block, I acquired a sliver of glass near my little toe in a spot that I couldn't see when I turned my foot up. So I limped around Saturday and Sunday, and went to Kaiser today. At least my tetanus shot is up to date.

Kailua Beach on Friday Morning

I've been walking on the beach every weekday morning - it's only two blocks away - and the weather's been cooperative. The first photo is the "for sale" sign on Punahou School's cottage. Have no idea what the asking price is, but for beachfront property, I'm betting it's a couple of million. The next two photos are of the beach - looking toward the Marine Corps Battalion Headqarters on the Mokapu Peninsula.

I can't tell you how many hours of my life I've spent lying on the sand, body surfing, and walking up and down this beach with my dogs. It's almost a ritual to do the sunrise walk.

Yesterday, though, I got a sliver of glass in my foot and I can't seem to get it out. It's in a place on the little-toe side of the ball of my foot, just where I can't see it. Lilly tried to fish it out yesterday, but I think she only succeeded in embedding it more deeply, so when Isy comes tomorrow, I think I'll trot down to the Kaiser clinic and have a professional take a look. Can't be limping in the airport tomorrow - too far to walk!

Mural, Mural on the Wall

My niece visited this afternoon about lunchtime and mentioned the mural she is painting on the front wall of her house next door. It's between the front door and the garage, and is based on a smaller work. I decided to take this photo and display it on the laptop for mom to see. Somehow Picasa thought I wanted to blog it, so I decided to oblige. I'll add some photos I took at the beach to my next post.

Hawaii, Day One

We had a beautiful morning - sun rose over the clouds and there was cheer and blue sky. We had an easy flight to Honolulu, arriving about 20 minutes early. After sitting for over 5 hours in the airport and on the plane, I opted to walk from the terminal to the baggage claim to wait for my ride to Kailua. David picked me up and brought me to Mom's place.

Mom looks very well, has put on a little weight, and seems to be using her hands better than when I was here in August. She's still getting around ok with the walker. We had a nice visit, then I hooked up the laptop and skyped Michael in Toronto. Mom was enthralled - said she could recognize Mike and Debbie, and finally got the hang of just talking to the computer screen - the webcam has a microphone, so she and Mike could chat a bit. We're going to try it again during the week.

The weather here was overcast and drizzly with a brisk breeze; in Sacramento, Marty said it started raining buckets around lunch time, and hailing! Can't complain - we need the rain. If it's not raining in the morning, I hope to go for a walk on the beach around sunrise.

Dave will be going tomorrow afternoon with Lea and Kathy, and they will be returning Monday, instead of Wednesday - so it's all good.

Aloha 'Oe!

I can't believe a whole month has gone by since my last post. I've been in touch with Carol in London, and with Michael via Skype, and with Allen Hall, son of Pamela (Soutar) Hall in Urbana-Champaign. There was a flurry of e-mails about Simon Soutar and his descendants. He certainly was a colorful character, and left very few of his many children who are willing to talk about it.

Tomorrow morning, I'm flying to Hawaii for a week to stay with my mom. Lea and Kathy will be flying to Philadelphia and Boston for auditions, and I'll stay in the house while they're away. Isy will be coming with mom to the airport to pick me up. Marty and Laurel will have to hold the fort by themselves for a few days .

At least Marty and I are mostly over the nasty rhinovirus that struck a couple of weeks ago. It behaves like the flu, with fever, aches, and chills, and then a most aggravating upper-respiratory thing that had us both coughing for a week. Marty is still feeling the effects, but I'm mostly over it - just a little bit of head congestion left now.

Well, off to bed - got to get an early start tomorrow.

Taurus, Ole!

We got our new car today. After driving the Dodge Stratus for a week, when we looked at the Ford Focus and Fusion models at Senator Ford, they just seemed too ... small. But we happened upon a Taurus sedan for a good price and decided to go for it. We signed the papers this afternoon, and now we own a silver 2006 Taurus SE with 18,167 miles. It is one year and one month old, according to the Carfax report, and the dealer says it was part of their rental fleet. It's not hard to see why the Taurus was such a popular car - it feels solid, handles beautifully, and has lots of room inside. We're happy!

Halona, the Peering Place

Notice the new "profile photo": my cousin sent me this spectacular photo of the Halona blowhole on Oahu. The picture has been reduced in size to fit the space on the blog, so, although it's hard to see, in the upper right corner you can make out the light-colored viewing platform with visitors "peering" down to the spouting blowhole. Thanks, Earl!

Requiem for Our Ford Escort

Yesterday afternoon, our Ford Escort wagon bit the dust. I learned something new about it today from the Goodyear mechanics: it has an interference engine. The Car Guys had an explanation on their web site. Goodyear says something was pounding the top of one of the spark plugs and pounded it right through the wall of one of the cylinders. Bottom line is that we need a new engine or a new car, and the cost of a new engine is more than the car is worth (even if it was in running condition.)

Tonight I've been looking at Consumer Reports frequency of repair records and reading the free advice articles at the CR web site. Marty rented a car for a week, and we will decide over the weekend how to dispose of the Ford and what kind of car we should buy to replace it. Marty seems to be in shock, but then, he drives the car daily, and I only get to drive once a week, or so. I think it will be fun to shop for another car! Maybe a Toyota or Honda this time.

The North Wind Doth Blow

The north wind brought freezing temperatures to California's central valley last night. Yesterday, the highs were in the 40s and there were winds of up to 30 mph making it feel even colder. We were advised to cover our plants, wrap our pipes, and leave a faucet dripping overnight. This morning as late as 11 a.m. there was still ice on the sidewalks where sprinklers had got them wet, and the "dew" on the grass was really little ice cubes. It's supposed to be even colder tonight, and I believe it! It's only 10:30 p.m., and it's already down to 27 degrees. By morning, it may be as low as 22 -23 degrees. Br-r-r-r.

We Switched, Rather Than Fight

As of today, we've joined the "fast" crowd: we signed on with Comcast for cable Internet service.

I have felt for a long time that Marty should have a faster connection for his work, but things always seemed so complicated. Last Saturday, in a fit of courage, I called Comcast and they came today to hook him up. He's happy that web pages load fast, and he doesn't have to twiddle his thumbs any more.

I am keeping my Yahoo mail account, and I'll overlap the Earthlink/Netcom mail account for another month to be sure there are no bugs. I feel sad about cancelling it, because I've had that e-mail address for nine years! My new e-mail address is annot8@comcast.net.

We have not set up a wireless network for the new account, because Marty's communications with his clients must remain secure. But I can access my new Comcast e-mail account from the web, and also create a home page. I'm poking around in their help files, and will make a new Owens Outpost or migrate the existing one to the new host sometime in the next month.

Can You See Me Now?

As you can see, I added my mugshot to the blog layout. It's a photo I took of myself with the little Logitech webcam that I bought for use with Skype. Some other time, I'll experiment with videos ... (Thanks for the pointers, Mike!)

I downloaded current versions of the programs Homesite and Cute FTP to the laptop. Homesite allows me to edit my web pages, and Cute FTP uploads them to the web. Therefore, I'll be updating the Owens' Outpost again, after a hiatus of a year and a half. Family news updates, however, will continue to be posted here. I'll be using the Outpost mainly for pulling together all the things I'm doing online into a links hub, so to speak. I'm still waiting for a new copy of Family Tree Maker - it should be arriving any day, now. Once I get it and install it, I'll have the laptop configured just the way I want, and I'll be a happy woman!