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.