Monthly Archives: July 2024

Happy Anniversary!

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My husband has been fighting this bunny because it eats our plants. But every afternoon bunny crawls under the chicken wire into the pot and munches away.

Yesterday was our 39th wedding anniversary. Really! I must have gotten married as a 10 year old.

For our outings together, we’ve been hanging out at doctors offices. I guess that’s to be expected after decades of marriage. It’s no longer spur-of-the-moment camping trips at the beach, or heading up to the mountains for a day of skiing.

Nope. My husband had cataract surgeries and the last few weeks I’ve been driving him to appointments and sitting in waiting rooms with a book. He did the same for me a few years ago when it was my turn for cataract surgery.

We had eight years of marriage before kids. Some of my earliest memories of life together were searching the sofa and our pockets for spare change. When we’d find a dollar, we’d buy three-for-one tacos at Jack in the Box. I ate Top Ramen every day for lunch. But those were fun days.

Then there were the busy days of raising kids. My husband was a super involved dad because he grew up without one. I’m not sure if our kids appreciated that or not. Then the kids grew up and started their adult lives. I’m grateful for how close we are with them. I love getting calls for no reason, but to chat while they’re out for walks.

These past years, our main activity together is our early morning hour-long walk (He’s been going alone because of my broken toes.) I can’t wait to get back to walking with him every day. It’s a quieter time in our marriage, but I love my husband as much or more than day one.

wedding photo
Thirty-nine years ago.

Here’s to 39 more years and happy memories!

What changes do you see in your marriage or relationship through the years?

The dog days of summer…

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I was curious what I was up to four years ago — during the COVID shutdown. I was reading a Julia Cameron book called “It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again” trying to find motivation. I’m feeling lackadaisical just like I did then. Maybe it’s the prospect hobbling around on broken toes, or maybe it’s the heat.

Here’s what I discovered about the Dog Days of Summer:

pug staring out the car window
Waffles in the car with me at my son’s place in Berkeley.

What are the dog days of summer? I found this on Wikipedia:

The dog days or dog days of summer are the hot, sultry days of summer. They were historically the period following the heliacal rising of the star system Sirius (known colloquially as the “Dog Star”), which Hellenistic astrology connected with heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, mad dogs, and bad luck.

It is hot, humid, we’re predicted to have thunderstorms. I’m lethargic. I don’t have a fever, I don’t see any mad dogs and I’m not buying into the bad luck. But otherwise the phrase “dog days of summer” fits.

Okay. About that bad luck. My daughter just called me and said she fell in the dark on her stairs last night trying to get Waffles back in the house. She broke her foot. Now she’s on crutches and trying to get in for an MRI appointment without missing any work. This means she can’t exercise, walk Waffles and will be struggling for weeks to come. I feel like I should be up there to help her.

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Selfies with Waffles while he’s intent on watching my daughter outside the car.

Fast forward four years, and I’m the one hobbling around, not my daughter. Maybe I have to reconsider that luck thing in the dog days of summer.

Are you feeling the dog days of summer? Are you seeing any mad dogs?
What are you doing to stay motivated?

You can never go home again

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This was the entrance to our Palm Springs home of 28 years. It was an incredibly beautiful, unique home built in 1937. I loved living there and it was hard to move. It may sound like I am bragging, but it was beautiful. Not that livable. That was was one of the downsides.

WARNING: This may turn into a rant.

You can imagine my shock when a friend sent me a video from an Instagram account for our former home. The buyers, who we thought loved our home and lived in an old Spanish Hacienda themselves, are turning our home into a short-term vacation rental. They told us they liked our house better than theirs because we had a spectacular view of Mt. San Jacinto.

They’ve totally gutted the house inside and it’s lost it’s rustic charm and is filled with white marble with gray streaks, dark glossy floors with a bizarre tile shape. They removed wood-beamed ceilings, the columns and the original Sausalito tiles and everything else I loved about our home. It no longer has any character.

My daughter and I were ranting to each other by phone. Absolutely horrified by what we saw. We felt violated.

I made a comment on their Instagram account, “That’s my old home.” My daughter added a comment, “Why did you remove the original tile floors?” We were blocked. I guess the good news is we don’t have to look at more videos and photos of how they turned an authentic 1930s Spanish Colonial into a Mid-Century Modern Hollywood Nightmare. Tacky without taste.

Living room in Palm Springs
Our living room, the way it was.
master bedroom
This was our master bedroom.

In our Master bedroom, they removed the columns, floors, wood beams, granite wall paper, tub (at the far end) and built a wall with three archways to cut off a large portion of the room. Now the master looks much smaller. The shower and bathroom were behind mirrored doors on either side of the tub. Now they are behind archways and they put in a modern circular white stand-alone tub.

When I ranted to my husband, he was shocked when I showed him the pictures. He didn’t recognize our home. Then, being level-headed he said, “We don’t own the home anymore. We sold it.”

I know he’s right. But I have so many memories of living in that home. When we moved in, I was pregnant with my first child. It’s the only home our kids lived in before they went off to college.

FYI, we moved out December 12, 2020. We asked the new owners if we could have a little extra time to move. Escrow was 30 days and we lived there for close to 30 years. They were gracious and agreed. Then, we asked if we could stay for one last Christmas with our kids and DIL’s family. They said, “Sure. For $7,000.” We moved and spent Christmas alone getting settled in our new home.

We are better off for moving out of California to Arizona, I will admit. I liked the downtown Palm Springs location, but it had a downside with a homeless guy living on the steps to our entrance. Also, my husband said he’d have to work until he died to support the expenses.

At least I have these photos to remember what once was.

I guess it’s true. You can never go home again.

Palm Springs Old Spanish home
Outside view of our former home at night.

Have you ever been surprised at what has become of a place you lived in before?

What changes have you seen to your old home or home town?

We bought an RV. What could possibly go wrong?

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Thanks to Erin’s post on existential ergonomics about her Yellowstone trip and Boomers with RVs, I remembered this post I wrote exactly eight years ago, today! FYI we sold the RV in 2020 prior to moving to AZ. Thanks to COVID, people wanted RVs, even used ones!

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Camping at Carpinteria State Beach with my kids and Angus.

I love camping. My favorite memories as a child were Fourth of July weekends at Ross Lake near the Canadian border in Washington.

Open campfires, roasting hot dogs, followed by s’mores. Families laughing together, watching stars.

We introduced our kids to camping with an annual trip to Carpinteria State Beach, playing cards, sitting around bonfires and flying kites.

So what could possibly go wrong when we looked at RVs and decided to graduate from our tent?  We had the perfect excuse. We would use the RV once a month at swim meets, instead of paying for hotels out of town. Our kids could sit inside between swims diligently doing their homework, rather than hanging out under a pop-up tent with their friends. Yeah. Right.

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July 4th, 2012 camping trip. My daughter with her swim teammates.

We bought the RV four years ago and took it to exactly NO swim meets out of town. We brought it to our own pool to give kids on our team a break from the pool deck during a big meet. I think the kids spent a total of 15 minutes inside.

We took three camping trips with our kids. Here are three things that went wrong:

• The first trip, the RV got stuck inadvertently under the roof of a gas station. The gas station owner yelled that he was suing us for damages to his gas station.

• The second trip, the generator went out while we were dry camping.

• The third trip, my husband said he hates driving it and buying it was the biggest mistake he’s ever made.

We’re trying to use the RV this summer. If not, it’s gone in the fall.

We took it out of storage. We plugged it into our house’s electric, so I could get it cleaned up for the trip to the mountains. What else could go wrong?

First, the power went out in our house. The refrigerator, TV and computers went dark along with the lights. This was before I started cleaning.

Second, the AC went out in the RV so I cleaned in the “hot tin can” heat. When I went outside for breathers, in the 110 degree temps, it actually felt cool compared to inside the RV.

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Mt. San Jacinto in the background on a cloudy summer day.

We got “The Beast” up the mountain by hiring someone to drive the windy roads for us. He got it all set up and we were happy campers for about two hours.

Then, I turned on the faucet and it smelled like rotten eggs.

Next, we turned on all the faucets to clear out the smelly water and someone knocked on the door to tell us we had a leak. Water was pouring out from under the hook-ups.

The toilet wouldn’t flush and started leaking.

The carpet in the bedroom was damp from the leaks.

After our first night in the mountains, we decided to call it quits and come back to the heat of Palm Springs. At least we have a pool, AC, toilets and running water.

The good news is we get return to the mountains to hire a repairman and try RVing once again. My friends keep telling me I’m going to love it. I’ll let you know. 

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View during our morning walk in the mountains.

Are you a happy camper? What problems have you had RVing?

Another FIRE

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Kari and Brendan Nguyen’s home yesterday.

Kari was a gymnast at the University of Utah, while her then boyfriend Brendan was on the swim team with my daughter.

They are dear friends of my daughter’s. After I tore my ACL skiing while house and dog sitting for my daughter in Utah, Kari would take Waffles the pug for a walk and check in on me.

My daughter lived in Arizona for one year after graduation. Kari and Brendan married and moved in with Kari’s family here. Kari and Brendan gave a going away party for my daughter when she decided to move to Berkeley. I can’t say enough good things about this young couple.

What a scary thing for them to go through. They have lost everything they own.

From an article:

PEORIA, AZ (AZFamily) — Firefighters have contained a fast-moving fire that left someone hurt near Peoria Thursday morning. Several pets are also missing.

According to Rural Metro firefighters, the blaze started around 9:30 a.m. as a barbecue fire outside spread to the home near 88th Avenue and Williams Road. The house is located on an unincorporated county island surrounded by the City of Peoria.

Crews from Peoria Fire-Medical were first on the scene as the fire quickly spread through the home. Officials say fire hydrants are scarce in the neighborhood because unincorporated areas don’t have the same building code requirements as most cities and areas covered by fire districts.

https://www.azfamily.com/2024/07/04/1-hurt-after-fast-moving-barbecue-fire-spreads-peoria-home

In the story, there is a link to a go fund me for the Lee family. Or CLICK HERE if you can donate something.

Kari’s parents own Flames Gymnastic Academy (what a name) and are well-known in the community. The gymnastics community, Ute Alumni and our surrounding community are helping this family get back on their feet. Thankfully, everyone survived, except it’s unknown about their pets.

Broken toes

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I spotted these blooms in the backyard which is amazing for July. They only lasted a day or two.

A few days before our trip to New York, our AC went out in the master bedroom. Now that it’s more than 100 degrees outside, that was not a good thing. We slept in the casita for a few nights until a repairman fixed the AC. One night, I got up to use the bathroom and smacked my toes on the bed post.

It was loud! It really hurt! I woke my husband up obviously.

So, off to New York City and Connecticut, where I could barely walk. Once home from the trip, I realized I still couldn’t make my morning walks. I’m still in pain. It’s frustrating as I sit looking out the window.

I’m not one who gets bored easily. I’m usually content reading or writing. But the lack of exercise isn’t helping. I have jumped in the pool to kick. It’s better than nothing. Plus, I’m lifting weights.

My biggest thrill right now is birdwatching.

Here’s a video of my baby quail:

How do you entertain yourself, if you’re injured? Any suggestions?

“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.” AA. Milne

Look what we brought home

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Ganesha, the Hindu God of Success

We were on vacation in Connecticut and visited a fun store in the town of Kent called Foreign Cargo. They had beautiful clothes, jewelry, odds and ends and art from around the world.

For some reason we were attracted to Ganesha, and had him shipped home. He arrived last night. The owner of the store shops around the world, has lived throughout the world and told us all about Ganesha.

This is what I found online:

Ganesha, the elephant-headed Hindu god who rides a mouse, is one of the faith’s most important deities. One of the five primary Hindu deities, Ganesha is worshiped by all sects and his image is pervasive in Indian art. 

Origins of Ganesha

The son of Shiva and Parvati, Ganesha has an elephantine countenance with a curved trunk and big ears atop the pot-bellied body of a four-armed man. He is the lord of success and the destroyer of evils and obstacles, worshiped as the god of education, wisdom, and wealth.

Ganesha is also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Binayak. Worshippers also regard him as the destroyer of vanity, selfishness, and pride, the personification of the material universe in all its manifestations. 

https://www.learnreligions.com/ganesha-lord-of-success-1770445

Ganesha is the remover of obstacles, the god of beginnings, wisdom, and luck and the patron of intellectuals, bankers, scribes and authors. Considering my husband is a financial advisor and I’m a writer, I think a little Ganesha can’t hurt!

It’s not like us to buy “stuff.” This was out of character, but I’m enjoying the creature and memories from our trip. I think I enjoyed our hostess’s statues in her guest apartment a bit too much!

What have you brought home from vacation that’s out of character for you?