We went to dinner with friends Saturday night. Actually happy hour, which translates to an early bird special. The food was delicious. The company was great. Then when we got home and I got out of the car, I tweaked my back.
I have no idea what I did. But I’m in pain and barely able to move. Is this ridiculous or what? Did sitting in the car for a 15-minute ride hurt my back?
I’ve taken Tylenol, Advil and had a hot hot shower. I’ve tried Salon Pas. No relief in site. I find this somewhat ironic. I heard of Word of the Year for the first time last week from fellow blogger Deb’s World. I had decided my word for 2024 will be HEALTH. I guess that doesn’t apply to 2023!
The only thing that made me feel better was a visit from the cardinal. I also captured him on my Bird Buddy.
Have you ever injured yourself without trying? Is this what getting old feels like?
The entrance to our old home. Our homeless man, who believed he bought our house, slept on the steps.
The back yard, which had our front door, once you walked through the gate above.
Sometimes I miss my old home. We lived there for 28 years. I had my babies there and raised them until they went off to college. I never thought I’d leave. But then COVID hit and my husband worked remotely from the Master bedroom. I worked remotely from our son’s bedroom.
Prices were going crazy high because people were fleeing the big cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles. Our town offered more space and much lower prices compared to the city life. My husband believed it was time to make our move to Arizona.
When I feel like I miss the old homestead, I read my emails. Every morning I get a “Personalized Spot Crime” report for my old neighborhood.
It’s gotten so much worse since we moved three years ago in December.
Here are a couple examples from my inbox:
In the 28 years we lived there, we had very little crime. My bicycle was stolen from the carport, which didn’t lock at the time. We had a homeless man who slept on the steps of the archway.
Oh, we had someone break into the home from the hospital mental ward a few blocks away wearing his “robe” with a bare behind. My daughter was the one who ran into him in the kitchen. She was in third grade and named him Hobo Joe. My husband threw him out of the house and called the police. They caught him trying to enter the house across the street.
But through 28 years, those were off events. Nothing like the crime I see reported on a daily basis now.
Once, after flying home from Seattle visiting family, I had to take a Lyft home. My husband had COVID. Anyway, the Lyft driver told me he was once a deputy sheriff in my neck of the woods. He said the number one crime was speeding. I sure hope it stays that way! It makes me appreciate my new home and where I live.
I had crime on my mind after a run in with the Mexican police on our recent getaway. If you missed it, I wrote about it HERE.
Is there crime in your neighborhood? Do you feel it’s gotten worse or better through the years?
With the kids on their way to visit, my husband and I kept our promise to quarantine. The days at home gave me new appreciation for life in our backyard. (I wrote about the need to quarantine HERE.)
“Hey, it’s not that bad!” were my famous words I’d tell my swim coach after a hard set. We emblazoned the saying on t-shirts after the coach joked that he should advertise his Masters with my expression. (I wrote about not giving up — whether it’s swimming, fishing or writing HERE — complete with t-shirt pics.)
I discovered staying home “is not that bad” — and I that I love and appreciate my backyard.
The following are views that make me enjoy living where I do:
I watched three Harris Hawks land in a tree across the wall. They love to hang out there. Then one by one, they flew into our yard. I lost sight as they flew over our roof.
Here’s a video of one flying I captured in slow motion:
Look at the sparkle in our pool.
Here’s a young cardinal visiting my Bird Buddy until a Gila Woodpecker takes over.
I was standing outside and these quails didn’t seem to care that I was nearby.
I can’t wait to see my son, daughter-in-law, her brother and my daughter!
What are your favorite things or views from your home?
As our long-awaited annual beach vacation comes to a close, I’m feeling homesick. Not to be ungrateful, but I’m looking forward to being in my own home. I miss my cat. My friends, who moved from our old neighborhood in Palm Springs to a mile away in Arizona, have texted and asked when we’ll be back with “We miss you!”
All year long, I’ve looked forward to our weeks out of the heat, at the beach. I guess I didn’t feel “vacationy” with all the anxiety of health issues with our family. I spent the first two weeks in a state of constant worry.
Once relief hit us — that our future DIL will be okay — and COVID also had come and gone with our children, we finally relaxed.
But, then four days in a row, once our fear was gone, we accepted invitations with friends. We hadn’t felt like socializing until things settled down. Four days in a row was way too much for introverted me. We said no to friends yesterday and today. We spent evenings until sunset enjoying a beach walk, sitting until the sun set, and being quiet. Just what my soul needed.
If there’s no place like home, I wish I could click my heels three times and be home — without the nine-hour drive!
When you are on vacation, do you look forward to returning home — or do you want vacation to last longer?
Fresh fruit at a farmer’s market in Santa Barbara.
We are leaving for vacation. I have my neighbor with new puppy Emma watching my house and a cat sitter for Olive, in case anyone wants to break in. With the stress of healthcare scares that I wrote about HERE, we’re headed to our VRBO for a few days before hopefully celebrating our first born’s wedding.
In addition to cooler weather (it was 110 today at our house) I’m looking forward to the Farmer’s Market in Santa Barbara.
There is one particular stand with plums, pluots, nectarines and peaches that I’ll visit. The fruit is unlike anything I’ve had in my life. Fresh, delicious, out of this world great. Unfortunately, my local farmer’s market doesn’t have fruit. The fruit in the grocery stores are hards as rocks. I miss the produce in California. That’s the one thing I’ll give the state. It has better produce than Arizona. Or at least I haven’t discovered where to shop.
Fish tacos at On the Alley at the Santa Barbara Marina.
After the Farmer’s Market, I hope to stop by the Marina for the best fish tacos I’ve had in my life! Seafood fresh off the boat is another treat I don’t get in Arizona.
Where’s you favorite place for vacation? Are you a beach or mountain person?
July 14, 1985 in Laguna Beach. My hubby’s Aunt Ann and Uncle Luciano are next to us.
I am in disbelief that I’ve been married for 38 years. Where did the time go?
We were together for two years before marriage, so that makes it 40 years! Of course, you have to believe that I was a child bride to make this a possibility.
Thirty-eight years ago, we lived in a small apartment. Four units around a pool. My view out the kitchen window was an empty lot of dirt. No spectacular views. We’d see a shadow of the landlord walking by our drawn curtains at night, carrying a shot gun. She made her rounds each night.
We knew all our neighbors. I was asked to be a bridesmaid by the next door neighbor. She was a close friend at that time. Her fiancee left her at the altar and she eventually moved away. I haven’t seen or heard from her since.
It took us a few years to buy our first house. Then five more until we moved into the house that was home for 28 years. The first year we lived in our Palm Springs dream home, our son was born. Three years later, our daughter. Now they’re grown and we’re in Arizona — living our next adventure on our own.
It’s been a wonderful 38 years. I feel blessed.
I can’t help thinking of the song “Time Keeps on Slipping” by the Steve Miller Band.
Do you find that as you get older time goes by faster? Why do you think that is?
I joined US Masters Swimming in 2015 after being on deck as a swim mom and parent volunteer for 14 years. It was the adult program with the team my children swam with from kindergarten through high school. My New Year’s Resolution that year — my first as an empty nester — was to join Masters and swim with a coach. It only took me until April to make good on my New Year’s resolution. But once I got in, I made slow, but steady progress.
My biggest issue with swimming is consistency. It’s something you have to do year round to get stronger. Not every day is a good day, although most of them are. The biggest challenge for me in the beginning was relaxing and getting a steady breathing pattern.
Lately my roadblock to consistency is weather. I do not like getting in or out of the pool when it’s cold. I quit for several months over the winter. Getting back into the pool this spring, I felt like I was starting over.
During the COVID years, our Palm Springs pool (above) was shut down. Then it opened to reservations for every other lane (social distancing). Our Masters team was not allowed to practice until about the time we moved to Arizona.
What I’ve discovered about swimming, rather than cheering on the sidelines, is that being in the water gives me a chance to reflect. It’s mostly a quiet time, where I get the best physical exercise, ever — plus peace and clarity in my day.
I’m still working on the breathing. When I do feel relaxed and smooth, I notice the following 10 things while I swim:
ONE
The way the water feels cool against my skin.
TWO
The bubbles my hands make entering the water.
THREE
Spirographs and kaleidoscopes of shadows and light on the bottom of the pool as the sun filters through the water.
FOUR
The shadow of the flags as I get close to the wall.
FIVE
Muffled sounds underwater. It’s like I’m listening to a foreign language.
SIX
The view of clouds, saguaro and desert when I stop to rest.
SEVEN
The slope of the pool with tiled, black lines curving to lower depths.
EIGHT
A clump of leaves that looks like a plant growing in a crack at the bottom of my lane.
NINE
Floating and swimming relaxed must be what flying would feel like.
TEN
Relief at the end of my 1,000-yards. I feel much stronger and smoother than during my first 100 yards.
As a swimmer, I appreciate with new understanding the hard work my kids and coaches have put in for years, every single day.
What activity do you enjoy that brings you peace and clarity in your day?
