ThePostsPage – Page 2

April 23, 2020 Covid-19 Update 2

2020-04-262020-04-26 by Paul

This is the 3rd in my series of Covid-19 posts. It seems to be organized by date. Hunh. Not very imaginative but it’ll do.

Links to earlier posts:

First Covid-19 post

Second Covid-19 post

My previous post, the 2nd one, begins with a nice graphic. Chris says it’s never been seen again! I thought it would be easy for them to replicate and update from day-to-day. I suppose it’s possible I don’t thoroughly understand the graphic and what goes into it, but what are the chances?

Here’s the (non)graphic for April 22: From 111 cases and 1 death in Santa Barbara County as of April 1, we have 440 cases and 5 deaths as of today, April 22 — a quadrupling of our cases in 21 days! That doesn’t sound like a cheerful way to put it!

Has our curve tipped over, flattened, etc.? (Population of Santa Barbara County is about 450,000.) If I post again in this series we’ll have a much better idea.

Grandson Mason’s high school graduation is now cancelled. Chris and I are not surprised but we feel for Mason. We’d made hotel reservations and looked into air fares — so no big deal for us.

=====March 25th
This item should have been in the previous post. Oh well. We offer baking supplies to friends, some of whom, unlike Chris and me, bake. The items are pictured below: flour, large mystery jar, corn meal, and pancake mix all at least several years old. The only dates I find on original packaging are 2010 and 2012. All but the sugar are politely declined (even after I check to a depth of several inches for wildlife). There’s more space in our pantry now and (less in our compost bin).

Chris and Paul’s baking supplies available for the asking March 25.

=====Friday April 3rd
A drive-by parade! Teachers from Franklin School, one block from here, drive slowly past our house in 10 or 15 cars in mid-day honking, yelling, and waving signs. Some of the signs identify them as Franklin teachers. Very noisy, nice, and friendly.

=====Sat 4th
Friend John suggests we’ll probably see uptick in pregnancies and divorces before long. Both he and Chris tell me that Santa Barbara County officials have recorded an uptick in reports of child and spousal abuse. Pregnancy and divorce make some sense but I’m really sorry to hear of abuse reports. I’m afraid that makes sense, too, but I don’t wanna hear it.

No doubt you’re all dying to hear what Melrose DPW did with the chemicals from Devil’s own workshop abandoned on their doorstep. If strong reader demand develops I’ll post 10-year-old Jamey’s Japanese toolbox video.

Yeah, what happened to all that nasty-looking stuff?

=====Sun 5th

It may have been sunny in Seattle but not in Santa Barbara. Besides gloom here our temperatures aren’t even above 70 F. Time for a fire in our fireplace.

Good, gloomy day for a fire. Inigo feels he needs to keep that 6 ft. separation, apparently

Hendry’s Beach. Looks like at least 6 ft separation to me.

=====Mon 6th
Trader Joe’s is very cooperative about getting their flower donations to me and still allowing us all to keep our distance. This is the first time for me to wear a face mask in public. I think Chris and I got this small box of 10 face masks from Direct Relief International a few years ago during a big wildfire. I finally admit to myself I feel self-conscious wearing mask. Not surprisingly, the selfconsciousosity doesn’t last long.

Take short walk on Hendry’s Beach on way home from Breast Cancer Resource Center. Sunshine, some beach walkers, naked tiny kid playing in puddle, dogs chasing tennis balls, and paragliders landing. Good normal stuff.

Chris helps me take series of photos showing a good use for that funky spoon from my mother’s kitchen. I’m happy to find a use for it: good for prying apart stuck, nested flower buckets. Mother died only 15 years ago — can’t throw it yet. Must say, though, ultimately I expect it’ll wind up in a 25¢ bin at thrift store! Maybe even the 10¢ bin.

=====Tue 7th
A one hour and 40 minute zoom with Sandy! Now that I think of it, I Zoomed June, too. Good for us!

Chris is out getting cashiers checks for Jamile and her cellmate Nicole to send to the Oh-triple-C (OCCC — Oahu Community Correctional Center) (i.e., jail) for commissary funds ($80 each). Nicole has never had anyone send her money. When Jamile told her what Chris was going to do Nicole apparently ran out of wherever they were yelling “I’ve got a new white mom, I’ve got a new white mom!”

=====Wed Apr 8
I pay our property tax. Barely remembered! Even after my big public announcement in previous post!

=====Thu Apr 9
Box Tunnel entrance, Box, England
I would like to think he knew what he was doing, he’d done it correctly, and that was enough for him. My kind of guy.

Lake Cachuma, Santa Barbara’s main source of water, is at 78.5% full.

I discover True Memoirs of an International Assassin is on some reviewer’s list of the worst Netflix films ever so don’t even think of watching. Hey! That’s one of my favorites! To borrow some words from a review of a Jack Reacher/Lee Child novel: Totally unrealistic — loved every minute.

My annual purchase of Stone Brewing’s Xocovesa has run out. Very sad.

=====Fri Apr 10
Graphs appear on Edhat site. A little hard to explain — it’s sort of like the sun is shining somewhere so don’t give up.

In today’s grocery run Isaac scored 14 of 14 (he finds all 14 items on our list).

Now the milk story. It reminds me of the I-thought-you-made-a-yummy-sound gag from the movie Young Frankenstein. Isaac had plunked a gallon plastic jug of milk on our front porch along with the other groceries he’d just bought for us. C & I both saw it and each assumed the other must have had some reason for putting it on the list at the last minute because we seldom deal with cow milk. As we were putting items away we pretty quickly got to the I-thought-you-ordered-a gallon-of-milk routine.

We smile, too, roll our eyes, and call Isaac who returns within a couple minutes and then presumably takes it to the appropriate party.

Grocery delivery is more expensive than doing it yourself, it’s gotta be. We expect that. We’re not considering changing from using Isaac. I’m not sure it saves much time because the list we send to Isaac is pretty carefully spelled out (1st choice of an item, 2nd choice, or no other brand will do …). Maybe after 5 or 10 times you’ve got a good, useful list worked out that Isaac can work with.

But how do you tell the Isaacs of the world tricky things like get the cheapest kind but only if …, and only …; Or those items you spot in the store that didn’t make it to the list; Or what about that item that’s usually out of your price-range or is in season suddenly to your surprise; Or you see something that looks good and you’re in the mood for a little experiment.

We Zoom with our volleyball group. Nice. At some point Chris & I are asked what we’d be having for dinner. I pipe up up and calmly describe a typical “browse” dinner I assemble for myself: frozen chicken breast, handful of peeled, ready to eat baby carrots, piece of bread. I think I see our group flinch?! Did I forget to mention I was gonna thaw the chicken breast? Someone (not to mention any names) in each of the other groups actually cooks! Imagine.

=====Mon Apr 13
The Daily Extra — Pun of the week from the Non-sequitor calendar: A four-foot-tall fortune teller escaped from prison. He was a small medium at large.

Keep feeling we’re friendlier than we’re used to being. By “we” I mean myself and all the other random folk I interact with (at socially acceptable distance, of course) — seems to be a we’re all in this together feeling, which I like.

After Roasting Company delivery and my beer-to-go pickup at BevMo I feel like a wealthy man.

=====14th Tue
Zoom with B; Nice surprise how much difference the video makes on the communication. During the Zoom more Xocoveza arrives! Nice surprise! Thank you Chris!

Shoreline Park. A sun-is-shining-somewhere shot. Downtown Santa Barbara is the white splotch in the distance.

=====16th Thu
Get letter from Michelle Higa thanking me for sending the pictures of her kids I pulled off her Facebook page. We of the older generation (or MUCH older generation!) really appreciate thank-you notes. A couple days earlier I actually speak to her for a couple sentences during a Jamile call to Chris. She calls me uncle (typical Asian way of showing respect, C reminds me) and thanks me enthusiastically.

=====18th Sat
First thing today Chris finds email from Amazon saying her item will be delivered on the 28th. Her computer made by Acer will be delivered to an address in Santa Clara, California on the 28th. WHAT COMPUTER? This turns today into sudden headshaking and gut-clenching round of phone calls and computer logins: which credit card; cancel card; cancel order? Call Amazon and ask what they can do and so forth. Chris changes her Amazon password.

Used in the headshaking: 2 cell phones and a land line; pair of hearing aids (with Bluetooth); 2 tablets; 2 computers; 2 sleepy, empty, stomachs; and 2 awake, reasonable, competent, human beings (Amazon rep in India, C thinks, and credit card person in U.S.).

I mention hearing aids among all those 2s because Chris had set up an Amazon person to call but C’s phone wasn’t fully awake yet, so she’d given Amazon my number and I gave Chris my phone. Amazon did indeed call but the sound was directed straight to my spiffy new hearing aids so Chris couldn’t couldn’t hear a thing! So we straightened a couple things out and Chris had Amazon try again.

Music teacher creates a song to address online teaching issues related to Covid-19 changes. If you can’t commit to watch for all 27 seconds, it’s probably best not to click!

Some things don’t change

=====19th Sunday

Lake Cachuma is now over 80% full. This assures water for us for at least several more years. A couple years ago level was 7% (yes, SEVEN PER CENT).

Chris’s Catalina blog starts today. This is her imagined blog of our cancelled trip. We’ve done a Catalina trip with this group 5 or 6 times in the last 10 years and she has hundreds of photos to choose from to construct an imagined trip.

As soon as she tells me she’s gonna do it it sounds like a terrific idea to me — you know, an idea so good you wish you had thought of it yourself! As I expect, her blog is a big success!

Here are Chris’s Catalina posts. Click on thumbnail to be transported to Chris’s post for that day.

=====21st Tue
Our Trader, Joe’s 3 blocks away, is the photo of the day on our hometown website. Well yeah, you don’t actually see the store but I immediately recognize the sidewalk and wall. Yes, it’s a beat up sidewalk and boring wall but it’s MY beat up sidewalk and boring wall. The queue shown represents about a 10 minute wait. The point Edhat intends to illustrate is that we Santa Barbarians are doing pretty well in our social distancing.

We encounter a drive-by birthday party on our block for Laura (maybe Leslie)! I actually have what it takes to ask if any of the young women participating is Laura! I’m promptly told and I even wish Laura a happy birthday. That is so not like the Paul I usually know!

=====22nd Wed
Amazon email tells Chris that the ill-gotten computer is delivered, and our credit union website tells us they’ve charged us for it. I call credit union again and are told their fraud department is working on it. At this point we don’t know for sure if we’ll get our money back. They didn’t exactly tell us that.

In another email, to me, some <pejorativenounofyourchoice> is trying to blackmail me! Phony looking but still disturbing! The perp has my email address obviously and prominently displays my password (from at least 5 years ago) and will be releasing video of me watching porn or masturbating (or both?) unless I pay him/her/them $2000 in bitcoin by tomorrow. If no bitcoin then him/her/them will be randomly choosing 3 entries in my email address book as lucky recipients.

A friend tells me he’s received many of them in the last few years. I feel better.

=====And so it goes

On return to more normal life, I will miss driving on empty streets.

Breaking news: Credit union website informs me of “adjustment” (dated April 19th) and won’t charge us for that computer delivered in Santa Clara.

To me, the sun still shining somewhere is a useful meme or trope or metaphor (maybe Chris can explain those terms to me): things are normal somewhere right now, some people are able to run around in chicken suits, the sun is actually shining somewhere, there are occasional graphs on Edhat, I can build a fire in my fireplace if I want, we’re all being friendlier, paragliders takeoff and land, dogs chase tennis balls, many of us find good reasons to smile.

If there is another post in this series it may include comments about a self-inflicted haircut (using fingernail clippers?), a grandson and his switch plates, stats updates, Japanese toolbox video, …

Our internet connection? Our TV streaming, email, web use is all smooth, and trouble free — haven’t really thought about it for a couple of weeks. For me it’s been like water from the tap and electricity from the wall — it’s just there, however much I want, and I don’t even think about it. Just the way it should be. Wonder what Chris would say?

Where’s all this extra time I’m ‘spozed to have on my hands?

Compared to much of what’s going on around me, I still feel fortunate that life has changed as little for me as it has.

=====END OF POST

April 1, 2020 Covid-19 Update

2020-05-232020-04-02 by Paul

Author comment

I surprise myself — there are almost 2000 words in this post, 14 images, and 2 videos. This is my view of the main items on my mind this week and it’s written for my benefit. There is some organization to topics covered but it’s possible there’s some rambling, also. If you like this post or at least you’re not sorry you looked at it that’d be fine with me.

I highly recommend the 2 videos, and I can shamelessly recommend them because I had no part in creating them. They’re both near the bottom of this post.

Santa Barbara County Statistics

Here are the most recent statistics from the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department (SBCPHD): April 1, 2020, 6:30 pm PDT. Ummmm … thanks for asking. For those who want more than a glance, the graphic is much more readable if you click on it.

# Positive Results	111

Recovery Status
Recovering at home	65
Recovered	23
Pending	6
In the hospital	17 *
*In the ICU	13

The short table on the left is also from our SBCPHD yesterday, breaking down the 111 total number of cases.

We’re into our 2nd fortnight of isolation, 2 weeks and a few days after 1st post in this series. CLICK HERE TO SEE FIRST POST

On March 14, we learned we had 9 cases in SB county, apparently based on professional judgements. Next day we had our first confirmed case — because we finally got some tests available? This doesn’t really contradict stats from day before? Situation is changing fairly rapidly.

Our first confirmed death in Santa Barbara County occurred just last night.

How do things look today in your life, Paul, around home, say?

Well, Paul, here are some smallish things, Paul.

Our cats are needier: they follow us around a little more closely, and they jump into laps more readily.

We’re washing clothes more. One of us is anyway.

The internet seems troubled and we’re contributing. The TV kept updating or showing us a black screen for a while. Then we roll eyes, yell naughty words, and display obscene gestures, as needed. (Whadyamean, does it help?) And then whenever I did a speed test our download speed seemed fine (image below). Last night we saw smooth TV operation for about 3 steady hours of streaming. So they’ve completely fixed whatever might have been going on, right?

We’ve learned to use two new video apps this last week to do our share of bumping up the demand on internet bandwidth: Zoom, Marco Polo.

Our gophers seem to be more active. Maybe the higher anxiety levels of humans around them are inducing increased gopher anxiety and activity. They may be also thinking that that black cat that spends sooooo much time near their recent work is up to no good — he might be increasing their anxiety. Yeah, whatever, unless that cat brings a gopher into the house we’re not getting involved with the little guys. Actually last summer he did bring a gopher into the house! The gopher was very dead and we think the cat did this to show his mom what a good boy he was!

Ooooops! Property tax. Almost forgot. Even under normal conditions I’ve been known to forget! Delinquent if not paid by April 10.

Toward the end of a day I’ve been known to say where’s all this time that’s spozed to be on my hands? Where did today go?

A perfectly respectable download speed as long as it doesn’t vary much

On a rational level it’s obvious to me that for various reasons I’m in a much more comfortable and much less risky position than many, many others.

Yes, at 78, I’m in a high risk category simply based on age, but aside from that I really have little to worry about or fuss over.

So much for being rational. I also can tell I’ve got a general, low level, anxiety cloud over me.

**Awfully droopy tulips. This pandemic gets me down a bit but not this much.**

Life is different now for sure. There are many, many loose ends — maybe I dislike loose ends more than I think I do. Except when I’m making a grocery list, I’m not accustomed to even thinking about TP, favorite food items, drinking water, to name a few. The iPad class I lead is cancelled for now, there are still a couple of loose ends with TJ’s flower donations, a group trip to Catalina Island has been cancelled, our May trip to Las Vegas and June trip to Seattle probably won’t happen, and there’s no word on what Mason’s high school is gonna do about his graduation.

Yes, I’ve been affected but it just doesn’t feel as significant as what others are dealing with. It still feels like my day-to-day life hasn’t changed much.

I’m not worried about a job or keeping the lights on next month, not just because I’ve been able to avoid checking on my retirement accounts. Grocery delivery is more expensive than shopping ourselves but that seems minor. I’m not concerned about a compromised respiratory system unlike friends dealing with asthma, chemotherapy, or COPD. There are no additional people around the house. I don’t have small children (or medium or large) to entertain, keep sanitized, threaten my sanity, or provide for.

This could be a bit depressing, but so far I haven’t been lower than gloomy. (Wonder what Chris would say?)

Good water still is available at our taps, electrical service is just fine, gas is nicely supplied to our stove, clothes dryer, and wall heaters, trash is picked up on its usual schedule, internet is at least pretty good, the sun still shines, and someday we’re all gonna realize our toilet paper supply is adequate.

My general health is pretty good. In December and February we spent a bundle on new eyes and ears for me — actually, cataract surgery and hearing aids. Together, though, they cost about half as much as a new car and they’re more significant and useful than a new car.

I keep coming back to the feeling that I’m fortunate.

Interesting events

Jamile’s lawyer called Chris last week and discussed the possibility of her release. As in many states, Hawaii has released many of its incarcerated residents. We didn’t get a sense of how likely this is for Jamile. Jail or prison is not a good place to be during this pandemic.

We’ve heard from Jamile that some of the items we’ve sent have reached her and at least one of her buddies. The photos I picked off her friend’s Facebook site and printed had arrived, and several books Chris sent via Amazon had also arrived.

Well, I’m not exactly interested in dying right now for any reason, but I don’t want to die without my affairs in better order. In addition, if I die in the next few months I will not have gotten our money’s worth out of my new eyes and ears. We’ve both received great benefit and pleasure in the couple of months I’ve had them, but, as Kathleen Turner so famously said in The Jewel of the Nile, “I want more!”

To help me think about this better I calculated two rough estimates of my chances of dying in the next six months.

First, from the coronavirus:
(30% chance I’ll contract Covid-19) X (4% death rate if I contract disease)
= About 1.2% chance I’ll die of Covid-19 during this pandemic)

This is about 1 chance in 83. If there’s a factor of 2 uncertainty here, which is entirely possible, then this estimate suggests chances from 1 in 40 to 1 in 200 that I’ll die from Covid-19.

Second, from “natural causes”:
Using the 2016 CDC mortality tables (most recent easily available tables)
for an average U.S. 78 yr-old white male (my age group):
9.5 year life expectancy (half of us in this category will be dead by 2029),
and 4.6% chance of dying during year from 78 to 79,
= about 2.3% chance of my dying in next six months, which is about 1 in 43.

Looks to me as though those estimates have come out about the same, given the uncertainties. There is about same chance for me dying from Covid-19 as from just being an old white guy!

I’m still working on what I’m gonna do with these estimates.

**Abandoned at Melrose, MA DPW; The Devil’s own workshop said Peter. Wonder what DPW did with the stuff? Gotta ask Peter.**

Groceries: list of March 14
Of the 16 items on list:
5 — normal supply;
4 — severely limited;
7 — all out.

Latest order arrived about 7 pm last night March 31;
25 items on list
20 got just what I requested (or very close)
3 good substitutes
2 Nada (no disinfecting wipes and no hand sanitizer; no surprise there)
=> Situation may be improving

Day brighteners and where would we be without senses of humor?

Peter’s visual puns

This is a pandemic isolation video. If you watch it I suggest you watch all 20 seconds. It won’t make sense otherwise, and you’ll roll your eyes and chalk it up to my annoying, head-shaking sense of humor, or just my general lack of character. The video has brightened several of my recent days.

The three photos below:

Chris is ready! Gonna do a little shopping.
Memorable scene for both of us from Sydney Harbor Bridge, Australia. Shutterfly was pleased to remind me of all the photos I uploaded of the event in hopes I might buy more prints or even another copy of the photo book I made.
Deliveries here are real bright spots, especially the coffee! It arrived one morning last week just as I was getting up — very nice way to start day. I hope all these delivery people are being properly cautious. Yeah, how safe are those guys? I’m sure we’ll see some statistics soon.

This is a link to the Atlas Obscura video about a scrotum. Yes, a scrotum. It definitely brightened my day. It’s a couple of minutes long, which might be more of a commitment than you were looking for.

BFF Laura from TJ’s called at 8:15am this morning. Turns out I’m the only volunteer from various charitable organizations still collecting flower donations from TJ’s. How ’bout that?! The pickup should be OK for me — by the time I arrive the grocery carts holding the flowers have been processed and are all ready to go, I can keep the 6 foot distance, and then leave out their way-back door. Shouldn’t be any riskier than senior hours. Must say I’m still not completely comfortable with the operation.

Well, I’m not really completely comfortable interacting with anyone, anymore. Chris is still OK, though.

Final three recent images:
Ballet in Times Square
Ebola handshake (screen capture showing I didn’t make this up!)
Fart humor

<<<<<End of post

The Coronavirus starts to hit Home

2020-03-202020-03-19 by Paul

Friday, March 20, 2020, Santa Barbara, California.

This blog post collects photos, impressions, news of the period from Wednesday, March 11 to Friday, March 20. These impressions are mine and mine alone. This is not a news report. This is not comprehensive. This is not scientific.

The situation is changing fast. A few days ago our Governor Newsom said if we were over 65 then he really wanted us to stay home. It didn’t apply to those younger.

Last evening, the San Jose Mercury News reported, “Marking the most sweeping measure taken by a state to slow the spread of the COVID-19 disease, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered all of the state’s 40 million residents to stay at home with exceptions for essential work, food or other needs.”

We plan to simply abide by the order, and not second guess it or flaunt it.

Solana Beach Trip Wed, March 11 to Sat, March 14

On Wednesday, March 11th, Chris and I took Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner to Solana Beach (San Diego area, 5½ hours each way). There were only 6 – 8 people in the whole car — about the same number on the return on Saturday, March 14th.

It was a friendly, low key visit with friends Kim and Marty at their condo there. Solana Beach felt very normal, not very different from pre-coronavirus times. Our hosts thought tables in at least one brewpub were spaced farther apart than normal, but at Pizza Port we had just the normal crowding, noise, and good beer.

Last Friday, still in Solana Beach, I was told my iPad class was cancelled for now. No real surprise there, but it helped me realize how much I enjoy conducting it.

Cancellations were being inflicted on Kim and Marty, too, and Kim immediately started looking forward to using her newly cleared schedule to do some good things she hadn’t had a chance to do yet. This immediate positive spin was very nice to see.

More detailed events and thoughts; all about me, me, me!

It’s nice not to be alone through this.

Unless one or both of us is clobbered by Covid-19 we’re gonna be OK.

Acquiring food will take more thought and time and money, but so far we’ve seen we can order and then pickup sushi with no trouble. We’ve ordered groceries from two organizations who send individuals out to grocery stores to pickup items for us, and we were very pleased with how that worked out.

Financially? I’ve been able to avoid checking on our retirement accounts. I know they’ve taken big hits but I don’t know how big. I do know I don’t have to worry about keeping our lights on or paying for groceries next month and I’m not worried about being furloughed. I also know not all are so fortunate.

Our internet, water, trash, gas, cell phones, and electricity services all seem to be operating normally. Phew!

The same day we got back from almost normal Solana Beach I was off to Vons and Trader Joe’s for what I thought would be an almost normal grocery run.

I was shocked by the empty shelves!

After doing the best I could at Vons, I remember thinking TJ’s might be better. I wonder why I thought that?

This is the list I brought to Vons and Trader Joe’s Saturday — just normal weekly items for us. The shortages are not our fault! No! No! No!

The list comprises 16 blue handwritten items on this piece of cardboard.

Of the 16:
5 — normal supply;
4 — severely limited;
7 — all out.

Orange text points out items missing or barely acceptable.

Green text says situation is not hopeless.

Would like to think folk less fearful than this. Oh well.

I would like to believe we don’t really don’t have toilet paper or peanut butter shortages in this country. But I hope as we get more accustomed to these various restrictions people will start thinking we’ve got enough peanut butter at home and we can actually buy some more without too much trouble so maybe we don’t need to keep stocking up any more.

To me this means the distribution of goods may be adjusted just enough so shelves will fill back up in about a week? Several weeks? Am I smoking something? It gets better from here? Or are these the last of the good days?

This morning Andrea wrote that she thought the groceries situation in Lancaster, PA was relatively normal. She was able to get 13 of 14 items on her list. Have they been hunkering longer than we have?

I’ve seen some signs of serious cooperation, innovation, flexibility, and altruism and it’s heartening.

The peanut butter “shortage” seems to be hitting me hardest! Surprise! Well, small surprise. Just saw a few cases of the stuff on the lawn at the Franklin Center as part of normal free food distribution on Tuesday. There seemed to be fewer people and they weren’t so close together. (And I felt a twinge of how come they can get peanut butter and I can’t?) (I’m trying to rise above that, but not really doing very well, am I?)

Chris and I tested the library’s new delivery system Wednesday. First you telephone to schedule a time slot at our Eastside Library branch to pick up that book they’ve told you they now hold. Then you show up at the right time and knock loudly on the locked outer door. This guy then shows up carrying a book and holds it up so you can see it’s the right one. You nod and hold up your ID and he nods and then opens the door about 4 inches and hands you the book. I was about 15 feet back and exchanged waves with him. Then we turn around and walk all the way home (all one and a half blocks) wearing a goofy grin. I’m not really sure what was so enjoyable about that.

Just a few minutes ago Chris told me it looks like the library isn’t gonna continue to do the hand-the-books-through-the-crack-in-the-door delivery scheme. Too labor intensive? Too much fun? Sure was fun while it lasted.

Yesterday we tried to get CVS to deliver our three prescriptions that were ready. They tout this free service a lot. Should be easy to get it to happen, right? WRONG!

We finally figured out that CVS requires you to pay a membership fee of $60/year for some sort of exalted status that allows you to call and talk to a human being to arrange final details. Let’s say I am not impressed. Sometime before final figuringitoutness Chris just went down there and picked up the prescriptions the old-fashioned way.

Because we’re both well past the threshold for being vulnerable older folk, I expect to check into senior hours soon at several local supermarkets.

One of our volleyball friends gave me one of their 4 large jars of peanut butter! I’m still smiling about that one. I’m set for weeks!

In Lancaster, PA daughter Andrea felt grocery shopping was almost normal — got 13 of the 14 items on her list.

Nine known Covid-19 cases in Santa Barbara County now; six in North county (Santa Maria area), three in South (Santa Barbara area).

===== END OF POST =====

2019 Thanksgiving in Seattle

2019-12-162019-12-08 by Paul

Tuesday, November 26 to Monday, December 2, 2019.

Clicking on an image will show it enlarged. Clicking on enlarged image will toggle caption on and off. All images have captions. (Well, I've tried to add a caption to every image.)

Literally at the beginning of our traveling, at 1:30 pm Tuesday as our plane takes off, I look over my right shoulder and see flames from the Cave fire!

Wednesday, November 27 — the day before Thanksgiving

The Cave fire is very much on our minds on our way down to breakfast. We need an update.

Day after the Cave wildfire; the Santa Barbara fire official who posted photo said this will probably be the last time in his life he writes about snow helping the fire-fighting effort!

Sitka took me on a nice walk. Start and finish near upper right corner of loop (orange path).

Thursday, November 28 — the day

Always time for some silliness; well almost always.

Friday, November 29 — the day after

Traditions we’ve developed for the day after Thanksgiving in the last 5 or 10 years include: I meet my old friends Jean and Chuck for breakfast somewhere; the rest of the group goes to the Macy’s parade in downtown Seattle, freezes their respective butts off and begins recovery afterward at Top Pot donuts; Christmas decorations are put up (or at least started).

Met Jean & Chuck in the 1970s in Logan, Utah back when we were all Gentiles (i.e., non-Mormons).

Google’s suggestion for walking from our hotel to breakfast spot

Saturday, November 30

This year’s biennial holiday card. I really like the look on Chris’s face!

Sunday, December 1

Taken at home but my favorite current dessert came up in a conversation once.

===== End of post

October 2019, Las Vegas

2019-12-102019-11-04 by Paul

Sunday, October 27 to Wednesday, October 30, 2019

The usual Las Vegas trip: three nights, Chris gets to work, I get to do whatever I want.

Everybody does food photos now, no? So here’s mine: a photo of a jumbled counter at home reminding me of my breakfast the morning before the trip.

Elements of last breakfast before our flight

===== Sunday breakfast at home on 27th
peanut butter granola
oat crunch
last banana in house
last raspberries
last grapes
last kebab meat chunks from recent meal at Zaytoon restaurant
last chunk of tofu
last sweet pepper (orange)
coffee
soy milk
pills
dried plum, fig, date

In getting to the Santa Barbara Airport we cut our timing too close. United tells us to expect delay of almost an hour — and then takes it back! It’s not our fault we arrive later than we want.

Then when we finally arrive we find the nearby long-term lot is full!

But off-site lot #2 is only 4 min. away and the shuttle returns me to the ticket counters without any waiting, but still, this costs us about 15 minutes that we really aren’t sure we have. It’s not our fault! This is the same long-term lot I we used several times but years ago. I think the last time was before 9-11! Eighteen years ago! Do I have that right? (No, not the math! Whether it’s really that long ago since I used that lot.) Eventually our flight departs only 15 min late, and we’re on it. Phew!

We arrive in Las Vegas right on time. How are we gonna whine about that? Yeah, yeah, we see the big Welcome to Las Vegas mural and the slot machines that are tempting to many but I have to pee so stopping for even a minute to gamble is not one of my choices. (Best not to trifle with a 78-year-old prostate.) (Stopping to gamble would have been gambling squared!)

Then in Terminal 3 we find our ol’ bunny friend! The bunny’s location In Terminal 1 had been usurped a couple years ago by a Raiders team paraphernalia kiosk. What a good idea! I imagine someone with a vote in the matter must have mentioned the bunny isn’t generating much income.

Besides being adorable just because he’s a sweet little bunny, Chris and I used to find him very useful as a reference point: turn left at the bunny to get to the United Club; or Ruby’s Restaurant is down the hallway of Terminal 1 just past the bunny.

The bunny!

Groove vs. Rut distinction comes to mind for describing many routine activities during the rest of trip. A comfortable, efficient way of doing something might feel smooth and pleasant to one person but confining and in a rut to another.

Usual events on this trip, and candidates for being a groove or a rut:

LAX United Club;
Division of labor dealing with luggage getting on and off plane;
Renting car at Alamo: turn left as we walk in rental car facility, and bypass the jammed counter area because of our skip-the-counter-area printout;***
Leaving the facility for the routine drive to hotel, we know that of the three lanes leaving the facility I need to be in the middle lane and once I’m out on Gilespie I have half a block to get 3 more lanes left so I can turn left on Warm Springs.
Marty tells us our room number (#114 this trip) and because we have been here so many times we can then guess best place to park. (We’re correct!)
In our room we unpack efficiently (3 nights is worth unpacking for): no need to discuss side of bed, side of closet, whose drawers are whose; and, as usual, I go down to the front desk and request an additional set of towels and an additional bar of soap.
Take Chris to Biodermis in the morning without a word. Here, too, know proper lane to be in when ….
And from Biodermis back to hotel I know where to turn into the back driveway of that strip mall so I can get directly into the parking area at the back of the hotel, otherwise, half a block later, you can’t turn left where you expect to because ….
By now I’ve learned the back way (you know, the shortcut through that parking lot) from Biodermis to the nearest CVS.
In the hotel bistro that serves breakfast, Chris has made 2 friends of the women who work there, Elaine and Clancy; they seem delighted when they see her, and make a delight noise, and come out from behind the counter to give Chris a big hug; I got a couple hugs myself this trip;
For returning the car, we have another routine: fill up at Sunset and Sunset (that’s not a typo!) around 2pm on final day of trip; then an hour or two later on our way to the airport, we go down Green Valley Blvd to Warm Springs and then west to Gilespie; can finally turn left into the Rental Car Facility only after passing yellow curb and painted lines in center of road;

Yup, brings up the ‘ol Groove vs. Rut distinction some of us seem to like to ruminate on.

***Footnote or web note, whatever: Our grooveness and rutness was now considerably slowed by first the oldest and then the second oldest rental car employees in Nevada, first in finding a car, then in dealing with registering etc. so we could drive away. Yes, roll eyes, and maybe even shake head — whadaryagonnado.

For Sunday evening dinner Kim and Marty choose Great Greek rather than the customary Sammy’s. I’m flattered they choose, or even want, to spend as much time with us as they do. We’re familiar with Great Greek. It’s good, and it’s hardly a hardship, besides, Marty is paying.

Clips from bags of coffee make excellent cable ties; they work well and are very inconspicuous

Monday, crack of dawn, it’s time for Chris to begin slaving away, and unfortunately it’s time for me to do some slaving to set up her computer. We use the Biodermis monitor, keyboard, and mouse that live in the conference room that Chris takes over for her command center. The heavy, black, wire clips from my empty coffee bags turn out to be a hit and are barely visible in bundling her black cables.

It’s Sammy’s for Monday evening dinner. If we were in a rut, we would find this difficult because Sammy’s is for our day of arrival. We, however, adapt admirably.

During our meal Kim and Marty both take exception to the possible suggestion of a friend that I may not be doing much in my retirement. My friend had simply asked what I’d been doing those 11 or 12 years and I didn’t have a ready answer. Now, a couple years later, I appreciate the question and am working on a reply. Of course, the reply is mainly for me. Her question is a very useful reference but I’m still flattered Kim and Marty take exception.

Google might be misleading people? (This is my favorite sign of the trip!)

I’m slightly lost when I find this gate and sign blocking my way. I’m not looking for Ethel M Chocolates but I just want to … oohhhhh never mind. Takes me a few seconds to figure it out and I’ve been smiling about it since. My guess is the Ethel M chocolate company heard too many visitors grumbling about Google’s directions to their factory/showroom that they figured out the situation and paid for this sign to be added to the gate.

I was just now thinking, that because I’m retired and maybe bored out of my mind I’d ask Google for their suggestion of a route to get from Biodermis to Ethel M Chocolate. So I ask Google Maps for directions and sure enough, they suggest I go right through this gate.

Because I’m sooooo bored I then ask Google Earth for directions for walking, bicycling, and driving. Different routes are suggested but none suggested I go through this gate. Yay! for Google Earth.

Because I’m sooooo very very bored I asked Google Earth for the area of the dark rectangular area between the red and green dots on the sign. I happen to know it’s a huge solar array. Well, it’s my idea of a huge solar array. Ahhh, that’s why the controlled gate. Google Earth says the array is over 500 feet along the long side, and the total area is about 2.6 acres.

The biggest single event of my Tuesday is Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area. For being so large and close I’m surprised at how almost tricky it is to find. I wind up being so desperate I wind up using my phone’s map and GPS capabilities. I take the Petroglyph Trail, one of two trail choices, but I don’t make it to the petroglyphs. It’s a nice day for a hike: upper 60s °F, sunny, light breeze, no bugs, few hikers.

Tuesday evening at Kim & Marty’s:
Special dark beer appears that Marty bought with me in mind because he was sure I’d like it (he was right!): Great Basin Brewing Co. 412 Scytale Barrel-aged Imperial Stout; 13.1% alc/vol. Oldest brewery in Nevada established 1993? Prohibition ended in 1933 so what about those 60 years? No older breweries in Nevada than that?

From Wikipedia: The company was established in 1993 after Nevada brewers, including company founders Tom Young and Eric McClary, successfully lobbied the Nevada Legislature to allow for brewpubs in the state.[5]

OK, there was a law changed allowing brewpubs but what about breweries that made the stuff and sold it to distributors, bars, … ,? Yeah, but I ran out of steam on this question and didn’t pursue it. Oh well.

We end this post with a couple of gratuitous images of Hoover Dam and the nearby Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge. The dam and bridge are 37 miles from Las Vegas so they’re close and I’ve visited couple of times but not this trip. I seem to need a fix of some sort every now and then. You may also remember that I’m bored out of my mind, and that I like Google Earth a lot.

One more final thing. How could I have almost forgotten? The nearly required safe-arrival-home photo. Yes, it’s actually the morning after but the light level and the photographer’s energy level are much better than right as we walk in the door at 12:30am when it’s dark and cold and really tired out.

The photo is taken pretty much at the crack of dawn if you didn’t get to bed until 1:30am the night before and were worn down by 3 days of slaving away at Biodermis.

The photo also features Chris’s two attack cats who are happy to see their mom is back. They’ve put aside their occasional petty differences and are doing their part to ensure her arrival is indeed safe.

##### End of post

The Great Parlor Gopher Hunt

2019-12-102019-10-23 by Paul

Inigo resting up for his next nap (or next gopher hunt)

Wednesday, October 16, 2019 9:30ish pm

I’m watching TV, expecting Inigo to check-in any time now. Usually he does this by appearing in my lap. No huffing, puffing, meowing, or traipsing across the floor noises. He’s a smooth, shadowy, guy.

Chris is not home. She is traveling south on Amtrak’s Coast Starlight train and is now near Klamath Falls, Oregon. She can provide some emotional support for what I’m about to go through, but that’s about it.

The text messages that comprise the heart of this story appear below and are unedited except for one naughty word that I censored.

What is Diana’s name doing in there? No idea. With my mumbling and dithering the dictation software did the best it could. I probably meant for the word to be “dictate.”

There’s at least one typo in there, too, but you’re gonna have to deal. Remember this is the tail end of my day and I’m not at my sharpest.

I have reasons to have expected our small prey to be a gopher, but I’m not gonna get into that.

During the big hunt, when Inigo and I are sometimes only a few feet apart, in a corner, say, I’d try to explain to him what I’m doing in a calm, ordinary voice. Calm, normal voice and no quick, noisy movements from me. I didn’t want him freaking out when I was moving furniture right near him. Good boy Inigo.

Note that the action covers about 2 hours Wednesday evening, and the final words are Chris’s on Thursday Morning.

Our little saga begins that fateful Wednesday night when instead of realizing there’s a 9-pound cat in my lap, I hear some thumping nearby. In the dark living room I see the outline of a black cat who’s almost always hard to see anyway with a dark, fist-sized, object in his mouth.

I turn a light on not knowing what else I’m gonna see and by then the mouthful is gone and the chase is on.

Paul to Chris, 9:46 pm
Dear little Inigo brought a gopher into our living room. He was torturing it for a while and then it got away and neither he nor I know where the little critter is now. Yikes!

Chris to Paul, 10:27 pm
Oh no!! Good luck!!

Paul to Chris, 10:31 pm
Yeah, good luck is right. Inigo and I still haven’t found the little [naughty word censored!].

Chris to Paul, 10:34 pm
That sounds horrible. And it’ll be the most inconvenient time. Yuck! I feel very badly for you!

Paul to Chris, 11:21 pm
We got him! And I do mean we. I was just starting to Diana response to you and I heard great commotion from the parlor and Inigo was on his trail again.

Chris to Paul, 11:23 pm
Inigo would realize where he was and I would then gently methodically start removing obstacles to expose him. Finally I had a chance to smack him with them meter stick. I smote him and then I had a chance to put him out of his misery. I didn’t enjoy that at all.

Paul to Chris, 11:24

Inigo and I turned the living room upside down. Well — I was the muscle, Inigo the brains.

The living room now looks like this.

The corpse; All ready for mounting in the trophy room.

Paul to Chris, 11:26 pm
The late gopher looked like this. I think that’s a rat actually.

Paul to Chris, 11:27
Phew!

Chris to Paul, 7:54 am Thursday
Wow! THAT was drama! Sounds like you & Inigo were quite the team! I’m very, very glad you guys won the battle. And the smiting. No, it really doesn’t sound like fun (at least for you). But selfishly I’m glad it’s done before I got home.

But I bet Inigo enjoyed going on the hunt with his dad!

>>>>>End of Gopher story

Chris’s Big Trip — Part 2

2019-12-102019-10-21 by Paul

This post is my view of days 11-19 of Chris’s trip. The only photos taken during the trip that are in this post were texted to me at the time by Chris. There are thousands of photos taken during the trip they haven’t shown me yet.

Thu Oct 10
This is theIr 2nd day out from Toronto. We pick up the saga where the first post left off — just as our hardy crew is leaving Winnipeg, Manitoba.

That evening Chris and I have a brief, uncertain, call — cell coverage is spotty. I’m able to hear her tell me that it’s snowing, though!

Fri 11th
C calls from somewhere near Saskatoon. We have an actual conversation! Nice!

Sat 12th
Edmonton Jasper Kamloops I don’t remember hearing a bit about any of these places even though I expected some of the best scenery of the entire trip here. Maybe someone will show me a photo or two before long.

Sun 13th Vancouver
This was the 5th day out from Toronto, and our intrepid crew finally gets hotel rooms for the night!

Meanwhile back at the ranch, I pick up two library books for Chris and send her a photo of the books for verisimilitude (so she can see that I actually picked them up, didn’t just say I did). I’ve spared readers the photo of the two books. Pretty exciting photo, though. Chris is spared that photo, also, but not by choice! The system has decided somehow she’s unworthy and tells her the photo she’s been trying to download has expired because she dithered so long and now is deleted.

Mon 14th
Day spent around and about in Vancouver

I download a book sample to my Kindle app of Mary Elizabeth Williams’ account of her cancer. After the Dedication page, and author’s note comes this “Spoiler ” page, shown here. Got my attention.

Looks like an example of a very leaky magnet!

Tue 15th
To Seattle (0900-1245)

First thing for me, I notice small, dark puddle on the kitchen counter near the fridge. I delay my breakfast, figure it out, and restore the universe to its proper order. I am not pleased to begin my day this way. Culprit is a leaky old can of Coca Cola up in the most distant part of the cupboard above the refrigerator.

The rest of day for our travellers is spent around and about Seattle, including a visit to the Space Needle and then dinner at Michelle and Bobby’s house. I send her a photo of where I’ve hidden a house key, because in two days she’s likely to get home when no one’s there and would prefer not to wait for me.

Wed 16th
Depart Seattle on final leg of trip 0945 from King Street Station, a grand old station restored to its original 1906 self in 2013.

SEATTLE (AP) – April 2013 The historic waiting room at Seattle’s King Street rail station has been restored to look exactly as it did when it opened in 1906 with its ornamental plaster ceiling, Corinthian columns, mosaic floor tiles and a massive bronze chandelier.

Inigo and I go on great gopher hunt in the parlor of our house when our crew is near Klamath Falls, OR. Summary and spoiler here: we prevail, and, it wasn’t a gopher but a rat. More details forthcoming in a separate blog post.
Best line of the evening is Chris’s: But I bet Inigo enjoyed going on the hunt with his dad!

Thu 17th
Second and final day of Amtrak’s Coast Starlight Train down the U.S. west coast

They see a small brush fire right near the tracks near El Capitan Canyon when they’re so close to home. They can see flames, air tankers and fire-fighting helicopters. An alert arrives on C’s phone telling her to evacuate now! They would not have been surprised if their train was delayed (which it was not).

Arrival is right on time, 5:55pm, while I’m recording a Breast Cancer Resource Center panel presentation/discussion at the First Presbyterian Church on Constance.

Jim collects all the travelers and gets some nice arrival photos.

They go out to dinner.
Chris arrives home before I do and uses the hidden key. I arrive about half an hour later.

<<<<< end of post

Chris’s Big Trip by Train

2019-12-102019-10-13 by Paul

With Diane, Bonnie, and Wayne. Jim and I both stayed home, in case.

The group left Santa Barbara September 29, 2019, and will return October 17.

The Plan, plus notes on the first 11 days of the trip

Note to readers: Captions can be tricky. Anytime you see the first few words of a caption ending in an ellipsis ( … ) it means you’re not seeing the whole thing. You’ll be able to see the rest by just moving the cursor over the words you can see, without moving or clicking for about a second (I realize that’s too long for some of us, but that’s the way it is).

Maybe it’s only half a second.

In slideshow mode, entered by clicking on any image in a gallery or group, full captions are toggled on and off by simply clicking anywhere in the image.

Change trains in Los Angeles and head for Chicago.

After two days in a hotel in Chicago, it’s on to NYC

Now to Toronto and Vancouver

Two nights in NYC, then three in Toronto, makes five straight nights in hotels.

That’s the trip as of Wednesday, October 10. Well, on the 11th Chris actually called from somewhere near Saskatoon and we enjoyed an actual (private) conversation but no photos or written words.

Oh, one more thing, I cleaned up both kitty “accidents” about as soon as I took the photos, so you can stop worrying.

I’m posting this Sunday the 13th. They shoulda arrived in Vancouver at 8 this morning. I’d expect to hear from Chris soon.

End of post

Reminders of Kate

2019-12-102019-07-16 by Paul

After Janie Ivey’s initial inspiration in early June I started ruminating on reminders of Kate Ocean. It’s three and a half years now since she died and I’m still reminded of her frequently, and once I started assembling this blog I found my list growing and growing.

Here is a sampling, by no means complete, of these reminders. Their ordering isn’t quite random — the first couple and the final couple are among my favorites.

Valentine’s hearts hanging on ceilings

Valentine's Day decorations 2013 at old BCRC — Valentine’s Day decorations 2013 at old BCRC

Now is the timeNow is the timeNow is the timeNow is the time — The lone heart still hanging on Chris’s and my living room ceiling

Left photo is from 2013. When “B” and I first learned of Kate’s desire to hang hearts from the the ceiling of BCRC (Breast Cancer Resource Center—old location) we thought it was a terrible idea, but Kate persisted and I worked out a way to do it that wasn’t too bad! (Faint praise, eh?)

Shortly after BCRC moved to its new location I wondered if Kate’s and my decorating careers were over. They were. We didn’t decorate for another event.

The right-hand photo shows the lone heart from 2013 still hanging on Chris’s and my living room ceiling. This was my ceiling test area.

The Milpas roundabout

The roundabout at Milpas and the 101 in Santa Barbara

I love the Milpas roundabout at the 101, and every time I’m here I think of Kate who would drive out of her way to AVOID it. Oh well. (Image constructed by Google Earth from photographs and a simulated viewpoint of several hundred feet altitude.)

There are now plants in our kitchen bay window

Kate would want to repot this. Chris would say no, it’ll just grow bigger. Repeat.

In our nice, sunny kitchen bay window we didn’t always have plants. I remember Kate being horrified by our (well, I ‘spoze, mostly Paul) keeping kitchen tools there such as a colander, cheesy plastic containers, and other unworthy items right where Kate knew plants belonged.

On the right is a current photo of a Christmas cactus (gift of Kate Ocean!) that has taken over the bay window. If Kate could see it, she’d say, oh Chris, we need to repot your plant. Then Chris would say, nooo, if you do that it’ll just grow bigger still and then you’ll want to repot it again.

Then, if there was another time, Kate would say, oh Chris, we need to repot … and Chris would say …. I THINK we would all enjoy these scenes!

Most times I drive by her street (either South Voluntario or East Figueroa)

Stopping by her place after picking up flowers from Trader Joes’s

I don’t do this any more, of course, but still it was a little jarring when I realized I’ve mostly forgotten that during her final few years with us, after picking up one or two grocery carts of donated flowers from TJ’s, I’d usually stop at her place on my way to BCRC to drop off a couple of bouquets. I’d usually wind up with a cup of coffee out of the deal, too.

It was in making our simple drop-off arrangements I got adept at sending text messages between our (not smart) phones. I always got a kick out of thinking of the two of us relative old farts comfortably exchanging text messages (we were both so much older than the typical texting demographic!).

Small fish table; and other things

For example: ceramic coaster featuring a very large letter “K”, Christmas plate that “B” and Kate gave us loaded with cookies, Nordstrom towel, Loo sign.

Her Nordy's towel — Her Nordy’s towel
Now on Chris’s and my refrigerator

The Loo sign
Now outside my bathroom. I helped her hang this in her last two apartments.

Photos

Janey and Kate at a recent BCRC Christmas Tea and Fashion Show

I have a couple hundred photos where she appears, and, of course, any time I see one it’s a reminder; here, with Janie, e.g..

Marshmallow roasting sticks still beside our fireplace

The marshmallow roasting sticks — still here

We used them during the S’mores part of our 2 or 3 Christmas Eves together. I cut them from a bamboo stand in our back yard. In the left photo, which is NOT a reenactment, I’m pretty sure one of the hands is Kate’s. In the right photo, taken a couple of weeks ago, the same sticks are still there, waiting.

And speaking of Christmas Eve …

On the first Christmas Eve at our house with Kate, she and I went out on our back patio to check out the Star Walk app on our iPads and as we were holding an iPad up against the dark sky and inviting the app to tell us about the constellations we were looking at, Santa and reindeer dashed by. They don’t run or gallop, do they? Don’t they dash? How can you not like that? Anyway, in this example these guys are dashing past the constellation Pegasus. The dashed line is the Earth’s apparent path across the heavens. Completely gratuitous feature of the app! Christmas Eve only.

Any time I pick up either of the Kate photo books I assembled

It’s a concentrated reminder and a real visceral twang.

Any time I think of the Celebration of Kate’s life at the mission

I remember the distinct pleasure of working with a terrific group of others to do the best we could for Kate’s memory, Kate’s many friends, and ourselves.

Mobile hanging in Chris’s room — a birthday gift to Chris from Kate

Begonia photo from our daughter Kate

Photo recently arrived (without any prompting) from daughter Kate showing current healthy state of her cutting from RB or RBjr living in Melrose, Massachusetts.

Left: begonia, RB Jr., is shown at Kate Ocean’s Voluntario Street place in about 2013. RB is from Ruby Begonia, Kate’s name for the begonia Chris acquired from her mother many years ago that is somehow still alive despite Chris’s care. RB Jr. is from a cutting from Chris’s plant. She fussed over this little guy a bunch, whose health I felt she somehow connected to her own.

Right: photo recently arrived (without any prompting or any idea that I was assembling this list) from daughter Kate showing current healthy state of her cutting from RB or RBjr that has grown up and is now living in Melrose, Massachusetts.

Trips — At the Santa Barbara airport a couple weeks ago, e.g.

Just before leaving Santa Barbara, I found myself ready to take a socks photo, something I routinely used to do for Kate when I was out of town. Besides a socks photo (especially my heart socks that I came to think of as my travel socks) I’d email a goofy safe-arrival photo, and maybe others. When we returned from trips she’d ask how are the babies? (Meaning the cats.) She seemed to enjoy hearing about our trips, not feel bad because we were reminding her she may not have the wherewithal to do similar travelling.

Reminder from Shutterfly of 7 years ago

Shutterfly emailed this collage to me just a couple of months age.

Collage from Shutterfly
Semi-random reminders from Shutterfly encouraging me to order prints, photobooks, etc.

I’ve uploaded several thousand photos to their website over the last 10 years, and produced many photobooks and lots of prints of many sizes from them, so they have lots of photos and projects they can remind me of.

This particular group of photos is from Kate and Reggie’s Hawaii trip of October 2010, and BCRC’s annual December Tea and Fashion Show of probably the same year. (No, I don’t know where Shutterfly got seven years ago — may not be worth any time investment doing some math here.)

Annual French Festival in Santa Barbara

She always spoke so fondly of the French Festival. This notice was emailed to me just a few weeks ago, so perhaps as long as there’s an active French Festival in town they’ll be reminding me of Kate every year about this time.

Shoe-changing bench

I probably see and use this bench of Kate’s more than any of the other reminders but somehow it was the last thing I thought of!

Note to those who might actually read this post: that possibly disparaging comment at the very, very end of this post is actually a link to, and the title of the previous post in this blog site, I do not mean it to say anything about the current post!

<<<<<end of post

This was not worth posting!

2020-08-292019-03-19 by Paul

South Butt tee shirt

Because of a delivery glitch Chris wound up with two, size large, long sleeve, grey tee shirts.

Now I am the proud owner of one of them. Grey isn’t a normal favorite color but free is an excellent price. I expect it to be a good initial layer on occasions.

Photo shows main elements of story: tee shirt with its logo, Chris’s North Face jacket with its logo, tee shirt tag from RedBubble company with washing instructions and world’s sweetest little clothespin.

The folk at RedBubble sound like a friendly, wacky group. The tee shirt logo is an obvious example and both sides of the tag provide others. The obverse claims it was printed by happy people with matching socks. The reverse says: cold wash only; don’t tumble dry: don’t iron print; don’t slap pandas.

I’d like to add another photo here, an enlarged shot of obverse and reverse sides of tag, but free version of app won’t allow it. I don’t think I’m going to buy the app.

But I’m writing these few lines on my kingmouse.blog blog and now I can add all the photos I want!

“happy people with matching socks” sounds pleasantly wacky to me!

“Don’t slap pandas”

Huh?

The tee shirt, the tag, and the sweet little clothespin are amusing for a minute but this is overdoing it.

This entry is a good example of writing up something up that isn’t worth it! After a good start here, I began to get that sinking feeling that I was pounding this topic to death.

Post here as an example of something I wouldn’t want to do again.

>>>>>end of post