70%

70% enjoys his time outside.

Adventures Had . . . and almost had . . .

Today we are headed to Muir Woods ( http://www.nps.gov/muwo/) it is about an hour north of us on the other side of San Francisco. The park has some pretty giant redwood trees. I don't know if they are the oldest or biggest in the country or the world, but I know they are old and big. I am sure I will have more details after our tourist adventure. We are bringing the good camera so there should be great photos. And, as a bonus we will have to cross the Golden Gate Bridge! We have not yet done this so we are both looking forward to it.

It continues to be a typical winter (read: wet season) here. Temp is about 60 degrees. It is sunny and bright. Sometimes it rains in the a.m. hours but today it is clear. We will bring our rain slickers because word on the street says it is wet in the woods, not a whole lot of sun gets through. The Girl has a snazzy stylish slicker, I of course, have a giant yellow duck jacket. It is actual foul weather gear, it works well though I don't at all blend in with the locals. And I will have you know, I won't be wearing the giant yellow overalls that go with it, so I will be feeling a little extra stylish. I may have a picture. OH, yes, this is the outfit I was wearing when I met The Girl (surprisingly she didn't think it was ridiculous, or maybe she did and that was OK---in my defense it was an outside day long music festival and it was raining and cold allllllllll day--I was talked into the boots at the last moment by RS as my girl shoes would not have been a wise choice, much like the Capri choice)

Adventures almost had . . . I was supposed to hang stuff yesterday. The Girl and I figured out where things should go. We didn't figure out a space for everything yet but we did find a place for the larger items. But I never hung anything. I went to the hardware store in town to get anchors and fasteners but got distracted. Short story long, I was out and about a long time. But I did hang one item today and will do more this week.

Merry Christmas

It is still Christmas Eve here and we aren't sure what sort of adventure tomorrow will bring. HAPPY CHRISTMAS.

The Longest Night

No, nobody was sick. Winter Solstice happened over the weekend. It is holiday I usually celebrate but it seemed to come an go this year without any celebration. The Girl and I talked about a Winter Solstice adventure but the day came and went. And today as I was driving back from a knitting circle, I realized that I have not donned one seasonal hat, no holiday earrings and not one string of lights on my person. At this point I doubt I will. I know where the stuff is in the garage, it's labeled and everything. I will say that my holiday season is a bit shorter than the general population, I don't do any Winter Holiday decorating or even planing until after the 13th of December ( I like to keep my birthday clear of the winter holiday celebrations). I haven't even strung up the Christmas cards; I don't know if I even will at this point.

I think the weather is part of it. There is no marker that winter is here, it is not crazy cold, there is no ice or snow (sorry if you recently found yourself snowed/iced in the house). Folks do decorate their homes. Certainly there is a retail buzz around, such as it is this season. Perhaps part of it is that the things that happen before winter didn't happen for me this year. There was no apple picking, no crazy day of baking 8 or 10 pies, no cookie bake, no Yule get together. Of course there is more. As the holidays roll around (and my birthday) I realize that things are just different. I miss my Mother in ways I didn't think I would in ways that I never anticipated. It is surprising and saddening to me all at the same time.

This shot is from Christmas 2006

A Fun and Silly Saturday Night

Yesterday we rode our bikes around town on errands and even into the next town over. It was a great way to spend the afternoon and it was a nice adventure. But the night then took a turn for the random and fun.

Here goes . . . first, dinner at the supermarket, second, a seek and secure mission for movie theater popcorn, third, watching a television show on the computer because we still haven't bothered to get cable. OMIGOSH it was totally fun. First, dinner at the supermarket -- really, it is more awesome than it sounds. After our errands we parked are bikes at home and headed directly to the grocery store, it is just a couple of blocks from the house so we went on foot and we knew we would be loosing daylight. The store is a lot like a Whole Foods in that htere is a lovely prepared food section, great breads and cheese and lots of natural food choices. So, we got yummy dinner and sat down there and ate it. We joked about how dinner at the supermarket was a fun outing, and it was. IT GETS BETTER. There was talk of a movie later in the evening but the evening got away from us, the local theater is a giant multiples and gets really crowded as the night goes on and we didn't want to deal with all that. So, the SECOND PORTION OF THE EVENING, involved driving to a closer independant movie theater to buy movie theater popcorn and then heading home to watch a television show on the computer because we still haven't bothered to get cable (and we aren't sure if we really will). What a great night.

The Girl has a little time off from work so we will be working on the packing process and having small adventures over the next two weeks. Hopefully photos and stories will appear in this very place.

Back on the Saddle

OK, I think I have used that title before . . . anyway, THE BIKE IS ALL BETTER. The Girl gave me a lift to San Jose this afternoon to pick up the motorcycle. Let me be the first to tell you, it is rockin'! The first California ride was a total success. I got lost and everything. The weather was a little chilly today but I was fine during the daylight even without the wind protection layer of my motorcycle jacket.

Just this very day I was on the phone with Rabid Squirrel and we were talking about motorcycles (OH AND THAT RS FINISHED HER BACHELORS DEGREE TODAY) and riding and stuff. She pretty much openly mocks me for my affection for the Vespa scooter. I mostly accept it because there is a grain of truth to it. Cruiser = mad cool, kinda bad ass and well, a little sexy. Scooter = scooter, less sexy, not at all bad ass and well, it's a scooter --- but they are SO CUTE!

Somewhat related, on the bike I realized two things and then a third thing at the moment of getting back into the development. Two things I realized - the motorcycle is really sooooo much cooler than a scooter (even though the scooter is still crazy cute) and that California smells wonderful. I think there are eucalyptus trees or something, really it is a fantastic scent. And the third thing you ask? The third thing that I discovered just one block from our house? I discovered that I had run out of gas. I put less than a gallon in to prep the bike for registration and to drive it to the darn gas station. Well, since the bike got towed, we never made it to the gas station. I drove 31 miles home and about town (never thinking to get gas) and the folks at the shop took it for a test drive. That might put me around 40 or 45 miles on three quarters of a gallon. I pushed the bike the last block. So sad. But I will again fill my little gallon container with gas and filler' up tomorrow and head on down to registration.

This is a photo of the day I got the bike. As you can see, she is a little bigger than a scooter.

Oh the people you'll see!!

Can you Stand it??