Wild Weather This Week! We Were Definitely Affected by it!

So we had some very dramatic weather two days this week. The thunder was so loud the first night, it vibrated through my floor that I could feel it.  I think I was in the middle of it then and I was glad to be home.  My cats became very still and anxious, but since I was there, they just stayed close to me.   We had flash floods and mudslides in our county the second day.  Many people were trapped but no one was hurt badly.  When they did get these people, they were put up in churches and schools until it was safe to leave.    Some people were stuck in their cars for twenty hours.  I would say  this was very scary for these people.   In Bakersfield, we had very heavy rains for a very short time, with flooding and some traffic accidents.  My friend Janet and I met at Mexicali the second night. It was raining heavily and I could hear the rumble of thunder outside. Right outside the window we saw an accident where a truck (a pickup) hit an elderly man in a car. The ambulance and fire truck were there helping this man. I think he was more shook up than hurt, though his car was really damaged.  

Highways 58 and 5 were closed which are the connections to Southern California, Los Angeles.  When this happens, trips south of us are canceled.  This ground cannot handle so much water at one time.  It must be spread out and come down less fiercely for us to get the benefit of water.  We are in a drought, but the extreme the other way does more damage than help us.   On Saturday, yesterday, they were still warning about flash floods and telling people up in the mountains to head for high ground immediately but I heard no further update, so compared to what they had, it must have been less.

Here  is a video of some of the mudslide on 5 filmed by ABC 23 News and pictures taken by news stations and people who were in it. 

https://www.facebook.com/CassieCarlisle23ABC/posts/868707033177820

This is Highway 99 Coming into the Central Valley

I was in a situation like this soon after I moved to Bakersfield 37 years ago.  I had stopped to get a large iced tea at a fast food restaurant less than an hour before I was in this spot on Interstate 5 just before the Grapevine.  Ugh!  It was one huge parking lot at night time with people wandering around.  I had to pee so bad! I didn't think I could make it.  I emptied the tea and used that container covering myself with a coat that I had. I was up there for about three hours.  Your don't usually think of preparing for situations like this.  After that, I found a urinal for women pilots that I kept in the car.  I have it somewhere.  I think I'd better find it and put it back in the car!

This is Highway 58.  Hundreds of cars were buried along with a lot of trucks!  Amazing that no one was hurt!

https://www.facebook.com/bakersfieldnow/posts/10153669457364935  This video is very scary.  Women in a car are screaming and swearing fearful for their lives. It was possible also to be pushed off the highway which could have meant a very long fall.

Mud Rose So High that Cars Topped Trucks!

Many Cars and Trucks Were Buried in the Mud

My daughter Shelley took a picture of the sunset that evening. You wouldn't have known we had had such dramatic weather that afternoon. It took until the following afternoon to clear the  99 freeway so traffic could get through!  Highway 58 is still closed!

Sunset from My Daughter Shelley's Home
Picture by Shelley

My daughter Ronda in Illinois is involved in a project making Teddy Bears for children at a local hospital. I am impressed. Here is the first one she finished. She is disabled, so I am impressed she is actively doing this. 

Ronda's First Teddy Bear She Made
for Children at a Local Hospital Near Her

I got some pictures of my two great grandsons, Conner and Kason. Conner is a good big brother and they are very close. 

My Grandson Billy, his Wife Megan
and Their Two Sons, Conner and Kason

Conner is at the Top and Kason Just Below Him

My granddaughter Crystal invited me to watch a 3D ultrasound of her daughter Nylah, my first great granddaughter to be,  who is due in December. It was interesting. Nylah really didn't want to move, but there were a few pictures taken. About two or three weeks before she is due, Crystal will do this again. 

3D Ultrasound of Nylah Marie Garcia at 29 Weeks Gestation

This is my Granddaughter Crystal and Lorence

So at my art class with Carol Bradshaw, she showed me what to do to make my friend Barbara's dog Patti have a sense of roundness with shadows and highlights. I showed her what I had done with my friend Janet's dog Poopy and she felt I was coming along. She showed me how to do the hair on the edge of the body without outlining the body. I also showed her the picture I took of my cat Pepper that I want to do. The assignment is just the contour drawing of her.

I added shading to Patti to give her form.
Patti was a mix of Pug with Miniature Bull Dog

I included a picture of Pepper so you could
see her bow above her lip.

My first attempt to draw Pepper whole.
I have drawn her face in the past.
This is just a contour.  Much more needs to be done.

This is Poopy using curved lines to show hair.
She was a Bichon Frise

I shaded in the body and then used an
eraser to make the hair on Poopy in
this version.

Last Sunday my friends Barbara and Janet an I saw The Martian. That was a great movie. The science was as accurate as it could be with our current knowledge. It was also a feel good movie with China helping the United States to save this man and the whole world anxious for all to turn out well. Great movie!  And, we finished it off by going to Casa Loma a good Mexican restaurant close to my home. 

It was a very exciting week with the weather we had. It is supposed to be an El Niño year, which means lots of rain. It is good, but we do much better stretching it out rather than having it come so fast and hard in such a short period of time. Actually, what we need is snow in the higher areas.  When it melts, it will come to us.  Our ground can't seem to handle much direct rain.  Then we have flash floods and mudslides.  Highway 99 opened the following afternoon and 58 remains closed, but should open soon.

That is it for an unplanned exciting week. I hope yours was less exciting than this. I will see you next Sunday.   Rachel

Red Hats and a Baby Shower

This has been a much better week for me. I definitely feel my energy improved. 

On Monday, my friend Barbara and I went to a concert hosted by the Bakersfield Concert Association. The singing group, with their pianist was Vivace from Canada. They were fantastic and had two standing ovations. What an enjoyable evening. The best deal is to buy the season series (8 shows) for $80 for an adult. There are family and student rates too. They announced that this might be the last year for this (which has been here around 100 years). They need to double membership or have more major sponsors to cover the cost. It sure is sad. They bring a lot to our community and it is a reasonable price for the series.  

At my art class. Carol had a couple of ideas to improve my drawing of Patti.  Then she suggested I draw just a section of the picture multiple times so I can improve that area- like the nose, the eye and the paw. I worked on my picture of Poopy and I know I will need to work more on it. 

Patti

Poopy

My friend Marc called me back. I gave my condolences on the death of his wife Mimi. He is keeping himself busy with his daily routine. I told him that several people want to gather to remember Mimi in mid November. He likely will not attend. He moved the conversation away from him to me. He was okay that I would call him periodically and later we will meet. 

We had our Red Hat group. I brought my daughter Shelley who is a few years short of being Red Hat.  She can be a Princess. I gave her one of my red hats which was so becoming on her.  The group accepted her well so she is now a part of the group. 

Shelley and Me

Me, Jo and Stephanie

Evelyn, leader of our group, me and Claudia

Pamela and Jo

Shelley Looks Great in Red!

The baby shower for Crystal was yesterday. Stephanie and her daughter's, Cassadie and Meghan came. They made cupcakes with an owl design in the colors Crystal had for her theme.  They were so cute!  There were a lot of adults- men and women and many children.  It got a little chaotic, but it was a success for Crystal. There was a barbecue meal with all the side dishes and on one table, an incredible array of candies and sweets with a chocolate fountain.

Kayla

Crystal, her mother Jennifer and her aunt Shelley
with Shelley's son Kevin photo bombing it.

Keven and Me

Crystal and Lorence

Gathering on the Patio which extends to the Yard 

Alyssa, Heather and Shelley

Kayla does this a lot

Heather and Stephanie

Kline's and extended family with Devin and Heather

The Jerdin side of the family with Casey

Crystal is carrying the baby in the front

This table became much more crowded with candy.
The cupcakes are owls done by Stephanie and her girls.

Ready for Nylah Marie

Crystal with friends 

Crystal with the Garcia side of the family

                                                                                                                                                                                

Today, I am going with my friends Barbara and Janet to see the movie The Martian. It was a fabulous book and I hear the movie is also excellent.  Then we are going to a Mexican restaurant close to my home called Loma Linda. I think it has the best chile rellenos (a mild chile filled with usually Jack cheese, dipped in a batter of egg and flour then deep fried to a golden brown) in town. 

This was a loaded week. I feel so much better and would not have been able to do this s a couple of weeks ago.   I have had regular breaks between each of these events and also slept well. 

I hope you had a good week. Mine was good.  I'll see you next Sunday.           Rachel

Doing So Much Better!

I felt so weak and finally was able to run a couple of errands Tuesday afternoon.  Though I was still weak, I had increased strength.  By Thursday, whatever I had, stopped. I feel "normal!"  This has actually been going on quite a while- the exhaustion  part. One of my nurses thought it could have been a virus that I recovered from on my own. I'm so relieved. I had been looking at canceling more events I had planned on attending.

A friend of mine's wife died recently. Actually, they were both friends. It was another friend who reached him and he told her she died two weeks earlier. I feel so bad I haven't been in contact as much as I would have liked. I think I talked to both of them four weeks ago. Others want to have a dinner to remember Mimi which I understand, but I felt we should be okay if Marc doesn't want to go. I remember being invited to a gathering soon after my mom died. I found this gathering more than I could handle. I put on a fake smile, but then I had to get out of there. I would like to be there more for Marc, but at the same time I want to abide by any limits he would set. Right now he isn't returning my call, so it is a moot point. We want him to know he and Mimi are loved by us. Whatever we could do we would. 

I cut off talking with most people when I felt so bad.  I said we could talk when I was feeling better. It is hard to do this, but I have to take care of myself.  Each day I have gained energy.  This may be similar to Marc. 

.......................

After all the plumbing work, one toilet kept running on. They came right away and found still more rust in the line clogging the mechanism in the toilet. They recommend a water pressure valve, but the part is around $800. I can't do that. 

The following day, the owner of the masonry company came to check on the wall they did. He assured me that the white is salt in the water and in time it won't be obvious. He also will have a cap that broke off glued back on. I am pleased with responsible companies who take their work seriously. 

My new washer and dryer were delivered and I had a lot of washing to do.  They couldn't connect the dryer because the gas pipe line was not up to code, it needed to be higher up. I called a Handiman who came out the next day.  It has a steam component in both the washer and dryer. One of my readers felt it was necessary to wash using the heavy load to truly get clothes cleaned. So I'll be checking that out. I have had front loading for 10 years now which uses much less water, so I may already know how it will work. 

This is my new washer and dryer. My house is over 55 years old and at that time it was common for the washer and dryer to go in the garage. They are so modern, I'm thinking of moving in them. 

At least the pedestals they sit on are drawers.
A lot of laundry supplies can be stored there.

My cousin Steven called. I put him off until I felt better. He has been responsible for the trusts for his mother who is 98 years old and in assisted living, and his brother who is in a special home in the Bay Area  for those with mental illness. He is very worried about finances. But while there is any money, no one will talk to him about plans. His brother is getting Medicare/Medi-Cal, but Steve says he has enough money to supplement this through the trust for one more year. He panics his brother could be on the street or put in jail. His brother has schizophrenia and he needs a protective environment which would monitor his medications. It seems that all the people and agencies who promised to help him have disappeared or refuse to respond to his requests.   He tried him living in his home but his brother went to all the neighbors saying he was being imprisoned. As a result, several police cars came with guns drawn. So his home is no longer an option.They wanted the money, but as that is depleted, they don't want to deal with another person with no money.  I'm a sounding board for him and hopefully someone will work with him who knows the resources in his area. 

Here is my most recent picture of my friend Barbara's dog Patti. It is the best I've done of her. I think the proportions are much better.  I'm about to start on my friend Janet's dog Poopy. It was a Bichon Frise. The challenge for me will be doing white hair.  I need to work further on my skills of negative drawing (filling in the area around the form, like a lock of hair).

Patti Re-done.

               

Here is a link On Being "Chapter Two"   This man describes entering a relationship with a woman who's first husband died in a tragic accident. He talks about different loves. Worth reading:   http://www.onefitwidow.com/on-being-chapter-2/http://www.onefitwidow.com/on-being-chapter-2/

Here are seven powerful pictures of terminally ill patients getting their last wish fulfilled. 

http://www.upworthy.com/7-powerful-photographs-of-terminally-ill-patients-living-out-their-final-wishes?c=ufb2http://www.upworthy.com/7-powerful-photographs-of-terminally-ill-patients-living-out-their-final-wishes?c=ufb2

Thank you for reading. I'm feeling much better this week. I hope you are doing well and I will see you next Sunday.               Rachel

I'm Really Dragging

When at class with my teacher Carol Bradshaw, she has a skeleton of a dog - not real bones, but so helpful in looking at where the arms and legs go.  I'm doing my friend Barbara's dog again. Though it is still off, I'm getting closer to how Patti looked.   I'll also do a contour drawing of my friend Janet's dog Poopy.   No class next week.   I have done some work, but I just don't feel energetic enough to do what needs to be done with it.  Hopefully this week I make some progress.

My washing machine tub stopped turning. So a gentleman by the name of Larry came out. He said the problem was the ball bearings. It would be an expensive job and he felt it was time to get a washer. He only charged $10 to come out and since he has been repairing appliances for over three decades, I asked what brand and any specifics he would recommend. He stated  my best bet was to get a Whirlpool Duet. So I went to Home Depot and spoke with the salesman about this. I ended up getting the dryer too, with both on a pedestal.  Though costly in getting both, they gave a discount and I got a payment plan of "18 months just like cash". So I will pay every month and when I pay before this time, there is no finance charge. When I was young, I did this a lot and in time I was able to fix up my home in a way I could afford.  They will bring them out on Wednesday, haul the others out and install these. They have a feature I've never had. Both washer and dryer have steam features. I'm thinking about when I leave my clothes in the dryer too long and they wrinkle. He said it would be helpful because the steam can kill germs. 

The workmen came Wednesday to repair the leak at the main water shut off valve but also to replace the pipes that go from there to the point where it enters my home. It wasn't leaking yet, but they believe it would go soon. I can't tell you how relieved I am that I got the insurance to cover leaks in and around the house!  This would be a very expensive job!  I called the company that put in my block wall for advise.  He said they should not have to take the wall down. They can tunnel below the wall to get at this pipe.  It took two days because the water company came out three times and we were waiting on them. The next day, an inspector had to check on the job. It passed. 

I took the train to see my friend Annmarie. We met another friend Salud for dinner at Tommy's Restaurant in Visalia. They took a long time to serve us, but we were so involved in catching up, it didn't seem to be a problem. When we were finally served, the portions were so big that it was overwhelming.  The next morning we went to breakfast at Ryan's.  We met Criza, a woman who continues as the head nurse on the unit I worked.  She looked so fabulous and she was as warm as ever.  I always liked her. She made our work so much easier and we all worked so well together. Wonderful to see her!

So definitely feel more tired;  I'm much more tired.  I sleep a lot more.  I feel exhausted. I have periods when it isn't too bad. I haven't figured out if it is anything specific or my body just slowing down. So I really have to pace myself and rest when that hits me. Some don't get it, so I just insist I can't participate in some things.  I'm also less interested in eating. I don't know if this is a plus or not. I could lose some weight, but this isn't an effort, because I don't want to eat it.  My body temperature is hard to regulate. I can be very hot or very cold. Both are very uncomfortable.  I've already had hot flashes. I had no idea they could come back again. It feels like it.  I'll bring this up at my next doctor appointment.

That is all I have this week.  I'll probably nap more today. I hope your week is going well. I'll see you next Sunday.   Rachel. 

Caring for Yourself

On Monday my granddaughter Crystal needed to make copies of the baby shower invitation her cousin Cassadie designed.  I got a new Epson printer and couldn’t figure how to put card stock in my printer, so we went out to have it done. It felt like we were talking a different language from the woman were were talking to.  It was so strange.  In the end, we finally got it done and had to go somewhere else for the envelopes, which also turned into a big deal because of the size of the envelope. That was accomplished.  Then Crystal and I went to a Korean restaurant for lunch. She has never had food like this, but I’d like my kids and grandkids to try different foods and cultures.  I think it makes them more interesting and open with other people.  She ended up enjoying most of what we had.  I took Crystal home and she decorated the envelopes to keep her color scheme going.  So many text messages back and forth to do all that is needed for a baby shower.  Stephanie is doing the food.  Several of us are putting money in the pot, though it isn’t as big as I think they would have liked.  So now they are shopping for decorations, what is needed for serving the food, to do the games, etc.  I hope they can keep this to two hours.  If others want to stay longer, fine.  I just think it needs a start and finish time.

Tuesday there were four of us students in Carol Bradshaw’s art class.  I had made a contour drawing of my friend Barbara’s dog.  My drawing is definitely getting better.  Since then I have sent contour drawings to Barb to get feedback on what needs to be done.  The two biggest were the ears and the back legs.  She found a picture of her dog Patti when she was fairly young.  She of course, looked much better and I felt I could do her ears as Barbara would like.  I’m still anxious about the back legs.  I’m not making her a younger dog.  My picture was done not that long before she died.  Barbara had another dog too name Tavi.  She has also since died.  Her plans are to frame the pictures and put them on her wall when they are done.  So, I think I'm done with Patti, Barbara's dog.  I'm sure there is more that can be done, but I've done this at least 6 times.  There are some areas that are off, but remember she is an older dog and not just a pug.  She was much cuter young, but none of us look like we did when we were younger.

Patti is a mixed Pug/ Miniature Bulldog

My next class is to do a long haired dog.  My friend Janet’s dog also died.  His name was Josh, or Poopy (though I don’t think this had anything to do with him having accidents).  This one was a Bichon Frise.  When I first drew him, I don’t think it was very realistic, and, I really wanted to see how to do a dog with curly white hair.  I’m learning a lot about doing hair, giving it depth and curl.  I asked Janet to find a picture she really liked of Poopy.  The pictures I have were not that long before he died and if  she has a picture she would like me to dof, I would be happy to do it.  Hopefully she finds it.

My friend Vic is coming along with his book.  I find little to suggest he do.  But some things I find might make it a little better.  We ate at a Chinese restaurant where I’ve only had dinner, The Great Castle Chinese Restaurant.  My experiences have been good.  However, at lunch, there was no comparison.  They were set plates and they didn’t have the fresh taste I’m accustomed to.  Too bad, because Vic will never go there again.  I’ll stick to the dinner menu.  In the mean time, Vic rewrote his second chapter and asked me to read it.  He is getting too anxious for me to read it.  However, he thinks it helps him to be more focused in his writing and he doesn’t want me to read something he doesn’t think is that good.  Well, that makes sense, though I actually enjoyed the second chapter I read last time.  We’ll see about this.

Janet and I met at our old haunt Mexicali’s.  She had oral surgery, but she felt she would be fine with eating.  I didn’t think I would be if I had gone through that, but she was fine. If she could eat chips and salsa, she is doing pretty good. 

Barbara and I went to Chef’s Choice Noodle Bar and saw A Walk in the Woods about Bill Bryson, who has written wonderful travel books of his unique traveling trips. I've read several of his books.  The actors are Robert Redford, Emma Thompson and Nick Nolte.  Two older guys hike the Appalachian Trail, 2,200 miles from Georgia to Maine.  This was a wonderful movie, maybe for us older people.  It was a feel good movie.

My daughter Shelley and I went to lunch and wine tasting with my friend Janet to Concerees Deli at Rio Bravo Ranch not far from the canyon as you go up the mountain off of highway 178.  What a wonderful experience!  Food so pleasant, but they also had wine tasting and olive oil tasting.  And, while we were there, My friend Charmaine came by.  Charmaine is a real estate agent and I think Shelley would be fantastic.  She is people oriented and a hard worker.  I think she would be fabulous and Charmaine shared some about what she did to get into this.  Shelley likes what she does, but she has hard time when people don't get treated well, which has become an issue in health care.  She has no control over this.  l highly recommend the Deli at Rio Bravo Ranch and Cheryl was the one who helped us in picking what we wanted.  Shelley and I are going to a family wedding and I wanted to pick a very good olive oil for the salad dressing for that salad we will make.  So here are Shelley, Janet and I and then later Charmaine came and I got a picture of Shelley and Charmaine.  They have a variety of olive oils and two wines.  I ended up getting a couple of wines,  Two olive oils, a balsamic vinegar and a small book about olive oil.  It was a wonderful experience and I know we will go back.

Shelley, Me and Janet

Charmaine Rowe, best real estate agent in the area and my daughter Shelley

Charmaine shared a little about her experience in becoming a real estate agent and what it entails.  Shelley is very people oriented and cares about what she does.  So hopefully this will be the nudge to get Shelley looking at this.

Well, I have issues happening at home.  I have a broken pipe where the water comes to my yard.  My block wall is showing the water coming through.  Thank goodness I got the insurance to cover this.  They say they will also have to replace the galvanized pipes which are rotting that go to my house.  It will be done Wednesday which will be a full days work. 

In addition to this, I found that my washing machine drum will not turn, so everything was filled with water. Ugh!  It is amazing how much can happen that we have to deal with when they belong to us!

Okay, I have gotten really emotional today.  Coming home, I couldn't stop crying.  I so want my daughter Shelley to be okay.  She cares for everyone else, but she doesn't get much of this in return.  I have been kind of a basket case.  Perhaps, I had too much wine.  So I'm stopping here.  I'll see you next week.          Rachel

The Amateur's Guide to Death and Dying

I watched a live discussion on Google+ about Richard Wagner's book The Amateur's Guide to Death and Dying (http://theamateursguide.com).   It was well done.   It was on a site called The Death Chicks. They are also opening up the subjects of death, dying, grief and bereavement. The two women who were hosting this were Patty Burgess Brecht and Myste Lyn.  These would be worth checking out. Dr. Wagner, Ph.D. wrote another book for children titled Longfellow and the Deep Hidden Woods which covers the topics of death and bereavement.   Dr. Wagner talked about the initial anxiety we feel when faced with issues of death and dying.   He then (like me) jumped in rather than run away from from these topics.  This was when I worked with people who were dying in a hospital and later when I worked in hospice as a social worker.  I had to really think what was my anxiety about.  Initially, I just got myself to sit with someone who was dying. I noted that people seemed to appreciate that.  I let them guide our talk. I read Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's book On Death and Dying.  I remember people being upset if the one who was dying did not die in the order proscribed, or if they left out a step. I thought this was presumptuous that we would know better.  I couldn't imagine telling someone how they had to die, to do it right. Given that,  I did learn so much from people who let me be there with them. I think the biggest thing we had to offer was to allow people to do it their own way and to give some of them permission to leave us.  I believe our presence is what can be helpful for the person who was dying  and for those close to the person dying.  if they wanted you and/or they developed a relationship with them.    One of the other points that was brought up was that we experience all sorts of losses as we age- our body changes, we develop aches and pains, we can't do all the things we used to....  There are really many, so if we allow ourselves to deal with the earlier losses, it will help us to experience in a meaningful way, the loss of our lives. I want my friends and family to understand this especially as it pertains to me.  I ordered the amateur's guide for my Kindle and the children's book from Amazon.com.  I hope to discuss this and hope they will order their own copy.

.....................

In my art class we are drawing a short-haired dog.  I'm doing my friend Barbara's dog, Patti who died. She was a pug/miniature English bulldog mix.  I took a poor picture of her and tried to lighten and reprint it, but I lost the ability to connect my pictures from my iPhone and iPad to my main Apple computer.  Darn!  I'll continue to search for this ability.  It is a very helpful application.   One of my issues is I can't see the fourth leg. My teacher Carol told me it would be better to have the fourth leg, even if it was only to show the toes, etc.  so when I put the legs together, it looks unnatural like she is doing a pirouette.  So I drew her on tracing paper and drew several legs to see which one I preferred.  Tomorrow I will get the contour drawing done for Tuesday's class with Carol. Then we will work on details, such as the nose, eyes, mouth and fur.   There is another student in my class; her name is Ronna. She wants to draw cats and dogs. She started classes a year ago and doing very well.    I got carried away putting in some detail on my Dog with Seven Legs.  It is on tracing paper.  The leg I settled on is the fifth leg from the right side.  There is a very lightly drawn foot right next to it, but I've settled for the darker one.  

Dog with Seven Legs

While visiting my step-mom Kate, we went to a local bookstore Vroman's in Pasadena where I purchased some books that I wanted for reference in using my Apple products. I read the pertinent parts for sharing photos,  iCloud, Airdrop, wireless printing and keychain.  I watch young people do this with no problem at all; while I need to do each step deliberately.  I do best with a simple visual guide along with the explanation.  I had lost ability to transfer pictures I took on my iPhone to my MAC.  That issue is resolved now.

We also went to the Norton Simon Museum for a guitar concert on Friday, but we had the wrong day. It was no problem, since it is a lovely art museum. We focused on 19th century art. 

We then went to a tasty Afghan restaurant called Azeen's Afghani Restaurant. I love the use of yoghurt in the sauce. So delicious!

On Saturday we ate at a small restaurant that is informal called Sweet and Savory in San Marino.  I had been there perhaps two or three years ago with my brother Ben accompanying us.  I remember feeling that the chicken salad was very special, so I ordered it again, though there was a chicken curry that she let us have a sample which was very tasty.  I told her I remembered the last time we were there and that I asked her about "what is that taste" and she had said then, "If I told you, I'd have to kill you".  In the end, she fessed up that it was the mustard she used, but she would not give me any further information on it.   It looked like a seeded mustard, Then I had a fruit tart and Kate had a bread pudding.  We shared this.  Very tasty.

So Saturday we went to a concert of two classical Guitarists doing Italian pieces played by the Odeum Guitar Duo doing A Tour of Italy. Fred Benedetti and Robert Wetzel were the performers and they have CD's of their music.  I imagined walking around a formal garden with my glass of red wine while listening to this music.  It was very appealing to me.  Since we had the wrong date for this, we had tickets to see a play called  called A Flea in Her Ear at A Noise Within Theatre Company in Pasadena Saturday night too!  We ended up with seats in the center of the second row for the guitar concert.  Can't beat that.  The play was a farce premiered in 1907.    It was opening night for the play in Pasadena and they had a full house.  From the responses in the audience, it was well received. It was written by Georges Feydeau  Lots of fun.

On Sunday, we had breakfast at Green Street in Pasadena.  Delicious!   That is a very pleasant coffee shop.

So we did have one incident on Sunday.  Kate goes out for a seven mile walk every morning.  For some reason (I think it may have been the heat, though it wasn't that bad), I woke up before Kate came home.  I decided to get everything ready to go home and took a load out to my car.  Well it set off her house alarm.  Her four cats went nuts with me.  I didn't know what to do and when they called they said they were contacting the authorities to come out.  In a short time period, Officer Leach came out (wearing bermuda shorts ).  I didn't have any information to give him which would show I had a right to be there.  I offered him a cup of strong coffee and he said he just ate.  He actually was nice and hung around outside for a while before driving off.  He saw Kate as she was coming around the bend of her street.  So that was the excitement of the day.  I now have the information I need to give my bonafide so I don't get the evil eye next time.

It was a pretty exciting week and I'm ready for a little rest.  To bed early this evening.  Thank you for reading and I will see you next Sunday.                    Rachel

Returning Home

Well, finishing up last weeks blog was sure difficult doing it away from home.  I'm not sure why it was so difficult, because I felt like I should be able to do exactly what I do at home. Hopefully I can work this out.  I feel I'm limited in travel if I can't work that out. 

I gave the picture I drew of Piper, their Cocateil, to Debbie and Jacquie. They felt the face reflected Piper's personality. I'm glad they liked it.

Barbara took off to do ancestry research at Fort Ross. After I finished my blog, Jacquie, Debbie and I went to three wineries.  Coppola Winery was the nicest because they also sold a lot items you might associate with entertaining with wine. It was a great museum of the movies Francis Coppola wrote, produced and directed. That was fun. The grounds were beautiful. They also had a pool that people were able to use. I didn't check this out because I was not interested in using it.   Actually, all the grounds of the wineries (the other two were Clos du Bois and Trentadue) were beautiful and the wine tasting was nice. The wines were not wines that you could buy at home. It is interesting that now they charge for wine tasting between $5 and $15 to taste four wines. I remember when wine tasting was free. 

On the way home, Barbara and I stopped in Santa Nella for their split pea soup. I have fond memories of it as did Barbara.  Well I will never again push to go there. I thought the soup was terrible. Barbara felt it tasted like canned soup. So I have that out of my system!  Ugh!

I had my Red Hat group this week. We met at Sorella's which is a nice Italian restaurant. I had the Fettuccine and Clams. It was delicious. Each of us had something different. All of us liked what we had. It is further from my home than the other restaurants. Perhaps that is why I haven't been there in a long time. I will have to include it as one of the restaurants I frequent.  

One very important benefit from our Red Hat group is that we share life issues we deal with to get emotional support. The fact is we all have issues, a lot of them similar. We can share what we have done or what we think we might have done in that situation. The other role, is just a listening ear. Most of our experiences with the men in our lives is their desire to fix our problems, though much of what we deal with may not be fixable. Just being able to talk is a great value to us. It lets some of the frustration and steam dissipate. My group wants my daughter Shelley to join. She is not 50 years old, so she would be a princess until that time.  I would love that. We are looking at some social events occurring in our community.  Our group would like to go as girlfriends.  They look like fun outings.

We had no art class this week. I did draw another owl different than what I've shared. I've thought about using colored pencil to finish it. I had such a hard time separating the contact paper for my walking owl.  I used it to cover the owl so I could do a flat background. This owl is actually at twilight. The sky has a lavender look to it because of the time. What I would like to do is put the lavender over the owl after I've painted it. What I don't want to happen is ruin the look of the owl, that going over in the lavender could smudge the color underneath. I just want a graded color over the owl to show the owl belongs there.  The other thing I want to accomplish is redo the parrot drawing with very thin lines for the feathers.  I received the Rigger brushes I ordered yesterday. So hopefully the right tool helps. 

I have slept a lot this week. I had not gone to a Chinese restaurant, so I think I can rule out the use of MSG. One friend left a message saying"I know you are out having a ball, so I won't call you on your cell phone."  Actually, if either phone rang (which one did), I would sleep through both. 

Here is where I'm at on my art work. They are works in progress obviously.  I'll do more on them tomorrow before class.

I thought of finishing this with color pencil

I put contact paper on the owl to be able to do a flat wash over it.

My friend Janet and I went to the Red Pepper. They have good Mexican food with style. Very relaxing time together. 

This morning I went out with my granddaughter Kayla for her birthday. She turned 15 yesterday. We went to Anita's, but they no longer do a Sunday Branch. You can ask for the lunch or breakfast. We had breakfast. Kayla had a  a green chili breakfast burrito and I had chilaquiles.  Then we split a banana chimichanga with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. Anyway,  I missed the buffet breakfast, but the food was tasty and was actually too big.  I love their Menudo and I'll get that next time. 

I am feeling very tired again. I'll lie down to rest and my pattern is to fall asleep, wake up late evening and back to sleep until tomorrow morning. 

That's it for the this week. I hope your week went well and that this next week goes well.  See you next Sunday.               Rachel