Letters

 What a day it was today!  I received seven pen pal letters.

Best of all, they were each from one of my favorite pen pals!  It's not unusual to receive seven letters in the mail, but to get seven from seven of my favorites was pretty special.  I also got 3 Postcrossing postcards and one Swap Bot postcard.

One of the postcards, which came from the San Francisco bay area, was a haiku

I have been working hard to get caught up with the mail that needs to be answered.  I wrote five letters yesterday.  But with the seven I got today my pile has grown.  I guess I know what I'm going to be doing tomorrow.

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Vince

 We got a great graduation announcement this week.

These are twins, Alyssa and Collin Yee, children of our Malaysian "son," Vince.  Alyssa graduated from UC Santa Cruz and Collin graduated from UC Santa Barbara.  In addition to college graduates, both kids are golf champions.

When I see things like this, it makes me realize that I really have made a difference in the world.

Vince's family lived in Davis while his father got his PhD at UC Davis.  When they were about to return to Malaysia, they wanted to leave Vince, who was ready to enter high school, in Davis because it's so difficult for Chinese kids to get an education in Malaysia.  They went to our Catholic church to ask the priest if there was a family who would take Vince.  The priest called us, we arranged to meet the family, and a week later, Vince moved in.  He lived with us for 3 years.

I love that he became a part of the family and after he graduated from high school, he went on to college in Sacramento (I think he got a PhD), he became an American citizen and started his own business, which is doing very well.  (I can't remember what the business is).  

His wedding took place a week after David died and it was so weird.  Our whole family was sitting at a table with a couple of strangers and we would have to keep getting up and going outside to cry and then come back in again.  I remember all of us, including Vince, being outside crying together.  We finally explained to the couple what was going on.

We don't really have much to do with him and his wife, but they did invite us to a party after Alyssa and Collin were born, but we haven't seen the kids since.  I just read about their accomplishments on Facebook.

But when I look at this graduation announcement, and see the picture of Vince visiting Tom in Santa Barbara, it make me realize that we really did make a difference in his life, and I'm so glad of it.

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

Vince visited Tom in Santa Barbara

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If he wins...

It's a scary thing to read the New York Times report on what Trump's plans are if he wins the election.  If he is your candidate, are these the things you want to happen:

Immigrataion

* a second Trump administration would seek a tenfold increase in the volume of deportations — to more than a million per year.

* He plans to reassign federal agents and the National Guard to immigration control. He would also enable the use of federal troops to apprehend migrants.

* The Trump team plans to use military funds to build “vast holding facilities” to detain immigrants while their deportation cases progress.

* He plans to suspend the nation’s refugee program and once again bar visitors from mostly Muslim countries, reinstating a version of the travel ban that President Biden revoked in 2021.

* His administration would declare that children born to undocumented parents were not entitled to citizenship and would cease issuing documents like Social Security cards and passports to them.

The Justice Department

* As president, Mr. Trump pressed the Justice Department to investigate his foes. If re-elected, he has vowed to appoint a special prosecutor “to go after” Mr. Biden and his family.

* He has cited the precedent of his own indictments to declare that if he became president again and someone challenged him politically, he could say, “Go down and indict them.”

* a Trump confidant, has threatened to target journalists for prosecution if Mr. Trump returns to power. 

Presidential Power

* Congress has set up various regulatory agencies to operate independently from the White House. Mr. Trump has vowed to bring them under presidential control, setting up a potential court fight.

* He has vowed to return to a system under which the president has the power to refuse to spend money that Congress has appropriated for programs the president doesn’t like.

* During Mr. Trump’s presidency, he issued an executive order making it easier to fire career officials and replace them with loyalists. Mr. Biden rescinded it, but Mr. Trump has said that he would reissue it in a second term.

* Mr. Trump has disparaged the career work force at agencies involved in national security and foreign policy as an evil “deep state” he intends to destroy.

* Politically appointed lawyers in the first Trump administration sometimes raised objections to White House proposals. Several of his closest advisers are now vetting lawyers seen as more likely to embrace aggressive legal theories about the scope of his power.

Economic Policies

* Politically appointed lawyers in the first Trump administration sometimes raised objections to

White House proposals. Several of his closest advisers are now vetting lawyers seen as more

likely to embrace aggressive legal theories about the scope of his power.

* He has said that he will “phase out all Chinese imports” of electronics and other essential goods, and impose new rules to stop U.S. companies from making investments in China. The two countries are the largest economies in the world and exchange hundreds of billions of dollars of goods each year.

* He has said that he will “phase out all Chinese imports” of electronics and other essential goods,

and impose new rules to stop U.S. companies from making investments in China. The two

countries are the largest economies in the world and exchange hundreds of billions of dollars of

goods each year.

* Mr. Trump has said he would extend the tax cuts from his 2017 tax law that are set to expire, including for all levels of personal income and for large estates. He also privately told business leaders he wants to further lower the corporate tax rate.

* Potentially undercut NATO or withdraw the United States from the alliance

* He has claimed that he would end the war in Ukraine in a day. He has not said how, but he has suggested that he would have made a deal to prevent the war by letting Russia simply take Ukrainian lands.

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Sunday Stealing

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. This feature originated and published on WTIT: The Blog. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves.

Stolen from SwapBot

1. Are you double jointed?  No.

2. Are you ticklish?  Yes

3. Cookies, cakes, or donuts?  Donuts

4. Did you go to prom?  3 of them (my boyfriend's and my 2)

5. Do you bite your nails?  No

6. Do you enjoy dancing?  No

7. Do you forgive easily?  It depends on the "offense."

8. Do you prefer to bathe or shower?  Shower

9. Does your name have any special meaning? It was my aunt's middle name.

10. Have you ever gone camping?  Many times

11. Have you ever won something?  I won a one-way cruise from San Francisco to Los Angeles in a writing contest I entered when I was a sophomore in high school.  I also shared an Elly award (Sacramento area theater award) for best original script with Stephen Peithman, who wrote most of it.

12. What did you last eat?  A peanut butter and fig jam sandwich.  The fig jam was not all that great.

13. What's your longest relationship so far?  Walt and I will celebrate 59 years this week.

14. Have you ever been on a diet?  Name the diet and I've probably been on it.

15. Do you enjoy DIY or crafts?  Kinda.  I'm not all that creative, but I do enjoy messing around.

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

My sister would be 77 today, if she didn't die in 1971.
She's on the left,  The woman on the right killed her.

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Saturday 9

Welcome to Saturday 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme!

Saturday 9: I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive (1952)

Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here.

1) In this song, Hank Williams sings that his fishing pole is broke and the creek is full of sand. OK, so he can't spend his Saturday fishing. What are your Saturday plans?
None, that I know of.  Same as Monday-Friday.

2) He regrets how shabby his shoes are. Do you shop for shoes online, or do you prefer going to the store and trying them on?
I almost NEVER buy shoes.  I haven't bought a pair of shoes in over 10 years.  I wear Birkenstocks and when they wear out buy another pair.  My foot is so wide, I can't trust buying shoes online.

3) This was the last Hank Williams song to be released during his lifetime. Though he was only 29 when he died, he left an enduring mark on American music and is considered one of country music's greatest singer/songwriters. Who is your favorite country music performer?
I enjoy country music, but am not into performers, so I guess I'll have to say Dolly Parton, the only performer I actually know.  (though I do enjoy Trisha Yearwood's cooking show)

4) Elvis was a big fan and his favorite Hank Williams song was "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry." What's your favorite Elvis song?
I was never an Elvis fan and though I know many of his songs, I can't think of a favorite.

5) Johnny Cash was a big Hank Williams fan, too. He performed Hank's gospel song, "I Saw the Light" often in concert and during his guest starring role in a 1974 episode of Columbo. Did you watch Columbo, or do you stream it or catch it in reruns?
We watched Columbo regularly when it was on.  Somehow I don't enjoy the reruns.

6) Hank was a prolific songwriter, composing songs on his guitar and then printing the lyrics by hand on notepaper. He never learned to read music. Can you read music?
Simple music.  I took piano lessons for a few years in grammar school and sang in many choirs.

7) When he was a teen, Hank sang and played his guitar on the sidewalk in front of a local radio station, making a little money and hoping to be discovered. His plan worked and he was occasionally invited in to play with the radio station's house band. Were you a hard-working teen?
Not particularly, unless you count the work I did at my high school, which was a lot.

8) Hank suffered from a congenital spinal condition and began self-medicating with alcohol during his teen years. He was warned against this early on by country superstar Ray Acuff, but Hank was unable to deal with the pain without liquor. Can you recall wise advise you wish you'd taken, but didn't?
No.

9) Random question: What's your favorite Mexican food?
Chile relleno

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

RIP

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It's too late now

 I'm sitting in the car, crying.  Logically, I know there is no reason to be crying, but I can't help it.

I had just left my mother's apartment.  It was before she was moved into the memory unit.  I don't know what we were discussing, but she was angry with me and yelled at me to leave her apartment and never return.  My mother was never a "yeller."  I knew it was the mental problems and I knew she wouldn't remember the next day (and she didn't), but it still hurt.

There is a commercial that I see nearly every day now.  It follows a woman, who supposedly has Alzheimer's, and it talks about how she would get angry and yell, and it always makes me feel sad and back to that day, crying in the car.  It talks about a medication that can make her symptoms better and that makes me sad because my mother never had any medication prescribed for her for her mental problems.

She was never diagnosed with Alzheimer's by a doctor.  I just assumed she had it and so they added that to her chart at Kaiser, but she was never  given a mental health exam ... not even the simple exam that Trump was given by Dr. Johnson Jackson to remember five words and repeat them back.  She saw only two doctors.  One of them totally ignored me when I tried to tell him of her problems and said that "when we get older, our brains don't work as well."  This was a guy who was billed as a gerontologist, supposedly an expert in old people.  They discussed his trip to San Rafael and agreed that a certain street in San Rafael was pretty.  I had written him a letter telling him of her problems and I was in the room for her exam and he literally turned his back on me and concentrated on talking with my mother about San Rafael, and didn't listen when I tried to tell him that she often didn't know who I was.  I didn't take her back to him.

I chose her PCP as the doctor who is my doctor (and Walt's).  She's a nice person, but she doesn't go into a lot of things.  I have been seeing her for more than 20 years and she never once has mentioned my weight...which is fine by me, but I realize that any other doctor would be hounding me to lose weight.  She examined my mother and pronounced her fine and didn't offer any suggestions for what was going on with her brain.

When I got into a discussion group of dementia caregivers, I discovered the extensive tests that can be given and the medications that can be given which don't cure the Alzheimer's, of course, but can slow its progress.  

Whenever I see that commercial on TV, I wonder how my mother's life would have been different if someone had offered her some sort of medication to slow the progress of the dementia.  

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2 somersaults and 2 twists

The Olympic trials have started and I've started watching them, looking forward to the Big Event in Paris next month.  So far I've only seen swimming and diving, and it makes me feel so glad that our kids got into diving.  Swimming is boring!  

We kind of fell into diving, literally.  Ned's good friend Matt was on the Davis Diving Team.  Ned must have been 8 or 9.  He would go to the pool with Matt, watch him do his dives and then copy him.  He enjoyed it so much that we investigated his joining the Davis Diving Team, under coach Brett Evans, who told us that he had once been on the Olympic Team.

Brett was a charismatic coach who worked well with all ages of kids and got the best out of them. Ned took to diving like...well, a duck to water. It wasn't long before all five kids were on the team and I was spending most of my afternoons sitting poolside inhaling the chlorine and watching bouncing bodies.  Ned was the best, by far, and we were so disappointed when, after several years, Brett decided to stop coaching for free and would only coach if you paid him, which we couldn't afford to do.  Ned didn't do well with the replacement coach and we ultimately stopped going to diving.

I always felt kind of smug, listening to my friends who had spent the whole weekend at swim meets, because their kids would be competing in several events and so had to stay the whole day.

With diving, you drove in age groups.  They told you about what time your group was diving and when your group finished, you could go home.  I loved that.

All the diving parents learned to keep score and to judge diving.   Walt and another judge once collaborated:  "You count the somersaults and I'll count the twists."  (I didn't say we were good judges!)   I was the team publicist and even managed to get them on the local TV news once.

Brett had one of the best kids' diving groups in the state and we drove all over the place to compete.  Ned once dove against Greg Louganis, right after Greg had won his silver medal.  Ned had won his age group (I believe it was 10 and under) and Greg had won his in this fun meet, and at the end of the event all the winners of each age group competed against each other kind of for "best in show."  I know that you'll be surprised and disappointed to hear that Ned did not beat Greg in that event.

(with Greg Louganis)

I've watched synchronized diving from the 10 meter platform today and oh my is it amazing.  I recommend checking it out, if you happen to find it.

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

Paul and his diving awards

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On Call

I have started reading Dr. Anthony Fauci's newly released book, "On Call," described as "The memoir by the doctor who became a beacon of hope for millions through the COVID pandemic, and whose six-decade career in high-level public service put him in the room with seven presidents"

Dr. Fauci is perhaps the most famous – and most revered – doctor in the world today. His role guiding America sanely and calmly through Covid (and through the torrents of Trump) earned him the trust of millions during one of the most terrifying periods in modern American history.

But it doesn't seem like the Republicans in congress feel that way.

I listened to Rachel Maddow and her report, and her interview with Dr. Fauci last  night.  I didn't see any of the meeting of the House subcommittee hearing about the US response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the origins of the virus, but rather than being an information gathering meeting, it was an attack on Fauci.  The senators felt that he’d tried to cover up origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Senator Marjorie Taylor Green (who insisted on calling him "Mr. Fauci" instead of "Dr. Fauci") made a commitment to put every effort into prosecuting Fauci, accusing him of committing "crimes against humanity."  She said his medical license should be revoked and she wants to put him in prison for the rest of his life. She also held up an image which she said depicted dogs being experimented on, an experiment she claimed Fauci "signed off" on.

Fauci asked: "What do dogs have to do with anything that we're talking about today?"

Dr. Fauci has received numerous death threats and whenever one of the Republicans attack him, the threats to him and his family increase.  This to a man who has worked so hard on not only COVID but also on AIDS and other diseases.

He said, on Rachel Maddow's show, that when he disagreed with Donald Trump on things like drinking bleach to kill the virus, nobody in Trump's entourage would speak to him, though he had an office in the White House.

I find the actions of the Republicans toward Dr. Fauci difficult to understand and so I am eager to get into his book to find out more.  

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Bubba

Ned and Marta got home from Colorado last night. Marta has been there for about 3 weeks, helping her mother move into a senior living place, but the altitude has been bothering her and she decided it was time to come back to California.  Ned flew out on Friday and the two of them came home on Sunday.

Bubba missed them.  Terribly.  He always greets people when they come home, but he went crazy last night.  He ran around the family from top speed several times, stopping to jump in Ned's lap or Marta's lap and then jump down and fun around the room again.  He was so cute.

We had no information about him other than that he was found tied up to a fire hydrant with a note saying his name was Bubbles (I call him Bubba, Ned and Walt call him Bubs).  The vet decided he was about 6 years old.  He's such a well trained dog that we can only assume that whoever owned him died and whoever was taking care of things didn't want the dog and left him for someone to adopt.

We were so lucky.  Marta found him on line and apparently several others also wanted him and the woman who was fostering him had to choose who would adopt him and we were the lucky ones.  We have had zero complaints about him.

He is the first dog we've had who has a daily routine.  He's a lap dog and he knows who he's going to be with every moment of the day.  I get him first thing in the morning (he sleeps all night with Ned and Marta) and when Walt gets into the living room to read the paper, Bubba gets on the couch next to him.

At dinner time, as soon as Ned calls dinner, Bubba goes to find his toy (which he chose from PetCo when Marta took him there), climbs into Ned's chair and starts squeaking it.  It's like we are getting together to do something together and he feels it's his time to be with his toy.   He does it every night.

It is surprising how much he understands.  No matter where he is in the house, if I remove the lid from the big container of walnuts to feed the squirrels and take a handful in my hand, Bubba is at the back door before I am, hoping to catch a squirrel.  (and he desperately wants to learn how to climb a tree!)

It's not surprising that he understands "do you want dinner" and no matter how far he gets from us, if we call him, he comes immediately.  But the other day when Ned and Marta were gone, I was getting ready for bed.  I was taking my hearing aids out of my ears and I said "I'm going to sleep."  I hadn't even started getting out of the chair yet, but Bubba jumped down and when I got into the living room, he was already cuddled on the quilt I use and waiting for me...and he slept the night with me.

I also said the other day that there was a squirrel outside and I should feed him.  I hadn't gotten out of my chair yet, but Bubba immediately ran to the back door waiting for me.

He gets treats and he knows if someone comes into the family room whether they are going to give him a treat or not.  If they are not, he doesn't pay attention to them.  But if they are, he jumps up and down excitedly (he lives for treats).  

I just love this dog and feel we were so lucky to get him.

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

He got Walt a gift for father's day....

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Fathers Day

 I always had a difficult time on Fathers Day, especially in the later years of my father's life.  I looked for cards for him and had to wade through all the "I love you" cards to find one that had beer or some other alcohol on it.  My father was a difficult father.  In looking back, he had a lot of mental problems, for which they did not have medications when I was growing up.  We weren't speaking to each other when he died because I had -- for once -- gotten angry with something he did, and his response was to try to change his will so I got nothing (but didn't want to pay for an attorney, so he went about spending as much as he could so I wouldn't get his money).  I don't remember his ever saying "I love you" without following it with "...so I'm going to tell you this terrible thing about yourself."  I remember taking him the book I wrote, right after it was published.  When I got up to go home he said "you might as well  take that with you; I'll never look at it."

And then there is Walt, who is the perfect father.  I remember when Jeri was born and I was so disappointed that I didn't give him a son, but he fell in love with her immediately.  They are still very close.  

He got involved with everything our kids did.  He was Little League coach, learned how to score dives when our kids were in diving, and when the started theater, he was involved with every production they were ever in, building sets for the Sunshine Children's Theater.  He was a Boy Scouts and Indian Guides father.

Now that they are all adults, they are good friends. He talks to Jeri on the phone at least once a week (sometimes she calls; sometimes he calls).  He and Ned have lots of conversations and they work together whenever necessary.  He doesn't see Tom all that much, but when we are in Santa Barbara, he and Tom have a good time together.

It makes me so happy (and, if I want to admit it, a little jealous) that he is such a good father and works so hard to have such a good relationship with all our kids.

I love what a great father Tom is.  I remember when Brianna, who was not an easy baby, was a few weeks old that he called me in the middle of the night just to tell me how much he loved her.

Now that the girls are older, he is their coach on all of their teams and he's like his father -- involved in everything his kids are doing.

Father's day isn't a difficult time for me these days.  It's a time when I think about what a wonderful father Walt is and what a wonderful father Tom has become.

Happy fathers Day!

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

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Sunday Stealing

 

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. This feature originated and published on WTIT: The Blog. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves.

Stolen from SwapBot

1.  What is most important to you.
family

2.  Your best trait.
Maybe Compassion

3.  A movie that makes you happy.
I just watched That's Entertainment, the story of the MGM musicals and that made me very happy.

4.  Something that excites you.
Any time I get to see any of the family, especially the granddaughters.

5.  Something that worries you.
Any doubts?  The presidential election, of course.

6.  Actions your admire.
Anybody who takes care of people or animals.  Like Chef José Andrés, who serves meals all over the world, right now in Ukraine.  Or, locally, Ashley Carr, who brought us to the SPCA, helped me with fostering dogs, and now has her own dog care business.

7.  What year has been your best so far.
Whew.  That's a tough question.  There have been so many.  I'll say 1966, the year our first child was born.

8.  Whom do you trust?
Walt, Ned, Jeri, Char (I didn't put Tom on the list because I almost never see him)

9.  A Song from Your Childhood.
"You Didn't Quite Know Me Yet," a song my father wrote

10.  What you wore today.
pjs, a t-shirt and knee high compression socks

11.  A book you are currently reading
I just finished reading "The Situation Room" by George Stephanopoulos and I highly recommend it to everyone.  It reads like a Harlan Coben mystery, with twists and turns and surprises in just about every chapter.  I couldn't put it down and read it in 2 days.

12.  What do you want less of?
Donald Trump

13.  A question that needs to be asked.
What in the world  do people see in Donald Trump?

14.  The best idea you’ve had this week.
Making 30 stuffed eggs for the Paul Picnic on Sunday.

15.  How are you creative?
I make junk journals, attempt ATCs (Artist Trading Cards), decorate envelopes when I write letters.  I'm not really creative, but I have a great time with stickers and washi tape!

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

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Saturday 9

 

Welcome to Saturday 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme!

Saturday 9: Wait Till You See Him (1967)

This song was chosen in honor of Father's Day. Hear it here.

1) This is Nancy Sinatra's celebration of her father, Frank. She singles out the sound of his laugh as something special. Do you know anyone who has a great laugh?
I can't think of anybody.

2) Frank Sinatra recorded this song himself a decade earlier. It was one of more then 1,400 recordings he made over his career. When you think of him, what song comes to mind?
Oh so many, but I guess "My Way" was the first that came to mind.

3) Nancy always called her famous father "Daddy," while her younger sister Tina referred to him as "Pop." How did/do you call your father?
I always called him Daddy.

4) Nancy went on to have two daughters of her own. The girls recall that their grandfather was loving and supportive, even when they went through a punk rock phase with spiky hair, lots of leather, and studs. Frank defended their extreme choices as a healthy means of self-expression. Did you have arguments with your parents over your clothes or hair? If you're a parent yourself, have you always approved of your kids' fashion choices?
Pretty much.  When Jeri was very young I wanted her in frilly dresses, which she hated.  After she chose a black dress with daisies on it for Easter when she was about 5, and was so happy with it--and looked great in it, I decided that since she was the one who had to wear it, I would just let her wear what she wanted.  I never had a problem with her brothers.  My mother chose a lot of things for me to wear, even as an adult, and I never really liked when she picked for me.

5) Back when our own Crazy Sam was in high school, her father gave her driving lessons. What grade would you give your driving today?
Our son and his wife moved in with us about five years ago and he felt that I was not a safe driver, so I stopped driving and have not driven since.  When I took my drivers test, it was in SAn Francisco.  My father taught me to drive and he wouldn't let me go for a test until I could parallel park with our standard transmission car on the steep SF hills.  The DMV office was on the flat part of the city and they took me out, had me drive around the block and then gave me my license.  I have often thought of the people who had NO clue how to drive on hills being given drivers licenses!

6) For family barbecues, Sam's dad dons his "Kiss the Chef" apron and mans the Weber. What's the last thing you grilled?
Good lord, I can't remember.  If we're talking outdoor grills, it's been decades.

7) Because he takes his grilling so seriously, Sam once invested in a pair of forged steel tongs for Father's Day. Does anyone on your gift list have a passion that makes them easy to shop for?
Our son Tom is a 49er fanatic and buying him anything 49er is easy.  Not sure he's happy with what I buy him, but he's the one I always know what to get for.

8) Traditionally the most popular Father's Day gift have been ties, wallets and belts. However experiences -- like tickets to a concert or a sporting event -- are gaining in popularity. Which would you prefer to receive: something to own and hold or an experience to remember?
Probably to own and hold, since I don't go out and experience things much any more.

9) Random question: Have you recently mistakenly called someone by the wrong name?
I don't think I've called anybody by the wrong name, but I posted a picture of two of our kids and called one of them the wrong name.

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

My father

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The Situation Room

 It's been a long time since I was so engrossed in a book than I didn't do anything else

That's what happened to me the last  two days.  I was so ensconced with George Stephanopolous' book, "The Situation room" that I couldn't put it down.  I didn't write a single letter for 3 days!

This book reads like a Harlan Coben novel....while the situations he talks about are familiar (9/11, Watergate, January 6, etc.), reading about what goes on in the Situation Room is filled with twists and turns and surprises.  E.g., Nixon was so depressed about Watergate that he spent his time drunk and on pills and Henry Kissinger really ran the country!

Review:  https://ftwbooks2024.blogspot.com/2024/06/i-saw-stephanopoulos-interviewed-on-tv.html

Anyway, that's what I've done for the past 3 days.  Now I have to find a new book to read.

Ned is headed off to Colorado tomorrow to help Marta ( who has been there 3 weeks helping her mother) and bring her home on Sunday.

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Judy Garland

June 10th was Judy Garland's 102nd birthday and when I saw this collage on Facebook, I had to post it.

A friend and I walked to school together every morning and in 1954, she saw a movie that she had just seen over the weekend. On our walk, she told me the plot of the movie and I knew I wanted to see it. I first saw Judy Garland in A Star Is Born and have been a die hard fan ever since.  I've probably seen A Star is Born 100 times (I used to go to night school and  then take the cable car late at night outside a theater that showed the movie...all the time.  I always saw the last 1/3 of the movie -- it costs 25 cents to get in -- and then got the cable car to go home).  I've seen it in the theater, on TV, on video and when it was re-released with new stuff added, I went to the opening and sat right behind James Mason to watch the film.

I've seen her in concert 3 times at the San Francisco opera house, once at a theater in the round, and once when she brought her Carnegie Hall concert to San Francisco (which is when I took the photo of the day.  I got her autograph and took her picture.  She was very nice.  I had sat in the lobby of the Fairmont Hotel for 2 days waiting for her to arrive and about half an hour after she checked in, she left, not liking her room, and went to another hotel.  She waved to me when she left.)

I'm 81 years old and I've been a fan since I was 11 years old.  She's still my favorite singer.

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

I've probably posted this before.
I took this in 1961

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The Day After

 I finished yesterday's entry at 4 a.m. this morning, then, despite having had a full night of sleep, decided to go back to the couch.  I woke up around 7:45, turned on The Today Show, got into the recliner with my cup of coffee, fell back asleep again until nearly 9.  Yesterday definitely took all the energy out of me!

Today, as I write this, is June 10... Judy Garland's birthday.  She would be 102, the age my mother was when she died.  

So it's been a weird day.  I had leftover stuffed eggs and cherries for breakfast, clam dip on crackers for lunch along with some potato chips and leftover peanut butter cookies.

I saw George Stephanopoulos on Kelly and Mark discussing his newly released book, "The Situation Room," which was available for Kindle, so I've started reading it.  Fascinating.  I have heard of the Situation Room forever, but didn't realize that it was JFK who started it after the Bay of Pigs, an event he took the blame for, but would not have made the decisions that were made if a Situation Room had been available (can you see #45 doing that?)  (Ironically the two presidents who used the Situation Room the least were Nixon and Trump).

I read that for awhile until lunch and then tried to take a nap but the mail arrived and I received six letters, all fairly long, which I had to read, by which time I was awake.

No letters answered, but I read the book most of the afternoon.  I highly recommend it to EVERYBODY.  You'll be amazed at the things you'll learn.

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

13 letters to answer!

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The Paul Picnic

Paul died 25 years ago.  The first year after his death, his best friend, Kag hosted a picnic for everybody who knew him.  It was a great success and has become a yearly event (except for the COVID year).  It used to be held in Berkeley, but the last few years we've had it in Davis.  Today was the day and what a great day it was.  The weather was perfect--mid 80s with a slight breeze.  Some people left early and some came late, but through the day there were about 30 people there.  Ned went to the park early to claim our spot and posted this picture of Paul on the table to show that the table was taken.

Ned and I both wore our "FTS" shirts ("fuck this shit," which is what Paul once said he wanted on his grave...we put "FTS" on the grave stone.  I also wore my smiley face earrings.

There was lots of food.  Kag took care of the barbeque and  everyone who had something to barbeque did it.  Ned had sous vided a tri tip and brought it to the picnic so he could get the barbeque flavor on it.  

The one thing I love about the Paul Picnic is there is always music.  Today there was Ned and KC on guitar, Clyde (KC's father; Ned's radio co-host) on percussion, and Richard, whose concert we went to see here in Davis a couple of weeks ago.

We brought Bubba with us and he had a marvelous time.  Peed on every tree, wandered around all over the place, but always came when we called him.  And I loved that he seemed to like to sleep while the music was being played   

So did Walt

We forgot to take a group picture this year, which we usually do.  We left around 4 and I was pretty tired by then.

We got home and I went immediately to sleep and slept on and off for a long time, until I got up to post the pictures and write this entry.

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

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Photography

 

This is a photo I have often used when I wanted to choose a picture of my family when I was a kid.

Only THIS isn't the actual photo.

I saw an app today called Photomyne, where you can scan photos and it will clean them up.  I was pleased with what it did with this photo and I know that there are tons of photos hanging around here that it will be good to clean up and make sharper.  I love especially how sharp Karen's face is in this.  It's very blurry in the original.

I was delighted when they actually colorized it (see Photo of the Day).  I am going to have a lot fun going through the photos that are everywhere in my office.

Of course, they tell you it's free to download...and it is.  But it's not free to use.  You get 3 days free and then it's $39 for a year.  But given how many photos I have, that doesn't seem to terribly much for a year.

And what fun I'll have playing around with it and learning how to use all the features of the program.  I didn't realize that if I "share" the photo it comes with the caption above.  I figured out how to get rid of it in the colorized version.

So much to learn...

Tomorrow is the Paul picnic and Ned and I are getting ready.  He has started a sous vide roast that he will put on the barbeque at the park.  He also found the largest bag of potato chips I've seen that he will use for the clam dip he will make.   I made a batch of peanut butter cookies and will cook eggs for stuffed eggs for tomorrow.  

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

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Sunday Stealing

 

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. This feature originated and published on WTIT: The Blog. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves.

Stolen from SwapBot

1.  Are you afraid of the dark?  No

2.  Can you curl your tongue?  Yes

3.  Can you wiggle your ears?  Yes

4.  Did you ever participate in a talent show?  Once, when I was a Girl Scout

5.  Do you have any piercings or tattoos?  One piercing in each ear

6.  Do you prefer Mac or PC?  PC

7.  Do you still have your wisdom teeth?  No

8.  Do you watch cartoons?  No

9.  Have you ever been hospitalized?  I have given birth 5 times and had gall bladder surgery a coupe of years ago.

10. Have you had braces?  No

11. Were you ever a Girl or Boy Scout? (Or a brownie)  Brownie and Girl Scout

12. What is one food you refuse to eat?  Liver and beets

13. What's the most expensive item of clothing that you own? 
a jacket I had made for me on the ship on a cruise to China -- it wasn't extremely expensive, but the most expensive thing I had bought since my wedding dress (which cost $120 in 1965).

14. What's your favorite foreign food?  Probably Chinese, with Mexican a second.

15. Who's your favorite fictional character?  Jo March in "Little Women" and Jamie Fraser in "Outlander."

   

  

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

I had an eye doctor appointment today

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