She doesn't play with his toys, of course...she just makes it difficult for him to play with them. And that makes her happy.
Cat vs Dog; Missy = 1, Shorty = 0
Shorty still likes to jump on the cat when she walks by, but Missy has her ways of getting even. For example, Shorty likes to hoard his toys on the couch, and sometimes when he leaves them to get a drink or snack, when he returns he finds Missy in his spot. He's brave, but Missy has an invisible force field when she's actually sitting on the couch. Neither Shorty or Julienne will mess with her there; maybe they think she has better leverage to hit them from here.
Easter blackberry pie
Ashley invited us to share Easter dinner with her family on Sunday. Randy decided to bring a couple of pies for dessert so he made a sweet cream pie and a blackberry pie. He tossed the blackberries with a few ingredients and put them into an unbaked pastry shell.
Then he rolled and cut strips for a lattice top,
and wove them across the pie, leaving plenty of spaces for the berries to show through.
Then the pie went into the convection oven and a just short while later it was golden brown, bubbling and smelling incredibly good.
And it tasted AWESOME!
And - bonus! - whenever Randy makes a pie, there is a little bit of dough left over for sugar-and-cinamon rollups!
Unwinding at the beach
Today was a rough day. We had to get out for awhile so we drove to Oceanside, where we waded into the ocean. The water was, of course, way too cold to swim in, but it's always relaxing to watch the ocean. When we couldn't feel our toes anymore, we changed tack and walked along the road, listening to the happy, summer sounds of families at the beach.
The value of Facebook
Randy's brother Lonnie passed away last evening. He is halfway across the country, but the distance doesn't make any difference. It feels like the world we woke up to has a hole in it; it is strangely off-balance, and we must struggle to function normally. That hole in world will never heal - we will just learn how to deal with it.
This is when I learned the true value of Facebook. Unlike me, Randy is a good Facebook corespondent And now, over and over, messages of support and encouragement are coming in. Voices from past schools, congregations, jobs and travel are here. They are saying the same things we always say when we don't know what to say: "I'm sorry for your loss", "you are in our prayers", "we are thinking of you"....and now I realize how those words help heal and comfort. They are the right thing to say because they are the only thing that can be said. It's the presence, in person or on-line, of people who care what has happened, that makes the difference. Thank you.
This is when I learned the true value of Facebook. Unlike me, Randy is a good Facebook corespondent And now, over and over, messages of support and encouragement are coming in. Voices from past schools, congregations, jobs and travel are here. They are saying the same things we always say when we don't know what to say: "I'm sorry for your loss", "you are in our prayers", "we are thinking of you"....and now I realize how those words help heal and comfort. They are the right thing to say because they are the only thing that can be said. It's the presence, in person or on-line, of people who care what has happened, that makes the difference. Thank you.
A quiet day, with funny videos
A quiet day; Randy is volunteering at the Flower Fields, driving a tractor that pulls a wagon of tourists, while I am at home with the critters, watering roses, doing laundry, and finishing odd assorted tasks. Also watching some of a BBC show called "New Tricks". LOVE this show! I had to join Hulu Plus to get it, but it was worth it.
But right now I'm watching one of the funniest things I've seen in awhile - Jeanne Robertson, doing "Don't go to Vegas without a Baptist"!
But right now I'm watching one of the funniest things I've seen in awhile - Jeanne Robertson, doing "Don't go to Vegas without a Baptist"!
Camping World trip - April 2
Last night we drove to Home Depot and parked the RV at the edge of their parking lot, as the Manager suggested. Just a couple buildings away was a Slater's 50/50 restaurant. The first time we went to one of these back in 2012, I decided they served the best burger I had ever had. So it was natural to walk over there for dinner. I ordered the 50/50 burger again - a burger made from 50% beef and 50% bacon, topped with avocado, chipolte sauce and an over-easy egg. I don't like chipolte and I almost never eat over-easy eggs, but this was a great combination. However....I wouldn't classify it as the best. I think that the thing that makes it so good is the egg; I'd never had that before and I was sort of swept away. It's a great burger, but not necessarily the best. So maybe I'll order an egg on my next gourmet burger, no matter where I get it!
It was OK spending the night in Home Depot's lot. They kept the lot lights on and the noise from the street wasn't enough to keep us awake. In the morning Randy got up early and walked over to McDonald's to get coffee. When I took the dogs out a few minutes later, I discovered that were several guys standing around; I forgot that this is a common practice in Southern California. They were waiting to see if someone would hire them for the day. Around here it's normal for contractors to pick up supplies and hire a few guys at the same place. As usual, they were all Hispanic and they were all well behaved; one guy even offered to wash our RV. But we didn't need it washed, we needed it fixed, so we crossed the street to Camping World. Camping World lots seldom have good RV parking and this one was no exception, but when Randy found a spot, the guy parked ahead of us moved his RV a bit so we could more easily fit in. Then Randy went to get us some breakfast biscuits to enjoy while we waited for the office to open. When they did open, Randy went inside to set things up. There was an awkward bit where they wanted to pump up the bill because the slides have awnings, but fortunately Randy was able to work things out. So we left them our key and drove to the Flower Fields, where Randy asked Teresa and Jack if we could use their RV for the day. They said yes, so we went back to the Antique Gas and Steam Engine Museum to spend a quiet day in our cousin's RV. I couldn't be sure our pets wouldn't have a bathroom mistake and I knew they would shed all over, so I put Missy the cat in the bathroom with a box of litter, while the dogs spent the time in their kennels. Randy bought lunchmeat for us all and we watched TV until around 1:30, when we returned to pick the RV up and drive home again.
Backing into our spot at the Museum was tricky - there are RVs parked close on both sides, plus our own stuff (table, chairs, BBQ) was still there. Ever since Randy worked at Hilton Head Island Motorcoach Resort helping RVers park in those luxury sites, we have adopted a different parking technique. He stands outside and I get behind the wheel. I don't drive the RV, but during parking all I have to do is watch Randy. He guides me in. I suck at giving directions and honestly I'm not that great at following them, but in this situation the responsibility makes me behave. And due to Randy's excellent directions, we made it in the very first try, with all wheels up on the wood blocks. That is an excellent job of guiding, and a not-too-shabby job of listening!
5 years ago: Awesome Yosemite
It was OK spending the night in Home Depot's lot. They kept the lot lights on and the noise from the street wasn't enough to keep us awake. In the morning Randy got up early and walked over to McDonald's to get coffee. When I took the dogs out a few minutes later, I discovered that were several guys standing around; I forgot that this is a common practice in Southern California. They were waiting to see if someone would hire them for the day. Around here it's normal for contractors to pick up supplies and hire a few guys at the same place. As usual, they were all Hispanic and they were all well behaved; one guy even offered to wash our RV. But we didn't need it washed, we needed it fixed, so we crossed the street to Camping World. Camping World lots seldom have good RV parking and this one was no exception, but when Randy found a spot, the guy parked ahead of us moved his RV a bit so we could more easily fit in. Then Randy went to get us some breakfast biscuits to enjoy while we waited for the office to open. When they did open, Randy went inside to set things up. There was an awkward bit where they wanted to pump up the bill because the slides have awnings, but fortunately Randy was able to work things out. So we left them our key and drove to the Flower Fields, where Randy asked Teresa and Jack if we could use their RV for the day. They said yes, so we went back to the Antique Gas and Steam Engine Museum to spend a quiet day in our cousin's RV. I couldn't be sure our pets wouldn't have a bathroom mistake and I knew they would shed all over, so I put Missy the cat in the bathroom with a box of litter, while the dogs spent the time in their kennels. Randy bought lunchmeat for us all and we watched TV until around 1:30, when we returned to pick the RV up and drive home again.
Backing into our spot at the Museum was tricky - there are RVs parked close on both sides, plus our own stuff (table, chairs, BBQ) was still there. Ever since Randy worked at Hilton Head Island Motorcoach Resort helping RVers park in those luxury sites, we have adopted a different parking technique. He stands outside and I get behind the wheel. I don't drive the RV, but during parking all I have to do is watch Randy. He guides me in. I suck at giving directions and honestly I'm not that great at following them, but in this situation the responsibility makes me behave. And due to Randy's excellent directions, we made it in the very first try, with all wheels up on the wood blocks. That is an excellent job of guiding, and a not-too-shabby job of listening!
5 years ago: Awesome Yosemite
Camping World tomorrow
It's time to get the seals replaced around our slide-outs. Randy bought the seals while we were in Riverside, but we are going to let Camping World folks install them. Since we don't know how long it will take, we asked for the 1st appointment of the day. Since this particular Camping World doesn't have any overnight parking, we have made arrangements to park overnight at the Home Depot, which is directly across the street from Camping World. We are on our way there now: overnight we will not have hookups for electricity, water or sewer. Fortunately we will do very all on our own. I am praying the job goes well tomorrow!
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