The joys of camping at Pismo and at home, too!

I thoroughly enjoyed myself last weekend, camping with good friends at Pismo Beach. It was super relaxing, beautiful scenery, great company, and did I mention relaxing? Just what I needed. I was so relaxed I forgot to take any photos!

Little did I know that I would be "pretend camping" for a few days back at the Hacienda. Yesterday, in my quest for ultimate health and well-being, I cut up half of a cantaloupe along with some strawberries for breakfast, and decided to put all of the rind and seeds and pulp down the garbage disposal. In my defense, I did NOT deposit said rind, etc., in the disposal whole. No, no, no. I dutifully cut the rind into smallish pieces, and fed it into the disposal. Let me add here that it sounds like it could grind the entire house in one swoop...kind of a turbo disposal. This is normal for this particular disposal.

Anyhoo, later in the day as I fixed myself a salad for lunch, I did not put anything more down the disposal. No need. I ate all that I fixed. Every drop. Hours later I decided to make some coffee and as I emptied the french press to wash it, suddenly the turbo disposal was churning with its usual vigor, but once I turned the turbo disposal off, all the water came bubbling back up. Yum. Not quite believing my eyes, of course, I tried it several times. More and more water bubbled back up. Mr. Fix-it (little Johnny) got home about 9:00ish, informed me that we would need to let the sink sit for at least 24 hours before attempting any type of clean-it-out with chemicals solution. He reiterated to me that no water should be put down the now really clogged drain for at least 24 hours. No rinsing anything, no running the dishwasher, nothing. Period. Hummmm. Much later last night, I trotted outside and rinsed the dinner dishes off with the hose, placed them in the dishwasher, and went to bed.

This morning, as I was outside, cleaning the french press again for my morning cup of joe, it occurred to me that, much like "living Amish" (that's what I called it back in the day, when my kids were in trouble and all electronic devices were off limits, or "on groundation" as Flannery liked to call it), I could grumble about the fact that I was out in the cold, wet yard (it rained a ton yesterday, inexplicably...really, in late June? Go figure.), washing my french press before I even had my first cup of coffee, or I could just pretend I was camping. So, I'm camping at the Hacienda. S'mores, anyone?

Note: For anyone that has never washed dishes outside, see the Thanksgiving post of 2009, where little Johnny pressure-washed all the Thanksgiving dishes, because the turbo disposal took an unscheduled and certainly unappreciated day off. We thought it was the pipes, but now I am thinking it was both pipes and disposal. Whatever. The joys of living in a very charming, albeit old home.

Let me count the ways to beat the heat!

As everyone in NorCal knows, it's been hella hot here the past few days.

Samson decided to take matters into his own hands early yesterday morning, while I was making coffee. Apparently, the water in his water dish, along with the water in the toilets (actually his very favorite, usually), just wasn't good enough...maybe not fresh enough.

My friend Bonnie suggested we visit China Camp, since it's one of the CA state parks slated to close in July. Not only was it much, much cooler in San Rafael, it was really beautiful, peaceful, and interesting, all rolled in one! Plus, it was just extra nice to spend time with my good friend!

We managed to squeeze in a quick trip to Sam's Anchor Cafe for their legendary fish and chips, while we watched the boats coming and going.



Yes, indeedy. It was a fun, relaxing, and dare I say, educational, day, all in all.

Arrrgh! Free events in and around the Bay Area

There's something for everyone this weekend in and around SF. For sweet tooth satisfaction, enjoy a taste of FREE Ben and Jerry's ice cream:



For the over 21 crowd, enjoy your FREE local brew and cheese tasting extravaganza here:


Last, but certainly not least, for the pirate in all of us, Arrrgh!, check out the FREE Pirate Festival:


Did I mention these events are all FREE?

Enjoy.

Some things in life really are FREE!

Imagine a world where you might get something for FREE! That's right, you heard it right here. Check out this bakery in SF that hands out freshly baked bagels on Mondays from about 9:00 a.m. until about 3:00 p.m. Enjoy!

La Victoria Bakery
2937 24th Street (@ Alabama), SF (Mission Dist.)
Fresh bagels come out starting around 9am each Monday – Free for everyone.

One way to beat the heat in the City

In a very expensive city (and the entire Bay area), it's really nice to find a free/cheap resource for fun stuff to do. I found this by listening to npr this morning. Check it out!

http://sf.funcheap.com/

There's even a naked bike ride in SF this weekend. It's legendary!



Awww, come on. It'll be fun! You know you want to! I double dare you!

I was reading Janet's blog, This Confetti Life, and, as usual, I was impressed with her creativity, and her ability to create beautiful, yet simple decorations. I don't mean simple in a negative way. I mean it in a "just the right touch" kind of way.

Personally, I believe that some (not all) things that appear simple are actually a ton of work. This one, maybe not so much. Janet, in her usual, thoughtful way, also included directions on how to make these cute favors. I suppose I don't really have an artsy-fartsy, creative, crafty muscle or bone in my body. The only time I excelled at crafty stuff was when my kids were in the "colored macaroni, Popsicle sticks, and paper plates" stage of life. I even made homemade Play-Dough from scratch (it's really easy and cool to make). I can be silly, pathetic, giggly, childish, somber, inappropriate...any number of things, but crafty in an artsy-fartsy way? I just can't see it. I'm fairly creative in how I do my job; I can sew, quilt, garden, cook, bake, and decorate. I even learned how to knit (no small feat for me...I'm a lefty and I figured it out by watching a youtube video and having my daughter Maeg show me over and over and over again) but put a craft in front of me, and watch me melt. It's not pretty. But maybe, just maybe, even I could pull this off. Just look at these little party favors. SO CUTE!

Feeling Takei?

George Takei of Star Trek fame posted a video in response to anti-gay remarks made on Facebook by Clint McCance, school board member in Arkansas several months ago. Amazingly, Mr. McCance's response with Cooper Anderson was almost as insulting as the original messages on Facebook. He states, unequivocally, that he "used the wrong language", but never really apologizes for the sentiment behind his words. The interview is very long, but if you listen to the first few minutes, you'll get the gist of what he's saying. Here's the clip of the interview with Cooper Anderson:



George Takei takes a strong stance, and although I find the name he calls McCance objectionable from a feminist standpoint, I do like his straightforward approach and humor:



According to Takei's subsequent videos, one way to avoid the near occasion of offending or stirring up anti-gay sentiment would be to simply substitute the word "Takei" for the word "gay"; let's try this, shall we? Instead of the bullying taunt "You are so gay" on the playground, we would hear instead, "You are SO Takei". You get the idea, right?

Let the gardening begin!

At long last, after a particularly hectic semester, it's time to break out the seeds, the gloves (which I rarely use, but really should), the trowel, a cold beer (well, okay maybe later today), and of course, this lovely gardening journal I received as a birthday gift last year from my good friend, Wilda. What fun!
Surprisingly, after throwing some sweet pea seeds randomly in a flower bed following some unsuccessful attempts to grow them in almost every other suitable area in the yard, these sprung up just as my winter/spring bulbs began to wither. Go figure!
Yes, I know they are not prolific. Yes, I know they could be bigger, brighter, taller, showier. But, by golly, they're here and they survived! Actually, they survived much better than I did after this rather brutal semester.

After spending my first official day off yesterday under the covers, reading, napping, eating, reading, napping, eating, interrupted only once by a very brief bike ride to a couple of stores no more than a mile away, followed by more reading, and napping, I figured it was time to get my bum in gear and be productive today. I am, however, still in my jammies (or jim jams, as Flanny and Ryan call them) and it's almost 11:00 a.m. Hummmm. I've certainly gardened in my jammies before. At least I brushed my teeth and washed my face. I'm off to a grand beginning, don't you think?