Anne & Don in California: Napa & the GGB

Disclaimer: Some of the following photos were taken by Anne.

Today Anne & Don and I headed up to the Napa Valley and wine country. It was again a lovely day for sight-seeing. We stopped off first at the Visitors Center to pick up some ideas of where to go.

We decided to start at a big name so drove up the road to the Robert Mondavi Winery. The tours were a bit pricey for our taste so we just looked around. It's a beautiful place. As you enter, a statue of St. Francis welcomes you.

(detail of statue)


The parking lots are surrounded by fields of vines.


Colorful flowers...

...and a lively fountain beckon you inside.


We strolled around (some of us hand in hand) enjoying the sun and manicured vineyard.




Since I'm not a fan of wine I was hoping to find somewhere to taste some local olive oil. Just up the road from Mondavi we saw a blackboard sign advertising "Local Olive Oil Tasting". How lucky were we? Soooo lucky. The fun, off-beat store of the St. Helena Olive Oil Co. was offering tastes of not just olive oils but balsamic vinegars, fig compote, barbeque sauce, honey, pesto, and mustards. The flavor of olive oil that caught my fancy was lemon. It was so fresh tasting I just had to buy a bottle. I also got some Italian pesto and some local barbeque sauce. It was great place.


Anne & Don aren't big wine people either but they've had some and they knew they liked one from Sutter Home so we stopped at their store after seeing the sign for "Complimentary Tastings". As I was browsing I saw these funny flip flops that seemed to be sized for small round feet. Turns out they are coasters for wine glasses. I'm not sure why they need to wear crazy looking flip flops.

We then crossed the valley to a less-travelled road where Anne spotted a field with some grapes left on the vines.




Then I spotted a bunny.


We were not anticipating just how many wineries are in Napa Valley and just how concentrated they are. We drove by one after the other after the other after the other.



We were going to go to the geyser at Calistoga but I had read online that it costs $8 so we decided to skip it. We also choose to forego the petrified forest, so sorry, you'll have to wait for pics for a couple weeks until Mom & Dad and I visit it. We crossed over the hills to the west then drove south through the Sonoma Valley and landed in Sonoma for a late lunch at the awfully, unbearably cute and tasty Black Bear Diner (pot roast for me, ham steak for Don, chicken avocado club for Anne).

As we drove south on the 101, we spied the Marin County Civic Center which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. (better photos)


We paused at the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge...


...crossed over it...


then paused on the south side and walked out on it for a bit.


It was getting darkish and I still had to drive back home so we headed over to Fisherman's Wharf and Anne & Don's hotel where they checked in, I used the facilities and we parted. I started home only to be stopped by a jam of cars trying to go home the same way as me.


I eventually made it across the bridge and home.

Next: Anne & Don visit San Fran without me (sniffle) then Yosemite with me (yea!)

Anne & Don in California: Berkeley Pier

On our drive north after lunch I mentioned (as we passed through Berkeley) that it had been a really long time since I had been to the pier at the Berkeley marina. It's quite long and from it you can see many of the famous bridges and sights of the SF Bay. It was just about sunset on our way back south so I suggested we stop and walk out on the pier.

The view to the northwest of the pier.


Don and Anne (left of frame) walk off into the sunset.


The Golden Gate Bridge shares the golden spotlight with the sinking sun.


Mt. Tamalpais and other Marin hills where we had just been a short while ago.


Sailors head home in the soft light of dusk. Can you spot the Richmond Bridge in the background?


The San Francisco skyline behind the sister islands of Yerba Buena and Treasure Island.


One last view of the GGB spanning the Golden Gate -- entrance to the SF Bay.


Next time: A&D visit Napa Valley, Calistoga, and the Petrified Forest (oh my)

Anne & Don in California: Muir Woods

My sister Anne and brother-in-law Don are spending 10 days here in my neck of the woods. Just as I was putting on my shoes this morning I got the call from Anne that they had arrived. She said there was no rush so I made a quick stop at Starbucks on the way. Once I got to the airport, I paused at the curb just long enough for them to pop the hatch, toss in their bags and climb aboard. We exchanged hellos then Anne said, "What do you think about going up to Muir Woods today?"

I had no problem with that though I worried their day would get long (their flight from St. Louis left before 6am!). Once we were on the road, it was too early (and out of the way) to check them into their hotel so we came back to my place to find maps and consider our route. By that time we were hungry so grabbed lunch at a local family restaurant (rib-eye with shrimp for me, chicken burrito for Don, breakfast burrito for Anne). It was a gorgeous day for tripping around the Bay Area so Anne and I enjoyed the weather and scenery on our drive north while Don caught a few winks in the backseat (sorry, no photo).

We arrived at Muir Woods to find the typical weekend parking hassle. They have two parking lots but if they're full you're supposed to park on the side of the narrow road. We drove to the end of the long, long line of parked cars but decided we'd rather spend our time waiting for a parking spot to open up than walk that far from -- and back to -- the car. We circled the main lot a couple times then shifted to the auxiliary lot where we got lucky and snagged a spot after only 15 total minutes of stalking.

If I had a color design for my life, Muir Woods at this time of year would be it.
(Click on the photos to see a larger size.)


Wouldn't you like to just hang out in this living room?


There was just a slight sense of fall in the woods with a few yellow leaves...




and just a trickle of water in the creek.




I love being in amongst the super tall trees with their orangey-brown trunks on display.


The fallen logs and branches of shorter non-redwoods strike a counterpoint of mossy green.




I was headed back down the main path when I spotted a deer several yards away. It was crouching low to the ground acting almost like it was injured or ill. Then all of a sudden others were there and two of them were fighting. They were close enough that we could hear the crack of their antlers crashing together. Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough to catch it with my camera and the shots I did get of the deer were too far away and blurry (as you can see).




Of course, we had to take the traditional "there are people inside a tree!" shot.


The angle of sunlight in the late afternoon provided some dramatic views of these amazing trees.


Next time: A&D visit the Berkeley Marina fishing pier

Words for Hunger

For all you vocabulary fans: FreeRice.com

For every correct word chosen from a four-word multiple choice list, FreeRice.com will donate 10 rice grains to the United Nations World Food Program. So far 232.7 million grains have been donated and the site only began on October 7. I earned 1000 grains tonight.

The site itself is gorgeous and they customize your test as you answer the questions. Read the FAQ for a description of how it works. I fluctuated around the mid- to low 40s. How 'bout you?

Here are some of the more difficult words I got (descriptions in the comments):

teredo
hebdomadal
meretricious
amercement
leister
rumen

SoCal on Fire

I've mentioned here before how much I love views from above. This view is sadly lacking in joy, however. The red marks on the satellite image of Southern California represent active fire areas this afternoon. And it's easy to identify the smoke flying out to sea. What's crazy to me are the plumes of dust kicked up by the gale-force winds blowing down from the desert and through narrow canyons thanks to those awful Santa Anas. Click on the link below the image to see a larger view (takes awhile to load) which you can zoom in on.

One interesting thing I heard on Nightline tonight was that they got plenty of rain down in the Southland a couple years ago so there's loads of fuel (read "shrubbery") this year for the fires to burn. One of the most dramatic videos I watched was a darkened street full of burning embers being swept away to start up more fires wherever they may land.

The area of high pressure over Salt Lake (that's causing the severe winds from the east) is supposed to diminish and move on by Wednesday so there may be some help for firefighters in getting some of the fires under control with some higher humidity levels.

That same high is giving us some pretty warm weather up here in the Bay Area as well. I hope people are being very careful with their cigarette butts and are making sure they put out their camp fires and grills.

Phantom Unsafe Passenger Reading

I have so many library books on my front passenger seat that when I added the weight of my work bag to the pile it triggered my car's seatbelt sign sensor and the dashboard light began flashing warning me of an unbelted passenger.

Books on the seat:
The Bishop's Heir (read), The King's Justice (in bag), The Quest for Saint Camber, King Kelson's Bride by Katherine Kurtz
Dark of the Moon by John Sandford
Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich
Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn

Can You Speak Up?

Ah, Fleet Week. Who doesn't like screaming engines and screaming to be heard over them? I'm surprised we got any meetings accomplished today with the Blue Angels and their jets flying over downtown all day. I'm sure glad our big anniversary party isn't this week. I may have to wear ear plugs tomorrow.

A Chicken Coop of Goodness

I arrived home just at 8pm this evening with high anticipation of some good TV. Little did I realize how much good TV was happening at 8 o'clock. I already had my DVR scheduled with the results show for Dancing with the Stars and the second episode of the current cycle of America's Next Top Model.

When I turned on the TV it was tuned to the Food Network and my favorite, Good Eats, was on and it was about waffles. How could I miss that?

Then I found out that it was Barry Bonds' last game with the Giants. I just had to watch that. So I had all four of my tuners going at once.

But then I suddenly remembered that Joanna had said Kid Nation was on tonight. I watched it last week but hadn't set a series recording. I abandoned Good Eats and flipped over to CBS. I tuned in after the chicken controversy but caught the water challenge and Michael's triumph at the town council meeting. I was so glad to see him get the $20k gold star. He deserved it so much more than the graffiti-drawing suck-up Greg.

ETA: I just tuned into Bionic Woman and, hello, John just might be right.

The Return of the Dance

Oh, I'm so excited that Dancing with the Stars is back. It is the most fun on TV. My favorite stars so far are Hélio Castroneves, the IndyCar driver, and Jane Seymour who I've loved since Somewhere in Time with Christopher Reeve.

I was a bit apprehensive when I saw that last year's profressional champion Julianne Hough was paired with Hélio. She is so good she deserves to last to the final. I didn't think to give him much of a chance so I was worried she wouldn't be around very long. But their foxtrot tonight was divine. Hélio was so elegant and smooth. I can't wait to see him dance more.

Jane is paired with Tony Dovolani who is one of my faves of the pros. They also danced the foxtrot and it was perfect dance for her. I'm not sure how she's going to with the Latin numbers. Can you believe she's 56?

Last night everyone was saying that the boxer Floyd Mayweather was going to be the toughest competition for the guys but he was awful. I felt so sorry for his partner while they were dancing. I was disapointed the judges didn't call him on how awful he was. At least they gave him the worst scores of the night.

The new pro Mark Ballas (who is paired with Cheetah Girl Sabrina Bryan) is too adorable for words. I'm glad he got an excellent partner (they rocked the cha-cha last night) so he'll be around for many weeks to come.

SepteRemember: John #8

In 1984, my older brother Mike got married in Idaho. John and I were in high school and were so excited to go, perhaps because we took our exams and got let out of school early to travel there by car. The car we took was the little red Toyota Tercel, or the Toy as we called it. There was just enough room in it for Mom, Dad, me and John.

John and I had saved up to buy our first ever Walkman for the trip. I don't remember what tapes we took along but we kept hearing one song over and over on the radio: True Colors by Cyndi Lauper. Hearing that song sure takes me back to the cramped backseat of the Toy and fighting with John over whose turn it was to listen to the Walkman.

We did some pretty cool stuff on that trip. If you happen to be going anywhere near southern Idaho (like Yellowstone), I highly recommend you go to Craters of the Moon National Monument. Now that's some odd landscaping. However, I wouldn't recommend the slow drive through Route 12 north of there where all you see for miles and miles are trees and waterfalls (and more waterfalls). Okay, some people (Dad) might like it, but for me it got rather tiring. I was happy to get back to civilization.

SepteRemember: Mom #8

One of the longest-lasting memories I have of my mom is the letter she wrote to us kids expressing how disappointed she was in us and our lack of interest in doing our chores. I think I may have been in junior high at the time or possibly younger. I remember crying and crying about it. I think I could've withstood a spanking better than those pointed words on the page (carbon copy, I think). I found that letter years later and still felt so guilty and sad.

Squawk!

That's just stupid of them to vote off Chicken. That Ashley is worthless. She and her huge breasts and ugly lip piercings should've been outta there. Or the most-annoying-so-far Peih-Gee (or PG). I thought for sure she'd be first one out. You know how the tribes love to get rid of those early in-your-face, let-me-tell-you-what-to-do "leaders", especially those with a high, whiny voice.

I was disapointed in Frosti's performance in the challenge. I expected him to fly over those walls seeing as how he's a practitioner of Parkour. (btw, he's orginally from Traverse City and is, interestingly, half Russian/half Japanese)

I just love Courtney, the ultra-skinny, platinum blonde New York City waitress. Her interviews are hilarious.

TP to the HC

Please correct me if I'm wrong but isn't there something seriously and inherently wrong with using Handel's Hallelujah Chorus to sell toilet paper?

SepteRemember: John #7

I don't like to drive and haven't from the very beginning. As John is only a year younger than me, I was particularly enthusiastic about him learning how to drive and getting his license. So, of course, he could drive me around.

We had a couple cars at the time, one of which was a full-size Chevy van. John's a pretty good driver but for some reason he kept veering to the right side of the road. I asked him what was going on and he said he was trying to keep the steering wheel straight. I looked over and sure enough the horizontal supports on the steering wheel were askew which made driving like an airplane pilot a bit of an adventure. He thought he had to have them parallel to the ground.

Stay on the road, John!

Happy Birthday, John!

Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday

Misery is in the air
People dying everywhere

Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday

Now you've lived another year
Surely death is drawing near (but)

Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday

You are now entering your 40th year of life. Congratulations on making it this far.

SepteRemember: Mom #7

When I think back on all the birthday presents I've received from my mom perhaps the most memorable one was what she sent to me in Barcelona. My birthday is often near Easter and she wanted to send me something that didn't weigh very much and therefore wouldn't cost too much to ship. So her ingenious solution was to send some marshmallow peeps. If I remember right, they were the yellow kind. She also sent a tape of a Tigers game she had recorded from the radio so I could experience a bit of home while I was in baseball exile.

SepteRemember: Mom & John #6

This is one of my favorite photos of our family. I was too little to remember sitting for this photo session but from this shot it sure looks like we had a lot of fun. Well, I look a bit mesmerized. And John seems awfully interested in that funnel. I bet there's candy inside. Mom looks a lot like her sister Joyce in this photo. Joyce married my dad's brother Dave so their girls are our double cousins. I always thought that was pretty cool.



From this footnote to the proceedings it look as if Dad was:

1. 1) really tuckered out,
2. 2) suffering from narcolepsy, or
3. 3) hamming it up as usual.

And for some reason, I don't appear that amused.

SepteRemember: Mom #5

While I'm pulling out the old photos I just had to include this one of my mom when she was a girl. Aren't those curls awesome?


She still likes having curly hair. I remember (not so fondly) our forays into home perms when I was in high school. For some reason, mine never came out like the box showed. And boy were they smelly! Mom sure put up with a lot for us girls.

Mom goes to the hair salon nowadays. I've sworn off perms and other curling mechanisms. I did henna my hair red for many years. But after seeing some white hairs recently I've let my natural color grow out just to see what it looks like.

Here's a couple photos from this week of my mom with her mom and her birthday candles in Pennsylvania.

SepteRemember: John #5

Here are a couple other pictures of little John. Isn't he sweet? These are from 1974. He turned six that year.

The first one is John with his dad (nice beard!) and grandpa: three generations. John is the youngest of six as is Dad. I don't know about Grandpa. I don't think he had that many kids in his family. At this time Grandpa was living in Virginia and we were up in Michigan. This may have been the trip where he moved up north to live with us.


Grandpa moved not only himself but his TV too. We didn't have one before then so you could often find us kids hanging out with Grandpa in his room with our eyes glued to the tube.

This second photo is from Carolyn's birthday party in June 1974 when she turned 9. That is not Carolyn's midrift. I doubt Mom would've let us wear something like that. Mike was the only dark-haired one of us six kids. I wonder if he ever felt odd about that. Knowing him he probably just thought that made him special. Doesn't he look like he's up to something? John looks like he's eaten a tad bit too much birthday cake.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

A really really bad poem in honor of my Mom's birthday today:

Happy Birthday to my mum
She and Dad's where I come from
Tho' she's doesn't squeal and cry
When we say hello or bye
I always know she cares a lot
So let her never be forgot
(or her soup of yummy corn)
on this day that she was born

I hope you're having a lovely birthday wherever you are.

SepteRemember: Mom #4

Mom had to work hard to feed all us growing kids (and Dad) while I'm sure she would've rather been doing things other than slaving away in the kitchen. Dad loves to garden and we would grow lots of corn, peas, beans and tomatoes, among other things.

A lot of my memories of Mom are preparing those veggies for canning and freezing. I never liked to be out in the hot sun with the bugs biting me so I was able to whine my way into helping to snap beans or husk corn and help Mom freeze them. We'd have an assembly line of water to blanch the corn still on the cob while the sink would be full of cold water with drainers ready for the cooled off cobs. When I was old enough I got to help with cutting the corn off the cobs. That can be tricky! Ah, the joys of homemade frozen corn. One of my mom's still oft-requested meals is her chicken corn soup made with that juicy, milky corn.

Mom also made homemade spaghetti/pizza sauce and ketchup to store in her walk-in pantry. We would often come home from school to the house smelling of long-cooking tomato sauce as an electric kettle of ketchup would be bubbling away on the counter.

The whole family would be involved in food collection. We'd load up the family van and take trips over to nearby orchards to pick cherries and peaches and pears. While Mom would can most of the peaches, she'd always save some out for peach cobbler. And the same was true for the cherries. Watch out for the pits!

Our area was famous for pickles. They even called the raw cucumbers growing out in the fields "pickles". Mom would make pickles at home of the dill variety but my favorite was her lime pickles. She'd go down to the pickle shed where they sorted them for size and quality and would bring home the big ones that were due to be discarded. We'd peel them and slice them lengthwise into long strips removing the seeds as well. They looked like little canoes. After the pickling and canning, they'd get almost translucent and so crispy. Yum, yum, yum.

What were your favorite homemade foods when you were little?

SepteRemember: John #4

My dad's sister's daughter got married in the summer of 1972 and requested that John and I be her ring bearer and flower girl. I'm sure we were very excited and not that well-behaved but someone else will have to report on that as I don't have really any memory of it myself.

The traditional family story of this event that everyone loves to tell is that John fell asleep during the reception in the nave of the church under some coats. I'm sure he was just worn out from all that ring bearing.

SepteRemember: Mom & John #3

One of my favorite things about my family is that we always took a lot of family trips. This picture is from the summer of 1972 when we visited historic Williamsburg. Poor Mom and John got put in the stocks for being bad. (left to right: some stranger, John-3, Mike-8, Carolyn-6/7, Mom-36, me-5, Dad-37)

If you look closely you'll see I'm holding my birthday present from that year. I was taken to the the toy department and had the opportunity to pick out whatever I wanted ("within reason" I'm sure Dad said) and I chose a stuffed Winnie-the-Pooh. I still have that sad bear in a box at home. He took some damage even yet that summer when John and Mike threw him into the pool at camp. At least that's what I remember.

SepteRemember: Mom #2

I celebrated my sixth birthday in the cold house in the valley. My mom made me a super cool cake in the shape of a cat. That's her with the fancy cuffs.



I don't have a lot of specific memories of helping out in the kitchen when I was that age but I do love to cook so I bet I was always under Mom's feet while she was trying to get supper on the table.

I've always been a fan of cats as well. One of my first memories is of playing with the cats by the back door of our house in Virginia. Supposedly I would get up very early and go outside to be with the cats.

SepteRemember: John #2

We moved to Michigan when I was five and John was not quite yet four. The first house we lived in was part of an old farm in a valley. The house was pretty small for all eight of us. In fact, my parents' bed couldn't fit upstairs so they had to sleep in the living room. It got really cold there in the winter and we'd run downstairs to the wood stove to get dressed in the morning.

There was a big barn by the house that I'm pretty sure was off limits for me and John but I'm also sure my older brother got all us youngers into trouble many times for playing in it and climbing up into the haylofts.

Years later, John and I would ride our bikes over there because of the valley. We loved coasting down the big hill, pass the Vickers' house, and then pumping furiously to get up the next hill, just to coast back down again.

SepteRemember: Mom #1

Mom always prepared the bulletins every week for the church services and the church newsletters every few months or so. She'd create stencils on her electric typewriter then run copies off on a mimeograph machine. The ink couldn't dry fast enough so would often bleed from one copy to another. One of us kids would be drafted to stand by the machine and insert scrap paper in between the copies. It got hot and smelly but it was a fun challenge to be fast enough to get the scraps in before the next copy shot down onto the stack.

After printing there was always sorting the scraps out from the newsletter sheets and collating. Mom would put stacks of each page around the dining room table and we would run around it collecting one page from each stack. Then we would staple and attach mailing labels. It was quite the industrious printshop and mailhouse. Of course, it helped having six kids.

SepteRemember: John #1

John is about 18 months younger than me. One of my first memories of John is sitting together by the side of the road waiting for the school bus to deliver our older siblings back from their day away from home. We would play in the dirt and hang out by the mailbox of our rural red brick multistorey house in Virginia. The olders would jump off the bus and we'd all run inside for an after-school snack.

It's possible I'm making most of that up as I was probably only four.

Do You Remember...September?

September means a lot of things. The sidewalks loosen up as the tourist population decreases. Kids and teachers go back to school. Football starts up again.

For me, it means the birthdays of two of my favorite people in my family: my mom and my younger brother. I'll be posting some memories of them throughout the month.

What a Week, Vol. III

Nap Much Needed

I had such a tiring, stressful, exciting, fun week that I had to take a nap this afternoon to recover. I never ever nap but I was falling asleep watching the Little League World Series so I just had to lie down. And I slept for FOUR hours!

Now I'm watching Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers in HD on TNTHD. It's amazing! Oh, dear. Haldir just died at Helm's Deep. So sad.

What a Week, Vol. II

Fifteen Years of Fun

Fifteen years ago Monday I arrived at San Francisco International Airport for the start of a volunteer year with an environmental non-profit organization. Eight months later my boss offered me a full-time job as Office Manager and Bookkeeper. Yesterday, my co-workers threw me surprise party celebrating those fifteen years of service. Yes, I am still working for the same organization but for a little bit more money than my volunteer stipend of $45/month!

I was told of a special all-staff meeting at 12:30pm on Thursday so suspected it might be something me-related but I couldn't be sure. Our ED's birthday is today so there was also a lot of furtive movement about the office related to surprising her with flowers and such. However, she was the one who had entered the meeting into our office calendaring system so I remained suspicious. However, I didn't spend a lot of time thinking about it as I had the audit to contend with!

I arrived in the conference room and there were two pies sitting with a pile of plates as well as several bars of various flavors of chocolate. My boss came over beside me and announced that we were there to celebrate my fifteen years. I was a bit overcome and really can't remember what he said but I was presented with a heavy package wrapped in thick gold paper and bound with binder twine accompanied by a lovely, clever, entertaining note from our founder (who is leaving us after 25 years in December) which I attempted to read aloud through my tears.

The package contained three books: The World Without Us by Alan Weisman (what would happen to the earth without humans) and two baseball-related ones. I look forward to reading all of them. Our founder also presented me with some amazing note cards constructed with photos taken by her partner. They are truly beautiful and I can't imagine sending them off to anyone. I'll have to keep them for myself.

Our ED was celebrated with a bouquet of organic flowers, we sang Happy Birthday, then we passed around the strawberry-rhubarb and banana cream pies and chocolate with almonds and caramel as several of my long-time co-workers shared stories about me. It was very lovely; I just wished someone had remembered to provide tissues.

What a Week, Vol. I

Audit Week

So this week has been Audit Week for me and I had been a little worried after our pre-audit meeting last Monday. It turns out it was for no good reason.

The fieldwork is done and it felt easier than last year. I think all the notes they took last year helped since they hardly bothered me at all. They were happily working up in the library for three days and only rarely ventured down to my office. And the senior auditor was here for barely half a day and spent about 5 minutes talking to me. Last year she called me after the fieldwork and had lots of suggestions for how we could be doing things better. I'm curious to hear what she says this year after reviewing the work the others did this week.

Each year I take lots of notes of what they ask for and I encourage them to let me know if they want me to be doing anything different in preparing my work papers. I think reviewing those notes from last year really helped me this time.

Bad Luck in the Bathroom

Too many women work on this floor.
One stall in the bathroom isn't enough.
Whenever I checked someone was in there.
My bladder is complaining.
So am I.

Pre-Audit Jitters

I sent my files over to the auditors today at 4pm and felt such a great sense of accomplishment that I decided to leave the office early.

On my way home I remembered some potential bad news that came up during the pre-audit meeting yesterday with the Audit Committee (me, my boss, his boss, the auditors, a Board member and an outside advisor/former Board member). The audit will have some different procedures this year. Instead of testing many areas lightly, they will test fewer areas more heavily.

I'm a bit aprehensive about it since I don't really know what to expect. I fear I will get into trouble for not being careful enough. My boss and I tend to let things slide a bit too much because we trust each other and the rest of the staff and don't always insist enough on proper approvals and documentation.

A big part of what the auditors will be looking for is proper internal controls. I think we've been improving in the area of having more people involved in approval processes and oversight but it might not be good enough and we might have to get written up for it. I sure hope not!

Overheard at the Library

I was scanning my books through the self-checkout machine this morning when I heard the following phrase projected throughout the circulation desk area:

"Do you want to take this outside?"

Now I have to imagine that might be the only time that sentence has been uttered in the local library as the scene there is mostly quiet and always civil. But this was one disgruntled patron.

"I get off at 5," mumbled the check-out clerk.

"You are always rude to me," continued the father, cradling his little girl whom he had plopped upon the counter.

"I get off at 5," repeated the clerk, glad he had a counter between himself and the irate dad.

"Who is the idiot who hired you? Who is the idiot who hired you? Who is the idiot who hired you?" (I swear, he said it three times!)

I really wish the witch who is often there on Saturdays had been working circulation today. She would've taken that guy down a notch or two. However, I didn't wait to see if anyone appeared from the staff office. I high-tailed it out of there with my three sci-fi books and Plum Lovin'.

Hootie Dooty Jury Duty

I had jury duty today and the nice thing is that I can check the courthouse website the evening before to see if I have to actually report the next morning. Lucky me, I didn't have to.

The bad thing is that there's an afternoon session as well so I had to wait until 11am to see if I'd have to go in. So I did a little work at home in the a.m. then checked the website at 10:50 and they already had updated the page to say no one was needed for the afternoon either. Lucky me again!

I showered and headed out for work. I checked the closest BART station for parking spots but there were none so I went my usual station figuring I could park in a nearby lot and walk in if there weren't any places in the BART lots. I checked a couple of the closest lots anyway just in case. And lucky me, there was a spot just waiting for me!

I made it to work before 1:30 and worked until about 7:30. I didn't check the BART schedule to see when the next train was and at that time of night I could be waiting 20 minutes if I just miss one. I got down to the platform and a train was sitting there waiting with the doors closed. A minute or so later, the doors opened again. Now if you think I'm going to tell you that was my train, you'd be wrong. But the next one, a couple minutes later, was. So it was the perfect end to my lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky day.

Reprieve

August is audit month at work. It's my big annual test to see if I'm doing my job properly. It's always a stressful time and I get on people's nerves by asking them for lots of papers.

This year my auditors requested that they do the fieldwork a week earlier than normal because they had another job the week of the 20th. I said okay even though I was already going to be a bit behind from doing production on the magazine. I knew I didn't have any other layout jobs after that so I could concentrate fully on prepping for the audit. This week has been crazy trying to get all the schedules done to send over to their office next week before they get here. I think I could've done it but today I got some good news.

The senior auditor told me that one of the two junior auditors who normally work on our audit is leaving their company and the other one is on vacation the week we had scheduled. So she wanted to push it back a week! I was so happy. I now have all next week to finish things up. Yea!

Going Up?

The elevator here at the office has been out for repairs since Wednesday. We've all had to climb the four or five flights of stairs to get to work. I was happy I planned ahead and brought lunch so I didn't have to go out in search of food.

The stairs are pretty awful though. The treads are made of concrete which is broken in a lot of places. So you're walking along and it feels like you might fall through at any moment. I know it's just lying on top of metal but still.

And the lighting in the stairs is haphazard. Some fixtures are really bright and others are non-existent. One morning I forgot to exchange my sunglasses for my regular ones and I was stumbling around in the dark. You'd think if the building managers force us to take the stairs, they would at least put in light bulbs!

Comments on DH?

A couple people have alerted me that they tried leaving very witty, insightful comments to my last post. However, it appears that because I left my reactions to Deathly Hallows as a really long comment, Blogger refuses to accept any more for that post.

So please respond here if you wish...

The Deathly Hallows

I finished HP and the Deathly Hallows at 3am this morning but I was too tired to post anything before grabbing some Zs. I was very happy with the book overall and you can read more details (and spoilers) in the comments...

What Would Jo Do?

With only a couple days until the release of the seventh and final installment in saga of our favorite wizard, Harry Potter, I'm actually getting quite nervous. Nervous to see what scrapes he and his pals will get up to, sure, but really it's his final fate that has me on edge. Would Jo be so bold as to leave us crying?

I hear there are all kinds of spoilers all over the internet which I'm trying very hard to resist so please no comments or emails with the latest rumor you've heard. I'd like to see what Jo has come up with for us with nothing to ruin it.

The O of the P

CAUTION: Spoiler Alert

I went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last week and it was great. I had purposefully kept my expectations low—since I had not been so happy with HP and the Goblet of Fire—but I didn't need to.

Number Twelve Grimmauld Place and the DA and Harry's detentions with Umbridge and the Hall of Prophecies were all like we had dropped into them out of the book. I especially liked the purring, meowing kitty plates mounted on the walls in Umbridge's office. The sound design made me want to look around the theater for all the kittens who had escaped from the pet store. (and to take one home, of course)

New additions Kreacher, the thestrals and Mrs. Figg were well done but the best has to be Luna Lovegood. I'm so glad she was given several scenes in the movie in which to shine. Lucius Malfoy was again a superb bad guy and this time he had sexy fighting robes and a new evil sidekick, Bellatrix Lestrange.

The only complaint I have is that I wished it could've been twice as long. So much that I loved in the book was sacrificed to tell the story within a reasonable time. Here are some of the things they had to omit:

• the screaming portrait of Sirius' mum
• the cleaning of Number Twelve, especially the Doxies
• Mrs. Weasley encountering the boggart
• Hermione and Ron as prefects
• S.P.E.W. and Hermione's knitting
  
• Quidditch in its entirety: Ron as Keeper, Harry's ban, "Weasley is Our King"
• Percy's letter to Ron vilifying Harry
• Lockhart and Neville's parents at St. Mungo's
• Harry's outlawed story in The Quibbler
• Firenze as Divination professor
• Hermione's jinx revealed on Marietta Edgecombe's face
• the staff of Hogwarts ignoring, yea, encouraging pranks after Dumbledore is removed as Headmaster (oh, the twins' swamp!)
  
• studying for and taking their OWLs
• Hagrid's firing, McGonagall taking four Stunners
• the rotating room, the brain room (Ron!), the time room in the Dept. of Mysteries
• Harry blowing up at Dumbledore and destroying the many whirring trinkets in his office
  

With that list you may wonder what was in the movie. Well, you'll just have to go and see.

Trash Car

Yes, that's right. Not trash can, trash car.

I was filling up my tank (10 gallons for $31) at the ARCO after work this evening when I noticed something sticking out of the driver's side back door. I tugged it out and it was a candy wrapper! Of a sort I would never eat. (soft centers? yuck) There was something else stuck further in so I unlocked the door, opened it, and another wrapper fell out.

Someone has been using my car as a trash receptacle and I don't like it. I guess it could be worse. At least it wasn't gum.

Just Missed

I was happily working along last night finishing up a few items before leaving for our brief one-day midweek holiday when I remembered I needed to get to my library before it closed at 8pm. I had two books on hold that I wanted to pick up to read today.

I hurried as much as I could all the way back home: from rushing through the July 4 holiday vacationers in the City, to pre-walking through the BART train so I was positioned for a quick departure from the station, to speeding along the surface roads and taking the highway, to just skimming the back end of a yellow light...

but I was 5 minutes too late. The lights were off and the sign read "Your Library Is Closed." I'm just glad the date by which I must pick them up or risk paying a fine is Saturday. I still have some time.

Roadwork Update

So far they've excavated a few rectangular blocks of pavement from the pink marked-off lanes. Then they replaced them and covered them with fresh black goo. The next day there were more pink lanes going almost the entire length of the street (it's not very long). I think a saw a machine that was slicing through the pavement along the lanes as I left one morning but I haven't seen any more signs of excavation. It's all very curious.

Road Signs

I almost ran over a guy in the middle of my street this morning when I left for work. Luckily he was wearing an orange reflective vest as he was surveying so I swerved to the right.

When I turned onto my street this evening I saw odd bright pink markings on the tarmac at regular intervals leading up to a lane a couple feet apart bordered by long pink stripes. Either someone was decorating or there's possibly going to be some road work delays in my future.

Happy Solstice!

I was at the office later than normal last night and when I got to my car at the BART station I was shocked to see it was almost 9:00 because it was still so light out. Then I realized what day it was: the summer solstice.

I hope you enjoyed the longest day of the year!

Getting Ready for HP

So by now you must've noticed the addition to the top of my sidebar: the Countdowns from MuggleNet.

With just 27 days until the movie comes out, it's time to be planning our reading schedule to prepare. Or are you just going to watch the movies? I think I'll try re-reading everything. If I time it right, I can have books 1–5 read before the movie and then read HBP.

The Order of the Phoenix is one of my favorite books of the series but after my disappointment with the last movie, my hopes are not too high for this one. I'm looking forward to Luna appearing and Hermione being a mover and shaker behind the DA. Well, we'll just have to wait and see. (can't wait!!)

Can you believe it's only a little over a month until The Deathly Hallows is out? Have you ordered yours yet? Sorry, Sal, but I ordered mine from Amazon. (I'm a bit worried that they'll try to deliver it on that Saturday to the office. I may be sitting here at home for two days while the rest of the world is reading TDH! Perhaps I should consider staking out the office until the UPS guy arrives.)

Are you sad yet that the story is ending? Who do you think is going to die? I'm thinking it'll be Ron. I hope it's not Harry. I hope I can resist reading the end before I get to it. It'll be so hard. (can't wait!!)

For a Few Brain Cells More

So I figured out why I was so confused when I started reading For a Few Demons More. I was able to fly through the first books in the series as I was lounging around being sick this week. There were only a couple days when I didn't feel up to reading much. As I started the fourth book, A Fistful of Charms, it just didn't seem familiar. In fact, I had never read it at all! Well, I'm glad I gave up on FaFDM or I would've missed a fun romp over the Mackinac Bridge.

Clogged Up and Sore

I've been sick with a sore throat and clogged up sinuses for the last week. I've been at work a total of 1.25 days this week. I was hoping to get May bookkeeping done today so I could work from home tomorrow but my boss came by and made me chat with him for over half an hour so I think I'll just hope I'm feeling as good tomorrow morning as I did this morning. Well enough to make the trek from home to work anyway.

Review, Revisit and Re-Read

Have you ever started a book, maybe the third or fourth book in a series, and after a couple chapters realized you have no idea who the characters are and what happened to them previously?

That happened to me when I started reading For a Few Demons More by Kim Harrison, the fifth book in The Hollows series. Either my memory is really bad or it's been way too long since I read the other books but I had no idea who Ivy, Nick and Ceri were. I decided to give up and re-read the first ones.

I won't be able to read them on BART however since the only versions available were ebooks. I checked out the first three and downloaded them to my computer for reading at my leisure. Well, I might have to hurry since For a Few Demons More is due on the 26th. We'll see if I can get them all read by then.

I was smart enough to know I'd have no clue what was going on in Sharon Shinn's The Thirteenth House as it has been a long time since I read Mystic and Rider. So I reserved both of them and am busily re-reading M&R before delving into the sequel.

I'm not sure I'll get to my Netflix movies this weekend...

Zander Stories (circa 2000): Part II

Excerpts of emails from Joanna

Sun, 4 Jun 2000 (from Grandma W.)
Last Sunday, Sheryl was teaching Sunday School during worship hour. At one point she was reading a story about "Where Is God?" Zander was off to the side, playing by himself. She didn't think he was paying attention to her. The story asks the birds, "Where is God?" They say he's with them where it's so pretty. Also, the fish when questioned say He's with them where it's so pretty. As she ends the story, Sheryl said she asked emotionally, "Where is God?" Zander gets up, comes to her, spreads his arms and says , "I don't know, but my dad does. I'll go upstairs and ask him. Shall I go ask him?" And he takes off to do it.

Mon, 5 Jun 2000
Today, Zander and I built a garage for his cars out of wood. He even did part of the nailing. John hasn't seen it. I'm sure no building inspector in the world would approve of it. Then I taught Zander how to sew today. I had the leg I cut off a pair of pants so we turned it into a bag with a drawstring. Zander did some of the sewing so he's enthralled with it. He only poked me with the needle a couple of times so I thought it was a success.

Wed, 19 Jul 2000
Zoe [born July 10] is doing really well. She is eating and sleeping really well. She's just so quiet. I keep waiting for the crying to start. It will any day now. Zander is still so in love with her. He checks on her all the time, holds her, hugs her, and tells her he loves her. It is so cute.

Fri, 21 Jul 2000
Zoe's cord stump fell off today and Zander couldn't be happier. He kept wanting her to wear things that cover it up so he didn't have to look at it. Now he just wants to take a bath with her.

Thu, 5 Oct 2000
So this morning Zander and I were discussing Halloween and a costume for him to wear. He'll be having a party at school and it might be trick or treat night when we're down at Anne's. I suggested he go as a cowboy because he has a hat, vest, bandana, and his appaloosa stick horse. He agreed right away and said he wanted to play rodeo.
...
He went and got his appaloosa and explained that Zoe was going to be the calf. He counted to five and then said GO! He ran around the room with the horse then threw Appaloosa down, grabbed a sock off the floor and hog tied Zoe's feet. She giggled a lot and so they did it over and over and over for about 20 minutes. He'd count and then gallop around, throw down the horse, and then hogtie Zoe. Then he wanted her to be a rodeo clown so I had to put a stop to that. He said she had her own bull named Tomato that she wanted to ride but I decided it was time to read stories then.


Cowboy Zander

Tue, 10 Oct 2000
Since Zoe's starting to like the pacifier, Zander asked what "pacifier" meant. John told him that it mean "to pacify, to calm down." Zander said, "Yeah, but what's the fire part for?"

Thu, 30 Nov 2000
Zander has been so annoying lately, ignoring us and stuff. So John took him to the doctor today and found out he has a double ear infection.... I feel really bad about yelling at him now.

Zander Stories (circa 2000): Part I

Excerpts of emails from Joanna

Sun, 2 Jan 2000
Zander and my dad went for a horse ride. Zander was sitting behind the saddle, holding on to my dad. With all his winter clothes, he wasn’t stable, though. He slipped off and dad grabbed him but couldn't pull him back up without dropping the reigns. They were in a narrow stretch between the electric fence and the woods so that wasn't an option. He just dropped Zander gently in the snow. Zander thought it was great fun. Then my dad put Zander in the saddle by himself and led the horse home. Zander thought that was even better than landing in the snow.

Tue, 22 Feb 2000 (from Grandma W.)
Zander will be with us until Thursday. He just finished doing a pretty good job of rinsing and stacking the dishes, as I washed. Then he after he played in the water awhile, he wanted to soak his feet. (I think we did this before for some good reason). So I put the rinse pan on the floor and he sat on the stool he'd been standing on. He's been in and out of the water, covered the pan with the towel, and is now threatening to drown his socks (which he did- then put the socks back on!). Yesterday we went out to play in the snow a couple times. Since it was in the mid-40's the snow was 'raining' off the roof. Of course, he stood in it and 'took a shower'.

Fri, 25 Feb 2000 (more from Grandma W.)
On Wednesday Zander went with us to West Shore Hospital while Don had his MRI (on his shoulder) He ate something for breakfast, maybe a couple Pop Tarts and orange juice. At the hospital and on the way home, he ate a bag of plain M&Ms (even tho he wanted the ones with peanuts). At Burger King he took a little time out from playing/sliding to eat a few French fries and drink his whole chocolate milkshake. (Grandpa claims I've spoiled him rotten). [Uh, gee, y'think? italics added for emphasis]
...
At Ladies Aid at Reta's he wouldn't eat anything but when we got home at 3:30 he and Grandpa ate a whole lot of frosted mini-wheats. I tried giving him some chicken corn soup (with rice and noodles) for supper, but 'no luck'. Then while I was dipping my honeyed toast (no oleo) into hot tea he was willing to eat apple slices (we were having some, too) if he got a short glass with water so he could dip his apple into it. He had fun dropping them in and reaching into the water to get them out. He did eat most of an apple. He really wanted some chocolate milk with his supper, but I told him he'd had enough chocolate in the M&Ms.
...
Thursday morning he did a good job eating cheerios and blueberries with a little milk (we ran out before Don got his), but only because I fed him the last half. He eats pretty good if fed. Otherwise he's more likely to want to play with his food. He drank a bottle of orange juice on his way home.

Mon, 28 Feb 2000 (more from Grandma W.)
While we were walking the halls at West Shore Hospital, waiting for Don during his MRI, Zander and I came upon the 'chapel/mediation' room next to the Emergency Entrance. We went in and he saw the small kneeling bench and the cross on the wall above it. After examining the bench, raising and lowering it a time or two, he stood up on it and said "I'm the man who makes the speech." Then he proceeded to talk a little (quite short). Then he 'sang' - with lively movements - one of Veggie Tale songs. After that he said "God is great, God is good, and we thank him for our food. Amen" and hopped down.

Tue, 29 Feb 2000
> Speaking of amazing Zander stories, did Dad tell you
> about when they were going to get hay, and Zander said
> "Uncle Fitz has a truck just like this!" I don't know
> when the last time he would have seen it, but I'm sure
> it was a long time ago.

Erica sent this to me today. My dad bought Fitz's truck a couple of months ago....

Snippets of Zoe (circa 2001): Part III

Exerpts of emails from Joanna: July–December 2001

Wed, 11 Jul 2001
We had a sort of [birthday] celebration for Zoe at my parents' house. My mom and dad got her a Fisher Price farm thing and Erica and Fitz got her some Veggie Tales toys and a glittery fork and spoon set and a fish plate and bowl. Zoe loves to carry her new fork around.
Thu, 12 Jul 2001
Today was Zoe's check up. She weighed 18 pounds, 11 ounces. We weighed her on both baby scales and it never went up. Maybe she was just wearing heavy clothing two weeks ago when I took her in because she was 19 pounds 6 ounces, then. She's only in the 30th percentile for weight but she's in the 95th for height. The doctor said we need to get her on a high calorie diet and "fatten her up." She's supposed to get a lot of chocolate milk, cottage cheese, yogurt and whatever she wants to eat. She must be wearing off more than she's eating because of her activity level. So, we'll push a lot of food at her for a while and hope that is the reason for this. Otherwise, she was healthy and normal in her development stats.
Wed, 18 Jul 2001
Zoe has been enjoying the sandbox today. She likes to fill up buckets and dump them out. It's a little cloudy so the sand isn't burning from the sun beating down on it.
Thu, 19 Jul 2001 (from John)
Zoe is becoming more and more intentional in her communications. She has definite signs and indications of when she wants to be picked up and when she is hungry (she goes and sits in front of a specific cupboard) and when she wants more of something. She is doing very well sleeping in her own room and being weaned.
Tue, 23 Oct 2001 (Christmas Wish List)
Zoe really likes things she can carry around in her hand. Fisher Price "Little People" are really nice. She also loves taking baths and splashing water around. She wears a size 18 months right now. She looks really good in red. Side note: She usually wears things that she can move around easily in like leggings. She doesn't like anything that slows her down. She barely tolerates dresses. We've been having a problem with clothing being too wide for her skinny little body and a lot of clothing falls off her.
Thu, 6 Dec 2001
Zoe is talking more and more. It's amazing to hear how many words she puts together now. She's very relieved we can finally understand her. She especially likes to say "I want to eat" and "I want my cup." She also likes to tell John about the things I do (although one day she told him I kicked the cat and that wasn't true.....).
...
Zoe thinks she is ready to come out of her room from her nap. She's been up off the floor in her twin bed for a few months now. I'm dreading the day she learns to manipulate the door knob, though. Right now, she just knocks and calls to me when she's done sleeping. She's been so funny because now she tells us when she's pooping. She gets a funny look on her face and says "Poooooop!"
Tue, 18 Dec 2001
Zoe is running around naked. I came in here to find her some pjs. She's taking off her socks and running away again. Taz was over earlier and she got so mad she that couldn't go downstairs to play basketball with them. She kept calling "Zander! Taz!" They didn't listen to her.
Thu, 20 Dec 2001
I was speaking to my mom on the phone and Zoe was playing quietly. I walked into the kitchen and saw that Zoe had taken the eggs out of the fridge and broke them all over!! What a mess! So I bundled her up and walked to Home Depot. They didn't have child latches for fridges there. Then I walked to the new Aldi but they didn't have any there, either. So I walked home. It's brisk but sunny. I'm going to have to drive to Menard's later.
...
I took a bunch of pictures of Zoe on her new rocking horse from today. My parents got it for her for Christmas. She loves it. The only thing weird about the pictures is that she felt the need to wrinkle up her nose. She looks a little freakish, I think.


Zoe and Zippy, October 2001

Snippets of Zoe (circa 2001): Part II

Exerpts of emails from Joanna: April–June 2001

Mon, 2 Apr 2001
Zoe's new favorite food is potting soil. I was repotting our tree and she stood up and reached into the pot and ate a few handfuls. She had a huge grin on her face the whole time.
Wed, 18 Apr 2001
Zoe finally got a tooth today. It's all very exciting. I was so worried she was going to be walking first since she's getting so brave and letting go of furniture. I noticed the tooth when I was prying her mouth open to get something she grabbed off the floor.
Sat, 21 Apr 2001
Zoe took her first couple of steps today! She had been standing alone a little bit for the last day or two and today she stepped alone. Of course we didn't take any pictures of the steps but I did get a picture of her standing alone at the Gardens today. What a big week we've had. Zander turned 5. Zoe got her first tooth and she took her first step. Next week we go for Zander's kindergarten screening. I'm starting to feel so old!!
Fri, 4 May 2001
Zoe fell today and was bleeding in her mouth all over the place. It was horrible.
Fri, 22 Jun 2001 (from John)
Zoe is now at the point where she is walking more than she is crawling. When she really wants to go fast she crawls. It is so funny to be in the living room and hear her flying across the kitchen floor. She gets on to the carpet and stops to grin at you, then off she goes again. She is much more active than Zander was at this age.
Thu, 28 Jun 2001
Zoe has now moved to her own room and she sleeps on the futon mattress. She has been doing ok. She's been doing better than I thought with not breastfeeding. She gets upset and I tell her she's a big girl now and needs to drink from a cup. She doesn't scream at all in her own room. She took a three hour nap and woke up happy. She played in the pool with Zander and played outside for a long time. She's back to the sweet baby she was before! I'm so happy.

Snippets of Zoe (circa 2001): Part I

Exerpts of emails from Joanna: January–March 2001

Wed, 10 Jan 2001
Zander can't wait to have someone to play with besides his sister. She grabs and scratches a lot and doesn't like to share her legos.
Mon, 29 Jan 2001
Zoe is rolling around on the floor here, trying to figure out how to get around the desk. She's crawling backwards and starting to realize how to move her legs forward. It's a work in progress. So far her little teeth haven't popped out down below but they're letting us know they're there.
...
Looks like Zoe figured out how to get around the desk so I'd better save the roll of paper she's getting into. She just loves the sound of ripping paper.
Thu, 8 Feb 2001
Zoe is feeling much better after her system was being slow for a while. I got her some sort of laxative and she's much bettter today. In fact, she's been into everything from ripping a cover off a book to grabbing the plants to crawling under a pile of toys and getting her head stuck in a basket. She figured out yesterday that she can crawl forward, much to my horror. Nothing in the house is safe anymore and it's harder to keep track of her. As soon as I turn my head, she's gone. She especially likes to get into Zander's toys. Her two favorites are a big plastic lobster and a stuffed snake. Even so, it's a huge improvement over her being uncomfortable and whiny.
Mon, 12 Feb 2001
Zoe is crawling forward better and has now decided to stand. Nothing is safe. She was laying on her back, kicking the new cable receiver the day after we got it. I had to rescue a spider plant from her clutches. She still likes to pinch everyone. She's getting better about not pulling my hair. And still she has no teeth! For months I've been swearing they're about to pop through and then they don't. It's odd. But at least it keeps her from biting us! I was just thinking today how one of the nurses commented that they'd never seen a fetus kick around so much. Hmmm.... thought it would slow down a bit but it hasn't.
Tue, 13 Feb 2001
(when I mentioned Sasquatch in a previous email, Joanna thought I was referring to Zoe when I really had meant the hairiest John I'd ever seen)
Yes, Sasquatch is looking chubbier because she's on the verge of a growth spurt. In about two weeks, she'll look skinny and taller. Crawling all over is making her look thinner, too. She was playing around with some golf clubs tonight, holding on with one hand and having her legs straight so that her butt was up in the air. She's definitely got personality, that's for sure.
Wed, 7 Mar 2001
Zoe was asleep on the floor earlier and I went to the bathroom. While I was there, she woke up. I called to her and told her I was in the bathroom and she crawled to me. I was amazed. But then, even in her immature mind, she probably knows that's the logical place to find me!
Fri, 9 Mar 2001
Zander just came in saying he had a little baby for me and he brought a laughing Zoe. He was holding her under the armpits and she was bouncing up and down. It was cute but she's a bit too heavy for him. Now he's taking her for a walk. She's not cooperating but she's having fun.
Tue, 13 Mar 2001
Zoe took 21 steps pushing Zander's red plastic tray! She just kept walking and walking. It was crazy. The tray doesn't have wheels or anything. Once she started going, I was so shocked that I counted to see how far she would go. The tray is about 6 inches off the ground with a pocket on either side so that his legs can sit under it while he works or eats. Zoe has to bend over a little to reach it but she seems to love her new freedom. She was cruising all over the room with it. She's been cranky for a while so I finally got her to sleep - IN HER CRIB!! It's crazy!!

The Year 2001

One of the benefits offered by my employer is called Tenure/Compensatory Leave. Our salaries are based on a range of six or eight steps and when you've reached the top of the range—and therefore will get no more significant raises in the future—you are encouraged to take a four-week paid leave every three years once you've been at the organization for at least five years. I remembered taking such a leave at some point and was wondering how long ago it was and how many I've missed since then.

I figured out that it was in the fall of 2001 that I took my four weeks off but I couldn't remember where I had gone. I opened up my old email program to look for clues. I discovered that 2001 was a very busy year. After my trip to Seattle where I got severe bronchitis, I discovered in January I had asthma. My parents' house burned down also in January so everyone but me gathered there to help them recover.

I went to spring training for a weekend with my friend Tree who's from the Phoenix area. Mom and Dad went to Vienna, Austria in May and Sallie and I took a road trip that month to visit nearly everyone in the family. Mike and Beth got to sing at Carnegie Hall in New York. Anne's family moved from Ohio to Illinois in the summer. And I went to MN and MI for my month off. While I was there, my officemate totalled my car! But that's a whole 'nother story.

I Hope You're Over It By Now

I was looking back through some old emails and found this gem:

At 5:03 PM -0800 3/13/01, Joanna wrote:
>So I've been wondering what corned beef was and what
>it tasted like. I bought some last night and followed
>all the directions for cooking it. I did everything
>right and it was the most vile salty tasting crap I've
>ever had. Plus our house smells so horribly. We each
>took one bite and threw it in the trash and went to
>Russ' for dinner. I can't believe anyone would like
>corned beef. With my one bite, my tongue was
>practically swollen and I couldn't get the taste out
>of my mouth!!
>j

My reply was:
>I nearly threw up that sounds so nasty. I'm trying to
>remember if I've ever had corned beef. If it were as
>bad as you describe, I'm sure I would remember.