Day 2 Day radishes

September 3

Every small community has their characters of which their fame goes before them. Francis B. Matthew was a legend in the Eureka, California area. When my husband had his new job in the Arcata, but had not yet moved there, Mike’s law school professor told Mike to look up the “Moose”. Occassionally my husband would sit in Moose's office and drink scotch.

The Moose was a lawyer from Boldt Hall in Berkley. He had many attributes, detractions, was financially successful, accussed of being a crook, he collected elegant wines, watched birds, skied, a womanizer. In fact, one day he was driving with his wife past a motel, and legend has it, she said, “Didn’t you miss your turn?”

My favorite story of all is that he had a second home over the mountains, so he drove back and forth to town regularly. On duty on that particular route was a highway patrolman who was unpleasant and banished to this stretch of road. One day the Moose was exceeding the speed limit and the highway patrolman stopped Moose and said, “Do you know the speed limit here?” Moose said, “Jesus Christ there are 10,000 highway patrolmen in the state of California, and I get stopped by the only one who does not know the speed limit”. It is reported that Moose twiddled his thumbs for the next 2 hours having the highway patrolman go through his whole car looking for vehicle violations.

Last week driving over the 299 highway in California, we come to the first Rest Stop on the road. To our surprise, we see that it is the Francis B. Matthew Rest Stop. Michael said, “I am glad to see that the California Department of Transportation has a sense of humor.

May 11/ Patrice

Patrice is my daughter Meredith’s only local friend that is a friend that Meredith owns.  All other friends she shares with her sister.  Meeting each other through work, Meredith was Patrice's boss, then they were co-workers on another job.  Patrice wants to be Meredith’s boss.  For a long time  Patrice’s husband has been wanting to move to Boston, which would mean that Meredith did not have a local owned friend.  Patrice, in addition, while exclusively Meredith’s,  is also a truly good, and loyal  friend, Plus she has boys the same ages as Meredith, and she has lots of good boy clothes that she passed along to Meredith. 

Now, PATRICE IS STAYING.    She is not moving to Boston. So let us welcome back Patrice into the Seattle fold, although she never left.  A round of applause. 

April 30 Sheryl Crow

I have heard from a daughter that Sheryl Crow is suggesting that you use only one piece of toilet paper per incident.  Maybe it is per swipe.  She must use one piece of paper and then get in the shower for twenty minutes, which she probably  does not count as environmentally incorrect.

March 18/ Ceasar

The Ides of March is March 15th. 

And you came to the right person regarding why it's significant.

Until Julius Ceasar crossed the Rubicon in 49 B.C., he did what no other previous military leader had - he violated the law that required military leaders to leave all their men, weapons, and mititary equipment at the Rubicon, the river that borders Northern Italy. Ceasar had just conquered Gaul (France) and was pissed that Cassius and Pompey (the other two people in the triumverate - the ruling body of the period) wouldn't let Ceasar stand for re-election in absentia. So he showed them!

Below is a comment from Leezer on the Ides of March entry.  I republish it here.  All of us can stand a little brush up. The he in the opening sentence refers to Julius Cesar.

After he crossed the Rubicon, there was a civil war lasting several years. Basically, Ceasar won and made himself dictator for life. The Senate was furious, because until then, the Senate had control of Italy. Ceasar made the Senators mothing more than book keepers and treasurers. At that point Senators Brutus and Crassius conspired to kill Ceasar.

So in 44 B.C. on March 15th, Ceasar came to work to go about the job of dictating, and he was surrounded by all the senators and stabbed 23 times. He was said to have covered his face with his toga so no one would see him die. Then there followed many more years of civil war until Octavian became Ceasar Augustus, ushering in Rome's "golden age." After Octavian died, Rome pretty much went to seed.

january 26/Walking and Suzanne

Suzanne

After the first of the year I perused Amazon's diet section.  One was the diet YOU book, one was How the Rich Stay Thin, and one was the Step Diet Book,and a book on walking.  I read them all, and they all say the same: eat less, and expend more energy. Start making changes that you figure you can live the rest of your life doing.  I am working mostly from the Step Diet.  This book has an actual plan: What you weigh, what is your Body Mass index, your age, your height, steps per calories.  And they advise only a twelve week diet,then stopping and seeing if you can keep  the weight off.  I like the defined termination.  One can start again after you can keep  the weight off and are willing to make more changes. If you are in the overweight and obese group, you have to add 2000 steps per day to maintain wait.  To lose weight, you have to add more or eat less.  I have to walk 17 steps for each calorie I eat. 

I met Suzanne about eight years ago. Suzanne started walking, and walked with a vengeance. Her clothing size dropped, she felt good, and got her thinking done, plus she looks great. Fourteen thousand steps a day are nothing to her.  By comparison, I was shocked,when I put on my pedometer, that if I stayed home and sat at this computer, maybe I could get in 4,000. Ten thousand steps a day is the goal for the country.  For some  this is unrealistic, but one can use this as a gage.  Suzanne has a goal for this year of doing some truly huge trek.  Suzanne write in and tell us how much.

Today is my annual cardiology appointment.  At least I can go in, and say I have a plan.

For those of you who remember the Shangrila diet with the olive oil.  Suffice it to say that after a month, I stopped. Eventually I did lose some, but I also had a bad pain in my stomach.  Upon further reading, I read that too much olive oil could create gall stones. That was the end of straight olive oil.
Upon a scan, my gall bladder was fine, but by then, my enthusiasm was gone. 

August 16/ Margot

Margot was born in Germany in April of 1928.  She lived through the war, and she watched German soldiers from her bedroom window as they roasted whole unplucked, ungutted chickens over the campfires.  She watched her mother catch shrapnel in her leg as she was running to the bomb shelter.  Her father dragged her mother to the shelter,but she never walked well again.  Her sister had one of the most romantic love stories.  Everyday the sister went to work by train at the same time of the day.  Every day a train, from the opposite direction, arrived in the station with a load of Belgium soldiers.  Each day they passed each other. She in her seat, he in his. They fell in love their on two trains.  One day as she was getting on the train, there he was standing on the platform. 

Margot gave me the love of knitting.  The way she did it, was to fix all of my major mistakes for me.  No mistake was too hard to handle.  She once knit two whole sleeves of an Aran sweater because  it was so frustrating for me. I then eventually became able to correct mistakes better for myself.  Yesterday I ripped a toe out of a sock five times and I thought of her. And as I was ripping , a friend called to tell me  that Margot had died. What an image!

June 23

This is to help everyone.  It is from a blog, Bad Hair Days,which chronicles the hair do's of celebrities.  I actually do not know how much I can copy from blogs without doing something illegal, so I will risk only telling you that this is Nicole Kidman, who unfortunately has grey hair.  She also looks like she has put a little weight on in her face .

I have a good friend, Ellen, and we used to talk about the year that so and so's face fell.  I do not specifically know my year of face falling, but I could tell you the year of other people's. Without a doubt Nicole's will be early ... and just 39.

June 12/ Happy Birthday Carolyn

This is the birthday girl, Carolyn Hunt on her 70th birthday.   What I neglected to write before, is that 2 sons and their wives flew up from Arcata to spend the day with her.  It was a surprise.  And unbelievably,  I kept the secret.  She nearly collapsed, but was a great sport.  And as I said before, I am honored that she shared this day with me. 

June 8/ Carolyn is coming!

Carolyn is a great friend of 40 years.  Friday she and her husband are coming for the weekend and Sunday we will celebrate her 70th birthday.  There is a Benedictine rule which says, anyone passing your threshold should be treated as Christ himself.  Carolyn has been such a wonderful friend over the years,  so that it is easy to take that principle to heart. 

There is an air of royalty coming.  It is like a mini wedding.  Get everything clean. Prepare great meals. What will they want to see? In the beginning I was daunted, as I am out of practice of hostessing.  But now the preparations are becoming fun. The queen is coming, the queen is coming. It is "Washington" products all the way.  Little housekeeping duties easily ignored are becoming, "My , I think I will do that", priorities.  Do I care that my silver is unpolished?  Yes I care.  My gosh, those are baseboards. Margaret helped me clean up a bookcase with knick knacks and family treasures properly arranged. Michael has hung the sun shades and mowed the neighbors yard. 

It is a festival.  Get ready.

Will all this enthusiasm and tidiness last past the coming weekend?  I don't think so. Reluctantly, nor should it. With grandchildren coming, and the heat descending upon us let us move back to reality.  But for a moment there, for a weekend perhaps, it will be perfect. And best of all, I am enjoying the lead up, as I will enjoy the play. 

May 26 Chinese adoption

Book club was good. Although I was in charge of the discussion I felt myself a little unable to direct the group.  We reviewed  A Thread of Grace.   Everyone liked it, and I very much recommend it.   For July we chose the Three Cups of Tea, which came recommended.  The story takes place in Pakistan and is the account of a male nurse who failed to climb K2, and then coming down got lost and wandered into a local village.  Ellen felt that every American should read it. 

But perhaps the most interesting topic was one member's family's planned return trip to China this summer to let their ten year old adopted Chinese daughter see China and visit her orphanage.  When the woman and her husband adopted the girl they went with eleven families, and within the first hour of arriving the baby girls were in their arms.  The baby was five months with dysentary, some other problem, and scabs all over her head.  The Chinese would not let the adoptive parents take their daughter out of the country without receiving antibiotics.  So her new parents took the baby to the dirt floored hospital. The dirt floors were covered with bandages and other unsanitary items.  They took the same needle from one person and used it on the next.  The aprons were filthy with bodily fluids of one kind or another.  Our friend said, "No thanks" for her daughter. But they would not let the family leave without the baby having a shot.  Eventually a nurse in a clean white uniform appeared with a clean needle. 

The eleven families who went to China to adopt the girls, and who live all over the United States, have a reunion every summer. This year six of the families are going to China.  It is recommended that adopted children visit China for the first time no later than 10 years old.  At first the children were not excited because they thought they were being returned to the orphanage.  Now they are excited.  The families plan to visit the Great Wall, and other China tourist biggies before going to the orphanage to see where they came from.  Can you imagine how much fun these ten year old girls have when they get together?