Volunteering at the Library

Today I am at the Rio Vista Library to meet a woman I am tutoring on the computer. Usually she is on time, even early, but today she is not here at all. We were supposed to meet on May 31, but since that was Memorial Day, the library was closed. The head librarian called her home and rescheduled for today. She said she left a message with the woman's husband. Since they are hispanic, I can't help but wonder if the woman even got the message. So, here I wait. I'm hoping that she normally comes to the library on Monday, so if she does show up, I'll be here.

I have tons of stuff to do at home, so if she doesn't show in about half an hour, I will leave.

I decided to volunteer at the library because it is a mecca for folks who cannot afford books, movies, music, computer access, etc. The library provides so much with so little and relies on community support for it's very survival. The more volunteers step forward, the more benefit our small community will receive.

It is my belief that we all need to give back to our community at least some of what we receive.

Rio Vista is a quaint town, quite small - maybe 7000 total population. It's a mix of retired folks, old timers who have been here a long time, and young families who found a safe, small town in which to raise their children. The library reflects the small town community spirit that is quickly recognizable at any local business.

On a hot day, this is a good place to hang around.

A Wonderful Day at MOMA

Any day I get to spend at the Museum of Modern Art is a good one in my opinion. This day was made especially special because I could do it with people who are very special to me. Jen, Jason, Dexter, Nick, Samantha and I had this wonderful time together. It started out a little bumpy in that the BART tracks between Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek were under repair. This meant we had to take a bus bridge -- annoying, time consuming, and inconvenient. Once in San Francisco, I led us off in the wrong direction - usually I exit at Powell Street station, but decided Montgomery Street might put us closer...so wrong. Worse I was completely turned around...having the sense of direction equal to a rock. And to make it even more annoying, it was a longer walk that I expected. By the time we got there, we were already tired.



Lunch and a short rest restored us and we were ready to tour! The picture above is the first thing we saw as we went through a glittering wall of beads to enter the exhibit area. This collage appeared to be about soldiers and their families experiences regarding deployment to Iraq. It was quite moving...and enormous.

Michael Jackson continues to haunt us...this was on display.















The Museum is celebrating its 75th anniversary so many of the displays were from times past. It was like visiting old friends. I especially was happy to see the chair display. It was there the first time I visited the Museum. This day provided some firsts for Nick and Samantha. In addition to having this be their first visit to MOMA (I doubt it will be their last), Nick had his first taste of espresso...not all firsts are fun :>)



After seeing lots of awesome art, photography, and sculpture, we ended our tour in the roof garden coffee shop where Nick tried espresso (yuck!). In addition to other amazing sculptures on the roof, these giant spiders promised nightmares. It also gave Dexter an opportunity to run off some steam...poor little guy had been confined to the stroller for what had to seem to him like an eternity. I believe Nick and Samantha enjoyed the museum and I hope it gave them inspiration to expand their own artistic creations.

The perfect way to end a tour is a trip through the gift shop. I wish I had tons of money - I would buy some super neat things...lots of replicas of the fabulous art we observed.

Tired and satisfied, we headed home. We really must plan another outing soon.

Christmas is done. It was fun, lots of work, but worth it. The last few years Jim and I have spent Christmas Day just about catatonic, mostly from exhaustion, but with a little well earned laziness as well. It's nice to review the party and what we enjoyed most and what we'll never do again. The family did a decent job of cleaning up this time. Pretty nearly everyone picked up their own stuff and rinsed their own plate. There were only a few glasses and soda cans to pick up. Folks took out garbage without being asked. I really appreciate the help. Terri, Terry, Jen, and Anita are the gals I can count on. Thanks ladies...and thanks to those who helped with trash patrol.

Kathy is moved. Everyone got right in there and got her packed, the apartment cleaned fairly well and moved to Union City. In spite of the rain, everyone showed up and kept going until the job was done. From what we hear, she's settling in well.

A new year is starting in 4 days plus a few hours. We're ready for a fresh start - don't know if we'll make any resolutions, but as I usually do, I set some goals for myself to accomplish during the year. I don't always finish my list, but at least some things get done and that is better than not accomplishing anything.

We'll be off to our cruise in 6 days. Kathy is going to kitty-sit. The kitties know and love her so they will not be so traumatized that we're gone.

Puzzle of the day
Assume you have three boxes of tapes labeled jazz, rap and jazz and rap. All three boxes are mislabeled. You can remove one tape from only one box. If you removed the right tape from the right box, you will know what is contained in the other boxes. From which box do you remove the tape and why?

Flu Shot

Yesterday we got flu shots. I've never had a reaction to a flu shot, but today I did. I'm not real sick, just crummy feeling. Nauseous, achey, lethargic, upset tummy...I hope it goes away quickly. I have things to do so I can't really be taking time off. Christmas is less than two weeks away and I haven't wrapped a present yet...heck...I still have shopping to do.

We've declared the tree officially decorated. A few more things to do and at least the house will be decorated.

The weather is still too cold to enjoy going outside, although it is sunny. Our solar system is up and running. It was pretty cool yesterday to see our meter feeding the grid instead of drawing from it. Even though it's very cold outside, the sun is shining and we're capturing the energy it provides. It will be interesting to see how much money this saves us in utility bills.

Cats are going crazy wanting to go outside. It's just too cold to let them out. Cats catch colds just like people. They'll have to be content watching the birds from the family room window. The Christmas decorations are no longer that interesting. Bustopher and Max are sharing the tree guarding. Poor Annabelle can't get near the tree.

Time to get busy finishing the decorating...I really don't want this to turn into a career.

Snow in the Valley

Man is it ever cold....brrrrrrrr....It seems that everyone around us got snow except Rio Vista...maybe it came down and I missed it. It would have helped get me in the Christmas spirit. For whatever reason, I can't seem to get my joy on to get the tree up and the house decorated. Here it is the 7th of December and we're still decorating the tree. The village is built, and the wreaths hung, but I still have to unpack and display the nativity scene.

Today we took a drive into Lodi. When we left we had talked about getting a holiday lawn decoration, but by the time we drove there, neither of us had any interest in pursuing it. We decided to pick something up at the end of season close outs and save it for next year.

Our bird feeders are a big hit. With the colder weather we have had lots of visitors to the feeders. I think the black oil sunflower seeds and the suet are just the thing to keep the little bird bodies warm during this cold spell. It doesn't usually get the cold until January, so we may see snow at sea level yet this year.

Kathy moves in five days. That's coming on very soon. She's excited about the move and seems to be doing very well. She seems healthier than she's been since the cancer was discovered and hopefully, this momentum will hold and she'll be over this ordeal soon.

I made a kettle of turkey soup a couple of days ago and that may be what we have for dinner tonight...on a cold night, a warm bowl of soup and some french bread for dunking is just the ticket.

Day Nine - Getting Healthy and Other Stuff

Yesterday I managed four miles and 21 minutes on the bike. My knee told me about it later, but not so much today. Today neither Jim nor I got a chance to work out. We have to stay vigilant about this and pick it up again as soon as we can.

We took Kathy to the doctor and lunch, which took a good part of the day. The doctor visit went well - he's still attempting to get her admitted to an assisted living facility so she will have some help maintaining the stoma while it heals. Both Jim and I saw our first colostomy. It's not a pretty thing - Jim turned several interesting colors and left the room as soon as he could and has been tagged Captain Squeamish. Women, especially moms, are immune to wounded flesh and the sight of human feces. Any mom has had to take care of both and can do it as a matter of course. Kathy's incision seems to be healing well and the staples are going to come out on the 21st. After we took Kathy home we had errands to run didn't get home until nearly 2 pm. I had to go out again around 3 so that pretty much took care of the day.

Tomorrow I'm off to get my hair done. It's been two months so it's getting long and the color needs a little enhancing :>). After that, I'm off to the optometrist for my annual eye exam. I believe Jim has plans to go to the VA regarding a hearing aid. Can you believe he's actually going to do something about possibly hearing a little better. I'm excited.

Friday the house gets cleaned and I can hardly wait. It's hit the more than grubby stage. I don't know what happened this time - we just seem to be messier than usual.

The move for Kathy is definitely on and we've gotten good commitments from Mandy and Becky to help get this done. I'm counting on other family members coming forth to help out. It will be good for her and Jim and me to have her settled in a place where she's happy and has some companionship.

Day Eight - Getting Healthy and Other stuff

The scale confirmed 5 lbs lost - yeah! Rode 3.5 miles on the bike yesterday and 17.5 minutes. Since we've only been doing this 8 days, I'm pretty pleased with the results. The first day I did the bike ride I could only ride for 2 minutes before my legs gave out. The half hour recommended by the doctor doesn't seem so daunting anymore. Jim's encouraged as well. The first day he walked the track he could only do 2 laps and had to stop several times and rest. Yesterday he did 4 laps around the track plus his strength training. I've noticed a little spring in his step. If he keeps this up he'll have his little strut back - I love that little strut. :>) This whole get healthy idea is a winner.

Becky came to Rio Vista yesterday to take care of Kathy. We're really appreciative when another family member steps up. Thanks Becky. As I understand it, Becky and Kathy ended up going to Vallejo to the emergency room at the recommendation of the visiting nurse. I don't have the story on what transpired there, but they sent Kathy home with an appointment to see her surgeon on Wednesday. I hope this visiting nurse isn't just another wacko like the last one she had.

We have a firm move date for Kathy - December 12/13. So much has to be done between now and then. Hopefully, Kathy will be well enough to make the move. She doesn't have to physically help with the move, but it would be nice if she is mobile enough to take care of her needs when she gets to Jim and Terri's. I'm sure the family will pitch in and get her settled quickly.

On a cheerful note...booked our cruise to Mexico yesterday. We leave on Jan 2 on Holland America's Oosterdam for 7 days . We've sailed on that ship twice before and really like it. We've booked a mini suite which should be terrific. Early January usually has terrible weather and with luck, we'll miss most of that.

That's our news - time to get on the bike.