Yay, it's Friday. And the last day of the work week before the time change. I am really looking forward to having it be lighter in the morning. I have been having trouble getting to work in time and bringing my breakfast with me. I haven't been taking my lunch or taking a lunch break. Yesterday there were donuts, so I had one of those before I left the office. No lunch plus a donut equals crabbiness when trying to make dinner. I did get a lot of work done though. This is the thing I like doing best: submitting expenses for reimbursement--figuring out what to submit where, adding it up, seeing how much is left. It's interesting to me. I have always enjoyed and looked forward to paying bills (well, except when I didn't have enough money to go around), usually on Saturday morning. And this is similar. I can't wait until the end of the month to take all the receipts out of their file and send them off to be reimbursed. It's hard to do when there are kids watching TV, etc. But yesterday wasn't too bad. Kerri the case manager and one of the interns went out and bought plates for the residents in six different colors/patterns. She put the family number on everything (in permanent marker). This is so she can figure out who did not wash their dishes. Then she and the intern washed them all and stacked them where they can get them. She wanted them to keep them in their rooms or lock them up, so no one can use them, but I thought that was going a bit too far.

I talked on the phone for a while with Mitzi, who is having a lot of trouble with Art. He told her he wants to live with another family that has a big house and he is embarrassed by her house. She was very hurt. I tried to say perhaps language and culture made it hard for him to express himself.

Then I packed for our trip to the beach--Hilton Head with Becky and Janna. yay! I also made an applesauce cake. Janna won't eat eggs or beef or shrimp, so I haven't been able to come up with any ideas for food to bring with me. I have a quiche in the freezer, but I guess it would be rude to bring it. I know one restaurant we will probably go to is Italian. Otherwise, I would bring lasagna or some other pasta. I can at least bring applesauce cake. And a loaf of bread for sandwiches.

The Captain went to the doctor on Wednesday and is taking prednizone for a gouty foot. He is not drinking any alcohol or eating rich food and he is a little grumpy. But the foot is getting better. Yesterday they went to the dump and stopped for lunch in town on the way back. But he said they couldn't really eat out properly, since he can't have a drink. His cold is much better and Mom's is better too.

Dream diary: I was in Washington, attending ceremonial events. I had Sean Connery's car. It was very small and expensive and fun to drive. I couldn't figure out the complicated parking system, so gave it to my mother to park. I had the keys with various colored ribbons and tags, but couldn't find it. People were sitting in high seats, waiting for their cars. Someone was in a complicated arrangement drawn by a horse with livery. I woke up before I got too upset about not finding Sean's car.

Maybe I am feverish...everyone here is sick. Although Ray may not be contagious. He gets a lot of respiratory issues. He went to bed when we got home yesterday, but came down to eat when I woke him. The Captain's cold may be getting better, but his foot is swollen and painful to walk on, maybe arthritis. He will call the doctor today if it is not better, he said. Vanessa sleeps a lot and her breathing sounds bad. She sneezes. but then she gets up and cooks and does the dishes.

We were home about four and I worked on supper. Then I went to the Sultan restaurant to talk with the owner and some other potential students about taking Arabic. It would be a small class, only six at the most, meeting Tuesday and Thursday from 6-8 (with a 10-minute break) for eight weeks for $200. I am torn. It seems like a lark, but it is a big commitment. There is homework. The group includes three men (one young Asian-looking man with a hard-to-pronounce name is a student of Islam), a middle-school girl named Shelby and me. Some of them already know some. The first week, we will learn the letters. Naturally, he is a friend of the Taha family. Farah is in NY, studying psychology.

Woke up dreaming about the end of the world. We were expecting nuclear bombs any minute, but people seemed to be in almost a party mood--why not enjoy the last days?

Ray is home safe and I talked to Amelia and Molli both yesterday.

Kerri and I talked about being stricter at the Shelter. And I got the paperwork for submitting reimbursements to DCA and started working on that. i forgot my lunch, so I left before 3 and came home to eat something (leftover pasta).

Yesterday morning, I walked out for the paper. It was a little cool, below 50. Then we had pancakes. Art came down just as we were finishing up. He only had one plateful. Then I got ready for church and we left. It was the annual memorial service, where people come up and take a bulb and say the name of the person they are planting it for. Karen Solheim talked about friendship...and death of course. We sang Comfort Me as one of the hymns. I cried some, but other people had more to cry about than I did. There was the Fourth Sunday lunch too.

Art and I went home and waited for Mitzi to call. She was coming to Sam's Club and we were going to meet her there. Earlier in the day, Art had made me happy by asking to borrow a book one of the Harry Potters. I had asked him a couple of times if he was reading anything in English and he had said no. In the car, he said, "when you read a book, it's like you are in that world. I like it." So all the while we were waiting, I was making banana cake and Art was reading Harry Potter on the couch in the sun. When Mitzi called, she said "don't say anything to Art yet, but one of our cats was killed on the road yesterday and we are all very sad. He was close to the cat." So, I had to respond on my end of the phone with Yes, okay, and not "I'm sorry to hear it."

After dinner, Vanessa and I watched Wild Wild West, which she hadn't seen before. Then I watched an episode of the Daily Show, read some and went to bed.

When I woke up, I had been dreaming about playing with some children (one little boy, maybe Owen or Eamon, except quite young), who had speach or communication problems. There were some experts with some fancy colorful teaching toy, but he and I just wanted to play and the expert allowed as how that was important too. I don't know if it relates to Lidet. She had called and told me she had a pumpkin. It was pretty endearing. Or maybe it was about Art...or about my career. Hmm.

Tomorrow morning when I get up, Ray will be here. Amelia is already on her way to work in Connecticut.

I woke up with a headache. Maybe it's the change in weather. Beautiful pink clouds this morning. Possibly I am getting my parents' cold. They caught it in Seattle, but no one in Polly's family had it.

Yesterday Vanessa and I went to the Farmers' Market and bought a few potatoes and some lettuce. Then we went to Kroger and bought over $100 more of groceries. After lunch and some resting, we went to the mall where she got a new purse and a shirt. Then we all played Hearts, which we had to teach to Art. He caught on pretty well, even though he has not played cards much. He helped make oatmeal-raisin cookies.

Yesterday, Stanfield Air had an open house. They donated an air conditioning unit (and installation) to us a few months ago, saving the shelter thousands of dollars. So naturally when they asked if we wanted to set up a table at the Open House, I said yes. Jaron, the volunteer, went for the first couple of hours. I got there at 12. They had a steady stream of people coming through, but most studiously ignored us. Sometimes they started to sign up for the email list, but then recoiled visibly when they read what they were signing up for, like it might be contagious. It is hard to say if time spent at public events like that is effective. If I connect with one person who follows through and makes a large contribution later, then it is worth it. And I did talk to a few people. Sally Stanfield Allen is such a nice person and so energetic, I am always impressed by her.

I drove up to Colbert to pick up Art (the AFS student) and bring him to Athens for the weekend. The leaves were starting to change and I enjoyed the drive, although the sky was dark and it sprinkled a little. When we got home, Vanessa was cooking the potatoes for the stew I had made the night before. I got the yellow beans ready and put them in the pot. Then Art made shortbread to use up the over-ripe peaches we had. After that, I dug out a 2-person game called Odin's Ravens. We studied the rules and tried to play it a couple times. It is very complicated. During dinner, I got a call from the Shelter. One of the residents' bathrooms was locked and the key was missing. Should we pay a locksmith to come after hours? Maybe the key will turn up. She can use the staff bathroom until Monday.

After dinner, Art and I went to a jazz concert at the Fellowship. It was excellent, but I admit I was falling asleep by the end of it. I think it would have been better if it wasn't in the sanctuary and we could chat or dance or move around. On the other hand, there is a really good piano in the sanctuary. There were about 30 people there, so I think we about broke even.

Ray left for a weekend in New York and Massachusetts. Meanwhile, my parents arrived home after a week in Seattle. Work was fine. I left at 3:30 and got the car washed. I had to stop the man while he was washing the wheels, but I was supposed to pick Ray up at 4:30 to take him home so he could catch his plane. I was very impressed with how hard the men were working wiping all parts of the car. I felt very lazy, because the idea of that amount of physical labor seems like something I wouldn't be able to do all day every day. I gave him a $2 tip. Ray got home and realized he left his black shoes at the office so he had to take his brown shoes. Then he had to pack some presents he bought in Mexico. He didn't want to check any bags, so he was stuffing things into two small bags. It was getting later and later. But he did call me about 11 and say he had arrived in the airport. Then he had to pick up the rental car and drive to Amelia's new apartment that he had never seen.

Meanwhile, I was making beef stew and getting ready to go to Janet Pomeroy's memorial service. I rode with the Porters. The service was wonderful. She was an inspiration to many, including me. She and others founded the Clarke Community Credit Union in the sixties, so that poor blacks could get loans. She was one of the founders of the Jeannette Rankin Foundation, giving scholarships to older women to go back to school. She was a mom and a feminist and a very active Democrat. Gwen O'Looney had trouble speaking without crying. Larry seemed quite matter-of-fact--it's not like we didn't know it was coming, he said. I told him to call me if he needed anything, but he won't. When I got home, there were lights on in my house and I could see my Mom moving around. It was later than I had thought, around 10. There had been a wonderful reception, catered by Deb Dykstra. We chatted a little. Nico is 16, very tall. Emily is majoring in theater. So I just ate some leftover macaroni and cheese and tried to go to bed. My Dad naturally wanted to talk and it was almost 11:30.

I love having the bed to myself, but I didn't sleep quite as well without Ray.

It feels a little cool in, maybe because we didn't have a fire yesterday, but it's almost 50 out. I slept pretty well. Ray has a lot to do. He has to take care of his Democratic Committee Treasurer duties for a meeting tonight, which he is going to miss because he's going out of town. And I don't think he's packed yet. Meanwhile my parents come back tonight. So they will cross at the airport, leaving me with the truck. This would not normally be a problem, but I have to go to Janet P.'s memorial service at 7:15. It's still not a problem, I just have to drive the pickup truck.

Kerri, the CM, is not working Wednesdays while she prepares for her comps for her Ph.D. There are two interns starting at 9, so it's not a problem. It was pretty quiet, although I find the residents tend to take advantage, so I have started to be a little stricter. I stopped one going into another's room and she wanted to know what's the big deal. I had a young woman come interview me and then four UGA students showed up to redo the bulletin board. They were sitting on the floor in the hall with little turkeys and it was pretty hard to get by. Small children were crawling around, putting things in their mouths while their parents were nowhere in sight and the students were oohing and ahing and asking them, "what's your name?" I left and brought Ray home to make the macaroni and cheese for potluck. Potluck and choir were fun, although I am not that fond of the piece we are working on.

I slept well for 8 hours last night. I think the temperature was just right, with blankets. I watched several funny shows before I went to bed. I enjoyed being part of a panel at Leadership UGA. They gave me supper. Delene was there and she gave me a ride home. I spent about an hour stuffing envelopes with other leaders of social service organizations and that was fun. Otherwise, my work day was not very exciting.

I was really grumpy yesterday. Lots of people calling and coming to the door while I was trying to read about a new workers comp. policy that would save us $2000. I enjoyed lunch with Janna, sitting in the sun in five Points. Ray wasn't teaching, so he stayed home and slept in and took care of some errands. I drove home at 4. There was some frost damage to our garden from the night before. I fell asleep about 8, but managed to wake up again for a while. I probably would have woken up at 3 in the morning otherwise.

Apple Pudding

Peel and core 4-5 tart green apples (I used Granny Smiths) and slice them rather thickly. Saute the slices in 3 T butter, 1/8 tsp cinnamon and 1/8 tsp nutmeg for about 10 minutes.

1 c. butter
3/4 c sugar
6 eggs
1 c. milk, heated
1 T vanilla
2 T cognac (I used brandy)
dash of salt

Cream together butter and sugar; beat in eggs and hot milk, as well as vanilla, cognac and salt. Heat lightly, beating with a whisk, until smooth and starting to thicken.

Arrange apple slices in large buttered baking dish, preferably glass. Pour the custard over the apples.

2/3 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
4 T butter

Mix together dry ingredients and cut in the butter until you have a coarse-textured meal. Sprinkle over the custard.

Bake at 35 degrees 40-45 minutes. Serve hot or cold, plain or with cream (8 servings).

From Vegetarian Epicure by A. Thomas (1972) [Barbara gave our copy to Ray in 1975]

We had a lovely evening. We invited two of Ray's co-workers and their spouses, whom we have known for many years, to dinner. I had sauteed the onions and garlic and the last of the eggplant from the garden. Then I turned the pan off and added the mushrooms, peppers and tomatoes. As they arrived, I was putting the finishing touches on the dessert. I put it in the oven and turned on the sauce and the pasta water. Then we went outside. I was picking the last of the peppers and most of the basil, because it was going to be pretty cold last night. Then we walked around the house and started to walk in the woods. I excused myself. "I think I may have left a burner on." Sure enough, my house was full of smoke and my sauce ws ruined. Maybe the pan too, my favorite giant frying pan. I opened up windows and doors, letting out all the sun-warmed air with the smoke. I scraped the top unburned layer of peppers and mushrooms into a saucepan and dumped in a couple cans of Kroger tomato sauce. Ray built a fire in the stove and we all chuckled. I was very sorry, but it didn't not keep me from having a good time. The sauce had an interesting smoky flavor. Todd brought salad, Linda brought cheese and crackers. We had lots of red wine, a good Chianti from Ecco Domani, for one. The dessert was very good, if you like eggs and butter! And of course, they loved the house. We were finished eating about 8:30 and I got a deck of cards. People were not enthusiastic, but they got into it when we started playing. Todd won. They left about 10; we banked the fire and went to bed. it is below freezing out, but 70 in.

We had a great time last night. You would never guess what we were doing--playing Rock Star, the Beatles version. We were among the last to leave the party and it was almost midnight before we got to bed. The occasion--John Olive's surprise birthday party. He turned 64 in September, so naturally he did not expect a crowd of his friends, singing, "will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm 64," when he got home from running errands. I'd say there were at least 20 of us. Nathan was in on it too and chose to spend the evening at home with his parents' friends. Mrs. Judge was singing and boogying with me until she left to walk home. Mr. Judge had left a little earlier. Most of the time a group of us was singing along with whoever was performing. But Ray took the drums late in the evening and I had some chances to sing. There were a lot of Beatles songs I never heard of: Dig A Pony, I Me Mine...but I got 100% on Here Comes the Sun (Easy level of course). I woke up with a headache, even though I only had half a glass of wine!

This morning it was about 62 in here and I put the heat on. The computer says it's 38 out. I didn't know it was going to be that cold. It's usually colder here; I sure hope nothing froze in the garden!

We were disappointed to have rain yesterday all day, not pouring, but pretty steady. We walked out to get the paper. Then we drove to the Farmers' market. Man, what an unpleasant job, standing in the cold and the damp (they do have tents) all morning to bring us local vegetables and other food. We bought some green beans and some potatoes--and a leg of lamb for me to eat with my parents when they come home this weekend. Ray will be away, but he doesn't like lamb. Then we went to the grocery store and got a few more things. Ray had to take a nap in the afternoon; he sometimes has this on weekends. I don't know if it's allergies or what. I made brownies to take to the party.

Then we went to Walt Brown's memorial service. I have to say, I really think Terre does a much better memorial service. I can't say exactly how, but of course Dave never knew Walt. Jim W. talked about playing mediocre golf with him for years, and betting nickels on every hole: who would hit the longest, who would get to the green first, etc. He went to clean out his locker because he didn't really want to play any more without Walt, and found a little can of nickels. Martha and Dick A. apparently had birthday dinners with the Browns for years at the Chinese restaurant. All three of their sons were there and three nieces as well.

We came home and got the brownies and went to the birthday party. Life goes on.

8 hours of sleep! Dreamed I was in an airport with a list of places I could fly for like $8. Ray was with me and he was not enthusiastic. Below 50 here this morning

We watched a great movie last night. I cried buckets; haven't done that in ages. Very well done, the story kind of unfolds subtly. It's mainly about the relationship between two sisters.

Yesterday, among other things, three students came to interview me about homelessness and the shelter. We get lots of inquiries, mainly from UGA. But we get lots of help from there too. We have 6 social work interns this year and they take care of lots of the details for us. As the semester goes on, they are getting more responsibilities. I enjoyed talking to this group and telling them how our society is to blame...OK not totally. I also had an email from a student who, among other questions, wanted to know I felt like I was enabling homeless people. I wanted to say, I hope so. But I asked her who paid for her health care and transportation and if she would like to try living at the shelter for a while.

I left before 4 and went to pick Ray up. We were starting for the Ramsey Center, but it was such a nice day, we went home and walked down to look at the river instead. It was roaring over the dam. Sunny and cool. Then we made supper together and watched the movie until 10.

All day I have been thinking of Genny's funeral in Oklahoma. Barbara and Debbie are there. I think maybe that relates to my dream about Jessie. Genny was French and also someone I had not been in touch with in a while.

We saw Barbara Eirenreich on the John Stewart show. I loved her for writing Nickel and Dimed and she was great on the show, very direct. Her new book is about how being positive is bad for our culture. I don't entirely agree. I like to think I am sending positive thoughts to Genny's family. Her point would be, I should pick up the phone and call them. Ray did send a card...I was thinking of looking through my old pictures for ones of her.

To be honest, I'm a little teary this morning, probably just a reaction to finally coming down to earth from my trip to Spain. I was dreaming about Jessie Coiraton before I woke up. I certainly don't know why. I lived with Jess, an American in France, and her family, for a year at age 17. In the dream, she was guiding me around a school or other public building, crowded and under construction, but really she was teaching me about being a writer. I wonder if she left any unpublished manuscripts when she died 10 years ago. I was not sad in the dream, but I woke regretting that I did not stay in touch with her after my year there. I'm sure there are many other relationships that I could have gained a lot from, but have let down.

I was bored at work yesterday. There are probably big things I can tackle, but the daily details are pretty much caught up for the moment. I wore my black suit because i was expecting to go to a kickoff breakfast for a fund-raising campaign. Courtney called me, though, and said I didn't need to come. So that was a let down. And then I was planning to leave about 3 or 3:30 and go shopping with Janna, but she got caught up in something and couldn't go.

Ray and I came home and made dinner and watched TV. I was out like a light by 9:30 and slept until almost 6. It is cool this morning, but not as much as yesterday.

Captain called from Seattle. They are fine and had a relatively easy trip, except that they made him check the rolling suitcase that I successfully carried on to and from Spain. They only saw the ground once on their flight across country; it was cloudy everywhere yesterday, so there may be more rain coming our way.

It's nice and cool this morning--below 50. Still raining a little. I drove across the Greenway yesterday and it is severely flooded, trees standing in the brown swirling water. The last time I saw floods like that along the river, there were houses there. This is a lot better.

It was great for sleeping. I woke up at about 6 from a dream that Amelia and I were visiting Barack Obama and his two daughters, ages about 1 and 5. No idea where Michelle was. This was more like a summer cottage than the White House and he had given us a large wooden key, which I tried in the door and it worked.

People are rallying to help the homeless--with bags of candy, because what child doesn't need candy? (sarcasm alert) The generous young man who has been volunteering and will be our new VISTA volunteer starting in November (I guess the paperwork takes awhile?) made a display board for us. I didn't really have time to look it over. It looks like mostly text, but I did get him to add one black and white photo from the web.

I drove Ray home to make his famous potluck dish and then we rushed back, picked up the flyers that had been copied for us and went to the Shelter Board of Directors meeting, which was held at the new Athens First bank building. The security guard was very reluctant to let us in--there was supposed to be a bank employee with us if we were meeting there. The Directors helped me fold the brochures and Courtney took the display board and pens. The meeting started late and I left after about 15 minutes to go to the Fellowship.

Potluck, nominating committee, choir. I was actually falling asleep in choir, which hasn't happened to me in years. Nice to have Ray drive me home, dozing, and then straight to bed.

Vanessa called on the cell phone about 5:30. They were in Atlanta at the Doubletree Hotel, where they had arrived early for a 7:00 Tufts event. They fly to Seattle in a few hours.

Raining again since about 3 this morning. Lots of stories of people's basements flooding and other issues. We are fine, although I should see if the basement is getting dampish. George did some fancy technology on the outside walls to keep water from getting in. It has worked well so far.

Worked more than I wanted yesterday. Brandy's time sheet wasn't ready until after 4. I did have lunch with Janna and Becky, though. That was fun--it was too quick! When I got home, Vanessa had started dinner (yay!) and it smelled so good--onions and peppers and garlic in olive oil. All I had to do was chop the tomatoes, cook the rice and add the spices. Then I had a UUFA board meeting, which got me riled up on several issues. I just want someone else to worry about things and go along with my life. But that's not right. We can expand our parking lot by about 40 places (that many people are parking on the road every Sunday) for maybe $125,000. I suggested some alternatives, but they were not well received. I need to try to get people to carpool. They mostly agree philosophically, but it will take work to make it happen. But people are not coming because of the parking and it particularly turns off visitors. Then we have people who are trying to come up with a safety policy because of the shootings in Tennessee. Two different board members said they new members who had guns in their cars in our parking lot! This is not going to be easy.

3rd Rock from the Sun marathon on TV kept me up until 11. TG we can record them!

Sigh. I am tired and achy, but still smiling. It rained hard all day yesterday, and it was a school holiday (thanks, Columbus). I had a backlog of checks to write and a deposit to make, but of course the bank was closed. No crises at the Shelter while I was gone and everything seems to be going fine. I left at two. Ray and I picked up a few things at Kroger and came home. The Captain was making his famous chicken soup, perfect for a rainy day. I was famished; my stomach seems to be on a Spanish schedule. There was leftover pot roast with carrots and a little potato, so I polished that off with some bread and butter and part of a peach. We played cards and I won handily--maybe my highest score ever in Oh Hell. I tried to watch my favorite TV show (Big Bang Theory), but crashed on the couch halfway through.

Well, I am home. It has been raining steadily for 40 minutes or so, which is a cozy sound. I got up and closed the windows and it ws almost 5;30. Not bad, I am back on schedule for my home time. Since I was awake for almost 22 hours, that is not surprising. I feel okay, a little stiff and a lot sad. I miss my Amelia and our adventures.

The Captain says we have now had more rain than normal for the year (that was before this morning). They are getting ready to go to Seattle on Thursday. Our shared suitcase is traveling a lot!










Here are a few pictures from Saturday, nothing to take pictures of yesterday. On Saturday morning, we walked a couple blocks to the second beach in Espasante, a little smaller and less protected than the harbor side, but gorgeous and deserted on a misty off-season morning. I think is one of the most naturally beautiful resort towns I've seen, where you can stay in the hotel and walk to beaches and restaurants. There's a big building (could be a hotel) for sale. The internet says there are 14 hotels there, but I only saw about 2, and some closed-for-the-winter summer homes. We could see farms from the beach.

We drove (in the rain) to Pontedeume, retracing our route some of the way, but not taking the smaller roads up to the windmill farm and the incredible views. We found a place to park on the street and made our way to the market (mercado), which is in the guidebook for Saturday mornings. (The one we used was Lonely Planet and it was very helpful. We used the internet to find places to stay). We walked around in the rain, looking at bread and meat and underwear for sale. One man was cooking and selling octopus to eat, a big treat in Galicia, which i did not try. Many bars have signs that say Hay Pulpo (We have octopus). We bought some bread and cheese, including a chocolate croissant (Amelia's favorite as well as mine) and a local speciality, a sort of soft eggy bread with sugar on top. Some of the sweets we ate when we got to the car. I got some really dense good raisin bread too.

We drove on the highway to Pontevedra, one of the bigger cities in Galicia. I believe it was a port, but the estuary has silted up too much now. IT has beautiful old churches, etc., in a nice walkable old section. We were looking specifically for a real vegetarian restaurant reviewed in the guide book: risotto, humus...But it was gone. We found the address and Amelia could see the shadow of the letters on the window. We picked a place on the next square and Amelia had eggs and French fries again. I had some grilled pork, which was very good. They are not much on serving vegetables with their dishes. You order a salad for your greens and then you order meat, which sometimes comes with potatoes. It was good and there was more than I could eat. I think it was less than 5 euros. It was a smallish bar with wine bottles everywhere. The kitchen looked to be about as big as a small closet and there was one woman serving everyone, making espresso, pouring wine. We wandered around the town some more. One of the things we often had to look for was bathrooms, although we usually found them. In this case, we had to wait until 4:30 when the museum opened. It was free, but we had to show a passport, of which they wrote down the number. Then we had to ask for the rest rooms. After that, I had pretty much seen enough museums. This one had silver and gold, as well as paintings and archaelogical relics. I was a little anxious to get to our next hotel and make sure it wouldn't be too difficult to get to the airport.

We didn't have too much trouble. It was in Cangas, one of many resort towns in southern Galicia. It looked very much like others I have seen in Europe, lots of multi-story hotels, a few streets of restaurants and shops and cafes. And a somewhat grungy beach, with lots of trash and a scary-looking stray dog.

Room service in Madrid

We lucked into a wonderful hotel in Espasante (east of Ortigueira, on the northern coast). It is very modern and even has a whirlpool tub. But the incredible thing is the beach. It is a very small town, with two incredible beaches, one on each side. Long, curving sand beaches. On one side, there is a port at one end, with small fishing boats moored. One man was standing up in his boat--it looked like the stern was completely open (I thought it was sinking at first) and holding a line in each hand. Not my idea of an easy life. I couldn't tell that he caught anything. Standing on the beach looking out, you see cliffs and mountains all around. I couldn't really tell how you get out to the ocean. We walked a couple of blocks to a seafood restaurant we were assured was "the best." It was very good and very elegant, a little expensive. I had shrimp in butter and garlic. The bread was great, a big hunk of peasant bread, I guess you would say. Amelia had to convince them to make her a plain omelette with French fries. Her mixed salad came with tuna, as well as green olives and lots of raw onion, but she ate the lettuce. I ate the tomatoes. And the desserts...yum! A chocolate cake with nuts that was something like a brownie...with vanilla ice cream. And flan with lots of whipped cream--actually more than I could eat. I'll have to take my cholesterol medication before I go to bed.

We saw the most gorgeous views today from above here overlooking the waves breaking on the rocks. Also a forest of wind turbines. And the most interesting terrain. I guess a little like the moors. Cows and horses were wandering around among them. Earlier in the day, we left our beloved Casa Grande da Fervenza, with the English-speaking hostess, who checked us in, waited on us at meals and answered any questions we had. She even lent us her laptop last night so we could find a place to stay. Her name is Paula. When we left this morning, she gave us gifts--sets of cosmetics made from olive oil. I don't know if everyone gets them; she said it was for Amelia's birthday (which we had told her about). Amelia walked a little bit and then we headed out, driving about an hour to Betanzos. We drove through Betanzos and had to turn around to find a parking garage. The tourism office was right there, but it was closed. Who knows why? We were in the main plaza with a big church that appeared to not be open. The museum we wanted was supposed to be around the corner, but it took us forever to figure out which corner it was around.

Lugo

Last night we asked if we could stay here another night and they said no, they were full. Then we had a little stress trying to figure out where we wanted to go and find a hotel there. It has to have free wi-fi, a nice location, be reasonably priced, but not grungy and have a room available. Anyway, we are heading to the North Wind in Espasante on the north coast of Galicia. We will leave here about noon and go to Betanzos for lunch. The Spanish meal schedule really messes with sight-seeing (and shopping, of which we have done very little). Everything is closed from 2-4 or longer (1:30-5), when we are supposed to eat and take a siesta. I already feel like I am eating and sleeping all the time. So we want to get to Betanzos early enough to go to the museum there and walk around some before lunch. But we are usually very hungry by 2. And our record of getting on to the right road is not 100%. We have to get from here to Lugos and follow the road signs to Betanzos. Unfortunately, there don't seem to be a lot of road signs. And there is a lot of construction. I think Spain is fixing up everything, maybe because they were hoping for the Olympics. Or maybe they have realized that tourism is great for their economy.






Yesterday we walked around Lugo, which has an intact Roman wall around the oldest part of the city. It is big enough to walk on (8 people across if you wanted) and is a great way to see a small city like Lugo. I really enjoyed it. It is not so high as to be frightening, although I did not go to the edges and look down much. Like many towns in Galicia, they built a cathedral modeled after Santiago's. I like theirs better. Santiago's was more gilded and ornate. This one is more my speed. Although I may have seen enough dead Christs for a while. We found the provincial museum, which has some art of various kinds, including prehistoric shards. There are some Roman mosaics which were found when they were reconstructing something. One is of Daedalus and a very sexy-looking bull. Lots of old stuff everywhere and when you are in, say, the cathedral, or on the wall, I think of the thousands of people who have been before.

We are in the coolest room in an old mill, with walls of stone and round wooden beams in the ceiling. The sound of the mill race is constant. The birds woke us at 8, although it was again raining. They say it will be better weather soon and I do think I see blue sky out the skylights. The only trouble with staying in these gorgeous out-of-the-way places is they are miles (or should I say kilometers) from anywhere. It took us about 3 hours to get here yesterday from Santiago, a trip that should have taken only an hour. In fairness, it did take an hour to find our way out of Santiago. Road signs are not what we would like in Spain--maybe no one wants to find Lugo?

The food here is almost as good as Perfeuto Maria, although a little more expensive. There is a delightful young woman who speaks more English than anyone else we have met here. The restaurant is in the miller's first, more modest, home. There is a faucet in the dining room bringing water into a pool where they keep wine cold and fill pitchers to drink. Amelia was once again eating salad and eggs, but they were very good. And we had two awesome desserts: ice cream with a sort of fig and honey jam and a chocolate cake with molten center. I was feeling despondent that no American restaurants seem to be as good as the average European place. Salad with a perfect dressing, a little piquant. No leaves browning around the edges. How they get fresh ingredients every day miles from anywhere and still make a profit is a mystery to me.

I am all out of clean pants, so am running around Spain naked. Well, okay, just stinky. Apparently laundromats are not something to expect. Besides, who wants to do laundry on a day in Spain anyway?

Yesterday we left Perfeuto Maria and drove to Santiago de Compostela. It took a while to find where we wanted to go, but we did find a big parking lot fairly close to the cathedral. There were thousands of middle-aged and older people, mostly women in polyester pantsuits. They must come by the busload from all over Spain. Also saw a group of about 50 4-year-olds. I was glad that wasn't my job. The cathedral is very dramatic, all full of gilt and doll-looking figures. Some of it was fascinating, but mainly not my thing (or Amelia's) and full of people. We wandered around the plazas some. More figurines and churches around every corner, most not even mentioned in our guidebooks, there are so many. Some nice-looking shops, not just tacky touristy. We finally found the crepe restaurant we were looking for. You have to go in the right building and upstairs to find it, but it was tasty. Everywhere we are given more food than we can eat and hate to waste it.

I just woke up. It's very sunny. Amelia is in the shower. It's 5:00 at home, but nearly noon here. Of course, we didn't go to bed until after 2. The show was really fun and I like finding my way around in Spain, reading maps and asking questions in broken Spanish.

After it was over, Amelia had to stay at the theater and clean up and put things away. Ana was hired by the theater to hand wash the costumes and hang them to dry overnight. Amelia was helping and supervising, making sure everything is where they can find it. Of course, the costumes consist largely of what is euphemistically called "dance belts," sort of stylized underwear. Not having a lot of experience, I was highly amused that the costumes in this show consist almost entirely of a variety of underwear. When these performers leave stage, they put on their clothes, as opposed to most of the shows I've been in, where they get out of their costumes and put on their street clothes. Not to belittle their beautiful and skillful performances. As I told them, "it's okay, it's art." Before the show, I was introduced to almost all of the dancers, who were warming up in various stages of undress, doing exercises and stretches. Of course, they are mostly about the age of my children, and their bodies are very beautiful. It is pretty funny that Amelia, who was quite the most prudish person I know growing up (and still does not like me to see her undressed in our shared hotel room with a glass door on the bathroom) is working with a bunch of nearly-naked men and women. Of course, she is clothed, so she is almost comfortable.

I found a booklet that Amelia had about the Pilobolus tour in Spain, with directions to the theater by bus, car or subway. I took it with me so I would have the address and decided to take the bus, since I had plenty of time. To me, it is a great way to see a city that costs very little. The first bus stop I found was only for the number 11 and I needed the 5. I resigned myself to taking the subway instead. But there were some bus stops near there, including the 5. There were signs with the route maps and even an electric display stating that the number 5 would be here in 3 minutes. I was pleased and sat down to wait. The next thing I knew it was flying past me. Uh-oh, I guess it doesn't stop unless you are signaling that you want it. I went to my electronic sign--13 minutes until the next bus. That's okay, I can wait that long. This time, I stood up and watched and waved frantically. The buses are nice, with surprisingly comfortable seats. My stop was the last one, so I knitted and read and looked at the stores going past. Oh, not McDonald's! Burger King, Starbucks, KFC, H&M, Zara and lots of others.

I was walking around the Puerta del Sol at about 9:30 or 10 on a Saturday night. It was wall-to-wall people, most of them young. The women (some of them) were dressed to the nines (whatever that means) in short short poofy dresses, most of them black, and very high spiky heels. The men can get by with nice jeans and button up long-sleeve shirts--sounds like a double standard to me. There were many who were in what is to me more typical attire--baggy pants and loose shirts or t-shirts with slogans. I saw one AC/DC t-shirt. A lot of them were standing around talking, and many were smoking.

Some pictures from today:



Palacio Real - this has something like 2500 rooms, but they only use it for special occasions.

Shrimp, crabs...octopus!

I just woke up, it's light out and I was really disoriented. I had been dreaming and I couldn't figure out what time it was. Amelia's computer said 12:30. I decided that must be the time in NY, so it is 6:30 here. That's the time I was supposed to be at the early show, but we decided I had to sleep for a while and so changed my ticket to the late show of Pilobus. It starts at 10:30 pm...I should be there at 10, leave here at 9:30, assuming I don't need time for getting lost. Plus it will be dark then. Amelia told me how to get there, what subway to take and where to transfer, but at the moment, I can't even remember the name of the theater or the right stop. She will probably call here. I have never been so out of it in my life and I knew when she was telling me, I needed to write it down, but couldn't do anything but sleep.

This is probably the nicest hotel room I've ever seen, especially for Amelia, since it has very modern decor--lots of rectangular lamp shades, art on shelves leaning agains the wall, laminate dark wood-looking floors, even in the bathroom, silver and white metallic/grass-cloth looking walls, way too many mirrors. I am wearing the hotel-supplied bathrobe, which I think we are sharing, and drinking glasses of tap water. I am incredibly thirsty. In theory, they supply 2 bottles of water a day, but Amelia doesn't let them clean the room most days, so we are out. She suggested they would send some up if I called the desk. When I did, they transferred me to Room Service. I hung up, not wanting to pay a room service fee plus the cost of the bottled water. Plus I didn't feel like I wanted to discuss it in Spanish. The desk I am working on is a glass and steel table with electronics I can't recognize and a cool phone. Amelia's laptop is plugged into the internet with a cable.

All went well on the flight. Well, the flight from Athens was incredible. The plane has 9 seats. There were 4 of us, all women, ranging from 30s to 60. The pilots were 23 and 24. We asked afterwards. The plane felt like a station wagon with wings bolted on. When it started up, it seemed like we were trying to get up speed to be airborne, which might or might not succeed. Then it was pretty wobbly. There were some moments when I could knit, but most of the time I was gripping the bottom of my seat--no armrests or straps to hang onto. I am sure Ray or many of you would love it. We were never very high and could see every car on the road. I was amazed at how many trees there still are in Athens and Georgia. Some of the time we were in the clouds, completely surrounded by whiteness in a terrifying and yet somehow calming way. There were occasionally drops or wavers, making it feel like the pilots had little control. The landing was fine, although you definitely knew you were down, and slamming on the brakes for dear life. How to weigh convenience and cost against sheer terror? The record is good; no one has died on this trip and they do it 5 times a day each way. Some people would probably pay $39 for the fun of the ride, sort of like a super roller coaster. And it would be sort of a lark to go to Atlanta with a group of friends for the day. But I'm glad I am taking the ground shuttle when I go home. I'll have to see if I can gird up my loins to go again another time, now that I know what it's like. I sort of want to make sure they keep the service going.

Then I had hours in Atlanta. I had gone with only carry-on luggage. My rolling bag weighed less than 20 pounds and my big black tote bag about 17. By now, however, my shoulders and arms are good and tired of lugging them all the way here. I had printed my boarding pass and went right through security. They really had it moving along and I had to rush into my shoes and grab my things off the belt. I got out to my gate about 3 hours early, had a couple short phone conversations and went to find a place to sit and eat and drink. My gate was E-10 (?) and there is a small bar near there. I had a bowl of sweet potato soup and Pinot Grigio Ecco Domani--my favorite wine! I sat there awhile reading about the history of Spain in my new travel guide. The waitress was too chatty; she said she didn't know why the people coming here from other countries didn't study up like she had seen Americans. I said I thought they probably did. She said they never know what to order and I want them to like it. She said if she ever travels, she is going to learn to say chicken in every language--and bathroom.

I had realized in Athens that my camera card was already half-full and I didn't dare delete the pictures without double-checking that they had downloaded (from Mexico). Ray rushed off and bought me a new card. He was back in plenty of time, although it took us a while to get the packaging open. We put the new card in and--it was unreadable. He was so sad. So now, in the Atlanta airport, I started looking to buy one. It took a few tries, but there is a store near E-26 called Tech Showcase. Lots of not-too-useful stuff, but they had a 2 GB card for $20. Wow! That made my day. It is tiny, too small to fit in the slot in my camera, but it comes with an adapter to make it big enough. Then you can place it another adapter and put it right into a USB port to download to the laptop. Too cool! The only problem is how to keep the tiny adaptor (and the old card) safe while traveling. I grabbed the camera, but not the case. They are in a compartment in my wallet. I hope they won't be damaged.

Then I read some more and knitted a little and it was finally time to board. These giant international planes are pretty crowded--3 seats in the middle and 2 on either side. I had an aisle seat in the middle section. The people next to me were speaking Spanish. We had dinner and breakfast, okay but not great, certainly enough to keep me from starving. Also free wine. And not enough water. I couldn't get the attendants' attention to get more. And the sound didn't work on my little entertainment screen. I finally watched Monsters vs. Aliens with no sound. I dozed some, but didn't really sleep much. Then they were serving breakfast and it started to get light. The flight was very smooth and no serious problems.

I shouldered my bags and followed the signs to the Metro. It was a very long way. Amelia had instructed me to buy a 3-day pass for the least expensive zone. I couldn't find that option on the machines, but a nice English-speaking woman at the information desk told me how to find it (it's called a tourist ticket or pass and available in 1, 2, 3 or more days). Mine was 11,60. I had instructions from Amelia on where to transfer and where to get off and a map the helpful woman gave me. I had no trouble. When I emerged from the subway, I looked around. I saw a hotel with a sign that said AC, so I didn't need to ask anyone. I headed down the street and went up to room 809. I knocked and knocked and called Amelia. A woman finally opened the door and I said, "No esta Amelia? Lo siento mucho." I went down and asked at the desk and this was not the Hotel AC Cuzco. Oops! So sorry, ma'am. I had to walk back to the subway exit and the hotel was just the other side of it. I got in another little elevator, admiring the large and interesting lobby, rode up to the 8th floor, and knocked on her door. "She just left," said the chambermaid. "Acabo de salir." "oh, that can't be...why would she do that? Doesn't she know the first rule of meeting up with someone...stay put!" (I didn't say all that to the chambermaid.) I was about to rush back down and leave my suitcases, but she told me I had to take them down to the desk if I wanted to leave them. I sat on the bench by the elevators and got out my cell phone (and my glasses--traveling is one of the many times I wish I didn't need reading glasses!). I turned it on, no message from Amelia. I sent her a text message, but was pretty sure I didn't have international service: "where are you? I am at room 809." I went back to the room and grabbed my bags and called an elevator. Just as I was getting in, she said, "Mom." I had nearly broken the rule myself! She said she had been going to meet me in the lobby and must have gone down when I was going up. All's well that ends well. I was just a little flustered there at the end.

The room was lovely and all I wanted to do was bathe. She went ahead down for breakfast, while I ran a bath in the tub. Tiny--I had forgotten. The toiletries in this place are way more than I have ever seen. She had told me I didn't need to bring anything for that reason. I used their shampoo and body wash. The towel is ginormous and thick--almost too big; it's too heavy to wrap around your hair. Amelia came back, bearing croissants. She apologized, no pain au chocolat today. She did have a yogurt in her mini-fridge, delicious with a little bit of honey from a jar she had scavenged from the restaurant. I am afraid the rest of the hotels we stay in will not be as nice as this. There is even a bidet, which I haven't seen in years. I made a mess turning the water on.

We talked for a bit and decided to go to the Parque Retiro. Several subway stops and one transfer later, we were there. The weather was incredible. Not too hot, but sunny and beautiful.

We walked and walked.

I sat on a few benches every now and then. There were some great statues and the crystal palace, a building with glass walls, ceiling, etc; a pond with ducks and black geese.

And everywhere people, especially families. Roller-blading, cycling and walking and sitting and talking and eating and drinking. I began to fall asleep every time we stopped.

We got some food: tortilla espanola (thick potato omelette) and a salad. Amelia had some of the thick hot chocolate, even though it was really too warm for it. I am getting hungry again just thinking about it. I should figure out where I am going and make a start before it is pitch dark.

Well, this is it. The day I leave for Spain. I am packed into one small rolling case (that can be carried on) and one large tote bag. I will wear my travel knit black pants, a t-shirt and a travel knit jacket, warm socks and slip-on shoes. I don't know how I will get through the morning and focus on work, but I am sure I will.

Yesterday was long; I stayed at work late because Ray had a Democratic committee meeting. And I worked on my September reimbursements to turn in before I leave. I talked to Kerri about the things she may need to know while I am gone. She worries most about needing to write a check. I told her to just hand-write one if she needs to and I will enter it in the computer when I get back. At lunch time, I went and bought some euros and deposited Vanessa's monthly check. Hopefully I have paid all the bills that can't wait until I get back (both home and at work).

At 5:30 I zipped over to Joann Fabrics to get some needles that Amelia requested. They didn't have exactly what she wanted, but the Lion yarn was on sale, buy 1 get one 1/2 off. Then I had to find a new pattern, so studied the knitting magazines for a while. I bought all of one color, to make sure I had enough. Must have a fun project for travelling--not too hard, but interesting. Maybe it will even be for me!

Then I went to pick Ray up. He was not in sight and the meeting was right downtown, so I drove around and around the block. No parking handy.

Vanessa had supper ready when we got home. I repacked my suitcase, taking some things out and finalizing my toiletries (almost none--Amelia says there are plenty in the room).

I watched John Stewart and read through some of my library books, making notes of things I might want to know. (where to eat in Porto, Portugal--just in case we decide to drive there). I wasn't very sleepy but eventually fell asleep before midnight. Hopefully, I will be tired enough to sleep on the plane tonight. I have a slight cold, but not too bad. I should pack some cold pills in case.

I slept well last night, more than 8 hours straight. It is cool out (a little warmer than yesterday morning), our windows are closed and I had plenty of blankets. Maybe it was taking a bath before bed. And Ray read to me. It started years ago; we took turns reading to each other from whatever books we had , usually from the library. I mostly couldn't read very long before I fell asleep. I still read myself to sleep often. The book we are reading is called Bikini--sort of an adventure story involving a soldier with chips implanted to augment his mental abilities. I only heard a little bit of it before falling asleep.

Yesterday I continued working on cleaning up the hundreds of emails on the Director's computer. I also wrote some checks and found an error I had made in payroll and corrected that. Kerri and Amanda inventoried a closet and found lots of old things--mostly that we can throw out. Slides and a carousel. Then we bought (well I only wrote the checks) a lot of things for the shelter; we had some money that had to be spent by the end of the month. Baby beds, cups, diapers. It was fun.

Then we spent an hour at Borders and I bought a guide book to Spain and a book of road maps. Also a copy of Friedman's book as a birthday present for my Dad: Hot, Flat and Crowded.

They were home when we got there; tired from travelling. He has a little of his digestive issues, but otherwise they are fine. We had bought chicken because he warned me the day before that he was eating "mild." Vanessa boiled it and made "gravy" for us (he didn't have any). It was surprisingly yummy and I think he was appreciative.

Molli called me from Mexico; Adrian's cousin died and they are very sad. She is also annoyed because she has no paid leave, although they will allow her to miss two days of work.

Ray got my passport out of the bank for me. I went to buy euros, but didn't have any checks with me. I could have gone to the bank and gotten money out, but I thought I would go back today and buy some. My biggest dilemma is whether to try to travel really light--only what fits in a small rolling carryon and a big purse--or go up a size in suitcases. If I go light, I will take:

underwear, 1 pair pjs, 2 pr shoes, jeans, knit pants, t-shirts, sweater, bathing suit. No shorts, bathrobe, dresses, good shoes. Will I be sad not to have any choices? I could buy things there
but then I would have to leave something behind. In 24 hours, I will be on the plane to Madrid!