I slept until 7 yesterday, so no blog when I got up. My Dad was already here. We had bacon and eggs, produced here, and homemade raisin bread. Just need to figure out how to get local butter. He did some work in the garden and I mixed up some cookies. It was too hot to bake them, though, necessitating the closing of the windows by the time Ray left for work. Fortunately, we had gotten the house cooled down a little.

I went to Sky's and picked about 4 pints of berries. It took me forever. I am not that fast at it. So it was after 10 when I got home. My Dad had watered everything and picked a lot of stuff. I took a quick bath and we made gazpacho. He peeled tomatoes and chopped things and we discussed every decision about what to put in--herbs, lime juice, cucumber, red onion. It was delicious, but we made quite a mess. We ate hot dogs, too, and Ray joined us for those. He is not a fan of gazpacho. Too bad--now we have a lot of it! Captain and I each had two bowls and then he wrote down the recipe. We watched his sky diving video and it was almost too exciting for me.

Ray worked on his notes and I finished up a job application that I will turn in today, while the temperature climbed outdoors but we stayed comfortable. At 5:15 we met Janna and Ron and their friends Beth and Joe to see Hysteria, which was pretty fun, although I was sorry not to see it with Becky. Then we went to Chipotle, which opened this week next to Chili's. It was good and filling, but I was kind of anxious to get home. Lots to do, especially for Ray, who was up until 4 or so again--I don't really know. I made bread and baked the cookies, so I was up until midnight myself--and then awake again in the night and up before 6. It will be a good day to take a nap.

The day before was lunch distribution with Gere and we had a lovely dinner with the Captain at Porterhouse--we split lamb chops and I had the most wonderful scallops appetizer, with creme brulee for dessert.

The plants you don't recognize here are peanuts.

A little cooler yesterday and last night and this morning feels great for now, but even hotter is predicted--100 by Friday.

I stayed home yesterday--Ray went to work after just a couple hours of sleep. My Dad and I did some work outside and then he peeled tomatoes. I made salsa and froze it and we are looking for the perfect gazpacho recipe. Do they all have bread in them? I froze more green beans. Ray dozed in the afternoon.

Petunias self-sowed in the sweet potato patch.

We have a serious pumpkin vine--will it grow fruit?

Picking beans buried in pumpkins (giant dill plant in foreground)

Our friend Paul and his two daughters visited in the late afternoon. His wife Maureen was at a business conference in Atlanta. He showed them around campus and then came here. They enjoyed the house and the chickens and Ray walked them over to the river. Then they headed off. We were good friends when Amelia was little and Molli was born. He seems just the same. They live near DC and joked about us living in the country. They were worried about ticks etc. from their walk.

I had made rice salad and sauteed some shrimp and steamed green beans. I also harvested a half-cup pf rhubarb and cooked that up into a sauce with honey and orange juice and currants and cinnamon. We had it over vanilla ice cream while we watched TV. Ray came to bed with me and I slept pretty well.

See if you can find the two fawns.

Ray was running so late yesterday that I drove him to his office. I was planning not to go anywhere, but he didn't have time to park the car and walk. Captain and I did a little gardening. Mostly he watered everything well. Then I went and picked Ray up. I have no energy with this heat and couldn't think of anything to have for lunch, so we stopped and ate at Mirko, which was delicious but pricy and caloric. You can pick the pasta and the sauce and the extras. I had tagliatelle with mushroom cream sauce and shrimp. Yum. Ray had sausage and penne and carbonara sauce (with bacon). We both had small delcious salads. They give you big rolls too. It made me happy for a while. Ray dozed when we got home. Poor boy--he just barely had the notes done for yesterday's class after working most of the weekend. So he was up most of the night and I don't know where he is for today's class. The rest of the week will be the same. And he has to give a quiz in there somewhere. Note to self: never offer a new class during the short summer session.

The only other thing I can think of is that we are now getting three eggs again most days, which is fun. So we had omelets for supper: zucchini and potato-filled omelets, with a little basil and dill--all of which we grew ourselves. (by which I mean my Dad) So, hypothetically speaking, I need either a cow, so I can make my own butter, or some way to make my own oil, like growing olives and pressing them.

I darted out briefly to the garden a couple times, checking on things and thinking and doing a little  weeding or whatever here and there. Only when it was overcast or shady. Late in the day, the trees on the west shade the main garden in front of the house.

TV, reading, slept okay. I wake up a lot, from the heat and Ray and other things (old age?), but I have gotten better at going back to sleep. Nothing on my mind, I guess. When having trouble, I think about the food I am going to cook next.

Saturday was busy. I presented information about preparing for the end of life, and more than one person filled out and had witnessed a Health Directive form, so I feel really good about that. I had several emails thanking me. That took most of the morning, so no pilates and no farmers' market for me.

Listening to music at Sky's

We went to a pool party that was a going-away party for Harry S., at the Kings. It was lovely. I brought a curried rice salad and a bottle of the Malbec we had left from the wedding. Afterwards, Sky had a birthday party for her and Kula (Basil's sister). It was outside with lots of great food and drink, including spinach pie. They had a musician, playing guitar and singing all the songs we knew. It was nice. It was pretty warm, but we sat on folding chairs on the lawn, with people we knew. It rained a very small amount, which was pleasant. Ray went home and worked on his notes, but I stayed until almost 11.

Yesterday, we sang for the last time until August. Then we met Janna and Ron for lunch at the Grit. I rode in Ron's BMW to Talbot's, while Ray went to his office. Janna had a very successful day, buying 6 things. Everything was 30% off, even off of sale prices. I bought one pair of linen shorts, that were still over $30.

Ray picked me up and we went home. It was very hot and our air conditioning ran for hours. I had a headache. We ate leftovers and watched lots of TV.

This morning it is in the 70s and humid, but still feels a little cooler with the windows open. I woke up many times during the night.

It is now summer, by the calendar and by the thermometer. When I looked at the outside temperature this morning, about 7:30, it was 70. We didn't have the windows open last night, it was too hot when we went to bed. It's about 78 in here and the AC will probably come on soon. It was a good spring, but I look forward to being somewhere cooler. When Ray retires, maybe we'll move north.

We went to the movies last night. We were supposed to see Hysteria at Cine, but we met Becky and Kent there and it wasn't showing. I had checked the listings, but this weekend is AthFest and they changed the schedule. I probably would not have rushed off to see Seeking A Friend at the End of the World with Steve Carell, but it was good. Beautiful and sad, but hysterically funny too, laughing at our culture and values. What would you do if you knew the world was going to end in a few weeks? Keep going to work? The best part maybe was the TV announcer, counting down to the end of the world, and telling people to set their clocks ahead for daylight saving time. Anyway.

The biggest thing that happened yesterday is that I seem to be applying for a gerontology certificate. This is a program of 6 classes, 3 in the fall and 3 in the spring, that will possibly allow me to find work. I like the taking classes part. And I think there will be more and more jobs in the field. The biggest question is will I want to work ini those jobs. Geriatric care manager is basically case management, I think, and I know I can do it, advising people about services available to them and helping them get what they need.

I will start classes in August if I do the online application and pay the money. In the spring, I can do a research project or a practicum, which would probably help me get a job. The woman I met with is about my age. Her daughter is getting married in August and she is working in Death and Dying and Housing for the Aging, the two areas that interest me. She is very down to earth and her name is Anne, the same as my mother's.

Other than that, I gave out lunches with Gere and drove Ray to work and saw my Dad in the morning. I rode the bicycle at Ramsey for a half hour. The parking is $1 for 30 minutes--you can barely walk to the locker room and back in half an hour. It's $3 for an hour, which I managed to stay under this time, but it stressed me out. $5 for two hours. But it was good to do the workout.

Ray has money taken out every month to pay for our membership at the Ramsey Center. We used to play racquetball and sometimes he would run on the indoor track. I have walked there with him a few times and occasionally we swam laps. My personal favorite, though, is the stationary bike. It is not hard for me to pedal a few miles while listening to music and looking down at the swimming pool. It had been over a year since either of us set foot in there and I kept saying we needed to cancel our membership and use that money for something else. The thing that stopped us was the need to clean out our lockers. Yesterday, after early breakfast with the Captain and dropping Ray off early to copy his test before class, I went to the Ramsey Center. I parked illegally because I didn't have a permit for that lot and didn't know how to pay by the hour. I went in and down to the lockers, but naturally didn't remember my combination. I put on my sneakers and took my stuff back upstairs with me. I got the combination from the cashier and went to the bikes. They were all new models, very comfortable and computerized, with a place to plug in my iPhone. I passed a happy 20 minutes there and then went down and opened my locker. All was well and I used the soap I had there to take a shower and head out. No parking ticket--yay!

Taking a photo of a slide is not very satsifactory, but I do like this kitchen.

I went to the second OLLI design class and enjoyed it, but I did get a little annoyed at the money spent. The teacher showed a kitchen she had designed, which I liked a lot, but it cost $60,000 to build! She said the young people with new money like to show it off and choose the expensive brands for that reason. The kitchen had all high-end appliances, including extra refrigerators for drinks and a hand-scraped walnut floor! This is actually one of the reasons I didn't become an architect, although there might be a way to design low-cost energy-efficient subsidized housing (ALT). It would be more likely that I would have to work with very wealthy people, some of whom would not share my values. Many of the older (mostly) women in the OLLI classes are impressed by the presenters' knowledge of technology. They told this woman she should teach a class on computers. I said I could help them learn to do that. Then they said I should teach an OLLI class. I demurred, saying it was better one on one and I was unwilling to do for free what I normally charge $75 an hour for. I wonder if I need to revive Computer-Ease and buy some business cards.

I picked up Ray and we went home and ate leftover pasta salad. He, of course, spent the day preparing for today's class. I went out to the garden a couple times briefly, when there was some cloudiness. I picked some more blackberries, but they are hard to get to, in the middle of the briar patch, even if you are willing to get scratched up. I am also a little bit terrified that snakes and other things live there. Mostly, I was on the computer, but I did marinate some beans for KR potluck.

I made a salad with a little lettuce I picked (which Ray washed for me), tomatoes, beans, olives, and corn chips. Everyone there was impressed that we have red tomatoes already. They say we are the first on the Ridge! Of course, that is thanks to my Dad.

Last night was the KR board meeting. I walked out about half way through and Liz followed me. the president insisted on discussing something that the rest of the group disagreed with him about. We all voted on a statement, but he was opposed. Then he started trying to prove why we are all wrong. I said I didn't want to keep rehashing it and left. I am not sure if it was a brave statement or a cop-out. It did get me home a little earlier than I might have otherwise, so I could watch a little TV while I had a drink (7 & 7). Slept well. It's going to be a hot one. The AC did come on late yesterday, but we were still able to open the windows before bed.

Yesterday, we got up early, had bacon and eggs with my Dad, took a walk, and I made pasta bean salad for potluck. After dropping Ray off, I went to the library and the bank and then to an OLLI class on purusing your dream and starting a business after 50. It was interesting and inspiring. Her business (selling clothing) made 500,000 its first year. This is significantly above average. If I were to start a business selling desserts, there is no way I could make that much money. I'm not sure I could make any money because how much can you charge for a few cookies? A couple dollars. To make 200,000 dollars, you'd have to sell 300,000 cookies. If we had 100 customers a day, it would take 10 years. Hmm. Do I love baking that much?

I met Becky for lunch and we went to chico's. I returned my green jacket, which was good, but I bought more stuff than I got credit for returning. I feel like a bulimic (not really), who eats and then purges. I feel guilty for buying these things (linen pants, summer dresses). I could return them to assuage my guilt, but would I just want to buy more? We had a good time and everything I bought was on sale. A couple things I wanted they didn't have in my size, but found at other locations and are having shipped to my house!

I brought Ray home. He caught up in his lecture, so has been working to come up with more notes for today. And a quiz. Stayed up late last night. We went to potluck, last choir rehearsal of the year, so we were done by 8 and came home and he worked. I watched a little TV and finished my book and slept pretty well. It is still cool and dry enough to open the windows and keep the AC from running, which is good, but it's not very cool. 74 in here this morning.

yesterday's class: elements and principles of design. I admit, I'm just a perennial student. everything I study (well, probably not chemistry or calculus) interests me. during this class, I become reinvigorated about designing houses. I think about attending drafting classes at Athens Tech, so I could get in with an architect. The professor is energized, she designs kitchen and baths...I would love to talk to her. Unfortunately, she just took a better job in another state and is packing to move. Golden mean, Fibonacci numbers, etc.

Then lunch with Becky and Deb at Last Resort, which makes me cry. We share a Tres Leches cake, like one we had at the wedding. Lots of fun. Ray and i came home and he worked. I did some minor cooking, making supper and reading cookbooks. Ray requested medieval lentils. The potatoes were from our garden and we had zucchini and cherry tomatoes we grew, too. I made a little pineapple rum raisin sauce that we had on our ice cream while we watched TV.  Yum. Slept pretty well. Heat is climbing--92 today in town.

Small Group Ministry yesterday at Marguerite's, led by Heather K., about trees. I find myself restless these days and wanting to do something more than sit in classes and discussions. Picked up Ray and came home. Spent the afternoon here, inside. Headed to UUFA for Green Sanctuary Committee at 7. Just me and Larry, so I was home about 8. TV, reading, bed. Woke up early from a dream involving Molli's friends, who had pet snakes, big ones, with pretty designs on them. One was climbing up me and no one was paying attention. Got back to sleep though.

concrete counters, with shells embedded

cubbies in laundry room

laundry room with sink--and dryer? how is that green?

Yes, I'm a sucker for closets

15% off anything from Ballard

not sure the purpose of the ceramic egg holders, but I like them

Becky in striped shirt, waiting to buy popsicle

a book for Amelia

Yesterday's weather was lovely--hot in the middle of the day, but cool morning and evening. We went to church and sang. Right after church, I met Becky and Janna at Schlotzky's and we got lunch to go--a Cobb salad for me. They had a young woman from Czechloslovakia with them. Her first name is Barbora--I can't exactly remember her long last name, although I repeated it correcly after her. She is visiting Athens, and specifically Covenant Presbyterian, for a few weeks and it was Becky's "day" to entertain her. Ron and Kent had claimed the right to 18 holes of golf for Father's Day. Ray was happy to work on his notes uninterrupted all day.

Janna and I had talked about going to this Southern Living "green" house for a while, and it is only open through June 30. When we compared our calendars on Friday, we thought this might be our best chance. So, Janna talked Becky into bringing Barbora. She is in her late 20s and seems very nice. Her English is good. She slept most of the way over and the three of us talked, but on the way home I asked her questions about things like health care in her country. (it costs about $2--50 crowns--to visit the doctor, to cut down on people going when they didn't have to when it was free). You can take 3 years off when you have a baby and get about 7000 crowns a month, not quite enough to pay for an apartment, but plenty if you have a husband. She has a job until the fall, when the woman she replaced comes back from 6 years of maternity leave, and she thinks it will be impossible to find another job, so she will have a baby.

old matches

The house is in a community southwest of Atlanta, which includes a really good restaurant (Serenbe) and an organic farm. We saw a couple of interesting modern energy-efficient houses. They were sort of crowded with furniture and showy items that look great in magazines and on TV. Janna was entranced--all the color schemes were gray. I told her it made me want to kill myself. She said, "don't come visit me, then." I said I could manage for a few hours, probably. She is redoing her bedroom and bath, the last part of her house that she has not renovated and decorated.

dining room at Serenbe

We had a good time, but it seems crazy to me to drive about 5 hours and spend about 2 walking around and looking at houses and some shops. Barbora bought a hematite and copper bracelet. The saleswoman was trying to explain the healing properties to her, but she bought it because she liked the way it looked.

It was a little after 7 when we got home and Ray cooked some pork chops on the grill. They were very tasty. I managed to stay awake through three TV shows and a bit of book reading, although I was awfully tired. Not looking forward to getting in a car again soon.

It makes me happy when I have to put on a bathrobe in the morning because it's cold. It's only 58 out right now and Ray has managed to get it down to 70 upstairs and 65 downstairs. I'll need a sweatshirt when I go down to make breakfast.

Yesterday morning, as we were walking after breakfast, Cameron flushed a baby fawn. I didn't even know what it was at first; it was about the size of a big rabbit. He wasn't chasing it or barking, just nosing it. It stood there, wobbling, and looked at us. OMG! It was the cutest thing, looking just like Bambi. Big eyes, funny ears, trying not to fall down. We called Cameron off and it took a few steps toward us, no fear. It was all I could do to stop myself from saying, "can we keep it?" I took Cameron on ahead and Ray stayed back to discourage it from following. It melted into some brush and he said the pattern of spots made it hard to see, even though he knew it was there. The interesting thing is, we hate the deer. They eat everything that grows in our yard, any bits of pumpkin or cucumber that poke through the fence, blueberries and blackberries and roses and other ornamentals. I somehow forgot to close the gate this week and they ate the sweet potatoes and a broccoli (but not the brussels sprouts) and sunflowers. But I still couldn't feel any animosity toward this baby, which will grow up, if it is lucky, to eat our plants. I can see how cuteness would be an advantage if you are trying to keep people from killing you, but I wonder if it works on bears and coyotes--I doubt it.

Then we got ready and hopped in the car to go to pilates. Except nothing happened when Ray pushed the power button. Fortunately, my Dad was there and we took his car. (Otherwise, we would have gone in the truck.) We were a few minutes late, but it was a good workout. We stopped by the Farmers' Market on our way home and talked to a bunch of people. We always see lots we know there. This time, we ran into Becky S. and Nita, as well as Doug A. We didn't actually buy anything--what could we need there? I did sample the tomato-watermelon gazpacho that Peter Dale (from the National) was serving up. It was good, but had a little more kick than I like, cayenne to counter the sweetness of the watermelon.

When we got home, Ray read the Prius manual and eventually jump-started the car, borrowing Basil's jumper cables...no idea where ours went to. If the garage were a little tidier, it might help. I wonder if the people we gave the Protege to have them, but I don't want to ask them, because I don't want to know if the car isn't working out for them.

After lunch (the last of the pasta-bean salad--so good!), I was feeling a little at loose ends and didn't want to do any of things I usually do (cooking, gardening, reading e-mai) or should do (cleaning). I thought my Dad had been a little down too, so I called him up and we arranged to go swimming at his house and take him out to dinner for Father's Day, one day early. He was delighted.

It wasn't so hot that swimming was absolutely necessary, but it felt great. We went to Heirloom, a restaurant neither Ray nor the Captain had been to before. They use local sustainable ingredients as much as possible. I had been there for lunch, but not dinner. It was very good. We ate outside and it was pleasant. We were wild and had four appetizers--cold soup, mackerel rillettes (my Dad ate most of that), bread and cheese (with blueberry jam) and beet and arugula salad with pecans. Ray had a burger and Captain and I split a bratwurst with peppers that was awfully good. In fact, we cleaned all the plates and ordered a couple desserts--pannacotta with blackberries for me. I had a glass of wine from northwest Spain and my father had beer (Terrapin), while Ray ordered a hard cider. It was a really lovely meal. Julene and Rhett stopped by and chatted with us during dessert. Rhett lives around the corner from there and they were out walking dogs.

Yesterday I took Ray in and then spent a little time at the library. I was sleepy and dozed a little. At 10:45, I was at First Baptist, loading up lunches and meeting Karen to deliver them. All went well. Then I met Janna for a very pleasant lunch. I picked Ray up before 2 and we came home for several hours. For supper, we took the rest of Thursday's pasta bean salad to Ashford Manor, where we met some friends like Ange and Herb and Myrna. We drank wine as it got cooler out and watched A Comedy of Errors, a very silly Shakespeare play involving two sets of identical twins and mistaken identity, of course. We knew several people involved. It was fun, but I wasn't sure it was worth $16 each! It was 11 or so when we got home and went to bed.

hot in the middle of the day, but cool enough at night to sleep with the windows open and the fans going.

Made pasta bean salad, with green beans I picked. Lost our winter squash to insects, as is common around here. Drove Ray to work because he was too late to park and walk or take a bus. Spent some time gardening with my Dad. Met Becky for lunch at Agua Linda and went to my last class on writing a novel and marketing your book. The author is 82 and trying to decide whether to write a sequel. The marketing guy is something of an idiot, but some of his ideas are sound. He doesn't know much about using computers, but set up profiles for her on FB, Goodreads, and lots more websites, trying to sell her book.

Went to KR potluck with my salad while Ray napped. Watched TV, went to bed. Slept well.

No idea why I didn't post yesterday, except my life is not terribly exciting. I have been taking classes on writing a novel and getting your book published. They are not very good, but still have some helpful information. One of these days I will have to work on my writing some more. At least I am in the air conditioning for a few hours.

Tuesday morning I stayed home. It was still very wet from all the rain. ray came home about 12:30 and I left for class. That night, we met Becky and Kent at Cine to watch Bernie, which was quite funny, but as Ray says, not really my kind of movie. Jack Black stars as the assistant funeral director in a small southern town. Everyone loves him, especially the little old ladies. It features a lot of interviews with townspeople--not sure whether they are actors or actual townspeople, but they are hysterical.

Yesterday I went in with Ray at 8:30, so no time for walking or gardening. My Dad was here for several hours. I delivered lunches. Deb helped me because Karen was sick. I went to class. I picked Ray up and we came home. I finished the curried rice salad I had started in the morning and took it to potluck. It was good, but not as outstanding as I was hoping.

We watched a ltitle TV and I fell asleep. Ray was up until 5 working on the notes for today's class, which starts at 9. He will have to do this until July 7, trying to get ready for the next class every day. This is because it is a new class he's never taught before. The next time he teaches pterodactyls, it won't be so bad.

Very hot and humid, but still cool enough at night (60s) to open all the windows.

Lots more rain yesterday--yay! I took Ray to UGA and went to my Dad's. He was doing dishes, which he does without a shirt on. I had a 10 o'clock dental appointment and then he took my car to my house and got his boots.

The dentist took forever (an hour and a half). Some of my fillings are old and should be replaced, but other than that all is well. We drove to Clarkesville, about an hour, for lunch, and then met up with an OLLI group. We went to Mark of the Potter and a shop selling plants. We went to see one woman's garden with a large sturdy fence to keep out deer. We sat around drinking wine on her screened porch and having a good time (I was the youngest by a lot). I didn't have any and I was surprised that everyone else did. Randall told about being on the grand jury and having them acquit a man who hit someone--I guess because he was 90. He complained about the DA (Ken M.) sending them cases that weren't well prepared.

We stopped at Glen-Ella Springs, a lovely old resort hotel where they do lots of weddings. It was really nice and peaceful--maybe I'll go there to eat sometime.

We drove home to Athens, picking up Ray and leaving my Dad at his place. Ray and I decided to eat out, since it was 6:30. We went to Taqueria del Sol, but they don't serve dinner every night. We ended up eating at Siri Thai, which has a more elegant feeling at night, but is still delicious and is quite a bargain ($34 for two).

I went to Town and Gown to audition for Lysistrata. It was so fun! Rick Rose is directing, Florence was helping him, along with Hue Henry. Other people auditioning were Terrell, Genevieve, Bill A., Nathan A., and many I didn't know as well. It was really fun, including some Greek dancing. Ray sat in the lobby and worked, but he could hear me and said I sounded great. It will be a wonderful show. The problem is I was planning to be gone most of the month of July when the rehearsals are. Performances start August 3. If I get cast, I may not travel as much as I was expecting, in order to stay here and rehearse. I will have a day or two to decide after they post the cast list. Life is full of these sorts of choices and it's really hard. I have waited for a play and director that I felt good about for years.

We were home before 9 and watched some TV and ate chocolate pudding. I fell asleep before 10.

This morning it is very humid and over 70, so the AC will be running soon.

Rain, rain, and more rain. But I'm not complaining! All day yesterday, it rained on and off, maybe about a half an inch total, keeping it cool enough in the house to cook quite a bit. Pancakes and bacon for breakfast, of course. A brief wet walk.

We went to teach the children at UUFA. There were only 4 of them, two 5-year-olds, an 11-year-old and a 13-year old. It was an important lesson and I'm not sure I was successful in teaching it to all of them: It's important to say positive things to each other, and you can also tell yourself how wonderful you are. I read a lovely story about a boy who had a bad day at school, with his classmates teasing him. One of the 5-year-olds told me he used to go to Montessori, but now he is home schooled. I'm a little sad about it.

For lunch, we went to DePalma's. We called my Dad and invited him to meet us there. It was fun and good. I spent the afternoon reading emails and doing things in the kitchen, with a brief foray to the garden. I prepared a pound and a half of green beans that we grew--the most wonderful beans you ever ate, young and fresh. I turned them into bean snap, but sadly I let them burn a little, so the flavor of the dish is compromised. Ray cooked and mashed a couple potatoes.

I also made a chocolate pudding with a layer of sauteed bananas. It doesn't taste as good as it sounds, so there is a lot left. Plain chocolate pudding would have been better.

I made some bread, too, but it didn't rise as much as I would have liked. It may be the recipe, or the weather, or I just didn't catch it at the peak moment.

TV, reading, bed, but I had trouble falling asleep with my noisy mask on.

This morning early, more heavy rain was muic to my ears.

I was really busy yesterday and now I'm tired and don't feel great. Oh, well.

I got up and we ate breakfast (berries and yogurt and homemade toast with peanut butter). I zipped off downtown to help with a run/walk, giving out t-shirts. There were over 300 participants for this inaugural race--run/walk for a better Athens, a group opposing the Wal-Mart that will probably be built near downtown, where the race was. Interestingly enough, the money raised went to Habitat. Not sure what that is about. Maybe the better Athens group isn't a 501(c)3. It was a beautiful morning and I talked to John Kissane, a former neighbor of ours. Also Mike Wooten.

At 10:15, I went to pilates, the first time in a while, at least since I broke my ankle. It was a crowded class, good for her. It was good. I thought, this should be easier, since I have lost weight...but apparently I have more to lose.

Then I went home. I was tired. I thought of stopping at the Farmers' Market, but couldn't imagine what I might need there that I didn't already have.

Ray and I had lunch and gathered things for the memorial service. I packed up some tablecloths and napkins and some extra food. I took two batches of mini-quiches from the freezer and one of little rolls. At the Fellowship, Ray worked on sound while I stayed in the kitchen. There wasn't that much to do--put tablecloths on, arrange the chairs, accept food from people and thank them. Deb P. helped a lot, arranging fruit, etc. I baked my rolls and mini-quiches and we listened to the service. They had set up a feed into the fellowship hall, with a projection. About 20 late-comers sat in there with us and we could see and hear it all. It was a great service, but it ran over an hour and a half. We had all the food set out by 4:30 and we rearranged the chairs and set up a couple round tables. The people streamed in and we re-filled the food as needed.

Then Ray and I slipped away and went to eat at Janna's. She had made a cold soup: avocado-vichysoisse and salad nicoise. All good. I ate too much and too fast. We had brought a few of the mini-quiches and rolls and some blackberries.

We had to rush off to pick up the tickets to sell. When we got to the Classic Center, the guard could not find them. After about 20 minutes, I called the theater and someone answered the phone! They had gotten all the tickets for the weekend on Friday. We enjoyed the play very much, but it was long. Saw Harriet and showed her pictures from the wedding. Got home late.

Captain came for breakfast. Ray and I had a short walk. We drove to his office and I waited while he got what he needed and then drove to the Biology building. He is teaching a brand new class and thatt was the first day of the First Summer Short Session. He will teach every day until July 6, for about 2 hours. This will require him to prepare notes from a new book, putting in lots of hours to stay ahead of the class.

I drove to First Baptist and delivered the lunches Gere had prepared. I went to the credit union and deposited some checks. Then I went downtown and photocopied my Health Care directive (and Ray's). I met my Dad at the jewelers (Aurum) and they gave him money for a gold tooth! ($22) I went back to First Baptist and met my friend Karen K. and we delivered lunches. At one of the stops, I saw Nathan from ALT and we talked some about this year's bike race. A year ago, I was working at ALT.

I ate my lunch at River's Crossing, where there was an OLLI class I wanted to take. It was about electronic medical records, a good idea whose time has come. Apparently the implementation is lacking. In particular, there are lots of different software packages in use and they are not compatible. Also, they are not very user-friendly and doctors have some challenges to use them. Employment idea? Become a consultant instructing doctors in the use of technology, assuming they would want to pay me. The person teaching the class, who has way more credentials than I do, said she had applied for two jobs at St. Mary's to do that kind of work (she called it hand-holding), but they appear to have hired from within.

I picked Ray up, we went home, I cooked some pork and vegetables, we watched TV and went to bed. Except that I vacuumed the house and we tidied up so that two of Nancy MacNair's sisters could stay with us, Alice and Janice. They didn't arrive until about 10, so we didn't visit much.

not a very impressive building

My Dad has wanted to go skydiving for a long time. Recently, he has been talking about it being on his bucket list. I think my Mom was not comfortable with the idea--or he thought she wasn't. In any case, I think he wouldn't have done it if she were still alive. But he looked in the phone book and there was one listing for skydiving and he called them--and paid ahead. I guess that locked in a lower price. It was less than $200.

We scheduled it for a day that Ray could go with us. Dad came for breakfast and we left a little after 8. I drove so Ray could work on preparing for his new class that starts today, on Pterodactyls. We pretty much had to go t hrough Atlanta traffic, some of it very slow, but we were there by 11, when he was scheduled.

I went through this door--does that make me a future skydiver?

video disclaimer--can you bleieve this beard?

At least they have wi-fi while you are waiting

He had to watch a video and sign a waiver. Then we  waited around a bit, in a dumpy sort of metal building. Other people were there too. After about an hour, his name was called and he met his instructor, Ryan. Ryan was covered with tattoos and piercings, but he was very serious about skydiving. He helped Dad get his harness on and adjusted it to fit comfortably. He didn't like the first one and got a second one. Then he got a couple other guys to help him get it just right. We asked him a few questions. He has jumped 7000 times. The heaviest person weighed more than 300; the oldest was 91.

Captain was in Load 2, so after instruction and having this harness put on, he waited while one group went up in the plane and jumped out and came down. A woman annoucned, "Twelve minute warning for load 2," then "five minute warning," then, "meet at the front to walk up to the plane." As we went out to the plane, the first load was landing, so pretty and so fast!

Before he got on the plane, Ryan adjusted his harness again. They were the last ones on, sitting on benches faces backward. That is when I began to get nervous, thinking of when he had been in the hospital. They told him he didn't have enough oxygen in his blood, and had an irregular heartbeat. I am sure if he had asked, his doctor would have said, "no skydiving." But maybe I was projecting, because I would not have wanted to get in that plane.

Ray and I watched it go up until we lost it from sight. About 10 minutes later, we began to see little dots--beautiful parachutes with tiny people hanging below. The next thing we knew they were landing. We heard a whooshing sound and they came in very fast from the side, not staight down at all. The first few were solo and they obviously knew what they were doing. They managed to slow themselves down and ended up walking as they touched down.

All of a sudden, there was my Dad with Ryan. They were coming in really fast... You could see my Dad's legs hanging down below Ryan's. They landed in a pile of dust and it wasn't clear if anyone was hurt. But when I got closer, I could see them pulling my Dad up. He slowly walked toward us, with the harness attached. Ryan passed him and I thanked him and he said, "he did great" or something like that. He was a little sore, but fine. He said he would have a bruise on his butt.

We got in the car and drove to a restaurant I found on my phone nearby, Sidekicks.

I really enjoyed my OLLI class yesterday. A young woman from Sonoma College (I think) spoke about the American Dream. She is probably in her 30s, she is doing research I would love and teaching and inspiring students. She studied single Moms on welfare who went to college. Four got master's degrees. She has testified in Congress several times. Obviously, getting a degree helps you get a job and get off welfare.

She got interested in the American Dream because education is part of that. It seems that somehow the idea that anyone can get ahead has somehow contributed to competition and greed (keeping up with the Joneses), so that people always want a bigger house, etc. She is interested in young people who are changing the dream to reflect their values--spending time with family, building community, having time to volunteer, etc. See newdream.org. Really interesting.

I was interested and excited, but it also made me sad and angry to think that I am not doing this work. At 57, I don't want to be done being useful and stimulated. I love to bake, but to think that I will never think about these ideas again is very depressing. She said unemployment is highest in people over 50 and under 25.

Other than that, delivered lunches with one of my neighbors, Gere, and now we are committed to making lunches too!

Made pasta salad for potluck, with onions and basil and garlic from the garden. Had to buy tomatoes and peppers, but not much longer. Bugs may get the eggplants, but there are baby peppers and green tomatoes.

Potluck and choir--winding down for a summer break in July.

Yesterday's weather? Cloudy, rainy, with a high of 73! I baked cookies and ate soup for lunch.

It was a stay-at-home day, with Ray gone to work. My Dad was here for a while in the morning and Sky came over for a bit. I was on the computer most of the time, trying to get my emails down to a manageable amount. Yes, I have 12,000 emails, after deleting a bunch of them.

Ray came home, we ate some leftover pork roast, with peppers and onions, and sauteed baby potatoes from the garden, which is doing very well, thanks to the rain and my Dad's attentions. I mostly admire it and harvest and come up with ways to eat it. The green beans are superb, small and fresh, with butter and salt and pepper. We had asparagus, too.

Then it cleared enough for us to jump in the car and drive to Sandy Creek Park, where they had telescopes set up so we could see the transit of Venus, a once-in-a-lifetime event, except that if you are born today, you can live to be 100 and never see it. Nonetheless, watching it is just above watching grass grow. I sat in the car and read things on my phone, while Ray stood around talking with other people who were as interested as he was. My back doesn't like standing much. Becky came too and we talked some with Becky Horne, whose son Nathan just graduated from law school. I looked at Venus three times and it had moved very slightly every time. Becky even managed to take a picture with her phone through the telescope!

We drove to the Melting Point, where my Dad had just finished dinner. Ray ordered dessert, I had onion rings and a kahlua and cream, while he had a tropical drink--pineapple juice, rum, curacao. We were there to see a Canadian group, but there were two young women, sisters or even twins, singing folk/bluegrass. Lots of Everly Brothers. The Canadians were apparently the week before. My Dad is sure the paper made a mistake. I did not check, so reserve judgment. It felt somewhat decadent to be listening to music and eating and drinking on a Tuesday night. We left about 9 and had time to watch a couple of game shows before bed.

In Zanesville: A Novel by Jo Ann Beard

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I really enjoyed this "coming-of-age" novel, told from the point of view of a clever young woman who is something of an outsider. Dysfunctional family is sad but funny. Thanks, Polly!



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