Birthday Bash - sort of

Lots to catch up on. On Thursday night we had our first Bunco gathering! What fun!! Gathered together 12 crazy ladies and spent the night getting to know one another and playing Bunco. Tami actually started the stupid thing (I did NOT say 'stupid') and she brought in 3 ladies who work with her. The rest are Farmers transplants so this gives us a chance to get together outside of work and reinforce the CA Support Group. :0 )

We decided instead of buying prizes, we would just play for $$. Money fits all sizes, right? In spite of 6 different categories for prizes, including most LOSSES, for heaven's sake, I still did not win anything.

Audrey was whining at first when I was going over the rules of play because she said it sounded too hard. If you've ever played Bunco, you know it's harder to explain than to play. Once we got started, she was all into it! We'll be playing once a month and rotating houses so everyone gets a chance to play hostess. It really was a lot of fun and everyone got along famously. We have a couple of sub's (Tami's daughter, Heaven, and Sandy Benson's daughter, Chelsea) already and had to make use of them the first night.

I took a vacation day on Friday because I wasn't feeling well. Let's just say I was "indisposed". I may have had a bug though because I kept falling asleep and I'd wake up all hot and sweaty, then I'd fall asleep again and wake up cold. Also woke up several times because the friggin' phone kept ringing. The security guards at work called at least 4 times. They were having phone issues and for some reason they have MY number so they called me. I finally told them I'm not in the office so please call Carlos. They felt bad, but I assured them it was no problem, I'm on duty 24/7.

I slept in Saturday ... what better way to start off celebrating getting older! I read in bed for several hours (pure indulgence) and then walked across the street to the mall to get my white roots touched up. I told her "LIGHT brown with caramel highlights". She did a really good job with the highlights but the brown is NOT light. I know it will fade after several washings but it startles me when I look at it. It's better than the red it had gone back to though. There are still red highlights when I'm in the sun, but I had those naturally (in the old days) so that doesn't bother me.

After my hair was done .. I really liked how she did my bangs, but why is it one can never duplicate what the hairdresser does???, Tami called and asked if I wanted to go with her to see The Dark Knight. Heck, yeah! There was a long line (who knew?) so we had to sit on the far right and sort of close to the screen but it was a good movie. NOT the Batman I grew up with in the comics, but the acting was great.

She wanted to take me to Rose's for a piece of cake afterward, but they were closed. Then we went looking for a Starbucks, but the one we found was also closed so we opted for Shari's. When we walked in they had the place all decorated with balloons and streamers so Tami said she'd called ahead and asked them to decorate for my birthday! LOL We shared that with our waitress and she said "oh, it's your birthday? Well, you get a free piece of pie then". GREAT! I had my favorite .. lemon meringue .. and we were all good. Tami and I joked that in future we'll go in on our birthdays and ask them to box up our piece of pie. Ok .. WE think we're funny!

Today (Sunday) Tami, Heather, Carol and I took the Max train to the airport. I wanted to see how long it takes (about 1.5 hr) and exactly where it drops one off. Practically at the front door! It really is a slick way to get to the airport. I'm going to fly home next weekend, just for the weekend .. coming in Friday night, leaving Sunday morning .. so taking the train in will be ideal. You can't beat the price .. it will be $1.75 to ride up to the airport, and $1.75 to ride back. This is a picture of Tami and Heather having fun on the train. :0)

We bought all day tickets for all lines, which includes bus travel and trolley too, I believe, and it was only $4.75. On the way home we stopped at the Sunday market which is pretty much a huge craft fair. Then we stopped at the "Sand in the City" display where they had sand carvings related to an organization called Kids on the Block that does free puppet shows for schools all around the area. These are 3 of my favorites. The back view shows it's the Moletel, the front view is the Whack a Mole game with a huge mallet and some moles popped up, and the 3rd one shows a mole diving into the ground with his butt in the air. Cute! That line running across him is just the shadow of the rope to keep people off the sand. I'll post some more pictures one of these days.

We found an indoor mall with a food court so we had something to eat and then rode the train back home. A really fun day!

OH! I found out the lilies were from Calvin. He just neglected to put his name on the order. I didn't suspect him at all because in 40 years he's given me flowers once or twice.

See? aren't they pretty? When they arrived they were mostly buds and you can see there are still 3 or 4 buds that haven't opened. If you're thinking the flowers are big, you're right. They're HUGE. Very fragrant and colorful. A nice surprise.

I had a lot of birthday wishes and I want to thank all of you for making my day so special! Even far away I felt loved. Thank you SO much. Getting older isn't so bad when you have friends and family to share it with.

It's way past my bedtime now so I've GOT to scoot. Hang tight and I'll write more next week, I'm sure.

Who dun it?

When I got home from work, there was a box from ProFlowers waiting for me! Inside was a vase with 4 stems of lilies. SEVERAL buds on each stem. Some deep purple and some white. The only problem is, there was no name! I don't know who sent them. I'm assuming they're for my birthday, but I don't know who to thank.

I called Eric and Stacey because that's something they'd do. They said they sent something but this isn't it.

So ... whoever you are THANK YOU! They're beautiful.

Tomorrow I'll tell you about the fun we had playing Bunco.

Sizzlin' Summer Days

It's hard to find the time to blog so I'm using my lunch break to start this one. If you're getting an RSS feed does it tell you each tiime I make changes to the blog or just when I've posted one? Hmmm

I really want to complain about the heat because it's so muggy, but since the vast majority of you have been sweltering under the hot CA sun, I haven't got the nerve. Just remember, I'm on the THIRD floor!

This past weekend Carol and I drove up to Multnomah Falls. It's about an hour away from us and a nice drive. Since we were stupid enough to do it on the same day that we were attending an afternoon picnic, we didn't have time to stop along the way to check out other things that look interesting. We did pick up some brochures about river cruises and we will probably look into that.

The falls were beautiful. My co-worker, Peggy (from Austin), went there when she was here for her "tour of duty". She came to help us get our act together, so to speak. Anyway, she and her daughter drove to falls and she showed me pictures on her camcorder from the TOP of the falls to the parking lot below. WOW She said it took her about 2 hours to complete the climb to the top and her legs were really sore the next day. Peggy said it amazed her how many people were doing the climb to the top with strollers and carrying babies. Even older people. You know, people in their 60's! Hmph

When Carol and I got there, we took some photos and I suggested we climb up to the bridge because Peggy had said it wasn't too hard to get there. The path is paved all the way and it's a series of switchbacks. Lots of switchbacks. The incline isn't too bad and we were walking at a leisurely pace. When we got to the bridge there were a LOT of people standing on it and this nice gentleman, who was speaking a foreign language to his children (German, I think), looked at me and said "how many people do you think it will hold before it collapses?" Laughing, I said thanks for pointing THAT out!! He laughed and said "don't worry. I'll go first!" I told him I'd wait until he got off the bridge before I ventured on. The bridge is very solid, by the way.

We went a little bit further up than the bridge but neither of us wanted to attempt the climb to the top. The sign said it's only a mile up, but with all the switchbacks, that has to add some distance, right? We've agreed that our goal for next year will be to climb all the way up! By this time next year you will all have forgotten we said that.

Heather and Tami had organized a "We're Not in CA Anymore" potluck picnic for all the CA transplants up here. So when we got home from the falls, Carol had to go shopping for a chair--I ended up getting one too because it has a sunshade!! and we had to prepare our food for the picnic. She made my pistachio pudding salad .. nothing too difficult there! .. and I made a taco salad. We had to take our dining room table (my 5' folding table), Tami and Heather's chairs (remember, they were my living room furniture for the month of May) and I took my broken chair (it's just one of the pads on the bottom that broke...it's still usable) in case someone would need it. It's just about 4:00 and even hotter than it was earlier in the day!! We got in her car and it was 115 degrees! Sheesh.

By the time we got to the park (Noble Woods park by Heather's house), they had tables all set up and food ready. Wow. Sandy Benson and her hubby and 2 kids were there, as well as Heather and Tami, Audrey Guest and her son Brett and Steve Dix came later. We had a really good time and agreed we need to do this again. We did laugh because some people were trying to get us to have a sign-up sheet for the food. I sent an email to everyone saying that the idea of a potluck is just that -- potLUCK so no sign-up's were necessary. Turns out we had only one duplicate dish (potato salad) and that was a good thing because one was WITH onions and the other was WITHOUT!! YES! (I hate onions) All in all a very nice weekend.

I did spoil myself this week. On Monday I strolled over to the Streets of Tanasbourne and wandered into the Brighton shop. I purposely left my $$ at home so I wouldn't be tempted to buy anything. Didn't matter. They have several items that are being "retired" so they were on sale for 30% off. I really splurged. I had them hold a wallet for me and they (naturally) showed me the purse that goes with it. I laughingly said if the purse is still there when I go back then I was meant to have it.

I also wandered over to a beauty supply to see if they had nail polish remover and if they could tell me where a good hair salon is. Huh. They have one right there on the premises. So I made an appointment for Saturday afternoon to touch up my white roots!

Thunder and lightning, oh my!

Sometime early this morning -- 1:00?? 2:00?? I was jolted awake by a loud clap of thunder and I heard pouring rain. It's kind of neat being up on the 3rd floor because I can hear the rain hitting the leaves in the trees. I'm actually up higher than two of the trees on our property. I was too tired to open my eyes but I could tell when lightning flashed because the room would get a bit brighter for a few seconds. I found it to be very soothing and went back to sleep.

Spoke to Audrey about it this morning and she was exhausted because she'd been woken up by the storm and Brett had come into her room and her dog was upset by the storm. She said she thought of me because she suspected I was enjoying it (I was!) You can see that we could both tell the same story but with a different twist!

The sprinklers just went on. I swear, they would run even if it were pouring rain! There is no lack of water up here. I understand some of you are being restricted on your water usage. They need it to fight all the fires. Your "smog" level is increasing too. Boy, did I move up here at just the right time! (whatever!)

Carlos left this afternoon to go home for the weekend. I dropped him off at the Max train. It's about an hour train ride to the Portland airport. Carol and I are going to try it out after she gets back. Then when I go home, I can just have someone drop me at the station. There's one just minutes away from here. It's Portland's BART.

I've scheduled my next vacation for August 29 through September 5, so I'll be home over Labor Day weekend. We'll have to celebrate Eric and Brendan's birthdays early (Eric's is 9/11 and Brendan's is 9/12). I also need to squeeze in visits with several of you! And clean out the refrigerator. It's become a joke up here to say that I have to go home every 6 weeks to clean out the 'frig. Most of the women I talk with can't imagine leaving their husbands alone in the house for long periods of time. Cal's probably gone back to eating out most of the time.

The hustle and bustle of the past several weeks has slowed down but I'm still very busy. This next wave that's moving over on the 11th is mostly the Commercial department and there has been nothing but confusion. First we thought they needed DID numbers. Then they didn't. Now we're back to yes they do. Of course, I've been making all the changes each time so then I have to go back and undo the changes and now I'm having to change them AGAIN. I brought my laptop home so I can work on it some this weekend. It's not really like working when you do it at home...it's more like getting caught up or getting ahead. Doing it at my own pace.

I need to find a narrow shelf that will fit on top of the table I'm using for my laptop. Then I could put my flatscreen TV on the shelf and use it as a monitor. I'm getting used to using dual monitors! It's so darned handy when you can move spreadsheets to one monitor and open other programs on the laptop. I need to buy a video cable but that should be all I need. I also brought my zip drive home to clean up some of my disks. Stuff I've been wanting to get to but keep putting off.

Tomorrow is housecleaning day though. Need to wash floors and vacuum. Just unpacked Carol's vacuum so I need to put it to good use. And clean out the refrigerator. Are you seeing a theme here?

I finally got to watch one of my Netflix CD's. I've been watching the Britcom series "As Time Goes By" with Judy Dench and just finished season 6. Such fun! SO .. I mailed it off yesterday and they received it today and I should have my next one Saturday. But here's the fun part. Last week or maybe the week before, I turned down a side street to cut over to Cornell so I could find an ATM machine and as I'm driving down this "new" road (new to me) off to the right I see a building with a HUGE Netflix sign. They are right here in Hillsboro!! I'm hoping it's one of their distribution centers. How cool is that!

There are a ton of fireworks going off outside. I can imagine our cat, Tigger, is going nuts at home. He's the original scaredy cat. Every 4th of July he runs around the house scrunching himself under the sofa (and he's not small) and then running to one of the bedrooms to hide under a bed. You can't hold him because he digs his claws into your arm as if his life is in mortal danger. Poor thing.

Well, it's 9:20 and the streetlights just went on so I'd better close and get myself organized for tomorrow.

Stay tuned!

Return to normalcy?

Is there such a thing as "normal"? This week has been going fairly well, I must say. AND there are no moves this weekend because of the holiday. So we all get 3 days off!! HUZZAH! Saturday is already a special day because my bed will be delivered. Ta DA! (or as Colin used to say, TA da)

We just had a brief but intense rainfall. The sun is out, it's barely overcast, 84 degrees outside and it starts to pour down HUGE raindrops. I LOVE IT! I told Cal (Yahoo Instant Messenger) that it wasn't enough to wash off my car and I need to find a carwash. He always washed my car at home. He said, and I quote, "maybe Heather can wash it when she checks your tire pressure". He's now trying to get out of it by saying he was kidding. The joke here is that I am completely clueless and uninterested when it comes to cars and their maintenance. Heather actually called Cal some time back and told him my tires were looking pretty low and he should check them. Thus the reference to her checking my tires. Now he's in trouble! Heather doesn't always read my blog, but I know Tami does!!

I got the cutest card from my sister Carol. Welcome to your new home .. and it's handmade. It has some metal elements that I'll just keep for my own scrapbooking. :) Who knows where it will end up next?

Carol is visiting CA this week. I'm hoping when she's ready to drive back home she'll be willing to stop by my house and pick up the things I left in Brendan's trunk. I think my missing Daytimer calendar pages are in that pile of stuff. I also need the clock that Justin Barber gave me. OH! I forgot to tell you about that.

I had to post this before I finished because we've been having wireless problems with our internet connection. I've been piggybacking on someone else's network. Gary just had me switch to ours because he discovered that the connection into the modem was loose. Oops!

Anyway, back to Justin Barber. When I was there for our last day in Pleasanton (more on that in future posts) I went to say good-bye to Justin. As our current Toasmaster president, he and I worked together quite a bit on club business. AND he has the same first name as my youngest, they're around the same age and both graduated from SF State. Anyway, he handed me this sweet little pink bag and said "this is for you". For ME??? Awwww, shucks. Inside was this absolutely adorable pink ceramic clock, about 2" wide and 3" high, in the shape of a telephone!! Since I was known around the office as the Phone Queen it was so perfect! He said his mom owns a gift shop in Walnut Creek and he'd gone it to say hello and this caught his eye so he told her he had to get it because he knew just the person to give it to. I really love it and want to put it in my office but being me ... I put it in the trunk of Brendan's car with all the other last minute stuff I was clearing out of the office. It will be like getting for the first time all over again! We have no clocks in our office and I was just telling Carlos today that in spite of having the time on our computers and our phones I still want a clock. Problem solved! Thanks, Justin!

Work is slowing down and I actually have a 3 day weekend. WOO HOO!! I am so going to relax. I debated about going home for the weekend but that wouldn't be very restful and the one thing I need right now is some down time. I'm hoping to schedule a week around Labor Day. I'll ask Adrian tomorrow and see what he says.

I'm looking at my temperature windows on my desktop and it says Dublin and Hillsboro are both 80 degrees. I bet this 80 degrees is cooler than that 80 degrees! So weird. I would swear that 95 feels hotter here (maybe that was pre-air conditioning) but right now there's a decent breeze and it's actually a cool breeze. I have my window wide open and the a/c is off. I do have the ceiling fan going though, just to move the air around.

I'm going to close now and enjoy this restful period. Birds are chirping outside, the breeze is blowing and it's still bright out. At 8:04 pm. Huh. You all take care and stay tuned!