Friday Randomness
OK, it’s been awhile, so let’s just dive in, OK?
Last weekend, we went to a party that was held at the clubhouse of a fairly unique condo complex. I was in love, and Ted was in love on my behalf. This particular condo complex includes about 80 townhouses, 2 to 3 bedrooms, right on the border of Mt. Diablo. What makes this complex different is that they have stables right there on site, for approximately 40 horses. They also have people hired to clean stalls, and they feed the horses. They also have 4 riding areas, one covered, and an area where you train your horse on a lead. Gah, I want to live there. It’s probably 200k more than our place, very rare that places come available, and that’s no including the horse costs. But gosh, wouldn’t it be amazing to wake up in the morning hearing horses make horse noises, rather than BART (train) or the freeway noises, that we wake up to now? I’d like to try it for awhile.
Gosh, I enjoyed the 4 days that BART was on strike the week of the 4th. I’m pro-labor, and it’s a lot easier to be so when their strike brings you peace and quiet in the morning.
San Francisco is hosting the America’s Cup. No one gives a crap. I know I don’t. Boy, that was a lot of money for something that we all knew no one cared about. Sigh.
This whole Trayvon Martin thing…I have to confess that I thought the jury being all women would mean guilty, because I thought they would want to protect their child, vs. men, who would want to protect their children in a different way. I was wrong, or else the law got in the way and the jury were limited by what was put before them and state specific rules. Either way, I sure wish he had gotten manslaughter. He had no business following that teen, no matter what else happened. He is an adult, and he shot a kid, and he didn’t need to. End of story. I keep hoping that this crap will go away, and the world will be a better place in which to live, but I’m starting to understand that that takes a lot of work, which sucks.
Good news, Maya got her drivers’ license! She took the test last week, and passed, and then got her official license yesterday. Very exciting. And liberating. I’m busy with work right now, which means she can go to the grocery store for me, and also drive herself to her volunteer gig or to meet friends. I love it. Not so much the increase in our insurance premium.
I tried a new recipe last night. A few months ago, we went to dinner at a friend’s house, friends that happen to be vegan. We were served a delightful butternut squash ravioli. So this week, I told Maya I was going to make pasta, and she asked if I could call this friend for the recipe. I didn’t call, it was early in the morning when I wanted to go to the grocery store, and I happen to know this friend can’t go to sleep early, and that she doesn’t like to get up early, esp in the summer. So I found a recipe online. Result? Meh. I mean, it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the same either.
My avocado trees aren’t doing very well, and I blame the fertilizer I bought, which is specifically for avocado trees. They started out fine, but then after I gave them the fertilizer, they boomed up and grew new leaves, which then browned and curled and fell off. Ugly. So I cut it down, and they’ve started new leaves, which one day look healthy and strong and the next day are brown and starting to curl. I hate that. They’re beautiful little trees, and even though I know they won’t grow fruit, I still want them to flourish.
Meals on Wheels was interesting this week. I stopped and talked to the daughter of one of our clients, and she told me a little bit of her father’s story. He was homeless for 30 years, and now his daughter is trying to keep him safe and fed and warm in a crappy apartment in a bad neighborhood. This guy is so young, not quite 65, and he looks to me like Zonker Harris from Doonesbury. He’s a Vietnam vet with terminal cancer in his neck, and when his daughter got a crappy apartment with him, because she can’t afford better, she took on not only his issues, but the constant visits of his homeless friends, who are pretty good at robbing them blind and taking advantage of them. So now he’s trying to avoid them, but in doing so, he is hesitant to leave his house, and so is slipping into depression. Wow. Some people have lives that are a lot more complicated than mine, and I wish her well, absolutely.
Last, but by no means least, today is my beloved Mother in Law’s birthday. I feel so very, very lucky to have a MIL that I love, and who loves me. She loves my husband, and she adores my daughter. She is fun to hang out with, makes me laugh, and has done a great job with her kids and her life in general. I am very proud to be her daughter-in-law. Happy Birthday, Ma!
11 Comments
Ally Bean
Such an interesting week for you. The condo community sounds amazing for those who can afford such things. Really cool.
Your adult/child summation of the Trayvon Martin case is exactly what I’ve said all along. I don’t understand the jury’s conclusion, either.
I’ve never grown an avocado tree, so all I can say is: good luck with that.
Your Meals on Wheels story is so far beyond the kinds of probs that I hear about that it confirms my belief that the people who I know who are complaining should just zip it. We don’t really have problems, we have inconveniences.
J
Ally, yeah, that’s what I was thinking regarding my meals on wheels guy. I mean, homeless for 30 years? Trying to resist the allure that it somehow still holds for him? Knowing that there’s a big cancerous bump on his neck, and NOTHING TO BE DONE about it? It boggles the mind. And then the daughter, trying her very best to make his remaining time comfortable, under kinda yucky circumstances. I came home grateful for my townhouse with a pool in a nice neighborhood, even if we don’t have horses, darn it.
Starshine
This was nice to read…love hearing your thoughts! I also love that Ally Bean is still reading and commenting here. You two were among my first blog friends! Thanks for mentioning the Martin/Zimmerman case here. I agree with you…so much change that still needs to happen in the world, and it is very, very hard, and it seems to happen very slowly, too.
J
Starshine, I believe that Ally and I lost touch a bit along the way, but we’re back, and I’m glad. She’s witty and insightful and a good blog friend to have. 🙂
Martin/Zimmerman. I still have it in my mind quite a bit, along with the woman in Florida who got 20 years for shooting a warning shot to keep her abusive husband off of her, even though she had a restraining order against him at the time. Justice is indeed blind, and sometimes deaf and dumb as well.
Gina
Yay for Maya! Although boo on the price increase and any possibly worrying about her safety that might ensue.
I think horses are absolutely magnificent creatures, but I don’t think I would want to live that close to them!
BTW, I just read one of the books you recommended a while ago, Disgraced, and I really enjoyed it! Thanks!
J
Gina, I’m glad you enjoyed Disgraced! That book really got to me. I’m currently reading another that you might enjoy, “Rules of Civility”. Good enough that I could see myself giving it as a gift, which is of course a compliment.
So far the license thing has been great. She drives to meet her friends, she goes to the grocery store for me, she goes to her volunteer gigs. It’s nice. Yes, it’s more expensive, and yes, I worry a bit.
Nance
Do you have your avocado trees potted in a soil that was already fertilized? Like that Miracle-Gro stuff that has a timed release fertilizer good for 3 months? It sounds like they are overly fertilized and suffering from fertilizer burn.
When Rick and I were in Canada recently, we happened upon a really lovely butternut squash pasta sauce, made in-house by a local fruit and veg. farmer who has a store on the Niagara Parkway. So good! But ridiculously expensive at $10.50 a jar. We bought ONE anyway, mainly so I could break down the flavours and make it myself. Don’t forget to call your friend at a convenient time and get her recipe!
J
CRAP, Nance, I think that’s exactly it. My problem is that I should be just a little richer than I am, so that I can afford a gardener. Actually, perhaps a landscaper and a gardener, as my yard tends to be a hodge-podge (sp) of whatever plants look good to me at the moment, and it’s likely too small a hard for that. Anyway, I don’t know how to take care of plants very well, and they generally suffer. I get maybe 2 roses off our rose bush each year. It’s very sad. I wonder if my poor avocados are too far gone, or if I avert my eyes and ignore them for awhile, they might sense the danger is gone, and come back? I’ll give it a try.
karenmeg
What a unique condo arrangement , living amongst the horses – how cool is that?
I always find your post so thought-provoking. I was surprised with the verdict (although not following so closely being up here in Canada) – I can’t help thinking though, that if the gun laws were different then he would still be here with us today. But that’s just me, and that’s a whole other debate upon which I can only comment as a neighbour…
My mom volunteered at Meals on Wheels last year (she’s pulled back now since she had a fall and a bit of a scare of her own.) She used to share some heartbreaking stories with us – I remember one fellow she called on was quite elderly, frail and blind and didn’t have any family and the one thing he really wanted SOOOO badly was a cup of coffee, which wasn’t part of the usual menu. Mom and her friend would always stop and pick up a coffee for him before dropping by and she said it was amazing, how a simple cup of coffee could just brighten up a man’s life so tremendously.
Amazing that Maya has her license – wow!!! She’s so beautiful by the way – you and Ted must be oh-so proud of her! And it’s so lovely that you and your MIL have a nice relationship – you obviously treasure it. Lucky you!
J
Karen Meg, look at you, reading and commenting! YAY!
Your coffee story reminds me of my Grandma, who was in an assisted living facility for a little while last year, recovering from a broken leg. Every time I talked to her, she said she just wanted to go home to her chair, have a cigarette and a cup of coffee. They had coffee there, but it wasn’t the same. I hope your mom’s fall wasn’t too horrid, and that she’s OK now.
Yes, the gun debate is something else entirely. I wish they’d all just go away.
Rainbow Motel
I love this kind of “grab bag” post where so many events converge to make an interesting week. You are lucky to have a great MIL. I share your gratitude, since mine is great too. Hope next week proves to be equally stimulating!