#blogvember

[quickwitter]

A time you were a recipient of an act of kindness

This whole year has been a discovery of the kindness of those who surround me. My immediate family not so much, but in friends and neighbors, kindness abounded. From my neighbor Renee coming to shave my head, to friends and neighbors offering rides to chemo and surgery, food brought to the house, my friend Jon coming with me to my biopsy surgery, Steve coming to stay not only when I had my mastectomy surgery but also between my last two chemo infusions. Tess came daily, fed the chickens for me and made me food, the Morelli family came and gathered eggs, Susie came and delivered eggs to the bakery and cleaned the house. I’ve been spoiled I’ve been so blessed. I would never have expected it and will always be so grateful.

[mistavybe]

Gratitude

I’m grateful for life, my mom and my kids.

I’m also grateful for the special ppl on here who help make daily life less frustrating.

Oh and for all the tv shows and movies and comics and books that distract me from that batshit crazy world i’m currently forced to live in.

Amen. 🙏🏾

[iowahorde]

November Blog a Day: 18

Driving ?

Yes I drive and if you've been around my Tumblr you may notice there are two kinds of driving I really like :

1. Motorcycle and

2. Long distant road trips

I bought my first motorcycle when I was 18 and learned the difference of what you could legally do and what the house laws would allow. I started riding heavily in 1995 and have been a steady rider since mostly super sport (crotch rocket) but got my first cruiser this Autumn.

I love driving long distances - i grew up in California with grandparents who lived in Idaho and Iowa. With 4 kids it was more economical for my parents to drive than fly (they tried a train once ) so I learned how to enjoy long trips. Driving 1000 miles? It's nothing ... Get it done in 15 hours with food and bio breaks.

[quickwitter]

What are you thankful for?

That Americans came out by the MILLIONS and voted to take back and restore our Democracy

That the cancer is gone

For friends who are family, and who have been especially supportive of me this year, this decade, this lifetime

For the rain last night that will help firefighters gain control over the fires in California, and will bring down the unrelenting dust on the farm

That the Roommate covered all of our work areas in plastic then put paper strips down inside the house to protect the floors from muddy footprints

That I have trips to look forward to in 2019/2020

That my surgery was moved up to next week and I should be healed enough to start 2019 finally moving forward and embracing health again

That climate scientists admitted to an error in calculations and that the state of the planet is not quite as dire as they had predicted.

That my main client called last night to let me know that the acquisitions that have doubled the size of our main client, look to be impacting our team in a positive way. There's a lot coming through the pipeline and I will have a part in many of the projects expected, which would be great.

That all three logos I designed this week were well received

That the Roommate has brought on-board a slew of his buddies to do the work I need to have done on a house at a fraction of the price. I am especially thankful that he oversees what they're doing, holds them to their promises and timelines and handles the project costs - I give him money and he tracks everything.

That the flock seems healthy at last, (lots or weird illnesses the past couple of months)

That I'm getting Silkie and Frizzle chicks on Saturday. These are the final breeds that I've wanted to raise - Silkies (their feathers lack barbules and appear more like fur), and Frizzles (their feathers curl backwards) I've read that once you raise Silkies you'll never want to have "regular" chickens again. We'll see.

The Roommate's friend came over to help him with his truck, she's a landscaper by trade and is interested in taking on the project of finding us fire resistant plants that the chickens won't eat, but that can help us to control erosion on the back hillside.

[quickwitter]

Do you drive? What’s your primary mode of transportation? Do you enjoy driving?

I drive. It’s my main mode of transportation.

I have two cars actually, a 2003 non-descript silver Ford Escape that I bought on New Years Eve 2003. This is the “farm” car now. We use it primarily to haul hay and feed. The air conditioner doesn’t work but driving with the window open can cause blindness due to airborne hay. The Roommate has been driving it lately as his truck keeps breaking down. I put over 275,000 miles on it in 12 years. I used to drive over 25,000-30,000 miles a year. Now I drive just a fraction of that distance. The other car is a 2003 non-descript silver Ford Explorer. It was previously owned by a car parts guy and is blinged out with rims and all. It has a rosary hanging from the rear view mirror, that I’ve left there. I bought the Explorer in mid-2016 with just over 125,000 miles on it, and it now has nearly 140,000 miles on it. The heater doesn’t work, which in Southern California during global warming isn’t a big deal. It’s been a reliable car.

I wasn’t the typical California kid who rushed to the DMV at 15-1/2 to get a driver’s permit and again on their 16th birthday to get their drivers license. Everyone I knew had a car so I didn’t need to drive. Since I moved to NYC at 18, I didn’t learn to drive until I was nearly 30 and moving back to California. The first thing I drove after getting my license was a moving van. Then my friend Steve and I took a full month and drove 5,000 miles from NYC to Los Angeles, mostly on farm roads. Still driving in traffic in Los Angeles took some getting used to.

Do I enjoy driving? Sometimes. I especially like long drives along the coast, through farmland, or winding through the forest with the radio cranked and the windows open. Or a good audio book to listen to as we go. All the better if I have a friend along.

[quickwitter]

You’re given a random day off of work, what do you do with your free day? 

I’m self-employed so a day off is my choice and a day without pay, always. I try not to have too many of them.

Ironically, I took yesterday off to focus on something non-work related.

It wasn’t a complete success as the plumber was here in the morning, and he’s fighting with the Roommate over $$$. It’s their fight over work that was done and not paid for years ago when they were roommates. I’m steering clear of the issue.

I had my friend and old cleaning lady here helping me to organize this weird space in my house, that I’m starting to believe used to be an outhouse entered from outside the house, and which I may pull into the bathroom in a re-model if I can swing the cost.

I'd not realized that my introductory period for cable had ended oops! and awoke disconnected from the world. I drove to the local café which serves the interesting combination of American/Mexican/Ethiopian food (it’s owned by two beautiful Ethiopian sisters) and reconnected. I spent a couple of hours sitting outside with my laptop enjoying Shrimp Fajitas and the mild winter weather we’re having. By the time I ambled back, the internet was back up and running and the house was much cleaner. :)

In the middle of the day a neighbor came by unannounced with her daughter who is doing a school report on peafowl. They were looking for feathers and information about the birds, and I was happy to show them around. The daughter was in maybe 4th grade and super excited about feeding the birds - one. seed. at. a. time. 

Later, the Roommate was convinced that one of the cats had been killed by a coyote, and he was a little miffed at my wait and see attitude. He panics a couple of times a week. I’ve been here 20 years, Ive exhausted my ability to be panicked 24/7/365. It’s not that I don’t care about my animals, but so many false alarms have made me reticent to get worked up without proof. The cats were all fine.

I’m going in for surgery tomorrow, so I’ve been anxious this week and maybe all of these distractions were really a good thing?

If I’m going to REALLY take time off, I get the hell out of town and stay there fr as long as I can afford it. :)

[quickwitter]

Black Friday: have you ever worked a retail job?

Thank God, no. My heart goes out to people who do work in retail, I imagine it can be soul crushing. I’ve seen people flip out on salespeople for seemingly no reason. I don’t know that I could handle that kind of abuse.

I got my first job at `15, when I went with a friend to pick up her job at a printer and they asked me to work for them. I worked there through high school and into college. I did deal with the public there, but company policy was be friendly and accommodating, and if that doesn’t work, just excuse yourself and come and get one of the owners. I never had to.

I don’t do the Black Friday thing.

Other than travel, livestock, groceries and the occasional splurge on clothing, or camera gear. I don’t shop. At. All.

Well, that’s not all, as lately, I've invested heavily in plumbers, construction guys, electricians, day laborers and supplies at Home Depot (Ca-CHING!!), but as much as possible since leaving NYC, I avoid the crowds at Christmas time. My experience is perhaps a bit less rich for that, but I don’t have the patience and I don’t enjoy shopping at the best of times.

I’m thinking of getting live Christmas trees. I’ll see if the Roommate can pick a couple up on his next Home Depot trip. Is that cheating? :) I will still decorate them.

[quickwitter]

What’s your go-to pizza order? Do you have a favorite pizza place?

I have only gone out for pizza in the past couple of years with my neighbor Gordon. We get a large pizza with Pepperoni and Sausage and olives on one half. We go to Caruso’s but ONLY their Restaurant in Sunland and NOT the one in Sylmar. :)

I don’t care all that much, but Gordon is very specific. He would prefer not to have the olives.

I get to take home the leftovers. I mean he is a gentleman.