re·tire·ment

 rəˈtī(ə)rmənt/

noun

noun: retirement; plural noun: retirements

.

the action or fact of leaving one's job and ceasing to work.

What are you going to do, travel?
Yes, I think I will go to Alturas.

Alturas is the county seat of Modoc county. In my youth, I planned a route driving home from a river trip in Montana so I could visit. What can I say, geography majors have strange ideas of a good time. And Mike and I had a fond Italian meal there once that was so plentiful we had dinner the following night. As we walked home from the restaurant that was filled with fire fighters, it was September and a bad fire season, it rained lightly on us. We now buy Coppola red wine and refer to it as "Alturas", it was on the wine list and happily consumed.

We both told our employers goodbye, or at least goodbye August 1. That stack of books by the side of the bed, the Spanish class I've been wanting to take, the closet of fabric and yarn, all of these things will be addressed. Outer Mongolia (do they still call it that?) is not on the list of travel destinations, perhaps Outer California. But only after spending time with Dash and Aero weeding the backyard.

a belated trip report

May 1 we headed to Tom's Place, a somewhat long journey with closed passes. But we were rewarded with this view of Mono Lake, the first of many amazing skies.

We were a week later than usual this year, but the mountains hold more snow than we have seen in many years.

The weather was surprisingly kind to us though and my bughouse proved to be valuable as a wind shelter. Wind being more of a problem for the fisherman than yogi knitter.

I'm quite good at tucking myself into the willows when the need arises. At McGee Creek I could escape, the fishing became impossible, but the scenery breathtaking.

Rock Creek offered shelter for me and small fish for Mike.

When the wind proved to be too much for both of us we took to the roads with our cameras and were rewarded.

The drive home brought new snow but, fortunately, clear roads. And scenes that looked like they should be in Chinese painting.

sunday afternoon

So it is early afternoon, the dishes are done, the laundry is folded, the plants watered, and the crab shells vacuumed from under the dining room table. What of many things to pursue? Ah, that new quilt I've been thinking of for our bed. But wait, who's settled in on the ironing board?

How can I disturb peace in our time?

a day with the family

The southern California Retties are visiting and the possibility of rain, and a very traffic heavy San Francisco changed our plans and we decided to stay on our side of the bay. We stopped in Oakland Chinatown to pick up pork buns for later and then headed to the Oakland Museum. When you have a ten year old with you, suddenly your ideas of museum viewing change.

What would Katie like to see? First stop was the Koi Pond, something I always enjoy.

We weren't the only ones trying to decide on our favorite fish. Friday school groups were everywhere.
But this didn't seem to bother any of us.

Then we headed to the Gallery of California Natural Sciences. We periodically cruise through here after viewing the art and are in the throes of becoming museumed out. But watching what interests our ten year old visitor as well as the other smaller visitors is an a very different experience. I always have liked the Oakland Museum for it's displays that ask for participation and encourage you to open the drawers and look deeper. They even have a a couple of drawers to pull open that let the viewer see taxidermied roadkill. Not something you see everyday. Sorry no photo.

But the photos above and below get the point across about the overuse and waste of plastic in our local world.

Recycling all the plastic into art is a softer way to tell the story, but the story gets told, and the observers are encouraged throughout the museum to make their own art.

Mike and Tina view one of their displays explaining the problem of plastic garbage.

And we do make our way over to the "art" where brothers can view the f64 pullout drawers.

Now we take our dozen pork buns and move onto "Bulwinkle Land".

Mr. Handsome (dressed in the orange cat suit) joins us for the tour.

We left with a handful of tile from Mark, generous gifts to all of us.

Two more stops before heading home. First one to pickup live crab for dinner and second the fresh bread to go along with it.

Aero is quite interested in what had been in the cooler, and it wasn't the bread.

spring

 

March came in and left, lions and lambs, full garden display, and another year of marriage completed. And the bright green landscape brought on by an adequate amount of rain was dazzling as we drove the road from San Juan Baptista to Salinas.

March seemed to hold much time for musings, but getting them set down just didn't happen. Perhaps April will be better for posting. One of my many musings was on the quote below:
"Out west... there is more sky than any place in the world. It does not sit flatly on the rim but begins somewhere out in the space in which the earth is poised, hollows more, and is full of clean winey winds.
Mary Austin, "Land of Little Rain"

Four weeks from today we will be heading out to Mary Austin's landscape. And the promise of fishing trips makes the day to day much more tolerable.

field trip day

We visited the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historic Park in Richmond today. The day was planned to hear Betty Reid Soskin speak. She is 94 and the oldest park ranger in the country. If you have not heard her, you should. As she says at 94, she is not sure of her shelf life. In these times of a presidential election, having to hear Trump and his supporters speak, the thought of leaving the country, or wondering what country I actually live in, has been in mind more that I would ever hope possible. Betty, and the people who came to hear her speak, give me hope all may not be lost. We had lunch and then took advantage of the screening of Blossoms and Thorns and "q and a" as Flora Ninomiya called it, about Japanese living in Richmond during WWII and their being hauled off to "concentration camps". Again someone, who at 80, is trying to get the word out about what can happen today if we become complacent. She also wanted us to tell everyone about what a wonderful place Rosie the Riverter is and that we should get all of our friends to visit.

Spring into Action

"The earth is beginning to  awake - more so in some places than others, but the energy for forward movement is everywhere.  This is a good time to set new projects into motion and establish goals and take the first few steps towards bringing them to eventual fruition.  Tap into the growing energy of spring to help give yourself the energy to get things done.  And then do them!
Spring is growth and greening
magick/Buds, beginnings, blossoms in bloom
Spring is life in fragrant glory/Emerging from the winter's gloom
I embrace the growing power/ And take it deep within my soul
Enchanted by the greening magick/Working towards my spirit's goal
Energy for growth and movement/Energy for life's sweet dance
Rising with the sap to motion/My plans and projects to advance
Once you have said the spell, be sure to follow up with action!"
..... Deborah Blake

from my witches datebook for this week....

My buckeyes are sprouting and I'm starting a new knitting project.