California friendliness

While sitting at dinner on Sunday afternoon at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, I brought out my knitting.  2 people at 2 separate times came over and admired my knitting.  I don't mean they admired my knitting, I mean they ADMIRED my knitting.  One of them was a knitter and was feeling badly that she did not have hers and the other was a family where the young child was watching me so the Mom started the conversation.

I started to think, WOW, California is more friendly, but these folks were from Florida and Wisconsin(?).  So is it the atmosphere of California that made them more friendly, or is it that they were on vacation that made them more friendly.

I can tell you it did not feel like New England or Boston the way they approached me and the depth of the conversation.  It was not a polite, "Oh, look you are knitting."  It was "Wow, love your knitting, wish I had mine, let's talk for a bit about knitting, and anything else, but mainly lets talk and connect."

Was I more open to it since I am on vacation?  Am I not open to it in Boston?

I am not really sure, I just know if felt very different and I liked it and at the same time was a bit suspicious about them as they approached me.  Typically New Englander I suppose!

Hertz is more random than I am

On this trip I have had the opportunity to rent from Hertz three times.

The first time in Salt Lake City they gave me a huge SUV, and I could barely get into the cab it was so tall.  I went back and asked for a smaller car.  There was another gentleman in front of me, who did the same thing.  I also did not want to pay for gas for a SUV.

In San Jose, I got a hybrid.  It took me a bit to figure out how to start it, but I did finally figure that out.  I was only driving it for the day, so I did not really need the hybrid part.

On Sunday, I picked up my last car of the trip.  I don't even know the brand, but there are no electric locks, windows etc.  When was the last time you rolled up a window with a winding knob?

When I mentioned this to someone at dinner last night they said "Is is all random."  I am a Hertz Gold Member which means I don't have to wait in the huge long line and can walk straight to my car.  Don't you think they would give the best cars to the Gold Card Members?  I know they had lots of cars because I walked through them at the Hertz parking lot at SFO.

What is really interesting to me is I refused to drive the SUV, but I did not refuse to drive the untechnical car.  It sounds like a tin can and I have to walk around to each door to lock it, and wind up and down the window myself, but I am a lot more comfortable in this car than the SUV.

Memories are just that - they are not fact

My wonderful son and I had a funny conversation about which apartment we lived in when Murg brought him the helicopter.  I have the advantage of age, which come to think about it may not be an advantage after all if senility has set in.  I was so sure about being right on this one we made a $100 bet.  We called Murg in the middle of the conversation and Chris asked him.  There is some deal going on between them, that Chris is paying Murg $75 to say it is the house Chris thinks it is.

Today on Face book, Murg attributes a phrase to Chris, that I am convinced he himself said.  It is a long story and the punch line is "Sally, could you please have another sip of coffee?"  OK, I was being really cranky on our Saturday errands driving around, and I actually did need another sip in order to be around any one else on the earth, and you all know how important it is for me to be around others.

I have told this story hundreds of times, and I have always attributed it to Murg, but you know, I am not sure about this one.  Certainly not sure enough to bet $100, but maybe $75, if the math works out right.

Decaffeinated - what would that be like

I am spending this week in Orem, Utah with our sales people. As I did my coffee run just now (can you have a coffee run for one because NO ONE else here drinks coffee?) I wondered aloud what it would be like to live with coffee. I also wondered about what caffeine does to your body as my heart was racing 20 minutes after the infusion.

I observed my office mates this morning, and there were two who arrived on my heels at 7am. They seemed bright eyed and bushy tailed without java.

My body NEEDS coffee to wake up at this point and I know that is an addiction but not one I worry about just now!

I always say that coffee is the one vice I refuse to give up but I am reconsidering that today, but not really!
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Grief 15 years and it still catches me off guard

Just now walking down the hall, as I planned my next project, I was thinking about rug hooking.  I took a rug hooking class in Middlebury VT over 15 years ago, and like many of my classes, I have done little with it since then.  Recently I moved all of the rug hooking materials to Coniston because I think it is more likely that I can have time there to work on it.  I also found a shop in North Hero which has the same exact rug company products which sparked a new interest for me in rug hooking.  Then, I saw a quilt at Vermont Quilt Festival, of a map of Vermont and all of its counties and BINGO, my next rug project will be a map of Vermont with each county a different color.  This is how design works for me.  An idea percolates for a while and then BINGO, walking down the hall the idea comes to me.  This happened with my alphabet quilt projects a few years ago.  For a few years I imagined an alphabet quilt with the square a fabric piece that represented the letter and the letter appliqued on it, e.g. Apple fabric for A, bumble bee fabric for B, etc.  Then I saw this exact design is a quilt book, bought the book and produced multiple quilts of this design.  Nieces, nephews, auction winners at both First Parish and Star were recipients of this quilt design.  But I digress . . .

I was staying with Mom and Dad when I took the rug hooking class.  After I returned to their house one of the things I needed was a frame to put the in-process rug in.  They gave us a rudimentary design during the class that I explained to Daddy and a few hours later he produced it from his work shop.  He was like that.  A mere suggestion of an idea or need, he disappeared and came back with it. 

So why, almost 15 years after his death, just thinking about that rug frame, do I suddenly burst into tears?  Is it because I was caught off guard?  Murg said once that he grieves every day the loss of his parents.  This was my moment today to grieve the passing of Daddy.  I have the rug frame though and this weekend that design of Vermont counties will probably be on it.  Thanks Daddy!

With some people this is how I act - all joking aside

One of my fellow shoalers this last week comes to Star about every 5 years.  Almost as soon as we step on the boat to travel to the island, we are zinging each other.  This happens with me and certain people.  I am sure there is some Freudian analysis that would explain it.  Maybe he reminds me of my Dad or my brothers.  In any case, on Tuesday, R turned to me and said "Can we stop this?" to which I replied "Yes".  Our efforts to only speak gently and kindly to each other was hysterical, and almost sugar sweet, BUT we made it through most of the week, and BTW, we got to know each other in a different way, a deeper way.  It was nice, and would never have happened unless he said "Can we stop this?"

Another conversation the last morning, was about joking.  I still maintain that all joking has a certain amount of truth, otherwise, why would the joke come to you in the first place?  B and I totally agree on this one, and we are both pretty sensitive so the jokes hit us harder than others.  I have been on this rant for a while at work and at play.   Some joking is funny, and light-hearted but some is down right mean.  How do you walk the fine line between the two?  I cross over that line a lot, particularly with people like R who trigger me.

Pretty funny that I blog about these two topics together.  They are joined in my mind and are room for my personal improvement.

Creature of habit in the morning at Star Island

Saturday was the day of my return from Star and therefore a lot of blogging material is rattling around but this is the most concrete thought for now.

We stayed in Starloft which is a beautiful accommodation. Our bed was in a dormer such that I only had to open my eyes and lift my head a tiny bit to see the sunrise. Each morning I watched the sunrise, went back to sleep until 5:30 am and got up then for the day. The front porch was my destination and the early morning coffee. Two or three others were there and I watched the Island wake up. I also held babies while their parents caught a few more winks.

That view of the bed in the dormer the sun rising and the conversations early morning will carry me through 51 weeks until we are back again!

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