Rush, Then Crash

Update: my teeth continued to chatter until we got to Dublin. We're home now. Cozy despite a heatwave. I return to work tomorrow and am not ready to write about it all. Tomorrow we call the gutter guy because we're convinced that the crows filled our gutters, and El Nino is on its way.

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The crows continued to smite our house with acorns in their beaks. We left the house to get allll of the vaccinations (RSV, Covid, Flu).

Then I got a mani pedi, because my hands were shameful. Then up to the jewelry store to get a new watch battery and a replacement clasp for my precious question mark necklace. It will be in good hands while we are away. And my Timex Indiglo now shines more brightly at night.

Then to the rice triangle store for some grub. And then folding laundry and selecting garments for our trip.

Last night was grim. Every part of my body hurt. Lightning bolts to the muscles. Joints sore. I got up to use the bathroom and my teeth were chattering. I found an electric blanket in the closet and that helped quite a bit, but my mantra of moaning, punctuated with "I hate everything" was my constant companion. I still feel sore and wrung out, but much better.

It's grey and windy today. The crows came back. I am clean. Gathering my items for our trip tomorrow.

I like vacation very much.

Bird Party

There we were minding our business, probably talking about our trip, when an unexpected knocking started up. It sounded as if someone was trapped and knocking to get out, or in, or??? Mrguy went to investigate. He could see the shadow of bird wings through the skylight. It was a full-on bird party. But it sounded as if raccoons were wrestling up there.

I went outside and there were crows on the roof. Crows in the oak trees cawing like crazy. And hundreds of little acorns were raining down in the front yard. Up above, they were flying high, then dropping headfirst while spinning down, then back up. Mrguy says that they were dropping their acorns and then catching them again in the air.

Occasionally you'd hear them rattle.

They've moved off to other areas, but they are so satisfying to hear. A grey, foggy day and a bird party is a beautiful thing.

Oh wait! They're back. Knocking. It made me think that the Jehovas are at the front door. They're trying to break open the acorns on the roof.

3 Days in One!

I basically had a three day weekend on the first day of a three day weekend.

The plan was for mrguy and I to go to breakfast. Then the call came. It was the rev. Her husband has been going through an awful and supremely painful and misdiagnosed and undiagnosed facial nerve pain. Everything hurts, all the time. A breeze can make him spasm. A neurologist would only meet him virtually, even when told that there were lumps forming in the painful areas. Primary doctor wouldn't refer him. Finally a dermatologist sent him for an emergency visit to a head and neck specialist. They think it's cancer, but the lesions are so hard that they can't get a biopsy. Developing.

My friend is devastated. She called. Nobody does that. I'm glad she did. Unsure of what to do for her, I asked if I could take her out of the house. She had a thing that she'd been invited to do in a neighboring ghost town. It's kinda inhabited, uninhabited, out of the way. I hadn't been there in decades. Well it turns out that there was some sort of art fair and a pop up and it was an embodiment of my friend. She finds the magical. I didn't quite understand where we were going or what we were doing, but I was down for whatever it was.

We drove the back way into town, which was windy and hot and dusty. I wasn't exactly sure where we were, but I figured that we were in the county somewhere. How lost could we be? Then we dropped into the main (possibly only) road. And found parking. 

A one block area had booths and tables set up. No crap. Only weirdness. Vintage and remade clothing. Garlands for sale that consisted entirely of jute string and the occasional old plaster baby leg. And the pop-up store that rev was looking for. 

In the back they were making Belgian waffles. In the middle were tables with a wine tasting area (we had n/a sprintzers). There was a woman with the most gorgeous hand dripped candles, and molded ones that were in the shape of chanterelles. There was a craft table for kids. And a woman who makes Polish chandeliers. They were gorgeous.

Then there was a store with cool old and new stuff. Ornamental items that looked like things you'd find in a general store in a German-American town in the 1930s.

and otherwise weird witchy stuff. Tis the season. She bought Abba-Zaba and Bottlecaps at a vintage t-shirt store. Then we went to a crystal store. What an amazing day.

I took rev home, and she gifted me with some figs for the way home. Green ones. Their flower ends were so devoid of flowery remains that I asked her if they'd gotten a Brazilian, which is usually the kind of joke that my friend of 46 years would find witty, but that shows you how dire the day's circumstances were. 

Then I headed to m.junior's open house to see if I could drop off some egg cartons. Her real estate partner said that I would find her at home. I've been hoarding egg cartons since m.junior's romantic partner posted on Insta that they needed some. Did I give them any in May? Nope. So they piled up in Tiger Brown. I was determined that this was going to be the day.

But first, REI. We are going to Ireland and I don't have a rain jacket. And I need a sling purse that will fit an iPad that can go under a rain jacket that I don't have. REI. Deep breath, people! It was a challenge, but I did what needed to be done, coming home with a plain black rain jacket and a sling purse that is in not-my-colors (goldenrod and lavender. what monsters came up with that combo?).

But we're not done. M.jr was home, so I went to her place and gave her many many egg cartons. She and her family have a wild compound. A guy lives in an airstream on her property. Her mom usually lives in Mexico but bought a huge RV to take down there with her. Many cars, many people pass through. They are a wonderful family. And then there are the chickens. They used to do Instagram stories about the chickens, building the coops, rehabbing furniture, welding. Aquanetta is the best-named chicken of all, and I'd never met her in person, so I asked to see her.

Here are the chickens being summoned with grain:

And here's Aquanetta, in the flesh. Her feathers are short and curl away from her body. Cute little bird person.

We are still not done. Our friend was coming over to hang out. So I made chili while those guys looked at maps, discussed Ireland, music, elderly parents, and life.

Then mrguy and I watched Derry Girls, episode 2.

A Fine Line Between Stupid and Clever

The audiobook of A Fine Line Between Stupid and Clever is a final gift from Rob Reiner. Read by the author, it seemingly answers every question a person (ahem, fan) would have about how Spinal Tap came together. What were the inspirations for all of the lyrics, all of the licks, all of the schtick? Your questions have been answered. Or mine, at least. The first few chapters made me want to break out the index cards and string to map out the connections between people. So much fun. Confession: I talk to myself sometimes while listening to audiobooks in the car. During one of my last books, "Next of Kin" by Gabrielle Hamilton, I groaned "You must hate me". None of that for this book. It's a hearty and Valley-inflected "Oh my GOD!" "Oh my GOD!" as each new and fascinating tidbit is revealed. No actual music is in the book, but it lives in my heart and possibly yours as well.

Year end photos!

This was the view from my bed this morning.

And from my sofa this evening.

We Left The Home

We actually got out of the house yesterday. I don't think that mrguy enjoyed it as much as I did, but I needed it. The morning started with the big inky boy purring and clawing into my bare shoulders and neck while quacking like a duck and drooling on me. The fact that he's discovered me over the last few months is both a joy and a pain in the neck. How, after 14 years, is he somehow obsessed with me?

Then it was a delightful 2 hours with the local Irish genealogy club. The topic was cemeteries, gravestones, traditions, cemetery records.

Then we had a nosh and went out to a favorite spot. It was completely foggy, which was lovely. It smelled like low tide, and there was a lovely garden in the parking lot that had so many gorgeous things that attracted happy, supping hummingbirds. There were also children chasing each other and screaming about nuclear waste.

We sat on a bench beyond the parking lot. A little walk was good for mrguy.

It felt cold quickly, so we went home after a little bit. Mrguy took a nap and started feeling the effects of our Covid and flu shot the day before. Fed him some chicken soup and we turned in early.

A Few Good Days

As I mentioned earlier, our friends are visiting from NY and we have been doing a few things while mrguy rests. He's lost weight and I am bummed about that and I have only a few days to get more poundage on him. 

Sad face. Good to have friends here to help shift the focus.

The other day we went on a walk in search of birds. We saw an osprey and a eucalyptus tree festooned with egrets.

There was also a pretty graveyard:

And views galore

And yesterday we went to the big old Asian grocery and looked at many things. I came back with snacks galore, and things to look up (what exactly do you do with jujubes?). We observed but did not purchase an item labeled "Brands Essence of Chicken".

Today we went to the shredding place. Somehow it keeps getting cheaper. $5!! And to get there we had to navigate the side streets filled with encampments. I take my friends to the best places. And then to the tile and stone store where they have a warehouse full of groovy slabs.

After a little lunch we went to the giant warehouse full of weird crap. 

Buried water line!

M was looking for a cool looking metal box to make a guitar pedal out of. Then thought better of it. 

There was also a bunch of weird old gear that had asset tags from the local university and one of the broadcast tv stations.

And when we got home there was a huge package of homemade chocolate chip cookies from the hammer. Much appreciated!

Rudy-Trudy

A fellow on a fb group that I follow spoke dismissively about a granola bar that was only worthy of giving to the parrots. He said they were "heath bar things" and I didn't realize he meant "health bar things," so I went on a tangent in a comment, telling a story that I can't believe I haven't written down before. 

There are feral parrots in this area. One morning many years ago my friends were on their balcony drinking coffee and looking at the birds in the trees. Their conversation went like this: 

"I'm going to lure one of those parrots." 

"With what?" 

"With this Twix bar". 

As promised, Adam held the Twix bar in his hand. A bird flew to Adam and perched on his arm. Adam smugly brought him indoors. It was just like Adam to be able to charm the birds out of the trees.

About 12 years later Rudy (an African grey parrot) was acting funny. Adam looked in the cage and Rudy was revealed to be Trudy, as she'd laid an egg. She continued to lay the odd egg from time to time after that.

So ends the story of Rudy-Trudy. 

Or so I thought -- another update! I went to Safeway yesterday to stock up for the weekend. Our Safeway shares space with a Petco. In the parking lot I was walking toward the store behind a lady carrying something, and our eyes both leapt to a handsome man who seemed to be the spokesperson for the color goldenrod. Crisp goldenrod sweatshirt, wearing Timberlands, carrying a large matching dog bed. The woman stopped in her tracks and said something about it. I blurted out "You look amazing!" and then I realized that the woman was carrying a birdcage. 

"Is that an African Grey?" 

"Yes, he likes to shop with me"

Indeed!

Bird Season

I'm going to buy a Super Soaker, just like the big guy had, and I'm going to point it at the mockingbird that sits on our unused satellite dish and calls, day and night. Then I will shoot him.

The big guy had a major grudge against the peacocks that roamed free on the island where he lived. They wandered around and called all day and could lay a poop the size of an adult human thumb (male). So for fun, and out of exasperation, he'd load up the Super Soaker and shoot. Or he'd hurl a bath sheet at them, while emitting a roar that still frightens me to this day when I think about it.

His lawn was littered with peacock crap and bath sheets.

When I told mrguy last night that I was considering getting a Super Soaker he looked horrified. This, coming from a man who boasted that he threw a rock on the roof and scared the mockingbird away. But he wasn't trying to *hit* the bird, he said. I countered that I wasn't trying to hurt the mockingbird, but merely to *moisten* him.

About the time that we on the lanai mincing words about intent and rocks and water, we saw a HUGE bird fly into the pine tree next door. It was a turkey. Once ensconced, he proceeded to climb the tree one branch at a time, using his big old fan-shaped tail to counterbalance. I have never seen anything like it.

So dramatic! We watched for about 15 minutes, as he climbed higher, occasionally gobbling. In the picture below he's in the bottom-most clump of branches to the right. Those branches are easily as tall as our house.