Lazy Day

It was ... a relaxing, low key day. I didn't get much sleep last night and didn't have a lot of energy today. Betsy felt a tad out of sorts as well this morning so we both begged off the gym, yoga class and weight training this morning.

Betsy got into high gear calling repairmen. Part of our trip down here entails doing repairs and maintenance on the house. Betsy's parents often spent six months out of the year here. But her Dad passed away in 1996 and her Mom in 2007. After her Dad passed, the family trips to this home became far and few between. A house, of course, needs attention whether or not anyone is living in it. So last year Betsy spent four months here catching up on maintenance and repairs. She got a ton done, but not all of it. Then the hurricane in September of 2009 undid some of her work. So over the next few days we have window people, electricians, plumbers, painters, roofers etc., coming through to give estimates.

While Betsy was a busy beaver around the house today, I - the slug - finally managed to stumble outside with Frances around 11:30 am. We headed out to Soldiers Estuary for a leisurely walk on the beach. It was another beautiful day. At this point it must begin to sound monotonous, one beautiful day after another. I try not to gloat too much with my friends. Since leaving northern California, I think they've had rain almost nonstop. And today they had 20 inches of snow in Pollock Pines. It snowed in Placerville. I heard it even snowed in Fresno! I don't miss it! All of the work and effort it took to move out feels worth it just to miss one snowstorm.

And speaking of monotonous, here's another picture of Soldier' Estuary. Guess I need to find some new photo spots.


When Frances and I first got there today, I saw a couple taking their kayaks out of the water. I went over to talk to them for a bit. There names are Dick and Kay, and they are here for another six weeks - snowbirds from Idaho. Snowbirds is the term used for folks who come to the Southwest or Mexico from cold climates in the winter. Anyway, they are a few years older than me but not much. It turns out they belong to the same gym and take the same classes as Betsy and I, so I'll be running into them again. They have welcomed me to kayak with them so I don't have to go alone. They tell of dolphins swimming along. Yes!

Frances and I had a slow, peaceful walk on the beach. We only ran into one other person. Nice! I watched one pelican do dive after dive for fish. I began to learn the pattern of glide, rise, stall, vertical drop, resurface. Soon I was able to predict exactly when he would do his dive. I gathered a few more seashells while walking ankle deep in the water.

The water temperature is around 72 degrees this time of year. It will get increasingly warmer over the coming weeks and months until the summer when it reaches a nauseaus 97 degrees. Donna from the Dive Shop says at the point you go into the water to cool off, and then come out of the water to cool off. Yuk.

Frances became young again. The beach does that to her. Tonight she was still in such a great mood from the beach that she needed neither pain pill nor anti-inflammatory medicine.


I don't think I've posted a photo of Mt. Tetakawa with it's full frontal view. We get a sideways view of it from the house. So here it is. It was originally settled by the Yacqui Indians many hundreds of years ago. They were snake worshipers and thought the mountain peaks looked like snake fangs. They were washed off the mountain many times by storms over the years and so eventaully moved off of it. In the 1970s, a local developer decided the mountain peaks looked like goat teets and and named it accordingly. That is the name that has stuck in present day. Our next door neighbor is a developer. He is currently looking to build homes on the mountain. It's very controversial here. People don't want houses there. I wonder how it will resolve.


I stopped at the local nursery - Carmelita's - on the way home from the beach. I'd already been there twice but it was closed. The relaxed lifestyle is ever apparent here. Posted hours mean nothing. I had to go to Carmelitas three times before I was able to buy flowers. I had to go to Gary's Dive shop twice before finding anyone there. Two of the repairmen Betsy had appointments with today did not show up. There is no point in getting frustrated. That's just the way it is here. I remember Ireland having the same relaxed attitude..

So I bought some geraniums and lobelia for the front garden. I will plant them Manana! hahahaha