Kingfisher Cove

Sunny San Diego, Sunny Quinn

These trips to San Diego are always such a whirlwind! I can’t believe we’re home already (yesterday was our travel day). As a side note, traveling is a royal pain. I don’t really understand people who love to do this on the regular, especially to far-flung locales. It’s crazy enough just flying to San Diego!

But once we were there, we had a ball and it was delightful to see Quinn and his parents. Quinn has changed a lot since we last saw him in July—walking, saying words (“Cat!”) [for just about every animal except “Duck!”]. He also carries on obvious conversations that he understands, but the rest of us don’t. He has inflection and hand gestures and even drama. Nate and Sandra have a lovely “Halloween Tree” and he approaches it, wags his pointer finger and says, “Hot!” Don’t touch!

 

My god he’s a sunny soul. We see him every 3 or 4 months, and I can’t say for sure that he recognizes us, but he ACTS like he does! I believe he does! He lights up around everyone, so who really knows? Sandra and Nate take him everywhere, and they are out and about all the time. He also has a great daycare lady and he’s learned some sign language from her, and also loves Mexican food! We ate out every day and it’s clear that he is fully accustomed to this and at least so far there isn’t anything he won’t eat (or try). Nate and Sandra eat very diverse foods, and so does Quinn. He never turned his nose up at anything. (Well, except some cold carrots once. But, you know, they were COLD. Ew).

Korean BBQ our first night and it’s probably our most favorite place! We are all meat lovers, and if you are a meat lover, this is heavenly!

What’s also cool is that the guys are the ones who tend to the grill. Here’s a quick and busy video:

 

 

We arrived later than we usually do on Thursday, so other than dinner that evening we didn’t really do anything except hang out for a while at our hotel. Quinn immediately zeroed in on BUTTONS. Electronic buttons. Like, the microwave, which was right at his height. And also the safe, which rewarded him with bright red numbers when he pushed the buttons. (And he remembered all of those buttons each time they were there throughout the weekend!)

 

Nate got a new truck! He traded in his ol’ Toyota Tacoma for a 2015 Ram short-bed dual-cab eco-diesel. We spent a fair amount of time in it and it was very comfortable for the five of us and has just about every bell and whistle you can imagine. It’s a very fine truck! However, none of us really know what color it is. It depends on the lighting—sometimes it’s charcoal, sometimes it’s purplish, sometimes it’s blue-ish. It’s a chameleon! (Click to embiggen!)

Aren’t they an adorable family?

We all went to the San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park in Escondido which is about an hour away, inland a bit and in a valley, and it was HOT! Pushing 90°! (Holy moly). We’d left Washington in rain and the 50s! Thankfully there were slightly cooling misters throughout the park, and some shade, but still. I don’t have a fit-bit or anything to count steps, but we walked for MILES. Lots and lots of walking over several hours, and I eventually wilted, lol. I have to say, quite honestly, that I felt a bit cynical about this place. The kids get in free with their military ID, but it was over $100 for John and I and that was just the basic admission. They had a board of different “safari experiences” that ranged up to $695 per person! Then, every 1,000 steps (or so it seemed…) were little oases selling high-priced touristy crap, high-priced beverages, high-priced ice cream and shaved iced.  You spend a lot of bucks to go to places where you can spend MORE BUCKS. Okay, rant over, because aspects were pretty cool, too. Like this:

(Nate took this photo above through one of those $0.25 telescope thingies through his phone. Only a multi-hundred-dollar tram ride would allow us to get any closer…)

(“CAT!”)

Quinn was a trooper in the heat. He’s a southern California boy, after all.

Here are a few more to wrap up the trip:

Here’s Quinn’s Halloween costume. He’s a mouse. And he HATES his costume (opinions!)

Not a happy little mouse!  

I’m feeling very blue because we won’t get to see them for Thanksgiving or Christmas this year. I understand, of course! But oh…

Ups, Downs, and In-Betweens

First, the Ups! We’re getting ready to fly down to San Diego later this week to see 13-month-old Quinn (and his parents, of course!) We haven’t seen that little guy since JULY and we are ACHING.

It’ll be so fun to see him toddling! (Likely RUNNING!)

And then Margaret came to visit! She came down Thursday and spent the night (and got to use the paved driveway and actually park down below!) We had a nice relaxing time and spent the afternoon out on the sunny (but not particularly warm) deck.

(Obviously this pic above is way too backlit, and even Photoshop wouldn’t improve it, but I still think it’s pretty cool with the sunset and the Wylie photo bomb.)

Speaking of Wylie. Both cats have always been shy around other humans and are scarce whenever we have company (and fugggitaboudit if they come with dogs). But the last time Helen came to visit and now this visit with Margaret, Wylie has decided that my lady friends are ALL THAT. It’s quite extraordinary, really. It’s taken her five years to get to this point! Snuggling, head-butting, climbing up on shoulders, curling up on laps. It warms my heart! Mojo was pretty much aloof, but he did “show up” now and then.

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BUT. As I’m sitting here at my computer masheen, my eye is dripping, streaming, swimming. I am so beyond frustrated. After TWO DCR surgeries, I’m back to square one. John and I drove to Tacoma Wednesday to see the doctor and I’m looking at yet another (although different) procedure in my near future. The issue appears to be that the tear duct, although no longer obstructed, just isn’t structurally sound enough to sustain passage for the tears. It basically collapsed after the stent was removed, so once again there is no route for the tears to flow into the nose. I’ll be going in before the end of the year to have what is called a “Jones Tube” installed. It’s essentially a small glass open tube that maintains the wall structure of the tear duct and allows tear flow. It won’t require an incision so it won’t be as intrusive of a procedure as the DCR was, but I’ll still need to be placed under general anesthesia, and it also sounds like I’ll need to go in once a year and have it removed, cleaned, and reinserted. Ugh. But dealing with this excessive tearing is godawful and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to improve quality of life. (The worst is when I go outside in the sun or breeze. Or, the grocery store. Or, driving. Or, just sitting here at my computer.)

For the in-between stuff, THIS was an accomplishment! I completely reamed out and scrubbed my refrigerator and holy moly, what a difference! Sometimes, it’s the little (or at least mundane) things! (It’s a bit fuller right now since Blue Apron came today).

We’ve been enjoying a nice stretch of gorgeous Fall weather (starting out foggy) and it’s uplifting! And the deck pots are still doing the boogie dance!

My Heart is Exploding

You guys. Quinn is learning sign language. 

 

Highlights

I’ve been escaping. Mental health demands it! And there have been some excellent escape routes!

I know I’ve gone on and on about our newly paved driveway, and today I actually drove it for the first time. (I know. I don’t drive all that much). It feels so strange to back out of the garage onto the expanse of concrete and not have to drop down (or hoist up) the big lip that we’d traversed between the garage-side pad and the dirt/gravel for so long. Such smooth riding! I LOVE IT!! Look how cool it is at the very top when you turn into our driveway! (Click to embiggen).

I drove to Gig Harbor today and met my friends Margaret and Carol for lunch at the Green House restaurant. We had SUCH a good time. We yapped for three whole hours and were shocked when we realized how much time had gone by. And what a marvelous restaurant. The food was…SUBLIME. I had a sautéed fresh seafood salad with generous portions of giant scallops and prawns on a bed of crisp-grilled veggies and spinach. Oh my!!! We also shared an appetizer of their sherry wine-braised cauliflower with roasted garlic, shallots, butter, herbs, and Danish bleu cheese and fresh chives. I am not a fan of bleu cheese, but I loved this! The blend of the sauce and the nuttiness of the lightly braised cauliflower calmed the bleu cheese so that it added a tarty flavor, but wasn’t overwhelming (even though there was a LOT of bleu cheese). I was so impressed with it, and I’ve been Googling in an attempt to find a recipe. (Nada). I have a hunch I’m going to be craving it again soon! Man it was so good. We also shared their Chocolate Lava Cake with Ice Cream for dessert and I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. Oh! We also had beer! (Just one, because: drive). Here you can see our dessert ready to be dug in:

Such a great day with deep conversations and tears and giggles. And it felt good to get out and about. Even though I spilled gasoline on me when I filled up on the way…

I’ve also been spending some time in the glass studio. My level of creativity has been stunted lately, so I’ve had some FAILS. But I get kind of a kick out of this wacky experimental thang:

Because it was an experiment, I made it out of stained glass (instead of fusible glass). Since it’s all the same glass, I can get away with that. (You can’t combine different glass unless it’s compatible). I also have another project I’m working on that I’ll likely stick in the kiln tomorrow. I am a little weary of several FAILS lately, though. I’m hoping my luck turns around.

And now I have several QUINN pictures! We are tentatively planning on flying down in two weeks to see them! Bailey is doing so much better (I’d say 90% or so—one hind leg is still a little wobbly, but she compensates for it and has even gone down the stairs on her own). We still need to make arrangements for her while we’re gone. But once that’s settled, we’ll book our flight!

Here are a few photos from his 1st birthday party (that we missed):

He’s walking!!! His daddy started walking immediately after his first birthday, too!

Nate had sent me this picture below with this comment: “Oh God I combed his hair and he looks Trumpian! Time for a hair cut!”

So today was the day! Get a load of the cutting stool!

 Here's a quickie (and adorable) vid:

He even got a certificate! Including a little bag of his CURLS!

And doesn’t he look like a Big Boy now?!

DEFCON 1

I feel a boiling, steaming fury on the verge of cataclysmic explosion among the sensible people I do and do not know, both men and women, but especially women. And my own fury is white hot, snarling, teeth bared, a percolating nuclear reactor on the roaring brink of blowing.

This would not be a good time to cross me.

This past week has been gutting. The entire past two years have been every shitty thing I knew they would be. But this week feels like the culmination of the ceaseless erosion of humanity; the perpetual blatant displays of swamp-scum corruption; and the mindless ruthlessness of powerful, entitled, old rich white men and their depraved subjugators.

Welcome to 1991 when Anita Hill was bitterly disparaged for daring to credibly stand up against a cretin sexual harasser nominated as a Supreme Court Justice. She was allotted an FBI investigation and witnesses to testify at her hearing. Her allegations were mocked and dismissed by a panel of all-white senators, and then Clarence Thomas was confirmed.

Welcome to 2018 when Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, in her painfully credible accusation of sexual assault against Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh, was not allowed an initial FBI investigation. She was not allowed a single corroborating witness to testify at her hearing. GOP senators—all white old men—denigrated her. Trump publicly mocked her. And, during his part of the hearing, Kavanaugh spewed and tiraded and lied and threatened his political enemies. “What goes around comes around,” he sneered.

The ensuing White House-controlled 5-day FBI investigation during the week-long “pause” before the confirmation vote was a sham. Dr. Ford nor Kavanaugh were interviewed by the FBI. Dozens of witnesses were not interviewed by the FBI. Additional accusers were not interviewed by the FBI, nor were their corroborators. Witnesses begged the FBI to contact them, and they did not, as the White House handcuffed them, hog-tied them, silenced them.

The GOP does not wish to govern; they demand to rule. And with this confirmation vote today, to seat a misogynist, lying, drunk, partisan hack and abuser on the Supreme Court, they have effectively destroyed any meaning of checks and balances, and of justice itself.

“Indelible, in the hippocampus, is the sound of uproarious laughter.”