I admit I listened to too much Simon and Garfield back in the 60s and 70s. I think their music is rather introspective and depressing but it seemed right for those those times.
Remembering those times, I guess I'm feeling rather introspective and depressed.
...And I know I’m fakin’ it
I’m not really makin’ it
I’m such a dubious soul
And a walk in the garden
Wears me down
Tangled in the fallen vines
Picking up the punch lines
I’ve just been fakin’ it
Not really makin’ it
No, no, no Is there any danger?
No, no, not really
Just lean on me
Taking time to treat
Your friendly neighbors honesty
I’ve just been fakin’ it, fakin’ it
Not really makin’ it
This feeling of fakin’ it
I still haven’t shaken it ...
I know I’m fakin’ it, fakin’ it
I’m not really makin’ it
This feeling of fakin’ it
I still haven’t shaken it, shaken it ...
This link is where we are headed if we fall asleep while fanatics are driving the bus.
https://link.motherjones.com/public/33196514
They call us the devil...but it would be just as easy for us to call them the devil.
Leon polished my headlights (really) and saved us $150+ which it would have cost to have it done at the auto shop.
He used Comet cleanser! Worked great. I gave him at least eleven pats on the back. So, at a $1 a pat, I owe him 139 more pats on the back. Good job honey!
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| Headlights Before and After the Comet |
I had to have a new clutch installed to the tune of $1,400.
That came right after the MRI of my lumbar region ($300 co-pay) subsequent to a severe case of sciatica that had me hobbling around with debilitating pain in my left leg and calf and numbness in my left foot all over the Central Coast of California while on vacation.
Followed by ordering my very first pair of hearing aids at Costco ($1,600 - which is almost a thousand dollars less than the co-pay for the ones that my Medicare Advantage Plan is pushing).
And the month is not over yet. Looming in the near future sometime around November 14, is the Government Shutdown which means hubby will be out of work without a paycheck for who knows how long with no guarantee of receiving back pay.
(Don't get me started on the ridiculous, petty, selfish republican members of the House of Representatives who are poised to cut spending by eliminating social security, medicare, foreign aid, and any program that actually HELPS people, but will let the budget lapse and it will end up costing more in the long run....vote them all OUT!)
A shutdown will cripple a lot of people financially. Luckily we saw this coming and so have a cushion for this eventuality. (Those republican fools in the house need to grow up and get their act together. Each one is worse than the next.)
We are fortunate to live near the Rio Grande and its Bosque (forest/woods). So we have a bit of color in the fall here in the Land of Entrapment.
Back to the past...in more than one sense...we had gone back to the Central Coast of California where we had been in the past...for our fourth time...and now we are back to the past...to where we started a few weeks ago, otherwise known as "home".
Hubby and I just celebrated 35 years together and we had two wonderful weeks of summer vacation by the ocean. That, to me, was/is being in heaven. Being by the ocean. Hearing the waves crashing on the shore...knowing that the waves are endless.
I cannot describe the feeling of total disengagement from all the quotidian routine and worries. Il dolce di far niente. The Sweetness of Doing Nothing. Sun, salt water, sand, warm breezes, Astrud Gilberto singing Corcovado. Walking barefoot along the shore. Sunning our buns at Pirates Cove. Going for a dip in the cool waters of the cove. Makes this 75 year old feel like 14 again. Trying to hang on to that feeling for as long as I can. I am truly fortunate.
But it's not like we did nothing, just nothing like we would do at home. At home I cannot seem to read a book. I might take me months to get through a book, sometimes I never finish one. I've had the nine book compendium of Armistead Maupin's "Tales of the City" series for years. I'd read the first six some years ago but just never able to pick it up again to read the last three. I read the last three (Michael Tolliver Lives, Mary Ann in Autumn and The Days of Anna Madrigal), all 822 pages, in three weeks! Enjoyed them immensely.
But I do have questions. Could someone please explain the ending of The Days of Anna Madrigal? She's on the mechanical butterfly at Burning Man. Then I'm lost.
But I will say that California goes out of its way to provide amenities for all: lots of free parking, public access to the the beaches and lots of state and county and town parks and beaches. Rest rooms. Yes, Clean and numerous. Tables, benches, fishing piers, trails, walkways, bike trails, etc.
Eating lots of seafood was one of my favorite pastimes.
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| Our Air B&B |
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| Walking at Pismo can through you off balance |
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| The path to Pirates Cove (down to the beach, up to the parking lot) |
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| Linguini Beach |
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| Great attention to decor - even the concrete has real sea shells embeded |
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| Pirates Cove from the trail |
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| Pirates Cove trail |
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| I love the waves |
We watched wales breaching for hours...and putting on a great show
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| Whale breaching in the distance |
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| Another one |
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| Central Coast of California has to be totally void of LGBTQ people |
The Sweetness of Doing Nothing.
What more is there to say? Except “Where did they hide the gay beach, hon?”
A cloudy day at the beach is better than a sunny day at work.
The sun is burning through. Sciatica has improved. It’s been challenging but I have found joy in being by the ocean.
We are at Pirates Cove today. A bit of a hike in and out but not as difficult as Blacks Beach.
Dinner last evening was OK. Food was good but it lacked ambiance. For the price, ambiance should have been a given.
Leon and I went to Hearst Castle for the first time yesterday. While I was predisposed to be disgusted by the opulent display of wealth, I was surprised to find that I was actually impressed in spite of it. The tour and the film after the tour were quite informative. William R. Hearst was an interesting fellow, not at all like the infamous money grabbing ex president we all despise.
His collaboration with architect Julia Morgan, a pioneer in the field, was both unusual (as it was a many years project with lots of re-do changes that I would think an architect would quickly become impatient) and it was also a very creative working relationship.
As is my particular bent, I was more impressed with the exterior of the building and more particularly the grounds and gardens and lush flora. The interior was grand, but to me somewhat dark and boring. I didn't take any photos inside the building.
The project of bringing all the concrete, iron, marble and other building materials up the very long, winding and steep road (that was not necessarily smoothly paved back then) was a daunting task in itself. The hill overlooks the Pacific at 1,600 feet above sea level. I could not get a good photo of the road but I assure you it was miles long and very winding and, in places, rather steep.
Here are a few photos:
| The fact that there was an Emergency EXIT on the ROOF of the bus did not make me feel secure in the least. |
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