We were blessed during our stay in central California,
because it was not as hot as it could have been. Indeed, it was still warm, but the evenings
and mornings were surprisingly cool, keeping sleep within reach. We took comfort in knowing that Jacksonville
was much hotter and more humid. (My
condolences to our buds in Jacksonville.)
We stayed at Myron’s mom’s house. She had a vision of remodeling up one of the
rooms in the house and our visit gave her the reason and the timeline to do
it. Friends and family members lent a
hand removing carpet, installing the wood floor and putting on the new
paint. The room was very impressive upon
our arrival.
Myron spent time
helping his mother with projects around the house and farm. We would work until it was pretty warm and
then we would come in the house for a late lunch, ice cream and a movie. I got used to the routine and it made me sad
to leave it.
One of Myron’s projects was to put a security screen on the
front door. Once installed, ‘Hunter’ the
dog, a greyhound/Russian wolfhound mix (ie very tall and long) could no longer
let himself in or out so he came into our room to request door service. In a sleep stupor I made a hasty agreement
with Myron that if he let Hunter out, I would let Hunter back in when he was
done with his one or two hour romp. Within
a few days it became apparent I got the worse end of the arrangement. If one of the farmers with adjoining acreage was
irrigating, Hunter would invariably find these muddy spots. At 5 or 6 am, when Hunter wanted back in, clad
in PJs, I would take a bowl of water and a rag to the front porch and clean
Hunter up before letting him in the house.
Once in the house, Hunter wanted to play. In this mode, Hunter can be an unmanageable amount of leg, tail and nose. I would whisper commands in a futile attempt
to keep him quiet and not wake everyone in the house. I am glad none of
this was digitally captured!
Outside this routine, we also managed a day trip to the
mountains to retrieve the tent trailer, squeezed in some family visits and also
did another little reunion at ‘Ed’s Drive In’ in Craig and Ciana’s backyard.
I regret that I was not more active with the camera – but I
can share this snapshot of a kitty that hit the motherload when she found her
way into the dog food can:
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| From Travel West |
Before we knew it, it was time for our last phase of the
trip. More on that soon.
Love to all,
Dena
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