i have a new favorite

An unglazed buttermilk donut with a cup of hot coffee. Simply happy. And yes, I ate the chocolate as well. I couldn't let it go to waste now, could I?

I like to ride my bicycle

Poor old Rodney has been sitting up on blocks at the homestead a-go-go due to a shredded timing belt. The mister should have it up and running sometime soon, but since we are sans auto this past week, I have been biking over to the homestead to make use of the internet, work on craft projects and bake the most perfect cookies ever!

The homestead is a hiccup past a half mile from the new tiny casa so it is really easy to get to on foot or bike. The kicker is, there are hills of the deceiving kind. Flat enough to make you think you're smooth sailing but steep enough for you to realize it is time to downshift (and ignore the new ruddy color of your face as you huffity puff till you feel like yer lungs might explode).

My routine has been to wake up in the morning, have a little breakfast, wash the dishes and empty a box if I am able. I have also been trying to take pictures as I find little bits of happy just to keep me going in this weird in-between stage we're in. Then, I put on my bike helmet, grab a bag full of whatever it is I think I will be needing for the day,  lock the door and settle onto the bike and get to pedaling.

The ride is simple save for THE HILL(S). One on the way out and one on the way back. I bike out the back driveway onto the street and turn right then right again to tackle THE HILL. The hill on the way out has been doable from the beginning. I usually have to shift down to my first gear and pedal like mad, hoping no one else except for myself is humming the wicked witch of the west's theme. By the time I get to the top of the hill, I have inched over into the oncoming lane because I am certain is makes for a shorter and therefore less steep ride. There are two stop signs for me to feel safe about but a blind turn without a stop on my right that almost resulted in me getting smooshed by a black BMW with a driver that doesn't believe in turn signals. I maneuver through the iffy intersection and coast DOWN the hill turning right and gliding down another wee hill, kinda like a roller coaster. If I am lucky, the work trucks are not blocking the road and I can take the shortest route to the homestead by simply continuing forward a smidge before another right turn to the street that turns into our old street. If the trucks are there, I will need to turn left and ride down a block before turning right then right again up our old street. This is one of those deceiving UPS. It only looks flat and smooth sailing but manages to kick me in the arse each time causing me to downshift and hum THE theme again. When I'm pedaling well and lazy-like, I switch to Pee-Wee's theme. Pee-Wee's theme makes me feel a lot less lame, thank you very much. Finally I am rewarded with an easy coast into the driveway and a good morning to whomever is at the homestead. My legs are a bit wobbly when I get off the bike but it's a good kind of wobbly.

When the mister rides in home from work, he grabs a couple of cookies then works on Rodney. We end up riding home in the dark with our blinkety blinking red tail lights and my headlamp on my handlebars. Mister will ride up THE HILL on the way back. I pedal as far as I can before admitting defeat and walking the bike up the rest of the way until I pass the iffy intersection and can coast all the way home to the new tiny casa. Riding in the dark is interesting. I appear to ride liek a drunk person, wobbling this way and that. It's also much cooler her on the central coast at night and the wind makes my eyes tear up and my nose run. I'm sure I'm one very attractive lobster-girl by the time I trip into the casa.

I may only be riding a mile a day but I'm sure it's doing something good for my body. My legs are killing me! Add that to my new PT gig at a thrift shop and well, who needs the gym, right?

a very full day

Happy AND tiring but all in a good way.

The goose and I hit the cove bright and early. We climbed up the cliff to the "cave" and admired the choppy, choppy waters and bluer than blue sky.

We spent hours. HOURS. Hours combing through mad piles of rock in search of heart shaped stones and snail shells (sea snails).

We skipped rocks in the creek and toed our way into the water until we didn't feel numb anymore. We then splish-sploshed up the creek into a quiet magical place where I learned I could be a damsel-fly whisperer. It was quiet and pretty and warm and perfect.

We trekked our way to the other side of the beach, cutting our feet on the rocky-rocks until we couldn't go any further. It was there we discovered a plethora of snail shells and other tiny treasures.

Four hours of rock hunting found us in the now running-Rodney chomping on cheese, crackers and fruit as we prepped for our next stop, The Shell Shop. After, we hit up Morro Rock and marveled in the softer than soft sand and simply lay in the sun, ears open to the waves.

It took numerous flappity-flaps of my hat to get the sand out. My shoes are STILL wet and even after a round of showers we still found our heads full, our skin pink and our toes tired fro mall that beachy goodness. When we got home, dinner was already ready and that picky goose-girl ate everything on her plate! Tomorrow, will be an indoor day. I could use one of those.

shelves would be good right about now

Last, last week when Rodney's timing belt blew, mr. a-go-go and I were on our way out to search for small dressers and other goodies to make the new tiny casa more like home. We are in need of shelves and book cases like crazy and mister really wants to build it all but with Rodney being the priority, everything else has been pushed onto the back burner so unpacking has been on hold.

I still have sixteen boxes of books that need a home and I have a sneaky suspicion they are all children's books. I do love my children's books and darned if it they don't act as a not-so-cheery reminder that we do not have wee kiddos. Sigh. It is difficult to part with them but sometimes I wonder what the point is if I have no one to share them with, ya know?

Aside from that moment of melancholy, there is goodness that pops up. There are glass jars full of wooden spools and vintage buttons and all sorts of other bits of happy, like silly toys and vintage kitchen gadgets and sock monkeys. All of which needs a place to call home.

For now, the boxes will have to wait. Unpacking will have to wait. Putting the casa in order will have to wait. Which means more time for planning, and planning (aka pinning) makes it all that much more fun.

the apples are back!

We're having a bit of a cool summer here. Actually, I think our summers here are generally cool anyway. Things heat up in August and if today means anything, it means summer is finally here. Granted, it was only in the 80s but for us, that IS hot!

Warmer temps or not, August makes me think of the beginning of Fall and Fall makes me think of apples and wouldn't you know it...

Our favorite apple farm has opened its doors for the season. We picked up ten pounds, which will soon be gone, gone, gone. Empire, Mutsu & Gravensteins...good stuff.

We also snatched up some plums...good times, my friends, good times.

Today apples (and a visit to the pier), tomorrow...the cove!

{meanwhile, back at the ranch}

**this may read as a rant, or a whine or really high maintenance. Really, I'm just frustrated right now and need to sort my brain out. Everything is a bit on the wonky side here in dillyland and my head is spinning and this is my space to vent...right? So, a rant is approaching and it is me all whiny-whiny so really, you don't need to read or comment. Just ignore me here. I'm in big time dork mode. Yeesh.

Do you know the saying: When it rains, it pours?

Well folks, a storm is a brewin' here in dilly-land. Not a bad storm, just a storm involving a lot of really, really bad timing.

For starters, I got a job. Two in fact. Whoo-hoo! One is as a teaching assistant and the other is an on-call gig for a local thrift shop. There were a few hoops to jump through for the teaching job. Nothing bad, I just had to get a physical and my fingerprints done and all that jazz and I have a set schedule which is really good for the on-call gig so they know they can call me on certain days to work. The only thing is the teaching job (aka job number one) doesn't officially begin until the last week of the month and even though I'm only going to be there two days a week, I NEED to be there for training and such which throws a rather unwieldy wrench into my availability for job number two.

Originally I was up for a full-time position at job number two but then job number one came along and I decided, it would be best for me to really focus on getting job number one. So I turned down job number two (are you confused yet?) for more than a few reasons. But then I got a phone call from job number two and they REALLY wanted me to work for them so offered me an on-call position. I took it but explained that there was a matter of poor timing involving when I would be fully able to be on-call. As long as I could hop on board and go to an orientation the very next day, they were okay with that, so I did. And then I did another orientation where I submitted my official availability with a round of apologies that this month had a serious lack of availability. I assured them that things would be on track in September. My new boss said okay, took my availability note on BRIGHT YELLOW paper and verified it all and said fine. And then, I even worked a full day. It was busy and good and crazy but good and I was and am excited to go back. However, this being a matter of stupid timing, I got a call from job number one letting me know which days I was needed for training. I wrote those down as well and turned them in to my boss at job number two feeling like the flakiest of flakes.

To make timing even more wonky, mr. a-go-go and I have a young visitor for the week, this week. Since mr. a-go-go does not get paid time off, and we now have stupid rent AND are in the market for a new (old) car, we can only afford for him to take two days off later in the week which means, my two normal days of availability for job number two are now NOT-available as I will be hanging out with our young visitor (which is a good thing). Toss in a craftzine deadline and a meeting at job number one and well...you get the picture. Time? What time?

I also will need to add (and I cringe, I tell ya, cringe) that we will be driving our visitor back home and will be out of town for the weekend as well so there goes my other day of availability which I had already submitted to boss number two. Oy. I know I am coming off as really flakey and demanding but she knew the job was dangerous when she took it. Like I said. Working at job number two really won't be happening until September and I thought my boss number two understood that. Good thinking, no?

I thought wrong. I just got a phone call from job number two asking me to work tomorrow. Tomorrow being within the "unavailable to work Aug 12-22" timeline. It was my first call to come in and I had to say no. Mind you. If I say no three times in a row, I'm terminated. I don't want to be terminated. I don't. The person who called was confused when I reminded them that I was unavailable most of August save for the 23. It was then brought to my attention that I was on the schedule for this coming week. On the schedule. I'm on-call. How am I supposed to know I am on the schedule? Especially on a day I am unavailable? Oy. Now that makes two times I cannot work. I think I don't really understand this "on-call" description.

I had an inkling that working with this person from job number two might be interesting which is one of the reasons I declined a full-time position. I think it is time to have a meeting and ask to be explained how this whole on-call thing works. That is, if I still have a job there. Ooof! Um, also, like I've mentioned before, mr. a-go-go and I are without internet or phone or anything technical. I've been borrowing the wifi here at the homestead and have been writing up mini posts to be published throughout the week. Gotta love that kind of technology. Sir Rodney is up and running again but it is time to acknowledge his time is at most...lingering. So this week will be a bit of a mess. I have to get fingerprinted, write an article, amuse a ten year old (who prefers to be outdoors only), research techy home stuff, continue to unpack the new casa, meet up with boss number one, find a new (old) car and make sure mr. a-go-go does not fling himself off a cliff (poor man of mine).

As for today? Today I plan the menu for the week, prep the room for our Goose, work on that article and head out to a car dealer and see what we can see.

**See? Rant. Whiny-whiny. There is more, a bit more but man oh man, if I write that out I think I'll be flinging myself off the cliff along with the mister. Note to self, think happy thoughts.