Back from Redding

Accepting her diploma
Originally uploaded by suzipaw

Well, Feesha's all graduated (a few more pics on my Flickr page), and we're home. It was very pleasant although I did have a bit of that experience where there are so many people and so little time that I didn't feel like I had the chance to connect with anyone. The food was good, the weather not too hot, I slept OK. We came home a little early today so that M could work more on his paper for moot court that's due tomorrow and we could reassemble the bedroom--our new bed is all set up and it's beautiful! I can't wait for bedtime. We need new matching nightstands and bedside lamps. That's need with quotation marks. We do need, sans quotation marks, new sheets--our old ones aren't made for such a tall mattress.

*****

While the house was still standing when we arrived home, our fence was not. No, not the horrid steel fence behind us, sadly--one of the wooden fences between us and a neighbor. He had mentioned quite some time ago that he was thinking of replacing the fence, and suddenly decided to do it without mentioning anything to us. Is that unneighborly? I think so, and told him as much. It's nice of him to do all the work, and he didn't ask us to share the cost (though I will offer him some cash), but it's disconcerting to see the neighbors so up-close and personal. And worrisome is the fact that they have two large dogs, one a pit bull, so we have to watch the cats and Rex. And since the fence wasn't completed today, we'll have to leave Rex in the house tomorrow, which means I'll have to come home early to let him out…The new fence will flout the CC&Rs and be much taller than regulation, and I think we'll like that, as will they. If only it could keep out the sound of them yelling at their children and dogs!

*****

Glad you're home, Uncle Madhu! Hope you're feeling better and better.

*****

The LONG Meme, via Nancy

Copy and bold the things you've done.

1. Bought everyone in the bar a drink.
2. Swam with dolphins
3. Climbed a mountain - I know it's a volcano, but I'm counting Mt. Lassen
4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
5. Been inside the Great Pyramid
6. Held a tarantula
7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone - and showers, and saunas…
8. Said "I love you" and meant it
9. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea - from a beach; and the lightning storm I watched in a plane at cloud level was exhilarating and nerve wracking
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise - like Nancy, it's been awhile. I mostly get up early and watch the dawn that way
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game - the US Open Tennis tourney
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa - I was there, but having my suitcase with me precluded the hike to the top
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment - oh, it was a shameful moment for me: at an acquaintance's wedding, he was singing to his new bride and missed the high notes
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse - I won 16 whole dollars!
29. Asked out a stranger - is a friend of a friend a stranger?
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can - See #102, I highly recommend it, it's very therapeutic!
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment - for many, many moments
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends - HAVE!!!
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them - This happened during #11
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow - Many times. Straining out the hay, mud, and dung really makes you thirsty for moo juice!
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers - ahem, we professional life models prefer the term "undraped"
61. Gone scuba diving - snorkeling is my limit!
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater - When I lived in Sarasota, the drive-in theater there showed X-rated movies!
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites - the Parthenon, Ephesus, Chichen Iza
70. Taken a martial arts class - Does tai chi count?
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married - Two's a charm--see #75
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days - when I made the transition to vegetarian, I went on a juice fast. I ain't doing that again!
77. Made cookies from scratch - Sorry, Listmaker, but this is a silly one
78. Won first prize in a costume contest - For an animal shelter fundraiser, I was a cloud
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice - Does The Venetian in Vegas count?
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an expert I was on TV a couple of times, but not as an expert
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage - High school plays only!
85. Been to Las Vegas - See #79
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Eaten fugu (pufferfish)
89. Had a one-night stand
90. Gone to Thailand
91. Bought a house
92. Been in a combat zone
93. Buried one/both of your parents
94. Been on a cruise ship - Does a tour of the Queen Mary count?
95. Spoken more than one language fluently
96. Performed in Rocky Horror Picture Show
97. Raised children - only the four legged kind
98. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over - a couple of times for school; my move back to California was sort of starting over, though Northern California is hardly unknown territory
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge - I have no excuse for not having done this many times!
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking - it's the only place I feel comfortable singing--and screaming
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication - I wrote an episode on tomatoes for Martha Stewart to read on the radio
106. Lost over 100 pounds (45.5 kilograms)
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback - HUH?
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Ridden a bike
112. Won money on a T.V. game show - No, but an appearance on Deal or No Deal is high on my To-Do list
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol - Yes, yes, and yes
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse - Briefly owned one, too
119. Had surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon - It's a long damn trip back up, lemme tell ya
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours - But only because of a medication I was taking
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school - after how long?
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one important author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life

*****

During my aforementioned retirement training, the TV I was watching included "The Last King," a drama chronicling the reign of Charles I, and one of my ancestors, Daniel Axtell, was mentioned! It was very odd, but did inspire me to pull out the genealogy my grandma and uncle assembled to read up a little on him.