Yesterday Cookie woke up with what appeared to be an eye infection. I was concerned that it might be conjunctivitis, which is highly contagious. We had a full day of daycare booked in Ashland, with someone I found on Rover, but obviously we couldn’t do that without knowing what was
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wmtc: friends and family reunion road trip: day ten: berkeley to medford
Yesterday, we got a short list of car repair places in Berkeley that are open on Sunday. Allan went out to try to get the electrical issue fixed, while I packed up and took care of the pups. No joy: the garages were either closed or extremely busy. One place
Continue readingwmtc: friends and family reunion road trip: day nine: friends, dogs, and views, plus some thoughts about future travels
When we went to the BART station to pick up our friend D yesterday, there was an unexpected surprise: a market! It was the Berkeley International Flea Market. A vendor told me it’s been going on every weekend, both Saturday and Sunday, for 47 years. I was immediately drawn to
Continue readingwmtc: friends and family reunion road trip: day eight: long-distance friends meet up in san francisco
Yesterday, after we dropped the pups at daycare, Allan and I took the BART into the city, but got off at separate stops. Allan was meeting a blog-friend (someone we have met before, and went to a game with the last time we were here, in 2010), and then had
Continue readingwmtc: friends and family reunion road trip: day seven: dodgers vs giants!
Yesterday, family and friends from different areas of my life were brought together, through our plans — and through baseball! We dropped the dogs at the daycare place in the late morning, then headed back to the BART station. (I noticed that regular parking is $3.00, which means the reservation
Continue readingwmtc: friends and family reunion road trip: a story about the digital divide
I separated out this story, because I didn’t want to give the impression that it ruined our day — and because I wanted to properly explicate it. The events were of minor consequence to us personally, but of major importance in the world at large. We hit a technology snag,
Continue readingwmtc: friends and family reunion road trip: day six: san francisco
Ah, San Francisco, how I love you. I love the energy of this city, its unique beauty, its mosaic of people and cultures and vibes. Just being here today was so fun and energizing. We had a late start and a frustrating morning (more on that later), but eventually had
Continue readingwmtc: friends and family reunion road trip: day six: ashland to berkeley
This morning, after packing up the gear and the dogs, we went to my mother’s place for a short visit before leaving town. She loves seeing Cookie and Kai, and it’s great to see her every day that we’re in the area. After more goodbyes, we headed to the Ashland
Continue readingwmtc: family and friends reunion road trip: day five: hanging out in ashland and talent
On Monday, we started the day at the Ashland Dog Park. Kai and Cookie had a great time. It was their second time there, and they were more comfortable and up for socializing. There were lots of beautiful dogs of all sizes, and people were friendly but not intrusive. Just
Continue readingwmtc: family and friends reunion road trip: some things I’ve seen
Seen on many lawns and in many windows: I saw a few in my mother’s senior community, which made me happy. * * * * Seen on a front-yard fence near the Ashland Dog Park: Seen in the approach to every town and city so far: tent encampments. Whole
Continue readingwmtc: family and friends reunion road trip: day four: birthday party at a winery
This was another big family day, and a wonderful one. We took Kai and Cookie to a dogsitter who we found through Rover, the Airbnb for dogs. She has a sweet little older house with a big fenced-in yard, and was very relaxed and easy-going. I had already told her
Continue readingwmtc: family and friends reunion road trip: day three: an amazing day in southern oregon
We’ve run out of adjectives to describe the day. Amazing, incredible, awesome. A celebration. A love-fest. It would have been special and meaningful any time, but coming after the pandemic, it was profound. After a quick breakfast in the cottage, we headed straight to my mother’s place. She lives in
Continue readingwmtc: family and friends reunion road trip: day two: everett, washington to talent, oregon
I am happy to report that today was far less eventful. The most important thing was to get on the road early. We know from past experience (our first trip to Vancouver and Oregon in 2016… where the idea to move west was born!) that there are two major traffic
Continue readingwmtc: family and friends reunion road trip: day one: port hardy to everett, washington
Our epic road trip has begun! Excited? I’m over the moon. This was the trip we were supposed to take last year, but… covid. This year it’s even better: a celebration of my mother’s 90th birthday, with all her children, grandchildren, their partners, and her great-grandchild, all converging in southern
Continue readingwmtc: billy joe shaver, rest in peace, and in music
Many well-known rock and pop musicians have died lately, including Helen Reddy, Eddie Van Halen, and Jerry Jeff Walker. More names will be coming fast and furiously as the icons of the Boomer generation age. One such death came to the country and blues music communities recently, that of Billy
Continue readingwmtc: cpmvfsgu days 8 and 9: monday and tuesday on salt spring island; whether or not to leave a negative review for an airbnb
I’ve spent the last two days reading, blogging, scratching, and occasionally eating and sleeping. There were other things to do on Salt Spring Island, but I was too uncomfortable to do anything. It was very nice to have uninterrupted time to read and write. Tomorrow we’ll take an early ferry
Continue readingwmtc: cpmvfsgu day 7: salt spring island (sunday)
Today’s big news is that the GP Dermatologist in Campbell River will see me on the day we are driving through that town, on our way home. Which is two days from now! I’m so relieved I could cry. I called and pleaded my case — to be honest, just
Continue readingwmtc: cpmvfsgu day 6: salt spring island (saturday)
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times? Perhaps not as dramatic as all that, but yesterday was a tale of two days, for sure. We had a leisurely morning — well, when you barely sleep, all mornings seem long — and drove the dogs over
Continue readingwmtc: cpmvfsgu day 5: victoria to salt spring island
I am having the surreal experience of looking through photographs of the wildfire devastation in Washington State, Oregon, and California, and seeing the names of towns where much of my family live. They are all personally safe, and as of right now their homes are intact. It’s very scary, both
Continue readingwmtc: cpmvfsgu day 4: victoria
I slept more last night than I have since the hives started, and this morning felt halfway human for the first time in months. I took Cookie and Kai for an early-morning walk on the harbour. There are few things I love more than a paved, accessible, waterfront walk. (On
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