I've noticed something—when you stop posting to your blog, people stop visiting. I've taken the week off from my spot in Blogville, and the doorbell has hardly rung while I am away. That's OK, though, because most of my visitors don't leave comments anyway.
This week, I am back in Berkeley, California spending some time with No. 1. Here is poor Tiger the cat sitting and pathetically staring at my empty chair back home, the photo thoughtfully sent to me by Husband—I'm not sure what Tiger is thinking at the moment, but I suspect Husband is thinking, "She's not here, you stupid idiot."
This was a spur of the moment trip, which I can take because I have become a woman of leisure. Small Town Newspaper hardly uses freelance writers anymore because their budget has shrunk to the size of a coin purse, and the ESL class is winding down (that's another story all together). So, I find myself looking for things to do, like learning Chopin on the piano and learning web design on the computer.
At the moment, I'm learning to relax and not feel bad about not having regular 9 to 5 activity. I don't know why I would feel bad about that. It's not like I'm lazy from 9 to 5. It's just ingrained, I guess.
This week, while No. 1 is on campus, I am busy doing things in the apartment. I have cleaned every surface that can be cleaned, and I've made a small project out of fixing up the balcony. There is a lovely hammock chair out there and two small black metal chairs. I have added a small black metal table, a giant candle holder in a basket, some outdoor art on the wood wall and a string of outdoorsy lights above the door. The kid hasn't seen it yet, so it's possible she'll hate it.
I've also bought groceries, fixed the vacuum cleaner, pet the cat and had the oil changed in the car. And we took a long walk. No. 1 likes to walk, so she dragged me practically kicking and screaming on a 20-minute, up-hill-all-the-way walk. Seriously, I said, "Fine, just don't complain if I whine." And she said, "Then don't whine."
We weren't just walking to walk because we had a destination—Indian Rock Park in North Berkeley. It's a giant boulder that some people make a point of climbing, but there are actually carved steps you can just walk up. Notice the woman sitting on the top of the rock for scale. When you get up there, this is what you see, the San Francisco Bay, and on a clear day, the Golden Gate Bridge:
And here is No. 1 saying, "Would stop taking pictures of me, already?" No. I can't help it.
On the way back, we saw this exchange between a cat and a squirrel. It went on for quite a while with neither animal giving up his space (click the photo to enlarge for a better view).
We live and we learn and we blog and we stop blogging for a while. Maybe my door bell will start ringing again, or maybe Blogville has discovered taking a walk might be more interesting than blog hopping. Either way, it's time to go learn something—for now, it's how to make vegetarian tacos.
This week, I am back in Berkeley, California spending some time with No. 1. Here is poor Tiger the cat sitting and pathetically staring at my empty chair back home, the photo thoughtfully sent to me by Husband—I'm not sure what Tiger is thinking at the moment, but I suspect Husband is thinking, "She's not here, you stupid idiot."
This was a spur of the moment trip, which I can take because I have become a woman of leisure. Small Town Newspaper hardly uses freelance writers anymore because their budget has shrunk to the size of a coin purse, and the ESL class is winding down (that's another story all together). So, I find myself looking for things to do, like learning Chopin on the piano and learning web design on the computer.At the moment, I'm learning to relax and not feel bad about not having regular 9 to 5 activity. I don't know why I would feel bad about that. It's not like I'm lazy from 9 to 5. It's just ingrained, I guess.
This week, while No. 1 is on campus, I am busy doing things in the apartment. I have cleaned every surface that can be cleaned, and I've made a small project out of fixing up the balcony. There is a lovely hammock chair out there and two small black metal chairs. I have added a small black metal table, a giant candle holder in a basket, some outdoor art on the wood wall and a string of outdoorsy lights above the door. The kid hasn't seen it yet, so it's possible she'll hate it.
I've also bought groceries, fixed the vacuum cleaner, pet the cat and had the oil changed in the car. And we took a long walk. No. 1 likes to walk, so she dragged me practically kicking and screaming on a 20-minute, up-hill-all-the-way walk. Seriously, I said, "Fine, just don't complain if I whine." And she said, "Then don't whine."
We weren't just walking to walk because we had a destination—Indian Rock Park in North Berkeley. It's a giant boulder that some people make a point of climbing, but there are actually carved steps you can just walk up. Notice the woman sitting on the top of the rock for scale. When you get up there, this is what you see, the San Francisco Bay, and on a clear day, the Golden Gate Bridge:
And here is No. 1 saying, "Would stop taking pictures of me, already?" No. I can't help it.
On the way back, we saw this exchange between a cat and a squirrel. It went on for quite a while with neither animal giving up his space (click the photo to enlarge for a better view).
We live and we learn and we blog and we stop blogging for a while. Maybe my door bell will start ringing again, or maybe Blogville has discovered taking a walk might be more interesting than blog hopping. Either way, it's time to go learn something—for now, it's how to make vegetarian tacos.
Comments
Now you've started, you've got to keep it up. Grizzly Park Boulevard awaits (though you're officially allowed to whine if she makes you trek up there).
Love the cat and squirrel picture. Too funny. And poor Tiger wondering why your chair is empty.
Have a wonderful time out there on the Bay.