I’ve been battling a few light colds the last couple of weeks, not sure if it’s the A/C at work or something else. So I’ve been lying low for the most part outside of work and getting in some hikes and walks. Here’s a bit of what I’ve been doing:
I’ve spent two Sunday mornings at Muir Beach with Javi while my sister was in emergency responder training. The first time we went I didn’t have a ball and he was disappointed, since he loves chasing the ball and frolicking in the waves. Both times the beach was pretty quiet – a few other dog walkers and families having bonfires. Unfortunately both times the families wandered far away from their lit bonfires (one went all the way to the nude beach!), completely oblivious to the fire hazard. The first time I told the adult he couldn’t leave the fire unattended and he gave a snide, condescending reply. The second time I decided to leave a note on the family’s car (they had arrived just before I did), telling them I hoped they had a good time at the beach and asking them to please not leave a fire unattended in the future because of the risk to local nature, houses and people. I have no idea if either tactic will make a difference in the future, but I felt I needed to do something besides keep my eye on their fires while they wandered the beach with their kids. One of my sisters suggested putting the fire out if it was left unattended, which I agree is a good idea. My hope was that a ranger would appear and ticket them!
I attended a production of Love’s Labour’s Lost in Old Mill Park, and was happily surprised at how professional it was. I’d been to a couple of Curtain Theater’s shows in the past which were just okay. This was the Shakespeare play I had not seen before, it was funny and the actors really seemed to be enjoying themselves. I spent the first half sitting on the hillside as all the seats and benches were taken. I had a seating pad but man, did my butt get sore! Luckily, by intermission some folks had left or moved around and I found a seat on one of the benches, which was much more comfortable.
I spent a Saturday getting in a 16 mile walk around Sausalito. That hadn’t been my first choice, but after my car broke down there on Friday afternoon (after having had work done earlier in the week, which took 3 days instead of one because of the mechanics unintentionally breaking parts – needless to say I will never be going back to WheelWorks again!), I ended up first waiting for the tow truck to get my car, then waiting to hear if it would be fixed in time for me to take a bus into San Francisco to pick it up. At least it was a beautiful day, I discovered new walks and paths I hadn’t explored before and knew how to avoid the worst of the tourist traffic. I couldn’t get over the number of people who apparently bring their dogs on vacation with them. I could see doing that if you were going camping, etc, but to come to a place like Sausalito? No thanks.
I’ve been getting out for as many long walks as I can, trying to average 20k steps a day over the course of the week. I am enjoying the days when I go into work and am able to fit in an extra 20 minute walk in the morning or taking Winston out in the evenings. I met up with a friend from high school who I haven’t seen for a couple of years. We had a great time catching up. I managed to convince her and another friend to come to our 40th high school reunion in October.
I looked after Winston one weekend when Emmy and Garrett were away. I brought him to Mom’s place so I could be there with her, she also had not seen him in quite a while. He did well, though Friday night was challenging. I think it’s always like that for him when he’s in a new place. He barked a lot, was trying to bite and didn’t settle well that night. Luckily he did much better on Saturday and Sunday. The only downside was his loud snores and wanting to snuggle up right next to me! We got out for walks and had a great time hanging out (and napping!) with Mom.
I’ve been playing around with some wool I’d gotten at the county fair – I used a little bit in an art project, then started hand spinning and remembered my drop spindle. The next thing I knew I was washing and carding the wool, then spinning it. It was relaxing, and felt so good to see it fluffing up. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed spinning wool. Having that extra space in my day made me feel like I had time to play around and it didn’t really matter what happened if it took awhile or didn’t work.
One Monday I listened to a podcast with the theme of space. While the presenter focused on internal psychological space, for me, it was very relevant today because Mondays are when I work from home and as it turned out I didn’t have any pressing work to get done that day. I also usually volunteer at SPARE, the local art supply reuse nonprofit, but I got an email early that morning letting me know they won’t be having volunteers for the next couple of Mondays. So, all of a sudden, I had a free day. I spent time doing art, then walked to the Sausalito post office to mail a package to Annemarie, and finally headed to the nearby beach to get my toes in the water and relax. I loved that I didn’t need to rush back. It felt so luxurious to have more space in my day, and to spend it doing things I initially wanted to do but didn’t have time for. What a fantastic way to start the week!
Another day I checked out the Marin Arts Commission work at the Marin Community Foundation. It’s a beautiful space, so open and light. They’ve obviously put a lot of money into the recent remodel, which I have mixed feelings about. I would much rather see that money going into creating spaces like that in the communities that they’re serving instead of their office, but I also know they have to impress their donors in order to continue bringing in money to serve those nonprofits. Ugh – that’s what I hate about nonprofit financing.
My sister Christina has been part of the SF Outrigger Canoe Club for the last year or so. I got to watch her race in the novice division at a big regatta in Sausalito the other day. There were about 2 dozen boats from all over the Bay Area, Sacramento, Santa Cruz and even as far away as San Diego! It was such a fun, festive atmosphere, lots of camaraderie. It reminded me of many of the trail races I’ve participated in, but even more community oriented. They even put flowers in the porta potties!
We leave for the Camino in less than 2 weeks – woo hoo!!