First Day of First Grade

It's the first day of school. The first day of first grade. The first full day of school. I miss you already. You were scared to go. Sometimes the unknown can be overwhelming. Last night you wanted to go to the park, but you were so tired from traveling and staying up late and scared about today so you curled up in the rocking chair in the kitchen and fell asleep. Then you got mad because it was too late to go to the park. You wanted to try out those new roller skates. You woke up, groggy and tired, and sat down on the floor with me, then fell asleep again. A minute later you popped up and demanded I take you to the park. I said no. It was too late. I had to make dinner. I made noodle soup and when it was ready I looked around for you and you had disappeared. I found you in your bed sound asleep; you hadn't even put on your jammies. I let you sleep. I missed you already.

Animal Day at Ohlone Camp

Saw a coyote and got to pet Roger the bunny and Rocky the tortoise.

Held a Banana Slug (and kissed it).

Held a Tarantula (Hey!)

Happy Thanksgiving

Goodbye Old, Semi-Reliable Friend

Its' gone. A stylish car with character. That was always fun to drive. Things started going way wrong with it in the past 5 years. There was the time the air conditioner went crazy and released a terrible smelling something into the car. We got the heater/air conditioner fixed but then it only worked on like levels 2 & 4 (maybe). Plus the knob wouldn't stay on. There was last year, the night I met Dorothy in person for the first time ever and we went out to the theater and the back window fell down into the door and wouldn't come up again, and so, I had to rely on the dicey security of the parking lot and put all the carseats, etc. in the trunk. Not sure what Dorothy thought, but she was polite and encouraging. Then the door handle fell of the same door. Then we got it fixed and it fell off again. We took it back, got it fixed again. And it fell off. Then we gave up. The window was also fixed only it never went down again. And you couldn't open the door.


And then, this year, yes, came the disparaging remarks from friends which I'm really sorry the poor Passat had to hear. She did her best. This was a very fine car in it's day. And she was, as I said, very fun to drive. There was the night we went up to 120 on 280 to get away from some weird guy who was cruising me at 2am in an area where someone had been shot a few weeks earlier. She never left me stranded on the Bay Bridge during the evening commute like another car I could mention.

Well, she won't have to hear those unkind remarks again. She is gone. Gone. And I? I'm no longer a Driver. Now it's all Zoom! Zoom! Automatic. I miss driving a stick. Kristin Linklater once made the observation that I was very fond of the shift. And it is true. I am. Truly. I am a stick shift girl.