Tennis elbow means less blogging

Summer is chugging along here in Florida. Darcy works. Madison is studying and helping a friend apply for med school by editing her applications. I am working on my resolutions. I've been sidelined in my writing by lateral epicondylitis, better known as tennis elbow in my right arm. It happened after three hours of scraping wallpaper border in Madison's room, and it hasn't gotten better. I've narrowed it down to typing on my Ipad over vacation, something that I've continued since coming home. Add that to the scraping, and I've got myself a damn injury that is making me crazy.

I've had it before in my left arm. That wasn't so bad since I'm right-handed. Now in my right arm, it is a killer. I can't even shake hands without wincing in pain. I had to cancel my drum lessons indefinitely because there is no way I can hit the high hat. I tried. Now I'm reduced to ibuprofen, ice, and a brace.

How does one not use his right arm? It's almost impossible for me. I think I need a sling to keep it immobile. Straightening it for anything longer than a minute is excruciating. Sleeping is a problem. Hell, brushing my teeth is crazy!

All this is really to say that's why my blogging has been slack. Please forgive me. I'm working on it.

An Elliot tale

The dog has been thrilled to have us back home. Especially since Madison and I are home most of the time during the day. He has been very needy, wants attention and love, and for us to play with him. He finally has comfort during the damn storms that have plagued us since we returned. He has been in heaven.

My neighbor, Bonnie, took care of him while we were gone. She came over during the day and took him outside and sometimes over to her house. Bonnie loves dogs, and Bonnie loves to reward dogs just for being dogs by giving them treats. Like bags of treats. If we are outside and she comes out, Elliot will take off like a shot to visit her. Because...she's the treat lady.

Yesterday, I went outside to retrieve my wallet, which I'd left in the car upon coming home from the gym. I took Elliot out with me thinking he could use a potty break. He instead needed some sun, so he plopped down in the driveway off to the side.

I was heading to the pool, so I just left him. He's getting to the point where he is too old and crippled to chase cars, and since the weather is so hot, he watches them go by. We rarely leash him at this point, and since he rarely stays outside in the sun past five minutes, I went back inside. Plus, it gave me a chance to sneak out into the pool without him knowing. Because he wants to come too and then, he wants to chase me around the pool barking like a crazy dog. Loudly.

I put away my wallet, told Madison I was going to sneak away to the pool, and reminded her that once Elliot started crying to come and get him. Because the damn dog won't just come inside. He will cry until you open the door, and then he will get up and walk inside. As I said this, I went back to the door to peek out at him. As I came up to the door, I saw that Bonnie's car was heading out. She was backing out of the driveway, and her garage had just closed. I looked for my dog.

He was gone.

Me: "Where did Elliot go? He isn't in his spot."

Madison: "Is he at the door?"

Me: "No. Shit. I bet he saw Bonnie."

Maddy ran to get on shoes, and we both went outside, calling his name.

Me: "I bet he's locked in Bonnie's garage. I bet he saw the door open and he took off like a shot, and she didn't see him! Oh, my god, my dog is locked in the neighbor's garage!"

Luckily, I have her garage code. Maddy ran over while I'm screaming out the numbers to her so that everyone and their brother can now get into the neighbor's garage, and as she pushed the button and the garage started lifting, there was my dog. Right at the entrance to the garage with a look on his face that said:

Elliot: "What the hell just happened? I came over to visit Aunt Bonnie, and the woman just took off and locked me in the damn garage. WTF?"

It was hilarious. After the fact. Damn dog.

Bonnie, when I called to tell her the story, worried he might have died from the heat if we hadn't found him. Maddy and I had pondered that, but we know he would have begun crying, and he's loud enough we would have heard him from inside our house. But I am lucky that I saw her leave at that time. Jeez.

It took a minute or two off of my life, I'll tell you that.

I tweeted:

My dog just got locked in my neighbor's garage, and she left. This must be why pets are supposed to be on a leash.

Six month resolution check

Let's see how I'm doing six months in on the resolutions. I rate myself with numbers 1-10. Always working to have a total 50-50 by the end of the year. Hasn't happened yet, but one never knows...

• Tackle a project once a month - Yeah, uh, no, this one has not been done in the last two months. Darn it!  Score - 0

• Finish my book, begin editing it, and start writing book #2 - YES! The book is done. It was done in May. I've started editing it! I've started writing book 2! Score: 10

• Learn the next step in the writing career (i.e., writing a synopsis, querying an agent, etc.). - I have been doing this. I wrote a synopsis for a contest that I entered. We are learning the other stuff via my writer's group. Yes! Score: 10

• Adopt a healthier lifestyle (including eating, exercising, sleeping, and vitamins) - Okay, so I've started this one now, but the last two months? It was iffy. I ate healthily, but the exercising could've been more. Score: 5

• Use more Wyndham points this year than last year - Sold some more points to Darcy and her college friends. Used mine in CA. Yep! Score: 10

Total: 35 out of 50. Better than the four-month check-in. Better than halfway. Perfection in three categories. I'll take it.

Out of the mouths of someone else's babe

Spotted at a rest area stop on the way back to San Francisco.

Me: "Whoa. I bet none of you even know what these things are."

Anya: "Please, Cara. I've heard the song."

Thank you, Adam Levine and Maroon 5.

But nope...not yet

I barely slept. That's the way it is when I have to get up at some ungodly hour. I think I woke every hour to check the clock. We were up and out by 3:50, and since our hotel was the first shuttle stop, our guy was already there. There were quite a few of us which surprised me. I didn't even get a chance to fill a cup of coffee, but I did snag some flavored creamers.

We got to the airport and through security, although for that time of the morning, it was awfully crowded. The flight to Phoenix was quick, and then we had to get off and head to another gate for a connecting flight to Tampa. That airport is crazy. We hit some coffee shops and got some food, and then we had to spread out at the gate because it was so packed. Darcy and I were together, and Maddy was off somewhere when they announced that the flight was overbooked.

Blah, blah, blah. I've heard it before, but this time my ears perked up. For the first time in my life, I didn't have to be anywhere. I wasn't looking forward to getting home for Christmas or for visiting anyone. American was offering $600 for people to hop off the flight. I looked at Darcy. She shook her head.

Darcy: "I have to be at work tomorrow."

I texted Madison, but she was in the bathroom. I said, forget it, and sat back down. Ten minutes later, with Madison now sitting off to the side, they made another announcement asking again for volunteers to get the hell off the flight, only now they were offering $800 for us to do so. Madison went up and asked when we would fly out. It wasn't until the next day.

Madison: "I don't care, though. I've always wanted to do this. It's on my bucket list."

Me: "That's $2400."

Darcy: "I have to work."

Again, they came on the speaker. They needed four people, and Maddy and I volunteered. They were overjoyed. They told us to have a seat, and they would get back with us once the plane was loaded. We hugged Darcy and said our good-byes. She got into line to board. They called us up and said they saw we were three travelers. We explained that Darcy had to work. They were disappointed.

They got on the speaker and made another announcement. Darcy got out of line and volunteered.

Darcy: "What the hell!"

We called Tom. I researched hotels and contemplated calling Tom's uncle, who lives outside of Phoenix. Then the airline people came over and told us they were putting us up at a hotel and giving us vouchers for food in addition to the $2400 in plane tickets. It took about forty-five minutes for all of that to happen while they tried desperately to get us on a flight later that day, but eventually, they sent us off to the shuttle area.

We had our carry on luggage, which for me included a change of clothes and my pajama top. I also had a shirt of Darcy's. Our luggage went to Tampa, and we went to the Doubletree outside of Phoenix. The people there couldn't have been more helpful. They checked us in immediately, although it was only eleven o'clock in the morning. They gave us toothbrushes and razors and warm chocolate chip cookies that tasted like a dream. They showed us the pool area (no suits), and they told us our meal vouchers would good for their restaurant. We went to our room and Madison, and I immediately passed out and slept for the rest of the day.

Later, we had dinner at the restaurant, and then while I enjoyed the heat and watched the sunset, the girls took an Uber to Target, where they bought some essentials like underwear. They were gone for a couple of hours, and then they returned, and we watched some tv and talked before going to bed for our 10:00 a.m. flight.

Breakfast was included in our hotel stay, so we had a marvelous buffet before catching the shuttle to the airport. This flight was crowded, but apparently not overbooked much to Madison and my dismay. We already thought we'd do it again.

Darcy: "Seriously. I have to get to work."

We flew home. It took forever. The people in front of us were assholes. We had some problems with two of them who wanted to put their seats back. WTF? Who does that? Who needs that? Madison and Darcy refused to move their lets, which were butt up against the seats. The people couldn't get their seats back. Twice Madison screamed when her knees got bashed. She explained to the woman in front of her that she was tall. The flight attendant told us all to try to get along. That was my only gripe with American. The flight attendant sucked. The woman in front of me put her seat back, and the attendant could obviously see that the seat must've been broken since it went so far back it was practically touching my nose. She hit me several times when she pushed back. I suffered the entire way home seething. Thank god for the television screen and Jason Momoa.

I watched Aquaman, although on my phone, since the TV was too close. About forty minutes before we landed, the lady went to the bathroom, and I think she saw how close her seat was to my face. I couldn't even get my tray down all the way. She put it back up, but by then I had gone to the bathroom and Maddy had taken my place. I will admit I thought mean things about those people. They live on St. Pete beach. If you see them, stick out your tongues.

Tom and the dog were thrilled to see us. We were tired but happy to be back in our own beds. Summer vacation over.

It was grand.

The end

July 4th was nothing special. Which was fine with me. Not a lot to celebrate right now in this country, frankly.

No fireworks because of the fire situation in California, so we headed to the river. Bryan showed up with some loud snapping crackers that he'd throw down to scare the shit out of all of us at various times, but that was the extent of our celebrating.

We left the next day. Packing took up a large chunk of time as did cleaning up, so Auntie Marilyn wasn't left with a big mess. I was pretty weepy the entire morning, but I just wore my sunglasses so people wouldn't notice. I could've stayed another week, but then I'm older now, and being with family means more now than it did when I was younger.

We did the picture taking thing, and then we said our good-byes. Back down the mountain, we went, stopping for the last time at the entrance to Bryan's so that we could pick him up and take him into Hayfork to pick up his car at the shop.

He had partied quite a bit last night, singing the same refrain of Indiana Wants Me, and he was the last to leave the house. When he opened the door to get into the Yukon XL, the first thing he said was, "I bet you guys want to hear me sing, don't you," which I found hilarious. But then I was feeling very sentimental, so there was that.

We dropped Bryan off without much fanfare, got gas, and used the bathroom, and then we were off. We drove to Redding and stopped for lunch at a Carl's Junior burger joint. It was empty which Maya and I worried was a bad sign, and then when we got inside and headed to the restroom we were greeted with this:

I wondered if we had to play a game for the tokens, but one of the employees overheard me say that out loud and told us the sign wasn't real. Okay, then. The burgers were about as good as that nonsense.

We left the restaurant, and as we pulled out, there was the big banging noise. It sounded to me like the luggage in the back had fallen when we turned out into the restaurant. 

Yeah. It had. Only not as I pictured, falling off the top to hit the door. Instead, the door had opened, and our luggage fell out into the road. We only knew this because Anya and Madison in the back turned around and noticed it. 

I thought it the funniest damn thing ever. Jay, however, did not. He stopped the Yukon XL in the middle of the road, and we hopped out to hike back to get the luggage. All of us except for Anya and Madison because they couldn't get out without assistance. They were left sitting in the middle of the road wondering if their lives would end while they stared at all of us through the open back door.

Once packed up, with a few minor dents on our cases, we managed to get safely back into Berkely, where we spent the night. We had dinner and then went to see the new Spiderman movie. Since Jay bought the tickets, I volunteered to purchase the food which we really didn't need since we had just eaten. But it was a movie...

The total came to $82 for popcorn, drinks, and candy. I popped in my credit card, and it was denied. I tried it again. Denied. I popped in another card. Denied. What the hell? Maya popped in her card, and it went through. The guy behind the counter gave me a pitiful look and suggested I call my bank. As I walked away, I got a ding on my first credit card asking me did I honestly try to spend $82 at the movie theater food counter you crazy, idiotic woman. Once I told them yes, don't judge me; they told me I could try again, but by then, Maya had taken care of it. We found out later that Tom got the second credit card message asking the same thing and that Jay's credit card company had then put a hold on his account after the purchase went through.

Moral of that is don't spend $82 at the movie theater because credit card companies think that is pure bullshit. My family agreed, frankly.

The next day we packed up our stuff and headed out to be tourists. We decided to walk the Golden Gate Bridge. Somehow we ended up driving across it, which Maya worried about because the rental car had distinctly asked if that would be a possibility upon renting the Yukon XL. Darcy got online, and I paid the toll before we crossed via credit card. Which went through. Obviously, spending $82 to cross the Golden Gate was okay but not at a movie theater.

I'm kidding. It was $8 to cross.

Then we parked and hiked it. It was very crowded. It was also very high and not as closed in as the New York bridge I walked. I had some moments with my fear of heights, but we got about halfway before we turned around and hiked back. First time I've ever reached 10,000 steps on my Apple Watch!!!

We drove into San Francisco and did some sightseeing from the car windows on our way back into the area by the airport. These guys were heading out on the red-eye. We had another night before we had to get up at the crack of dawn to make our 5:50 a.m. flight.

We stopped and had dinner and then walked a bit around the quaint area. We had a Starbucks, and then Jay drove us to our hotel, and we said our good-byes. 

Off they went back to Boston. I did laundry at the hotel for want of something to do while the girls played on their phones. We hit the sack early with a wake-up for 3:30 a.m. to catch the 4:00 a.m. shuttle. Florida, here we come!

Special Days in Hampam

While our days were spent pretty much the same, we did have a couple of variations. First, there was a memorial celebration for Maya's father, who died months ago.

Although Alan was my uncle, he wasn't someone that I knew in that role. I met him when I was seven and came to Hyampom for the first time, but I have no memory of that meeting or that trip. I met him again when Maya was in high school. That was after he and my aunt were divorced, and Maya lived with Alan and her grandfather in Arizona. We traveled out west to visit and spent maybe an hour meeting everyone when picking up Maya for a trip to Mexico. I saw him again at Maya's wedding, but I have little memory of that time either. I think I got to know him more via Facebook these last few years more than anything.

Yet, on the day of the memorial, I awoke with a terrible sadness. Memorials always bring out the losses of others and having lost my parents, I feel for those who have just had the same. Jay and I spent some moments talking about that. He hasn't lost his parents, and I do believe that hinders you in some ways because it's a crazy shock to the system when it does happen. You think you get it, that you understand, but I don't think you can. It's one of those experiencing kind of things. But Jay and I talked about Alan and our memories.

Alan loved Hyampom and the land he lived on. It was decided that the service would be down by a tree that has survived the fires and was a tree and area where he spent time. Tons of people came for the memorial. There were neighbors, old and new. There were friends. Family. We all gathered by the tree, and then we were asked to hang pictures and mementos of Alan on the tree.

There was laughter. There was crying. There were lots of stories told when a picture set off a reminder. Everyone participated in hanging something until the tree was full of Alan and memories. Then people got up and spoke. Some told stories. Some talked about the first time they'd met Alan. Maya and her sister spoke about him as a father. Jay and Marilyn got up and spoke. Darcy told me later that after hearing everyone, she really was sorry she never got a chance to meet him. I told her I had felt the same. Crazy to think that I never really had that.

Alan's ashes were sprinkled around the tree. Then everyone headed back up the hill to the house for food and drink and reminiscing. More stories were told. I got a chance to sit with Maya's half-sister to read some letters she had and to hear the stories behind them. It was a lovely memorial.

Our next veer from the routine was a trip into town. The center of town has a grocery where we loaded up on essential things like chips and the post office, where I went in with Auntie Marilyn to get her mail.

From there, we walked two feet to the farmer's market. That was a line of cars where sellers sold their wares from the back on tables they'd set up in the shade. It's the time of the week for the locals to get out and interact, hearing the gossip and such. We arrived, pouring out of the Yukon XL like a busload of tourists at a pitstop with pockets full of cash. We bought coffee cakes and cookies. We bought lemonade and admired the vegetables. In the ten minutes it took us to make our transaction, we'd cleaned out some of the six vendors of her supplies, and she was none too happy. We hoped she didn't plan for that the following market since we wouldn't be there.

We left the farmer's market and Marilyn showed us the bar in town. The Brews and Screws.

The Brews is the bar inside the building, which we did not enter but pictured in our heads. Then we drove around the side to the back to see the Screws, a hardware trailer full of things like screws, hammers, nails, etc. Customers get what they need and leave the money in a hat or bucket by the door. 

We drove on to see the school where Marilyn used to teach and to see where Korin had once lived. We got out at Marilyn's friend's house and viewed her marijuana and fruit groves, and then she gave us a tour of the house that she and her significant other are renovating. Someone sitting on the porch when we arrived said she didn't really understand how large our group was until we all walked up the drive and lined up one by one to get into the house.

Jay: "Are you here for the 1:10 tour?"

It became our theme from there on out.

Later, on another day, we had two tours. The ten o'clock tour through the neighbor's marijuana plantation and dirt bike race track and the 10:10 tour up the hill from Marilyn's house to see her original cabin and her garden. Only Jay took the first one. The rest of us went with Auntie Marilyn.

The original cabin was a one-room cabin with a loft. It's where I stayed when I was seven. I remembered the downstairs, but the loft was not anything like I remembered. I had a vision of a large circle in the middle of the ceiling. It was not that at all. Hmm...

Marilyn has a renter/caretaker in the cabin. We had met him on several of the nights when he joined us for dinner or conversation. He had a sweet dog, and both were there when we arrived and allowed us to troop through the cabin. 

Next to the cabin, was a shed that Marilyn has since converted into a guest house. This was where she was sleeping while we were all in her home. 

We jokingly took the kids into the garden and explained that this is where food came from. My girls rolled their eyes at that, but I told the story of how my Aunt Lorene had asked Madison where she thought food came from and how horrified she was when Maddy responded with, "the grocery." So, we put the kids to work harvesting the veggies. Nothing like a little child labor.

We sat for a while in the shade, and Anya entertained us with a hula hoop. We talked and made Maya tell stories of her childhood growing up in the cabin. Then we made our way back down the hill to resume our normal daily activities.

All of the activities were a nice change from our daily life, although we were all quite happy to get back into the flow and head to the river afterward.