The Last Day Of June

I was having nightmares last night. I watched a movie on Netflix called “The Final Storm”. Usually movies like that do not bother me, but this one did and I tossed and turned most of the night. Hiker woke me up around 5 am but I made her go back to sleep for another hour. It was another day of staying inside all day due to the extremely hot weather. Watched some movies on “Hallmark Movie Channel” while Hiker stretched out on the sofa next to me. She loves burrowing under the pillows. Took Hiker outside to potty and to check the weather around 1:30 pm and it was so yucky out. Hiker did her thing and we both hurried back into the house. Watched an old movie on Netflix...”Move Over Darling” starring Doris Day and James Garner. Love those old movies.

Early Morning

Mid-morning

Afternoon

Another Stay Inside Day

Hiker woke me up a little after 6 am and it was already getting hot. I didn't sleep all that well because it was warm last night. I don't like to run the A/C at night because it makes my nose clog up and gives me a sore throat. It was too warm outside for me to open my sliding door. Had the fan blowing on me, so that helped. We got up a little after 7 am. I had to go to the post office to drop off a package. I went over there at 9 am when they opened and it was already 93° at that time. When I came home, Hiker wanted to go outside. She likes to go out in the morning and lay in the sun, but it was so hot that she only stayed out there a few minutes. I felt sorry for my gardener and his son when they were here mowing my lawn. It was right around 100° outside at that time. Hiker went out again to go potty around 12:30 and she went to lay in the sun like she always does. She stayed about 2 minutes and came running back to the door to come into the house. I did some laundry but spent most of the day on the couch watching Netflix again. It was just to dang hot to do anything else.

TURN THE HEAT OFF!

Got up at 6 am and went for a dog walk with Jean at 7 am. It was already HOT here at that time. It was almost 80° when we started and there was no breeze at all. After the walk, we let the dogs play for awhile in my backyard and then Jean and I went over to Payless Shoe Source. I needed to buy some new walking shoes. The last ones that I bought at Wal-Mart, less than a year ago had come apart where the sole connects the top part of the shoe. Decided to go to Payless because they are having their BOGO sale. I got two pair of walking shoes for $45 + tax. We also stopped at a pet store and looked around. I bought a piece of a deer antler for Hiker. My friend Rick had suggested them to me awhile back and Hiker really seems to like chewing on them. After we got back home, Jean wanted me to come up to her house to help her connect and setup the new 24” Visio Smart WiFi TV she bought at Wal-Mart yesterday. She didn't know how to set up the wireless network so she could get Netflix, YouTube, etc. so I did all of that for her. The rest of the day, Hiker and I stayed inside because by 1 pm it was 100° on my patio. I may need to buy a new oscillating fan for my living room. I run them with the A/C because it moves the cold air around better. A plastic piece on the fan I had in my living room broke and it would not oscillate anymore. I'll check Wal-Mart next week.

Getting Too HOT

Slept in some again this morning. That's getting to be a habit. Had crazy dreams all night long. I always have dreams that I have retired from Lockheed but went back to work for some unknown reason and that I know I'm supposed to be retired and keep saying I'm going to retire again, but I keep forgetting to turn in my paperwork. I've had dreams like that the entire 7 years I've been retired. When Hiker and I got up at 8 am, it was already 78° on my patio. We headed out to buy my lottery ticket for Saturday and then when I got home, I had to clean house. Wanted to get it done before it got much hotter. Took me an hour and by the time I finished it was already 88° outside and my A/C kicked on not long after I was done. Needless to say, there will be no walk today. Hiker and I will get out for a dog walk with Jean early tomorrow morning before it gets too hot. It got up to around 98° on my patio by 2:45 pm. It felt very hot when I walked up to my mailbox and we are supposed to be even hotter this weekend. YUCK!

And The Summer Heat Begins

Slept in a little and then headed over to Stater Brothers to do my grocery shopping. Got home around 9 am and it was already 80°. My A/C kicked on at 10:30 am. We are supposed to keep getting hotter each day and by Saturday and Sunday we are supposed to be in the 100's. I did some housework (mopped my bare floors), sweating the whole time even though my A/C was running. Was too hot to get out for a walk with Hiker this afternoon. It was already 90° at 12:30, so we spent the afternoon in the coolness of our home...me watching Netflix and Hiker barking at the trash trucks as they drove up and down the street stealing everyone's trash.

Hiker keeping an eye on the trash man.

Not Much To Report

Went to my support group today. I stopped by Time Warner on my way home to exchange my HD digital box for the TV in my bedroom as the old one kept losing channels. I've been trying to get the new one set up and activated since I got home around 2:00 pm, but I'm thinking I am going to have to call Time Warner again to have them try to ping it or send someone out because the darn thing just does not want to give me a signal. I HATE THAT! Not much else to report today.

Overcast Day

Another night of not being able to go to sleep. I think I finally drifted off a little after midnight. Got up at 6 am and then headed out for our Monday dog walk with Jean. The sky was totally overcast...June Gloom. I prefer this to the 115° we had last summer. They are saying that we are going to get up to 101° by Friday. We let the dogs play for awhile in my backyard and then after Jean went home, Hiker and I had breakfast and I did a little housework. After I was done with that, I went out and cleaned up the dead gladiola stocks in my front flower bed. Thought I'd take advantage of the cool weather while we have it. It remained overcast all day, so being that it was perfect weather for a walk, I took Hiker over to the Iron Horse Trail Head for a nice afternoon walk. There were yellow wildflowers all over the place.

Afternoon At Hart Park

For some reason I could not fall asleep last night. Usually I fall asleep on the sofa around 9 pm watching a Netflix movie, but last night I was still wide awake at 1 am. I even went out to look at the moon because everyone on Facebook kept telling me how neat it looked. The moon didn't look much different to me but that's probably because we have too many lights here at night. I finally took a sleeping pill and fell asleep after 1:30 am. I had strange dreams, probably brought on by the pill. I drempt that I found some money, a $100 bill, a $10 bill and a $5 bill. They were all very clear to me. I've always heard that if you dream about money that coins mean good luck but bills mean bad luck. Hope that is not true. I also drempt that there was this strange guy who thought he was a vampire. What's in those sleeping pills? LOL! Hiker woke me up a little after 6 am to go outside. When she came back inside, we went back to bed until 8 am. I fell back to sleep immediately and my alarm woke me up. Hiker and I went over to Jean's at 11:30 to help her groom her dog Sassy and then, after taking Hiker back home, Jean and I went over to Heritage Junction in Newhall where our museums are. My friend RuthAnne took us on a tour of the train station and the small historic buildings and then we climbed up the hill and took the tour of the William S. Hart Mansion. Was overcast here most of the day so the temps stayed in the high 70's which was very nice.

Relaxing Afternoon

Ben was in my dreams last night and funny thing...so was his mom. He and I were out shopping trying to find some clothes for him. He was very picky about his pants. They had to be a certain brand and a certain style and he always had trouble finding the right length so we were out at night going from store to store. Strange because he and I never went out shopping at night. Then we stopped by his mom's house, only it didn't look like her house. Funny how dreams are that way. She was trying to find an email address for me which was also strange because his mom never had a computer. In the dream, I remember her searching her dining room table looking through pieces of paper for that email address. When she was alive, she always had little pieces of paper with notes that she had written on her dining room table and I remember she would always look through them to find something when we were visiting. Took Hiker for a morning walk and then came home and did some laundry. Hiker spent the morning outside alternating between lying in the sun and shade. Before noon, after my gardener came, I went into the backyard to play some ball with Hiker and I smelled smoke. Found out there was a small brush fire over on The Old Road just off I5 about 10 miles away. Actually found out there were 2 brush fires, but they got them under control pretty quick. Got up to around 85° here today.

First Full Day Of Summer

Got up at 6 am as we had our Friday dog walk with Jean and her dogs at 7 am. After their walk and play date, Hiker and I had breakfast and then I went over to Sam's Club. Was already 84° when I got back home at 10:30 am. Jean told me that she had groomed her little dog Sassy on Wednesday but Sassy won't let her groom her legs or belly, so Jean wants me to come over this weekend and help her old Sassy while she tries again. We are going over to Heritage Junction on Sunday which is where our local museum is located in the old train station. My friend RuthAnne is a docent there and Jean is hoping for a guided tour from RuthAnne of the museum. I've been on the tour before, but I told Jean I'd take her over there. I told Jean I'd come over before we go to the museum and help her with Sassy. Once again Hiker made me laugh. We were out for a walk around Canyon Country Park this afternoon and as we were heading back to the car, Hiker was looking behind us and not paying attention to what was in front of her. She walked right into what Ben and I (and several other people we know) have always referred to as “donkey dicks” (pardon my French). Thank goodness it was made out of plastic so she didn't hurt herself, but it sure surprised her. She got her legs all tangled up and was trying to compose herself just like we humans do when we walk into something. For those of you who do not know what a “donkey dick” is, it is one of those orange things the highway workers use when they block off lanes.

Someone loves riding in the car

Normal Thursday

Got up a little after 7 am and had breakfast and then I went over to Wal-Mart. I needed to get Hiker the PetFresh refrigerated food that I give her at dinner time. Once again, there were a lot of RVs in the parking lot. As of today, it is officially summer. When I got home, I had to get rid of some weeds on the slope in my front yard and then I took Hiker for a short walk around the community. It was already getting hot so we only did about a mile. Hiker made me laugh this morning. I was watching the CBS2 News at 11 am. Hiker was lying on the sofa next to me. Josh Rubinstein (the meteorologist) was doing the weather and suddenly Hiker jumped up and started barking at him on the TV. I watch this news every day and she has never done that before. Guess this was the first time she really noticed it. We didn't do much all day because it was warm outside. I did go out and play ball with Hiker for a little while.

Pretty Good Wednesday

Got up at 7 am and took Hiker out on a 2 mile walk. The weather is best at that time of the morning. I wanted to get a walk in and I knew it would be too hot after I got home from lunch later. I met up with my friend Ed (Ben's best buddy) for lunch today. I met him at the Sizzler in Sunland and we had a really nice lunch. He was upset about one of his cats who just had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from it's inner ear. He talked to the veterinary oncologist this morning and they said the cat is doing fine but cannot come home until Friday morning. I really need to force myself to stop eating such large portions of food. I have gained another 5 lbs in the past 2 months. I need to lose about 10 to 12 lbs. I know my problem is my portion sizes, plus I eat only comfort foods. My friend DeDee and I talked about this awhile back, that eating is a way of trying to fill the void of not having our husbands anymore. I had left Hiker with a peanut butter filled chew stick when I left hoping she would put her attention on it instead of watching for me to come home, but when I got back home, there was the stick, not touched, on the floor. Once she greeted me with kisses at the door, she ran to the stick and has been chewing on it ever since. My brother Keith is going in for some tests at Kaiser this afternoon to see what his doctor can do about his hiatal hernia. He is worried about the test because they stick a tube down his nose, all the way down to his stomach. I told him to let me know later how it went.

Here is a photo of Ben's buddy Ed

Normal Tuesday

Went to my support group at the senior center today then out for pizza and salad with the “group girls”. Got a little warmer here today...into the high 80's. I need to get outside this evening when it has cooled down some on my driveway and wash my Corolla. It is so dirty I can barely see through the windows and I have to drive it up to Sunland tomorrow to meet Ben's buddy Ed at the Sizzler for lunch. I want to be able to see where I'm going (LOL). I received another recall notice for my Corolla in the mail the other day, but it said they were just informing people about the problem and that they do not yet have a “fix” for it and will send another letter when they have the “fix” so that I can make an appointment to take it to the dealer. That's the second recall this year.

Walk About Monday

Had our usual Monday morning dog walk/play date with Jean and her dogs. Hiker is 100% back to normal after her acting so strange Saturday night. I told Jean about how she was acting and we came to the conclusion that she was having separation anxiety from Keith after he left. I guess it should have been obvious because she was lying in the small bedroom in the exact spot where he had his overnight bag and she would also lay at the front door looking out as if she was watching for him to come back. Nice morning here. There were a lot of people out walking this morning between 7 am and 8 am. I did some housework and washed the drapes from my dining room and the front bedroom. After lunch, Hiker and I went over to Hart Park and walked around some. While in the area, we also visited the Veteran's Plaza and walked along the “Western Walk Of Stars” which is right out front of William S. Hart Park. It was about 90° so we tried to stay in the shade as much as possible.

Just A Lazy Sunday

Hiker and I didn't get out of bed until 8 am this morning. For some reason, I felt “drained” today. I know I was worried about Hiker last night after Keith went home because she was acting so strange. She was scaring me. She acted like she was mad at me or afraid of something, or maybe even sick, but she seemed back to normal today. Maybe she just didn't want Keith to go home. Because I felt tired today, Hiker and I didn't do much. I did some laundry and a little housework, but I mostly felt like doing nothing today. Some days are just like that.

Nice Day With Keith

We slept in a little this morning because we had not gotten much sleep Thursday night. I was lying in bed this morning thinking how good a breakfast out sounded so Keith and I headed over to Denny’s. I had a delicious ham and cheese omelet with hash browns and toast. I never go out to breakfast except when Keith and I go up to our brother Ron's for a visit so it was a treat. Later in the day, we went out looking around for some Wii games and accessories, but no one had anything we wanted so I guess I'll just check out Amazon. Came back home and got Hiker and took her over to Quigley Canyon Open Space for a short hike. Was about 80° to 85° outside. Keith will be leaving around 5 pm to head back down to Orange County.

On this Day

On this date 2 years ago, I lost the love of my life, my Ben. He was my life. His memory will live on forever in my heart and I will love him until the day I die. When I first met Ben, I could not get over how handsome he was and that scared me a little. I had never thought of myself as “attractive”, but he saw something in me that made him fall in love, and I am so grateful that he did. We dated for 6 years and then had 31 fantastic years of marriage. I miss him every day.

Friday With Keith

Didn't get much sleep last night. Keith is doing some consultant work that he was laid off from almost 2 years ago and they had him come out here to Santa Clarita to run some sound tests for a cell phone tower site proposal. He has to take readings late at night or early in the morning so he was out by where the cell tower will be built at 2 am this morning. I knew that when he finished he'd be coming over to my house and I knew that it would be sometime between 3 am and 5 am. I woke up just before 2 am and could not go back to sleep. I turned the TV on and finally started to doze back to sleep just before 4 am and that's when he called and said he was on his way. Once he got here, he crashed on the sofa and Hiker and I went back to bed. She was so excited to see him. He will be staying until late tomorrow afternoon then head home because his daughters have Father's Day planned with him. Originally he was going to go home this afternoon but I think he decided to stay because he knows that tomorrow is the second anniversary of Ben's passing and he didn't want me to be alone. Keith and I went out to lunch and then came back to get Hiker because we had promised her that we'd take her with us somewhere in the car. Keith wanted to go up to Vasquez Rocks to see the new Interpretive Center so that's where we went. I'm going to grill some steaks on my new grill for dinner. YUM!

Had A Nice Thursday

Slept in a little this morning. After breakfast, I had to run out and get a “bubble envelope” so I could send the CD back to Amazon for a refund, plus I had to go fill the 4Runner with gasoline and go to Sam's Club. Was 80° by 11 am here. Keith has been doing some contractual work for the company he used to work for and he emailed me and said that they want him to come up to Santa Clarita to do some sound testing tomorrow morning, so he said he will probably spend Friday and Saturday with me and then head home because his girls want him there for Father's Day on Sunday. After lunch, I took Hiker up to Canyon Country Park where we walked around for almost 1 ½ miles. While there we saw a woman who had an Australian Cattle Dog. It was a little bigger than Hiker, but had the same colors and almost the same markings and also didn't have a tail. I wanted to take a photo of the 2 of them together but the woman was on her phone and it sounded like it was a “business” call and I didn't want to disturb her to ask if it was OK to take a picture of her dog. The just stood there and stared at each other. It was kind of funny.

Great Visit With My Lockheed Girlfriends

I had trouble sleeping last night because all of my muscles were hurting me. I stopped taking my Red Yeast Rice last weekend and have not taken it since the because I know that the natural statins in it gives me joint and muscle pain just like the pharmaceutical statins do. I finally got up after midnight and took an Ibuprofen and that helped enough that I was able to go to sleep. I don't like taking Ibuprofen much because I know that it is what causes Ben's bleeding problems. Jean had called me yesterday evening asking if we could do a dog walk this morning instead of Friday because she has an appointment on Friday morning, so Hiker and I got up around 6 am and got ready for our dog walk. After Jean left, I got ready to head up to Palmdale, CA to meet up with some of my retired Lockheed girlfriends for lunch. For those of you who worked with me, I had lunch with DeDee Parenteau, Gail Plessner, Kay Limpus, Marce Smith and Diana Brewer. Diana is the only one still working at Lockheed. She's trying to stay there until she turns 65. While we were eating Dick Jones, who Diana and I both used to work for came walking in. He retired awhile back and he looked really good. It's amazing to see how much better people look once they've retired. It was very windy up in Palmdale, but that is normal for that area. When I got home it was breezy here and about 80°. I was a little disappointed when I went to my mailbox to pick up my mail. I had ordered a couple of DVDs from Amazon and they were here, but when I opened them I found that one was not a DVD but a musical CD. I checked my invoice and realized that I had ordered a music CD instead of a movie DVD, so I had to re-order the DVD I wanted. I'll just give the CD away to friends or to Good Will. It's a good thing I had bought a used one and it didn't cost me very much. I need to pay more attention when I order. I was looking for the best price but didn't double-check the format.

Muggy Day

When Hiker woke me up this morning at 6 am to go outside, I could hardly move. Don't know if I overdid it with my hike yesterday or if I was just in the sun too long or what but I felt like a train had hit me. I took some Ibuprofen and went back to bed for an hour and when I got up again a 7 am, I felt much better. I had almost thought about not going to my group today but I'm glad I did because it was interesting today. After group a few of us went over to Red Robin for lunch. I need to start getting something else there other than burgers because the last 2 times we've been there, I didn't think the burgers were as good as they used to be. We noticed that it was getting totally overcast and very hot and humid outside. I'm wondering if we are getting some of the remnants of the thunderstorms that hit up where my brother Ron lives yesterday. When I came home, I noticed that the thermometer near my home read 98° but it was only 90° on my patio. Hiker “helped” me put the trash outside and go to pick up the mail at the mailbox. When we got back inside the house, I noticed that something was flying around inside the house. I thought it was a fly at first. Hiker hunted it down and herded it over to the dining room window and that's when I noticed it was not a fly but a bee. I was so afraid that it was going to sing her. I got the fly swatter and killed it. Hiker will have to be alone for a few hours again tomorrow since I will be driving up to Palmdale to meet with my retired Lockheed girlfriends for lunch at the Sizzler.

Had An Afternoon Hike

OK...bragging rights (LOL). Hiker is so smart. Yesterday evening after dinner, she kept coming to me and barking and looking toward my small bedroom which I use as an office/guest room. I told her to show me what she wanted. Well I followed her into the bedroom and she went over to my printer, sat on the floor looking up to it and she barked. I had printed out an invoice about an hour before for something I had ordered on Amazon and usually I go in right after I print and take it off of the printer. Well I had forgotten to go in and get it off the computer and I guess she was telling me that because after I got it and put it on my desk, she “pranced” right back into the living room like she had accomplished what she needed to do. She got up on the sofa and went to sleep. She always hears the printer start up and runs in to look at it, so she knows when I print something. We went on our dog walk/play date with Jean and her dogs this morning. We had another marine layer, but it started burning off by around 8:30 am, then a cool ocean breeze started to come in. We live about 50 miles from the beach but there is a straight shot from Ventura straight up through the Heritage Valley to us and the breeze comes right up through that valley. After Jean left, I made some poached eggs for me and Hiker and the I went grocery shopping. When I got back from that, I put Hiker in the car and took her with me up to Sam's Club to fill my Corolla with gas. Sam's Club is 5¢ to 15¢ cheaper than all of the other gas stations around here. Hiker loves to go for car rides. After lunch I took Hiker over to Placerita Canyon for a hike. I won't be walking with her the next couple of days as tomorrow is my group/lunch with the ladies and Wednesday I am meeting some of my Lockheed retired girlfriends for lunch in Palmdale. Was nice when we were hiking in the shade, but got a little hot in the sun. Only got up to 82° here today. My brother Ron emailed me from Paradise, CA that he was having thunderstorms and rain today.

Today Went By Quick

We slept in today because we had to get up so early yesterday. After breakfast, I headed out once more to try to find the portable gas BBQ grill I've been wanting to buy. I had checked online and supposedly both Target and Lowe's had them is stock, but when I got to both of those stores, neither had them, plus the guy at Lowe's looked in his stockroom book and he said it showed they have never stocked them. However, while I was at Target, I saw a purse that I liked so I bought it. I had one more place to check and that was Big 5 Sporting Goods. I had seen that they had them in stock for $139 and they were the last place I was going to look because the cost I saw for them at the other places that did not have them had been only $100. When I got to Big 5, I found out that they had just put them on sale for $119, so I finally got one. It took me about 1 ½ hours to put it together. For being a Coleman grill that is made in the USA, the instructions they gave sure were not very clear, but I finally figured it out and then attached the gas cylinder to it and made sure it worked. I think I am going to be really happy with it. I did some housework today. At the time, it was only in the mid-70s outside, but it has been more humid here than normal and I was sweating a lot while I was working. It only got up to around 82° here today.

Yard Sale Day

Today was our annual community yard sale. Hiker and I had to get up at 5:30 am to get over to Jean's before 6:30 am to help her set up. Since I only had 2 things to sell I just decided to put my stuff out at Jean's house. She had all kinds of things for sell. We have about 450 homes in our gated community, but not everyone joins in, in fact, Ben and I never participated in the sale. This was the first time in the 18 years I've lived here that I every participated a little. This year our community management made arrangements with a charitable organization called “New Hope For Troubled Lives” to pick up anything that did not sell as they take it and sell it in their thrift stores. When the charity truck came around, they were telling all of us to be careful because some woman was going around in a burgundy van telling people that she was the organization that was supposed to pick up the pink bags they gave us to put our donations into. It is terrible how some people will do things like that. I was able to sell the 2 things I had. One was a large George Foreman Grill and the other was an HP All-In-One-Printer. They were old, but both of them worked. I only got $10 for both of them, but if I had not sold them, they were going to charity, so I think I came out ahead. We were so glad that they weatherman was wrong about how hot it was going to be today. They had originally predicted 103° but thank goodness it only got up to about 85°. I took Hiker with me over to Jean's for the sell and she sat inside the garage with us for 7 hours, just watching the people wander around. I was so proud of her because she did not growl or bark at anyone. I know if I had left her at home, she would have done nothing but growl and bark at everyone walking up and down the street.

Been Busy

I was sound asleep and dreaming when my alarm when off this morning. Had our morning dog walk/play date with Jean and her dogs then Jean and I went over to Wal-Mart because I was looking for one of those small portable propane bar-b-ques. I have a small table-top one but I'm always so afraid it is going to fall off the table, so I want one of the ones that you can take camping or tail gating because I can fold up the stand and put it in the garage. I saw online that the one I wanted was also available in the store, but when we got over there, they didn't have them. I'll have to go shop around and see if I can find one elsewhere. Came home and then Hiker and I went up to Jean's to help her get ready for the community yard sale tomorrow. She always has a lot of things to try to sell, I only have two items that I'm going to try to sell, so I took them over to her house and will sit with her tomorrow. A couple of good things...our community has arranged for one of the local charity groups to come by and pick up things that are not sold and are worth donating, plus they told us that the work crew here at the community will pick up anything that is not worth donating and take it in a big truck over to the dump and we will not be charged for it. I had Ben's old arm chair out on my patio and I very rarely sit in it plus it is pretty broken down, so I put it out at the curb so the work crew can pick it up tomorrow.

Another Nice Day

Slept in a little this morning. Hiker kept trying to make me get out of bed because she knew that I had promised to take her out for a morning walk. I wanted to sleep in because tomorrow (Friday) we have to get up early for our dog walk/play date with Jean and her dogs and Saturday morning, we have to get up around 5 am because we have to be up at Jean's house by 6:30 am to get ready for our community yard sale. Took Hiker over to Bridgeport Park for our walk. We walked around outside from the lake for awhile and then went inside and walked along the lake so Hiker could watch the ducks and geese. Lazed around the house the rest of the day, watching TV and messing around on my laptop.

Just Home From The Park

Hiker had trouble waking me up this morning. She kept whimpering and finally started licking me and that woke me up. After breakfast, I headed over to Wal-Mart to do a little shopping. People must already be on vacation as there were more trailers and motor homes in the Wal-Mart parking lot. You can always tell when they are spending the night there because they park on the perimeters of the lot and usually cluster together. There were a lot of people inside the store too. It was around 9:30 am. I picked up another “Pocket Hose” for my backyard. I liked the one in the front yard so much because it doesn't kink, so I decided to get another one. After lunch, Hiker and I went over to Central Park for a nice afternoon walk. Not too many people in the park today. I noticed on the way home, some of the schools are still in session. We have so many different school districts here in Santa Clarita and they all seem to have different schedules. Got up to 80° here today.

Group Day

Went to my support group today. Hiker always seems to know when I'm going away and leaving her home alone. After group, the ladies and I went to Jimmy Dean's Burgers for lunch. Always so nice to spend time with them. We all once again discussed how easy it is for us to talk to each other about anything. We know that we won't be ridiculed for anything we say. Hiker was happy to see me when I got home. Once again she “helped” me put the trash bins out and then she walked up to the mailbox with me. We had a thick marine layer this morning but the sun broke out and it got up to around 80° here today.

Cooler Day

Had our morning dog walk/play date with Jean and her dogs today. It was all overcast while we were out. This cooler weather should help the firefighters with the Powerhouse Fire. The sun broke through around 9:15 or so. I headed over to Sam's Club and picked up a few things. Got there and realized I had forgotten my shopping list, but I somehow remembered everything I had on the list. Amazing! Came home and watched some TV. After lunch, I took Hiker over to Pico Canyon Park for an afternoon walk. I've driven past there several times, but we never stopped. There is a 300 year old oak tree there named “Old Glory” that was going to be cut down several years ago because it was in the path of where they wanted to build a road. Long story short, a man named John Quigley climbed “Old Glory” and chained himself to her and refused to come out until a deal was made to not cut her down. Eventually she was moved down the road and a park was created around her. They were worried for awhile that she would die but she has survived for several years now and seems to be doing just fine. I've heard that there is a steep stair case in the park that people walk and/or run up and down for cardio exercise, but I could not find it. If any of my SCV friends know where it is exactly, can you please tell me? Hiker and I walked around the path in the park for about 15 or 20 minutes. I think I'll take Keith over there next time he comes and we will explore the area for hiking. 3Got up to about 80° here today.

Simply Sunday

Slept in a little bit this morning. After having pancakes for breakfast, Hiker and I went to get my lottery ticket and then I came home and vacuumed. It's nice not to have so much of her hair to vacuum up and I don't even have to brush her this time of year since I had Jean cut her hair so short. It was already 75° by 9 am. By the time I got finished with my housework and laundry, it was too warm to take Hiker out for a walk as I don't want her to burn her paw pads on the hot pavement. She will get out tomorrow morning on her Monday dog walk with Jean's dogs. I spent the afternoon watching some documentaries on Netflix. Several of them were about American History, which I didn't pay too much attention to when I was in school.

Very Hot Day

Cannot believe that it is already June. In 2 weeks, it will be the second anniversary of Ben's passing. Got up at 7 am, had a little breakfast and then finished shampooing the carpet. All I had left was my master bedroom. Took me about an hour to do. There was still some smoke in the sky this morning. Not quite as bad as yesterday, but I could smell the smoke. By 9:30 am, the outside temperature was already up to 80° so my carpet dried pretty quick. Got up to over 100° in the afternoon. Glad I have the nice A/C inside.