New Year's Eve 2014

Woke up at 1:30 am with a really bad stomach ache. Did not throw up but I was on and off the toilet for about 30 minutes. Must have been something I ate.
Was having trouble sleeping anyway due to the howling of the wind all night long. I was surprised my trash cans were still standing in front of my house when I got up this morning.
I don’t like to be out on the roads on New Year’s Eve so Hiker and I spent the entire day at home inside the warm house. It was even too cold for us to take a walk. The winds just kept blowing and made it feel even colder than what the thermometer showed. It looked warm outside when I looked out the window, but when I went up to the mailbox, it was COLD!
Hiker and I wish everyone a very Happy New Year. Please be safe if you go out tonight.

My Brother Keith Headed Home

Slept in until almost 8 am this morning. Woke up very sore from the past 2 days of hiking I guess. I realize now that when I sleep in later, I feel worse when I get up. It was very cloudy outside and was warmer this morning. 47° when we got up.
Had some breakfast and then watched a little TV, then Keith and I headed out to do some errands.
Decided to do my grocery shopping today and get it out of the way before the holiday. Keith and I decided to buy some stuff for lunch today. Had some summer sausage, soft cheese for crackers, etc. Was yummy.
Very cold here all day today. Mostly cloudy too. They are still saying we are going to get a really cold storm blowing through tonight with snow around 2000 ft. and they are also saying we are going to get a lot of wind, but not much rain.
Keith headed back home to Orange County around 1:15 pm. He texted me when he got home and it took him around 2 hours to get home. He said the traffic was terrible and that it was raining in Pasadena and in the San Gabriel Valley. Hiker was crying some when Keith was gathering up his stuff to leave.
My brother Ron called me because he is thinking about buying a new car and I think he was calling to see what I thought about it. But it is his decision, no mine.
Wind was really blowing by 3 pm and the sky looks threatening.

Another Nice Afternoon For A Hike

It was 32° here this morning with frost all over the roofs and lawns.
Hiker and I got up at 6 am to get ready for our morning dog walk with Jean. Keith didn’t get up until 7 am. I opened his door and let Hiker go in and jump on him to wake him up.
After the dog walk, we let the dogs play a little in my back yard, then Jean left and Keith and I had breakfast. We headed over to Wal-Mart after that.
Came back home and hung out for a while then at lunch time we headed up to Round Table Pizza or some pizza and salad. We were the only people in the place the entire time we were there.
Came back home and Keith helped me take down my outdoor Christmas decorations and then we put Hiker in the car and headed up to Vasquez Rocks or a hike.
Temps stayed low for most of the day but it was warm in the sunshine. They are saying we “might” get some snow Tuesday night because a cold front is coming in from the north and the snow level will be about 2000 feet. I live at around 1500 feet but we have gotten snow here before.

Nice Afternoon For A Hike

We slept in a little this morning because it was cold here in SoCal. It was only 33° here and we were under a frost warning.
We had breakfast and then waited until it warmed up some before we headed out for a hike. We went to a new open space area called Wildwood Canyon. We had never hiked this area before. I could really tell I was out of shape. Have not hiked as much as I used too and my leg muscles were hurting and I was huffing and puffing when going up the hills. I really do need to get back to hiking more.
Anyway, we didn’t really care much for this hiking area because it was not as scenic as many of our other hiking areas. I like to hike the canyons that have more photo ops and more history to them.
While on the trail we came across a few people with dogs and one of the dogs was an Aussie Cattle Dog. I think the owner said the dog’s name was Oscar. Hiker and Oscar said their hellos and we headed on down the trail.
We brought Hiker back home and then Keith and I headed over to Carl’s Jr. for a late lunch. Had their new mile-high bacon burgers. They are pretty tasty!
Came back home and played in the yard with Hiker for a while. The afternoon sun felt really good.

Another Cold Windy Day

Last night, Keith, Hiker and I walked around the neighborhood a little so Keith could see the Christmas lights. It was pretty cold out. When we got back home, I lit a fire in the fireplace and we watched TV.
Was cold last night and this morning and we still have a little bit of wind. I think the wind is making it colder than normal.
I had to do some laundry this morning and we had to wait around the house for a while until the mowers came to do my yards. Then we went to lunch at “Everest”.
We had planned on going for a hike today, but the wind was just way too cold and for a little while, it looked like it might cloud up and rain, but then the sun came out again. We did take Hiker for a ride in the car because I had promised her she could go on a ride today.
Hopefully it will not be so windy tomorrow and we will be able to go for the hike we had planned for today.

My Brother Keith Is Here For A Visit

After the walk, Jean and I went over to Pet Smart to get a couple of dog calendars. They are 50% off this time of year for the next year’s calendar.
Came back home and Jean went home to wait for someone to drop off a dog she will be taking care of for a few days, while I waited for Keith to arrive for his visit.
Hiker was sitting in the front bedroom window when Keith pulled into the drive way and she went nuts. She started barking and ran to the front door, then did her “crying/screaming” thing until I let her out the door to go and greet him. She was so excited to see him.
I called Jean and she came over and the three of us went to breakfast/lunch at The Halfway House Café on Sierra Highway. It is a very famous café that is historical plus it is used in all kinds of TV shows, commercials and movies. In the 20 years I’ve lived here, I had never gone there to eat. It was pretty good food. For information on the café, click on the following link:

Halfway House Cafe

Christmas Day

When Hiker woke me up at 6 am to go outside, it was 44° and windy, so you can only guess where Hiker and I went back to for another two hours. When we got up at 8 am it was still in the 40’s but the wind had died down to a light breeze.
Got a call from my friend Karren who lives in Idaho now. She had fallen yesterday and broke a bone in her hand and her knee is all bruised and swollen. The doctor told her she was he was surprised that her knee wasn’t broken.
I cleaned my hummingbird feeders and made some fresh nectar to fill them. As soon as I hung the feeders up again, I had several hummers show up for a drink.
I was surprised to see that a new Y&R was on today. Usually they show football or if they do show Y&R they show a really old one.
Mostly sat on the couch all day watching TV. Around 1:30 pm I took Hiker down to the park for a very short walk. When we got back home, there was a jar with doggy paws on it with some doggy cookies inside. I have no idea who left it there. Wish they would have left a note. It was a nice jester, but since I don’t know who left them, I’m not sure if I should give Hiker any of them. I’m pretty sure they are ok, but hopefully whoever it was will eventually tell me.

Christmas Eve

I woke up around 5:30 am and was having trouble going back to sleep. I think I dozed a little bit, but then Hiker and I got up at 7:30 am and headed out for a morning walk. It was a little chilly out, even though the sun was shining. They are even saying we “might” have some rain tomorrow.
Had breakfast when we got back home and I ran the weekly scans and clean ups on my laptops.
Found out that my Keurig coffee brewer is one of the ones that is being recalled, so I went online and signed up for the “fix kit” that they are sending out to people to repair the problem.
Spent the rest of the day just watching TV and checking out my email and Facebook. Also played some online games.

Nice Jester From Girl Scouts

Up at 7 am. Had breakfast and got ready to head over to the Senior Center for my Grief Support Group. I have not been there for a while due to the rain and one day I wasn’t feeling all that well. But decided I’d go today to see some of my friends and wish them a Merry Christmas.
There were only six of us plus our therapist for the first hour and a half and then one more person showed up for the last half hour.
There were several wrapped presents sitting on the tables when we walked into our meeting room. One of the workers at the center told us each to take one as there were gift boxes made up by some Girl Scouts for the seniors. The boxes contained things like a wall calendar, nail clippers and files, some specialty soap, chap stick, some knit gloves, a pair of socks, a small flash light, some chap stick and some treats like a small bag of hard candy. They also included Christmas cards and they wrote such sweet messages in them.
The weather for the past two days has been fantastic. It’s been clear, sunny and in the 70’s.

Here is the gift box from the Girl Scouts:

Here is the cute card that was inside the box:

The Beginning Of Christmas Week

We were up early to go on our dog walk with Jean, Charlie and Sassy this morning. It was clear and actually somewhat warm as we were having some Santa Ana Winds during the night. It was windy yesterday afternoon when Hiker and I went for our walk.
The wind died down by the time we were back from our dog walk. Hiker and I had some breakfast and then drove over to buy our lottery tickets. When we got back, Hiker didn’t want to get out of the car again. She just sat there and looked at me, so I went into the house. I checked on her a few minutes later and she was at the door wanting to come in. I guess she doesn’t want her car rides to end.
Did some housework and then checked my email and Facebook.
Just after lunch, my neighbor came over to give me a bag of mixed nuts and berries as a little Christmas gift. After the “Young and Restless” ended and the closing music came on, Hiker jumped up on my lap because I’ve often told her that when she hears the closing music that we can go for a ride in the car. She is so smart. She remembers things like that and she loves to ride in the car.
So anyway, I put her into the car and off we went for a ride over to Newhall. I still had not found the open space for hiking that I’ve been looking for, but today, I found the trail head. The only problem is trying to find a place to park. It’s at a dead-end street with houses all around. When Keith comes to visit this weekend, maybe he and I will take Hiker over there.

First Day Of Winter

Happy first day of winter!
I told myself when I went to bed last night that I was NOT going to stay in bed until 8 am this morning and I didn’t. Hiker and I got up at 7 am and went out for a morning walk.
When we got back home, I had some breakfast and washed my sheets and towels, then Hiker and I walked over to Jean’s house to take her some of the fudge I made and also for Hiker to give Sassy and Charlie the Christmas gift from her.
Watched a couple of movies on Hallmark then had some lunch.
Around 1:15 pm, Hiker and I went out for another walk. I was going to go by myself if Hiker didn’t want to go, but she acted like she did want to go, so off we went. It was still very cloudy and got pretty windy while we were out. Leaves blowing everywhere.
Thinking about making some mac and cheese with some little sausages in it for dinner. Good day for some comfort food.

Made Fudge For Christmas Today

Another cool and cloudy morning when Hiker woke me up to go potty, and as usual, we went right back under the covers.

Don’t know why, but for several days, I have felt very tired. I have not really been doing much of anything so I don’t know what the problem is.

After breakfast this morning, I put a load of laundry into the washer and then I made four pans of fudge, one plain chocolate, one chocolate with walnuts, one plan peanut butter and one peanut butter with peanuts.

Watched some movies on Hallmark Movie Channel.

After lunch, Hiker decided she wanted to play. She kept looking at me and barking and I told her to go get a toy, so she went to her toy tin and tried to get the lid off with her nose. I opened it for her and she dug all of her toys out onto the carpet. She spread all of them around on the floor and picked out several she wanted to play with.

Overcast All Day

I cannot believe that Christmas is less than a week away. Where did 2014 go?
It was 40° when Hiker woke me up at 6 am to let her outside. We once again crawled back under the covers until around 7:45 am.
This morning I had to call Javier, who is the foreman of the work crew here at Canyon View Estates. Several months back, he had to change out the main breaker in my electrical box outside because it was fried. I noticed now for several weeks that my lights were flickering at night when I had them turned on, plus last night, I turned on my kitchen light and it went out seconds after I turned it on, so I flipped the on/off switch and it came back on.
Javier came by and saw that the back-up breaker in the electrical box was now fried also, so he and one of his crewman came back a little after 11 am and replace the breaker.
We are lucky to have a work crew right on the premises of our community to do all kinds of work for us.
Hiker was trying to hide the best she could while they were fixing the breaker because when they turned off the electricity, it caused the electric smoke alarms that came with the house to make whistle noises. Ben and I bought battery operated smoke alarms right after we moved in because we felt that if there was an electrical fire and it cut the power, that the electric smoke alarms would be useless. Anyway, Hiker was burrowing in behind me and the pillows on the sofa. All you could see was her butt sticking out. Dogs just do not know how to hide.
Took Hiker for an afternoon walk at Canyon Country Park. It was very cloudy and cool but we really needed to get some exercise.

What A Day!

Well today was a busy day. Hiker and I didn’t get out of bed until 8 am. It was cold and cloudy outside, so we stayed under the covers for as long as we could.
Had some breakfast and then I headed out to do my grocery shopping. I noticed I needed gasoline in my car but I wanted to go over to Sam’s Club Gas to fill my tank because the USA Station was $2.79 a gallon and Shell was $2.84 a gallon. I came back by home and dropped off my groceries and got Hiker in the car and we went over to Sam’s Club. The sign out front said $2.49 a gallon but when I got to the pump, it was only $2.45 a gallon.
Came back home and remembered I had not put my Social Security deposit into my check book yesterday, so I went into my bank’s website to check it out and noticed that the Time Warner Cable bill I paid online back on 12/8/2014 still was not showing up in my checking account. It should have been there over a week ago. I went into the Time Warner website and I see that it said I had not paid the bill and that now I owed them $25.00 more. I called them to find out what that was all about and the guy (Ryan) tells me that they had received my payment from the bank, but then it was put on hold and then the bank requested the money back. He tells me that anytime the bank requests the money back, the bank charges TW a service fee of $25.00 so TW passes that on to the customer, which to me just sounds like a way for them to make extra money. He told me that there was nothing he could do about the fee and suggested I call my bank to find out why they recalled the payment and see if they would waive the $25.00 fee. I called Citibank and they told me that they never received a payment request for Time Warner from my checking account this month and they never sent out any money and they never recalled any money.
So now I jump in the car and head over to the Time Warner store to talk to someone there. The guy there (Eric) was very nice and he checked into my TW account and said that it showed the bank never sent the money but they claimed that the bank said they could not find an account with my name or number on it. My guess is that someone at TW who was doing the data for the payment punched in a wrong account number or something because I pay my bills online every month and I always double check my numbers when I input them, plus I’ve been with Citibank for over 30 years.
Eric said that I could write TW a check for the normal payment and that he would remove the $25.00 fee from my account. He used my written check to pay my bill electronically and said that my balance now showed zero and that I would not have a service fee or a late fee of any kind on my next bill. Don’t know why the guy on the phone could not do that for me.
So because of having to over to the Time Warner Store, I missed “Y&R” and didn’t have lunch. I’ll have to watch “Y&R” tonight on TVGN.
So I also noticed that my Lockheed Health Insurance was still showing that I was going to be on the Aetna Catastrophic Senior Plan instead of the Kaiser Senior Advantage Plan for my Medicare. I called the Lockheed Employee Service Center and spoke to a gentleman named Haven and went through my entire history again of my filling out the paperwork and Kaiser approving me but Lockheed still not showing me as approved. He told me he saw all of the notes in my account where I had called Lockheed several times and that I had called Kaiser several times so he told me he was going to put me on hold and delve a little deeper into my account records and see what he could come up with. Well according to him, even though my account on the Lockheed website still shows they are awaiting pending approval from CMS, that in reality I have been approved. He said they are behind in getting things posted to the accounts due to the fact that so many people are signing up for insurance this year plus the employees are taking off for the holidays so they are shorthanded. He said it shows that I will have Kaiser Senior Advantage as of January 1st 2015, but that because it’s not posted yet that I will probably pay the higher amount for my supplemental insurance in January. He said they will make an adjustment in February and I should see the difference in the money being returned to me with the next deposit of my pension check from Lockheed. I told him that I have an appointment with Kaiser on January 9th and he said that is OK that everything should go smoothly after the first of the year. I hope he is correct. I kept asking him over and over to verify that I am indeed approved for Kaiser as of January 1st and he kept telling me yes. I apologized to him for asking the same question over and over, but he told me he understood.
So it was one heck of a day.

Still Cloudy But No Rain Now

Hiker and I went to bed around 9 pm last night and I think I fell asleep around 10 pm. Around 2 am, I heard my cell phone announce that our area was under another flash flood warning, then around 2:30 am, it started to pour down rain outside. Just before 3 am, the thunder and lightning started and Hiker was barking and hiding in the corner of the bedroom. She hates thunder. The storm lasted for about an hour. I think I finally got back to sleep around 4:30 am and at 6:30 am, Hiker woke me up to let her outside for potty.
Watched TV most of the morning. Jean called me at noon asking if I wanted to take the dogs out for a walk. We normally walk them on Monday and Friday, but she is busy this Friday and her dogs had cabin fever, so we took them for a 2 mile walk. Now that Timmy is no long with us walking, the walks are really more like exercise instead of stopping constantly for the dogs to smell everything. He was the one that always slowed us down. But then he was old.
It was still very cloudy while we were out walking, but the sun did peek out now and then. Our rain is supposed to be over for a while, but you really can’t tell from the way it looks outside right now.

Stayed Home And Inside All Day

Talk about lazy! Today was the topper. Went to bed at 10 pm last night. It started pouring rain outside right after I went into the bedroom. Watched a little TV but could not get to sleep. I had eaten some coffee ice cream around 7:30 last night and I guess the caffeine was keeping me awake. Around 1 am, I took a sleeping pill and finally fell asleep around 1:30 am.
Had already gotten a call from Jane from my support group telling me that she and another member (Linda) would not be going to group today. I emailed DeDee to see if she was going and we both agreed that if it was raining this morning we were not going either.
Well when I let Hiker outside at 6 am, it was drizzling and looked like it had rained all night because everything was soaked. So got hold of DeDee again and we both decided not to go to group.
Went back to bed and dozed a little. Turned on the TV and stayed in bed watching a movie on The Hallmark Movie Channel until 9 am. Had a bowl of cereal while I was watching the movie.
Finally got up and was just getting ready to pay some bills when my phone rang. It was my brother Ron. He had just gotten back from his doctor’s appointment and he always likes to call me and let me know how it went. Doctor told him he needs to lose weight, lower his B/P and his cholesterol. Sounds familiar.
Stayed cool and cloudy all day. We have another storm coming in tonight.

Cool and Cloudy

When Hiker woke me up at 6 am it was only 39° on my patio. We got up and got dressed for our dog walk with Jean and her dogs. It was cool enough that Hiker even had to wear her jacket.
Did some housework and Hiker and I drove over to the store to buy my lottery tickets for Wednesday.
I was so proud of both myself and Hiker because we FINALLY got out for a hike this afternoon. Drove over to Placerita Canyon and did two and a third miles. There were quite a few people out on the trail today.
Think the hike wore Hiker out because she is in on the bed sleeping.
Now waiting to see if we get more rain tonight per the local weather people.

Afternoon hike photos.

I Was So Lazy Today

Really did NOT want to get out of bed this morning. It was 38° outside at 6 am when Hiker had to go potty and I didn’t want to come out from under the warm covers, but I did, but when she came back in, both of us immediately went right back under those warm covers.
I’ve noticed that this cool, damp weather is making my joints ache, so I’m thinking that I might be getting some arthritis. Since we’ve had warm dry falls and winters the past three or four years, I didn’t notice any aching in my joints like that.
It was another lazy Sunday. Watched TV most of the day or I was on the computer a lot of the time. I really have to stop being so lazy and start getting out more. I wish I could just get myself back into wanting to go hiking and walking.

Sleepy Saturday

Got home from the party last night around 8:45 pm. Hiker hates it so much when I leave her alone at home and even more so if I leave her alone at night. She was jumping all over me when I got home.
I was exhausted, so went right to bed, but didn’t fall asleep until around 10:30 pm.
It was cold when Hiker and I woke up this morning. It was 40° and there was frost on everyone’s roof. After Hiker went potty, we both crawled back under the covers for a little while.
Finally got up and had some breakfast, paid a couple of bills, balanced my check book, did a load of laundry and put Hiker’s flea and tick repellant on her for this month. It is a hassle to put it on her because she doesn’t not like me to do it. I have to be really sneaking about doing it. Have to catch her by surprise.
It was a beautiful day. I went up to our local post office to mail a package. Didn’t think it would be too crowded this early before Christmas, plus I went late in the afternoon, but when I got there, there were about 15 people in line ahead of me. But then it also doesn’t help when they only have one employee at the counter waiting on people. She finally called out another person and that helped some, but when I left, there were another 15 people behind me in line.

Here's me and my neighbor Jean with Santa at our community Christmas party last night.

Merry Christmas from Hiker & Kay

Wanted to send out Hiker's and my Christmas E-card to everyone. Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas.

Newsworthy Day

A lot of stuff to post about today.
Around 2 am I heard the weather app on my cell phone telling me that I was under a flash flood warning. It started drizzling last night around 8 pm. It really started coming down hard…and I mean HARD around midnight. The wind was howling like a hurricane.
Just before 5 am, I heard a text on my cell phone. It was my brother Keith telling me that a window in his apartment was leaking as if there was not even a pane of glass in it. He sent a short video of it and you could hear the dripping and see that his carpet was sopping wet.
I turned on the TV news and they were showing all of the mudslides and all of the accidents on the roadways. Also heard that some areas in the valley I live in were without power. Glad I don’t have to go out anywhere today.
Hike had to go outside to potty around 5:30 am. She came back in so wet. It took two really big bath towels to dry her off.
The problem here in California is that we’ve been in a drought for over three years and we’ve all been wanting rain so badly. But we really don’t want to get it all at once like this. It would be nice if it would spread itself out some.
Heard on one of the TV emergency alerts that two or three of our local (normally dry) creeks overflowed their banks and caused traffic problems. I’d like to see what our normally dry riverbed (that so many of you have seen my photographs of) looks like right now, but I don’t want to go out in the pouring rain.
I was on the phone with Jean since we didn’t have our dog walk this morning. We needed to figure out what time we are meeting up to go to our community Christmas party tonight. I noticed that Hiker had gotten her blanket that I fold up and put in the corner of the bedroom each morning and she was running all over the house with a corner of it in her mouth and the rest of it dragging behind her. I wanted to get a video of her doing it but once I got out my phone, she stopped.
Anyway, I have to meet up with Jean at 3:30 pm because we’ve been asked to come down to the rec room early to help get everything ready before everyone else starts to show up.
I noticed that I have a leak or two on my patio. I see it dripping from a couple of places, but cannot figure out where the leaks actually are. I’m just glad that it’s the patio roof that is leaking and not the house roof.
Jean called me around 10:45 am and wanted me to run over to the Dollar Tree with her. On the way home, a bunch of fire engines, police and an ambulance passed us and we saw them over in the riverbed. We saw a couple of fire fighters climbing down the embankment into the river. It looked like they were “working” on someone and then the rescue helicopter came flying over and came down really low as if to land, but then they were called off and flew away. Come to find out, it was the dead body of a male lying face down in the water. I’m guessing that it was one of the local homeless people. A lot of them live under the bridges in the normally dry riverbed and I’ll bet they drowned last night in the deluge.
Heading over to the recreation room to help set up for the Christmas party.

Will The Storm Hit Us Or Not?

Up at 7:30 am, had breakfast and then headed over to Wal-Mart. During this time of the year, I try to shop at Wal-Mart early in the morning to avoid the Christmas shoppers. There were a few people in the store, but it was not crowded.
When Hiker and I got up this morning, it was so dark and cloudy. It looked like it could pour at any minute, but around noon, the sun actually came out. I’m beginning to wonder if we are going to get the big, huge storm they keep saying is coming. I know it is hitting Northern California hard, but I’m thinking it may be a dud down here. They say the brunt of the storm should hit us between 2 am and 5 am tomorrow morning. They are also now saying that we will have more rain the beginning of next week.
After I got home from Wal-Mart, I took Hiker out for a walk. We did almost 2 miles. There was no one else out walking. Guess they thought it was too cold even though it was not that cold outside. I don’t walk as much as I used to or as much as I should and my legs and feet were killing me when we got home.
After the walk, I brought in some of my decorations and some other things that might blow away. They say this storm is going to bring in some really strong winds and possible tornadoes, which are rare here in California.
By late afternoon, the sun was gone again and it started getting dark.

There's A Storm A Comin'

Got up around 7:30 am. It was clear and cool outside. Had breakfast and then I headed out to do my grocery shopping.
Ran my weekly scans on the two laptops I use the most.
Had lunch and watched Y&R and I noticed that it was getting cloudier outside as the day went by. The storm that is coming in is not supposed to hit us until later tomorrow.
Did some vacuuming so I count that as my exercise for the day.
Jean had told me that she was going to hook some kind of an adapter up on her TiVo and that she’d call me if she needed help with it, but I never did hear from her.
I only renewed my driver’s license online a week and a half ago and I have already received the new one in the mail. They sure use cheaper materials to make them these days. No longer thick plastic. More like thick cardboard these days. At least I won’t have to worry about my license again for another five years.

Out All Day

Went to my support group today. There were only 7 members, plus our therapist and we also had a social studies intern sitting in on the session. I took some Christmas shortbread cookies for everyone that I had purchased at Big Lots. I bought a huge tin of them and there is no way I’ll be able to eat them all by myself.
Jane and I went out for Mexican food for lunch. Was really good.
Was a beautiful day. Clear and sunny and about 80° here. The next rain storm is supposed to hit us sometime Thursday and last into the weekend.
This evening, Jean and I are going out with our dogs to walk around the neighborhood and look at everyone’s Christmas lights. If I see anything really good, I’ll take photographs and share later.

Busy All Day

Up at 6 am for our Monday dog walk with Jean then a little play date for the dogs. Had breakfast and then waited for my friend Ed to show up.
He got here just after 10:30 am. We talked for a while and then around 11:15 am we headed over to Round Table Pizza for their lunch buffet.
Came home and Ed played with Hiker for a while. I had been telling her before he got here that she needed to be nice to him and not bark, snarl, show her teeth and nip at him and she was actually pretty good this time. I still do not understand what it is about him that she doesn’t like.
After Ed left, I had to run over to Sam’s Club and pick up some things. There were more crowded than when I usually go in the morning. Guess I should not go over there on a Monday because after a weekend of people shopping, they don’t have some of the stuff I need. They didn’t have very many eggs and I needed them. They didn’t have any Eggland’s Best at all, so I had to buy some cage free brown eggs instead.
Came home and paid some bills and then settled down to watch some TV.
Have my support group tomorrow.

Cool And Cloudy Sunday

Slept in just a little while this morning. With the cooler weather, the bed feels so good in the early morning.
Did some laundry, had breakfast and checked my email. The watched a little TV.
I had to repair some Christmas yard decorations that I had purchased at The Dollar Tree. It seems the sticks they put on them were made from tight rolled up paper or cardboard and when we had the rain, it got them wet and the decorations fell over. I took the paper sticks off and put some really wood sticks on them.
It was partly cloudy all day and in the low 70’s.
In the afternoon, Hiker and I got into the car and went to buy my lottery tickets for Wednesday night.
Have a busy week coming up. Monday have our dog walk with Jean in the morning and then my friend Ed is coming up from Pomona to go to lunch. Tuesday I have my support group, Wednesday and Thursday and have to take care of my grocery shopping…Sam’s Club one day and Stater Brothers the next. Friday evening is our community’s Christmas party.

Sunny Saturday

Woke up around 3am with a “churning” stomach. I was feeling a little sick, so I took some Pepto Bismol and eventually went back to sleep. Slept until around 7:30.
We didn’t get the rain they had predicted last night. Woke up to 47° and a clear sky.
Had some breakfast and did a load of laundry. Watched some TV and check my email and Facebook page.
By the afternoon it was in the mid-70’s. Decided to take Hiker for a ride in the car. I was trying to find one of the new open spaces in the Santa Clarita Valley as I’d like some new places to go hiking. I was looking for The Wildwood Canyon Open Space in Newhall. I followed the directions on the map they have on hikesantaclarita.com. I know I was in the right area but there are no signs or anything showing exactly where the open space is. There is also another new open space called the Gateway Ranch/Taylor Open Space over on The Old Road but I don’t think that one has been totally opened yet. I think when Keith comes out after Christmas, he and I will drive over to the Wildwood area again and see if we can find the trail head.
My brother Ron called me from up north. Said he is thinking about dropping his Comcast package because they are getting so expensive and wanted to know what I thought of Netflix. I think more and more people are dropping their cable and satellite companies because of the prices.

Eye Appointment Day

Up at 6am to go for a dog walk with Jean at 7am. Did not have a play date with the dogs because we had to leave at 9am to head down to Kaiser in Panorama City so I could go to my appointment with my retinal specialist.
Did not get an injection today. They doctor took some photos of the inside of my eyes and then he examined them with his little lights and scopes. He said that the seepage has lessened, but it has not stopped seeping completely like he was hoping. So in January he is going to inject still a different medication into my right eye that is supposed to be even stronger than the last two medications he has tried. Each time they advance to a stronger medication, the risks of the cataracts and glaucoma increase, but if we don’t do something to stop the seepage, I risk losing the sight in my right eye.
On the way back home, Jean and I did a little shopping at Wal-Mart and then we went to a little coffee shop in downtown Newhall called the Way Station. I had heard about this place for years and wanted to try it. It was OK, but I’ve had much better foods at other places in town.
Got home around 2:30 pm. Hiker was glad to see me. She hates it so much when I have to leave her at home alone.
It has been very cloudy here all day and in the mid-60’s. They say we may have more rain tonight and then another storm is coming in off the Pacific in the middle of next week.

Finally Got Out For A Walk

On this date back in 1994, Ben and I moved into the house that I am still living in. Where did those 20 years go?
My fried Ed (Ben’s best friend) was supposed to drive up from Pomona today and we were going to go to lunch but he called just before 8am to reschedule. It’s a 65 mile drive one-way for him and there are several road closures due to the weather (mudslides, etc.), plus it still looks like it could rain more at any minute. We rescheduled for Monday.
Hiker and I drove over to buy my lottery ticket. It was very cloudy, dark and gray out. The storm that went through here just doesn’t want to leave. We really need the rain, but after 3 days of this, it makes me feel a little depressed. I know Hiker is going crazy because we have not gotten out for any walks or to play and she has not seen her doggy friends Charlie and Sassy. When we got back from going for the ticket, she didn’t want to get out of the car. I kept telling her to get out and she just kept moaning and groaning like a kid. I had to force her to get out.
The sun finally came out around 11am and Hiker was able to go out into the back yard and wander around. Her normal morning is to go outside around 9am and stay out until around 11am.
After lunch, Hiker was bouncing off the wall so I took her over to Central Park and let her out on her extension leash so she could roam around. She and I both really needed to get out into some fresh air. We had been cooped up on the house for 2 or 3 days with the rain.
Have an appointment with my eye doctor at Kaiser tomorrow. Don’t know if he is going to give me another injection or not. Jean is taking me.

A little More Rain

Up at 6am this morning. I had to be over to the Toyota dealer at 8am to have my Rav4 serviced. I got stuck in the school traffic near my house and it started to drizzle on the way over there. My regular service person was not there today so got a guy I’d never worked with but he was nice. Took them about an hour and 15 minutes to do the car. I had my iPad with me and played some games for a while, then I watched the rain coming down outside while watching people who were also waiting for their cars.
Drizzled all the way home.
Had a voicemail from my friend Karren, so I called her, then I ran my weekly scans on my laptops.
The sun peeked in and out a few times, but around 1pm it started raining again but it only rained for a few minutes. So far we have gotten a little over 2” from the storm.
Spent most of the day inside with Hiker. I think she is getting cabin fever because she keeps running around like a crazy animal.

Rain At Last

Woke to the sound of rain this morning. Decided not to go to my support group because people in SoCal do not know how to drive in the rain. They can barely drive in dry weather let alone when the streets are wet. My friend DeDee had told me she was not going if it was raining and I got a call from Jane (from the group) asking me if I was going. She said she and Linda were deciding if they were going to go to group.
Got a text from Keith telling me that his power was out over in Orange County. He said it stayed off for a little while.
Built a fire in my fireplace to keep Hiker warm. She gets so wet when she goes outside to potty. I dry her with a big towel, but her hair is so thick that it says damp for a while.
Decided to bake some lemon bars today since I was cooped up in the house.
It rained pretty much all day. We really need this although after 3+ years of drought, we need rain during our “rainy months” for 3+ years to make up for what we have lost. Rivers, lakes and reservoirs are at an all-time low.
Went out to get the mail during a lull in the storm but as soon as I got back into the house, it started pouring again.
Have to get up early tomorrow morning to get my car over to the car dealer for service. Have to be there at 8 am so I hope it is not raining in the morning.

Wet doggy

Warm and dry

Welcome December

Yesterday I woke up around 3:30 am and this morning I woke up around 2:30 am. I was able to go right back to sleep this morning though.
Didn’t do a dog walk with Jean this morning as she had an early dentist appointment, so Hiker and I slept in.
Was still cloudy today, but the next rain storm is not supposed to hit us until Tuesday. They are saying depending on where you live, you could get anywhere from 1” to 5” of rain from this storm. The 5” is for people up in the mountains. I’m guessing I will get around 1” if they are correct.
If it is pouring down rain when I wake up in the morning, I may not go over to the Senior Center for my support group. I hate driving in the rain because people do not slow down and there are always so many accidents when it rains.
Hiker and I went to pay my land lease and then over to buy my lotto tickets and then by Sam’s Club to fill the car with gasoline. It is $2.95 a gallon here now. I know it’s lower than that in many other places, but it was nice to spend less than $20 to fill the tank from half full. I never like to let it get below half a tank.
After lunch I drove over to our Kaiser pharmacy in Valencia to pick up some refills on my 3 medications. Usually when I go the pharmacy is crowded, but I walked right up to the counter today and was out in less than 5 minutes. Guess people are home on their computers for Cyber Monday.