Trip to Albion

 A week ago, we were invited by Bob’s brother and his wife to spend a few days in Albion on the North Coast of California.  Albion is about 10 minutes south of the well known and  lovely historic town of Mendocino and really a dot on the map kind of place.  Since they had to cancel their trip to Maui, they rented a spacious and very beautiful AirBnB home with a view to the Albion River and a wooden trestle bridge with the ocean just beyond.  We were very happy to accept and drove up there on Wednesday morning. The drive was beautiful, going north on Highway 101 up through wine country in the Russian River Valley past Healdsberg to Cloverdale where we turned on Highway 128 into the Alexander Valley.  It was, as Bob said, a good motorcycle road.  Lots of curves going up and down and all around.  The redwood groves were spectacular and plentiful with dark shade and bright spotlights of intense light and all those tall majestic coastal redwoods.  Eventually we came to the coast and Albion.  

I don’t think we’ve ever spent three days with Paul and Shelley before, so it was very good just to be together.  They had a couple of their long time friends up there too and it was a pleasure to get to know them. I felt very welcomed as Shelley had gotten a gorgeous purple orchid for me.   It was a very relaxing time:  just sitting and talking, napping, going for walks, having meals together and going into Mendocino on Thursday.  The guys went to the Museum and I wandered the town, walking the path on the bluffs overlooking the ocean.  The sun came out.  The views were beautiful with turquoise water and the paths were lined with blackberries which were perfectly ripe and called out to be picked and eaten.  Coming back, I wandered into and out of all the shops where I found a raspberry corduroy jacket I had to buy. 

Arriving back at the house, Shelley had made tacos for us for a late lunch.  We sat and talked and talked and just enjoyed being together.  Favorite memories are sitting by the fire pit and chatting with Shelley after dark; watching Bob and his brother talk about PASCO early in the morning and being the one to do the dishes in the beautiful kitchen.  It was a treat to have our meals cooked for us.  Best of all was just being together in such a beautiful peaceful place with people we love.

Solar!

 Yesterday we got solar panels installed!  Bob was in hog heaven watching the electric meter run backwards.  Even though it wasn’t hot yesterday, he turned on the air conditioning so he could see whether it ran totally on the solar energy we were producing.  It was.  He said we’re saving $1.20/hour and I thought at that rate it will take many decades to pay it off. But that’s not the point.  Now we’re on the solar bandwagon, we can feel good about contributing to the greater good of green energy.  I can’t help but think about photosynthesis and how all the green leaves around us are full of little solar cells (chloroplasts) capturing the sunlight energy and changing it into chemical energy.  Bob was quite pleased with how the installation went.  The workers listened to his suggestions and took into account his careful measurements.  They were more than tolerant, they were respectful of him.  And that felt good.  

  Bob has been thinking about getting solar power for years now.  He started researching and getting estimates from a number of companies about nineteen months ago.  But after he became an expert, he became unhappy with his treatment by the company he’d signed a contract with.  So he bailed. He went through this with two more companies.  And it looked like we weren’t going to get solar.  But with the deadline fast approaching to get our permit on the books before PGE changed the rules, he tried one more time and this time he was happy with the company he chose.  It was a small local firm, a husband and wife operation, but so responsive to him and it turns out that was what he wanted all along.  And they did a great job.  And it doesn’t look bad on the roof, I think it looks cool.  

Redwood Grove Concerts

This summer for the first time since 2019, the U.C. Botanical Garden is presenting their Redwood Grove Concerts.  In response to my earnings from working in the church, I felt flush with money and bought a sponsorship of the concerts.  In addition to a big chunk of the money going to support the Garden, we got tickets for two to go to all the 8 concerts, a special reserved parking spot(a big deal because there aren’t nearly enough parking places for the attendees), early entrance to the concerts and a green fleece blanket.  Plus we have been feted and honored for supporting the Garden at nearly every concert.  So much for the perks.  I thought it would be fun for Bob and me to have a musical event to attend each week during the summer especially since we’re not traveling anywhere.  And the Redwood Grove is such a spectacular venue with the angled sunlight coming through the tall redwood trees that surrounding the performers and us.  The setting is fabulous but so far the music has been a mixed bag.  Two concerts were definitely thumbs up and the other three, well, if  they were a tv show, as I said to Bob,  I’d have changed the channel.  Bob in his kindness said, they would have been better if they’d performed in a Bar setting where there was something else to pay attention to.  All the concerts have been “sold out”, so it is something that has a place in Berkeley.  And overall, I’m glad to get out and go to a concert each Thursday night in the summer.  

 

Liam with his Grandpa

 We’ve seen a lot of Liam recently.  In the last 12 days, he’s been with us for 8 of them.  He had Green Camp at the Botanical Garden from 9-3 each day last week.  It’s the 4th year he’s taken this camp and he really likes it.  The way we get to see is this:  we pick him up at 3 and he stays with us until 5 when Arne either comes up here to get him or else we take him down to Oakland to outside Arne’s work.  But also he spent a couple of overnights here.  That was a bonus.  It was a first for him to be here alone, overnight.  We’ve both been thrilled to see so much of him.  He’s such a sweet guy.  

    Recently, he’s become very interested in wood.  Arne takes him on the weekends to a special wood shop in Half Moon Bay.   It’s his favorite place to go.  As he describes the place: they have all sorts of pieces of wood, some cut into boards, some burls.  He admired a particular chunk and they gave it to him. (He said it would have sold for $35)  So armed with this wood, he came to us after Green Camp and immediately went down into Bob’s shop, for the after camp, “Grandpa Camp.” Down there, both guys are happy campers, both in hog heaven in the shop and what a gift Bob is to Liam.  He had a plan to make his special board into a cutting board.  I can’t remember all the tools he used, but it was a lot.  Tuesday just before dinner, he came up and presented me with his cutting board.  I knew it was special and piled on the praise.  With each new comment, Liam beamed even more.  He was sooooooo proud and happy.  The board is truly beautiful and a treasure.  He woodburned his name on the underside of the board.  It is a treat to hear him describe all the beautiful parts of this board, how the rough bark side makes it more beautiful, how he can see where a limb was coming out of the tree and the beauty of the tree rings.  He inspects it closely whenever he’s near it to see if I’ve made any cuts into the wood.  

Yesterday Liam came over to spend his day before he goes to school.  Bob took the lead and did all the care.  He got our 10 year old neighbor Henry to come out and play with Liam and he took them to the park to shoot off water rockets.  It went very well.  They both got really into it.  Each of them had their own launch apparatus.  Liam pumped really hard and got the pressure up to 75 pounds (Bob imagined 60).  The rockets went way up, at least 200 feet up and many landed across the street in golf course.  That took the morning.  In the afternoon, he took Liam over to his good friend Al, to see his amazing shop.  They had a great time.  After they’d seen everything in his shop, Al fired up his forge and they all together pounded the red hot metal into a curly shape making a hook for keys.  Liam really enjoyed pounding his hammer along with the guys.  And now is the proud owner of a specially hand make key hook.  I can only imagine how important Bob is to Liam.  They share a love of making things, a similarity in how they approach a problem.  Bob’s influence will be lifelong for Liam.  What a treasure that is!