2018 Travel
And, I forgot to mention my travel for last year:
Feb, Road Scholar, Albuquerque NM: New Mexico's Conversos and Crypto Jews. A study of the descendants of the Jews who left Spain during the Inquisition and ended up in NM!

May, Family wedding, Buellton CA: a great visit with my three cousins + spouses/significant other, eight of their offspring and last remaining aunt, Mom enjoyed it a lot, and I did, too.

Jun, Family reunion, Dallas TX: descendants of one of my Mom's sisters invited me to join them and we had a great time. Traveled up to OK to visit with other cousins and see the family shrines. Had a great time there, as well. I think I saw 11 of my first cousins and lots of  'once removed', (their offspring) as well as 2 of my Mom's first cousins in OK who are mine once removed, also. They shared some family photos which were found during various clean outs/downsizing efforts. I spread those around to our California kin when I got home. We were all thrilled to have them.

Sep, Transport my son, Pete, to Sequoia for his High Sierra Trail Trek: We stayed in the park for a few days so he could acclimate to altitude. We've been doing training hikes (he more than I but I did climb a few miles of Mt Pinos and reached the 8800' top). I waved goodbye and then home to provide airport transportation for my niece to go home to NOLA. Afterward I drove to San Jose to visit Mike and Katie and then down to Bakersfield (overnight break in very long and weird trip to pick up Pete). While in Bakersfield I visited the cemetery where our great grandparents are buried, wanted to make sure I could find the grave again. Then up to Lone Pine where I greeted Pete as he walked through the gate at Whitney Portal. That was one helluva hike. We stayed in LonePine for a couple of days so he could eat copious amounts of food and sleep in a bed as well as taking lots of hot showers. I always enjoy seeing my kids but I don't think I've been so happy since Pete came back from Desert Storm.

Oct, Road Scholar, Croatia. Seaside Hikes in Croatia. Wonderful. I've been thinking about another trip ever since. I'd especially like to see Dubrovnik again. A great group and wonderful Tamara was our guide. Croatia is beautiful.

Nov, no travel but more fires (in the East part of the county). The worst thing to happen, however, was the shooting of SGT Ron Helus, a former colleague of mine (he was a baby deputy when I was still working) and a colleague of my son. He was a hero. There are too many guns on the street.

I also visited Stolpmann Winery a couple of times for wine club events, I saw some art shows featuring some of my friends, tried some great new recipes with some spectacular successes and some awful failures.

I've been healthy and I'm enjoying life.

2019 The New Me

Back again: it's been a couple of years and I'm ready to start a new phase of my life. My house remodel is just about finished: I made a bad design decision regarding a soapstone counter and farmhouse sink. I love the configuration but if I wasn't so cheap I would have hired a pro and I'm sure would have been discouraged from the decisions I made. Here's the deal: I wanted a huge farmhouse sink and since it was going to be fabricated by my stone 'guy' I could dictate the size. My guy had never worked with soapstone and, of course I hadn't either, so he made the sink as big as he could considering the custom cabinetry. It turns out that it is so big and deep that I can't have a garbage disposal. Also, the size dictated it being set about 4 inches from the edge of the counter and since it is so deep/wide/long, I actually cannot touch the back corner/windows which are above the sink area. Also, due to my choices and a little decision made by my cabinetmaker, I ended up with a under sink cabinet door which is too narrow for a plumber to fit into for any kind of work, including installation of my dishwasher. So, for the past year I've tried to decide if I can live with the results of my decisions. I decided that I could not, called my cabinet guy and asked for a price for demolition of corner cabinets, removal of soapstone and construction/installation of new cabinetry with corner sink of standard manufacturers dimensions. I explained that this was definitely my error and I wanted him to do the demo and remake because I'm hoping he doesn't have to use a sledge hammer to remove the beautiful custom cabinets which he fabricated and installed. I'll use them in the garage, if possible. Also, I understand that my soapstone is a lost cause. I'll be thrilled to death if I can salvage enough to use in the garage but I can't worry about it. I made my annual pilgrimage to the Ojai Music Festival Holiday House Tour in December and visited two EXTREMELY UPSCALE contemporary houses which each had zinc kitchen counters so, I'm going to have zinc tops installed over 3/4" plywood. I talked to my carpenter/remodeling king/silversmith and all around guru about zinc tops and he'll do them for me. With all of this, I'm still going to be under the estimate for a custom kitchen, simply because the cabinetmaker is so REA$ONABLE. And a very nice guy.
I'm loving my little house, which was my rent house for years. This is the one I bought when the real estate market tanked in the 'oughts'. I never lived in the house, did a quick and dirty remodel and rented it. It stayed rented until after my husband died and I needed to move into it myself. I no longer have a 3 car garage and a huge storage area, which hurts, and I miss the huge family room with wet bar and pool table (a fabulous buffet table/craft table/space for fabric and pattern layouts while sewing), but I don't miss the swimming pool nor the rodent problem from being on the edge of nowhere. I really do miss my neighbors, however. And the view of the Channel Islands...... And, of course, my dear old man.
BUT, life is good. I'm volunteering with Ventura County Long Term Care Services as a State Certified Ombudsman. I'm assigned to two skilled nursing facilities and three residential care facilities for the aged. The RCFE are also known as board and care homes. Mine are each populated by six developmentally disabled adults and they are wonderful. The homes are owned and operated by a woman who was a psych tech at Camarillo State Hospital and she hires the most wonderful staff. The homes are impeccably clean, the residents are happy, clad in fresh, clean clothing and well groomed. They attend adult day care Monday through Friday which I visit, as well. I'm so happy to have this assignment.
My skilled nursing facilities are great for the most part, also. I visit one large facility of about 175 residents and one smaller one of about 70 residents. The larger SNF is about a half mile from my house and is an upscale facility although there are many MediCal (California version of MediCaid) residents. My smaller facility is about 8 miles from my house and has lots of MediCal residents. I have a very large family and some of my relatives are MediCaid recipients. I can see the faces of my relatives in those elderly and infirm, whether MediCal or private. Also, some of the residents are younger than I am and have similar back/health problems... visiting them is incentive for sticking with the exercise and diet regime! I visit the SNF once a week and the RCFE once a month but since I don't have grandchildren, I'm a widow and my own Mom, age 97 TODAY, has a live in carer, I have time to spend in my facilities and I usually visit them more than once a week/month.
I'm also very aware of issues regarding dementia patients because of my years caring for my husband and watching my Mom with my step-father. I was lucky to have full time assistance but I spent a lot of time dealing with 'Sundowners' as well as the other issues of aging and illness.
If you haven't done it already, immediately invest in long term care insurance. I bought my policy when I was 48 or 49, I think. It will cover my expenses for 10 years and based on my family history, that's probably more than I need but most of my relatives didn't drink, smoke, or live in SoCal. Keeping fingers crossed that I didn't do too much damage.
Back to the nursing home for a minute: if you have a loved one in a facility the best thing you can do is visit and listen. The Ombudsman program is a federal program created during Nixon's term as POTUS (who knew?). Every county in every state is mandated to have ombudsmen but no federal or state funding is provided. If you suspect there are problems in the facility you visit, try to find the ombudsman (it should be searchable using Long Term Care Services or (name of state) Ombudsman. Also, there are survey results on line which you should be able to access. Talk to the Director of Nursing and the Activities Director. Talk to the Administrator. Don't make life miserable for your loved one but that person has a right to respect and appropriate care. Scrutinize the medication.
Lots of info on line. You can look at the CANHR website (advocates in California) for information about lots of hot button topics.
I'm sitting in bed typing instead of taking care of business so I'll sign off for now. I hate to say it but I am now dog-less. My boy, Archie, The Wonder Dog, joined his cohorts, Sugar (the original Frustrated Cockapoo) and Gloria (my true angel mutt and personal assistant) by crossing the Rainbow Bridge early in 2018. He was a dog of deep thoughts and unending loyalty. Not a brilliant canine but a wonderful companion.
So now I am truly alone in my little house and it is perfect.
tatafornow

Long time no write...and there are lots of reasons for that: I took a riverboat trip starting in Switzerland and ending in Germany but something I always forget about (rain) resulted in our boat being stranded between bridges in Strasbourg and that was the end of the riverboat trip. I think we spent four nights on board and then emergency measures, combined with threats by booking agents, got us to a hotel in Frankfurt. From there we took day trips until flights back to the states could be arranged. Since every boat in Northern Europe was stranded, lots of previously happy river boaters were clustered at hubs awaiting transport. I like to travel off season but there is a price to pay and that is almost always a weather complication. I got to see the Chagall windows in Mainz and gained new appreciation for Martin Luther and the reformation...

Not to be discouraged, I'm packing right now for a trip to Venice where I meet my travel buddy, Gladys, we get on an Oceania boat and cruise the Med. We'll end up in Barcelona (I always think of Fawlty Towers...). I've refined my Europe wardrobe even more and this is the way it's going: 4 prs ponte slim pants in black, a couple of pairs of Eileen Fisher's slim pants, black and white Gap tanks, Eileen's black tanks, Gap black turtle necks, London Fog 3/4 black trench with brand new and beautiful black/gray scarf, my tried and true ankle boots with socks. Weather will warm up as we head up to Monte Carlo, so I'll be layering. I have dressy floaty tops to go over the same old tanks and pants for evening--Gladys is the only person on the trip I will ever see again and she doesn't care if I wear the same old thing all the time.

I'm taking my black trainers and a pair of dressy flat shoes for evening and of course, my Tiva flip-flops.

My tech bag will include mini-iPad (courtesy of my sons from Mother's Day this year) as well as my trusty iPod loaded with operas, audible books and 10 hours of white noise. My Bose noise cancelling headset is at the top of the heap with extra batteries. I'll have my iPhone but I won't use it unless there is an emergency, I have Skype loaded on the iPad and I love it.

I always pack a box of wine for the occasional slurp and discovered a new product: 1-1/2 bottle equivalent in a tall narrow box, easier to pack, easier to refrigerate.

And as for packing, I switched to packing cubes, and oh boy am I happy. I came back from Mexico about 20 years ago and discovered a filthy tennis shoe in my suitcase. I can't even begin to explain how disgusting that event was. I immediately started using the vacuum bags (as seen on TV) and have used them ever since. I've been searched by TSA or whoever many times but never any evidence that they rummaged around in the bags. However, I started reading about packing cubes and realized that they would be easier to manage in the suitcase. I bought some and soon realized that I loved the little dudes and ordered two more sets. Here's the deal: I can pack like items in one or one days' apparel, or whatever organizational method I choose. I then take a strip of painter's tape and using my handy Sharpie, mark the cube. This is especially helpful when travelling with my memory-impaired husband. I still use tissue paper for items that wrinkle badly but since items don't shift around in the suitcase, the result is much nicer looking clothing coming out of those cubes. Amazon has quite a selection.

Just bought my new maps, 'cause I love to follow along and need to reactivate my Duolingo Spanish lessons--

Dear husband is staying home, not particularly happy, but because of health problems is just not able to take the long flight and definitely cannot participate in shore excursions. Our caregiver will be here for the duration with her husband, so the Mr. will be well cared for.

I'm in the midst of planning a trip to India in Feb 2014 with another travel buddy, she's another old retired cop and we're coordinating our vaccinations at the moment. We are also investigating a trip to Cuba in the future.

If you get the idea that I don't want to stay home, you would be correct. I'm going to be 68 in January and if I'm lucky, I'll be like my Great Aunt Mary and live to be 106 and be in good health until the last six months. But, since I smoked for 20 years and I like to drink wine, two habits Aunt Mary did not have, I suspect that I will not be around another 40 years, so I'm travelling while the legs and brain are capable. Luckily I have travel buddies, including my sons, who sometimes accompany me, but if all else fails, I'll go by myself.

My current dream trip is a week in Verona and tickets to the opera at the Coliseum. My friend Gladys is going along with me to Lucca on this trip for the Puccini tour. She is a wonderful travel buddy.

sudden and unexpected death

Me, in Turkey, 11-2012

did you every wonder what i looked like? well this is what i looked like in Antaly, Turkey, in Nov 2012. luckily my travel buddy, Gladys, used auto focus and it wasn't quite auto'd on my face, so wrinkles are miraculously evened out.

anyway, i haven't written in a while because i've been doing my eBay thing, supervising (hah) a refurbishment of the pestilential swimming pool and, most lately, helping a friend who found her 62 year old brother dead. the death was unexpected although he suffered from several long term illnesses: sarcoidosis and morbid obesity; he was also recently diagnosed with diabetes and was insulin dependent.

my friend went to his house because he hadn't responded to phone calls and discovered him in bed with his cpap going strong. in our county you have to dial 911 before a Medical Examiner's Investigator will get involved, so despite the fact that he was cold to the touch and (probably) in full rigor, Fire and Sheriff came. after they determined that he was deceased she was able to talk to the Medical Examiner's Invest and then call a mortuary. the old rules here were that if a decedent was under a doctor's care and had been seen within 30 days of the death, no autopsy was necessary and the doc would sign the death cert. if no private physician can be located or is willing to sign the cert, the medical examiner will sign. in any event, from personal experience, (probably) no autopsy is going to be done unless there is something really unusual about the death/circumstances or there is a suspicion that a crime has been committed.

let me say that she and i are both retired deputy sheriffs and we have had a lot of experience over the years with this kind of 'call'. regardless of how much experience you have had, this kind of event is very difficult. when i retired i took a part time job with a mortuary to try to earn enough quarters on my own to qualify for medicare, so i have had even more experience in the death industry.

there are lots of issues surrounding sudden and unexpected death which are of note (not necessarily in order of importance): brother was several hundred pounds overweight so Fire had to use a special board which then had to go to the mortuary; brother was a tech professional (retired) and had every tech toy times two, and had repeated a phrase to his sister several times which he told her was the 'key' to his passwords. this key has proven to be a failure. brother had Quicken Will 2011 box on his shelf which was empty and, since we can't discover his passwords, we can't look at icloud and haven't been able to find a will on his hard drive. even if we could find a will, unless it has been signed and witnessed (in the case of a printed document) OR completely handwritten by the decedent (a holographic testament), the will would be a guideline for my friend, not a legally binding document (and keep in mind that i'm not an attorney, just a person who has been through this a couple of times: father and husband).

so this is what we've been doing this week: my friend, another retired deputy friend and i have been looking at EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF PAPER IN EVERY SINGLE FILE IN THE HOUSE. and i can tell you that he had every receipt and every advertising insert ever sent to him since birth (that is an exaggeration but that's what it seems like). unfortunately, in the old days our social security numbers were included on our pay stubs, bank statements, etc., and i've been involved in two many identity theft cases, as have my two retired friends, to allow anything to go in the trash with a number on it. so, we have a shred bag, a trash bag and a 'you have to read this' box.

fortunately for my friend, she and her brother had discussions about the disposition of the remains of their mother several years ago which included agreement about their own wishes, so she knew he wanted to be cremated and that no service was desired. unfortunately, he did not execute a 'preneed' contract with a cremation service, so when she asked, i made the only recommendation i could, the mortuary i used for my deceased loved ones. i know that their prices are reasonable and that there won't be any high pressure sales but one of the greatest gifts you can give your survivors is to have a preneed contract which encompasses your wishes and is COMPLETELY PAID. the mortuaries use insurance companies so even if the mortuary is no longer in business when the time comes, your contract is honored by someone else. in California, that contract is overseen by several governmental agencies.

be aware that if you have to make arrangements for an obese person, there are surcharges because of the decedent's size. this is not discrimination but strictly business: it takes more people to move the remains, a bigger casket or cremation container, and in some cases, a bigger plot at the cemetery.

i'm just about finished with my depressing instructions but here's something else that has put a burr under my saddle: brother wanted to leave cash to his 20 something nephew and teenaged niece. if you want to leave a bequest to a kid (and i'd say anyone under 30, for that matter), please think long and hard about it. also listen to Suze Orman. one of my step-children received $10k from his grandpa about 40 years ago, when he was in his 20's and promptly invested it in scientology 'training'. i call it a cheap lesson because he left the program with no ill effects (apparently), but that's just my opinion.

on a brighter note (finally) i'm starting to get ready for a Rhine/Main riverboat trip starting on 28 May. i'm going with another travel buddy, Elle, and i'm really looking forward to it. i'll be shooting another 2 or 3000 photos on that cruise.

i'm also starting some sewing projects and may put some of that up. ordered some great black and white toile from www.fabric.com for valences for my kitchen but have to make a mock-up with some muslin before i cut the good stuff.

found a recipe online for bananas foster which is one of my husband's favs, so made a 'dutch baby' for his breakfast and topped it with the banana concoction. fortunately i don't heart bananas so i was immune. he's going to use the left over sauce for ice cream, he tells me, but i suspect that he'll drink it or just pour it in a bowl and eat it with a spoon. (he's not overweight, btw)

i'm going to call it quits for the time being. beautiful day and the weeds are calling to me.

12/30/12 2155 hrs pst Google's home page: watch and remember 2012: then post your resolution: let's all work for peace...

Izmir and Ephesus, Turkey

Good Grief! two blogs in one day, but i'm on a roll and i started reading about Ephesus and started looking at my pix and decided to put some of them up, too. first of all, i reported in my first blog post about Mykonos, the wrong date of embarkation. we started this trip on 18 Nov 2012. i think we were in  Izmir on 19 Nov, or thereabouts.

the Turkish coast is beautiful and the Turks are very kind to visitors. Izmir is a metropolitan area full of people going to work and busy, busy, busy. our tour took us out of the city and into the Seljuk area where Ephesus is located. from the roadway you see beautiful stone structures in the middle of nowhere--and they were part of the ancient city of Ephesus dating long before Christian times.

the Shrine of the Virgin was the first stop on our tour and it is purported to be the last home of Mary, Mother of Jesus. this beautiful statue is in the area of the Shrine, which consists of buildings and prayer wall, crowded but respectfully attended by thousands of visitors every day.

i am a tourist who loves to hear every single word uttered by our guide and for one of the only times in my travelling life, i lost the group. i was so busy photographing the beautiful ruins and the gorgeous terrain as well as the cute kitties, i lost our group and i still can't believe it. we were issued radio receivers and headsets so that our guide could speak to all of us and i got so far behind that the audio was breaking because of distance and all the stone. of course this means that i have to go back, but i'm still unhappy with myself for missing out on the wonderful audio portion of our tour. i've done research since and i know something of the history and what some of the buildings represent but the guide had so much more information...

this is the grand facade of the library, facing east to provide morning light for readers. one reference stated that the library contained 12,000 scrolls.

i believe this is the reconstructed ancient road to the sea, a harbor which was silted in by the river.
when i was finally found by my travel buddy and my tour group, we boarded our bus and headed for the tomb of St. John the Evangelist. it stands on a hill above which is a mosque. while we were walking up to the tomb, the call to prayer issued forth from the mosque and it was an interesting experience, the first time i had actually heard the Muslim call to prayer, not just a recording.

the tomb of St. John the Evangelist has been extensively excavated and reconstructed and is beautifully cared for. i believe that the Roman Catholic Church maintains the Shrine of the Virgin and at least part of the tomb of St. John.

and, back to the ship, a great meal, to bed early so that we could get to our next port call.

Eastern Mediterranean aboard MS Queen Elizabeth Nov 2012

can you believe this is my last US meal before embarking on a Mediterranean get away with my travel buddy Gladys? i got started on 7 Nov 2012 with the ubiquitous shuttle from Ventura to LAX, always a pleasure (...), got through security with a minimum of stress and headed for a food court to prepare for my KLM flight to Amsterdam. i have some tummy issues, so no dairy, no raw stuff, nothing fun or interesting to eat for 24 hrs before and during my flights. hot dog, fries, GLASS OF WINE, and that's brunch. got on the plane, took a benadryl and snoozed off and on until i got to Amsterdam; made it onto my connection and eventually found myself flying over GREECE!!!! airport/ship transfers are never pretty or fun, but after a (ahem) while, i was ON THE SHIP and drinking more wine with Gladys.

no, this isn't a portrait of Gladys, but of our Gracious Queen, Elizabeth II, and WE WERE ON MS QUEEN ELIZABETH!!! words cannot express the ambiance...Cunard is definitely the way to go, altho Queen Mary II passengers in the Caribbean are suffering from a touch of norovirus, i understand.

i'm wearing a fetching @Magellan's top and @Chico's pants and i've decided that they are worth the price...

aside from my tummy issues, i have sleep issues and awake issues and jetlag issues, the list goes on and on. anyway, i found a drug mentioned in one of the travel blogs that was recommended for jetlag and talked my doctor into giving me a prescription for it. Modafinil is the name and it works like a champ. i am usually subhuman for three days after a long plane ride and that really cuts into my enjoyment of a European trip. i took one pill after room service woke us up at zero dark thirty or whatever it was, and i was awake and ready to go. 

Mykonos is a wonderful island and is exactly what i expected from a Greek island, for some reason--this cruise took place at the absolute END of the season and there was no one there but us. of course there were lots of US but no other cruise ships. i love architecture, churches, art, animals, flowers, landscape, people, not necessarily in that order, and i love to take photos. i took about 2000 on this two week trip. i'm going to share only my very favs here.

we hiked from the dock into the little town and then hiked all over the little town itself. we had a wonderful guide, Mia, who lives part time in Mykonos and part time in Athens. she, as are all the European guides i've ever had, could teach college level classes in history, geography, sociology, political science, etc. excellent introduction to Cunard's shore excursions and to Greece. 

this little chapel, almost at the end of our walking tour, is one typical of those built by Greek fishermen and/or their families honoring a Saint who has blessed them and their pursuits, opened on name days when feasting is done...

after our march through Mykonos, i asked Mia for a restaurant recommendation. she said guides took their lives in their hands when making recommendations, but...  we found ourselves at the cafe pictured above and we were the only aliens in the place! our kind and helpful server brought us WINE, brought me fried fresh anchovies and a Greek salad. i fell in love with fried sardines/anchovies on the Amalfi Coast years ago on a trip with another travel buddy, Barbara, and have been on the lookout for them ever since. the entire assemblage was incredibly amused when i arranged the table for my glamour shot. i don't read Greek, but i'm making a wild stab at the name of the place, and i think it is Ivanos. anyway, it was fabulous. wish i was there right now, as a matter of fact.

and that pretty much ended our trip to Mykonos. we strolled back to the ship and i took a million more photos and off we steamed or motored or dieseled or whatever they call it these days.