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Words of wisdom....

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A dear friend shared this photo with me.  It's a good reminder that if I have something to say, think twice before saying it! Another friend said she and her husband (who have owned a business here in A-town) are hitting the road in a motor home! They are shutting down the biz. It's the same type of motor home, as some other friends! They will be traveling to Bryce Canyon and beyond. I started to laugh out loud as I remembered that my family (mom, dad, 3 younger brothers, and myself), piled into the station wagon and we were headed to Utah. We would be seeing Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park. Both are beautiful...but you look up to see the mountains @ Zion and you look down to see the huge valley @ Bryce. And if you're cynical, you might whine that it's just a bunch of rocks.  Knowing what I know now, I would never take any kids to either place. The drive is too long, and they would get bored and blah blah blah.  Shortly after that, we moved back to Newport Beach (fr

Update on our Shredding Party!

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  WE'VE generated (so far) $6074 from the 16th annual Shredding Party!  All of you generated $3037 in donations, plus a $50 check made out to the Alameda Food Bank (which has been forwarded to the Alameda Food Bank). We're waiting for two checks from an employer that matches the employee's donations. This is a big deal when an employer matches the employee's donations! And I will match those as well! I took this photo on April 7th, 2014 Peri, who runs the AMOW office, has let me know that the matching funds could take a bit of time.  Any and all gifts are terrific! And all of you are just as terrific, as well! I love that we step up our game when necessary....it says a lot about who you/we are and what we can do together. Now, we get to think about our election, which is coming up. Not always fun, but we need to cast our votes for whoever seems best to each of us. It's a privilege, not a burden.  Live richly,  marilyn

My daughter...

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Everybody should be as blessed as I am. After 2+ years, Sutter, my daughter, arrived @ SFO from Christchurch, New Zealand.  Evan was here with his son, Cadel, a couple of weeks prior to Sutter showing up. She actually drove to San Diego to visit with his family. And while she was here, she met up with some of her wonderful college friends.  Some friends of Carl's (who have been close to all of us), flew their plane to OAK to meet up with us! And if you haven't had a meal @ Jim's On The Course, you'd be surprised at how the restaurant has upped its game, and how much remodeling has been done! Eating outdoors is a treat as well as watching the golfers! I've been there twice since Sutter showed up!  It's a long flight to and from NZ. Because it's been awhile since I've driven on the freeways, I remembered to take the San Mateo Bridge to pick Sutter up, instead of going over to SF via the Bay Bridge.  However, we had lunch at Max's Opera Cafe in S

I spent some time.....

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....with with a couple who flew their airplane from Paradise/Chico into OAK (the north field). Carl had been a good friend of John's from way back in the day. Sutter picked them up from the airport and we met at Jim's on the Course. I have not been the most social person these last 2+ years. But we had a lovely lunch in the patio area. And I was super-suprised at how much renovation, remodeling, had been done at the restaurant (inside and outside), and the restrooms! It literally was lovely! Woody, my golf instructor from years ago, offered to show me the changes that have been made on the course during those months (years). I have yet to call him and make those arrangements...but I certainly will do that now that I've seen the results! The only thing we didn't do is rent a cart and play a round of golf. I took a photo of the duck, who was waddling around, attempting to get some scraps of food. We did not offer the duck anything. It was a lovely day. The food

Come one, come all...rain or shine!

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All are welcomed! We're supporting Alameda (city) Meals on Wheels! If you choose to make a donation to the Shredding party, I'll match it, and AMOW is the winner! This Saturday, April 23rd, 9am until noon!

Sounds and sights

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I heard some song birds, somewhere outside my home office window. There were maybe 3 of them. Then I heard the leaf, dirt blower. It sounded like the garbage truck. Then I heard some planes (small single engine planes, some multi-engine planes, and some jets). Then I heard our Spanish-speaking neigbhors. I wish I spoke another language. In high school I took French. Then I heard the little boy on the other side of the house, learning how to ride a bike. His father was very encouraging. Then I heard neighobrs tearing down their garage? It didn't take very long.... And then I smelled the roses....and I asked my son's son...if he'd like to help me cut the roses. We did it together: counted 5 leaves down from the rose, and did that 3 times. And I helped him snip off the roses. This was a small piece of heaven. Live richly, marilyn

Making the shift...

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...from gas to electric. I was on a zoom meeting this past Wednesday morning, sponsored by the city of Alameda (specifically AMP - Alameda Municipal Power), watching a chef explaining what 'induction' cooking is. He obviously knew what he was doing. I know this is the right thing to do...but I don't know anybody who has made the shift.  And I'm not the one who will jump off the cliff.  (Although, I did jump out of an airplane with a parachute attached to my back, and I landed safely, by myself. I took a lesson up in Vacaville. I did it because I was wearing parachutes when I was flying sailplanes in Minden, Nevada and I wanted to be sure of what I was doing,  I guess there's a first time for most everything. Here's a link to Home Depot that explains what induction appliances are.:  https://www.homedepot.com/c/ab/induction-cooktop-buying-guide/9ba683603be9fa5395fab9015e8023b9#:~:text=What%20is%20an%20Induction%20Cooktop,induction%20stovetop%20uses%20magnetic%20c