Rock stars

Pescadero State Beach with Donna. This is one of a my favorite places. In my past experience there have been whale carcasses, multicolored starfish, immense anemones, fleets of pelicans, sea lions. Today's feature was mainly rocks. A few mussel shells, a lot of seaweed, but the rocks were stars! Round rocks of a thousand colors, making rollicking rocky noises as the waves washed in and out. Rocks with streaks, stripes, inclusions, holes, even designs that looked like petroglyphs. Sizes from cherries to canteloupes -- the pea-sized pebbles evidently end up a couple of beaches south.  Very few of the rocks matched the sandstone cliffs, so most of them must have journeyed from faraway places to get here, and gotten all their harsh edges smoothed off. Some of them were wedged into cracks and hollows of the square shore stone -- imagine the waves that lifted them! Between them the sand was superfine. If I'd had a microscope I'd probably have seen miniature round rocks. A few rocks rode home with us. For some reason most of the ones selected looked like something else -- a heart, a piece of wood, a sculpture, an eye. I've never been able to remember the names of many minerals or types of rock, but I know what I like!

Long time no blog

I've been waiting for a topic to present itself to my brain, but my thoughts seem kind of disconnected, so I guess I'll list them instead of expounding on them:

• Getting ready to go to Hawaii next month. I'm looking forward to seeing the volcano and lazing around in the sea. Last year I wanted to try all the touristy things: leis, luaus, Polynesian culture. This year I just want to explore the beaches. I don't even need to shop, although when I get there I may change my mind!
• My brother Steve is seriously considering moving to Arkansas. While I want him to be happy in a place with many friends and a more reasonable cost of living, and I don't really see him that often even though he lives less than ten miles away, I will miss having him and his wife drop-in-on-able.
• Meanwhile, son Matt has moved 30 miles closer, but I don't want to encroach on his new life with Veda and her kids. It's wonderful to see him so happy in his new role, but not sure I'm ready to be an almost-step-grandma.
• My former boss is leaving adult ed. I wonder if I'll get any sub or testing work next year. It's nice to see all my old colleagues (the ones that are still there) but if I really don't need all my old books and files anymore I should be able to get rid of a lot of stuff! But I probably won't.
• I test-rode an adult tricycle today. It felt kind of weird not to have to balance. Of course balance is something I'm not particularly good at, which is why I was trying it out in the first place. I may attempt to rent one before I buy -- maybe in Hawaii!
• It's really all about getting older, isn't it?

hide and seek and give up and find

I knew as soon as I bought a new phone I'd find my old one, and sure enough, it turned up less than a week later,  in my car where I had looked a hundred times, wrapped in a paper towel. I had pictured it in a crack in the cliff overlooking the sea. Kind of envied it there. Now it will be donated to the women's support network.  Don't envy it there.

I guess I needed to lose the old one to be daring enough to try a new smart phone. It's supposed to have a "find my phone" app, but that turns out to involve upgrading my Mac OSX to the latest Lion version, and I don't know how much that might cost! Between constantly upgraded software, and elusive bits of hardware, and population explosion of passwords, and my aging brain, I may be doomed! But I'll keep trying. Maybe I'll surprise myself.

Fathers' Day is definitely a semi-melancholy holiday, my second without Greg. Even though our boys are grown, it's hard being a lone parent -- nobody to share the pride and worries and memories. I think it was wonderful the way Greg invented fatherhood for himself, since he grew up without a Dad in the picture. And it was tragic that by the time the kids were in the most difficult part of adolescence, Greg's dementia had set in. I really wish he could see them now -- Jeffrey in uniform, Matthew in a loving relationship. I wish they could see him as he was twenty years ago, delighted to be a dad!

learning curve

So after losing my last cell phone, which I selected as the "phone that would do the least number of things other than make phone calls," I finally went into a Verizon store and explored my options. The

options appeared endless. I really was scared of getting a smart phone that was smarter than I am (I'm smart, but not when it comes to electronics). But by the time I walked out of there I was the owner of an actual iPhone!  I am an Apple loyalist, so no other smart phones could possibly measure up. I haven't fiddled with it yet -- that's not the way I learn, anyway, so I plan to go to the Apple Store and sign up for some actual instruction. That was the thing I didn't do with my iMac, and I have regretted it ever since. I wonder how steep my learning curve will be....  This green color is the case color, designed to stand out against all the domestic backgrounds where it might get misplaced.