Welcome to Life in California

t's been two months since we moved into Walnut Creek Manor to care for Phileta's sister, Lynn.  Lynn's daughter Lisa was here from Hawaii helping her mom move in.  Shortly after we got here we were able to help Lisa celebrate her birthday with pizza from Zachary's pizza and Red Velvet birthday cake made by Lynn's grand daughter, Sarah.  Chris, Lynn's son who lives nearby in Concord helped with the celebration along with wife Patty, daughter Sarah, and son, Conner.

Lisa enjoying her birthday & cake

I

Conner & Sarah

Patty

Christopher

Lynn

We hope that life will soon settle into a schedule of something more having fun for Lynn than going to the doctors' office.  She does have her regular Friday night "dates" and Sunday brunches with her gentleman friend who lives at Rossmoor.  Also a couple of outings to enjoy a sunny day and accompany us to look at sailboats.  So, it is not all drudgery.

Future Community Garden (approx. 186' X 42")

I think I mentioned that I am involved in the Community Garden here at the Manor.  I'll keep you posted on how it's growing.  I missed my chance to get a picture of the tall weeds.  They had been mowed down by the time I got over there.  Right now my need to have my hands in dirt is being passified by potting starts of flowers that Phileta brings home.

I found this nest in the geraniums that we have hanging outside of Lynn's window.  Mother Junco was not happy when I took the plant down to trim off the dead leaves and give it a drink of water.  She did hop back up into the nest when I hung it back up.

Queen Josie enjoying the spaciousness of her new home

I thought about posting pictures without titles to see if people can recognize where in the bay we are, but then I'd have to remember where they were taken too.  Not easy at times.  So, here are a few pics from our jaunts around the bay:
Views of & from Treasure Island where there is good food and ~4 wine tasting places - The Fat Grape is Free and sulfite free.

  

                          

  

   

Back in Oakland

Note the seagull in the fountain at Jack London Square

Matt and his girlfriend Katelyn came down to help me celebrate my birthday.  It was such a treat.  Zak and Jessica live in Redwood City (on the other side of the bay) and were able to put them up and entertain them.  Some pics from that (thank you Jessica):

Across from the Opera House
  

Great crepes, etc. at The Crepe House on Gough.

  

The State Building

S F Opera House (or maybe War Memorial?)

The next week we checked out the marina in Martinez and we were overwhelmed with the desire to have a boat to call home away from home and be able to sail around the bay.  We also picked up train schedules from the Amtrack station and found a disabled person and their attendant get greatly discounted rates.  Yipee, Phileta has a trip to Sacramento to visit their niece in the planning stages.  The woman does not like to stand still.

  

We then went to the town of Crockett to eat lunch at the Nantucket restaurant under the Carquinez  Bridge, seen below:

 

I am loving getting to know this bay that seems never ending in possibilities for sailing, even up rivers.  The Sacramento comes in to the east of Martinez and the Napa comes in across from Crockett.  It's in the picture below with Mare Island.

 Phileta says I'd better appreciate the green hills because they will be brown come summer.  So, here are some green hills:

 

Back in Martinez we went to the John Muir Home and Vincente Martinez Adobe (not like the adobes we made in fourth grade!).  Wonderful bit of history.

  

 We have spent the last week checking out little 24' sailboats whenever we could.  Lynn has been a trooper going down steep ramps backwards in her "Quantum" chair and watching as we climb all over these poor abandoned boats.  It is sad to see how people have not been able to keep their boats up.  We know we will find the perfect boat for us, we did it before.

That is it for now.  Hopefully by the next post I'll have pictures of all of us,our little home, and the community garden.  If you get the chance, go see the movie "I Am" it is a wonderful, positive, feel good about the world movie.  I'll leave you with some quotes from the window of Cass' Marina in Sausalito:

"The true worth of your travels Lies not in where you come to be at the jorney's end, but iin who you come to be along the way."

"Security is an illusion.  Life is either a daring adventure or it is nothing at all."

"Expecting life to treat you well because you are a good person is like expecting an angry bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian."

"Age is something that doesn't matter, unless you are a cheese"

Our love to you all,

D & P