Jan's and John's Peripatetic Adventure

Deer Visitors

We're in California for a while, continues...

When we moved to the top of the mountain people told us there was wildlife. But other than a very large squirrel I haven't seen any. Until now.

Yesterday while I was sitting at my computer my peripheral vision saw something move out the window. I looked out and there were two deer! I grabbed my camera and started taking photos. They were very close to the house so I went out on one of the decks to get a closer look. They are so beautiful it ripped out my heart.

Beautiful!

I spoke to the one closest to the house and he stopped and appeared to actually be listening to me. He nibbled on some grass and again looked up at me when I spoke to him. Then his female companion walked closer down the hill and they meandered on down into the valley. They stopped and looked back at me a few times and I hope they did not see me as a threat. The fact they didn't run makes me think they didn't.

Then last night John and I were relaxing and reading and we heard howling outside. It sounded like dogs which I realized it couldn't be; it was coyotes. They went on and on and very loudly. It was a very unpleasant sound. I was worried it would be difficult to sleep with them yelping but they either stopped when we went to bed, or the way the house is designed prevented the sound from reaching the bedroom. I just hope they weren't screaming, "Deer for dinner! Deer for dinner!"

Pea Soup

We're in California for a while, continues...

For the last two days we've been fogged in. Not a little fog, a lot of fog. We don't mind it, it's actually lovely, although it can get depressing having no sun for too many days in a row. The real problem is the mountain road. Yesterday there was zero visibility and driving on the road after dark is nearly impossible. We spoke with the neighbors at the get together the other night about putting reflectors on the road so we're going to see if we can get that project moving.

But today we woke up and the fog is gone. The blue skies and amazing views are back and, more importantly, I won't have to worry about John driving on that dark mountain road.

Wired

We're in California for a while, continues...

We like to have music playing most of the time, and in every room.

The house came with an elaborate wiring network but was only configured for telephone. For the last few days John has been reconfiguring the network wiring to play audio. Now we have speakers and ethernet in every room and no wires on the floor. The only visible wires are from our terabyte drive of music and the backup drive. And, of course, the wall of insane wiring that is the house network which is thankfully tucked away in a closet.

It was a huge amount of work and took him several days, but he saved us thousands of dollars and the intrusion of having people here for weeks installing an audio system. Also what makes it all possible is that iTunes now will play to multiple sets of speakers, which makes playing music all over the house really easy. Very enjoyable!

The Neighborly View

We're in California for a while, continues...

Last night, one of our of new neighbors had a little get together to welcome us to the mountain. We only have 4 neighbors, so it was a pleasant group of 8 people. One of the topics, of course, was the view we all have. One of the neighbors started talking about the other day when the valley was covered by fog and it looked like there were little islands sticking up. Then he mentioned a couple days ago when the clouds at sunrise made a kind of orange canopy over the valley. Then he mentioned that today it looked like there were stripes in the sky (see photo).

I exclaimed I had also seen and enjoyed these beautiful sites and in fact had included photos of them in my blog. Apparently we all love living on the mountain. It was a pleasant evening, they are really nice people...

Keeping the house clean is always a challenge but we have our trusty robots. John discovered that the scooba does a great job on counter tops and tables. There it is scubbing our dining table which is nearly impossible to get perfectly clean by hand. It's perfectly clean now, yay.

Getting the Mail

We're in California for a while, continues...

Nearly everyone who has visited us at the new house has tried out the Segway. Then we realized, hey, I had not ridden it yet! LOL.

So I put on a helmet, hopped on the Segway and zoomed up the driveway to get the mail. But first, I did practice riding it in front of the house to get the feel of the steering, etc. John was surprised that I took to it immediately but I think it's because I had spent a day on one in Paris. This one is very similar, with the steering mechanism being the only real difference (improvement).

Our driveway is very long so using the Segway to go get the mail is a perfect solution and a lot of fun. A LOT of fun. John is going this weekend to rent a different model of the new Segway to try out and then he's going to buy a second one so I can ride to the market with him. Nerds. '-)

Wall of Lutes

We're in California for a while, continues...

Our new house is beautiful as it is and it's tempting to keep it very austere. But we also have many beautiful pieces of art that we enjoy. So we decided to start hanging the artwork a little at a time. I'm really glad we did because, although the house looks less austere now, it also looks less like we are just visiting a resort on vacation and now feels more like a home.

Also, John has many gorgeous renaissance lutes. He used to have them on stands in his home office but his new home office is much smaller. We also felt the lutes deserved to be seen and enjoyed in a more public area. John had the idea of hanging them on the wall along with an Egyptian-pattern carpet that we used to have on the wall in our old house. That way they would be on display but also easily accessible for him to play. I loved the idea so he did the project yesterday.

We laid the lutes out on the carpet on the floor to get the spacing and John measured how long the wires should be. Then he attached the carpet to the hanger and hung the lutes. Lovely.

Then last night we drove over to Berkeley to the annual xmas dinner at the Stones. Pasta, pink champagne, and amazing intelligent conversation. It was a perfect xmas evening.

The Missing Xmas

We're in California for a while, continues...

Merry Xmas to all our friends everywhere!

We decided not to do xmas this year. We usually have a fab tree and presents but since we just moved to our new house we thought it would be too much fussing too soon.

Also, the house is sort of our present to each other. I remember when I was little and some time during the year I would see something fabulous and ask my mother to buy it for me. Her response would be, "Ok, but that's one less present you'll get at xmas." (Yea, she was a bitchy mom). Well that's kind of how John and I feel about buying this amazing new house. So, basically, I got a pool for xmas which is, frankly, the best present I've ever had.

Then John bought himself a Segway. What kind of gift can you get a man who buys himself an effing Segway? LOL.

So we skipped xmas this year but are planning to have it next year for sure. It hasn't been easy driving past all the xmas tree vendors in the area. But I do have several trees in Second Life '-)

The Market and the Moon

We're in California for a while, continues...

Yesterday I went with John to the Marin Farmer's Market. It's an amazing place of fresh everything. We bought a giant pile of food to get us through the week.

The Sunday market is held at the beautiful Civic Center designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. I never thought I'd call a government building beautiful but this one really is.

The farmer's market is fabulous. We haven't eaten anything from a supermarket since we moved into our new house. John has been cooking spectacular meals from his market shopping and I am packing on the pounds. A few more hikes in the woods should help with that but it's not easy.

Unfortunately, moving into an ultra-modern house means complicated lighting. We are having light bulb issues like our house in London. Although the bulb in the kitchen photo below is pretty easy to get to, the ceiling fixtures in most of the other rooms are really high up. Really high up. And all the bulbs are different and "fancy" so finding replacements can be difficult. Sigh. But it's all worth it, especially when I look out my window and see the view in the photos below. Fab.

Oh look, I'm quoted in the New York Times again. Or, rather, not quoted. LOL.

Sunrise, Lunch and Dinner

We're in California for a while, continues...

Here is a panorama of the sunrise from our window in the house on the hill. Sigh.

But, yay, I have other photos for the blog today besides our view. John and I are early risers and get up between 6:00 and 6:30 and sometimes even as early as 5:30. Yesterday we decided we needed to go shopping for things like halogen lightbulbs and kitchen and bath stuff. I checked online and discovered that Home Depot and Bed, Bath and Beyond all open very early, so at 7:30 we set out on an excursion.

After living in anti-business Berkeley for so many years, it is so nice to have access to stores like Bed, Bath and Beyond. We found a lot of nice things although they were out of the sheets in the size and color I wanted. But wait, we have a Macy's near our house too. I may learn to like shopping yet. Well, ok, maybe not. But it's nice to have options.

The Bed, Bath and Beyond is right next to the terminal for the ferry boats to San Francisco. Very cool. And I think that is Mount Tamalpais in the background.

At lunch time we discovered that we didn't have any food in the fridge so we set out again for lunch. Chili's once again. It was yummy. I am always in the mood for a burger the size of my head and Chili's is fabulous. If only I could resist the fries I'd be fine.

Then we got a late afternoon call from our friends Leyla and Stephen to see if we wanted to go to an art gallery opening and then dinner. Yes, we would. So we drove down to Sausalito to the art gallery (nice) and then to San Rafael for dinner at Cinecitta. When we arrived John and I realized that we had been there once before many years ago before we went to a concert by Rasa. It's really hilarious that our first dinner in San Rafael after moving here was at the only restaurant we had already been to many years ago when we were just visiting.

We really enjoyed it, the food and service is great. The music is torturous but very few restaurants have music that isn't so I did my best to ignore it. We did ask them to turn it down at one point because it can be difficult to have a conversation when Celine Dion is screaming her lungs out in the next room.

Leyla and Stephen are fabulous and we're so glad we know them. At last, I got them to pose for a photo for the blog so there they are. And we are. And I am, with yet more coffee in front of me.

Dinner with Cindy and Victor

We're in California for a while, continues...

Last night our friends Victor and Cindy came over for dinner. It was their first visit to our new house. They also have a house with an amazing view which I always enjoy when we visit them. Their view is better but, hey, it's not a contest. It's not. Really.

They are two of our favorite people and it's always fun to get together. We will also be going to the annual xmas dinner at the Stones which is always enjoyable and gives us more hang out time.

And at last, I have a photo of me and Cindy together, yay.

Mythical Creatures

I love this whole series but the most recent episode is particularly hilarious.

Lunch with Hanneke and David

We're in California for a while, continues...

Yesterday, two of our favorite friends Hanneke and David came to our house on the hill for lunch.

It's the first we've seen them since we got back from London and it was a great time. They are so nice and completely hilarious. John cooked a fabulous lunch which included, ta da, champagne.

David and Hanneke are both amazing, we're very excited to have many of their recordings on Magnatune. David played his specially tuned lute for us. He plays so beautifully. His YouTube videos are gorgeous.

Of course, everyone who visits us wants to try out the notorious Segway. There they are having a great time zooming around the driveway. We hope to see more of them before we go back to London. Maybe we'll even be able to go to one of their concerts, yay.

Schubert Quest

We're in California for a while, continues...

I decided I want the Andras Schiff recordings of the Franz Schubert piano sonatas. Since I don't buy cd's anymore I was hoping the recordings would be available as downloads. Nope. Very odd. So much of his back-catalog is on iTunes and Amazon that I really expected the Schubert to be there.

I did buy what they have, which is the Impromptus and Moments Musicaux. Gorgeous.

But it makes me want his recordings of the Schubert sonatas even more. But wait: they are out of print! It is shocking and criminal that these treasures are out of print. What is wrong with Decca Records? Oh right, the major labels are on a suicide mission and have just about succeeded.

The individual cd's of the recordings are available used, etc. on various web sites. But since I don't like the clutter of cd's I was hoping to get the complete boxed set. It isn't available anywhere, not even used, not even on eBay. WTF?!

So on eBay I put in a daily search notification and "Want It Now." On Amazon I clicked "Buy It Used" although I have never had any luck with that alleged feature. I Twittered and Facebooked. One kind friend of mine pointed me to the individual cd version at Amazon, thank you. But I really would like the shelf-space-saving box set.

I am totally appalled that Decca Records would let these fabulous recordings go out of print. In this amazing new era of technology and downloads there is no reason for any recording to be out of print ever. I'll hold out for a couple weeks and probably end up buying the individual used cd's which is fine but shouldn't have to happen.

Ah, Andras Schiff. He and Mitsuko Uchida (I already have her recordings of the Schubert sonatas which are fabulous) are my two favorite pianists ever.

Update: I got a very nice email response from Decca Records today saying that they would pass along my comments to their catalog reissues department and that the individual discs are available from www.arkivmusic.com, including special order, custom CD-R's. I would prefer downloads but I am very impressed.

Islands in the Sea

We're in California for a while, continues...

The view from our house on the hill is currently my favorite blog photo op. Kind of like the view of the London skyline from our house in London, it's always there and available for a slow blogging day.

Yesterday morning, it looked like we were on the edge of an ocean, with little islands poking up out of the sea. It was the fog settled in the valley with a few of the lower hills visible above the whiteness. Simply gorgeous, we can't believe we live here.

And there is John putting his new Segway to good use taking our trash cans out to the street. Our driveway is very long, and uphill, so walking the cans is really quite a chore. That Segway is really handy.

Bach for Lunch and Beowulf for Dinner

We're in California for a while, continues...

Yesterday, we drove into San Francisco for the day. When we started out in the morning it was raining sideways but during lunch the sun came out and the rest of the day was gorgeous. Yay.

We had lunch with violinist, Lara St. John. She was in the Bay Area this week so were delighted to have an opportunity to get together. We love her album of Bach Concertos on Magnatune and are very excited that she is also letting us release her newest recording of Bach Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin. Last year she invited us to one of the recording sessions which was an amazing experience. We're so excited to have her new recording on Magnatune.

It was the first time we've really had a chance to hang out with her and talk. She is an extraordinary musician, a courageous independent artist and a fabulous person; we're so happy to know her. And she said yes to a photo on the blog, yay. We had lunch at Lulu which was excellent. Yes, we had champagne.

After lunch John had a meeting at the EFF so I just hung out and surfed my iPhone. Everyone was very nice and it was great to watch them doing the amazing work that the EFF does.

Then we drove over to our friend Cary's house because she was going to join us for an evening excursion. OMG, she has two cats! They were adorable and I sat on the floor playing with Herbie who is huge and purred very loudly. It made me miss you-know-who but I was delighted to have some cat time.

We went to Two for drinks and a light and quick dinner. Then we walked over to the theatre to see Beowulf in 3D. We were surprised by the very long line to buy tickets so Cary and I got in line and John went over to the machines.

OK, here's the thing: people who do not understand how to use machines should not be allowed near them. True, the instructions on most machines are usually cryptic but it's really not that hard. Every time I am at the ATM at the grocery store behind someone who has to start over multiple times, I want to snatch the ATM card out of their hand and tell them, "You are too stupid to own an ATM card. Go to the bank, stand in line, and write a check for "cash" like we did in the old days. Be gone with you now. Go!"

But I can't do that.

So John watched a group of 6 people each fail at putting the credit card in the machine the right direction and were baffled each time the machine rejected it. Sigh. They actually finally gave up so John had our tickets in about 30 seconds and came over and got me and Cary out of line. The people in line around us looked really confused, like John had cheated in some way to get tickets right way and we didn't have to stand in line. Well, to use a ticket machine you not only have to be smart enough to use one, you have to be smart enough to know there even is one. So standing in line is exactly where they should be.

Ok, Beowulf in 3D. I loved it! LOVED IT! I was expecting to not like it for some reason so I was pleasantly surprised. And the 3D was amazing. AMAZING! Every movie should be in 3D from now on. I demand it. Are you listening Hollywood? I demand it. Even the previews were in 3D. I found myself very excited about the new U2 concert film in 3D and I hate U2. Hilarious.

So, yes, Beowulf in 3D was amazing. The graphics were astonishing. The queen was the only one that didn't look like a person, she looked like a computer game character. All the others looked incredible. The acting was excellent considering the technology that created it.

My only real complaint is the ending could have been better. I don't like it when movies end with "did he or didn't he?" so I was annoyed. I decided "he didn't." I'm sure the director and writers are patting themselves on the back for making some idiotic artistic statement about having the audience decide, etc. Fuck that. After two hours of angst and spectacular fight scenes, I just want to know what happened. Bastards.

But we really loved it. It is an amazing achievement and a great film regardless of the technology that created it.

Mystery Pain

We're in California for a while, continues...

After days of pain, I went to the dentist yesterday and he could not find anything wrong. It hurt when I woke up yesterday morning and I took my last vicodin but by the time I got to the dentist office several hours later the pain had not returned. It was gone. Like magic. Even when I pressed on it. Yikes.

He took the biggest x-rays I've ever seen, they must have been at least 8 x 10. My old root canal looked fine and he checked everything out and it was all fine. Mystery pain. He talked about several possible causes, none of which are detectable, and said that if the pain comes back often enough then the tooth would have to go so we'll wait and see.

Well, I am relieved that I didn't have to have a tooth pulled. Yet. And I'm happy that the pain is gone. Mostly. But I'm disappointed they could not find the cause and therefore the remedy to prevent future problems. The only thing I can think of is that I've been taking the penicillin since Friday so maybe it fixed whatever was going on. I will take the rest of it, as instructed.

This morning I woke up with moderate pain that is much diminished from previous days. I'm annoyed it's not completely gone but I'm relieved it seems to be fading.

John and I are spending the day in San Francisco today and it's raining sideways. Yikes.

Segway Weekend

We're in California for a while, continues...

I could almost have a separate blog of nothing but photos of the view from our new house. It's so beautiful and changes every day, even during the day. We love it.

My dental agony continues and I'm going to the dentist this morning so fingers crossed.

Yesterday our friend Cary came to visit us at our new house for the first time. She and John went to the fabulous Marin Farmer's Market and then back here for a lunch followed by a walk in the woods. John had gotten his new Segway back from the shop so Cary gave it a try in our driveway. The first time on a Segway is a little weird but she got the hang of it quickly and looks like she's having fun.

Then last night we had dinner at our friends Cory and Jennifer's house. They are so totally our peeps and we really love hanging out with them. We hope to be able to see lots of them before we go back to London in February.

The Agony and the Fog

We're in California for a while, continues...

Yesterday was one of those days where the fog just settled into the valley and stayed there most of the day with the hills poking out. I thought it was beautiful and I don't even like fog.

Speaking of fog, I am also in a fog. A couple days ago I woke up with a jaw ache which by Friday afternoon had progressed into an agonizing toothache. I'm very annoyed with myself because at first I thought it was just a jaw ache from tension or clenching my jaw in my sleep and therefore didn't call the dentist. Friday morning it was obviously a tooth problem and the pain was unbearable. And of course my dentist is closed on Fridays.

I was planning to wait until Monday to call him but the pain reached the excrutiating point later in the afternoon (after our little walk in the forest) and I decided I needed urgent assistance. So I called the dentist who had done the root canal in that tooth many years ago. I would have called him earlier but I couldn't remember his name and thought I would have to wait until Monday to ask my regular dentist who it was. By some amazing memory fluke, his name just popped into my head around 4:00.

They were open on Friday but it was the end of the day and too late to actually go there. Scream. But the receptionist was extraordinarily kind and spoke to the dentist and then called in prescriptions for penicillin and vicodin for me to get through the weekend.

I hate vicodin. I don't know how Hollywood celebrities get addicted to it, it just doesn't seem like fun to me. On Friday the pain was so bad that the vicodin didn't have much of an effect. It just made me as high as a kite but my tooth was still throbbing. Very unpleasant. Then yesterday the vicodin worked a little better and I had a reasonably pain-free afternoon. Unfortunately, vicodin also makes me nauseous so by the evening I was a complete mess and couldn't hold anything down, even water. Pain, flushing, and mopping are not my favorite evening activities '-)

The fact that the vicodin is now helping with the pain makes me think the penicillin is having an effect. Hopefully the pain will decrease and I can stop taking the vicodin. I'm dreading going to the dentist tomorrow because this kind of pain can only indicate something really bad so I know I'm going to have to deal with some kind of dental nightmare this week. Scream.

Thanks to everyone wishing me well on Twitter, Facebook, email, etc, I really appreciate it. This nightmare will be over soon, I hope. I'll probably be minus a tooth but I'll get my life back '-)

Wilderness Excursion

We're in California for a while, continues...

Yesterday we decided to take a walk in the neighborhood. Our neighborhood just turns out to be China Camp State Park.

John is a big fan of hiking. I am not much of a nature lover but after moving to our new house I have been captivated by the beautiful forest views. So when John suggested a little walk on one of the local trails I thought I'd give it a try.

It was beautiful. The forest is lovely and serene, I really enjoyed it. The views of the San Francisco Bay from the trail in the park are spectacular. The weather is gorgeous; chilly but not too cold with clear blue skies. We just can't believe we live here and are enjoying it tremendously. I might even learn to love the outdoors!

Design Decisions

We're in California for a while, continues...

While John was in San Francisco at meetings the last two days, I did some house renovations. In Photoshop.

Before we moved into the new house, we decided the refrigerator was too noisy and had it moved into the laundry room which is right off the kitchen and has sliding doors that really mask the sound of the refrigerator nicely. That left a gaping hole in the kitchen so we had to decide what to do with it.

At first we thought shelves but the pantry already has a lot of shelves so then we thought about extending the existing cabinets. Since the existing marble can't be extended without a seam, and even matching the marble will be difficult, John thought butcher block would be good. As you can see in my Photoshop version of the kitchen it will look great so we're going to have the cabinet guy come in to do that.

Also, the drawers in the master bathroom are wearing out and the finish is coming off a few of them. The cabinet guy said it would be easiest to just replace the drawer fronts and dropped of a catalog with possibilities.

So I used Photoshop to modify a photo of the drawers and put the new fronts on them. We thought the existing drawers were too Martha Stewart and decided on the completely plain ones as replacements. We always prefer simple design.

Alone in the House on the Hill

We're in California for a while, continues...

Yesterday John spent the day in San Francisco at the board meeting for the Electronica Frontier Foundation. He was elected to the board a few months ago and this was his first board meeting with them. We love the work they do and he was very impressed with the organization and everyone he met. Today he is in San Francisco again, this time for the Creative Commons board meeting.

Therefore I was alone in the house all day yesterday and again today. Since John took the car I am truly stranded on the mountain with no hope of acquiring Jelly Belly Jelly Beans, which turns out to be a good thing.

He IM'd me several times during the day because he had his wireless 3G with him and can log on anytime, anywhere. Yay. The 3G pretty much sucks for using here at home but is great when you're out and about. We think we may be getting DSL at last; one company says they can do it and it is in the works.

So between iChat and SMS on our iPhones we stayed in touch which made being isolated here easier to deal with. Normally I would be spending the day with Clyde. I start crying every time I think about him. Wah.

I didn't really need to go out for anything because John stocked up on a ton of food knowing I was going to be on my own for two days. Somehow I managed not to open a bottle of champagne for dinner, mostly because I didn't want John to find me laying drunk on the sofa, crying about Clyde.

This morning before he left for the Creative Commons meeting, he showed me the EFF swag he got, including a fabulous t-shirt. Wow, a women's t-shirt that fits! The EFF really does have its act together, I love it. Hmm... I think it might be a good t-shirt to wear the next time I go to a party at Doris Lessing's house. Smirk.

In Tune

We're in California for a while, continues...

I love owning harpsichords but one thing I dread is tuning them. My harpsichord in London is new, so it will require regular tuning until it stabilizes. But once it does, it should not need to be tuned constantly and will only require little touch ups.

However what I call my "frankenharpsichord" here in California is a mess. It is very unstable and requires constant tuning. After our recent move into our new house it is particularly bad so yesterday I got down to it and started tuning. I got the lower keyboard done and will do the upper keyboard and the 4' choir today hopefully.

It sounds just ok and also has many mechanical problems so I am on a waiting list for a new harpsichord that will be as exquisite as my harpsichord in London.

We are getting settled into the new house, more each day. Unpacking is a nightmare but it's coming along. We're still amazed by the grounds around the house and the beautiful views.

The Eagle and The Mall

We're in California for a while, continues...

Living at the altitude we do not only presents amazing views, but it's where they eagles fly. Several times a day an eagle will soar past outside my window gliding on air currents, surprisingly close to the house. I'll be very surprised if I ever see a mouse here.

Yesterday we needed the classic commodity: No not toilet paper; light bulbs. Unfortunately, like our house in London, the lighting system here is fancy-schmancy and I don't think one fixture is easy to reach or takes a normal light bulb. So, we ventured out in seach of halogen and some other special types of bulbs.

We went to the Mall. Yes, the Mall! One of the things I noticed when we were looking at the house back in July is that there was a mall nearby and I was really excited. The thing is, for the last 11 years we lived somewhere that did not have a mall nearby. It required driving on the highway fairly far. So buying things like sheets, socks, underwear, etc. was seriously problematic. Berkeley just didn't have anywhere to buy that stuff. I used to buy it all online which is fine and I probably still will. But sometimes you just want to go the the store and take a look at everything.

So yesterday, even though we had to drive to the Mall, it is easy to get to, is conveniently located across the street from the mail box place and we did not have to drive on the highway to get there. It turned out to be fairly small, as malls go, but it's pretty nice. The Macy's was great, although they didn't have what we were looking for: brushed steel waste basket for the kitchen. I guess I'll have to order it online. No, wait... sigh.

While walking through the Mall I noticed they have a movie theatre complex and remembered that they are showing The Golden Compass. A show had just started so we quickly bought tickets and went it. It was fabulous, we loved it. We are huge fans of the books. Of course, a lot was left out of the film and some things didn't make much sense unless you read the books, but we thought it was great. Sadly, it looks like the film is not doing well so they may not make the sequels. We do highly recommend reading the books though, they are unique and wonderful.

Segway to the Market

We're in California for a while, continues...

After our Freebie Open House on Saturday, John and our friend Bob went and bought a Segway. They had tried out Segways here at the new house over the summer and loved it. John had the idea that it would be fun to ride a Segway to the weekly Marin Farmer's Market instead of using the car.

Which is what he did yesterday.

There he is on his new Segway. He got the one with the all-terrain tires which makes riding on our decrepit mountain road more pleasant. However, this version of the Segway had trouble going back up the hill. The one he tried last summer had no trouble at all and also had a longer battery life, so he's going to talk to the store to find out possible solutions or switch it for the regular model. (Update: it turns out to be a matter of technique and, after practising, John easily rides the Segway up our hill.)

Then he's going to buy another one so we can both ride Segways. Now, that's going to be blogable. I rode a Segway in Paris and loved it.

And last night we had dinner at our friends Leyla and Stephen's house. It was so great to see them after our months in London. They had been our very first visitors to our new house a couple days ago which was completely fabulous because they are the ones who inspired us to move here. They are so much fun, we love hanging out with them, and now they are right down the road, yay.

Freebie Open House

We're in California for a while, continues...

We left a lot of stuff behind when we moved to our new house. A lot of stuff. How to get rid of it? We hate just throwing it away. So, John put everyone on Freecycle. We would rather give things to people who want them and Freecycle is the perfect solution.

John photographed all 88 items and posted them on the discussion list and the emails started pouring in. Many, many emails. So instead of addressing each response he announced there would be an open house and people could just show up and take what they want. There were a couple special cases, e.g. someone wanted my Pee Wee Herman playhouse that included all the action figures that I had collected from eBay over a 2 year period. I am delighted it went to someone who also adores Pee Wee and will enjoy the playhouse. "I love that story!"

So, yesterday was the Freebie Open House. It went really well. Everyone was very nice and some people brought brownies, cookies and wine to thank John for his generosity. More than half the items were taken. The ones that are left were mostly hidden behind the other items so he's going to have another Freebie Open House next Saturday to hopefully get rid of the rest.

Driving

We're in California for a while, continues...

Living in the middle of nowhere means driving. To everything. Toilet paper, milk, mail, food... it's all about driving. After living in Berkeley for eight years and walking to everything (and walking to even more of everything in London), it's a difficult transition to have to drive everywhere. We're really very close to everything; driving down the long, windy, decrepit, country road is the hard part, especially in the dark. I hate driving and am very grateful John is willing to do mostly all of it. I have never lived anywhere that driving was mandatory, I always lived in a city or a small town and walked everywhere. I didn't even own a car until I was 40. So this is going to take some getting used to.

Yesterday we needed to go to the supermarket and mail box place and we went at lunch time so we could eat out. After the supermarket we turned the wrong direction by mistake and ended up taking the long way around to the mail box place. It was so beautiful. We drove on the road along the San Pablo Bay. I was amazed that the views were as beautiful as those we saw on our recent vacation to Sonoma. I never thought I'd live so close to such beauty.

After we picked up our mail we decided to eat at Chili's. Yes, fancy-schmancy John and Jan love Chili's!

There is a photo of me contemplating Chili's enormous drinks menu. We found it odd that all the photos of the drinks were "action shots" with the drinks splashing and spilling and generally looking like they were making a terrible mess. Hilarious. We didn't get drinks but we did get delicious Chili's food: John had fajitas and I had a burger that was the size of my head. And I ate all the fries so now I can't eat anything for the rest of the week.

The View

We're in California for a while, continues...