Brain Games

 My Dell book of easy crosswords is getting dog eared.  I am on puzzle 86.  I have to admit that when I bought it, I wondered if I would do more than one.  But once I realized that I could actually do them, I was hooked.  And now when I'm waiting for someone--which is like all the time--it's something better to do that doom scrolling on my phone.

I believe they really do sharpen the mind.  I notice that when I start a new one, I am often stumped and then as I move forward, the answers show up more and more quickly.  To be far, there are a lot of the same answers in them.  I can't tell you how many times, the clue is an Alda on TV.

 Some of the answers are certain as in Alan for the the above clue, but with some there can be different meanings for the words in the clue.  It feels like exercise for my brain.  It helps in life too.  Seeing more than one way to look at things is always good.  All that work with words is helpful with writing, too.  More than once I have been amazed at the different meanings

I am getting close to the end of crossword  book and already have a new one in waiting .  This one promises to be one step up from easy.  I look forward to the challenge. 

Time Marches--or Flies--On

             One of the things I’ve enjoyed watching recently is the Friends of Big Bear Valley ongoing filming of a bald eagle nest, visible at all hours on the internet. I watched the timing as two, then a third, eggs were laid. The first two hatched. The third, unfortunately, was destroyed in some bad weather. But eagle parents Jackie and Shadow remained around, bringing fish and other food to the babies Sunny and Gizmo. Of course the babies grew, and got as large as their parents. Yes, they fledged, and I haven’t seen them for a while. I haven’t seen Jackie or Shadow either but I’ve seen comments that they still sometimes return to the nest.

            With me? Well, time marches on too. I’m still writing away at my current Harlequin Romantic Suspense series about K-9s and PIs. I’m still plotting some other ideas. Not a whole lot new and exciting going on, although I did see John Fogerty’s concert at the Hollywood Bowl. It was great! Of course I always enjoyed Creedence Clearwater Revival, and John sang probably all of their most famous songs and more.

            Oops! I’m being told by my pup Roxie that it’s time to take the dogs out. And then it’s back to my computer and writing.

Road Trip

 

 I came back from a short trip up north.  It was a combination vacation for Jakey and my chance to pick up some details for the next Yarn Retreat book.

It is always nice to walk through the hotel and conference center that is the inspiration for Vista Del Mar.  It's also a little confusing because my imagined place is different than the real place and I expect things to be where they are not.  

My favorite thing to do is to go through there at night.  It was after 11 p.m. when we went for our walk and most of the the place was dark and the buildings that house the guest rooms had blended in with the surroundings and become invisible. 

The social hall which functions like a hotel lobby with registration and places to sit by the fireplace and read a book  was lit up and seemed like a beacon in the darkness, though the gift shop and cafe were dark.

The only person we passed was a man carrying a guitar.  The entrance to the boardwalk that leads to the beach was  hidden in the darkness and also in a different place than where it is in my imagination.  Once we found it and started on the boardwalk, there was complete darkness and only the sound of the waves to beckon us forward.  It was brisk with a breeze and fog hung in the air.  The picture makes it look as if there is more light in the fog than there was.  My eyes adjusted to the dark, but it was still mysterious.  

We traveled to San Francisco the next day.  I had been hearing horror stories about how bad the city has become.  I am glad to report that all those reports were wrong.  Everything looked like I  remembered it from years ago.  We took Jakey on his first trip over the Golden Gate Bridge as fog drifted through.  We went down Lombard Street with all the curves and had sundaes at Ghiradelli Square.  It was interesting to watch the driverless Waymo taxis navigate the streets and stop to pick up passengers.  I am not sure how I would feel going down one of those steep hills with nobody in the driver's seat.

We spent the night in San Jose and then made our  final stop was in the Felton at the Henry Cowell park or as we call it the big trees. Being in the midst of all those ancient redwood trees is the ultimate of forest bathing before the long ride home. 

Happy July!

         Well, half of the year is over. Hope it’s going well for you!

            My writing is a little slow at the moment since we have guests for a couple of days—one of my longest-time friends and her husband! She was my college roommate…and that was a while ago. Definitely fun to see them.

            Had our younger dog Roxie at the vet yesterday since her hearing seems to be going bad. Our older dog Cari started having hearing problems at a young age thanks to a bad groomer, but we thought Roxie would be fine…but that infection she had last month might have caused a hearing problem. Now we have to work more with hand signals so she won’t be able to use her hearing as much of an excuse for ignoring our commands!

            Okay, I have a few minutes. Back to my writing for now!