Archie's Joy-Love Tour

After the difficulties of traveling with Remy, I am having a whole new experience which I refer to as in the title: Archie's Joy-Love Tour. 

Archie is now almost 4 months old. He weighed 2.5 lbs when I got him at the age of 9 weeks. He weighed 4 lbs when we visited the vet on April 13. I guessing he might be up to 5 lbs by now. His heritage is Australian terrier (which gets up to 14 lbs), Pomeranian (up to 7 lbs), and Chinese crested (up to 12 lbs), so I'm guessing he might end up somewhere around 10-12 lbs. This makes him easy to carry!

I adopted Archie in Johnson City, TN. His coat is very much like the Chinese crested, so he's not too crazy about cooler weather. Fortunately, Chris and Jackie gave me a couple of sweaters which he is gradually growing into. 

Archie absolutely LOVES everyone. He's a little afraid of bigger dogs at first, but he seems to adapt to them sometimes more quickly than they do to him. While we were in Cortland, he and Adam's dog Jake finally played together a bit. Below: Archie with Abby, with Abby and Eloise, with a couple of Abby's former co-workers at Trader K's, in a pensive moment at Abby & Adam's house, and with Jake (L) and Eloise (R), keeping warm by the stove.

Back in Grand Rapids, we visited Chris, Jackie, Spencer, Jackson, and their dogs Buttons and Jake. 

We moved into Annie's basement, where Archie quickly made himself welcome with Annie, Ruby, and Hamish.

He even made friends at the chiropractor's office and someplace else with someone I don't even know.

Below, we stopped for introductions at The Morrisons. Their dogs weren't as happy to meet Archie as Carolyn was.

Rylee's Ace Hardware always welcomes dogs, but Archie made a couple of new friends who will look forward to seeing him again. And he will look forward to seeing them because they have TREATS!

In Grand Rapids, introductions are made to my niece, Vanessa, and friends Cynthia and Sue. 

In Cary, NC, a peaceful moment between Archie and Riley. Riley is a fairly elderly dog who was not pleased with the efforts of this young whippersnapper to get him to play. There was a fair amount of warning noise, but ultimately I think they understood each other.

An arts and crafts fair in Apex before leaving NC yesterday. Many more than these two stopped to admire and pet Archie and to receive his dainty kisses.

And what have I been up to, you might ask. I've been thinking about how to spend the next 40 years of my life, starting with this year. I'd like to write some more songs and make a CD, or whatever it is people do these days to get their music out to other people. To do that, I need to get familiar with different drum rhythms, so everything doesn't sound classical or folk. 

I had a job interview in Albany, NY, for a church music job. I liked all the people I met, and the community is architecturally stunning, but as I drove away I thought, "I could make that work." And then I thought, "Is that what I really want to do? Make it work? If I'm going to live someplace where I have to shovel and make it work, I'll go back to GR where my parents and many friends are." So I told them to take me out of consideration.

About 3 weeks ago, I heard from a UU church in Johnson City, TN. I'd sent my resume way back in February after visiting the church and seeing that they were seeking a choir director. At that time, the minister told me that they were considering how to spend their music dollars -- whether to hire a choir director and accompanist or a music director, or what. I told him I could do any of those things, so I sent him the resume. 3 weeks ago was when the church finalized its budget, including money for a music director, so the minister called to see if I was still interested.

I had the interview this afternoon. I'll meet a couple of committee members again Tuesday evening, but I think there's a good possibility I'll be spending at least this next year in Johnson City -- not as far south as this past winter, but far enough not to have to shovel And if you've ever been through here you know it's gorgeous. 

Johnson City is in the very northeastern tip of Tennessee, only about 25 miles from Bristol (of the Geico commercials -- "now I'm in Virginia, and now I'm in Tennessee ...) and about 45-50 minutes from Asheville, NC. Tennessee is very conservative, but Johnson City is much less so, and it's close to Asheville, a liberal enclave in NC. And I'm happy to say that I've already become familiar with the Earthfare market, the Natural Food Store, and the Natural Pet Supply, as well as the Barnes & Noble. 

Not sure where I'll live yet, but I'll start looking around before I leave in a few days, and I'm sure others will help me by keeping an eye out for places while I'm away in New York and Michigan.

In a few days, I will drive on to Cortland to pick up Abby and take her to GR for a wedding shower, then drive her back, visit Cape Vincent where the wedding will be held, and drive back to GR. There were plans to take my mom and dad to NC for my nephew's high school graduation, but I initially got the date wrong, so now there's a possibility that won't happen, or won't happen when we expected it to. 

I start housesitting on July 7, so from there till the end of Blue Lake session III I'll be in GR -- just in case you wanted to see me and couldn't figure out when I'll be around. 

If I get this job in Johnson City, I'll start mid-August, so as soon as Blue Lake is done I'll be packing up and getting on the road. 

The best laid plans or, God laughs

I was just re-reading my last post, and I saw that I told y'all that I'd leave Lacombe on March 12 and drive straight to Johnson City. Sometime in the couple of weeks between that posting and leaving I realized that I have 3 wonderful friends in Florida whom I haven't seen for some years, and if I didn't go while I was in the south it would probably be a very long time before I would get the chance to see them again. One (Kasie Shoaf Carlson) lives in St Petersburg; one (Jen Marks) lives on an island near Pass a Grille; and one (Katy Peck Wibert) lives in Lakeland. Easy peasy.

As I left Lacombe around 12:30 p.m. on the 12th, I anticipated arriving in St Petersburg late in the evening, probably around 10:30 or so. Kasie had made arrangements for me to stay in her friend's Airbnb room at no charge. (Thank you Kasie, and Fran!) Unfortunately for my plans, warning lights came on in the van, including a battery light and something that looked as though all the doors were open and I had a brake light out.

I probably drove further than I should have with these lights on, perhaps because my experience with warning lights is that they can be unnecessarily alarmist. By the time I got to Biloxi, I'd decided maybe I should get it checked out. It was Sunday, of course, so AutoZone seemed the best option. I like AutoZone. The people there have always been polite and pleasant, and usually very knowledgeable and helpful. The Biloxi AutoZone just off from Pass Road was no exception. The problem I did have arose when the device was unable to get a read on whether my alternator was working because the power in my battery was so low. The man who was helping me recommended a new battery.

(Now, if I were a better record-keeper, I would have been able to refer to something that would have told me that I purchased that battery back in the fall of 2016, and there was no reason for it to be completely unusable. But even as I write that, I'm not positive that I purchased a new battery last fall.)

Anyway, he sold me a new battery for about $110 and put it in for me. Once it was in, I started the car and immediately the brand new battery was reading at about 45%. Another customer, who had been standing around chatting with us, noticed that the belt between the alternator and the battery was deficient. I believe it was at that point that I said, "Maybe there wasn't anything wrong with that other battery." I think it's possible that the AutoZone man didn't hear me say it, but a feeling of wrongness pursued me.

I was sent down the road to a Firestone shop and advised not to drive any further than that. There, I was told that they would probably get a chance to look at it that day, but they might not finish it. I contacted Fran and Kasie and let them know that I would not be arriving Sunday evening. At first, I was really bummed. I was stuck in a place where I could only walk, where it was much colder than usual and very windy, and where the restaurants nearby were all about Waffle House quality. I hadn't really budgeted for an overnight stay in Biloxi, so I was thinking about sleeping in my van in the Firestone parking lot. I went out and sat in my car and tried to visualize it. If I did that, I wouldn't have power, so I couldn't charge my phone or use my CPAP. I wouldn't have access to a bathroom, so I'd have to walk a few tenths of a mile to the nearest Waffle House anytime I had to pee. It sounded pretty grim. So I booked a room at a nearby Motel 6 and started looking into getting a cab or Uber to the motel.

Just then, one of the guys who had been waiting on me at Firestone came out of the building and got in his truck. I flagged him down. He gave me a ride to the motel. And it was maybe the best Motel 6 I've ever been in. There was no carpet, which is sensible since it is right across the street from the beach. The decor was simply and spare, almost IKEA-ish. There was a sweet little table attached to the wall, with one bench seat and one chair. I was exhausted and ordered a couple of all beef hotdogs without buns and French fries for my dinner. The meal came from a place that would deliver to the motel. I watched a little TV and got a good night's sleep. In the morning, I contacted Firestone and was told my car would be ready around 9 or 10. I aimed for 9:30. This time, I did take a cab.

The car was finally ready about 11 a.m., and I was on my way to Florida. It was a very cold, rainy, windy day. Some of it was beautiful, and some was tension-producing. We northerners think of white-knuckle driving existing in snow and ice. Trust me, the rainy conditions in the Coastal South can cause white-knuckles, too. Driving into the Tampa/St Pete area along a very long stretch of highway under construction was demanding. Fran, my host, was at a concert, so he suggested that I visit a bar/restaurant called The Three Birds Tavern, because it is near his house. I did. The food was exceptional. I didn't have any alcohol -- more on that later.

It's a watery sort of the place, the coastal south.

There are roadways that extend for miles over water -- bridges? There must be another name for them.

This is near Mobile.

More water.

And in this shot, the water is coming down profusely.

When I stepped out of the van at the restaurant in St Petersburg, the water was up to the bottom of my pants. Fortunately, the shoes are designed to get wet.

The sun was out next morning, Kasie came to Fran's, and the three of us went out for a lovely breakfast. Afterward, Kasie and I took a stroll along the water and dropped in to the Frida Kahlo exhibit at the Dali Museum. We enjoyed far-ranging conversation on topics of interest to both of us. When we returned to Fran's building, where my car was parked, we said good-bye and failed to get a selfie. I am extremely good at forgetting to visually document my adventures, especially my meetings with other people.

I zoomed off to Pass a Grille to meet Jen Marks next. Fran said it would only take about 10 minutes to get there. Originally, I had planned to leave downtown St Pete about noon for a 12:30 meeting, but Kasie and I got to talking, and I thought, "Well, it's only 10 minutes away." It was about 30 minutes, all told, especially with the major road construction going on on the surface roads. But Jen was patient, and it was absolutely lovely to see her and chat with her.

A side view of the restaurant where we had lunch.

Here I am with Jen in the wind!

By the time we had finished our lunch, it was time for me to zoom off to Lakeland to see Katy, and so I did. Except for the nasty construction in the Pass a Grille area, traffic and driving were not too bad. I met Katy at her office, where she does accounting for a school system. She closed up the office, and we walked along a sweet lake, through the park and gardens on the other side, into a shopping area where we stopped for coffee, and back to the office.

One of the many beautiful lakes in and around Lakeland.

A particularly pretty duck. Do you know what kind it is?

Here I am with Katy before leaving Lakeland.

I said I'd tell you why I wasn't drinking alcohol that first night in St Pete. A few weeks ago, I decided to have a Salty Dog margarita at lunch with my friends in Bay St Louis. By that evening, I had a pain in my left hip/glute/lower back that was fairly excruciating. I hadn't lifted anything heavy or done anything physically crazy, so I had to think that something internal was out of balance. I looked up the body's meridians and decided it must be a kidney meridian. Fortunately, I posted this on Facebook, and Kasie corrected me that it was a bladder meridian. Either way, I knew I hadn't been drinking enough water (because I didn't like the taste of the water in Bay St Louis) and needed to increase it. Because I didn't have Jock Smith there to advise me, I decided to try some combination of urinary herbs from HerbPharm to try to help matters along. It took a few days, but eventually things got back to normal. 

Lesson learned? Apparently not. In my travels, I had a glass of red wine with Fran on Tuesday night and another at Dave and Marty's on Wednesday night. By Thursday, I was having lower back trouble. It persists, but it's definitely getting better. It may be time to give up even occasional alcohol altogether. 

I spent Wednesday evening in St Pete, sleeping on one of the most comfortable beds ever, at Fran's place. I got on the road early the next morning, heading for Columbia, SC, and the home of my aunt and uncle, Dave and Marty Sennema.

(Oh, I forgot to mention that disconnecting the battery to my car caused the radio to stop working. It's a safety feature, apparently, and some codes were needed to get it restarted.)

As I was passing through Jacksonville, FL, on the way to Columbia, I decided to try to find a Honda dealership where someone knowledgeable could quickly get my radio working again. I pulled into the service area, only to be told that they were completely swamped and I should try the Toyota dealership across the street. Those guys tried, but they couldn't figure it out. I finally realized that the 8-digit number the radio kept giving me when I manipulated certain buttons was the device serial number, not the code to restart it. Once I knew that, I was able to go on line and get the restart code. It was nice to be able to listen to the radio or a CD again.

I arrived in Columbia around 4:30 in the afternoon, had a glass of wine, and accompanied Marty and Dave to dinner in Still Hopes' lovely dining room. After dinner, the two of them went to choir practice at church. I had planned to attend, but as we left dinner I realized that I was pretty low on energy and opted to stay in the apartment and watch TV. I flipped back and forth between CSI and a TCM broadcast of Annie Get Your Gun. I did eat some ice cream that was in their freezer, so I went out to the grocery store and got some more, and then ate some more. Needless to say, between the wine and the ice cream, I was fairly hungover the next morning. But I did remember to get a selfie with Uncle Dave.

By 9:15, I was headed north with plans to meet Carol Janssen for lunch in Asheville. I had no problem finding the cute Cafe 64, but I was seriously underdressed. Even in Florida, I had been chilly, but as I went north I longed to put my hands on my winter jacket and the bag of socks I knew was packed somewhere in the back of the van. Even though Carol's wife, Jennifer, couldn't meet us for lunch, she invited me to stop by where she works at the Visitors Center for the Blue Ridge Parkway. I did so with delight, and purchased a Blue Ride Parkway hooded sweatshirt while I was there, which I believe I've worn every day since. 

I arrived in Johnson City, TN, around 3:30 Thursday afternoon and brought the basics in to the great little guest house/apartment that Nancy Peterson and her husband have there. Nancy is in Michigan, unfortunately, so I don't get to enjoy her company; but I do get to enjoy her space and help clean up the yard for spring.

I had spotted a dog on Petfinder that was being fostered in Johnson City. With the help of lots of people at whose houses I would be staying, and my trusty character references, I got approved by the Australian Shepherd Rescue, under whose auspices Loki was fostered. But when I met Loki, charming as he was, I knew that we didn't have the chemistry, and that he was too much dog for me. I checked out rescues and shelters throughout the area, driving from one to another, asking questions about dogs, meeting them, and not finding anyone that felt right.

Friday evening, I looked at Craigslist. Now, it's not likely I would get an adult dog from Craigslist. I am not confident that the sellers are willing to be candid about the animals. But a puppy? Okay. I found someone that I believe is going to light up my life for a long time to come. 

This is Archie. His mama is Australian terrier/Pomeranian, and his papa is Chinese crested, so he's a pretty exotic little guy. (The name just came to me and felt right, but if anyone asks, he's not named after Archie from the comics or Archie Bunker. He's named after Archibald Macleish.) So far, the evidence points to his being very loving and playful. He loves his stuffed hedgehog and runs through the apartment carrying it (even though it's almost as big as he is) and shaking it for all it's worth. Archie is only 9 weeks old, but we've already been having a lot of success with house training -- I guess we're mostly house training me to be vigilant and take him out anytime he finishes eating or sleeping. Still, I think he's getting the idea. He also sits before I feed him, and he's getting used to spending time in his kennel. At night, I put the (soft-sided) kennel up on the bed next to me. When I first put him in, he whimpers, and I put my hand inside the kennel till he quiets. I think it's all working pretty well.

I know it's important to socialize him, so I've been taking him out a lot. He's been to the Natural Pet Store and to PetSmart. I took him to a dog park but soon realized that there were a lot of disadvantages to that for someone so small. We didn't stay long. When we got back to the apartment, we went for a walk, which means I walked and carried him. 

This is the view from the top of Ridgecrest Rd. Everywhere you go around here, you can see the blue mountains in the distance.

Here we are on our "walk."

This morning the sun dawned rosy right through the kitchen window. What a sight!

Today's adventure was a fairly short drive to Bristol, TN/VA, to see Charlotte Duncan, someone I met in Montana nearly a year ago, who was then on a similar adventure to mine. She had a motor home and was driving around the country. Because of our similar stories, we exchanged contact information. When she saw that I was in Johnson City, she mentioned how close I am to her, and I buzzed over to see her. We had a lovely afternoon, including a walk around her neighborhood,

This sculpted archway is in front of the relatively new public library in Bristol.

 a cup of coffee at a little cafe, and a pleasant visit in her apartment. Now, you must know that Charlotte and I met while she was working in a retail store in Montana during her travels. We did not converse extensively at the time, but we knew that we liked each other. This visit only confirmed that!

Archie met Charlotte's cat, Malala. This was his first cat experience. It appeared to be a positive one.

We said good-bye to Charlotte and Malala around 4:30 and encountered the most traffic I've experienced around here on our way home, which was still not terribly offputting. It's a quiet evening. The sky is sharply clear, and the stars are very bright. Johnson City is a beautiful place.

I have more to tell you, but for everyone's sake, I'll post again in a couple of days. This has already been a very long post.

Trip to New York and upcoming plans

I suddenly realized upon my return from yoga class this morning that I had promised to catch up here right after my trip to Cortland, NY, and it's been almost two weeks since I got back! Sorry about that.

I started from Lacombe, LA, about 40 minutes from where I've been living in Bay St Louis, right after the church service on 2/5 and drove to Johnson City, TN. The first thing I discovered, upon stopping in Slidell, LA, to get a cup of coffee and some "egg bites" for the road, is that Starbucks didn't plan on the popularity of the egg bites, and the North Shore Starbucks was completely out and had been already for several days. I thought this did not bode well for my trip, as I've become quite fond of this delectable tidbit, and I thought how easy it would be to get reasonably decent food along the way. Starbucks also now carries Emmy's Organics, a tasty cookie (with only a tiny bit of agave, and no flour) that originated in Ithaca, NY. I believe I got some cookies and a coffee, but I was disappointed and not quite satisfied.

Without the needs of another creature to consider, I pushed on and on, and arrived in Johnson City late, probably around 10:30. My friend, Nancy, is in Michigan, but she had her neighbor, Kristin, make sure the heat was up in the guest house. Kristin also left coffee and cream, and some granola and milk. She didn't know that I don't drink caffeinated coffee, nor eat granola. But I felt very welcomed. I had also discovered along the way that not all Starbucks were out of egg bites. And I had some shrimp stir fry that I had brought along from BSL. I ate that Sunday evening, and finished it Monday morning for breakfast.

I got on the road pretty early to Cortland and watched the temperatures slowly drop as I pushed northward along highway 81. Actually, when I arrived in Cortland, it was not too cold. It was rainy for the next few days, but it didn't get cold enough to snow until Thursday night. I was glad I took my rain boots!

Much of the entertainment at Abby and Adam's place is provided by Jake (dog) and Eloise (cat). Abby tried for a long time to find another suitable home for Eloise because Adam is allergic to cats, but when that didn't happen, Adam agreed to give having Eloise in the house a try. They keep the place well dusted and vacuumed, keep her brushed, and keep her out of the bedrooms. In addition, Adam has been taking Devil's Claw, and he seems to be holding up well, so much so, in fact, that he's become quite taken with Eloise.

Eloise was trying to snuggle in Abby's lap when Jake came up and totally imitated Eloise's position.

The stuffed warthog is missing its eyes, but very much loved.

Sometimes, she gets right up against the wood stove. I don't know how she stands it.

Jake can be such a flirt.

Other creatures like getting warm by the wood stove, too.

And ... the snow came back. This is Abby taking Jake out for a constitutional.

Since I've been taking so many yoga classes in BSL, I checked ahead to see about taking some while I was in Cortland. I figured four days of driving was going to be hard enough on the body, but going without my regular workouts would make it even worse. I found a place, Pure and Simple Yoga, and bought their 2-weeks-for-$25 pass. Since classes are $15 each, I figured even if I only took 2 classes this would be a good deal. My first class was Svaroopa, a style I was unfamiliar with. It seems to involved a lot of props, some of which may have been helpful. Others just got in the way. Also, I was not impressed with the teacher. The next day, I decided to try out the Tai Chi class offered on their schedule. I showed up at 4:00, the time listed on the schedule, but no one was there. I went downstairs to a little gift shop, tried again a little while later. Still no one. I left a note about having been there.

I got an email that let me know that Tai Chi classes aren't included in the pass. Good to know. Also, because I hadn't signed up on line ahead of time, the teacher didn't expect me. Apparently, s/he wasn't expecting anyone else, either. The third day, I signed up for a Kripalu class. Halfway through the afternoon, I got an email that the class had been canceled because the teacher thought the roads were too bad to drive up from Ithaca to Cortland. The director of the studio kindly refunded my money. Maybe I'll give them one more chance the next time I'm in the area -- probably not Svaroopa, though.

I had a relaxed, comfortable time visiting with Adam and Abby. Abby and I shopped in Syracuse on Thursday for a wedding dress ... and WE FOUND ONE! What a relief this undoubtedly is for Abby. She had been shopping in stores and on line since about August, so it is nice to know that this is finally accomplished. When we were out for coffee one day, we encountered this: 

Why?

Fairly early on Friday morning, I packed up the van and headed back, planning to stop halfway in Johnson City again. Having enjoyed my stay there on the way up so much, I was considered staying an extra day, and I contacted Nancy to make sure that was okay. It was.

These pictures were taken passing through Virginia. To my eye, the area along the horizon was a deep, glowing red band that got darker, while maintaining its illumination. Unfortunately, the camera only sees light - bright light. 

Since I was staying an extra day in Johnson City, the first order of business on Saturday was to get the car washed. The van hadn't experienced anything like the road mess of the north country since I got it. Here are the before and after pictures. And I found a car wash with free vacuuming, like my favorite spot in GR, so I got the front floor and seats cleaned up a bit, too.

In case I hadn't mentioned it, Kristin, Nancy's neighbor, has 17 dogs at her place. Some of them are hers, and some are fosters. All but Clyde are medium to large dogs, so not really my cup of tea; but hey! They're dogs! And I enjoyed meeting all of them. They have a huge, fenced-in yard to run in, and they know how they fit in each other's lives. 

The fellow with his paws up on me is Turner. He's a foster. He was very sweet and friendly.

You can see a few more of the guys here. The one in the coat is Clyde.

Kristin asked if I'd like to have Turner keep me company. She wanted him to have more socialization opportunity, and I agreed that I would enjoy his presence. I did, but we didn't click to the point where I wanted to keep him.

One of the reasons I wanted to spend the extra day in Johnson City was that the local UU church had a posting on their website that they were looking for a choir director, and I wanted to check the place out. I went to their completely delightful Valentine's service on Sunday morning (11 a.m., like most UUs, I've discovered), so I didn't hit the road back to BSL till after noon. 

The drive back was uneventful. It was nice to feel the temps getting warmer again as I drove. 

After feeling so appreciated in Cortland, and in Johnson City, I realized that it would be necessary for me to leave BSL before April 10. It was time to plan my exit. When I got back, after a couple of days of fretting, I spoke to Rick about it. I decided the best thing to do was simply to tell him what I'd decided and see how much money he'd expect from me to keep us friends. Ultimately, that's what it comes down to. So now I'm planning to leave March 12, much as I did on this last jaunt, after church at North Shore UU, only this time I'll be preaching for the service. 

I had considered driving to Auburn, NE, to Hearts United for Animals, to see if I could adopt a very cute young man named Buster, or possibly Ricky. I was prepared to have either the sanctuary or me decide that it wasn't a good fit. But this morning I woke up with a realization that I didn't want to drive to Nebraska before going back to Johnson City. It didn't feel right. So I will leave from Lacombe on March 12 and go straight to Johnson City. I will stay there for at least 2 weeks, work around the house and garden trying to do things that Nancy would do if she were there, helping out, and getting to know Kristin and her dogs better. She has a lot of contacts in the dog-fostering world, so I may find a companion while I'm there; but I've realized I'm not in a hurry, and I'll know when it's right. 

So, here's what I've been up to since I got back to BSL: working on my version of a T-shirt quilt. I have lots more to go, but luckily it's the kind of thing that I can easily start and stop. 

I've been knitting a shawl for Abby for her wedding. No photos. It will be a surprise. But I'll tell you this much, I was probably 3/5 of the way through it when I took it all out and started over. I had taken it to the knit shop to get help with a mistake. When we laid it out on the table, I could see so many mistakes. I was going to let them go, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted it to be nicer than that. I'm now almost caught up to where I was.

This was taken just over a week ago on a very enjoyable bike ride along the coast. It was warm enough for me to be tempted in for a swim, even though the locals stared at me like I'm crazy. Heck, the air temperature was in the low 70s, and the water was only a couple of degrees cooler. Sometimes Lake Michigan doesn't even get that warm the whole summer!

This photo is from a women's restroom at Zea rotisserie restaurant in Slidell. I took it because I am bewildered by the extremely low placement of the toilet paper dispenser, not only here but everywhere in handicapped stalls. It seems to me that anyone sitting on the toilet, no matter their physical ability, would find it awkward to lean over so far to get at the paper. Anyone have any insights about this?

Fog again. Condensation on the windows. This is the norm here.

Last Saturday, I began having trouble with my left lower back and hip area. It seems to me to be a bladder meridian, and if I were in Grand Rapids, Jock Smith would have me back to normal in no time. Here, however, I've been trying to figure things out on my own. I finally had a fabulous Reiki session yesterday in Diamondhead, with Debi Lynn Juhl. She postponed leaving on a short trip in order to see me, and I was very grateful. I haven't done yoga since Tuesday -- and that class was very difficult because of the pain -- nor ridden my bike much. The session didn't have the immediate and miraculous effect I had hoped, but I feel much better.

I went to yoga this morning, and though I had to modify some things to keep from setting off the twinges, I made it through class, and I biked there and back. I will probably ride a little more this afternoon. I also started packing yesterday, which feels good. I'm a little concerned about hauling things to the car and putting them in, but I'm sure Rick will help if I ask him, and that's not for almost two weeks. I expect to be doing much better by then.

Long range plans: return to GR after Johnson City, possibly by way of Cortland; spend the rest of April in GR, including Daedal & Karla's wedding on 4/22; go to NC for Keaton's graduation from ECU on May 5; return to GR; go to Cape Vincent Memorial Day Weekend for Abby's shower; return to GR; take Mom and Dad to NC at the beginning of June for Cooper's high school graduation; get back in time to go to Joan Baez with Sue in GR; go back to NY to help prepare for the wedding on June 30; return to GR and house sit for Elianna and Jeff during July while working at BLFAC. 

After that, who knows? Thinking of LA for next winter, but I'll just have to see which way the wind is blowing.