Feel Like Complaining

The Coit Tower is a 210 foot tower in the Telegraph Hill neighborhood. It was built in 1932/33 made possible by Lilli Hitchcock Coit, who left a third of her estate to have something built to beautify the city. She was very eccentric and often dressed in men's clothing so she could gamble in places where women were not allowed. She also was a volunteer firefighter so the tower named after her was built to honor fallen firemen in San Francisco. This is where I headed to on Tuesday morning. The wind had lessened some and the sun was out. It was a beautiful leisurely walk but consisted of more hills and lots of stairs. All the flowers and buildings were so cool to look at. Flowers that we have to buy in pots, grow naturally outside and get so big! I had to check out this Geranium thinking it was several in pots around the tree. I think it's only one plant, and very healthy one at that. This is the most fragrant flower I've ever known, Freesia; and it grows like crazy here. I w...

As soon as I dropped my luggage off at the motel for storage, I headed out to breakfast. It was almost noon and I was hungry. Hollywood Cafe was the closest to the motel so that's where I headed. It's a very small place but the food was great.  It was so windy and there were some big hills to climb. I got so out of breath and the wind was pushing me back so I'd have to lean up against a tree to I wouldn't roll downhill. Ghirardelli was next and other than the chocolate shop, nothing else was that interesting. I did buy a bag of candy though and the view of the water was really nice. Next I headed to the famous Lombard Street. It was pretty cool and shorter than I thought it would be (only a block). Not many of the flowers were in bloom but it was still pretty. There were steps on the way down so it wasn't horrible but the people coming up were huffing and puffing. That little thing in the distance I circled is Coit Tower; more of that later. I went to my room to che...

Alright, I know the suspense is killing you all. Let me put up a few pictures and see if you can figure it out.  If you guessed San Francisco, you're right! My motel was in the Wharf area and close to so many things. I did use Uber a few times to save my feet but I still tallied up 67,677 steps equaling about 28.6 miles, including airports. Honestly it felt like more. I didn't see everything I wanted to because one day it was just constant rain but I was pleased with what I was able to accomplish. My gps was my constant friend and saw so many people use their own phone that way so I wasn't alone. I never got lost, only turned around a few times on directions. Never was I nervous or afraid to go anywhere because there were just so many people around and the latest I got back to my motel was 8 pm. Only once I got a little overwhelmed when I arrived because I had volunteered before boarding to let them check my bag to save overhead space. I didn't realize it would be going...

Kinda sorta. Shower panels up, fan/light installed, doors on, and we just had to wait for the plumbers to come back to do a pressure test to check for any leaking. Before they came though, Tony and Ian turned the water on and found that the back corner closest to the door was filling higher and causing water to come out the door. It's because of when the guys came last to shore up the bottom with foam, it expanded more than necessary which left kind of a hump in the pan. When the plumbers came I wasn't home and Ian wasn't there yet and Tony had forgotten that one point. The guys said the pan was pitched right, which it technically is, but not in the center. They blew that off and blamed it on Ian and said he did shoddy work installing the doors which causes water to leak out.  The plumber that had done all of the work was out sick so his brother and an apprentice came over and he really doesn't know what his brother did. I hate when I'm not there because Tony just d...

This boy has gone from being just a nervous pee-er to doing it full time. At least once a day and during the night he pees and we are constantly changing his belly band. He can work the homemade ones off now so we resort to the heavy duty velcro one which he hates even more. It's the only one we have so we cut a panty liner in half to place inside. You can see now why we don't want to do boarding anymore. I am still thankful that he and Abe get along though, it could be worse. I get a whole week break from him though while staying with these two. Tucker the English Springer Spaniel is 12 and Kona the Chocolate Lab is 9. They are both loud and boisterous and the more I get to know them, the less I like them. They bark at mealtime and at 3:30 a.m. pee-o-clocktime as well as many more times during the day. It's not just a few woofs either, it goes on and on and is so freaking loud. They have absolutely no manners and put their paws on the counter while I'm cooking and get ...

This boy may have moved on from the plants a little; only because he's more interested in the kitchen counter. We've always chased him off but that is becoming a full time job. Steve's cats always get on the counter and I thought it would be so easy to keep them off if you kept at it long enough. Hahahahahahahaha, I was so wrong. Abe isn't after the food but will be opportunistic if any is left out. He's just being snoopy and wants to get to the window. Rather than fight it, I cleaned the sill and took down all my painted rocks. He's not allowed up when I'm actively cooking and we put food away right away. His first introduction to a toaster left him reeling backwards into the sink. Faith said I was mean but I'll get my laughs any way I can. We will get a cat tree when the bathroom is done and the last of the male dogs that would probably pee on it are gone. My Mom is probably doing a little spin in her urn about now.... I watched a great movie last week...

My trip is only 3 weeks away; I'm excited and nervous. But why am I going alone? I did ask Tony to go with me. Just as I was getting ready to book the hotel, he backed out; same with the next two trips I planned for us. He didn't want to slow me down because of his walker and he knew I wanted to see so many places. One reason to go alone and enjoy myself might sound selfish and I am fighting that feeling; but I deserve it. When you devote almost 40 years to taking care of a home and the people that live in it, it can be tiring and you forget the fun person you used to be (yes I was fun once). Another reason is I feel I have to prove something to myself. Sometimes I get overwhelmed by the decisions I have to make for other people and the house, that my brain goes on overload and starts to shut down. I need to be left to my own devices for awhile and navigate a strange place. Faith helps us a lot when we're on vacation or out and about and it just makes me feel old, so maybe ...