Not gone for good!

I just took a blogging vacation I guess. I've been busy with starting a new job and haven't posted in awhile. I don't have much to say right now. The job is good and I think it's going to work out well. It's been VERY hot here the last few days. I'm wondering again why I moved here knowing how hot it gets!  Anyway I thought I'd share my little um, adventure yesterday.

I'm sure I've mentioned I have cats right? While I dearly love both of them, Pippin is my baby. He's also a horrible throw-up cat. Since he was a kitten he has routinely vomited sometimes 1-2/week, sometimes only 1-2 a month. I know, kind of a gross subject but it's necessary to the story. Saturday he threw up and I wasn't worried since it's normal. But usually he'll eat again and be fine. Well this time he didn't. He refused to eat anything the rest of the night. At 6:00 am Sunday I was up cooking turkey for him and he wouldn't eat that. By then I was more than a little worried. Then he drank a little water and threw up. Being something of a hypochondriac, I tend to worry a lot so I called an emergency vet clinic. To be safe they recommended bringing him in. So I shoved him into a cat carrier and listened to him cry the entire 10-minute ride to the clinic. A recommendation for anyone looking for a vet in Sacramento - I went to the Mueller Pet Medical Center and they were wonderful. The assistant and vet that we saw were both great with Pippin, explained things well, seemed completely competent and were (extremely important) very reassuring to a worried cat mother!

The vet said it was probably a stomach upset and Pippin & I came home and I sat and stared at him the rest of the day. Actually I cooked more turkey, some meat and then handfed him cat food all of which he kept down. He seems fully recovered now and is happily sitting in the window breathing in the hot air. He does keep looking at me expectantly. I think he wants more turkey instead of cat food. Did I mention he's a little spoiled? Not really a day I want to repeat but at least he's fine now!

National Library Week

April 11-17 is National Library Week! If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you've probably caught on that I love libraries. When I'm happy I go to the library and feel happier and when I'm sad I go and feel better. How can you not feel better? Surrounded by all those books. And they're free! You can check them out, bring them home with you and spend as long as you want (ok, three weeks, longer if there's no hold!), curled up reading, getting lost in another world, learning something new or just admiring the big stack on your living room floor.

Yeah that's where mine usually sit. I wonder where other people keep their library books? I like to have them close by so I can pick up one and read whenever I feel like it. I have books all over but usually the library books stay in the living room. It may not be much decor-wise but it makes me happy.Also it's easier to find them when they are due!

The biggest library I've been in is The British Library. I could gladly have stayed there forever and I left part of my heart behind when I left. Probably the smallest is the Niles Branch in Alameda County. And, in all honesty, I left part of my heart there also. I do every time I leave a library. And every time I close a book. I love books and I love to read. It's just such a magical thing to be able to pick up a book and read it.

Yesterday I read The Children of Hurin, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Curled up on the couch with my cats and reading a book. I can't think of a better way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon. I actually had this book, I'd bought it quite awhile ago but hadn't got around to reading it yet. But if I hadn't owned it I could have gone to the library and borrowed it.

When I have money I buy a lot of books but I still go to the library. I'm always surprised when someone tells me they don't go to libraries. How can you possibly read everything you want if you don't? You can find what you didn't know you needed by browsing the books! Even if I were wealthy someday (not very likely to happen!), I'd still go to the library. It would be impossible for me to ever buy all the books I want. And often there are books that I read that I don't want to keep. It's nice to be able to borrow, read and then return them.

This turned into something of a rambling post. My point with all this is to say Use Your Library! Support Libraries! And be thankful that they are available!

A few pictures

Some pictures from my walk yesterday. I think that I live in a very pretty neighborhood!

A lot of the curbs have little flower gardens planted in them. I don't know if the people that live near them do it or if the city does but I think they look pretty. I had to stand in the street to take this picture. Fortunately no one ran over me.

Here's another curb. I think this is lavender.

There are so many flowers blooming all over!

I had to wait for the train to go past. I like watching the trains - I don't know why. . .

A view down the railroad tracks.

I like this corner. It's planted with a bunch of bushes & trees and looks sort of like a jungle to me. It's really cool to walk underneath it!

More pretty flowers by someone's house.

Another Exciting Library Visit!

I went to a new library last week and forgot to post about it! This is the North Natomas branch. I have to admit that before I went in I wasn't expecting it to be anything special. You have to watch those pre-judgments though! It's a very nice library inside. It is open and airy, has lots of seating, bunches of computer stations, and overall a really  nice feel. It was late afternoon when I went and there were a lot of school kids inside but it didn't feel crowded or noisy. I think it's a great example of a newer library that's comfortable and easy to use. I love tiny old libraries but I also love new ones like this. Ok, I admit it, I just love all libraries! Anyway . . . I had gone there to get one particular book but, as usual, found many others that I needed. Writing this is making me want to go back!

By the way in case you think I'm a little odd with this visiting libraries thing I'd like to point out that there are other people in the world that do the same thing. I know this because I personally know one of them. Admittedly I gave birth to her and may have had some influence on her actions but it still counts!

Since I'm sure you're all wondering, here is the list of the Sacramento County libraries and my visiting status. The names in red are branches I've already visited. There are 28 libraries and I've been to 9. I want to visit them all by the end of the year. I'm pretty sure that shouldn't be a problem.

Arcade Library
Arden-Dimick Library
Belle Cooledge Library
Carmichael Library
Central Library - the 1st one I went to!
Colonial Heights Library
Courtland Library
Del Paso Heights Library
E.K. McClatchy Library - this is my neighborhood branch & my favorite! 
Elk Grove Library
Fair Oaks Library
Franklin Library
Galt-Marian O. Lawrence Library
Isleton Library
Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
McKinley Library
North Highlands-Antelope Library
North Natomas Library
North Sacramento-Hagginwood Library
Orangevale Library
Rancho Cordova Library
Rio Linda Library
Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library
South Natomas Library
Southgate Library
Sylvan Oaks Library
Valley Hi-North Laguna Library
Walnut Grove Library

Silent Sunday

Going Home

I went home today. That sounds funny doesn't it? I went to the Bay Area & visited assorted family members and it felt so much like I was home and safe and stuff was ok. Driving back to Sacramento I started (once again) thinking I'd made a mistake moving here. If you've driven on 80 to Sacramento you may have noticed there is a point where you can see the city kind of rising up out of the ground. It's my favorite view of Sacramento and when I saw it tonight I knew (once again!) that I hadn't made a mistake. Which, of course, made me start crying. (I'm a weepy little person sometimes.)

I was thinking that the cliche "home is where your heart is" does have some truth in it. I love Sacramento, I love my apt here and I don't ever, ever, ever want to move! Most of my family is in the Bay Area though. It's where I grew up, where I've spent all my adult life until now. Where my heart is and always will be. I don't have a physical home there anymore but it's still my home. But my heart is also in Sacramento. I'm making a new life here just for me (and my cats) and I love it and wouldn't change for anything. So I think that's ok. I think you can love more than one place just like you can love more than one person. And it's actually kind of nice. I was going home on my way to the Bay Area and I was going home on my way back to Sacramento.

It felt good to pull up in front of my apartment, lug all my stuff in and see my cats. I'm back home tonight and warm and safe and happy to be here. And it's good and it's going to work. Somedays you just can't say it too many times.

Pictures from my walk

I walked today and brought my iphone with me so I could take pictures. Yesterday I saw so many pretty flowers blooming but didn't have my phone with me. I wanted to listen to music today while I walked and was trying to decide whether to bring my shuffle or phone to take pictures. It took a few minutes for it to dawn on me that my iphone has an ipod on it. Sometimes I worry about myself.



This is in the alleyway where I park my car. I thought the daffodils looked pretty blooming inside the kind of icky fence.



A pretty tree. I like the pink flowers!



I thought this looked pretty cool!



This is a bush on my corner. The flowers are a peach color and really pretty.


The picture you get when you're trying to use the ipod & camera on your phone at the same time.



A little patch of pretty flowers.



I don't know what this bush is but it's very pretty. I see a bunch of them in my neighborhood. I especially liked this one because it has white flowers planted inside it.



Another pretty plant. The leaves are really nice but if you enlarge it you can see yellow flowers. I don't know what this one is either. I think there is a plant id app that you can get for the iphone. I guess I should look for it!

This week

I haven't posted much as I've been kind of busy. Finally! my daughter & her boyfriend came up to visit me! We've been to bead stores and book stores and Old Sacramento and I'm tired! Today it's the Indian museum, back to the bead store & I think the cemetery. Not as strange as it sounds - it's a historic cemetery and has some gardens in it. So here's a few pictures, mostly of the Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento which is a very cool place. The first picture is my daughter Jill. I think she's kind of cute!

2 cat walk

I made two new friends on my walk today, both of them four-footed. The first was the black cat you'll see below. She came running across the street to see me, rolled over to be petted and promptly bit me. A little later in my walk I heard a loud meowing and looked up to see a cat on the roof of an apartment building. We chatted a few minutes and I assured him it looked like he could easily get down. He seemed disbelieving and I started to get a little worried. I wandered around the building and knocked on a couple of doors but no one answered. Finally as I was trying to figure out if I could climb up there, a guy came out and asked if he could help me. I pointed out the cat and explained that I was worried he couldn't get down. He said the cat belonged to someone in the neighboring building and was up there all the time. Thus assured, I continued on my walk feeling only slightly silly. Given that my cats meow like they are being murdered when nothing is wrong, I should have realized the cat was fine and just figured I looked like a gullible human.

I also went to a new library today! The Arcade library is a nice branch and I found a movie and a couple of good books. They have a nice computer room set-up and I liked the way you walk down into the entrance.



Just some bare trees I saw. I thought they looked nice.


Lots of camellia bushes are blooming all over. These are two pretty ones.


This was kind of like walking through a forest. It's hard to tell from the picture but you feel kind of isolated from the street when you walk through this area.


My cat friend trying to convince me he was stuck.


A close-up of him.


Isn't she pretty!


I posted a picture of these trees when they were full of leaves. They are really pretty now with the branches bare. I thought the color on them was beautiful.


The Arcade library entrance.

Candy Cane Street & Library Update

I thought this was neat - all the street lights are wrapped like candy canes.



I went to my 4th library today, the Belle Cooledge branch. It was nice, I found a couple of interesting books: Lands of Promise and Despair and Where I Was From. They were handing out cookies and punch - I assume for the holidays and that they don't do this all the time. Although I guess it's a good way to get people to come back.

So that was my day: a library and candy cane street. As you can tell from the pictures it was raining here today. A lot. It's been a sort of gloomy few days. Maybe next week I'll feel like doing something interesting.

I found the Little Red Hen!

Everyone reading this may not be aware of it, but I'm the Little Red Hen. You all know the story I'm sure and if not you can read my version here! Today I went out to do laundry and on my way I saw a giant Little Red Hen on the balcony of a house. This is incredibly cool I thought! I took pictures but I feel like I should go up and introduce myself.

I went to a different laundromat today. It's one I saw on my walk yesterday and I thought it might be nice. It was ok, cheaper than the others I've been to but not many chairs. I took a picture of the sign because I thought it was funny - the attendant was actually kind of rude when I asked her a question! I was walking around outside waiting for my laundry and saw the firehouse building. It isn't a firehouse, I forget what it is, but the building was pretty neat I thought.

The last picture is more leaves! It's been very windy here today and the leaves are blowing all over. It's pretty nice to watch so I took a couple of pictures.

Update: This is pretty neat! After I posted I thought I'd look online and see if I could find the firehouse and I did! I found a very cool site called Sacramento Old City Association and it has info on my firehouse. Fire Station Number 3 is one of two nineteenth century firehouses remaining in Sacramento. It was the oldest firehouse in use in the city when it was closed in 1982. Constructed in 1893 Fire Station Number 3 served the city west of Alhambra Boulevard for nearly a hundred years.

My Day

I had a very nice, although quite tiring, day! It started by carrying a desk into my apartment. A few days ago I was driving home and passed an antique shop. They had a small desk sitting outside that looked nice and I stopped and looked at it. I've been wanting a desk to put in my bedroom where I can sit and write & not be distracted by the computer. This was exactly what I had in mind, unfortunately the price tag was more than I could pay. I was telling a friend about it and a couple of days later he surprised me by sending a check so I could buy the desk! I went over first thing this morning & fortunately it was still there. It has great little cubbyholes inside and I love the color!

After I lugged my desk in and got it settled, I headed out for a walk to the bead store. The Bead Fetish is a very cool bead store on L Street. I found some heart beads and a couple of rose quartz bears. I was fairly tired after that since I had walked 1.2 miles(!) to get there so I decided to get something to eat and rest. I saw this place called the Buckhorn Grill and while I was a little dubious, their prices didn't seem bad and it was close. It was actually the most delicious meal I've had in quite awhile. I had a chicken sandwich w/a salad and both were very good. I was very proud of myself for going in alone and eating. I hate going into restaurants alone to eat!

My meal revived me and I realized I was close to the street where they had made an ice rink so I walked over there. This is incredibly cool I think. They made an ice rink on the street! It was fun to watch the kids skating. Since I was there I took the opportunity to go into Newsbeat a magazine/newspaper store. Despite some serious temptation I managed not to buy anything! A magazine store for me is like a bar to an alcoholic. I love magazines and have stacks of them still (just ask the people who helped me move!) despite having eliminated quite a few prior to my move. It is a really neat store though and I imagine at some point I'm going to return and give into temptation!

On my way home I passed Time Tested Books and of course had to go in and look around. This is a lovely bookstore with a nice selection of books on just about anything you can think of. They have a big section of old records so if you want records (assuming you know what those are) it's a good place to go.

I figure I walked about 3 miles today and my feet sure felt it by the time I got home!

Sacramento Marina

I walked today at the Sacramento Marina. Of all the places I've been this is my least favorite. It's nice there - you can see the river and there are lots of trees and grass but I didn't find a good place to walk (and maybe I just didn't know where to look) and it felt very deserted and a little intimidating. I went in the middle of the day so maybe it's different on the weekend. I'll probably go back at some point and see but for now it's not on my soon to be revisited list! I did get a few nice pictures and some sunshine though!