Today in My History

2000:  Whistle While You Work
2001:  Sunrise, Sunset
2002:  Back in the Saddle Again
2003:  By the Skin of Their Teeth
2004:  I DO Believe in Fairies
2005:  Where is Col. Klink?
2006:  Pedicures Again
2007:  You're the Top
2008:  Changes
2009:  The Ten Days of Christmas
2010:  Puppies Gone

Our 2011 Christmas letter

Bitter Hack
Updated: 12/6
"Every Christmas Story Ever Told"

Books Read in 2011
 Updated: 12/29
"The Drop"

VIDEO OF THE DAY/WEEK

Brianna gets a puppet theater from Bev Sykes on Vimeo.

and on YouTube

POCKETS

30 December, 2011

I have had a cell phone for many years and I have never figured out what to do with it.  I don't mean how to use it, I mean where to put it.  Many people carry their cell phones around in their pockets, but since I wear mostly sweat pants, I have no pocket. 

I am always on the wrong side of the phone.   Mostly it stays in my purse, but I usually can't hear it, then, when it rings.   Or if I take it out to be with me, I put it on my desk and then get distracted by doing something in the kitchen and still can't hear it.  I rarely actually answer the phone.  I usually get text messages or voice messages.

I have tried "holders."  I got a cloth one that went on a string around my neck, but that just looked silly.  A leather holder that clipped on my waist worked pretty well except that when I was sitting at my desk, it dug into my skin and I would take it off, leave it on the desk and either forget it there, or one of the dogs would sniff it out and chew up the leather.

I still haven't figured out the answer to my problem, but I do have a pair of fairly "good" pants that have pockets  and I brought them with me to Santa Barbara, so I was able to carry my phone around in my pocket.

This was actually pretty silly since I communicate with very few people by cell phone and most of them were with me most of the time we were in Santa Barbara.  But by god, if I got separated from them, I could have called them.

I was kind of happy with this whole pocket thing until late this morning when I took out the clothes I had washed to pack and bring home.  I wondered what all that clanging was in the washer and then in the dryer and, sure enough, my cell phone had gone through a thorough cleaning and drying, as I had not remembered to take it out of the pocked I finally thought to put it in.

So I am, at the moment, without cell phone and will see what Verizon can do for me in the morning.  I am about two or three or maybe even four years overdue for their free phone replacement.  I was tempted, but my cell phone was special since (a) it was red and you don't see many red cell phones, and (b) it had been teethed on by a puppy (I don't remember which one) and I liked that distinctive quality about it.

But puppy teeth marks will now be no more...and I just hope that in my cleaning of my cell phone I also didn't erase all the information stored on it!

We came home today.  We stopped at Tom's on the way out to say goodbye to him, Jeri and Bri.  Jeri wanted a final picture taken of her and her niece.

Bri was also interested in my t-shirt, with the sneezing baby Panda, and asked me if I would promise to wear it next time I came.  I told I would, if she would be sure her Dad showed her the sneezing Panda video on YouTube.

And then we turned our wheels out of Santa Barbara.  I'm hoping some of you horticultural types can tell me what this plant is:

They are growing all over Santa Barbara.  I am assuming it is some sort of relative to the century plant but it looks like a brontesaurus hiding in the bushes.  They are quite impressive!

PHOTO OF THE DAY

The decorations of the Apricot Tree restaurant, where we stopped for lunch include hundreds of
old lunch boxes all around the walls and groups of old thermos bottles (see white outlined window on right)
separating the booths.  We were sitting in the "western" section, with lunch boxes like
Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.  The ones on the top left above there are all Peanuts boxes,
and straight ahead are the Star Trek boxes..

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