Cache found

Cache found and logbook signed, left 3 travel bugs and a $1.!

Snowdrops

We saw some snowdrops on our way round the Rackham Ramble.

The Old School House

The Old School House which is now the village hall at Rackham. The start of our walk

Lunch at the Sportsman

Had a very nice lunch at the Sportsman, Amberley, with friends.

On my way!

1979 When I left my Ex. My parents came to pick me up to take me home, a journey of about 180 miles. I did not have a cat basket for my Martini so she sat on my lap. After not too long a while I felt a warm wet sensation and had to sit the whole way home smelling of cat pee. I still loved her!! My mum and dad's nextdoor neighbour took great interest in all of Martini's antics but always insited on calling her Bubbles.
Martini

hot tub

I can't believe it! I've had another Simongesque experience!

I got home this afternoon looking forward to another quite time for ironing and other domestic goddess type duties. I made my lunch and watched The Saint and then went to the bathroom to wash my hands, no water! I went to look out the front door to see if they were digging up the road outside and lo and behold, dangling from the door handle a 'notice of water cut off'
I took in the notice and read the fine print............ due to non payment, blush, how embarassing.
I had sent the check (yes American spelling of cheque) yesterday for this month and last month too as I had lost the bill and had not realised that it had not been paid until receiving the current bill.
No other reminder had been sent and I did not know they cut you off after only 4 weeks late!! I phoned the water office and told the girl I had paid but nooooo that was not enough if I wanted the water back on I had to go to the nearest office and pay in person.

I eventually found the office and the line of people waiting to pay the one person there was quite long. While waiting I had time to read more notices. No Cash accepted, that was lucky I was going to pay by check anyway. I looked in my handbag for said checkbook. Oh no, I had left it at work!! So I left the long line and drove to work, picked up my book and returned to the payment office. The line was longer!!

As I waited and got closer to the front I heard the cashier tell the person at the front "you won't forget to phone the head office and tell them you've paid"
The next person she told the same, I looked wildly at the bill, where's the number, not on the receipt so I hastily wrote it down as I wanted the water to be turned on asap! I paid the bill, deciding against making any angry comments. When I got to the car I used our cell phone to make the call using the number I had written, once I had calmed down I looked at the reciept the phone number appears 4 times on the reciept!

When I got home S was waiting by the door of the garage, I had hoped to be able to get the water back on before he found out but I was too late. I had popped into Vons to get some bottled water for our tea. The water was not turned on before 5:00 so that means it won't be back on until tomorrow. In the meantime we are using bottled water to drink and wash in and the water from the hot tub to flush the loo!
Thank goodness for the hot tub!!

one car

This adventure was worthy of blogging, I felt it was almost simongesque!
My dd's car needed it's annual smog test (like MOT but only emissions tested) We thought that as I now have the aftenoon free that we would get it done after lunch on Friday.
Dd and I arranged to meet at the smog station in Poway so that while her car was being tested we could go off in my car to do some shopping or something. Friday afternoon it absolutly poured down and was thoroughly miserable. I left work and went to the smog station, as I was early, I went in and booked J's car in, with the required paperwork done I went back to my car to await J's arrival, and waited and waited and waited. I waited an hour, no sign of her. I do not have a cell phone, so could not call her and if I'd gone to the office I would not have her number as I do not know it off by heart, so I decided to go home. By the time I got home I was really cross, imagining all sorts of retribution. I pulled into our drive, no sign of her car, open the garage door and there was her car!! Stomped into the house. Where have you been we said almost together. 'I've been waiting at the smog station all this time' I say. "so have I" she says.
We looked at each other in disbelief! 'I was parked right out side the office' I said. 'I was parked by the lawnmower shop' (next door to the smog station)she countered. Well it transpires that we were parked either side of a huge truck that blocked our view and because of the rain, dd did not get out of her car and see me! 'I'm not going back' says dd in a v. bad temper and stormed upstairs to her room.
Well we have to get the test done so I let her stew for a while and then I started to see the funny side of the event. I managed to persuade her that it was a comical mistake and not a disaster and we went back to the smog station for another try, together in one car!!
The good news now, is that it passed.

yesterday

Haven't felt like blogging since yesterday.

monday monday

Just settling myself down at my desk, when lb called me into her office. "Shut the door"Always an ominous sign, I did so. Well she told me that business is not so good. They have no new orders for the forseeable month or two. They have laid off several more people on the shop floor and how did I feel about doing less hours? The ax had swung!! I knew it was coming and half a job is better than no job at all so I agreed that would be OK. If things improve they will give me more hours but at least until I come back from my unpaid leave later this month I will be working only 8:00 to 12:00.
The funny thing was that about a quarter to 12, lb asked me to place an order for lunch for bb's wife to pick up, 'call about 12:15' says lb. I reminded her that I was supposed to be leaving at 12:00. "Oh I'd forgotten" she says. 'I'm a bit busy today, you'ed better stay until 4:00 today!!'

A bridge too far

This title was suggested by S, as we turned a simple 2* cache into a death defying 4*!!
We have a lake, man made I think, that has been getting lower and lower due to the drought of the last 5 years. When we first came to San Diego it was full to bursting and a wonderful place to go birdwatching. Over the years it has gradually got more and more empty. An island in the east became part of the mainland, cows meandered through a new meadow, trees grew where once fish swam and the lake shrunk to a puddle, fishing and boating was forbidden and only geocachers wandered around in search of elusive plastic (I exaggerate but you get the picture!)
After all the rain we have just had the lake has filled up amazingly quickly. And to celebrate this a new cache was set. S and I thought it would be fun to try and find it and perhaps 2 others nearby and do a bit of birdwatching.
We found the trailhead and made our way along a path, for once starting up high and making our way downhill. This was only a dogwalkers trail by the look of it, not an official trail and no view of the lake yet. We crossed a small stream on a rickety bridge and then stood watching some Jays and a woodpecker in a tree just off the path at a fork in the way. S started to lead us to the right but my GPSr swung to the left more and I thought we should go that way. S took the geepeees from me and agreed (sort of) . so on we went the trail seemed to fade a bit and we were heartened by another bridge across a stream which lulled us into thinking we were going the right way. The path now seemed to be getting steeper and the trail less obvious. Leading us through a patch of spiney agarve, S said the arrow was pointing much more to the right now although the trail was going left and down towards the lake and this was a 'view of the lake' cache which normally means up high!! We should be over there on that hill he pointed.
The only way was down into the valley, across some huge boulders perched precariously across a fast tumbling stream and up the other side. Well I made it to the boulders but as I am not a mountain goat I could not easily jump across from one boulder to another!!
I had to sit down and slide along, stretch my foot out across the chasim and somehow get momenteum to get across, I managed once but the second time was a little further and the place I need to put my foot was not so much on the rock but on a very insecure looking pile of flotsum, reeds and branches washed onto a rocky ledge. I was scared it would not take my weight, even as S was standing on it himself. S lent forward to take my hand and as I dithered he gave me a tug so I had to jump!! Made it, phew!! Then as the path we had seen from the otherside seemed to have vanished we had to bushwack and use animal trails to the top of the hill. Once at the top I was shaking and had to get my breath while S found the cache easily, thank goodness. But the view was worth it. I signed the logbook and we left a Hippo TB and took two others, hopefully one of them will want to travel to England with me next week!
There was no way I was going back the way we came and I was remembering what I had read in the online logs of previous finders that the trail was not steep or difficult, I knew there had to be an easier way back to the car. Our first trail to the east ended quickly so we tried again. Back up to the cache and this time the trail north was clear and easy to follow, yes it was level and wide and uneventful. We came out at the exact place we had stopped to watch the woodpecker!! We had a great time and will remember this cache for a long time. It we had taken the right path and gone the easy way it would have been just another cache but we made it into an adventure!!

Movies again

I would have been quite happy to spend the evening pootling about on the web and maybe doing some scrapbooking but S wanted to go out to see a movie. So we went to see the Phantom of the Opera. I have listened to the music forever and I have seen it live at the San Diego Civic Theatre although unfortunately I got seats right up in the highest part!! You don't really get a good impression when you only see the tops of peoples heads!!

Other than the above I had no preconceptions of the film. I did not know who was in it or how long it was going to be!!

I really enjoyed it!! As the music was so famliar I could concentrate on other aspects. The special effects were clever and effective in defining the mood! Raoul was a bit of a wimp, I found his silly hair a bit distracting but he rode a horse like a champ!! The phantom was so handsome with the mask and so evil without it, very well lit and acted. Christine had a wonderful voice. Although I did think she should have covered her chest a bit more while wondering around in the graveyard in the snow.

It wasn't as good as Moulin Rouge or Chicago but It was worth seeing on the big screen.

After the movie we went to the book shop. I could'nt believe it was still open a 10:30 pm and very busy. I almost bought a Cary Grant biography but think I'll wait for it to come out in paperback. I bought a new Terry Pratchett book, Monstrous Regiment for my son and S bought another (sarcasim) rib tickler about the war. Who knew bookshops were open so late!!

curiouser and curiouser

I was listening to BBC7 listen again section and I suddenly noticed that the two programms that i am following, Proof and The Daughter of Time had a curious connection.

quote
Proof The trail of the missing whisky tankers seems to lead directly to Paul Young. But how deeply is Flora's son involved? [Episode 6 of 8, rptd today 8.00pm]

The Daughter of Time Grant and Carradine look into the events surrounding the succession of Richard III. By Josephine Tey. Read by Paul Young. [Episode 8 of 14, rptd tonight 8.30pm]

I noticed that in Proof the trail is leading to Paul Young and The Daughter ofTtime is being read by Paul Young.

Well I thought it was curious.