Poachers

This is the lake behind Catherine Place. I was excited to see these young men out there in their canoe because I thought it would make a good picture. They said they were bass fishing.

When I went in Catherine Place some of the residents were all in a flutter because someone had driven on their private land and were in their lake. Evidently this is private property and posted.

Potty in the Bathtub

This is the ugly side of remodeling. The potty is in the bathtub. There is dust and dirt on everything, EVERYTHING. Furniture is stuffed everywhere. There is only one working bathroom with no door. The doors have all been removed and are propped up here and there. This all began on tuesday when we began camping out in the kitchen/dining room. All is supposed to be finished today. Thankfully the tile people will be hauling all the old carpet and debris out with them.

An example of the cheap builder vinyl floor can be seen behind the potty. All the ugly cheap, impossible to clean builder carpet is now gone from the living/den and hallways. The bathrooms are now tile. The tile guys are putting the grout down now.

Hanging at the W in Chicago

On the way back from California I used our AARP discount to score a reasonably priced room at the W. The W is just a few blocks from the train station and just a few blocks from the Art Institute. We were easily the oldest people I saw there. The doorman welcomed us and we entered a stunning lobby full of trendy folks enjoying drinks and snacks. The room was trendy and comfortable. I would stay there again. I loved the art, design and energy of this hotel.

Dairy Queen in Walnut Creek

Patrick and Brian were good sports as they were dragged around to the many towns that I wanted to explore. Here we are in upscale trendy Walnut Creek, land of great shopping and a Dairy Queen tucked in across from a botox place and down the way from a Nordstroms!!. We actually visited the Crate and Barrel that Jen managed, a huge store full of great stuff.

Thanks to Brian and Jen I am expanding my knowledge of great places in the East Bay.

Sorry Shirley H., when we traveled to California for Dave and Dani's wedding you wanted to go to Walnut Creek, I did not even know where Walnut Creek was. To someone who lived most of her California life in Marin and sonoma, the East Bay was just a jumble of towns I heard on the traffic report. I have now been to some great East Bay locations like Martinez, Benicia and Crockett.

Now I have a list of places yet to explore in the East Bay. St. Mary's college in Moraga, Lafayette, Pleasanton and more time in Livermore.

Signs of the South

Well we are back. After a glorious month in California we are back in the south. While we were gone the Japanese maple completely leafed out, the daisies and hydrangeas are in full bloom. Of course the weeds are as high as an elephant eye. Oh, and the pool pump engine burnt to a crisp, a new one was installed yesterday.

This is a picture of a a car in the tunnel with a lawn mower jammed in the trunk. Let the the weekly lawn mowing commence.

I have lots more pictures and words to post. We had a great trip.

Searching for WPA Art

The great depression began in 1929 with the famous stockmarket crash. In 1935 President Roosevelt put together a package of economic programs aimed at bringing the country back. One of those agencies established out of these programs was the "Works Progress/Projects Administration" (WPA). Many americans were given government jobs in construction. Many artists were hired by the WPA and put to work creating murals in public building. The Mural above is in the Sacramento Amtrak station. the building was built in 1916. The mural was painted in the 1930's.

There are also murals at The Museum of Mobile is located in the former city hall. If you ask the workers at the Museum about these murals you will probably get a blank stare. Here is a link to the documentation:

http://www.archives.state.al.us/mobile/mobile1.html

This mural is in the Martinez California post office.

Economy will get worse before it gets better

We have enjoyed our time in California. We have had cool, rain and now sunny weather, temps in the high 70's.

If California is a bellweather for the rest of the country we are in trouble. The state is short billions, El Dorado county will have to borrow millions. There was a big jump of foreclosures in April. People are pulling their children out of private schools and putting them in public. Yes this has affected people that were already living beyond their means but it is also affecting the frugal people.

I have happily traveled to old town Folsum and the little towns of Sutter Creek and Placerville. All share the same signs of the sinking economy. The little downtown streets are peppered with out-of-business restaurants and shops. Every small business closed means a loss of jobs.

So, I am predicting things are going to get much worse before they get better.