Interim Update #4,739

We're not traveling, exactly, so I am not blogging, exactly, but I thought I might post something to explain the month+-long absence. We're in Middle California, house-sitting for daughter Rebecca while she and family are enjoying the initial travels of her semester-long sabbatical. Currently, she, Jeremy, and grand-daughter Penelope are in New Zealand, preparing to cross Cook Strait to the North Island. See her blog, SherouseHouse.com. They return here at the end of the month. Vicki and I have been living in their house, with Le Sport parked, vacant, in the drive-way. Tomorrow we will take it to an RV shop in Redwood City for de-oxidizing and a new kitchen sink faucet. Major excitement. Maybe you should consider de-oxidizing too.

We have not been idle. First there was moving in and re-arranging a few things. Vicki has been working on photo-albums, and I have been scanning new-found slides and prints as well as 700 pages of travel journal entries from before our retirement. Also preserving and re-formatting the family videos. We also meticulously removed the full-length decals from Le Sport as well as the adhesive; all this to facilitate tomorrow's de-oxidizing. We jointly chose and assembled the pieces of a T-shirt quilt covering most of our lifetimes, a photo of which will appear when it's done and delivered next month. Other excitement has included the fall-out from changing Medicare supplement plans, prescription plans, and PCPs, all in the same month. Sort of a perfect storm of health-care matters. Good thing neither of us was at sea (sick). Further excitement came from changing our pass-word service and strategy. Plus there is also the continuing excitement of going through our things stored here, inventorying, selling or donating or trashing, re-packing, and re-storing for the next time.

We have particularly enjoyed the cable subscriptions, Vicki viewing all known episodes of Outlander, the time-travel "sex and violence down the mine" series, and both of us watching almost all known episodes of Grace and Frankie, Vicki rather more enthralled than I. In addition, I have undertaken a study of screwball comedies and have so far watched Bringing Up Baby, for example, four times. Not nearly enough. My new wireless ear-buds (thanks, girls) have been getting a full test as I work through the recorded works of Cole Porter on my daily walks. Also La Conga Blicoti and the Andrew sisters and such. On one very long walk I listened to the entire Meistersinger. Happy stuff.

We have already begun planning our next travels, which will take us back to Rome at the end of March, through northern Italy, southern France, a Paris apartment in May-June, then some northern France and Belgium (Westfleteren) before crossing over to Britland, if it's still there. We'll finish up in Edinburgh in an apartment for the Festival and Fringe. No plans beyond returning in August to the States. If they're still there. And if we can still get in.

The weather here has been predictably dismal: cool, wet, cloudy, Bay area. See illustration. Okay, not nearly so dismal as other parts of the country.

Oh yes, I've also been brushing up on my meager French on Duolingo...a plus tard!

Rain overwhelming the gutter outside the dining room