A Better Day Today

Yesterday morning, I woke up with zero appetite which is highly unusual for me.  By 10:00, I was back in bed sicker than a dog.  I didn't leave the bed all day, too weak to lift my head off the pillow and miserable.  Through the haze of my sleeping and dozing, I heard the rest of the family pack up and head out to explore a nearby river.

When they got back to the cabin, Camille brought me a bowl of pretzels to go with the glass of water my mother had brought me earlier.  Around midnight, I cautiously ate a couple and by this morning I felt pretty normal.  I successfully ate breakfast and took it easy.  Brett called and reported that his son's foot surgery went well -- two and a half hours, pins and plates everywhere.  He cannot move for three weeks and no weight bearing after that for 13 weeks.  And I thought I had it bad!

Camille registered for her fall college classes online and then we went to Scotts Flat Lake where we met up with the rest of the family.  I walked down to the shore with NO boot!!  Woo-hoo!  Not very fast and not very graceful, but still... 

Mom and Dad sitting on the shore

My nephew, Nick, the 6'4" human pretzel

Kristin, Kyle and Camille riding a submerged log.  Nick coming to... rescue?  torment?  

When we arrived back at the cabin, there was a large family/flock of turkeys in the back yard.  Kristin was able to get quite close to them.

I started to feel a bit "off" again before dinner so I just picked at my food and I'm going to take it easy this evening.  I'll assess how I'm feeling tomorrow and then decide whether to head home as planned or stay an additional day. 

The Swimming Hole

This afternoon, I took Brett to Sacramento.  He flew home so he can take care of the animals, go to work, and be down in San Diego Tuesday for his son's surgery (broke his foot in a freak bicycle accident).  Once I got back to the log house, I sat on the patio with my foot up relaxing until my sister and the kids got back from exploring a gold mine.

Before dinner, the kids all went down to the creek to swim and swing on the rope.  My sister went down to take pictures so I didn't have to struggle down and back again.  Thanks, Marie!

Justin (Marie's), Kyle on rope (mine), Nick (Marie's), Camille (mine), Kristin in front (Marie's)

Hangin' in the Hammocks

Yesterday morning was quiet.  Camille tried out all the hammocks. 

The small single:

The double (careful your butt doesn't hit the ground):

Camille's favorite (the pea in a pod):

My favorite - I like to sit here, looking at the creek, and thinking about writing poetry.  I haven't done more than think as I tend to drift away into a contented lazy place.

Before lunch, Camille and I walked down to the creek.  My dad joined us a few minutes later.  It was steep and I wasn't sure how it was going to be with my foot but I really wanted to see the creek up close, at least once.

It was a long, steep and difficult walk back to the house.  I paid for it the rest of the day with my foot burning like there was a fire in my boot.  I won't be going down there again.

When I finally made it back onto the back deck, I flopped in a chair and put my foot up.  Brett brought me a beer.  I spent most of the afternoon in that same spot.

In the afternoon, my parents sat for awhile looking at the creek before my sister arrived and all the happy chaos of eleven people.

After dinner, we watched the opening ceremony of the Olympics.  I always enjoy the march of the athletes, the dizzy-making number of countries, the joy and pride on the faces of the athletes and their camaraderie.  The rest of it doesn't do much for me and, no offense to my English readers, but that business of the queen parachuting in with James Bond was undignified -- and I find the Queen to be a very dignified person.  

A River Runs Through It

Yesterday we were up in the wee hours of the morning.  I packed the coolers -- following a list because at 3:30 am I am not capable of independent, much less reliable, thought.  Brett wedged the last few items in the car and Camille crawled into the small space left for her in the back seat, curled up in a ball with her iPod buds in her ears and her head on a pillow.  We were able to get to the other side of LA before the morning rush hour hit.  After picking up a bagel and coffee in Santa Clarita, we began the climb over the grapevine.  The grapevine is the portion of the 5 freeway that climbs out of the LA basin, over the mountain pass twisting around itself like a grapevine, and then dropping down into the central valley.  The sun was just coming up as we climbed.

The majority of the drive was on the 99 freeway which parallels the 5, but is a bit further east.  The 99 is the original highway through the valley and it is a much prettier drive with fields of corn, almond groves and grapes.  SunMaid raisins have their vineyards here.  We were on the 99 forever -- five hours maybe -- but it was enjoyable.  You can see the valley stretching out below in the next picture, which was taken as we dropped down on the valley side of the grapevine.

When we reached Sacramento, we turned east and headed toward the Sierra Nevada mountains and the Tahoe National Forest.  Then it was off the freeway and onto a two lane highway, then we began winding through the hills on a narrow road dotted with pine and oak trees.  We came across these two characters crossing the road.

Mama was resting in the shade under the porch of that house the fawns are running towards.  Camille and I were hanging out the windows with our cameras while Brett told us to hurry up because we were holding up traffic.  One car.  Traffic, phooey. 

The cabin is wonderful.  It is much nicer than the old, dark and dirty cabin we rented in Shaver Lake for 18 summers.  This cabin is beautiful, clean and bright.  And a stream runs behind it with a rope swing, a swimming hole and a hiking trail.

Personally, I plan to spend a lot of time here:

My parents arrived a few hours after we did and after unloading their car, I opened some nice ripe cheeses and my dad opened an awesome bottle of wine.  Burgers for dinner, then a sound night's sleep with a cool breeze blowing in the window and the sound of frogs in the creek. 

Cooking, Cooking, Cooking

I can't ride and it's too hot to be outside anyway so what do I do?  I cook.  And then I wonder why I am gaining so much weight.  Let's see... cooking (and eating) with little to no exercise usually equals weight gain, right?

Camille and her boyfriend, Gress, came up last Sunday and I cooked her birthday dinner -- finally.  Her birthday was May 31 but she was too busy then with prom and graduation and celebrating with her friends.  She wanted steaks, baked potatoes and Caesar salad.  Chocolate cake with bananas and whipped cream frosting for dessert.

Gress wanted to know if I'll make him dinner for his birthday in September.  Smart boy, knows how to please his girlfriend's mom.

Today I spent most of the day in the kitchen getting ready for the family reunion vacation thing -- we need a name for it -- later this week.  I made cookies the other day.

This morning, I made banana nut chocolate chip bread.  Kyle eats it for breakfast every morning while we are there.  One year, I forgot to make it and he was really disappointed.  He reminds me now.

My sister and I make all the dinners.  We all bring our own breakfast and lunch food (although there is a lot of sharing that goes on) but dinners are a big effort.  There are eleven of us and the kids, five of them, are between 18 and 24.  They eat a lot.  Okay, we all eat a lot.  My sister and I alternate nights.  She cooks the main course one night while I make the appetizers.  The next night we switch.  My dad brings the wine.  The kids do kitchen clean up. 

One of the dinners I am making will be BBQ ribs.  I make my own BBQ sauce -- recipe from a rib place in Shell Beach I loved when I was going to school in San Luis Obispo.  My mom got the recipe and shared it with me.  A few years ago, my friend Sylvie's daughter came and stayed with us for three weeks from France.  The night that I made ribs, she licked her fingers like the rest of us and said "J'adore cette sauce."  And, just because I love all of you so much, I'm going to share the recipe.  It's ridiculously easy. 

Lastly, I made spaghetti sauce.  I'll freeze it and use it like ice in the cooler. 

Tomorrow, I will pack my clothes and make a rhubarb pie.  Then we'll load the growing stack of bags in the "ready to go" pile, get a few hours of sleep, and hit the road Thursday around 4am.