Tuesday, January 8, 2008

It is a Day

There's not a real defining theme for today. We are both trying to shake loose from the Christmas cold we caught so we're not on top of our game, entirely. We both got a good night's sleep, which helps. I decided to clean house this morning. You know the routine, Jim goes off on errands while I clean. He tells me the reason he doesn't like the vacuum cleaner has to do with the old work days when he was on graveyard shift. Early in the morning, when he was tired and cranky from being up all night, watching the controls of the power plant, the janitorial staff would come in all cheery and start vacuuming at 5:00 a.m. That used to drive him up the wall. Consequently, especially in our confined space, he likes to be doing something away from home when I clean. Fine with me, as it's a lot easier to maneuver the vacuum cleaner without him here.



Speaking of vacuum cleaners, there might be one or two people curious about what fulltimers use. Of course, this is just us -- everybody has their own preference. Some people have central vac systems. There are a lot of options! When we were part timers, a small upright was fine. I quickly figured out that with 2 small dogs and 2 people, that little upright was not going to last. When we moved into the motor home, I brought my Kenmore cannister with me. It was pretty old then, and I had to replace it last summer. I looked at several different makes and models, but still ended up with another Kenmore cannister. I love having the convenience of the hose and attachments to vacuum everything from the floor up - including the ceiling. I like the carpet attachment because it's as strong as an upright. When we are traveling, it rides in an outside compartment.



Ok, so Jim went to Solvang to pick up our mail from general delivery, then to the grocery for a few items. On his way back in, he paid for another week here. After lunch we rested awhile and I caught up with some of my web sites. We then gathered the dogs and walked over to the ranger station and tried to book a willdlife cruise on the lake. We wanted to go on Friday but they have a school tour coming in, so we asked for Thursday. The office person had to make a phone call, so she was going to call us back. By the time we walked back to the motor home, she'd called and left a message that we could go on Thursday. We finally got that set up and paid for.



I hadn't taken any pictures today, so we put the dogs in their crates ("What, you're going for a walk without us? How could you!") grabbed the cameras and went out for a little stroll.

Here's an interesting dead tree over the water of Lake Cachuma

This is a completly hollowed out tree
Here I am on the other side

This one is for our family and friends back in Colorado Springs - doesn't this remind you of Pikes Peak?
Today I'm also going back into my picture archives to retrieve a couple of pictures of Roseate Spoonbills which I took in Rockport, Texas. A friend of mine, Maureen, asked what spoonbills are, so I told her I'd post more pictures of them today. Besides, they are so colorful, and most everything around here is pretty brown and dull right now.


Well, there it is. Another great day in the life.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great photograph, Jim, of Ellie looking through the tree. I love the bear, with dark lipstick, kissing her on the left cheek.

We love to find animals or objects in clouds or other forms of nature. Surely looks like a sweet bear. Ellie looks sweet, too!

dreamjosie said...

Oh my gosh. I loved the Roseate Spoonbills. They are beautiful. Now I am anxious to see one myself. Love your pictures of Cachuma. Enjoy your wildlife cruise. It all brings back such fond memories.

Jo