More on toboggans and sunny CA

This one never showed up. If you see two of them, please ignore one.

Ann 12:42 p.m.

Hi Gawdessness (and anyone else)

California, the land of palm trees.

It's also the home of a huge mountain range with lots of skiing. I would have preferred to find ski masks but didn't have time to check out sporting goods stores. It wasn't for the cold, we're expecting 70° F (pleasant, but not warm) here which means Yosemite, 80 miles (approx) away shouldn't be much cooler.
I was thinking about protection from wind and sun. What I found was what I sent the photos of. Did you know Cat in the Hat wears a toboggan of sorts? What I couldn't find were shower shoes (flip-flops). Out of season, they say and truth is I wasn't up to searching through more than two stores. I settled for easy-dry scuffs with flower design and rubber soles.

Our new friend Mollie wrote about pizza and fast food the other day and I couldn't figure out what all these places were doing in England. I had it pictured as the old novels and mysteries describe it. She was sympathetic and posted pictures of the England of my fantasies.

No digital yet - need to get more technical info.

Our population has grown since more people are commuting longer distances. It's expected to double within next several years. New subdivisions and strip malls are sprouting like weeds. We're already experiencing traffic problems that didn't exist when I came here 12 years ago. The University is expected eventually to add 25,000 kids. Setting aside disdain for Walmart and auto racing, it's not sensible to allow businesses of this size in what are largely undeveloped areas without planning improvement to the infrastructure (which they expect the city/county to fund). And, of course, there's the environmental impact of those huge facilities. Our planning commission needs to give serious thought to short term gain (in jobs) vs long term damage.

Oh, I also bought cute little notebooks and pens. Only one exposure left on Halloween camera. I may forget about it. I don't want to buy two and they'll fight over one. I have a couple of days to think about it. Maybe I'll see a two for one sale in the meantime.

My bed is the catchall for everything. It's two twins put together so it's large. Sometimes I'm so tired I just push everything to the center and deal with it in the morning.

Barnes and Noble bought out B. Dalton a couple of years ago. They closed the store in the mall and opened another in our newest shopping complex. I thought I would hate them because of their size but I was wrong. Their staff is well trained, they have a huge selection and will order anything they don't have in stock, they have comfortable reading areas both in the adult and kids' sections, and they have the cafe. They encourage hanging out. They're a "blue" company which means that the majority of their political contributions, in their case almost 100%, went to Democrats. They have excellent benefits and the pay, compared to other retail establishments, is good. Their anti-discrimination policy is real. Tim and my daughter-in-law both say it's the best company they're ever worked for. They have high standards, but they're fair.

Best of all, they didn't displace our used bookstore downtown. It's a different type of store and people who love books patronize both.

Elcie' watching the earliest Star Wars in here and holding a cat.. Harrison Ford looks so young. Rebecca just woke up and I think I hear Rochelle. Carol is out there with them chattering about something. Ray's still asleep. Once he wakes up and Elcie leaves, I may try to start packing for camp. Or, I may wait until Monday when girls are in school. Ray will help. He has a good eye for space - I have a good eye for efficiency. Between us, we'll get us done. Yes, I know it should probably be the girls' job but I don't have enough dufflebags for their version of "packing". Maybe I'll let them label their clothing, a good excuse for playing with permanent markers.

Carol made hot chocolate for breakfast. Ray now up and fiddling with a video recorder. I should go be social for a while.