spring

The jasmine is blooming and the past week has been full of lovely, sunny, slightly warmer days. I took off Thursday afternoon and all of Friday. On Thursday I got some groceries at one of the Latino markets on San Bruno Ave after wandering around the Portola for a bit. I don't know why I never did that until I got bored with my usual walks. 

Speaking of which, SN and I did a neighborhood walk yesterday, mainly because his back was hurting and we needed to walk on flat, even surfaces. We bought lunch from Cafe Alma and sat outside to eat it. Later in the day, I did a zoom happy hour with Niu and Joe. 

Today I did my usual farmers market/Good Life walk, and then I finally got around to baking the cake with beets and orange zest that I've been meaning to try. It's cooling now, and I need to make the glaze. 

I have mixed feelings about the end stages of the pandemic. I'm ambivalent about a lot of things -- being alone, being lazy, being employed full time, being a long-distance caretaker for my parents. That reminds me that I forgot to set up a zoom call with Dad this weekend. 

roses

I inherited several rose bushes and I've done almost nothing to cultivate them, other than giving them some water and pruning them occasionally. And yet, they survive. If and when my entryway gets torn down, three of my rose bushes will have to be removed. I'm not sure if I should try to replant them. 

Yesterday I met nb at Coyote Hills and we walked aimlessly for a couple of hours. It feels a bit decadent to drive 30+ miles in order to take a walk. Then again, even though I had to wait a long time at a couple of red lights on the SF side of the Dumbarton Bridge, it took me less time to get there than it usually takes to get to nb's house in Berkeley. 

Mom put her foot down about going to more doctors and dentists, which makes sense to me. She said something about Paul yesterday when we were talking, which makes me think she might want to talk to him. I wonder if I should try to make contact. 

getting old

Oof, I keep coming back to the fact that I don't have a lot of time left. It has to do with Mom and Dad, of course. But also it's just a matter of doing the math. And registering the aches and pains as I try to go to sleep. 

I am particularly tired today because once again I fell asleep listening to a podcast, woke up maybe half an hour later, lay there thinking and listening for raccoons, thought about listening to another podcast, wondered if I should get up for a bit, turned on the light and read for a while, got up to pee and, finally, brought the laptop back to bed in the hope that boring TV would put me to sleep.

Speaking of boring . . . this post is quite dull. 

getting out

I've been trying to get out more and meet up with others. Last Sunday, KW and I met up at the botanical garden to look at the magnolias. The weekend before that I walked with LP in the hills and then sat in NB's back yard for an hour or two. 

I took Friday off, mostly because I'm getting too close to my PTO cap. SN and I went to to Marin and the weather cooperated nicely as we hiked around the three lakes. We ended up doing some climbing because the way around Alpine Lake was blocked off by construction. The guys were just breaking for lunch, and they walked past us with their enormous coolers. SN said they were good-looking but they didn't look at him, so he assumed they must be straight. I didn't really look at them, myself. I feel too old for that sort of thing. Then again, I was never good at flirting with strangers. 

Anyway, we ended up walking up a fire road that I'd never noticed before, and we got to some great views and a good lunch spot. We chatted about this and that. SN reminded me of the names of some of the birds we were seeing. I've probably already forgotten. 

Yesterday I drove to Coyote Hills to meet up with VH and NG for a stroll along the shoreline. Another beautiful day! And a very popular destination -- we were lucky to find parking spots. Some of the bikeriders were annoyingly officious, but I guess I can live with that. I'd like to go back during the week sometime.

This afternoon I'm meeting KR and maybe also LMA at the Magic Gate. 

Still a lot of inertia in my days. Maybe that's OK? I don't really know. 

I can hear singing coming from the church across the street. I hope that is safe.