I finally have a place to breath in Albany, which is known for its narrow streets and smallish houses.  Ironically my rental house is a bit bigger than the average, and it has three baths and a 2-car garage. After 4+ years of living out of boxes, I have a place and space to unpack.  And the garage provides the stash space for me to use as I continue to unpack and sort box after box. Most of my furniture pieces have found their places comfortably in the various rooms.   

My bedroom has windows on three walls! Since I moved in during the dead of winter, I did not truly appreciate how wonderful this would be. Sunny mornings are beautiful times to lay in bed and watch the light play all around me.  

The downstairs kitchen and family room have proven to be great for entertaining groups of friends and family large and small.  The backyard has room for a BBQ and patio furniture as well as for Baron, who is now 13 months old. I plan to start construction on his dog house this month.

For the most part, I have stayed completely clear of the numerous protests on both sides of this situation. I honestly had no clue as to the status of the Marine Recruitment Center in Berkeley. Apparently it is still open. I was at the Thursday Farmer’s Market this afternoon and ran into this lady who was inviting everyone to come and “arrest the Marines” later today. It was so amusing to watch the responses of the people she would approach. For the most part everyone had looks of confusion and “you must be kidding me”. Ironically, the very rights that this woman enjoys (such that she is not arrested for her anti-government activity), are in place thanks to the US Marines.

My 18-year-old cousin Preston is a new Marine. He joined a year ago fresh out of high school and has completed his training. In a few weeks we are gathering as an extended family to send him off to Afghanistan. It will be a sad and joyous time. He is a driven, principled young man who is taking action on the things he believes. He is worthy of my thanks and respect as a citizen. And of that woman’s.

I have always appreciated her honesty and her opinions on many topics.  She speaks with a real practical wisdom based the lessons she has learned in her long life. She has told me many times that she doesn’t consider past times to be “the good old days”.  They weren’t always very good according to her.   

As she has gotten older, I have enjoyed seeing her “retire” from various activities.  She no longer travels more that two hours by car.  She no longer cooks.  She no longer bakes.  And she even has a house keeper. Her mainstays now are crocheting baby blankets (over 200 per year), watching sports, and reading. 

There has been a series of jokes in the family about what to get Grandma, the lady who has everything.  She once threatened to remove from her will anyone who dared get her a pet.

Given her reduction in activities, it seems that a lot of technology based gift ideas are considered on a regular basis.  This is where it gets complicated: she is hard to predict as far as tech gadgets go. She loves her cordless phone, but hates her answering machine.  She loves her cable but has no desire for a DVR.  

She staunchly refused to allow her kids to buy her a new refrigerator, dishwasher and stove.  She finally relented to a serious overhaul and repair of each.  Surprisingly, she allowed a microwave onto the property at the request of her frequent family visitors.  It started in the garage and finally was moved to the kitchen.  She herself has never used it.  Never will. 

My latest jokes with her are about the Internet.  I ask her if she got my email or if she had seen the latest products on amazon.com.  She gives me a good smiling “oh, David”.  

I think we should get her a new TV for her birthday.  Like a 46-inch LCD.  And I think we shouldn’t even ask her.  Hopefully she won’t disown me for instigating.