The weather is beautiful.  Yesterday I spent 4 hours putting in succulent cuttings in front my house by the sidewalk--and setting 5 rocks into the ground.  Lots of work, but entirely satisfying.  Being outside gave me the chance to talk to two of my neighbors--one is a young mother who is in school and wondering how to make her schedule work.  She came over to me to say hi, but went away thinking about "what would make her more peaceful."  Jody shared how her car got bashed in on the street the other night.  We talked about her new "on-demand" hot water heat that is like the one I had installed.  I don't think I applied for an energy credit though.  Oh well. I can't think of everything.

Two Japanese friends are arriving tomorrow, so we are planning to take them shopping and up to Napa Valley for some wine tasting.  The Japanese numerology charts are coming along, and Fumiko and Robert and I are working on getting the program to work.  It's very complicated!  Only Robert could figure this all out.  The new Chart Summaries are in place in the English version, and I'm so excited at the way they turned out.  So easy to see elements of life purpose and life lessons now. 

 EK and I will take a hot tub tonight and relax and catch up on our news.

It's interesting to watch the mind each day and see what it is that you're afraid of.   

Yesterday was a beautiful Sunday.  Robert and I went for a walk to follow the San Francisco Bay Trail, and found only a small part of it.  In El Cerrito, there is a Cerritos Creek Restoration project, to reclaim the creek to health.  Behind El Cerrito Plaza, there is a little plaque that shows where the big Spanish land grant, Rancho San Antonio was located (Trader Joe's market sits there now.) It shows where the Indians lived, where the dynamite factory was (in the 1880's) and where the first blacksmith shop was that was the center of El Cerrito (Ace Hardware is there now.)  

A little further down, the Creek was quite dirty and littered behind the Pacific Ranch Market (the Asian food market where we go to get fish, vegetables, Chinese sauces, and dim sum). It was sad and frustrating to see the  mess.  I was thinking maybe I should join the Five Creeks Restoration project, and maybe participate in a cleaning day.

We walked about four miles and went home to work on my new chart Profile Summary (it's finished!  All Primary Life Charts now have this new, succinct profile summary at the beginning of the full chart. I am very excited about this because it makes it easier for people to read.)  

At 4:30 pm we decided to take a break and walk over to the the local street fair, The Solano Stroll.  As we were looking at the booths, I spotted the booth for the Five Creeks Restoration project!  I was so happy to come across them as I had just discovered them in the morning on the walk.  I mentioned the litter on the Creek, and a volunteer in the booth suggested I call the management at the Pacific Ranch Market--it's their litter that blows into the area.  They also had literature about clean up projects.  I think I might do one!  And I should call the Market and see if they have plans to keep that area cleaner.

At the end of the fair, the Emeryville Taiko Dojo (big Japanese drums) was performing.  I was so happy!  It's my favorite thing, the Taiko drumming--I've been a fan since the very first moment I heard them.  I remember the moment about 20 years ago.  It was the very first time I went on a catering job.  I was at the Oakland Museum.  My job?  Opening champagne. On my break, I heard drumming and marched toward the sound like a lemming!  I've followed their progress ever since.  If I had more time (and dedication), I would take up drumming.

All these things I thought of doing with my time on Sunday!

I walked with Rainey this morning.  On the way back home, I saw my neighbor Marge and some of her family, dressed up going to St. Jerome's on the corner.  They must be attending her daughter's memorial service.

I've been writing on the computer all afternoon, and I've been hearing Marge and her family in the back yard.  They started out kind of quiet, and then I heard more laughs and lots of talking.  A few minutes ago they were really laughing and having a good time.  The spirit keeps going with the strong force of life for those of us still left.  I'm glad it's such a beautiful sunny day out there for them.

Robert and I just got back from a 7.8 miles walk according to my pedometer.  It's a beautiful day for the Labor Day holiday.  We plan to have left overs of left overs tonight--chicken in coconut sauce with jalapenos, over rice.

We had such a fun evening on Saturday with all our Japanese friends--and Gunther and Eliza came over for dinner two.  Auggie and Anders were really on their best behavior and they played with Akiko-san and Tomoko-san until late.  

 Yesterday was Sunday, and Robert and I cleaned out and repotted some of the big pots on the back patio.  Very hard on the back, but very satisfying to have everything symmetrical, fresh, and blooming again.  (I'm a terrible gardener, and kill so many plants.) 

We were breaking up the old broken ceramic fountain pot, when my neighbor, Jody, and a man I didn't recognize, rushed over to my back gate to investigate.  She thought the sound of the breaking pot might be robbers breaking in.  I'm so glad to have good neighbors! (I wonder what her plan was if she had found robbers?)

She's a great gardener, so I asked her what to plant in my pots.  On a sadder note, she told me that my next-door neighbor, Marge, in her eighties, lost her daughter two days ago--she was 59 and had cancer.  This is the third family death Marge has had in the past two years.

I  feel so grateful for every day.

Yoga 8 am.  I'm immersed in writing a new profile summary to go with my numerology charts.  The 3-line format forces me to be as clear and succinct as possible to describe the meaning of each position and number.  After 30 years of working with numbers, I'm still delighted to think about how numbers live through our lives, and show us what our potential is, and what we can do to develop and succeed.  I can't wait to start writing each morning.

Hayashi-san is coming from Japan tonight, for dinner with other Japanese friends.

I plan to have fish tacos with mango salsa, cole slaw, and strawberries with whipped cream for dessert.

 Fumiko is picking up everyone and bringing them back.  I asked Gunther and Eliza to come with  Auggie and Anders.   

7 a.m.  I felt very good this morning and couldn't stay in bed.  I have been a little under the weather during the last few days after the trip to Idaho.

Ron (my ex-husband) and his wife Casey (whose father originally grew up in Idaho) moved to Boise from Silicon Valley a little over a year ago.  Their teen-age son, Max, likes the small town quality of life, and is just entering his Junior year in high school.  The high school is a classic white building with Doric columns.  I took a picture.  

Idaho is very beautiful--lots of rivers and streams that you can see as you drive. It's very western--log cabins, historical sites, hunting and fishing stores. Redfish Lake Lodge is very sweet and rustic.  We had 3 cabins, and I stayed in a room above the lodge.

The high points for me were being with the whole family.  We hung out on Sigrid and Jim's verandah in the evening, with the whole family telling stories, drinking wine, listening to the kids run in and out, (they eventually settled down in front of the portable DVD player that Gunther and Eliza brought--watching old Bugs Bunny cartoons. 

Another great memory is the afternoon when we rented two row boats with outboard motors--Gunther was in one with Anders, Trevor, and Chloe.  Sigrid, Jim, Max (16) and I were in the other one.  It was beautiful out on the lake--very misty over the mountains (wildfires had smoked the sky for a couple of days).  On the way back, we stopped the motors to enjoy the gentle sounds of the lake.  Then our motor wouldn't start!  Gunther and the kids sped away to get help.  About 30 minutes later, they came back in a speed boat, all excited at "saving your lives."  It was great that we broke down, much more exciting.

 Jim and Max went mountain biking and almost got lost!  Gunther took Anders for a two-hour walk and they found a magical old stick. Trevor, emerging from the safety of his seat on the bottom of the boat (first time on a boat), took the bow as head pirate.   Auggie went wading with Eliza in the cold shallow lake.  Chloe made mud pies and confronted the waves at the beach (remember how freaked out she was at the horribly crowded beach in Malibu last month?) Sigrid found the Visitor Center and got the kids to go for a bear information hike. Ron and Casey found all the good hikes, and went for a two-hour canoe paddle around the lake.

Luckily I had my camera as everyone else forgot to bring one!  Today I'll put my pictures into booklets to send to Ron and Casey and Sigrid and Jim.  

 Yoga this morning.

Today is the birthday of my ex-husband, Ron.  Tomorrow, Gunther, Eliza, Anders, and Auggie and I are flying to visit him and his wife and son in Boise, Idaho.  Sigrid, Jim, Chloe, and Trevor will fly out on Tuesday, and then we are all going to a vacation place on Redfish Lake for a few days.  I'm really looking forward to it!  

I bought Ron one of my favorite books, The Consolations of Philosopy by Alain de Botton.  I highly recommend it!  I'm going out with Robert in a few minutes to buy some nice cheese and sourdough bread from the Cheese Board--a Berkeley institution.  I haven't been in the store for a long time--I'm supposed to cut down on cheese!

However, last night, I finished my writing about 7, and decided to make chicken parmigiana.   Fumiko pounded the chicken, and then I floured, and breaded it (I mashed up some rice crispy cereal that I wanted to finish.)  Made a tomato sauce, and topped with mozzarella.  It came out great.   Robert and I can have the leftovers tonight.  I packed last night.

While I've been packing and doing chores, I learned some great ideas from TV.  On the CBS Early show they did a segment on the two women who started www.mommycast.com.  Great story of how they decided to be at home with their children, but their podcast now has  corporate sponsors!  Through their word of mouth network, they helped make March of the Penguins a big film!  It's giving me ideas....

Another segment showed Terry Gault, a former TV actress that had a rough time financially and decided to teach others what she was learning about saving money grocery shopping.  She started www.grocerygame.com.  Now she's very successful!! Don't you love it? 

A Food Network show was about a woman who started working after her kids were grown.  She took an entry level job in a travel agency, and today has her own successful company called International Kitchens--making over 2 million a year--booking cooking class tours in Europe. It just kept growing.  Very inspirational.  Another woman quit a high-powered corporate life of constant travel, invested in building a Bed and Breakfast, and added on cooking classes.  She still works a lot, but she loves it.  None of these transitions were easy and required lots of hard work.  But these women are doing what they love. 

Gotta go!

It was a lovely weekend.  Lovely weather, and spending time with friends and family.  

On Saturday, Robert and I went to San Francisco.  He wanted to find out where the Barbary Coast trail walk began in downtown SF (there are engraved plaques on the sidewalks, that take you through historic sites.)  Through Chinatown, and up to North Beach.  Great walk. Just over 10,000 steps. (I wear my pedometer everywhere now.)

Hamburgers and french fries at Barney's, and then watched the movie, V for Vendetta--a very interesting story about "fictional" aspects of government, greed, abuse of power, and the necessity for  individuals to stand up for their human rights. Scarily relevant given the past week's terror stories.

Sunday was easy going (and technically productive.) In the morning, Gunther stopped by to take a look at my toilet problem. We let Anders and Auggie watch a program, Extreme Engineering, which we had recorded.  It was about moving some 75-ton "valves" for the oil pipelines in Korea/Russia. Gunther and I discussed our water bills.  He also gave me a copy of what to do for Ander's diabetes therapy.  I was a little unclear what to do baby sitting last Friday.  Now I have the guide!  

Robert helped me set up a new water fountain outside (I broke the old one through impatience when dumping it out to clean it.) 

Later, Nobu, Fumiko's brother arrived from a business trip.  The four of us made grilled chicken, salad, grilled pineapple with strawberries and whipped cream.  

Chloe's birthday is tomorrow.  She will be 4!   

I noticed yesterday was August 8, 2006  --  8  8  8.  Very powerful. 8 stands for money, power, authority, legal matters, contracts, and publishing--all things I had to deal with yesterday!

Gunther and Eliza came back from the Diabetes Youth Foundation camp they went to last week with Anders (who has type 1) and Auggie.  They all had a great time, had fun and learned alot.  (If you or someone you know has diabetes and is interested, the website is www.dyf.org.

 I am re-reading Paul Theroux's Great Railway Bazaar, and loving it.  It makes me want to take a train somewhere--but there's work to be done here!!

I have been having a great time receiving emails in response to my announcement of my free weekly forecasts--which I post every Monday on this site.  It's fun to get feedback.   

I'm very excited about a new project I'm working on, so will sign off for now and back to work... 

A stunningly beautiful day--an early walk with Rainey.  We talked a little bit about the treatment her daughter is undergoing for possible leukemia.  

Right now, Fumiko is in the garden, on the ladder up in the grapefruit tree.  She wants to make grapefruit juice.

Sunday Robert and I went to Chinatown. We looked at all the shops and ate dim sum. I was looking for more Chinese slippers (I've been wearing them for 40 years, and only wear this one type of slipper.)  The prettiest are the black velvet with a sequinned dragon, but those might be an endangered species.  I didn't find any.  The style are changing, so I had to buy the red ones with sequinned flowers--pretty but rather boring in design.  I also bought an elegant little Chinese doll with hip-length braids. 

At night, I'm still immersed in reading the travel tales of Paul Theroux in his book Riding the Iron Rooster Through China.  I love it and don't want it to end.  I'd never be able to hold up visiting in the frigid Siberian and Mongolian wintertime.