Sunday, December 23, 2007

It goes by so quickly...


Well, vacation time is winding down & I am feeling much less stress. I haven’t got to as much reading & napping as I would have liked, but all in all, it has been a satisfying week of little adventures & rest.

Our vacation started out with the Music Ministries Christmas party on Sunday evening; we had a Mexican Potluck, an ornament exchanges, & then went caroling around the neighborhood (of course- what else does a choir do at a party?)

Winter 2007 181Winter 2007 183Winter 2007 184

We fell into an easy pattern for the week; Chris would get up around 6:30 (that is sleeping in for him- he usually gets up a 4:30  :-P) & I’d have the bed to myself until 8:00 or so; we’d take care of the animals, read the newspaper with breakfast, & then decide how to spend the day.

Monday, we decided to drive up to Amador County in the Sierra foothills, to wander the little towns along Highway 49. We went through Ione to find out what the big red building on hill was; it’s called Preston Castle-

Winter 2007 005

 a grand name for an unpleasant reality- it was a reform school for over 60 years. We drove on to Amador City & Sutters Creek, two of our favorite holiday shopping areas,

Winter 2007 018

 

Winter 2007 023

all dressed up for Christmas. The weather turned colder & drizzly as we reached Angels Camp to poke around the antique shops, & then on to Murphys for lunch & some more browsing.

A big winter storm blew in overnight, so Tuesday was spent at home, snuggled in with soup, movies, & baking, other then one absolutely necessary trip out to the post office & to drop off gifts for the family we adopted thru work. Sam even stayed in for the evening (he usually has karate on Tu/Th) to study for finals & finish a project.

Midweek found us in Livermore & Dublin for Chris’ company Christmas party (a potluck lunch & gift exchange), then onto the nursery to use my Holiday Bucks at the nursery. I picked up some more broccoli plants (we just harvested the first 2 heads from the earlier planting), some creeping purple thyme, variegated licorice plant, & snapdragons for the planter next to the front door, & an English ivy plant in a basket for a gift. Before going home, we stopped in to see our friend Keith (who helped with Jessica’s car misadventures), who has been laid up with kidney stones, & drop off gifts for the family.

Thursday was Adventure Day; Chris & I took BART into San Francisco to go on the Victorian Home Walk, something I had seen on the local news a couple of weeks ago. It was a beautiful day to walk thru the Victorian neighborhoods of Pacific Heights,

Winter 2007 114

 

Winter 2007 123

 

Winter 2007 124

learning about the different styles & the history of some of the individual houses. The highlight was the tour inside the Queen Anne Hotel, a beautifully restored house which is now a bed & breakfast;

Winter 2007 085

 

Winter 2007 092

 

Winter 2007 090

 

Winter 2007 097

 

Winter 2007 107

 

opulent at anytime, it was just stunning decorated for the holidays. After the 2 ½ hour tour, we ended up on Union Street (also known as Cow Hollow), several blocks of shops & restaurants, where we stopped at Perry’s for a terrific lunch.

Winter 2007 134

 

Winter 2007 135

 

Winter 2007 137

We took the bus back over to Union Square & spent an hour admiring the famous Christmas windows at the big retailers & hotels.

Winter 2007 149

Winter 2007 151

Winter 2007 153

Winter 2007 155

Our favorite is always Macy’s, who dedicate several windows to the SPCA, featuring animals in need of homes. I especially loved this one; she was a real poser, climbing elegantly up the tower & presenting “calendar kitty” postures for the gathered crowds.

 

Winter 2007 147

 

Winter 2007 141

 

Winter 2007 143

Friday was another hunker-down day, as I was suffering from the results of all the walking the day before. I don’t think I’ve mentioned before, but I have been suffering from plantar fasciitis for several months & it has been getting progressively more troublesome. I haven’t been to the gym or out for a walk in 3 weeks, trying to rest my foot & allow it to heal, as well as popping 600 mg of ibuprofen 3 or 4 times a day for the past 6 months. Thursday night was so bad that I had trouble sleeping, so I went in to see the doctor in the afternoon; after an evaluation (he’s a new doctor) he gave me a shot of lidocaine & cortisone in the heel, & a new prescription of anti-inflammatory medicine. Within a few hours (& a long nap) the pain was virtually gone (yippee!), but I know I have to still take it easy for a while longer & find a new exercise regime, since the walking is just too stressful on the injury. I’m going to give it another week, then try using the recumbent bike at the gym, which isn’t suppose to strain the arch & has the added benefit of not being weight bearing.

While I was sleeping, Chris went over to my favorite BBQ place & brought home some pork ribs & cole slaw for dinner (isn’t he just the sweetest), then took Sam & his friends off to the mall for some shopping. I went downtown to pick up Sam’s gift from my Berkeley family (they pooled together to get him a letterman’s jacket) & went to the knitting shop for the first time in a month for Sock Hop/Christmas Gift Exchange. What a wonderful time! We ate, knitted, & visited for nearly 3 hours; I ended up with some great hand-dyed sock yarn in shades of peach, yellow, gold & ivory- I’m already looking for the right pattern, since I haven’t made any socks in months!

Well, I’ve rambled on long enough; we’re having dinner with my family tonight & I need to head out to Berkeley. Chris volunteered to help chaperon a field trip of the Martial Arts & Anime clubs to Japantown today, so he & Sam are going to leave early & meet me at the BART station near my Mother’s home. My brother’s father-in-law is visiting from Vancouver & we’re getting both families together to celebrate his birthday today.

Hope you all are having a restful weekend, letting the stress & pressure of the holiday float away on the cold breeze.

 

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a lot of Christmas fun!
Merry Christmas to you!!!

Anonymous said...

It sounds like you have had a wonderful time. Merry Christmas to you my friend!

Betty said...

Meg, I just stopped by to wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas. Take care of that foot! Ouch!

Mrs. Darling said...

Merrry Christmas! Looks like youve had a wonderful time!

Dana said...

I am so jealous! You always have so much fun!!!

Merry Christmas sweet Meg!

suzee said...

You visited two of my favorite spots (the Gold Country and Pacific Heights) - great vacation!

Take care of that foot. OUCH! I know how much it hurts.

Anonymous said...

What a lovely description of your Christmas sightseeing. i never knew about the 'castle' and have been to Sutter Creek many times but never at Christmas...?! Murphys I've never tried - need to venture out there soon. You're always full of excellent info!

The feet. Oh, the feet. I *so* know what you're talking about. I have plantar fasciitis as well as two dislocated toes. I had the cortisone shots 3x in each foot over the course of time for the plantar fasciitis. When my toes dislocated I opted for orthodics which have changed my life!!! I can **walk** w/o pain - for the most part. Wonderful. Rarely do I have fire and knives pain now. My toes cannot be put back in place as the 'stuff' that holds them in place is shot. Surgery is possible but only as a last resort. I'll stick with the orthodics, thank you very much. ;o)

A few suggestions: with foot problems, **never** go barefoot. From the moment I set my feet on the morning carpet I put shoes on. I only wear well-fitting shoes with proper support. Now I can only wear shoes that support my orthodics.

Anonymous said...

Kaiser? Oh. Golly. I'm sorry. I understand it can be quite the challenge to get things done through Kaiser. (*hug*)

I suggest that you demand of your general doc to be referred to a podiatrist - that your quality of life depends on adequate and complete care of that which transports you from place to place so as not to further damage your already damaged feet. To mask the effects of plantar faciitis is **wrong**, doesn't get to the root problem and is unbecoming of a medical professional. I don't sugar coat things when it comes to my foot-health or any other kind of health. grrr.

DO NOT have orthodics made by a shoe store. My podiatrist fitted me for them, had them made, and checked them thoroughly when I came to pick them up and wear them.

If your general doc gives you any grief let me know and I'll TP his/her/its house. sigh.