At Linda's House, Even The Dog Is A Wino

I know for sure nobody poured that glass of wine for Harry. In fact, we all know that alcohol is not good for dogs.

There are doggie downers that we can use for the 4th of July if the fireworks get to be too much for him. Harry is not a fan of noise.

I don't really know why he is on that table either. Alex says "Because it makes him feel good", but I think that's ridiculous. Why would climbing on a table make him feel good?

I can't help but think this is just one more example of this dog's peculiarity.

Alex was digging around in the dirt next to the basement where he has his man cave. (Believe me, this is a real man cave and you don't want to see it. I won't even go in there no matter what.)

Alex came out acting totally like he had found the lost tablets from that Indiana Jones movie. He found a real treasure. Now our house was built in 1880, so what's in that dirt could be old, or it could be circa 1985, Cost Plus. How would we know?

This is what he found buried down there.

I think it's kind of goofy and sort of cute. Alex thinks it's a relic from the Indians who used to inhabit the area. It's very heavy and very primitive looking. The thing is, it looks like it could be something that was created by aliens, don't you think? Who else would think to mount somebody's stone head on a stick?

I'm not bringing it in the house because of bad luck if it is from aliens. They might have it "bugged" so they can watch us in the house. I don't care if they watch us doing things in the yard, because it's nice to have an audience when you want one.

I really just don't worry about this "thing" very much. Now if it had come from an area like this, I would be much more concerned.

I guarantee you nothing good comes out of an area that looks like this one does. Do you see that weird assed tree limb sticking out all wrong? Oh I'm not saying it's anything evil about trees, but just what is the point of that? Uh huh. That's what I thought. I rest my case.


I mentioned that I took my wristwatch in to have it serviced at Cartier. Alex bought me a gorgeous timepiece 4 years ago and it worked perfectly until it just quit last week. We had to go to the Cartier shop in San Francisco to get it fixed, and fortunately, all it needed was a new battery. Cartier is a pretty upscale place and there were armed security guards all around. I had a sales associate by the name of Rand (of course it was probably Randy, but Rand is so much more sophisticated) who was a very upscale guy. Gorgeous suit, wonderful watch on his wrist, perfect hair, teeth and grammar, and an attitude that said "What are the likes of you doing in this fine establishment?"

We had no sooner walked in but Alex has to find the bathroom. I swear, that man has to use the toilet where ever we go worse than any 5 year old kid. (Personally, I only like home toilets if at all possible.) Rand gave Alex directions to the facilities and then escorted me to a desk to fill out my paperwork for the watch's repairs.

The whole place is as hushed as a church, and Alex comes up behind me while I'm sitting there. He announces to me in his normal pitch of voice, "Man! I really had to go! Man! I was wondering if I'd even make it to the toilet! Man! It must have been all that coffee this morning!" His comments echoed through the store and raised the eyebrows of everyone within earshot.

I had tried to "shush" him but to no avail. Rand kept inspecting my watch with a jewelers loop to make sure it was not on the stolen list, or a fake or something, and twisted his pretty lips into a little sneer. It never occurs to Alex that some things are just not "Cartier" conversations.

Rand warmed up considerably to Alex when he realized he was not my boy for hire, but my husband, and in fact, the purchaser of the watch.

I love my husband, but he can be so "ghetto" sometimes.

Snakes And Sushi

What is there about this sign that you don't understand? There is nothing about it that I do not understand.

What it means to me is I'm not going there. If there is a sign telling you, (as this one is) that rattlesnakes are not aggressive and we must not harm one, then I'm saying fine. I agree with that in principle. But I'm not going there.

Snakes are great and I saw that movie "Snakes On a Plane" and I flew again because I know there are not really going to be snakes on a plane. (Or maybe I've just convinced myself.)

It all started out as a really nice day. Alex pulled out the M-Roadster and took me to a wonderful little Japanese restaurant for lunch. We were going to try and decide about an adventure to go on this afternoon with the pups.

This is the hostess of the restaurant. Pretty, isn't she?

We had sushi and tea and talked about our options. We didn't want to drive too far but we wanted the dogs to continue their "Dawg Tour - Twenty Ten".

Alex came up with the idea to drive up into the Oakland Hills. Now some of you might picture Oakland a certain way, and in some areas you might be right. There is poverty, gang activity, and blight. But there is another side to Oakland too and it's pretty amazing.


Oakland has some of the most beautiful homes and scenery to be had in Northern California. And they have some pretty magnificent views from the hills. It all seemed like a great idea until we turned onto Snake Road.

Snake Road writhed along for a few miles until we reached a wonderful park. That is, it looked like a wonderful park until we got out of the car and I saw the sign about Rattlesnakes. This area is very heavily "natural" (as in NATURE) and if they have snakes, they are going to also have wildcats, mountain lions, gorillas, maybe zombies and or aliens, cannibals, and all sorts of things that I do not want to encounter.

Alex started trotting up the path with the dogs while I called out to him to go on ahead. I would catch up later. Later like in another lifetime. Here is a photo of Alex with the dogs out in nature.

I could hear things making weird rustling noises in the bushes. And, did I mention there were trees? Lots of trees.

So there they go, my little family and I can only pray I will see them again. I went back to the parking lot and met a couple of Japanese guys with a cute little dog named Jake. Jake and I became fairly fast friends while I tried to warn his owners that going into that park might not be the best idea ever because of the "nature" stuff. They listened but did not heed my advise.

Alex and Harry and Honey made it back safely and only after about 15 minutes. I was a nervous wreck by then and trying to find a Park Ranger to go in after them. All I can say is thank goodness they have me as the brains of the bunch!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame!

The San Francisco Giants were swept today by the LA Dodgers.

This was not a good thing. But any day you can go to the ballpark is a good day anyway. In San Francisco, you are not limited to hot dogs and beer. Oh no!

You can opt for sushi and sake. You also have weird fans who sit and talk on their cell phones or text during the entire game. I saw two men trying to pick up two ladies across the aisle from us. Most people arrive "fashionably late' and or leave "fashionably early". Strange crowd.

People get up and down all the time too. If they have to go to get something to eat or drink, or to use the restrooms, they do it about 10 times per person. I never get up at a ballgame till I'm ready to leave.

Years ago, I had a boss who loved the Giants. I could almost always get him to leave work and take me out to an afternoon game. Damn! That was fun! Just sitting in the sun and watching the game and eating peanuts and drinking watery beer was a blast! That was when the Giants used to play at Candlestick (the stadium of the 49ers now).

The new stadium is fabulous. Really upscale and it's hard to get a bad seat. Alex gets season tickets for the field club level which is nice and has great views.

We dropped my watch off at Cartier before the game. (It quit a couple of nights ago.) I wanted to get it back before the store closed and since the Giants were losing 8 to 1, I figured it wouldn't hurt to miss an inning or two. Plus, beer in the afternoon makes me sleepy.

DOG - It's What's For Dinner

I get so tired of trying to figure out what to have for dinner. I'm a good cook, but doing it day after day is sort of uninspiring.

Actually, we have been going out a lot, but we usually do lunch out if Alex is home. We went to Jack London Square last weekend and it was really nice.

We had oysters on the half shell to start and a magnificent Chardonnay at a great restaurant called Il Pescatore. The fish was wonderful and fresh and we got to people watch for a couple of hours.

We were seated across from the "Last Chance Saloon" where Jack London did a lot of his writing. The place is basically a log cabin affair with a totally slanted floor. Lots of people outside sipping refreshments in the shade of the umbrellas.

We were served by a charming and handsome man named Marcello! He was such a delight and shared with us that he had his own catering firm as well. Whether the catering is wonderful or not, you'll have to admit, Marcello would look good doing it!

Alex was less pleased than I was with Marcello because he flirted with me. (I was not offended!)

It was a hot day and the square was packed! I adore the diversity of Oakland. You see everybody at Jack London Square! Such a nice "vibe".

A girl and her boyfriend walked past us and I had to ask her if I could take her photo because she had the most beautiful legs I had ever seen.

She was happy to let me capture her and then we emailed the shot to her. I was a little intimidated because she had a big old expensive camera and all I had was my iphone camera.

Still, the picture came out great! Of course, the people were so good looking that it would be hard if not impossible to take a bad picture of them! The woman had to be six foot tall, so her boyfriend is even bigger. Wow! They are hot!

The Square had a "pet psychic" working and I wanted to take Harry to see her but Alex said no because it was all fake anyway.

I disagree. I would love to know what goes on in his little brain. He has so many issues, (fear of trees, fear of noises, fear of laying down in a car ride even if it's for 17 hours) and maybe this woman could have helped him. For that matter, maybe he and I have some of the same issues.

Cows In The Mist

On Saturday, we piled into the wagon and drove from Alameda over to Marin County and began the drive up Highway 1 along the coast, our quest being a place called "Dogtown".

Now that is a wild ride! Beautiful, scenic, curvy curly roads, cliffs (not my favorite) and peeks at the magnificent Pacific Ocean. It's a slow drive with a lot of hairpin twists and turns that slow you to 10 mph.


Marin County is gorgeous. Lots and lots of trees, beautiful people, gorgeous homes, expensive cars, and green attitudes! I love going there, but it's a little too "wheat germ oil" a place for me to consider becoming a resident. There are tons of "retreats" tucked away in the greenery, as well as a plethora of massage studios. In fact, in the early 1980's, it was common for these massage studios to offer a service whereby they would stroke your body with a peacock feather for an hour as one of the "treatments".

It's all about yoga. It's fun and kind of crazy! Stinson Beach is one of the prettier beaches around. And the little towns you pass are all pretty much like a flashback to the 70's. Surf shops, surfer girls and boys, everybody calls each other "dude" in this area regardless of age or gender.

We pulled into Dogtown about 1 PM. I was starving by this time, but wanted Harry and Honey to see a place named Dogtown. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to see. I think the population of Dogtown is 30. We did pull into a private ranch to turn around. When I saw 3 gorgeous Arabian horses, I told Alex I had to get a photo.

He told me, "No, there's a woman coming over here to tell us to leave." I said, "Oh calm down, Alex!" The woman approached us with a smile and I told her we had actually pulled in to turn around but that I had taken a photo of her horses and hoped she didn't mind. (Now, these horses are her babies, don't you know!) Anne, my new pal, is a tiny gorgeous silver haired woman with a big smile, a welcoming attitude, and a gorgeous tan. She and her husband run the ranch and have a B&B there called "The Loft At Woodville Ranch" and she gave us a brochure. The loft is a build out over the barn and from the photos, it looks amazing.

I took a photo of Anne with her youngest horse who was a really beautiful girl! Anne is an endurance rider and had taken this horse up to Utah for a 200 mile ride two days before. Neither Anne nor the pony looked any worse for the wear!

This is a gorgeous area of California, and you really might think about trying "The Loft" if you get out this way.

If we continued on up to the next town, there were restaurants, shopping and all services and it was only 5 miles away.

We picked up sandwiches and drinks for us and wanted to look for a place to eat our lunch. Alex missed the turn off for the "visitor center" and we continued driving. Pretty soon we saw a sign for Inverness, and then Point Reyes National Seashore. Oh heck, why not just keep going, right? We finally got on a little road leading somewhere (as all roads do), and decided to take it. At a fork in the road, it offered us the option of going to the Lighthouse or the Beach. Hooray for Lighthouses! Let's go to the Lighthouse!

This little (narrow) road was very strange. We climbed and twisted for about an hour and went from summer at 72 degrees to about 40 degrees and so foggy it was hard to see your hand in front of your face. By this time, I think we both realized we had made a goofy choice but continued on anyway.

Harry was very unnerved by the cows that appeared in the mist. I was a little unnerved by all that green and nature and stuff all around me.

We finally got to the Lighthouse parking lot and ate our lunch in the car. It was freezing outside and I was fresh out of parkas so while Harry and Honey took a little walk with Alex, I stayed in the car.

I know it's scenic, but it also looks kind of like the perfect place for zombies or the hills have eyes type stuff if you ask me.

On the way back, we cut through a forest and I got very edgy because of all the trees. I don't do forests because of trees. I find them threatening and somewhat ominous. One tree is fine, but damn! When there are trees every place you look, I know that no good can come of that. What is lurking in there? What if they fall on us? Why are there so many of them if they aren't trying to intimidate us?

A lot of people disagree with me about this, but I don't care. Trees just scare the bejesus out of me. Harry feels the same way.