Saturday, 23 April 2016
The perfect way to start this day of community events would have been to participate, as we used always to do, in the spring beach clean up with the Grass Roots Garbage Gang. Unfortunately, I never have warning of when my collapsing right knee would put me in a state of collapse and I would not risk it happening out on the beach, necessitating a vehicular rescue and inconvenience. Walking on uneven surfaces is tricky for me these days.
I hope that a new knee will enable me to start doing the clean up events again.
Instead, I spent the morning reading Love All by Elizabeth Jane Howard and waiting for some migraine medicine to take effect.
On the way to our first event of the afternoon, we stopped at the library because to my great happiness, the second book of the Cazalet Chronicle had arrived through interlibrary loan.
Bayside Singers
Todd is a member of the Bayside Singers chorale group, inspiring us to attend their concerts.
He had told me that I would particular like one song from their spring programme, and indeed I found the poem set to music to have perfect words:
Afternoon on a Hill by Edna St Vincent Millay
I will be the gladdest thing
Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.
I will look at cliffs and clouds
With quiet eyes,
Watch the wind bow down the grass,
And the grass rise.
And when lights begin to show
Up from the town, I will mark which must be mine,
And then start down!
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That was perfection indeed, and I do wish that all flower admirers would touch and not pick (without permission). It is the Anti Finger Blight Anthem.
I briefly met Carole of the darling pink house in Ocean Park but due to migraine issues did not really have time to chat.
We had to leave the Bayside Singers during their last song in order to get to the next event, for which we had already purchased tickets.
South Pacific County Humane Society Dinner
We arrived late, but fortunately Our Kathleen was there, knew we were coming and had saved us two seats.
My photo taking was minimal because I was still experience a muffled migraine (muffled by medication that had ALMOST worked, wonderful migraine meds that I wish I had had during the suffering migraine-y thirties and forties). So I pretty much just kept to my seat and missed recording the tables of silent auction items that had been donated.
As you can see, our shelter is beloved and well supported.
Catherine and Ed of the Oceanside Animal Clinic were the honored guests because of their years of veterinarian work for the shelter animals.
The beloved Dr. Ed made a moving and informative speech about the origins of the shelter. He said that in the beginning, a group of women formed to create the no-kill shelter. Very important people from other important shelters told them that a no kill shelter was a lovely idea, but that sadly the world does not work that way and it would be impossible to achieve. They refused to sacrifice their principles. They did achieve it, and have saved and re-homed so many animals over the years that Dr. Ed, became choked up just telling the story, as did probably every member of the audience. He said “They used to go to people’s doors and take away abused animals. They were scary!” A huge round of applause followed.
We won a nice big basket of doggie treats during the raffle, which will go to Dave and Mel’s dogs, Anna and Coulee.
Darling Sondra had some food left over and sent some pasta home with Kathleen for her Sunday dinner, some salad and bread sticks home with us for a snack later.
Yesterday, Ray Millner of The Planter Box had given us some Yacon tubers to try. We had that and some apple added to our salad at ten PM (while watching Love in a Cold Climate, which goes well with the Elizabeth Jane Howard historical fiction I’ve been reading this past week.)
I am hoping to grow the plant; the flowers are like sunflowers so it will even be ornamental.
1997 (age 73):
April 23: Planted some flower seeds in APS. Brought wood in.
April 23: Rain, cold I got my #2 tooth filled but they said it isn’t strong and if it breaks again I may need to have a crown put on.
The epitome of community spirit.
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Loved the story of the animal shelter! Yacon root is good. I have had that here, and grew some one summer.
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What a lovely event to attend. Beautiful people filling a much needed gap in society. My sister is trying to grow yacon tubers in Tasmania where she lives 😃
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I’m going to get some yacon plants. You can cook them, too. We ate ours raw mixed with apples.
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