Dog Days

Wednesday, February 24. After heavy rain during the night, the clouds began to let up around 9 am and it was clear by the end of day. We worked around the house all morning. Dixie had a surprise for us in the morning, so I mopped the floor while Phil worked upstairs. He had an hour-long chat about Toyota recalls sponsored by the Washington Post before lunch and an article to finish writing. Housework is so much more pleasant with a book to listen to. I started the Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, a thriller based on the Salem witchcraft trials.

After lunch, we headed out for another foray north to buy a book on meditation recommended by a friend -- Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat Zinn. I've listened to CDs of yoga sequences by him so I was interested in reading it as well as Phil. First, we stopped at Capitola Book Cafe. They didn't have the book but we had some excellent coffee and a yummy apricot scone and enjoyed reading the witty quotes on posters all around the store. Next, we returned to Capitola Mall and checked a Borders, but they didn't have it either. The very helpful clerk called the "downtown store" and reserved one for us.

As we drove into the business area of Santa Cruz, I realized I had never been to this part of town before. I've walked the boardwalk plenty of times and visited the UC Santa Cruz campus, but the rest of the city is pretty unfamiliar territory. We walked down Pacific Avenue and I admired how the older buildings had been maintained in the midst of newer shops. I particularly liked how the New Leaf Market had been integrated into the old Bank of Italy building. Homeless people were apparent on the street, and many people had wild uncombed hair bringing to mind the old hippie hairstyles. I said to Phil that I hadn't seen so many men with ponytails in a long time. We happened upon a drum circle and then saw the tents of an open air Farmers Market. Lots of spring greens and citrus fruit of all kinds were a feast for the eye. We picked up the book at the big Borders store and headed for home.

Phil had another teleconference from 6 to 7 and then we had dinner. I'm enjoying having a leisurely glass of wine while I put dinner together. It's much simpler to make meals for two than for four. We watched a DVD and talked to Drew and Tony about their car trip to visit us tomorrow. Tony will have to skip a class on Friday, but hopefully he can make up the work before the end of the semester. I had the clever idea to take Dixie out to the backyard to try to encourage her to relieve herself out there instead of on the tile floor. Unfortunately, it upset and confused her and it took us almost an hour to get her settled in her crate for the night. I am gaining a lot of respect for dog owners and all the patience and perseverance they need to get through each day.