Two weeks later... It is Thanksgiving Eve and I have three places to go for the holiday. The first in the morning at the Seventh Day Adventist Church for brunch and games, the second at the Presbyterian Church for turkey fixings (both I found in the area's notices) and then, after hearing that I am an orphan in town, my yoga instructor invited me to her home. That is so nice. I have only met her twice in class. Yes - yoga class. Patt is taking some yoga classes and actually likes them. Will wonders never cease? Diana reminds me of Mrs. Claus and I love her cheerful style of yoga.
OTIS R. JOHNSON PARK, FORT BRAGG, CA
So you are reading and I am writing and therefore I survived my stint as weekend innkeeper. (See the last post). All went smoothly. I did start to feel TRAPPED and tethered to the property though. The owner forgot to tell me how to forward the inn's calls to my cell phone so that I could freely roam around part of the day. Oh well, no matter. She is back and I am no longer the innkeeper. And also now I am not allowed to do anything except bookkeeping. Oh it is not that I didn't do a good job. Quite the opposite. I am of the highest value of the helpers and the logical angel from above (or actually the east coast) to get the books organized. If we had a plumber, carpenter and tile setter on board we could all compete for the most valuable helper of the week. The inn is big and old and needs work.
MONTGOMERY WOODS, UKIAH, CA
What am I doing exactly? The owner has more or less forbidden me to help out with any tasks involved in repairing and maintaining this place. My 24 hours a week in exchange for accommodation can get eaten up easily by activities that any other unskilled helper can do. This is good but sometimes difficult. I see them overloaded some days and I want to help but I can't. I am getting OK with it as time goes on and I had wanted a routine. Now I have one, It is of my own design and it comes with the freedom that I need to be happy. If the sun is out so am I. I am out and away from the inn discovering new places and taking AMAZING photographs. I arise at dawn before everyone else and I get a few hours of work in before heading to the gym or cliffs and beaches or redwood forests. Later in the day when the sun is near to setting I come back and do a bit more work in Quickbooks. It is a new software for me but easy. All those years in my own sole proprietorship filing schedule C's and categorizing things into a Chart of Accounts is coming in handy again. The inn owner is getting a fantastic deal. This room is marginally ok but certainly not worth my going rate. It does serve us both though as it gives me a place to bunk while checking out the area and couchsurfing over the holiday season isn't the best.
JUG HANDLE STATE RESERVE, FORT BRAGG, CA
Anyway... I am going to cut this off here and post some nifty photos shot this last week. I am dabbling with the idea of another photographic book. I am not making mandalas lately. I feel as if there isn't enough time during the day. I get to a magic place and then the sun starts to dip in the sky. It makes for fantasful lighting but limited time and I don't want to be out in the woods or on a cliff in my personal ART ZONE and lose track of time.
Time is fleeting...
I want to wish everyone a wonderful, happy and safe Thanksgiving.
Big Hug and Kiss from the Holiday Orphan.
And fro your listening pleasure "Here's a Thank You Song" from Liv Taylor circa 1970... Enjoy!
"..And it appears to be a long - Appears to be a long - Appears to be a long time - Yes, a long, long, long, long time.."
Yes it does seem like I have been a long time not blogging but that is the way it goes sometimes. I have been settling in slowly here on the figurative island of Fort Bragg, CA (not to be confused with FB,NC which is military). I call it an island as the only ways into this coastal town are long and winding and time consuming to drive. To the north and south are cliff drives along Highway 1 and to the east Route 20 winds through redwood forests. All are incredibly beautiful but you best allot plenty of time and keep your wits about you. There's no room for error on those curvy roads. So yes, I feel at times that I am on an island. If I am going to make friends they have to be here in this town of 7,000. This is the challenge I have undertaken and I am getting on it this week.
I have already joined the community center where there is a pool, gym and many workout classes. Yesterday I went to the Ranger Headquarters for the many State Parks in the county and asked about hiking clubs - no luck on that. There are no MEETUP groups around. I have been to the Chamber of Commerce and have gotten the numbers for the Rotary, went to the local winery and brewery shops, farmer's market too. I am not shy. I am just running out of ideas. I am on Mendocino's listserv (an old fashioned kind of forum) which is dumping hundreds of emails into my inbox each week. Soon when I get my act together I will be posting too. Right now I don't have a billy goat to breed or a washer for sale.
I would really like to get a routine going for myself. That too is challenging. I am talking about the HELPX sort of routine of 4 hours of work a day in exchange for accommodation and food. HELPX is the website/tool that I am using to hang out in different places for extended periods. (Remember the villa in Umbria, Italy that I stayed in in 2013? I had my own cottage for two weeks in exchange for landscape cleanup.) I am in this area of the country to see if I like it enough to move here. Spending a week in a place in not long enough for me to make a commitment of changing my car registration, tax returns and mess up with my MA Obama care records. HELPX and other sites such as WORKAWAY connects me to local stays that last more than a week and sometimes for months.
So why no routine yet after 11 days? The owner of the inn recognized that I am not a usual helper. I am a mature (older) experienced business owner and manager. She wanted a long weekend off for herself to go to San Francisco and dance Argentine Tango. (Not kidding). Last week I received a crash course in "INNKEEPING 101" and I was "on" 24/7 for 4+ days greeting and serving guests and handling situations. The other helpers here for the weekend don't handle the guest side of things. They are making renovations in the TOWER. The historic inn's tower is the highest point in Fort Bragg and is located about a block from the shore. Being attached to the property to take phone calls kept me from the routine that I had started at the gym. There is no excuse save for a badly sore right elbow from doing dishes (they appear from nowhere and the sink is too high for me) for not starting classes up again now that the owner is back but when I got time to leave the inn I went eastward to check out Ukiah instead. What the "routine" desire really comes down to is my engineer brain wants things to be black and white for schedule and responsibilities and that is just not going to happen here. I don't have to clean rooms. Angelina, our one employee comes in and does that a few days a week. What I need to do is be flexible. Some days there are guests and others days there are projects, extra helpers from around the world to manage or get to the bus stop at the crack of dawn when they leave.
HIGHWAY 20
This inn is going on the market very soon. I have been asked to stay on for a couple of months during preparations. I am not sure if I will agree to that yet. I have to wrap my mind around the idea. Is there enough of a benefit if I stay? Right now I am cold. I am not being housed in one of those lovely rooms. I have a drafty spot in the back. The inn however is just a few blocks from Glass Beach. When the sun is out and I am outside it is beautiful. And there are coastal hiking trails and redwood forests all around. But nature gal needs some friends. I really need some socialization so that I do not feel so isolated. Any new young helpers that arrive I am now in the position of being a manager so I can't get too close to them. And I am cold - yes I wrote that already. I don't like cold. I went Ukiah the other day not only to see what the town was like. I went because I needed slippers and turtlenecks from Walmart. The biggest store we have in FB is the Dollartree and they don't have everything.
FALL COLOR - INLAND IN UKIAH
Goals - make some friends to get some balance in my life then see if I can get some workshops happening. I have such a passion for my work, especially LIVE workshops. Money flow is nice on the inbound as well. In fact it is necessary. Holiday season is traditionally not the best time of year to organize workshops but who knows in Fort Bragg. Ranger Dave told me yesterday that harvest season is now finished (and we are not talking about corn baby - this is pot growing country). Maybe people will have more time available to come to a workshop - maybe.
... Hear you must hear what the people say
You know there's something that's goin' on around here
The surely, surely, surely won't stand the light of day...
PS - I had the oil changed on Matilda the car. When seeing her the mechanic said "Oh she fits right into Fort Bragg." Maybe I really am a bit of an old hippie. One that truly hates the smell of pot but still wears tie-dye on occasion. Onward!
CABRILLO LIGHTHOUSE SOUTH OF FB
And it appears to be a... youtube music interlude from 1969 and Crosby, Stills and Nash...
How can I visit San Francisco and not use a line from the Jefferson Airplane as a post title?
"You're only pretty as you feel..."
I had such a great time with my friend Tom in SF. He has been living in the area for decades and can drive a stick shift because I will tell you something, I am not negotiating those hills if I do not have to. Oh my goodness they are steep. I was doing fine (ok I was white knuckled) until two blocks from his apartment when I had to stop at a stop sign and someone drove right up to my tailend. I wish I had a flashing sign that screamed "OUT OF STATE PLATES - STICK SHIFT - BACK OFF!" It was an ugly squeal. I feared for my sweet little Matilda (the car). The odor of burning terribleness was painful. I prayed and begged her to forgive me. I pulled up to Tom's HILLTOP apartment emanating car fear odor. "Where can I park? I am not driving her again until I am headed down the hill and over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito.
San Francisco approaching Halloween... how fun! I get to wear my jester hat in Castro. Many lovely comments were heard complimenting me and Cowboy Tom. Tommy was great showing me all around the town and driving me to places that I had never been before. Matilda liked him too. He was much better on those hills than I. Good. We went to museums and landmarks and parks and ate Shrimp Louie, vietnamese and thai food, took photos and had stupendous weather. I am really grateful for friends.
Saturday I headed up north to Fort Bragg to the inn where I am to exchange 24 hours of work per week for accommodation and food. I started on Route 101 and then in Santa Rosa got off to get some tourist information. The lovely woman there gave me a wealth of good information and suggestions. Although SR it is not in the same county as Fort Bragg I wanted to collect reference materials for a later date. Remember I am on an exploratory mission. As I had extra time she gave me a routing suggestion that I really liked. From Santa Rosa I took 116 along the Russian River driving past vineyards and redwood forests. Beautiful. I then hit Hwy 1 and took the hilly winding roads up to Mendocino. YES - AGAIN WITH THE HILLY WINDING ROADS. My GPS only calculates the roads at 55 miles per hour so I cannot count on time references to the next destination. The roads switch back and forth from 15 miles per hour to 55 mostly at the lower speed limits. When I got to Mendocino (what appeared to me to be a small township) I stopped and called the inn to let them know that I would be there in a half hour.
When I drove into Fort Bragg I was surprised. Many people along my path had spoken of it as a small place but it is not. It has a DOLLARTREE store and a SAFEWAY and an awesome community center with top notch facilities. Today I became a member of the center for the next month. There is a pool, tons of exercise classes and a full gym. After all the driving I have done these last 8 weeks plus my not normal diet I need some structured exercise. This afternoon I began with a low impact Zumba class, earlier I took a beach walk and after I practiced poi and flow wand in the ballroom which is the top floor of this bed and breakfast.
Saturday late afternoon I arrived to a bit of chaos here. Vivien, the inn owner was in full swing setting up for a political fundraising/halloween event. I was put right to work creating a silent auction, plating up food, opening champagne bottles, greeting guests and then clearing empties throughout the night. The ballroom is three flights up so I began my exercising before I joined the gym! After the bulk of the guests left a milonga began. That's right, Argentine tango at my work exchange. I find that quite ironic or perhaps divinely appointed.
Sunday one of the other helpers, Paulina from the French Alps and I did the rest of the clean up. I then drove us to various places in and around town exploring. She leaves Wednesday which is sad because I really like having her smiles around.
This coming weekend I am to be the innkeeper. Is this a quick promotion or what? Actually Vivien is going to SF to dance tango for four days and someone needs to be responsible for things. I guess that would be me. We have three more helpers coming. I have seniority already! Since I am "IT" I have a few days totally off. GOOD. I have a huge list of "TO DO's" now that I will be in one place for awhile. I have even taken my clothes out of all the ziplock bags in my backpack and folded them neatly and placed them on shelves. WOO HOO.
Ok, that's enough for now. This is a little room in the tower next to the main house. I went up to the top of the tower this evening but missed sunset by just a few minutes. It was a busy day. Maybe tomorrow I will get there in time. Relax and chill with the post title song from 1971 and the Jefferson Airplane...
What am I doing exactly? The owner has more or less forbidden me to help out with any tasks involved in repairing and maintaining this place. My 24 hours a week in exchange for accommodation can get eaten up easily by activities that any other unskilled helper can do. This is good but sometimes difficult. I see them overloaded some days and I want to help but I can't. I am getting OK with it as time goes on and I had wanted a routine. Now I have one, It is of my own design and it comes with the freedom that I need to be happy. If the sun is out so am I. I am out and away from the inn discovering new places and taking AMAZING photographs. I arise at dawn before everyone else and I get a few hours of work in before heading to the gym or cliffs and beaches or redwood forests. Later in the day when the sun is near to setting I come back and do a bit more work in Quickbooks. It is a new software for me but easy. All those years in my own sole proprietorship filing schedule C's and categorizing things into a Chart of Accounts is coming in handy again. The inn owner is getting a fantastic deal. This room is marginally ok but certainly not worth my going rate. It does serve us both though as it gives me a place to bunk while checking out the area and couchsurfing over the holiday season isn't the best.
Anyway... I am going to cut this off here and post some nifty photos shot this last week. I am dabbling with the idea of another photographic book. I am not making mandalas lately. I feel as if there isn't enough time during the day. I get to a magic place and then the sun starts to dip in the sky. It makes for fantasful lighting but limited time and I don't want to be out in the woods or on a cliff in my personal ART ZONE and lose track of time.
