My Town Monday: My San Diego Living Room

Ever wonder what Mr. Summy does in his spare time?

Recently he invented... a treadmill shelf for his lovely wife. 

Mr. Summy came up with this brilliant design. He attached (with the help of his handy assistant, Child #4) a drawer glider on the outside of the treadmill handles. This is so I can glide the desk up and out of the way when folding the treadmill for storage. 

Child #4 is drilling holes into the side wood pieces. Mr. Summy is supervising.  I am napping. (kidding!)

Voila! A beautiful treadmill shelf is born. There are plans to paint it black, but it is completely functional. Cost $27.   As compared to, say, the Trek Desk which is about $500.

Just a gratuitous crazy pic of child #4

How many miles will I walk while writing the next book? I might actually keep track.

 
p.s. Watch this Wednesday for The Book Review Club!

My Town Monday: the Latest Addition to Our Little House

Child #4 with two dogs at the dog park (taken with my Droid) 

 What is wrong with this picture?

 Sure, it's a little out of focus, somewhat crooked, and the lighting is probably off.

 BUT what is fundamentally wrong?

 There are TWO dogs!

 Yes, we have welcomed a second dog to the Summy household.

 "It's not fair. When we wanted a dog, you always said no. How come Child #4 was able to talk you into getting her a dog. And now into a second dog?" grumble Childs (Children?) #1, #2 and #3.

 I explain how it's a little like the last person being able to unscrew a tight jar lid. The first three children wore me down. They paved the way for Child #4 getting a dog.

 How did Dog #2 happen? Child #4 and I were picking up Dorothy (Dog #1) from the groomer's. Dog #2 was in the process of being groomed. Her owner is elderly, bed-ridden and very ill. The groomer asked if we knew of anyone looking for a dog. When Child #4 looked at me with hope in her eyes and when I thought of the poor owner worrying about her dog, I found that I couldn't say no. Ack! I'm turning into one great big bleeding heart!

 What is Dog #2's name? Well, she arrived with the moniker "Precious." Which no one could say with a straight face. We have renamed her "Marilyn" because, as Child #4 pointed out, the dog resembles Marilyn Monroe!

 Happy Holidays to you from Dorothy (the black dog) and Marilyn (the white dog)!

My Town Monday: A Pig Party in Pictures, San Diego, CA

 Happy Monday! It's been a while since I put up a My-Town-Monday post. I've missed them. I took off the summer, and, suddenly, it's October! I'm not sure where I misplaced September. :) Anyway, here goes...A Pig Party In Pictures in San Diego, CA!

A couple of months ago, Mr. Summy came to me with a suggestion.

Mr. Summy: Why don't we dig a hole in our backyard, fill it with burning coals and a whole, dead pig, and then throw a big party?

Me: You do realize we have both a functioning bar-b-que and stove? And that they sell pork chops at the grocery store?

Mr. Summy: Come on. It'll be fun, an adventure.

Me: You do realize that I have a book due this fall?

Mr. Summy: I'll do most of the work. You won't have to dig any of the hole at all.

From the pictures below, you will se that I capitulated. True, I did not dig any of the hole. Although I ended up doing quite a lot of prep to get ready for this party. Yay for girlfriends (ER, LP, PB) who helped out! AND I must admit, I HAD A GREAT TIME! I do enjoy a party. And this one was partic fun!

Every night for a week, Mr. Summy would eat his supper, then disappear to the bottom of our hill to work on the hole.

Mr. Summy and Child #4 drove to Ramona to pick up our pig. Mr. Summy and his friends name it "Wilbur." A fan of Charlotte's Web, Child #4 was not impressed.

The pig unveiled. Child #3 was so taken with the dead pig that he texted photos to his friends. As a result, we ended up with several teens at our party. Fun!

A co-worker of Mr. Summy's, Mr. Lewis applied a secret family rub to the pig. He declined to share the ingredients. We will continue to harrass him about this, as the rub was delish.

 

Mr. Summy and another co-worker, the crazy Mr. Barley (whose name was used as a suspect in i so don't do makeup!) inject the pig with a marinade.

The pig is stuffed with seasoned veggies (potatoes, carrots, onions). They cooked perfectly.

Super hot coals!

The pig is wrapped in wet burlap to keep the meat tender. It worked. Although  next time (did I actually just type that?!), I'd like to try wet banana leaves.

The pig is next wrapped in tin foil and then chicken wire. You can see, it's quite the procedure!

The Burial

Sixteen hours later, the hot pig is exhumed and carried up the hill.

The pig is cooked. The meat is falling off the bone.

p.s. There will be a Book Review Club meeting on Wednesday. Looks good!

My Town Monday: A Great White Shark Visits San Diego, CA

This is a great white shark.
(image from www.greatwhitesharks.com. I did not take this photo from the beach with my brand new Motorola Razr Maxx.) 

 La Jolla Shores, one of our local beaches, was closed today because a 14-foot great white shark was spotted a mere 50 yards from the beach. Apparently, a female lifeguard was paddleboarding when she saw the shark next to her. She was described as "distraught" when she got to shore and was relating the experience. (Personally, I would've been beyond hysterical.) Several other people also saw the interloper or at least saw that infamous triangular dorsal fin.

Can I just say that I was at this very beach last week with our company from Oklahoma, Child #3 and Child #4. In fact, I was thrilled that Child #3 was out in the waves, boogie boarding with Child #4!

 The beach will re-open this morning (Tuesday), assuming it's safe. So....how do we know it's safe? Well, if our very vigilant (and they truly are) lifeguards don't detect any sharks swimming around in our waters.

That got me thinking. Do we know anything about the habits of great whites who come to visit our fair city? As in, do they stay in the area? For a day, a week, a month? Buy discount tickets for the zoo, SeaWorld or Legoland? Make plans for a family reunion? (presumably not as they're pretty solitary).

 I Googled, but didn't learn much about the great white's habits with regards to San Diego. I did, however, find a few interesting facts. Here they are:

 -A great white's eyeballs roll back in its head when it attacks. This is to protect the eyes.

 -We make an inappropriate meal for a great white. This is because their digestive system is too slow for a creature with our high ratio of bone to muscle and fat.

 -A nickname for the great white shark is...White Death. Da...da...da...da

 -Great whites have about 3,000 teeth.

 And....I have a favorite picture about sharks. It's very entertaining. I just re-read it last week. In case you can't decipher the title and author's name from the jpg: THE GREAT WHITE MAN-EATING SHARK: A CAUTIONARY TALE by Margaret Mahy

Hope you're all having a wonderful summer. I'm attempting to balance children, company, friends,  the gym, the garden, the house, the pets and a book due to Editor Wendy next month. You can imagine how all that's going!

 

 Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_white_shark
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/sharks/species/Greatwhite.shtml
http://www.great-white-shark.com/great-white-shark.html
www.10news.com
local NBC news

My Town Monday: Happy Birthday Janey the Orangutan!

Janey the Bornean Orangutan at the San Diego Zoo (from google images)

Here in San Diego, we are inordinately proud of our zoo. We keep each up to date on zoo news, talking about the animals as though they're friends and neighbors.

"Did you hear Umngani is pregnant again?" (when one of our female elephants was in that condition for the 3rd time)

"Zhen Zhen took her first steps, and she's only 17 weeks." (baby Giant Panda)

"Someone just donated $15 million to the zoo?!" (local businessman Conrad Prebys)

Our current zoo news revolves around our super sociable, super artistic orangutan, Janey. She turned 50 on Friday!

Janey came to us in 1984. Apparently, she lived with Tom Jones, the singer, before that. This sounds only vaguely familiar, so I hope I'm not passing along false info.

Many, many moons ago, when Child #1 was much younger, we used to take picture books to the orangutan exhibit. Janey would amble over to watch Child #1 flip the pages. She's very visitor friendly, and you don't want to miss her if you're visiting our zoo.

Janey's nickname is Janey the Artistse. She loves to draw and paint. Some of her masterpieces have been auctioned off to raise money for the zoo.

Janey the Orangutan presents some of her artwork. (photo credit Vic Murayama, Smugmug.com)

And a few fun facts about orangutans:

-Orangutans are Great Apes (along with gorillas, chimps, bonobos and gibbons).
-Unlike other apes, orangutans don't live in troops, but are solitary. As a result, children stay longer with their moms (until the age of 8 years) in order to learn the ways of the world.
-Adult orangutans have the same number of permanent teeth as you (32).
-They are intelligent, use tools and have opposable thumbs.
-They are truly arboreal and spend all their time in the forest canopy.
-Females usually only have 3 offspring over the course of their life. Speaking from experience, this is quite wise. There are days when I find 4 quite the handful.
-Orangutans in capitivity live to be abou 59, so presumably we'll be celebrating Janey's birthday for years to come. ;)

Oh, and a bit of word trivia: Swinging from one branch to branch is called...brachiating.

Here's a link to the San Diego Zoo's ape webcam.

I'm this week's hostess. If you toss up a My Town Monday post, let me know here or on the official My Town Monday blog, and I'l set up your link.



http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-orangutan.html
http://local.sandiego.com/news/san-diego-zoo-receives-$15-million-donation
http://www.fox5sandiego.com/news/rss/kswb-zoo-orangutan-janey-the-artist-turns-50-20120217,0,5340528.storyhttp://rainy-z.xanga.com/photos/46aaf176268647/

My Town Monday: Living the LIfe of Riley in San Diego

Cats, playing at the San Diego Civic Theater (photo credit: http://www.mamarazziknowsbest.com)

Late yesterday afternoon, Kathy Krevat, one of my writing critique partners phoned with an extra ticket for the play Cats.

As I'm not usually given to bouts of spontaneity, the Summy family was surprised that I agreed to go. But am I ever glad I did!

Kathy has special, high-falutin' President's Club tickets for the San Diego Civic Theater!


Here Kathy and I are entering the theatre through the special President's Club door. This leads to our close-to-the-stage seats. (I don't think my Droid camera likes the rain; hence the blurry photo)

Before the show, we ordered our complimentary drinks so that they'd be waiting for us at intermission.

Our drinks were indeed awaiting at a little table with Kathy's name.

I enjoyed Cats. Although definitely light in the plot area, I loved the singing and dancing and costumes. But, mostly, I loved hanging out with Kathy. On the spur of the moment.


Here's wishing you a very happy Monday. I'm this week's hostess. If you toss up a My Town Monday post, let me know here or on the official My Town Monday blog, and I'l link to you on both.

My Town Monday: Fun Holiday Events in San Diego, CA

Good Monday Morning to you all!

Yes, yes, I've been somewhat absent lately, not due to a lack of love, but to a lack of time. While I do love my children, Mr. Summy, friends, family, Christmas decorations, gift giving, and writing books, blogging, all of them together is a bit overwhelming. ;)

Anyway, it's that time of year when I get to feeling sad and nostalgic and wishing I were going home to Canada for Christmas. I can barely listen to Anne Murray without tearing up.* Being the practical person I am, I thought I'd google see what fun stuff I can get up to here in San Diego that would be a little like the fun stuff I'd get up to in Toronto. Here goes....

Skating...
Skating by the Sea at the Hotel del Coronado (thanks google images for the photo)

At the Hotel del Coronado, they flood the Windsor Lawn to make an ice rink for skating next to the Pacific Ocean Nov 23 to Jan 8. It costs $20/$25 (adults) and $15/$20 (kids) for a 2hr/3hr session, including skate rental (not many of us own skates down here!). Growing up, our neighbors flooded their backyard, and all the kids in the neighborhood skated on it for the winter. In fact, that's where I learned to skate, pushing around a wooden chair until I got my balance. This took years (joke).

Please click here for skating details, such as the times the rink is open.

Looking at the lights...

San Diego Boat Parade of Lights (thanks again google images. What would I do without you?)

I've missed the Dec. 11 viewing, but on Dec. 18 from 5:30 - 9pm, over 100 boats, all decorated up for this year's Back-to-the-Future theme, will cruise 7 1/2 miles in the San Diego Bay. It's free. The parade starts at Shelter Island immediately after the 5:30pm fireworks. Please click here for details about the route, times, etc.

I have a couple of other fun ideas, but I'll save them for another post. Have a great Monday. Be good to yourselves.

Please check out the posts by the other My Town Monday participants by clicking here.



*Don't feel too sorry for me because I may be heading to the Great White North this summer.

sources:
http://www.hoteldel.com/
http://www.portofsandiego.org/

My Town Monday: The Drowsy Chaperone, San Diego, CA

It's that time of year when, here in the US, we're thawing our turkeys, baking our pies and thinking about what we're thankful for.

Well, I'm thankful Jim Williams ended his hiatus of sixteen years and returned to the stage.

Here's Jim Williams as Man in Chair in The Drowsy Chaperone, currently playing at the Coronado Playhouse, 1835 Strand Way, Coronado, CA. (619) 435-4856

This past weekend, Mr. Summy, two good friends and I went to see The Drowsy Chaperone. I'm not exaggerating when I say it's one of the best plays we've seen in the last four years (which is when we started regularly going to the theater together). And we ALL loved The Drowsy Chaperone--no mean feat for people who have trouble agreeing on which sushi rolls to order.

In brief, The Drowsy Chaperone is a very funny musical comedy. From the Coronado Playhouse's website: This hilarious show-within-a-show begins when a die-hard musical comedy fan dusts off his favorite cast album, a 1928 smash hit called The Drowsy Chaperone. The album magically bursts to life and the audience is instantly immersed in the glamorous, comical tale of a celebrity bride and her uproarious wedding day.

I called Jim after the play to ask him a few questions for this post (yes, I'm that kind of pushy blogger).

Me: So, what ended the sixteen-year hiatus? Did the stars align? You won the lottery? Your wife threatened to leave if you didn't get back on stage? Seriously, tell us and we'll make it happen again.

Jim: It was the play. When it first came out on Broadway, my daughter gave me the CD. Then I saw it in Orange County. And I said that if The Drowsy Chaperone ever comes to San Diego, the Man in Chair is the one part that will pull me out of this hiatus.

Me: Which begs the question...why did you take sixteen years off? Did the stars misalign? You lost the lottery? Your wife threatened to leave if you didn't spend more time at home? Seriously, tell us and we'll make sure it doesn't happen again.

Jim: It was a combination of Santee* losing its place for performing, and my wife and I deciding to do a bunch of traveling. And it was a nice break. When I did theater in the eighties and nineties, I was in rehearsal Monday through Thursday and then in performance, perhaps at different theater, on the weekend. This went on for about fifteen years.

Me: What was it like, jumping back in the saddle, er, the armchair, after so much time away?

Jim: When I was first preparing for my audition and I was trying to memorize a monologue, I thought this is never going to work. Then, the next day, I discovered I’d remembered more than I was expecting. Also, I really didn’t think I’d get cast for the part.

Me: And how’s it been?

Jim: Exhilarating! A lot of this is due to the cast of the show who were wonderful to me. They’re all extremely talented. And you couldn’t ask for a better producer or director. It’s been a thrill!

Me: What’s next? And if you say another sixteen-year hiatus, you understand there are people who might hurt you. ☺

Jim: What I really really want to do most is work with my kids and grandkids in theatre. So, I’m on the look-out for a good role and the opportunity to work on stage with my kids and grandkids.

Me: Directors and producers of San Diego County, you heard the man! Thanks, Jim, for the interview. And thank you for The Drowsy Chaperone! In kid/teen lingo, you rocked the house!

(*Santee is our little corner of San Diego county.)

The Drowsy Chaperone is playing at the Coronado Playhouse until Dec. 4. I can't recommend it highly enough. The show boasts a TON of talent. Debbie David's (the drowsy chaperone herself) delivery was impeccable; I couldn't have laughed harder. Tiffany Loui was a most energetic bride-to-be. We will be sure to see everything directed by Thomas Fitzpatrick; he's that good. It was a trip seeing Jessica Brandon, Manny Bejarano, Meredith Russo and Katie Beth Umlor on stage again. Really, I feel bad not mentioning everyone associated with this play!

Here’s a link to the theater: The Coronado Playhouse. Do something nice for yourself and go see this play.

Please check out the posts by the other My Town Monday participants by clicking here.

Oh, and disclaimer: I wasn't compensated for this post. I'm just a blogger who likes a good play....and a good book...and a bag of fresh licorice.

My Town Monday: the Chameleon Cage, San Diego, CA

Welcome to a My-Town-Monday post. I'm a little late getting this up. I had a dental appointment this morning. However, my dentist was a no-show, and I ended up running a few errands since I was already out and about.

It's been a while since I wrote about our male and female veiled chameleons (Mr. Cone Head and Fat Letta, respectively), and I thought I'd bring you up to date on Fat Letta.

Fat Letta, our female veiled chameleon, around 4 years old. Don't mind the white skin on her head. She's shedding. (photographed with my droid)

Unless you're into veiled chameleons, you probably aren't paying much attention to the fact that she's not holding herself up on her legs, but is resting on her belly. Poor Fat Letta is calcium depleted, and her bones aren't doing particularly well. I give her a sticky liquid calcium by oral syringe twice a day in the hopes of improving her condition. I also hold a bowl of crickets close to her for feeding as there's no way she could get around the cage on her shaky legs.

Fat Letta is an over-achiever in the egg deparment, and that's the cause of her bone problems. She insists on producing eggs every couple of months. About a month ago, she tunnelled down in the five-gallon Home Depot flower bucket to lay 30+ eggs. In the morning, she was still in the tunnel of cold, damp sand. Not a good sign. She used to tunnel down, lay her eggs, smooth the sand over so I had no idea where she'd deposited the eggs, then climb up to the top of cage to bask under the heat lamp.

This last time, my heart in my throat, I reached into the tunnel to lift out her cold, still body. I really thought she'd died, but then she blinked at me. Fat Letta is almost four years old. I believe veiled chameleons live 4-5 years in capitivity. The vet has suggested a hysterectomy. But, even to me, a crazy chameleon lover, this sounds a little over the top. You can imagine Mr. Summy's response!


These braided branches give Fat Letta a thicker area for grasping with her sore feet. (photographed with my droid)

I returned home today after my almost-dental appointment to find Fat Letta on the bottom of the cage. I think she lost her balance (her front legs are especially weak) and fell off her branch. I braided in extra branches (they're fake) and will figure out a way to fashion a net partway down the cage.

Sorry to not have better news. However, the fat lady hasn't sung yet. Perhaps the calcium will kick in. In addition, I've changed the UV bulb, in case that's exacerbating the bone issue.

Please check out the posts by the other My Town Monday participants by clicking here. No doubt they're a little cheerier.

My Town Monday: Feral Cats at Disneyland, Anaheim, CA

(photo credit: google images. I would never get this close to such a scary looking cat!)

Every night, after the park closes, Disneyland unleashes 200+ feral cats who prowl the Park and keep the roden population under control.

During the day, these cats lead a, well, dog's life. They live in well-maintained cat houses, dine at the five or so hidden feeding stations, have access to health care (shots, neutering, spaying, no botox though :) ). The cats are kept under wraps when the Park is open to guests, although rumor has it you might be able to spot a cute tabby face from the Jungle Cruise ride.

How did Disneyland end up employing dozens of our feline friends? In the late 1950s, the Sleeping Beauty castle underwent a major renovation. Guess who construction works found squatting inside the castle? Over a hundred Orange County alley cats. Along with a huge number of fleas! Disneyland tried to evict the cats, but to no avail. And then a bright Disneyland employee mentioned how they weren't having the problems with rodents that once plagued the Park. And, voila, the furry workers were hired! Without an interview!

What I'd like to see is human Park employees herding the cats back to their barracks at the end of the nighttime shift. :)

So, there you have it. The cat's out of the bag now on what goes in Disneyland after the last guest leaves! (Surely you knew I'd squeeze in a cat idiom or two!)

(photo credit: google images, once again. Although I would happily get close enough to a cute cat like this to get the shot.)

And I leave you with a photo I did take. It's of Child #4's winning graveyard cake. It took first at her school's Halloween Carnival this past weekend!

Please check out the posts by the other My Town Monday participants by clicking here. Happy Halloween!



sources:
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/02/business/la-fi-cover-disney-20100502
http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20111017-the-secret-world-of-disneyland
http://mikecalahan.com/?p=392

My Town Monday: Glow-In-The-Dark Waves in San Diego, CA

Here's what our ocean looks like during the day...

Red Tide in San Diego (photo credit: Gary Robbins, Union-Tribune)


And here's what it looks like at night...

Bioluminescent waves (photo credit: Brian Witkin, google images)

Phytoplankton, an algae that blooms late in the summer, is lighting up our beaches thanks to a scientific phenomenon called bioluminescence. When these tiny creatures are jostled, a chemical reaction occurs at the cellular level, and, wow, a blue light flashes.

So, when a wave breaks, billions of these single-cell organisms emit blue flashes. It's kind of like a wave of fireflies. Of course, there are lots of fun ways to light up the night: run along the beach, stir the water with your foot, surf, throw water from a bucket, etc. I've even heard you can fill a bottle with sea water and flush it down your toilet.

How long will the red tide be with us? No one knows for sure. It arrived at the end of September and may suddenly leave if the weather changes and blows it out or if a bunch of salp, a small jellylike creature, drift in and eat them up or if... Then again, the red tide might stick around for a while.

But, at least for the moment, we have glow-in-the-dark waves in San Deigo!

I'm this week's hostess. If you throw up a My Town Monday post, let me know here or on the official My Town Monday blog, and I'l link to you on both.

Below are links to some interesting My-Town-Monday posts by other bloggers:

Debra of From Skilled Hands has proof of great beauty in her small Village of Peninsula, Ohio

Jeannette Marie Powell has a haunting post on Frankenstein's Tower in Dayton, Ohio. Ooooh...


Enjoy your Monday!



sources:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/sep/27/red-tide-causing-stunning-bioluminescence-san-dieg/?sciquest
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/red-tide-glows-blue-along-the-san-diego-coast-photo/2011/09/30/gIQAFGXr9K_blog.
htmlhttp://www.nctimes.com/news/local/article_27326fb7-8916-55b4-8633-829a61dc69fe.html

My Town Monday: Blue Whales Spotted, San Diego CA

Thank you Google Images for this picture of a blue whale. The swimmer is not me.

Endangered blue whales are being spotted off the coast here. This is unusual. While we're pretty good at predicting when gray whales will cruise by, blue whales don't have regular migration patterns. According to the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, the blue whales have come to visit for our krill. Thanks to complicated factors like super swirling ocean waters this year, we currently have an abundance of these shrimp-like creatures. Blue whales are always on the lookout for a swarm of krill. A blue whale might suck back 4+ tons or 40 million krill a day.

Blue whales (they're actually blue-gray) are enormous. In fact, they're the largest mammals in the world, growing to 75-100 feet (depending on the hemisphere). Males weigh about 100 tons, while females, ta dum, can weigh in at a hefty 150 tons. Nursing calves gain 200 pounds a day, which translates to 8 or so pounds an hour and 1 1/2 inches a day! How wild is this?! It's like you could actually watch them grow!

To help you get even more of a sense of how huge these guys are:
~50 people could stand on the tongue of a blue whale
~A blue whale's heart is the size of a car

Blue whales can communicate with each other over hundreds of sea miles. More than heard, their low rumbling sounds are actually felt. This is my favorite fact. Also, they're very fast swimmers. They generally cruise at 12 mph, but can ramp it up to 30 mph when necessary.

It's a good time to go whale watching. The blue whales will be here until Halloween. There are only about 5000 of these creatures in the world.

Oh, and just in case you don't know this, whales have belly buttons. ;)

Here's a link to the official My Town Monday blog for links to more posts about various corners of the world. Always of interest!

Oh, and Happy Canadian Thanksgiving to my fellow citizens!



sources:
http://www.acsonline.org/factpack/bluewhl.htm
http://www.10news.com/news/29413683/detail.html
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/planetocean/bluewhale.html

My Town Monday: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

Well, well, well. Guess who's coming to lunch (yes, it's lunch, not dinner, but I couldn't resist the title!) in sunny San Diego?



It's our very own President Obama! No surprise that he's smiling. We've promised him our world-famous wonderful weather AND lunch at a private home in swanky La Jolla. Yes, it's the same swanky La Jolla where Child #3, Child #4 and I spent a large portion of our summer thanks to ambitious Child #3's determination to take a high-school Spanish class.

It's kind of weird to think the president is just a hop, skip and a jump west of our little house today. Unfortunately, I won't be attending his fundraiser luncheon. $5,000 per plate is a smidgeon beyond my budget. As is the additional $10,000 to have my pic taken with the President. (Although wouldn't that have been a fun photo for the blog!!?) And there's also the small matter that my name wasn't among the 160 on the guest list!

After lunch, the President is headed up to LA. In fact, he won't be far from his old stomping grounds of Occidental College, where Child #2 is currently studying.

IF I were going to the luncheon and found myself next to the President, here's what I'd say:

-Thank you for changing the horrible health care system in this country even a little bit. Now Child #1 is insured once again under our plan and can remain there until the ripe old age of 26. I can't begin to tell you the number of his friends (people in their early 20s who are part-time students working jobs that don't offer medical) who were completely and utterly uninsured.

-Please forgo your visit to the House of Blues in West Hollywood and instead stop in at Occidental College and deliver these home-baked cookies to Child #2.

-Yes, you can have a few of the cookies.

Here's a link to the official My Town Monday blog for links to more posts about various corners of the world. Always of interest!

Wishing everyone a wonderful Monday!