Tardis coffee stop

For Doctor Who fans - the Tardis coffee kiosk. It promises 'out of this world' coffee. Since I don't drink coffee I can't vouch for that, but it makes me smile every time I pass it, with its pictures of the Doctor, the original blue Tardis (which I'm old enough to remember in black and white on TV), and the childhood terror of every British person over a certain age - a Dalek.

This is one of a chain of 'Police Box Coffee Bars', the owners of which very enterprisingly bought up redundant police boxes across Edinburgh, and perhaps other cities too. These boxes were designed for police patrolling city streets on foot, and offered shelter, a comfort stop, and I don't know what else. They usually had a siren attached to them, to be sounded in the event of national emergency. With the demise of the 'bobby on the beat', the foot-patrolling policeman/woman, they faced removal, but now their future is secure. Here's another, without the time-travelling theme, plus a recent arrival of a Mojo juice box, only a couple of streets away.
If only someone would open a tea box. There is however a porridge stall nearby in the colder months - I'll post a photo once it reappears for the winter.

Bang Goes the Water Filter

Today’s a work-from-home day for us. But we’re not at the stix & bricks in Vienna; we’re at Candy Hill Campground, in Winchester, Virginia, about 80 miles (128 km) away. Ain’t it great to be able to telecommute :-)

An easy drive puts us in Winchester, near the Virginia / West Virginia / Maryland state lines.

We left the house around 1:15p yesterday. An hour later, the toad hitched up, we were on the road in the Phaeton. Google Maps’ driving time estimate was spot-on. With the traffic flowing smoothly, we made good time, arriving at Candy Hill Campground shortly after 4:00p. Even the weather cooperated — sort of — and the rain that accompanied us part of the way fizzled into a light drizzle, allowing us to set up in relative comfort.

This is our first time here. It’s a nice enough campground, with plenty of trees and lots of grass, but the sites are packed close together and share water/electric pedestals. Cozy is the word that comes to mind. This is not the place to come if you’re looking for privacy. Since we don’t plan to “stay home” Saturday — our one day to play during this trip — we’re not bothered by the close proximity of neighbors. Not that anyone seems to be out and about anyway. Besides, with sites in our section of the campground alternating back-to-front, we have some semblance of privacy where we are.

We’re in F9 (circled in blue on the left); the office-lounge-arcade building is
actually across from us and not offset as shown on the map.
[map courtesy of the campground website]

We were initially assigned site B9 (the one in red in the lower right portion of the map), but asked to be switched after seeing its proximity to Route 37. Instead, we were given F9, another 50-amp, full hook-up, premium site. At $50/night (plus 10% Good Sam discount), this campground is not inexpensive, but we’re used to that in this part of the US. Cable is included (26 channels); Tengo-provided wi-fi is available for a price. Our Millenicom aircard works just fine, so we won’t be availing ourselves of that service.

Settled into site f9.

We’re butt-to-butt with the sites to our left and right, so there’s a bit more privacy here.

By 5:00p, we were parked, jacks down, slides out, hook-ups complete. While Mui dumped the black and grey tanks from our Bull Run stay, I vacuumed and Swiffered the floors before unrolling the rug to make our home nice and cozy. Then it was time to explore the campground.

We’d just returned from our walk and were talking about getting dinner on the table when a really loud BANG startled us. What on earth???

At first we thought our neighbor must have accidentally dropped open the door to their toy hauler. To be safe, we stepped out to investigate. Oh, oh! There was water flowing out from under the coach. My first thought was that our fresh water tank had somehow ruptured and I envisioned a disaster on our hands. It turns out that it was just the water filter. The bottom had split off from the rest of the canister and water was gushing out all over the place. Shutting the spigot at the source immediately stemmed the flow. BUT we now had no water coming into the Phaeton.

OK; no big deal. We have every RVers best friend — duct tape. Mui dries the canister and tapes it up real well. It doesn’t look pretty, but as long as it holds, who cares! He screws the unit back in place and turns on the water. Problem solved, right? Nope; water gushes out like a geyser, though a smaller one now.

OK; no big deal. Camping World is just down the road a bit. But wait; it’s closed for the day. No problemo. Wal-Mart, Lowe’s, and Home Depot are all a short drive away. They’re bound to have what we need. Right? WRONG! None of them have a canister to match ours. There are other brands, but it’s already dark, and it’s cold, and Mui’s not in the mood to install a new system.

OK; no big deal. Waterproof epoxy should work to temporarily secure the bottom of the canister. “Sure, that will do the trick; I used it for my truck’s fuel pump,” says the helpful young man in the orange apron. $5 nets us a tube of PC-Plumbing. Back home, Mui starts kneading the Play-Doh like stuff until it’s a uniform color. Soon, the bottom of the cartridge is attached with a ring of epoxy around it. It doesn’t look pretty, but as long as it works, who cares! While the epoxy sets (60 minutes the instructions say), we have dinner and watch a show on TV. Then Mui goes out to install the filter. “BANG,” I hear, but assume it’s the basement door being closed. Nope; the filter has blown it’s bottom again. Nothing to do until morning; a couple of buckets of water from the spigot outside and we’re good to go for the night.

Plan A and Plan B don’t work.

And thus we brought yesterday to a close. Mui headed out to Camping World first thing this morning and picked up a replacement. Our plumbing is operational again. We have no idea why the filter canister blew like it did. Perhaps there was a hairline crack that finally gave under pressure. At least it happened while we were at home.

Plan C successfully restores water to the Phaeton.

After such an eventful evening, a quiet day at Candy Hill was in order today. We spent most of the day indoors since we both had work projects requiring our attention. The cool temp — 58F (14C) at noon — didn’t encourage spending time outside anyway; nor did the overcast skies that quickly replaced the beautiful sunshine we woke up to.

Shortly after 3:00p, our work-day having drawn to a close, we drove into Winchester for a look-see around Old Town. At least the sun came out briefly and there were patches of blue sky while we were out having some fun. But that’s a story for another post. Dinner is over, the dishes are loaded into the dishwasher, and Mui’s got the second disk of John Adams (HBO mini series) cued up and ready to go — time to enjoy a quiet evening at home.

Water Receding, Bridge Out, and Bike Lane Swept

After radiation and chemo (3 stabs today), I decided I needed to get out for a bike ride! Lower 50s, sunny, with some wind from the North.
My hybrid (Trek 7200 FX) was ready at Xtreme Wheels after annual turn-up. Headed from there to Lake Manawa. Found the Missouri River is receding. No longer over the road to the river boat ramp.

Comparing Monday's photo, you can see that drop in the river level.
Monday I saw that the Lake Manawa trail was "closed" at the river boat ramp. Today, that sign was up again today so I headed past the sign to see what was up. As I neared the Indian Creek Bridge, I saw the bridge was closed. They are re decking the bridge.

Trekked over to the shore road, joined the Indian Creek Trail at Hyway 90. Rode on up to S. 16th, East to Harry Landon, on to Mall of the Bluffs, and finally back to the bike shop. Pleasantly surprised that the bike lane on Harry Langdon Blvd has been swept!
All in all, an "A-" bike ride.

A passion for defiance

By now anyone who reads this blog is well aware that I have returned from a wet tour of Scotland to a Queensland that is drier than ever before. To say that we need a flood would be understating the situation by several orders of magnitude. The water restrictions are so harsh that virtually any outdoor water use is banned. I'm picking and choosing my rides on the basis of "where the bushfires aren't" -- and had to cancel a ride early this morning because of one. This will probably mean more rides on the NSW side where there seems to be a slightly smaller number of brainless f*ckwits with nothing better to do than light fires.
It would therefore seem like a bad time to plant a passionfruit vine and actually expect to get anything from it, but this requires some awareness of some other factors. First of all, I've had some success in cultivating this particular fruit before. Secondly, I have a means of dealing with the water restrictions, and no, it doesn't involve shelling out $1,000 for a water tank (not that I'd have anything to fill it with anyway). I was using recycled shower water for watering even before the drought began, so those won't offer a problem.
However, the thing that most fills me with optimism comes from a quick 50km ride I took late this afternoon to Austinville in the hinterland. While many of the surrounding areas are barren and tinderbox dry, and this is exacerbated by property owners in the area trying to remove anything that might feed a bushfire. One can almost liken this to the Russians of the 1940's burning all their stored grain to stop the Nazi invasion (albeit on a different scale), these people will really miss the shade when the summer heat kicks in. Yet despite all this, there are small patches of rainforest that survive, totally defying the conditions, and thriving regardless. If they can defy the drought, so can I, and so can my passionfruit.

Diggin' the Windy Grasses...

"When my neighbor walks the dogs, he performs a ritual act of sacer simplicitas, to use the church Latin: "sacred simplicity." Walking the dog is in truth a ritual of renewal and revival on an intimate scale - a small rebirth of well-being on a daily basis."
- Robert Fulghum, From Beginning to End
IknowsIknows - sounds a bit pious, but hiking in the hills around my pad is a religious experience heheh!
Guess there's a trade-off fer livin' where we has so many places in the hills fer doggehs like moi to hike. We live in pretty close quarters (house-house) in the valleys between 'em! Upper left is one view from my back yard of the ridge loop I just loves. Lower left is the entrance to the Open Space here. And, duh, "Mom, hurray!"
We don't have to climb far before we run into a golden I shouldda met eons ago! It's Maggie! The lady from Norcal Golden Retriever Rescue who put me and my peeps together, put Maggie and her peeps together too! We finally come nose to nose here on this ridge! Pawsome!
That lizard got away... but I promises you, I'll get 'im on the way back - WOOF!
Here we be at the top of the loop and I be scentin' sumpin serious. Mayhap it be a squirrel??!!! It was furry windy and I gots a movie to show you how breezy it was. Love the grasses!

If the movie buffers too much try here and I hopes that will work.
See - tol' ya! So... took a little time to check out the overlook. Mt. Tam on a clear day!
Pawsome!
And... distracted!
Cause there's gophers effurywhere. And I'm a sucker for those lil' teefy ground rodents!
And here we are on the loop back and there's MORE lizards! The nerve of 'em bein' so fassssst!
HEY! Wait up, Ma! Comin'! HEY! I'm taaahrrrd!
Aaaaahhhhhhh sluuurrrrrpppp. Thanks fur remembrin'. That was grrrrrrawsome zzzzzzz. From Ma: Yes... sacred simplicity!

An Outside Tour of Baileywick Cottage

The herb garden in summer

The front porch

The dining room window with master bath window above. The window boxes will soon be filled with pansies.

Side porch which is our main entrance. I love the louvered vent above!

Around back is the balcony off the master bedroom. Kitchen window below looks out over the gardens.

Below the kitchen window is the shade garden with a hydrangea, ferns, and ivy. Beau is looking at me through the railing going down from the back porch.

And that's a short tour of the outside of our house. As I was walking around taking photos, I saw all the work that needs to be done. Leaves to be raked, empty flower pots to fill, and just stuff that needs to be thrown away. Here in Georgia that's what January and February are for; preparing for spring. Things are already starting to bloom and push out of the ground. I also need to prune the roses before Valentine's Day. Much to do!

Black-Eyed Susan

Black-Eyed Susan, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Minnesota has some great prairie wildflowers. This black-eyed susan was out in a field of daisies near St. Paul. Minnesota is a nice place to visit - when it's warm!

1st Meeting of the San Francisco Bay Area Golden Retriever Meetup!

Ashley and her golden, Moose, recently moved to the Bay Area from San Diego, where, as many of you may know, Sue of Random Ramblings started a Meetup group that has grown to almost 800 members! We were excited to have a group here finally and even more jazzed about our first gathering at Seal Point Park in San Mateo near the SFO airport.
Let's get this party started, Peeps!
Okay Ma... that's enough throwing to her; it's my turn! And here's a little movie of things gettin' goin'!

And here's a little of my play/kong action on the return retrieve heheh!
Here's a collage of what some of us doggehs were up to fur some pawesome fun meetin' and greetin'! (Notice my BFF, Sierra, in these pix?)
Below there's Maggie, cuddling up with Ma, who does rescue work in San Francisco with Norcal Golden Retriever Rescue, where I cames from!
Look who was anxious to join the pawtay - a bit too anxious if you asks me, pulling on that leashie likes that heheh!

Word spread that there were treats over here - nomzers!
And after a good time was had by all, we gathered for a group picture, some of us more enthused about it than others! Ashley, incredibly, had created a "goodie" bag for each of us to paw home!
WOW! Something smells really yummy (drrooool!)
Before I could get my maw around the nomzers, my evil sis took off with the pretty pressie!
Luckily, the contents spilt fur me to investigate!
What lovely gifties Ashley and Moose gave us to bring home. Ashley: you bringed joy to our lives today and we loved meeting you and so many other wonderful goldens (and other doggehs too!) as well as their super owners! Thank you, thank you! We had a most splendid time and look forward to the next Meetup!