What a Week!

This has been quite the week around here. It's not that I haven't had time to sit down and write, it's just that I haven't had a block of time, which is what this requires. Starting and stopping and starting and stopping makes it harder to keep the train of thought from derailing, and ideas kept popping in and out. It was a mess. Now, however, I have some time and will take advantage of it.

The new job responsibilities are settling in, but it's still huge. I have a boatload of stuff to work through, but with help and cooperation I'm at least not falling too much farther behind. I don't know that I'm gaining, either, but looking at what it was and what it is, I feel pretty good.

I got the paper mess sorted out (literally). Then I took the items that I had cleared out - about one-half a Banker's file storage box full - sorted out (literally), and have started sending these things off to the people who have to say 'yay' or 'nay' on clearing them out of the system. I've gotten most back, although there are a couple of batches still hanging. I'll send another reminder on Monday, and then pick up the phone.

The problem is, if I don't get responses to these, the pile will just keep getting bigger and it already is. I picked up two big batches on Thursday and Friday, and weaned through that. Low-hanging fruit is gone, so I have to start chipping away at the rock.

Along with this new stuff is the stuff that I was doing - I still have to keep on top of that, so it's a double-challenge because neither is hard but both are time consuming, which means I don't have as much time or energy for other things as I would like.

In politics, one of the best laughs I had this week was seeing Hilliary barking like a dog at one of her events. If she was Howard Dean, with the scream which sank his candidacy a few years ago, she'd be gone by now. But she's not. She's Hilliary - the Anointed One by the DNC and the donors. Although this is getting interesting what with the FBI investigation and some now saying she should step down while the investigation is underway. Yeah. That has a snowball's chance.

Whatever. So she's barking like a dog at a rally and someone picks up on that and does a musical remix, which is funnier than Hades - even if I liked Hilliary it would be funny.

'Who Let The Dogs Out' featuring Hilliary Clinton

Quite presidential, wasn't it? Imagine if that had been any of the GOP candidates - Donald Trump or Ted Cruz. The press would be on constant replay for days. But, no. Hilliary, as always, gets a pass. Nonetheless, it is funny.

And Obie-One, surprise, surprise, surprise, took a pass on Scalia's funeral. He couldn't be arsed to spend an hour or so looking appropriately glum so, to avoid trying to hide that disgusting smile of glee, I suspect he probably hit the golf course. Assuming it wasn't raining. Although, if it was raining in Washington DC, he probably ordered up Air Force One, damn the carbon footprint, and flew to somewhere where it isn't raining so he could put in a round or two before heading to Cuba next week.

Politics as usual, in other words.

In a completely different part of the world, I promised myself that I was going to take a walk on Tuesday. I had wanted to go out on Monday but other life things intervened. So I did walk on Tuesday and I did something I've wanted to do for a while. I took pictures - not photographic quality, just snaps - of some of the architecture in Calistoga.

The term 'eclectic' is somewhat overused in this day and age. Pick up any home decorating magazine and there it is. However, nothing describes the architecture of Calistoga like 'eclectic'. There are craftsman 'cottages', shotgun architecture, French Provincial, California Victorians and mixed up little places that don't really fit any particular style. I did go online to see if I could find any information about some of these buildings, particularly the older ones - 1888 and 1890 - but found nada. Still, they are beautiful.

Here's just a sample, and I apologize for not showing street scenes but even in February Calistoga is packed with tourists. If you want to see tourists, look at pictures of Disneyland. So I didn't take pictures of the tourists, just the bits and pieces of the buildings - the details of them - that interest me.

If you look through the branches in the picture above, you can see 1890 etched into the stone. The building looks like it might have been a bank, once upon a time.

The dark lines on the trim in the picture above are carved, not painted. If the sun were slightly lower, the light would shine through. From inside, I think it would be captivating to see the sunlight through those little embellishments. And across and down this street is this pretty little cottage with its gingerbread trim:

Along with all the other styles, there's this little Greek Orthodox church. It's not as grand as Saint Olga's in Santa Rosa, but it's humble and homey and cute.

And, just for fun, I took a picture of a little fur-baby (s/he and the family were out all over the place, but this is the only one who stopped long enough for me to get a portrait):

And, along the way, I saw these:

So that was my lovely Tuesday and then, Wednesday through yesterday, it was cold, blustery and rainy making Tuesday better than it was.

Wishing you a lovely weekend!

Best~
Philippa

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhilippaStories