FINALLY! The new Yuba-Sutter dog park is having its soft opening this Sunday (yeah, Mother’s Day) between 9am and 1 pm. Volunteers from the Off the Leash non-profit group wll be on hand, with their own pooches, to answer questions and provide pointers on “petiquette.” (Poop-scoop stations have already been installed.) Owners and their licensed and vaccinated dogs are welcome to come for a test run of the five acres. There are parking spaces for more than 40 vehicles, so there’s plenty of room for cars and canines. Jet and I will be there, of course. The park is located in Yuba City at Bogue Road and Shanghai Bend Drive off Garden Highway. From Bogue, turn on Wild River drive.
Sorry. I wasn’t even on furlough.
April 25th, 2009, 11:41 am by CynthiaCan one be too busy to blog? Apparently. Then again, there’s Facebook, and all its mini-blogging opportunities, (and where I am pretty sure there are more people reading what I have to say!). But, seriously, I have been going to so many different things around town, I have not had much time to reflect or report. I actually did NOT go to this past week’s Marysville City Council meeting. I had already been to two local meetings that day, and the Council never seems to actually do very much anyway, so I figured a nap was more important. Besides, it was AI night and my Comcast signal was again acting up and I didn’t want to trust the DVR. Go Gokey. (I know everybody loves Adam and he *is* talented but he’s already a professional actor/singer.)
As for City Hall, I’ll resume going next time, and if you, dear reader, live in Marysville, you should, too! The big things pending from previous meetings, unless they were resolved in a flurry of votes Tuesday: will the Council decide to take action and get some expert advice on preserving the City’s historic cemetery? will the Council agree to reduce the rent paid by the operator of the Marysville races even though he was deliquent with current rent and is bound by a competitive bid contract? (Um, why? And how about collecting the back rent now?) Assuming the Environmental Impact Report comes back in favor of the sale, will the Council go ahead and sell a quarter of Washington Square park for only $400,000 when the developer making the bid already paid more than $ 2 million for the other half of the plot in question? (and, if so, how do they intend to raise the additonal $1.6 million that could have gone into our City’s coffers and paid for….well, you name it, this City needs a lot of stuff that $1.6 million could buy!). See what I mean? You should be going to City Council meetings!
60 Minutes.
March 28th, 2009, 9:30 pm by CynthiaWell, I just flicked on the lights. Earth Hour in the Pacific time zone just ended. It will be interesting to see if satellite photos will show if the lack of light traversing the time zones around the globe. Thousands of communities planned to participate, and individuals also were invited to dim their own lights for 60 minutes between 8:30 PM and 9:30 PM, local time. The idea is to draw attention to the need to conserve energy and find greener ways of living on our one and only home planet. Let’s hope an hour of darkness will help more folks see the light.
Spring is here.
March 28th, 2009, 6:45 pm by CynthiaOK, this is wild. In my backyard I have this huge wisteria whose branches and vines cover the back porch, snake across a tree onto a small pergola and attempt (by growing a foot a night in season, I swear) to take over the benches on the deck and cover two windows. Well, yesterday they were absolutely bare. Maybe a few buds. This afternoon, I looked out my window and Wow! a good third of the vines and tendrils were heavy with gorgeous, sweet smelling lavender blossoms.
The Instructables. Super Heroes or Just Plain Fun?
March 26th, 2009, 7:33 pm by CynthiaIf you have never visited this website, do so now. Whether you are interested in saving money, living simply, living green, recycling and repurposing, being creative, or all of the above, the Instructables will delight and….instruct. Want to make your own paper? It’s here. Turn an old Altoids tin into a survival kit? Build a mini-greenhouse for your seedlings or a giant robot? Make a chalkholder out of bamboo or a plushie photo frame? It’s all here. Go ahead, get in touch with your inner Da Vinci. I think this weekend I will make a couple of April Fool pens. Should go over big at the Library.
Beware the Bean, they say.
March 26th, 2009, 10:42 am by CynthiaMy regular readers (Hi Mom! Hi Whoever The Other One Is!), will know by now that I drink tea, usually decaf. And when I drink soda (Pepsi, not Coke), it is also decaf. Let’s just say that I am jittery and jangly enough without an extra load of caffeine. Some days, I *am* caffeine. Not that I don’t love the smell of coffee, I do. It’s the taste I can’t stand. Nevertheless, I still like the *idea* of coffee, coffeehouses, local joints with WiFi and open mic nights…Coffee Culture, so to speak. (Or maybe, since the coffeehouse was invented in Vienna, I should write Kaffee Kultur.)
So, I am totally accepting of the coffee lifestyle, and believe that for most of those caught up in it, it is probably not even a choice - they were born that way.
However, there are folks out there who care about your caffeine intake. They have formed a Caffeine Awareness non-profit and they have declared today Caffeine Awareness Day, which might actually be part of Caffeine Awareness Week. They even have devised a Caffeine Calculator to help you ferret out all the hidden sources of caffeine in your life. Being a non-profit, they are asking for donations to the cause. According to the homepage donate-o-meter, so far this month (which is almost over and is dedicated to Caffeine Awareness, after all), they have collected…..zero. I imagine the general feeling out there is, “My 401K is down 350%, my rent is overdue and you want me to give up coffee, too?!”
Tooth Scary.
March 22nd, 2009, 11:53 pm by CynthiaOK, has anybody seen the ad that pops up here on the Appeal-Democrat site that shows the world’s scariest teeth? Forget that they’re yellow in the “before” shot; in both photos they are about as long as my pinkie!! It’s a Google display ad, not a local advertiser. Watch for it; I tried to conjure it up by searching on the website for keywords ”yellow teeth” — but it did not work. The ad seems to show up, for some reason, to the right of the Editor’s Blog. (Note: his teeth are very white, thank you very much.) Anyway. it is a freaky photo. And this post is totally play-within-a-play, breaking-through-the-fourth wall (or I guess this would be the third wall). Whatever. That is to say, I guess I should be blogging ON the website, not blogging ABOUT the website. I should be posting this to my Facebook account, which is all about commenting about everything, but I already shut down Facebook and I still have the second half of The Amazing Race to watch. I will probably delete this whole post tomorrow. So lucky you, you got to read it first! Whoever you are.
Junk (con)science.
March 22nd, 2009, 2:16 pm by CynthiaI am still suffering from a dropped jaw over the recent story that Yuba College fired an employee because she took a table that was on its way to the junkyard. Come on! At least the woman was trying to recycle and reuse, and for the good of her community, not to redecorate her house! The College’s actions make it clear they placed no value on the table, so how can they punish someone who was willing to repurpose their trash?
And the bigger question is — why is the college sending still usable items to the dump? What other equipment and resources are being squandered? Why didn’t someone there think to donate the table to a non-profit group or a thrift shop, rather than just add to the landfill?
The devil’s in the details at The Acting Company.
March 22nd, 2009, 1:13 pm by CynthiaSaw a pretty good performance of The Crucible last night at The Acting Company’s wonderful little theatre in Yuba City. Arthur Miller wrote his play about the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 in response to the prevailing paranoia of Joe McCarthy’s House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s. Plus ça change, and all that. I especially enjoyed the performances of Margeurite Grover (Abigail), who appeared previously as Anne Frank, Bonnie Williams (Elizabeth Proctor) and Harold D. Whitson, Jr. (The Rev. John Hale), who currently can be seen daily as the Statue of Liberty, waving his arms in the front of the tax place. One quibble: about those wigs. Poor John Proctor looked like his hair was stolen from my Great Aunt Mary. Then again, maybe that was part of the Tragic Hero effect. Nonetheless, it was solid entertainment and I recommend you help fill the few empty seats left for the remaining performances.
Speak up? No, Sit Down!
March 17th, 2009, 10:24 pm by CynthiaWell, I went to the City Council meeting again tonight, sacrificing a second round of the great corned beef and cabbage at Stassi’s to do so. My friend and neighbor Kelly and I made a pact two months ago to attend every meeting if we are in town. We resolved to become more involved citizens. After all, we both pulled up stakes from settled lives elsewhere in California, bought historic homes, set out to restore them and make Marysville home. I joined the Chamber right away, volunteer at community events, patronize as many local businesses as I can and generally try to be a good citizen. So attending City Council meetings seem to be an important component to that involvement. Kelly’s been here a year longer than I, so she has more council meetings under her belt. But tonight was a real eye opener. I might as well have stayed at Stassi’s.
Tonight, after listening to some pretty nasty exchanges over this Cemetery flap, I stood up to offer a win-win solution to the controversy. Despite two other persons who were not listed as speakers being allowed to make a comment, I was told I would not be allowed to speak. Despite the statement at the top of the meeting agenda that encourages public participation and gives instructions as to how citizens could be heard on an agenda item, and despite my following the instructions for ad hoc speakers. Plain and simple, I was shocked. And I am discouraged. This city is on the brink, but apparently the Council is not interested in positive input. Sad. But, hey! we’re still gonna be able to sell fireworks within the city limits. And that’s really what should be at the top of our agenda, right?
I think that I shall never see….enough people liking Po-eh-tree.
February 25th, 2009, 3:57 pm by CynthiaThursday (tomorrow) the public (yeah, that means you!) is invited to a FREE event at the Arts Council, corner of E and 7th in Marysville. The program begins at 7 pm. Arrive a few minutes early to ensure you get a seat at this exciting event. [Disclosure: I am one of the judges, so I want a packed house!] Area students will be competing in the local level of a countrywide competition, organized by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. It’s called Poetry Out Loud and this first-ever Yuba Sutter competition is being presented by the Regional Arts Council, in cooperation with the California Arts Council. Local poet Jonathon Kinsman has been working with area schools on the program. So plan on taping Survivor and come over to 7th and E for a little free culture. Who knows, you might hear Frost or Yeats recited by the kid who cuts your grass.
Don’t Miss the Bark Kai Parade
February 19th, 2009, 11:43 am by CynthiaCanines, not dragons, will be the centerpiece of the Off The Leash contingent in next week’s Bok Kai Parade. Supporters of the off-leash recreation area that will open this spring will be marching along with their dogs, handing out flyers spreading the word about the new facility and encouraging people to join in its support. The Park is free for dog owners to use, but the annual $15 membership in Off The Leash funds additional improvements, such as benches, awnings, poop-scoop stations, etc. Needless to say, Jet and I will be marching. I am going to try again to make him wear that red Chinese embroidered thing that would look so nice against his black fur. I guess I need to sew it into something really “manly.” Sew? Who am I kidding? Where did I put that Stitch Witchery?
Pennies from Heaven
February 18th, 2009, 6:16 pm by CynthiaAre you like me? Always seem to end up with a pound and a half of coins in your purse or pocket? I keep tossing them into a big jar, fishing out the quarters to use at the laundromat, with some in the car for parking meters in Other Cities where they still have parking meters, the Visigoths. I can only use so many coins, and trying to give them back in a store, paying with exact change, is a hit or miss situation. Plus, I always feel pressure from the person behind me in line to hurry up and finish the transaction. (Hmmmm, can you be co-dependent with strangers??) Anyway, I was tempted to use one of those Coinstar machines, but the thought of giving back more than eight cents for every dollar I cash in just seemed, well, stupid. (Although it is a helluva business model: Give me a dollar and I’ll give you back 92 cents and nothing else!) However, seeing as how I was running out of extra jars in which to store these coins, I stopped at the Coinstar machine when I was in Save Mart yesterday. Now this may have happened some time ago, so don’t go rollin’ your eyes, but now there is an option of selecting a coupon from Amazon or Lowes (my home away from home) or Starbucks or Penney’s et al. and *they* pay the Coinstar fee so you get a coupon good for the full value of the coins you toss in there. I poured in all the coins and got back $58.47 to spend at amazon.com. It’s now burning a hole in my virtual pocket. But, I promise to buy something practical in these cash-strapped times. So go ahead and dig around in the sofa and put your coins to work.
(p.s. an iPod is practical, right?)
