2002-07-02 - 12:44 a.m.
I wanted to start this entry with, "Hello from Astoria", but I already used that on my last post! Oh well.......Hello, from Astoria! It seems like I've been away forever....all the weeds have grown up around the building....it's started to look like a jungle again! When I first get here, I always feel so overwhelmed by all the many things that need to be done. And there's always some new, unexpected disaster that needs attending to. This time it's the birds....and their plumbing.
Every year, I seem to get a bird nest in the outside wall to my kitchen. Usually, this is no big deal....I hear lots and lots of bird sounds when the chicks hatch....then they're off....and I don't think about them again until the next year. Well, this time they built their nest....and also pecked a hole in the wall, clear through into my kitchen! At first, I was charmed...actually seeing little bits of bird nest sticking through the wall....but then I was thouroughly not charmed, when I realized that this little hole was the bird's toilet...there was bird poop littered/sprayed quite heavily in a radius from this little hole....partly over my kitchen counter....partly over the clean dishes I had left in the dish rack....and all over the floor behind the sink!!!!!! Ugh!!
And on top of that, I smashed my finger trying to board up the hole! Oy!
But, even after all that, isn't it fascinating that these birds devised a way to have a toilet in the nest.......I find that fascinating, actually.....I never knew birds did that!
comments??? (0 so far...) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~2002-06-29 - 9:03 p.m.
Well, tomorrow I'll be doing my 12 hour marathon drive back to Astoria, Oregon. I feel obligated to go back once in a while to put in an appearance....and make sure the building is still standing! I may even open the shop this time....(but I'm not making any promises!) And, hopefully, my handyman tenant will have finally returned from his 2 year "hiatus" in Missouri (he promised to be back this month)....to make some much needed repairs.
This building has been both a blessing and a curse....an albatross around my neck....and a lottery ticket in my pocket....I love it....I hate it.....I'll never sell it....I wish someone would buy it......I don't want to go back.....I wish I was there now!! But above all, I really, really wish it was in Los Angeles!!
Anyway....you probably won't hear from me tomorrow because I won't get in till late....and after I've unpacked the car....replaced all the burnt out lightbulbs...checked for disasters....poured myself a drink....and checked the email......well.....I'll probably just want to take a bath and go to bed! So I'll see you Monday....until then.....Good night!
comments??? (1 so far...) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~2002-06-29 - 12:27 a.m.
Well, hello from San Fransisco! Sorry there was no post yesterday, but I spent all day driving up from L.A.....and by the time I got here, it was all I could do just to check my email! The drive seemed a little lengthy this time. Yes, I know to most people, 400 miles is already a lengthy drive....but I'm quite used to that. The lengthy part started because of our quest for food! You see, normally, we make a point of leaving a little early....so that when we reach the half way point, it's the perfect time to stop for food. (And we always stop at Harris Ranch because it's so fabulous!) But this time, somebody stayed up way tooo late drinking....and there was a hangover involved.....and the necessity of sleeping late....etc., etc. So we didn't even leave until like 2:00pm or something! And we were really hungry! And, I had this great idea that we would stop at this little place I remembered. But when we finally got there, it was not the place I remembered....so we drove on to the next place, but that wasn't it....and it looked dreadful.....but we were so starving that we decided to eat there anyway.....but after sitting there for an eternity with not a waitress in sight, I thought of another place, just across the way......so we drove over there.....
Anyway....you can see why it turned into a lengthy drive!
But now I'm back online again (dial up unfortunately! why can't there be broadband everywhere?!?!)....and I promised to tell you about The Back Facial, so here you go. Now... you must promise me...that if you actually go to The Madonna Inn, you will have The Back Facial.....it is soooooo incredible, you will not regret it!!!!
The spa there is not snooty at all....they have simply converted a couple of their larger rooms into "spa" rooms. If you've never had a massage before, this would be the best place to have your first one. They are very casual, and very good! For the "back facial", you start like any massage.....you undress (but can leave your underwear on if that makes you feel more comfortable....I recommend taking everything off, but that's just me) ....then you lay face down on the massage table with the sheet covering you. (They take special care to make sure nothing is exposed that shouldn't be.) Then the magic begins!
You start with a half hour back massage....which is heaven in itself! You'd easily be satisfied just with that, but then they smooth on some creamy lotion and continue massaging....followed by a rub down with a hot, steamy towel (oh, heaven!)....then another creamy cream....then another hot towel draped over your back.....and this goes on and on....and you think you've died and gone to heaven.....it is positively orgasmic!! Then, they scrub your back....and you have never felt anything soooo good! Then another hot towel....and then the MUD! Oh yes....they use mud!! At this point, while the mud is drying....they massage your feet!! OOoooohhhh! If you are not completely mush by this point! Oh!........then they rub you down again with another hot towel followed by another cream. I was positively dizzy by the time I walked out of there! It is worth every penny!!! And you never have to move....they do all this while you're lying on the table....and when they're finished you just get dressed and go. Fabulous!
comments??? (3 so far...) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~2002-06-26 - 11:12 p.m.
When you go to see the Hearst Castle, everyone you know asks if you are going to stay in Cambria. Well, we didn't, but you should. (You'll remember from a previous post that we stayed where we did because of my cat...then later realized we could have done better....if I had it to do over again, I would have stayed in Cambria!) If you are going to Hearst Castle, email me and I can give you more specific suggestions on where to stay...and other stuff!
Anyway, after Hearst Castle, we decided we absolutely had to spend one night at The Madonna Inn. Around here, everyone talks about this place....almost every woman I know in Los Angeles has been taken into the men's restroom at one time or another by boyfriends who must show off the urinal! Apparently there is one whole wall of the men's room that is a waterfall....and that's the urinal! The men seem to really love it.
But that's only part of why we stayed there!! Each room is decorated entirely different in some funky weird way...check out their website and you'll see what I mean! We had the Daisy Mae room. If you go, get this room!!! It is designed to be a cave.... the walls, ceiling ,and floor are all made of rock, an you really feel like you are in a cave! But the most incredible thing is the bathroom.
They say this room has the best shower in the whole place.....it's a waterfall !!! (They're into waterfalls here!) We were a bit sceptical at first, but, indeed, the shower is a waterfall!....you walk into a rocky cave and turn on the faucets......and the water just pours out of the ceiling, over the rocks and on to your body...and .it is FABULOUS!!!!
I could have just stayed in that shower all day.....it was soooo amazing!
Well, I'm going to have o say goodnight for now.....I was going to tell you about the The Back Facial.....which was soooo incredible you just can't believe it.......but I'm going have to save that for later. (I stayed out tooo late drinking tonight, and have to get up early for another 400 mile road trip tomorrow!) Stay tuned....I'll write more when I get to the next location. Until then......
Of course, you know, all of this is copy right protected. None of this information may be reproduced without my permission.