This particular day started out normally, I did my morning job and then went by the store (GE). While I was there I started getting this real ‘hinky feeling’, for no reason I could explain I called and cancelled my afternoon house cleaning job down in Sausalito (just north of the Golden Gate Bridge). Then I proceeded to buy large bottles of water, candles, matches, easy to prepare food stuff. I felt like I was in a daze, not quite all there. I drove down to the Post Office in Fairfax and ran into a couple friends, we both commented on a ‘strange day feeling’ and went about our business.

I drove to San Anselmo, where I lived at the time. I parked my 1968 VW bus in the driveway of the house where I lived, which wasn’t something I usually did. (The owner didn’t like it.) My room was the lower floor of a 2 story brick older home.

I remember setting the bags on the floor in the middle of the room and I sat down there too. This was not the ‘normal’ routine. Nothing about the day felt normal.
The next thing I remember was hearing a very loud ‘CRACK’ sound, my first thought was that something in the adjacent garage had been knocked over, but before I could get up the TV which was on a wimpy tv rack was on my back. I got that back in place and realized what was going on.
I opened the door to the driveway and watched as my bus bounced up and down, back to front – over and over again. Imagine what a rug looks like if you shake it out, the ripples in it.. the earth was rippling under my feet.

I looked up at Mt Baldy and the trees were doing hulus.. I had never seen anything like this before.

It seemed to go on for a very long time.
I went in and turned on the TV.. and got the news feed coming from the World Series at Candlestick Park in SF..
In a daze it became apparent this was a big quake.

Outside in my neighborhood people were screaming and running with babes in arms..where to I don’t know or understand. My landlord called and said, “Don’t let the old man next door turn off our gas or we won’t get it back for weeks.” I did stop him from turning the gas off. There was really little damage in San Anselmo, or Marin, a great shaking up but nothing like what was happening in the city, or really further south in the Santa Cruz area, where this quake’s epicenter was at.

I became glued to the tv watching all the horrors of pancaked houses, freeways, and bridges collapse. For days.

More than anything, I started to pay attention to this ‘feeling’ I had had that day. I call it my earthquake radar, and many times I have felt it before a quake hits, sometimes I get a ‘hinky’ feeling days in advance of something big. Mainly I need to get out of the way and pay attention to it.. it is right more times than not.

Here are some links:

lomaprietastories.wordpress.com

www.vibrationdata.com/earthquakes/lomaprieta.htm

Google Images

USGS

Carolyn Winthers nov 2006

There you go
Swimming deeper into mystery
Here I remain
Only seeing where you used to be
Stared at the ceiling
‘Til my ears filled up with tears
Never got to know you
Suddenly you’re out of here

Gone from mystery into mystery
Gone from daylight into night
Another step deeper into darkness
Closer to the light

Walked outside
Summer moon was nearly down
Mist on the fields
Holy stillness all around
Death’s no stranger
No stranger than the life I’ve seen
Still I cry
Still I begged to get you back again

Gone from mystery into mystery
Gone from daylight into night
Another step deeper into darkness
Closer to the light
~Closer to the Light by Bruce Cockburn

Listen here:

Loved you.
March 31, 1953 – October 31, 2007

Quick recap of the last 3 months:
Digestive disorders the beginning of the year, quit eating most everything to figure out what was going on.
Heartburn (I guess I never really had that before) that made me realize why people go to the hospital thinking they are having a heart attack. Apple cider vinegar // and or apples // and or tums works for me.

Any way,
I quit coffee with cream and sugar, replaced by green tea with honey.
I quit my 2400mg of Advils a day habit.
I cut way back on sweets & breads.
I added in tons more vegetables (and we eat a lot of them any way) – steamed yams (yummm)
I added in apples every day.
I started using digestive Essential Enzymes, and mostly can eat whatever I want again.
I have to be careful with chicken, overcooked or reheated is a trigger. And it seems garlic
Oh and I lost 10 pounds so far!

And then the other big change was I quit my hormone patch!
I had 5 weeks of brain power and energy before the hot flashes started again.

During that time I started the reconstruction of another old website of mine into the WordPress format. I am still working on that but almost have it ready to be filled with the content.
Brain power is so important, and sleep.

The hot flashes are effecting my sleep some, but if this is a bad as it gets I think I can tolerate them finally. I would love to get where they are not happening at all. Maybe by 60!???

Weather wise we had beautiful spring time weather most of January and some of February. Then the winds and rain started again almost daily, and snow and hail and some freezing temps.

The latest storm (March 18) brought big redwood trees down in Whittemore Grove which we have to pass through to get to town.

Redwoods down on Briceland Road

Briceland Road down to one lane

(Photos from Jac Hargrave’s Facebook page)
More Photos here at Kym Kemp’s blog
That area of Briceland road is now one lane, with a slide above, and an undermined road to the creek..not good. It is a main artery and busy, and if it goes all the way out will really cause a major disruption in our lives as well as others.

And then more snow:
Kym Kemp’s blog

And I have been busy on the CockburnProject, as the lead in to Bruce’s latest release Small Source of Comfort was happening. Lots of interviews and reviews, and lots of work getting the lyrics and liner notes uploaded.
I also bought tickets for his show June 2 in Napa and his solo show June 26 at Kate Wolf Music Festival in Laytonville. At least I have something to look forward to

Of course I like many others have been glued to the TV and internet for news surrounding Japans 9.0 quake, tsunami (we had little ones here and bigger ones just north and south of us) and resulting nuclear disaster.
What can I say about this?
We (many of my generation) tried to stop the proliferation of nuclear plants for energy in the 70′s. Some how we failed miserably at that.
Just now solar is gaining a bit in peoples minds, even Japan’s wind power energy plants survived the 3 punch disaster they have had. NO MORE NUCLEAR POWER.
And prayers for the Japanese people.

And this is another huge shout out to Kym Kemp for being the best news source and information hub concerning all here in SoHum, be it roads, radiation, crime, or whatever else is affecting us. She beats out all other blogs and radio stations to keep us informed. Thank you Kym!

So with that, I wish new beginnings for mother earth and peace and power to the people of the planet to make it so.

Happy Spring!

However you choose to party or pray
May the light start shining on your way..
Moving out of this darkness into the light of a new day
Best wishes for a Happy Holiday!!!

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We have been having crazy windy rainy hailing thundering wild weather for days now with no end in site. I hope the skies part enough to see the Total Lunar Eclipse this evening.
I, for one, am very anxious for the light to return!

Mahanaim (Naim) Satya - 1987

We worked together at The Good Earth Natural Food Store when it was on Bolinas Road.
We ate together at Wildwood Cafe.
We watched Purple Rain a dozen times!
He ‘turned me on’ to some fun dance disco music (Pointer Sisters) when dancing was my passion..and World Beat bands ruled Marin (think Freaky Executives, Big City, Looters). Although he never danced with me.
He taped the whole Bob Marley collection for me.
He was a complicated man, spiritual, musician, and chef.
He knew me in ways no one else ever has, he had that knack to get at the core quickly.
We lost touch when I moved to Humboldt in 1990, I only saw him once since then probably in ’92?
We reconnected last year on Facebook.
He emailed me last month and said he had a stroke but was healed miraculously.

He died yesterday, December 14, 2010.

Of course I am sad. Crying actually.

One of the things death brings up for me is not only do we miss the ones who left, they took with them the memories and knowledge of who we were to them (a part of who we are).
No one else has those memories of me now, ‘cept for myself of course. So it does feel like a piece of me died too.

Mahanaim Satya (Kenneth Jenkins)
23 June 1945 – 14 December 2010

Seems like if you have a Toyota truck, especially a Tundra, you don’t sell them. They don’t lose value and there are few to find, especially in the price range I was looking for.

Russel needs a new work-school truck to haul his Aikido mats, his old 1990 Toyota is worn out, but still drivable, so the question was,
“Do we put a ton of money into it to keep it safe and functional, or do we get a replacement?” Then the thought was, ‘well I (me) didn’t want just another Toyota like his old truck, it was uncomfortable.’ And I couldn’t find anything for sale which wasn’t just buying the same problems we have with his 1990.

So after much looking and hard decisions, we decided to pull some money from our retirement account that my Dad left us.
Maybe not a smart idea, but that’s what we did.

2004 Tundra 4x4 Stepside SR5

We bought a 2004 Toyota Tundra 4×4 Stepside SR5 TRD… this truck is like new..really like new. You can’t tell anyone ever drove it. It only had 28,000 miles on it. It’s a bit fancy for our taste, but rides great, I don’t feel like I am in a blender, as I do in both of our other Toyota’s.

We need to get the truck bed a spray on bedliner, and a rubber mat for the bed. Still need seat covers and some really good rubber floor mats.

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Seem’s sort of fitting somehow.. today is my Dad’s birthday.. and he is still giving to us.