Archive for April, 2009

090417 – TGIF Underwear and Socks Edition

Friday, April 17th, 2009

So I was minding my own business this afternoon, taking a quick coffee break in the courtyard, when Juan, our Youth Shelter manager, comes up to me and says “I need girls’ underwear.”

Ahem.

I think he realized what he’d said when I looked at him funny–turns out that the shelter (which serves boys and girls ages 11-17) really needs girls/women’s underwear. Apparently the shelter does OK with donations of boys’/men’s underwear, but for some reason, women’s underwear is underdonated.

“Oh yeah–and socks. We need socks!”

So OK, Juan–I’m putting the word out there in the blogosphere–The Bill Wilson Center Youth Shelter needs new girls’/women’s underwear and new socks for boys/men.

You can drop donations at Bill Wilson Center at 3490 The Alameda, Santa Clara, CA 95050 or call (408) 243-0222. You can also donate online through Donate for Good by clicking here. You can also call me directly at (408) 850-6156.

090416 – I was gone, but now I’m back

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

OK, so technology is pretty cool. It lets me watch a show I haven’t seen in one window while I create a post in this one. Multitasking is definitely the order of the past few weeks. The world’s been moving pretty fast lately.

Theoretically, Eric has taken the kids camping tonight. I say theoretically because the last time we talked this afternoon, he was having trouble finding an open campground. He was going to try one more campground and then call it quits. They’re not here yet, so maybe he was successful. I think I’d feel better if I knew for sure. He sounded a little stressed when I talked to him, so I hope the evening is a fun one for him and the kids. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they were able to find a spot close to the beach and that they’re listening to the wind and surf snug and safe in the van.

I’ve been trying to knit a little every day, and so far I’m doing pretty well. I don’t have a very good ergonomic setup at work, though, so knitting for any amount of time tends to aggravate my wrists. But having the last six days away from the office has been amazingly restorative, so hopefully I’ll finish the socks tonight. I have to keep taking breaks to scratch the poison oak, though. Hiking at Uvas and at the beach has been fun, but between the rattlesnake at Uvas and the poison oak somewhere along the way, the fresh air has been a little hazardous lately.

The rattlesnake is no big deal–it was near one of the paths to the trailhead from the parking lot at Uvas. It was little–only about three feet. The kids thought it was ultra cool that we finally saw a rattlesnake. Three years of hiking and climbing in the desert and we have to come to NorCal before we find a rattlesnake. The rangers were hysterical, wrangling the snake with a set of trash tongs. But they successfully relocated it, and saved the day.

It’s nice when the house is quiet. I have two cats sleeping next to me on the couch, the two love birds are settling in for the night, and the big dog is sacked out on his bed in the kitchen. Life is good, and I have a fresh cup of hot chamomile and mint tea.

OK, time to get back to the knitting. Hope the world is quiet and peaceful where you are.