He was sitting in front of the door....

It is a known fact that if one sits long enough in front of a door, doing the proper yoga exercises, the door will open.
--May Sarton

Last week our City started a class for the Community Emergency Response Team (C.E.R.T.). It’s strictly voluntary and Charlie decided to sign up. He attended two classes last week from 5:00pm to 9:00pm. Today and next Saturday, he will be in the class all day, 8:00am to 5:00pm.

He is learning how to respond to a disaster, if called to help in the community. These volunteers could be called when we have fires, earthquakes and other disasters when the professionals can’t be everywhere. They need to know how to organize and also how to work safely. In the event of a catastrophe which may result in large numbers of injuries, etc., he needs to know how to protect himself and others when blood or hazardous chemicals are a threat. He’s learning quite a bit and it will be something helpful to use at home.

For instance, we have a fire extinguisher somewhere in the garage. If I could find it, I’m sure it wouldn’t work. After this class, Charlie will get new ones: one for the kitchen, one for upstairs and one for the RV. (The one in the RV now has been there since we bought the RV in 2004......and never been used). I’m pretty sure it won’t work in an emergency.

So today is my "day off". I don’t get days alone much anymore and I have planned to do a few things on my own today.

This morning I had a contractor named Luis, come to give an estimate on coating the patio floor. When we were talking, he asked me if the cat on the front window sill was real. I said “The yellow and white one? Yes, he’s real. That’s Mr. Creme.”

Mr. Creme and Dad

He said that when he came up to the front door, Mr. Creme just sat there and didn’t move. Luis watched him and waved his hand, trying to get Mr. Creme to move or blink an eye. Mr. Creme didn’t do either, so Luis didn’t think he was a real cat. I told him that Mr. Creme thought if he didn’t move or blink, Luis wouldn’t know he was there. We had a good laugh.

Later I went out to water a couple of bushes that we had transplanted. One looked pretty dry. I came back into the backyard and watered a few other things. I spotted two big grasshoppers on the Butterfly bush. I know they are eating my Four O’Clocks, but I can’t kill a grasshopper. They have “those” eyes. So I sprayed the hose, not exactly being careful not to wet them down good.

Mr. Creme was in the grass and it looked like he was playing with something. I saw that it wasn’t a bird, so I assumed he’d found a leaf or bug. When I stopped watering, I walked over to put the hose away. That’s when I saw that Mr. Creme had a grasshopper and every time it would hop, he put his paw on it to hold it down. I rescued the poor thing and put it over the fence.

Today is a pretty day. The sun is shining, it’s not too hot, and there’s a nice breeze. For a few days last week, we had the hot Santa Ana conditions. We usually get those hot winds in October, but our October this year was overcast and we even had rain a few times. I don’t think I recall an October like this ever.

California has certain months that you can predict. For instance, we have “May gray”, “June gloom”, and Santa Ana’s in October. This year, we had gray skies all through July, August and September. Not much of a summer at all.

I hear some hummingbirds outside and I need to make some fresh nectar, so I’ll get to that and then hopefully, I’ll get to painting a wall.

Before I know it, it will be 5:00pm. I can’t wait to hear what Charlie did in class today. They will be outside learning bandages, splints, etc. I guess.

Last night I made his lunch for today, but I was asleep when he left this morning. When I checked, I see he did get his sandwich and chips.

I’ve been staying up too late at night and I sleep later than usual. Hopefully I can get back into my regular sleep routine tonight. The twins and I have been out of kilter. Since the Calico’s have taken over the bed, the twins have been staying away, but I expect we’ll all get settled soon.

Don’t forget to set your clocks BACK tonight before you go to bed!

More later........