September Notes and Texts

9/1
An afternoon at the Social Security Administration, trying to get the 2014 contributions recorded: task not completed. Aaaargh #bureacracy #ihatethemall
They promise I can mail the docs after all. Even gave me an envelope. We shall see.

Instead of wasting
3 hours in a plastic chair
I make art. Sorta.

Eve at WEC, visiting Walter after an excellent meal

A plate of pretty
A stair corner of awesome
A bit of gobsmack

9/2
Breakfast at San Marcos with E! Warm. Monsoons in the north. Now back in ABQ w G at his house sit. I'm going out to the pool.

New jamberry nail wraps: these are called London Bound. I couldn't resist

Bailey, Dog #2 of 2, snuggling

Pix taken for Esther

9/3/17

P shared this with me, so I'm paying it forward!

Couldn't sleep last night, so sleepy today.  Had a nice potluck at P's home in the mountains and met G's new girlfriend.  They are sweet together.  She gave me a guardian angel pin for my travels.  Tomorrow I finish packing, Tues I fly out.

9/4/17
G is pet-sitting in a nice house on the west side of ABQ.  I'm taking a break from packing

 

Angst and avoidance
From repacking bags: like me
They are overweight.

Ash falls on my friends
While I play with a sketch app:
Updating Nero.
9/5/17
Texting on my trip:

• No my passport was declined
• I didn't get the details. something about the computer thinking that I was from another country
• Personally I think it's all the anti-trump petitions I've been signing 

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away

• They seem to have figured it out. However I only have a ticket to Dallas. I need to get another boarding pass at the gate; the luggage, however, is booked all the way through😀
• I have a couple hours so I'm drinking coffee and eating the leftover molasses bread before I brave the security gate line

Got it down to 49.3 lbs.
I took out some clothes and at the airport
I pulled out binoculars keyboard and jewelry
 so I'll carry them on.  Was 1.7 pounds over 50

More problems at Dallas, but at least I got my stuff mailed!  A traveling companion took care of it for me while I fussed at the gate.

• At Dallas, getting ready to board.  The big bag was checked in ABQ.  It weighed in at 1.7 lbs over the 50 lb limit, so I had to take out a few items.  I had plenty of time to do that, as my passport was denied for no good reason.  The computers said I was not a USA citizen.  Huh.  Then at Dallas they couldn't find my seat. Hopefully I won't be held up at Heathrow:  I have a tight connection for the train to Plymouth.  It'll be awhile before I can text again; I think I need a SIM card.  I'll try to send email on 9/6, but I'm 6-8 hours ahead of you. So I'm not sure when you'll get these
• On the Great West RR, 2 hours out from Plymouth.  I met Erik (who had my ticket) with 6 minutes to spare!  Tired, didn't sleep much on the plane.
• Saw the White Horse!
  

9/6/17
Mind the gap! On the Heathrow Express. Got questioned strongly about money, contacts, and return ticket, because of the 3 month stay. But otherwise, a smooth entry. Looks like I can only text to iPhones with this SIM card. Or through FB messenger.
So, email it is! 

Dirty with echoes
But oh I so love this place.
Paddington Station

The view from my upstairs bedroom.  It's lovely here, although there are rumors of rain to come.

9/7/17
My host drove me around a bit: she leaves tomorrow for the weekend.  She gets the credit for finding me magical spots! .

She sat in the lay by nursing a turned ankle while I climbed the tor to look down on Neolithic village, Grimpound (a circle of stones surrounding grass covered stone circles, the remains of homes.)  Very steep, very windy.  Met two mean hiking the moors, which are criscrossed with paths

At a tea/craft room I received a nice lecture about the distinction between Dartmoor Hill Ponies and the Dartmoor Pony. It's a thing.

9/8/2017

Today my host took me on a test run of the car she is loaning me. She was a patient and calm instructress, and she hasn't said that I should NOT drive, but...
She took off around 6 and the dog with separation anxiety is cuddled up with me.  Occasionally he gets up and looks for her and howls, and then I go pick him up and he settles back into sleep.  sigh.  The others seem fine.
This home is a bit chaotic, but I like the hostess and her dogs, and it's comfortable. And, she is providing me with food as well as the car, which is more than other places do. And the area itself is quite amazing. Trees growing out of walls, heather-purpled hills, curvy lanes, stone cottages, bracken-browned tumbling water. Even though it's raining, it's wonderful.

Today's pic, however....

Stone architecture,
Winding lanes, green hills; and yet
I photograph slugs.

9/9
A busker singing
"The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy"
A market sighting

A visit to
The subscription library:
Nice old blokes and books.

Art on the Viaduct trail

The old subscription library:  they did daily meteorological readings, using the ceiling compass, not realizing that the instruments placed on the roof were influenced by the surrounding buildings.

Bingeing on British TV: "Tattoo fixers on holiday". Now that's reality TV I must see.

There is a show called
The Ghost Within My Child. Yes.
I am not kidding.

Among the playthings
A long stuffed creature she calls
A Bundle of Yuck.

9/10/17
A Sunday Morning
Listening to the bells while
Online tutoring

Sunset walk along the Tavy:  a leaf cleaner and a Devon fisherman

There's a story behind this, but what?

9/11/17
They aren't Balthazar, but these ponies are adorable!  They hang out at the golf course above Tavistock.

 Took the dogs up Brentor in a really strong wind.  It's a short drive from home, and we made it with only a few exciting moments. Some sun breaks.  Now I have a headache:  probably from the cold and the wind.

 9/12/17

I glance up and see
The white horse running swiftly
Along the hillside 

E and I the the long walk around the cemetery to pick up V:  we see foxes. 

Can you see Mr. Fox?

Recap for the day:
Started with a train ride from Plymouth to Paddington and thence to the underground, where I discovered none of my credit cards work and I was out of cash. I was waved through and they called my final stop, Leyton, where Erik met me. Then a walk to pick up Violet where we saw foxes in the church yard. A family mealtime, and now to bed. Erik is sorting out some Oyster cards for me, and I'll sort out the finances tomorrow.

Erik pointed out that I would not have been so fortunate if I'd been in work clothes and spoken with a Polish accent. He's right, of course.

9/13/17
Day at the Tate Modern, Zeid exhibit courtesy of R's card.  Evensong at St Paul's.  Wine and cheese watching The Great British Bakeoff:  bread week.

 

 

9/14/17
Spent the day at home, joined my hosts at a local called Yardarm (celebrating R's 36th bday), and then enjoyed bath time.  G, we're watching The Expanse, Season 1.  E just discovered it!!!


9/15/17
Parsons Green Tube incident: I was nowhere near.

Listened to a free noontime concert at St Martin in the Fields church, visited National Portrait Gallery, just put Violet to bed: Erik and Rachel let me babysit while they went to Christies to attend a fundraiser for Eriks school. They looked smashing. Violet crashed early. 

Took me quite awhile
To suss out this window art...
Waiting for music

The portrait asserts
"These boots are made for walking."
Worst. Ear worm. Ever.

That poet John Donne
Was one very handsome man.
He wrote quite well, too.

From lunchtime concert
To sidewalk art, to portraits,
To fashion statements.

9/16/17
I'm back in Tavistock!  There was a pouring rain, with puddles, lakes, and streams in the road.  Fortunately, R did the driving.

Tomorrow I resume my house sitting duties.
Sept 17

Lydford Gorge, 3 miles of narrow sloppy trails, full of huge mossy trees, ferns and dripping rocks. A hike worthy of the Pacific NW. I get strangers to take my pic at the big viewpoints but am mainly enthralled by rocks and textures.  I take a ridiculous number of photos and love them all!  So much for bracketing.

Now watching the darts championship at Cardiff.  Because I can.


Following the hike
I watch the darts tournament:
Only in England.

She barks frenziedly
At the television ads:
Strange dogs in the room.
9/18/17

Had a cream tea at the Two Bridge Hotel.  The dogs were allowed in the bar parlor, but Pekoe (white poodle) started barking at a cocker spaniel, so away with them!

I found this place (East Dart meets West Dart) and then got lost on some really narrow windy roads. Chip (the old dog) sat in my lap, getting in the way, and I killed the engine 4 times dodging oncoming traffic and downshifting up steep hills.

A harrowing drive
Through one-lane hedge-lined moor roads:
I can't take pictures.
A good day. ;)

Took these pix from a layby, as I recovered from the scary roads and figured out where I was.  Combining standard transmission, left hand drive, and moorland roads makes Kari an unhappy camper!

I haven't gotten tired of this yet.

9/19/17
To my hostess: Today I was very sleepy, but we had a good walk at the golf course. The car is almost out of gas: where is your favorite petrol station? Is there a particular type of petrol I need to get (unleaded? 87 percent?)

Old boy Chip and I
Both wanted to doze inside.
Young pup dragged us out.

The hill ponies leave,
So we take a look around.
It's a bit smelly.

At the cricket pitch,
Modern day circle of stones
On the windy hill.

The clouds are coming in, and it looks like we have rain for the next few days.
Chip is being very cuddly, and he howled last night when I went into the bathroom. Pekoe is full of energy. Teaser got away from me at the Two Bridge parking lot and the other people in the lot laughed at her name: it's so apt!

To M and V:
If you check Facebook, you'll find several haiku and some pix for today, but mainly I've been hanging around the house. My eyes are scritchy and want to sleep, and the dogs are cuddling close. It's difficult to be productive or explore when I'm so tired.
I did do some research and writing.... as well as dozing and tutoring a bit. And the dogs are happy, so that part of my job is going well.

To G and P:
"It's just a bad ball,"
Comments the calm, quiet voice.
I'm not watching golf.
(Bowls championship)

To E:
Some personal whining

9/20 An introspective day...Spent the day tutoring and writing. It started pouring rain mid morning, so no walk for the dogs. Except Pekoe:

She frets, so we walk
Through a cold drenching rain and
Now she's crackerdog

Racing through the rooms,
Growling, shaking off water.
The others stayed home.

Are you enjoying your stay?
Yes, it’s a beautiful and interesting area of country.  I feel sorry for the dogs and other motorists, because I freak out when I meet cars on narrow lanes.  But I don’t want to leave the dogs alone for too long because they get upset...so they come along and get bounced around the car and dragged up windy tors.  I think that’s preferable.And the se rainy days are great because it’s an excuse to stay inside and read and write and vegetate.

Did you figure out what I was watching instead of golf?  Hint, it’s like curling without the ice.  

9/21
Hi! It was supposed to be rainy today, but it was instead cloudy and windy. So, I took the dogs for their walk and then, as the rain held off, took a drive. I was looking for Drake's castle, but ended up back in Princetown and thence to Merrivale. I have yet to find the ceremonial complex, but found some pretty cool views. Dartmoor is full of neolithic sites, most of which display as a tumble of rocks. And there are mossy walls that indicate a more recent habitation. It's a lovely place to walk, except when Teaser the Maltese escapes the leash and won't come back. ;(

If there’s a car park
There’s a trail to something old...
Or a training range.

9/22/17

Dog sitting triumph:
The skittish one sat in my lap
Of her own accord!

View from the window,
Not a red sky at morning
But we’re socked in now.

Rainy, so I stayed in and listened to books and etched in the really nifty book that R gave me. On HER birthday.  She's such a hobbit.

9/23/2017

Stopped by the market after walking the dogs, then after lunch drove with the dogs to Okehampton Castle. I don’t like leaving them alone but the dogs certainly cramp my style.  Fortunately a nice gent carried Chip up the hill while I carried Teaser.

Still looking for stone circles and three hares at various Dartmoor locations. 

At Tavistock's St. Eustachius Church

I really like the moors.  They have stone walls and large bare spaces filled with bracken and heather and broom. Today the ponies were running, and the sound and sight were awesome.

And the skies are almost as huge as the NM ones.  I do miss that.

Main problem is an incipient cold or headache, but the only thing I have to do is let the dogs out and feed them.  A day out in the crisp autumn air is icing on the cake for all of us.

Okehampton Castle:
The three dogs are not in sync.
I get tangled up.

9/24
Tutored for 3.5 hours. Actually, tutored for 1 hour, sat around waiting for someone to request a session. So, I did some blogging and emailing. It's rainy today, so I stayed in until 3 and then took the dogs on a short walk up the viaduct. Spent the rest of the day writing book reviews for Goodreads.com (catching up the books I read in August and September) and watching a Firefly marathon. 
from a letter to a friend:
I'm having some unexpected expenses, what with train tickets to London costing close to $70 one way. Fortunately, I haven't had to pay for the last two trips, and Erik has found me a good site for cheaper fares.
   "I'm smelling a lot of if coming off this plan." (I'm watching a Firefly marathon, and Jane just said that...seems apt!) It's hard to believe it's been 15 years since that short-lived season of wonderfulness.
   It's interesting how laid back this trip is being. I spend a lot of time hanging with the dogs and driving around, and even more time reading and writing. Not so much time tutoring, sadly. But my ability to make myself at home anywhere is coming in handy. And, I find I don't miss the stuff I've left in storage at G's. Maybe I should have him sell it all for me. ;) No, I know that eventually I'll want to find a place to settle down, and that stuff will come in handy.
  I am very much enjoying Dartmoor, but it's quite scary driving those narrow roads, especially with standard transmission. Yesterday I thought I was driving towards a main road, only to end up 4 miles later at a gate with HUGE cows on the other side and no space to turn around.
  But I managed.
  Still, I don't really have any news. I'm just hanging around. Later!

9/25
In the personal FB news: Landers-Paisley wedding:  lots of great pix over the next few days.  Sorry I missed it.
In the global FB news:  #45 attempts to deflect attention from the post-hurricane debacle in Puerto Rico (the "island in the middle of the ocean"). He focuses on NFL player protests, "taking a knee" during the anthem.  I share the Royko column about the whole concept of singing the anthem.

So wonderful to wander the moors at sunset.  Sadly, Chip fell into the stream that runs between the two stone alleys.  I had to dry him with my coat and carry him bundled up until he dried.  Poor old boy.

 Fernworthy reservoir and drive there:  I’m getting more intrepid, but when I met the Land Rover in one of these roads and the driver insisted I do the backing up, it was pretty sad.  I kept running into hedges and killing the engine.  Finally the driver gave up and backed up herself.  :)

Sadly, a photo can’t capture the green-gold light and the mossy turf covering rocky mounds and walls.

Watching Welsh TV: can’t understand a word, but it’s a bunch of muscular young men training for tug of war competition.

9/26
 Road closed until 2 pm:  the construction of the past week finally boxes me in. I take Pekoe for a walk the other direction through a second RR viaduct while I wait to take off to Brixham.

Nice little fixer upper: actually still lived in, per my host

Mystery trash from the tip under the viaduct

Moor roads followed by
Rush hour traffic and missed turns:
Doubled travel time.
    Collapsing at the English riviera for two days.

View from and of my room in Brixham, on the English Riviera.  Also of the two labs I’m sitting.  This is a trial run for a slightly longer stay end of October.  It’s an hour and a half drive from Tavistock...if you don’t dawdle over the one lane roads and 20%inclines over the moor, and if you don’t hit rush hour traffic at Paignton.  And don’t miss half the turnings.  If you DO dawdle and miss turnings, it’s a little over twice that.

But all is well, my hostess left me loads of food, and I am only here to keep them company at night:  they spend the day with her mum and someone else transports and walks them.  Quite a change from other sits.

 9/27

This housesit will be lovely.  She’s totally pampering me.  She left me chocolate! Today was rainy and I have an incipient cold, so I spent the day texting with P and listening to a long audiobook.

The dogs are sweet and self sufficient. Sweet labs and a good book:  nothing much better

9/28

Playing with pix:

I was at the South Devon coast this morning, and, after a harrowing drive, made it back to Tavistock. I may never drive again.

I leave my finds at the harbor wall.

9/29

Alive and reasonably well EOM 

9/30

Bad British TV: I'm watching container wars!  (Storage Wars on Steroids), as I wait for insomniacs to ask for my tutoring expertise.  The dogs are bored by the whole thing, but it's raining so a walk is probably not in the cards.

 

They had 3 kinds of wild Chanterelle at the weekly market.  I’ll have them with eggs for breakfast.  These were farmed, and I can’t recall the name.  They were clumped into a block that I pulled apart.  So, dinner is courtesy of the market:

I’ve been a bit puny the last few days, but since it’s been raining, that’s not a problem.
 What We Do on a rainy day.

Watching The Hobbit,
And now she’s barking at Wargs.
They’re foes beyond her

Tell me About England: A responsive letter

September 20.
I got up early to let the dogs out and do some tutoring.  It's a grey windy day, with rain in the offing, so I'm just sitting around the house today. Part of this is because I don't really feel like driving around, and part of it is because  I need to add petrol to the little Ford that my hostess is loaning me, and I'm waiting for her to tell me where she prefers I gas up.

Tavistock is a World Heritage site, an old Stannary Market town on the edge of Dartmoor.  It's green and hilly and full of grey stone walls (so is the moor.)  My home is just up the hill from the Pannier Market, which is carved out of the old Benedictine Abbey.  This means lots of winding streets and stone buildings.  Just above is an old railroad viaduct that is now a nice walking path, so that's my default non-driving place to walk the dogs.  The other dog walking place is across the Tavy and up the hill to the golf course and cricket pitch.  The golf course is filled with moor hill ponies, and it has a lovely view of the area.  My hostess introduced me to her dog walking friends, but I tend to get there after they've been and gone:  I often tutor until 9 am, and it takes me awhile to get the dogs motivated. 

On Monday my hostess was around until 2, so I went to Lydford Gorge, which was full of waterfalls, ferns, moss, and punch bowls:  it felt very Pacific Northwest.  I hiked for around 4 hours. Tuesday was harrowing, driving narrow one-lane roads with no shoulders and tall hedges lining the verge. The roads are also curvy and hilly, with lovely views, but I could not take my eyes from the roads to enjoy them. The older poodle Chip likes to climb into my lap and look out the window as I drive, and when I hit a hill with him in that position, I tended to kill the engine.  Every time I met a car it was nerve-wracking.  On one occasion I was overtaking two bicyclists on a hill while a bus was coming down.  I got way too close to the cyclists, trying to squeeze between, and when they passed me shortly afterwards as I sat shaking in a layby, the gent of the pair said "A little more room next time."  I said, "So sorry," and was grateful for the British understatement.

Still, it was a lovely drive.  I stopped at Dartmeet (East Dart River meets West Dart River) and walked along the water and back via a public footpath along a field hedgerow.  I also stopped at Two Bridge Hotel for a Devon Cream Tea.  I LOVE clotted cream! It's thick, rich and yellow and cuts the sweetness of the jam beautifully. They allowed dogs in the bar parlor, but Pekoe, the younger poodle, barked at another dog and after a short trial I put them out in the car for the duration.  Prior to that, Teaser, the tiny neurotic Maltese, got away from me and raced around the parking lot with me shrieking "TEEEEzuh!  Teeezuh!" trying to sound like her mum.  It amused my fellow guests:  I heard one say "that's a good name for that dog." 

I visited the subscription (aka independent) library last week and looked at some of the books about the area.  It's more a reading room than anything else, and the collection is very small.  I found a book about the Three Hares motif, which is scattered about the moor churches, and I may try to seek them out, roads and nerve permitting.  It's nice to have a focus like that.

The trip to London was great.  I like E and R's home, and it's a pleasure watching them parent.  They are very happy.  I visited Tate Modern and attended Evensong at St. Paul's on one evening.  Another day I attended a free noon concert at St. Martin in the Fields and visited the National Portrait Gallery.  But I also took a day off just hanging around the house and reading. I like having no real agenda:  I can take time to absorb what I'm seeing and experiencing.

V is very fun, isn't she?  The night I babysat was actually pretty low-key.  They took care of food and dressing for bed and she hadn't napped much during the day so she conked out early.  I think they were a little worried that I would be overwhelmed, and E set up a play area and gave me lots of suggestions and tips. But, as I said, I didn't have to do much before she fell asleep.  I sent them a haiku text to reassure them, and I think they enjoyed having a stress-free date night.  Since they are providing me with Oyster cards and food and board, I want to repay in some way.

Haiku exchange:

Me:

Cousin Violet 

Stopped playing and went to sleep.

She coughs a tad bit.

He:

We are quite happy.

Surrounded by art and friends.

Enjoying a drink.

Mainly, I'm just chilling and enjoying my freedom.  The dogs provide a focus, and I'm writing and processing pictures and tutoring, so there is some creativity, too.  I borrowed a very apt book from R about the aging process.  Food for thought.

Feeling tentative

I've done a fair amount of tutoring and knitting and TV watching since I arrived, and it makes me feel a little guilty.   I'm not a TV watcher, and British TV is no better than American TV.  In fact, a lot of it is late 20th-century re-runs (Columbo, Quincy, The Saint), as well as reality TV.  I've watched Storage Wars and Judge Judy.  I did check out some PBS stuff like Foyles War and Midsomer Murders, but I can see all of this in the States.  So, why am I sitting around watching this dreck now instead of getting out and about?  I don't want to leave the dogs for very long, because Chip suffers separation anxiety and howls, but I could explore for a few hours, and I don't melt in a shower of rain.

Mainly, I'm feeling tentative.  As with Claremont, when I spent most of my first month in the house, I don't have any goals for my exploration, and I'm very sleepy.  Part of that is jet-lag, part the poor sleep caused by the dogs' howling and barking in the wee hours of the morning.  But mainly, I don't want to drive.  In Claremont, it was the LA freeways and the heat that daunted me.  Here in Tavistock, it's the right-hand drive and narrow lanes, along with the rain.  Weather is the excuse, but the transport is the issue.

My host took me up the moors on my first day, and that was a wonderful introduction to the area.  She stopped in various lay-bys and I walked up into the heather and rocks and breathed deeply.  She was actually a bit worried at Grimspound, because I was gone for so long, and the weather comes down quickly.  It's easy to get lost in the fog.

She also showed me the two main walks (the "Pimple" by the golf course and the viaduct path) and introduced me to fellow dog walkers.  However, the next day she took me out in "my" car, and while she was patient with me, I felt fairly incompetent.  I drive too close to the left edge of the lane, I look in the right-hand side mirror instead of the rear view mirror, I gun the engine shifting into first, and I kill it on the tiniest of hills.  She suggested I practice in the Council Offices parking lot up the hill in the evenings when it's empty.  However, it's been raining since she left, and that's been a perfect excuse to avoid the golf course walk of a morning and take the viaduct walk of an afternoon.

Tomorrow I go up to London to visit my cousin, and I'm sure I'll be active there.  But why can't I get myself motivated when I'm by myself?  And why should I?  It makes me wonder afresh what I think I'm doing with this year.  Am I just hanging with dogs?  Am I just texting friends when I should/could be spending actual time with them? Am I actually experiencing the world and meeting people or am I just sitting inside my own head?  And what is inside that head?  I love seeing the greens and greys and purples of Devon, I love eating the local cheese and bread, I love watching the goldfinches at the feeders.  But I am learning nothing.  And Pekoe, the young poodle, is leaping upon me, as if to say, "come on, get up and out and take me for a walk!"  Okay, since the sun is out and my tutor schedule has been met, I have no excuse. 

Travel vignettes

1.  I was standing on the jet-way, waiting for my carry-on bag, which did not fit on the small AA-operated short-hop plane from ABQ to Dallas.  I was first in line, so I could see everyone deplaning.  I noticed a thin woman with short grey hair and a pointed nose:  she seemed the quintessential single retired traveler. Sensibly dressed, wearing good walking shoes and a backpack, she seemed like B's Tante Helga, grey, spare, wiry, intelligent, and focused.  I met her a few moments later on the shuttle to Terminal D, the place for international flights.  We got into conversation because there were issues with the shuttle:  a large and genial airport employee had us all evacuate and the shuttle was sent on its way empty.  We waited, talking of our upcoming journeys, as two more empty shuttles zipped by.  She was en route to a coach tour, via Berlin, with a final destination in Budapest, where she planned to see a 50-year retrospective of photographer Peter Korniss. In between my various trips to the agent counter, getting my ticket problem resolved, we spent the 3-hour wait looking at his black and white photographs of a changing peoples.  She actually had met the artist, because her Tesuque Gallery had run an exhibit of his work, many years back, and she owned a few of his photographs. It's always interesting to meet like-minded individuals so serendipitously.  It appears I'm not the only person who travels to see art.  It reminded me of the time in 1999 when I traveled the Lake District and Yorkshire, tracking down Andy Goldsworthy Millennial project works and locations.  A little obsession helps to focus a trip, and you meet some unexpected people.  My current trip doesn't have that sort of focus, but it does have the flexibility of being open to the unexpected.  I think that I'm noticing people as well as art, light, patterns, smells and sounds. After years of figuring out how I can help people to information or services, I'm now looking for the interaction, the new ideas I can learn.

2.  The GWR train from Paddington to Plymouth goes through green hills and along the southern coast.  I was so jet-lagged, it was difficult to keep my eyes open.  I sat backwards at a table, next to a young man wearing earbuds.  He paid no attention to me or the scenery.  The elderly couple that boarded at the first stop were more attentive.  They were on holiday to visit friends and had packed food for the journey.  They read the paper and watched the view and talked quietly between themselves and sipped at bottles of tea.  When we passed three canal boats, they explained that they were usually vacation sites. The train filled up with a mix of chatty teens, middle-aged vacationers, and couples.  I couldn't suss out what the purpose of travel was for the teens and 20-somethings, but they made up the majority.  I saw the white horse and heard one of the teen girls say in a strong accent "look, a horse!"  Halfway along, I moved over to a vacated window seat facing forward.  Eventually that meant I was watching the coastline.  The train followed a cement path along the coast, and the sands and path were full of walkers.  I noted lines of short stone or wooden spikes and learned later that they had been placed to prevent silting up.  The sun came and went, and I was joined by a young man and woman.  They seemed to be mates, not a couple.  He sat facing backwards, and she sat next to me.  They shared sandwiches and she worked a crossword while he listened to something on his mobile.  She shared a clue with the boy, and I smiled, thinking of G and P and their habit of working crosswords together.  Eventually I offered a solution, and then I was involved to the end.  My big contribution was the word "fatigues" for "military garb."  She'd never heard of such a thing.

3. Tavistock market town is one of the few places in England to boast a subscription library, aka, independent library.  It's housed to the side of Bedford Square and the Pannier Market, next to the Museum which now takes over the space that used to be the library, above the old gate way.  The library is now totally housed in the old reading room on the ground floor.  There is nothing imposing about the architecture, furniture, or books.  It's a small room.  The center is filled by a wooden table, covered in magazines and newspapers, surrounded by wooden chairs.  Glass-fronted bookcases line one wall.  On the opposite wall are pictures and a fireplace.  The wall facing the doorway is a tall window facing the Abbey-turned-Town Hall and the open entry to the Pannier Market.  When I visited, a busker was sitting under the window playing a harp and singing folk songs:  I recorded her singing The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy and could hear her from inside the library.  Three elderly subscribers sat to the right of the door, and a portly gentleman with handlebar mustache, glasses, and a beaming smile greeted me as I entered.  It took awhile to learn who he was (the Chairman of the Committee), but he was voluble and welcoming and gave me the history of the library and its collection most happily.  It's an archive, but the books are not particularly valuable, being previous library books and not much older than the 1800s.  So, there is no climate control, although the glassed in area creates a small microclimate.  According to the Chairman, mold is created by a combination of moisture and people germs, so the books are fairly well preserved.

I met Graham, a short octogenarian with a shock of grey-white hair.  He held a book up for me so I could photograph the inside cover, where the lending information was stored. It was a memoir of Joshua Reynolds.  The books in the Tavistock Subscription Library have been winnowed down to only covered local information, so Reynolds' Devon birth is what put him in the collection. Graham is the Old Man of the Library and still shows up to do some work.  He smelled of urine, but was outwardly clean, if rumpled, and he smiled at me with watery blue eyes saying, "no don't take my picture, it'll crack your lens."

The Subscription Library is open to non-subscribers on Saturdays, which is when I visited.  I stopped first at the bi-weekly Farmer's Market and picked up Bread of Devon for my host and beetroot, a pasty, and honey for myself.  The purchases were dropped on the floor, along with umbrella and walking stick, as I wandered around the table.  On display by the door I found a new book by a local author:  it was all about the 3-hare motif.  Apparently the Tavistock church is one of many Devon locations for the motif, so I took a picture of the map in the book and plan to roam the moors, looking for rabbits.  This assumes I get over my nervousness about driving a stick shift through English country lanes.

Towards the end of my hour-long visit, a woman newly-moved to Mary Tavy came in to research her home.  As I left, she was filling out the membership application and receiving the code to the door (a punch button affair.)  If I'd wanted, I could have wangled the code out of the Chairman, but I decided to not take advantage of his good nature.

4.  My first sight of Brangwyn Cottage came through the arch of a viaduct.  It's concrete/stone house, buried in greenery, surrounded by crenelated stone walls.  Plants line the walls and the house, and a green lawn fills in the bowl.  There's a messy orchard with long grass and leaning apple trees next to the kitchen and a walled garden below that.  You walk through an arch in the wall, down some slippery stone stairs to a door at the far end and further down a grassy bramble tunnel to reach the old Abbey area and market.  Walking up the hill takes you to the entrance of the viaduct trail.  The viaduct used to be a railway bridge, and now it's a cycling/running/dogwalking haven.  The viaduct has high stone walls over which I can view the town.  After that, the paved trail is like a green roofless tunnel, with water running to one side and granite cliffs filled with mosses and other wet area plants. Occasionally one passes beneath a high road through a short tunnel:  I usually sing a high note to hear the echo. It feels like hiking in the Gorge, without the hills.  Sadly, the dogs don't seem to want to go all the way down the trail. Perhaps it's the rain.

Exploring Claremont

Before I came here, I only knew that the town was nicknamed "The City of Trees and PhDs," and that David Foster Wallace lived here until he killed himself.  But I don't think anyone blames Claremont for that.  And my friend M lived here as a youth and his father owned a liquor store in Pomona, I think; at least he was in one of the nearby towns into which Claremont merges.  I noted that it was 30 miles east of LA, and up against the foothills, and my hostess said that down the street from the house was a trail up into those very foothills.  I have yet to take that trail:  the daily dog walk goes past the trail-head, but apparently it's not a good venue for Cookie and Didi, and it's been too hot to hike later in the day after the walk.

I figured I'd probably go into LA several times and that there would be wineries and parks and things to do in the area.  Well, that is true, but it took some time to get out of the house.  Halfway through the stay, I finally planned a trip to LA, to the Mark Taper Forum.  I hadn't heard of the play, Heisenberg, but many of my favorite actors have worked there, so it's been on my list.  Otherwise, I've let fear of traffic and the non-pedestrian-friendly vibes keep me solidly home-based.

My first week was spent getting the dogs and cat to love me.  Actually, that was very easy.  They are affectionate critters, and they miss their peeps, so they have snuggled with me from the very start.  After the first week or so, they stopped taking C and S's tshirts into the living room when left alone, and started toting my clothes instead. Fortunately, all they seem to do is lick them:  the fabric is still intact.

My first Friday here I checked out the downtown music scene:  there are 4 outdoor venues scattered about, and different music is featured in each.  Jazz seems to be centered in the Plaza area, which is where I located the local cinema and some really nice looking restaurants.  The other nice restaurants seem to be around College and 2nd street, near the Library (which I didn't visit until the end of my stay.) I didn't get a picture of the fountain that night, because it was surrounded and filled with people, and it's architectural and winding in nature, so it isn't easy to capture the stone and metal dragon that it seemed to be.

I used the online city calendar to locate events and places to visit, and C left a list of places to check out.  I developed a shopping routine and a schedule for walks and swimming in the pool:  the former needed to happen when it was coolest, and the latter when I felt like taking a nap or when I returned from an excursion, hot and sweaty. And, as I've said in other posts, I have enjoyed not being forced to explore the city or the area.

Now I am embarking on my last week.  I'm at the Huntington Gardens, watching people wander into the ornate and mannered structures of the Chinese Garden, listening to their inanities (but somehow it's okay if the words are tinged with an Asian accent or the people are speaking French:  those are the most common voices.) I bought a membership after the first visit, because I had not managed to make it to the Library, and at $25 a visit, it seemed to make sense.  It actually doesn't, but I will likely break even, and it's good to take some time to absorb the beauty.  It also feels like I did something besides sit under a dog.

In addition to exploring the neighborhood on my walks and joining the Vocal Forum, I have explored some of Claremont. I went to the art museum and learned about the Russian Village and heritage trees.  I attended the Butterflies and Brews event at the Santa Ana Botannic Gardens.  I wandered around Pomona College at the fireworks and attended a play at the Greek Theatre (but left early because I was sooo sleepy.)  I did some research at the Library, which looks like a bunker but is blissfully free of the smell of the unwashed which characterizes most downtown libraries.

If I lived here, I'd probably go to Pasadena for most things:  I've fallen in love with the various museums and have discovered some fabulous ice cream places.  But, Claremont is a pretty community.  The trees and architecture make for pleasant walks and drives.  There are outlets for music and the arts, especially because of the Claremont colleges.  I met up with some people attended a string quartet workshop at Scripps:  if I'd been aware in January that I was coming here, I could have done that!