Today I share with you reason #37 (which is a completely arbitrary number):

Bamboo

I love bamboo, and love that that it grows so well here.

Over the weekend I discovered Bamboo Gardens in Redmond – a nursery which not only sells bamboo, but has lush, beautiful groves of several varieties planted on their property.

I spent over an hour wandering about with my camera, feeling very ‘zen.’

I wish I had somewhere I could plant my own bamboo forest…

When Paul and I drove by this town I insisted we we stop and experience the “wonder” for ourselves.

Exploration of Monte Rio revealed a river, a bridge crossing the river, and a Main Street containing a Bartlett’s and a closed-for-business biker bar called the Pink Elephant.

Vacation Wonderland? It makes me wonder who thought that sign was a good idea….

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

You go girl. Keep being smart and sassy and putting idiots like O’Reilly in their place.

Paul took time off work to show me around… in his ‘baby’. She was a very comfortable ride

First stop, Armstrong Woods – a redwood forest just 3 miles up the road. Very peaceful and beautiful. Except for the two mosquitoes that dined on my arm….

A giant tree stump with markers showing it’s age – was around long before the Aztecs in 1300.

We stopped at the beach (it was a bit chilly)…

And saw beautiful wildflowers on the hillside…

Paused to marvel at the misty trees…

We stopped in Bodega Bay to get up close and personal with stars of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. Tippy Hedron wasn’t there that day to sign autographs, but someone recorded her July 4th visit. Enjoy.

Drove past many vineyards (it was Sonoma County, after all).   Sometimes I wish I liked wine.

We stopped by Powell’s Sweet Shop in Windsor where Craig gave me run of the candy store – anything I wanted. I highly recommend the Amaretto Truffles.

Sometimes I wish I didn’t like chocolate.

I was well fed.

Very well fed.

I gained over 5 lbs, but it was worth it.

Paul fixed several gourmet meals. My offering was a turkey havarti sandwich on sourdough (delicious, but not gourmet!).

And Craig treated me to the best ribs I’ve ever had. I also loved sharing in the traditional Sunday cheese/cracker and prociutto lunch. Yum.

We played a little Cribbage.

Craig and I tortured Paul by making him sit through the entire movie Avatar. We all agreed we want our gardens to glow like that at night.

Paul (the best blogger ever) worked on his blog.

We planted a few flowers, watched a little Design Star and RuPaul’s Drag Race, and all in all had a lovely time.

Thanks, guys, for being such gracious and entertaining hosts. It was so fun to spend time with you! Now, when are you coming to the northwest?

June 2009, I posted a picture of a congratulations card I found at Hallmark that I found very, very funny. Several of you agreed that the “Paco” card was hysterical and we had a good laugh together.

And here is another Paco card for your viewing pleasure (click to view larger).

Well, last week, someone new discovered the post… and the new person just happens to know Paco (aka Richie Gaona) personally. I was delighted, and responded.

What followed was a very entertaining flow of comments, (read them here) from people who all know Paco/Richie… who happens to be a real life trapeze artist. Even Paco himself has left a comment! (Yes, I can hear your collective gasp)

Visit his site to learn about him – and see videos of him, Mercedes and others flying through the air.

When Paquito (Brian Robel) responded to my request to send photos of himself in Paco’s fabulous attire, I just had to devote another post to Paco, Paquito, Mercedes, and all those who have enjoyed the cards and the subsequent dialogue.

Brian wrote:

“This was an actual performing costume worn by Richie (Paco) in his performing days. There was a surprise bday party for at the trap rig and they all made me put on the Paco Costume. Since that day I have been given the name Paquito and have worn the costume many times.”

He also sent a birthday card that he made for Richie’s birthday last year. I love the mustache.

Thanks Paco (Richie) and friends, for livening up my blog. Stop by anytime.

Have I mentioned I love the internet?

Cats make me laugh.

After a drive through Sonoma wine country, I found myself amidst a redwood forest and, following the instructions of my handy gps, arrived safely at Craig and Paul’s home on the hill. I was greeted by Paul at the top of the long staircase that leads to their home and introduced to fish that let me pet them. Well, one of the fish lets me pet her. She seems to like it.

Paul showed me to my private suite – dubbed “Miss Kitty’s Boudoir.” The bathroom was decked out with everything a traveler could want – built in hair dryer, soft bathrobe and slippers, bath/hair supplies, toothbrush, etc. Paul had called prior to my visit to ask about any dietary requirements, and the fridge was filled with bottled water, fresh fruit and yogurt. More fruit – and hand dipped strawberries graced my private table. What a treat!

Then I got the tour of their home – which was originally a little cabin (now remodeled into the guest suite). They built their existing home, which connects to the suite through a laundry room. Paul has always been very ‘handy’ and he’s done a beautiful job with the design and construction.

I especially love the tile with copper flecks in the kitchen – and the unique wall treatments and custom railing Paul designed. Their space is so inviting – and he and Craig are delightful hosts.

Look at what a beautiful and comfortable home they’ve created for themselves. Those glass windows look out onto sun dappled, vine covered redwoods and douglas firs. Breathtaking.

We’ve been having a wonderful time together, and my next post will feature how we’ve been spending our time (if I survive the night). For now, I must go enjoy what promises to be a fabulous meal that Paul is just placing on the table…..

Fox River, a company that makes highly coveted combat boot socks, has a program called Socks for Soldiers that allows anyone to purchase socks for deployed soldiers. A soldier will thank you.

Click here to purchase a pair (or two) – Fox River pays the shipping.

I usually don’t ‘waste’ my money, since rarely have I ever had to use one. But for some reason (maybe because my livelihood depends on my functioning computer), I bit the bullet and added a 3 year warranty to the order.

Over all, this has been a great computer – and no need to use the warranty. I did break one of the USB ports (connector broke off while still inside – my fault, not covered by warranty), and I’ve completely worn the letters E, R, N and M off the keyboard. But aside from that no problems.

But a couple of months ago, the screen started doing something weird. It was pink when I turned it on, though would become white quite quickly. Over time, the pink has gotten darker and lasted longer. And yesterday, the screen just went black.

OK, I figured that warranted a call to Dell Tech support – surely that would be covered by my warranty. Fortunately, I purchased an external monitor I could hook up to, went to the Dell website and started an online chat with tech support.

It was one of the easiest, most satisfying tech support sessions I’d had. He didn’t just want to know about the screen – he also asked me all about the condition of the notebook – did it have all its screws, rubber feet, condition of the keyboard, if I had any concerns at all.

Because I mentioned it sometimes gets hot, he asked if I’d use compressed air to clean out the air vents. I hadn’t. He asked me to that, (which required me buying a can of compressed air), and that he’d call me the next day (today) to see how it worked – and based on that, he’d put in an order for replacement parts. He confirmed that the USB port wasn’t covered by the warranty – but I figure I’ve lived without that 4th port for a year, I can manage.

So today I get a call at the appointed hour. I’m told that not only will my screen be replaced, so will my keyboard, my touchpad – AND my motherboard, so I will have 4 working USB ports (they made a special exception for me). Basically a new computer.

And the best part of all this is that I don’t have to ship my computer off to be fixed – they’ll send a technician TO MY HOUSE to swap out all the parts…. no charge. Well, I guess there was a charge – the warranty. But today I’m thinking it’s worth every penny. So thank you Dell.

I’d buy another Dell in a heartbeat (and an extended warranty).

Do you have any warranty (or lack there of) happy or horror stories to share?

No promises, but I will try to rectify that – starting with this entry about a wonderful visit from Ashley & Kennedy in April.

Since their flight arrived at 7pm, our first stop was dinner at Machiavelli’s, where Kennedy ate a huge plate of pasta..

The next day, Kristin joined us as we made the short trek to Mt. Vernon for the tulip festival.

The tulips were beautiful, as usual, but it the weather wasn’t. We faced what felt like freezing cold gale force winds.

Kennedy tried to be brave.

She managed a smile while cuddling with mom.

More soon. Or at least sometime…