Three Thousand Hits

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California

Here we are, back in Carmel. While September is not a usual time for us to go to Carmel, at least not in a decade or so, the past few years have been so different and complicated in so many ways, that we find ourselves not traveling afar as we have in the past. So this year, we are once again spending extended time in one of our favorite places. And that's ok. While we listen with some envy to stories about our friends' travels; while I eye the Silversea and Radisson cruise line brochures that come to our home with a small sense of yearning; while I long, long to feel the way I do while we have spent time at The Kona Village; it's just not our time to do that. It's our time to stay fairly close to our Los Angeles home, close to my mom, close to our business. And so here we are.

It does feel like home to me, even though we're not in the same house we rented for so many years. It's our second stay here at this house, and it is a really nice one. I've gotten used to being on the opposite side of town from where we have always rented; I've gotten used to the odd fact that this house doesn't seem to have a name (no street addresses or mail delivery in town so all houses are named, or so I thought); I've gotten used to the push-button fireplace which altered my opinion that those things are cheezy. It looks very much like a real fire-in-the-fireplace. And if we need what Billy calls a true Carmel smell, there is a wood-burning fireplace in the living room.

This house has an outside patio with a table surrounded by flowers and trees. It has a barbecue. But the weather has been foggy and cool since we got here on Sept 1st. I remarked that Carmel doesn't know it's September yet, as the foggy days of summer seem to have lingered on. But the house is warm and cozy, and the town is Carmel. And so we begin our process of winding down and getting recharged up for the rest of the year.

Lest I lose you all (all one or two of you reading this), I should try to refrain from listing the reasons why the past couple of years have been hard. Last year, at this time, we were rehabbing our rental property after it was trashed by a tenant. Billy was doing all the grunt work and heavy lifting, as he has done two other times in the past three years during which time we have twice moved my mom. Then there was that pesky economic thing which reigned terror on all small business owners, which is what we are. But life is more stable now. It's just that we're both a little older and a little more spent.

I commented to many people, and probably wrote it in a previous post (available here in limited quantities), that I got through this past year with the help of salsa dance, an unseasonable taste for Guinness beer, and baseball. That's Dodgers baseball. The Dodgers helped me along by coming out strong at the beginning of the season, after the heinous McCourts sold them to a consortium which included Magic Johnson. Our boys in blue played with verve and joy through April and May. Then there were injuries. They dropped a lead which I will recall (without checking) was about nine games. They were barely at the top of their division going into the All-Star break. After much back and forth, they had regained that slim lead, and then. And then. The Giants smoked us through a three-game series last month. Now we are 4.5 games back of the Giants, and Billy and I are heading to San Francisco today to watch tomorrow's game at AT&T Park. Looking forward to it. Nervous. Excited. Go Dodgers (like win, before I have a heart attack)!

Meanwhile, my blog is nearing another pinnacle, and once again, it is occurring while I am in Carmel, where it began. I will pass 3000 hits this weekend, which should make me feel a little bit like a blogger all star. I just looked at the Dodgers' stats and, they have a combined 1167 hits this season as of Sept 4th. And I want to guess that I've seen about 1100 of them, either on television or at Dodger Stadium. Looking forward to a few more over the weekend, before we return to Carmel and I settle in to write a boatload (a McCovey Cove reference, get it?) of blog posts. In the meantime, in-between time, ain't we had fun? Ok, maybe fun is too strong a word. But I do thank you for joining me on my writing journey by reading my blog -- especially if you've looked at it more than once. I implore you to leave a message on any post that speaks to you. And I hope you will enjoy the next three thousand. I haven't said it all yet. You must trust me about this.

I do need to repeat the comment that I'm not sure if there are three thousand of you who have each read my blog once, or one of you who has hit on it three thousand times (you know who you are, LOL. For the rest of you: see post entitled The Monogram available here at newly reduced prices). Regardless, I thank you, one or all. And for the love of heaven, GO DODGERS!!!