Salutatory Greetings Friends!

See this tree in this grand hall? I’ll talk about it in a bit.

 

I hope that you are having a restful and yet stimulating holiday season, each at the right time.  The exactness of this greeting partners with the title of this post: Right, Left, Overpass, Gas.

These are the directions we received from a man in a uniform standing outside a small building resembling a tollbooth near the place where we were to turn in our rental car at San Francisco International Airport. I think he is there specifically to answer the very question we asked, “Where can we fill up our rental car before turning it in?” All he heard was, ” …fill up…” and he barked out the answer, “Right, left, overpass, gas.”  He was nothing if not efficient!

And, he was right! These were the simplest directions we had ever been given, and they were spot on. Here we were, negotiating the busy travel ways  around this major metropolitan airport, having to be in the correct  turn lane at the right time for fear of heading for San Jose by accident, he gives us four words and they solve our problem! It was amazing.

And it was so simple to return to the spot and turn in our rental as well. You know, it’s the little things in life that count.  This whole exchange made our day easier. Thanks, dude! I did give him a smile and a thumbs up when we returned, but he ignored us in favor of helping the next rental car returner who needed gas. He had a job and he was going to do it!

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And now to the tree and the grand setting.

This photo was taken inside  San Francisco City Hall where our daughter eloped a week ago. They were married by a personable judge in front of that gorgeous tree which was decorated with hundreds of origami paper cranes with hopes and wishes written on them. The white cranes were interspersed with gold cranes and little white lights; the resulting glow was magical.

The photographer said she’d never seen so much sunshine that late in December; it rained cats and dogs the two days prior to Wednesday. Then, on THE day, the sun shone all day, it was beautiful. The photos she took with the natural light inside and outside on the grounds were stunning.

The people doing their last minute Christmas shopping in downtown San Francisco were so excited to see her in her wedding dress and often stopped on the sidewalk so we could take pictures. Congratulatory greetings filled the air and kind smiles were everywhere.

It was a wonderful day.

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*********There is no transition. not in the least.*********

I am to be royalty in September.

Queen Janet the Good.

And I will have a castle.

In Ireland.

For three minutes.

It’s a castle in Doonawanly Castletownroche in County Cork.   The Cards Against Humanity guys bought it with Day 8’s funds from the 150,000 of us who paid $15 to receive 8 unknown presents for the holidays.

Day 7’s bought a Picasso and then posed a question to the 150,000 owners.  Would you rather that we laser cut the painting into 150,000 pieces so you can all have part of a Picasso? Or would you rather have us donate it to an art museum in Chicago? Voting continues until tomorrow at midnight, CST. It’ll be interesting to see what we decided.

I also have several pair of Hanukkhah socks, since these were to be sensible gifts. (The castle is named Sensible Castle)

One day’s funds were given to Chicago Public Radio and yet another day’s funds went to China to give the people in the company that prints the game’s cards a week’s vacation.

I also received two new sets of cards for the game, so, all in all, a very satisfactory set of sensible gifts. The cherry on top was provided by essays written by the dads of the guys who run the company. The essays’ subjects were knowledge,  gratitude, commitment, thrift, culture,  absolute power, and simplicity.  Who wouldn’t want an essay written by a dad on  one of these subjects?

All in all, a well spent $15. I am happy with the results. Especially if the Picasso gets donated.

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Last, but not least, I now have my first smart phone. The learning curve is steep, but I figure if I keep learning everyday, I won’t embarrass my children.

Too much.

Well, have a Happy New Year and remember to keep on learning!

Love,

Janet