WE DON’T MELT.

Rain is part of the forecast for two more days. My oldest sister visits from Sonoma, and we decided not to let the rain discourage us when it is badly needed by the plants we cherish and depend upon.

Living in a tourist town, I go about my business and don’t become a tourist until someone visits. Something I hadn’t noticed until yesterday?  New murals, cleverly covering the wall in front of Murphys Grille where people eat outside. Flirty feet.

In fact, the feet are what you would be seeing if the wall wasn’t there.

Clever and fun; a little wink of whimsical art in my own town. Makes me think about how un-quaint Murphys used to be. But, I won’t go there. We had lunch at Cactus Jacks. For a truly delicious sandwich, chicken pesto on foccacia bread with Cactus Jack’s special salsa which contains cactus in the mix, you can’t go wrong.

We peeked into shops and between raindrops, I caught some pretty faces, kind of wishing I’d planted pansies at home.

Changing lifestyles doesn’t allow much time for gardening. I’ll enjoy other’s gardens instead.

Later, brother Will braved hail and rain to share a light supper with us. A nicoise salad and a bowl of soup.

My taxes finished; a nice relaxing day. None of us melted. April rain brings May flowers. I hope the same is true of New Mexico where I”m headed later this month, back to the Motor Home.

KISSED BY A STRANGER

Ride a cock-horse to Banbury Cross, to see a fine lady upon a white horse. Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes, she shall have music wherever she goes.

I woke up this morning, late, with that  nursery rhyme playing through my head, instead of Brown Eyed Girl, or Big Wheels Keep On Turnin’, the loud, jumpin’  music from last night at Cactus Jacks. There is no accounting for the twists and turns of the brain.

It was my intention to stay home New Years Eve, but a neighbor, Jan,  insisted I go with her to the Murphys Hotel. We arrived at 9 p.m. Planned to stay a couple of hours. Myself, Jan and Cynthia got our picture taken by Cynthia’s boyfriend, Dave.

The Murphys Hotel is about 150 years old and has a reputation for being a cowboy bar. But, the cowboys have changed considerably, I noticed.

Jan, the storyteller, regaled Dave with old stories from the hotel’s checkered history.

There was no band, the dance floor is practically non-existent. We danced twice to canned music. The people made it fun, but we all decided to leave the hotel and walk down to Cactus Jacks. The dance floor there is bigger, the band was better and it was jammin’.

Cactus Jack sells shirts called Plan B.

Translation:  After you leave Cactus Jacks and go to the Murphys Hotel,  you’ll come crawling back to Jacks where all the fun is. It was  fun. They don’t have a liquor license, only wine and beer. The grizzly was good, dark and chewy.

People watching is half the game. It was a dance free for all, everybody dancing with everybody.  Nobody obnoxiously drunk.

Some friends, Lianne Smith and her new boy toy popped in. She and others went from party to party. Over the course of the evening, I met old friends, kids, who are no longer kids, who  went to high school with my no longer kids. Then, I met a guy who graduated from the same High School I did, only twenty years later than me.

Cactus Jack provided paper cups of champagne at midnight. And, I got kissed by a stranger.

Anything can happen. It’s a new year. 2012 is here.