From Country Club ....

.... but not far from it, yesterday afternoon.
We are car-less for the moment. I was heading out of Boulder Creek to go down to the great market in Ben Lomond, yesterday afternoon, when I realized the car's accelerator was not "feeding" gas -- luckily it was (a) not raining; and (b) I was just by a parking slot in front of the last little store group on my right on the way out of town. I was on a slight downhill, also -- so was able to coast into the parking. The third stroke of luck was that I had actually taken my cell phone with me.

I got John to call a towing service, which showed up pretty promptly, especially for a day after a heavy rain; and we dragged the Accord back into the village, to "Mountain Mechanic" – which was closed, of course, on Saturday afternoon. So there is it parked, with its key in the safe-box awaiting Mr. Mountain's arrival on Monday morning. The kind tow-guy gave me a lift up to our mailbox/turnaround space in Bracken Brae. As I walked up the hill to the cottage, I called Julie – catching her just right, shopping in Safeway – and gave her my erstwhile shopping list for the big party ensuing here this evening. Bless her little shopping heart, she is taking care of every last-minute thing I will need.

And here we sit, marooned in the forest. It's a little inconvenient, I suppose, but it could have been much worse than that: I might have been on one of the hairpin turns further down Highway 9, with no pull-off in sight, when the car gave up. That would have tied up the weekend traffic through our valley – if not much worse stuff.

I had all the major things stocked in for the birthday party this evening, and there's always something one can stir up for Saturday supper: in our case, a Penne al'Arabiatta and a green salad. We sat in comfort and listened to Garrison Keillor's first show of the season, had a good meal, and went to bed happy.

This afternoon, Teri and all the Monterey Bay sibs arrive. And Teri will get her wish, on Monday while she's here: we ain't goin' nowhere! She can go for walks with John, read on the deck, eat party leftovers, and talk my ear off (I hope!) Stay tuned as the saga of her visit unfolds.