I haven't been hit by lightning, but I've seen mountain lions four times in the past ten years in the San Francisco Bay area, and that's pretty unusual. The first time was in Novato, a residential suburb in Marin County. I was awakened by the sound of a woman screaming at 3:00 am. When I looked out my front window, I saw that, instead of a woman, it was a mountain lion sitting next to my curb under the streetlght, screaming his head off. This went on for about 15 minutes before he finally left. The next time was when I went hiking on Mt. Tam with a girlfriend. We hiked down to Stinson Beach and, on the return trip, we were tracked by a mountain lion for about the last 1/2 mile of the trail. He kept pace with us--in plain sight--about 100 yards off the trail as we walked extra fast. Fortunately we made it back to our car in the parking lot before he made up his mind what to do about us. And lest you think that of course hikers are more likely to see one, this was the only time in ten years I ever went on a hike (and the last time too!). The third time was when I was driving down to Monterey. I was on a public road bordering the National Guard base which contains a lot of open space. Suddenly a mountain lion burst out of the weeds and ran along the dirt frontage road on the opposite side of a chain link fence separating the base from the public road I was on. The lion kept pace with my car for a minute or so and then dropped back to a trot as I left him behind and sped up. The fourth sighting was several years ago as I was riding my bicycle around a local community college campus. I came upon a mountain lion crouched down, busily crunching on a severed deer leg. I was close enough to see that it was the hind leg of the deer. The lion looked at me but didn't move. I turned around and got out of there fast. So I think it's pretty weird to have so many up close sightings of a supposedly rare and elusive predator. Needless to say, I'm quite afraid of them and I never walk my dogs in the evening in my neighborhood or hike in parks or woods. I figure why tempt fate?

Yes, the second baby died right as she was being born. They dressed her and covered her up all except for her little head. I think she was somewhat deformed and they didn't want L. to see her body. She was unable to see the other baby. I think, because she had been dead for a while. L. seems to be doing really well. I wonder if she is just in major shock now. My friend (the grandmother) is doing well too. Lu

They are all frying pans in our kitchen except cast iron & those are skillets. We use the term spatula very generically. It can mean either the SS spatula to turn the pancakes or the silicon to get the brownie batter out of the bowl & into the pan. The only one that gets its own special name is the off-set spatula. Girls were not allowed to take shop in my HS. I didn't take HE because I hated the thought of sewing. I did not have to take typing because my home teacher had taught me to type 120 WPM by the time I was 12 by watching the evening news sitting on the side of the bed & typing what I heard. She focused me on speed/accuracy only. I had to learn formatting on my own. My HS had a girl's softball team but I don't even remember if they had competitive games against the other district HSs? If so, they sure were not hyped like the guy's sports. I was unable to do things like cheerleading or dance because practice was after school & I had a school arranged job from 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. The job was in lieu of my taking HS classes. I only went to class until 11:30 taking whatever I wanted. All I took were foreign languages (French, German, & Spanish) & a couple literature classes. Dad would not pay for my college unless I became a nurse or teacher...that's all girls should do outside the home. I had trouble applying to colleges 'cause I didn't take the regular HS classes. I took the entrance tests & did great but it was always the same, "Tricia, so how many years of science did you take in HS?" Me, "I did not take any science, history, math, etc. in HS". College entrance counselor, "Oh", followed by a sigh & stare. I puttered around taking various college classes on my own for several years but with no real direction. Didn't matter to me 'cause I had a great job as an international traffic coordinator for a large pharmaceutical company shipping to 102 countries using all those foreign languages I'd learned. A decade later, my current DH, without my knowledge or consent, submitted an art portfolio & application he'd put together of my drawings to an art & design school. I'd gone out to get the mail one day & saw a letter from this school. Thinking it must be an advertising brochure I was anxious to look at it as a fun diversion from cleaning the house. It was my acceptance letter. I phoned DH. He said, "Happy Birthday, honey!" And so began my life as a fine arts student. I just purchased 3 new silicon spatulas. For some reason, when it was just me doing the cooking all I needed was one. Now that DH is our primary cook he needs three! :) /tricia

@StephanieZone6binKY, I'm so sorry for the enormous loss of your beloved daughter! I love that you're creating a memorial garden. I don't have a rose comment, but I wanted to mention that this year I planted seeds of the Torch sunflower (Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia) and since later summer it's been visited constantly by hummingbirds, butterflies (including a lot of monarchs), and the big fuzzy bumble bees. Wild purple asters that I've been letting reseed are also butterfly magnets. They (all the pollinators) pretty much ignore my roses! But the Torch sunflower is a daily crowd pleaser buffet. ETA: Near where I live, there is a church with a memorial rose garden in the front by the street, where it's available for all passerbys' to view. Each rose has a plaque stake with names of both the beloved and the rose itself. The roses look better than the local public rose garden! I enjoy stopping by to read the names and appreciate the beauty of the roses and the love that inspired each planting.