Roundabouts and Dead Malls

Today my wife and I visited the Eastgate area in Walla Walla in order to do some shopping at Staples. The shopping went well, and upon leaving we decided to travel west on State Highway 12 to College Place, but with a stop at Shopko just off Myra Road at what was formerly the Blue Mountain Mall. This must give you a hint about exciting it is to live in Walla Walla County.

But wait, there's more. When we sailed down highway 12 we discovered that there is now a left turn lane that leads directly onto Myra Road. Moreover, once you enter Myra Road you encounter the first and only traffic roundabout east of the Tri-cities. We were among the first people to use the roundabout since it had just been opened earlier this day.

Since are both experienced roundabout drivers, having driven in England and Seattle and travelled in Canada's Maritime Provinces we knew how to get on and off without error or mishap. With this improved traffic control development we were able to go right to ShopKo, and in so doing found numerous items that we might have bought in a previous Christmas season. But this year we are all helping the recession by limiting our purchases to essential items like mouthwash.

I would have enclosed a map of the Highway 12 Myra Road interchange, plus a copy of our shopping list from ShopKo but I seem to have misplaced both items so rest asssured that I will fax copies to those who write and send $ 10:00 in advance to cover postage and handling.

Next week I think we will attempt to go back to highway 12 via the roundabout and see if it as truly delightful as we found it today

In the meantime have a happy pre-christmas shopping experience, and may all your roundabout visits be safe ones.
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Life with cats

My neighbor went to visit her various children and left me with a cat named Scamp. He stays in a room in her house and I visit at least once a day for "cat sitting" and cleaning up after and feeding him. Scamp is a partially male cat. I say partially because he has been deprived of some essential male parts thus has no interest in the hetrosexual life of cats.

But his is a lover and delights in having his ears and nose and chin rubbed. He also likes to have the area under his collar massaged since he can't do that himself.

I also visit the cats at the humane society shelter from time to time. These guys need a lot of affection because they spend a lot of time in small cages or in large groups that are segregated according to gender classification. There is also a special room for kittens. This room is popular with children since these cats do not draw blood with their claws. I could show some scars on my arms from mature cats attempting to hang on by their claws.

This mostly a plea for people to visit humane societies, even if you can't take any of the animals home with you. They need your attention and it doesn't cost anything. This probably applies even in Bulgaria.

Spilt Water

I learned today that you cannot lay a glass of water on its side without some of the water running out. But if you are quick enough you can rescue most of the water and retain it in the glass by grabbing it and rerurning it to its former upright position.

This is useful knowledge to have if you are sitting in a tavern with a glass of beer in front of you and through an error in judgement you chance to lay the glass of beer on it's side. Beer and water seem to have similar consistencies thus a quick response should enable you to rescue most of the beer. However the element of quickness reduces in a direct relationship to the quanity of beer you have already consumed.