I am no longer going to watch so-called news on television.  I have no interest in — what do you even call them — the chattering TV talkers — who must fill the airwaves with nothing much 24/7.  I would like to catch a few minutes of serious business on the hour, but before you know it, Matt and Savannah have wandered out front with all those screaming tourists holding signs. Seriously?  If you had a morning to kill in Manhattan, would you not go to MOMA instead?  I am particularly swearing off cable “news.”  I have no interest whatsoever in the opinions of the chatterers.  They are either very angry name callers or scary pontificators or poor twits whose job it is to fill time with repetitious interviews.  “So, Joe, how scared were you when you saw your labradoodle  fall out the window?”  “So, Olivia, how excited were you to win the 2K kindergartner’s walk in the park?”   “So, retired former Boeing mechanic, please talk some more about the airplane that fell down.”   “So, Dr. Oz, is it true that we only have a stash of seven small pox vaccinations at the CDC?”

From now on, I am just going to Google “The 10 things you should know for today” every morning first thing.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/1/10_THINGS_TO_KNOW_TODAY?SITE=AP

At least three of these are of doubtful importance.

I will miss out on the progress reports regarding Savannah’s baby bump.  That could be hard.

The asparagus bed is being very productive this spring.  I have made two big batches of cream of asparagus soup and have been gorging on roasted spears most days.  Heat up the oven to 450 degrees.  Toss the asparagus in olive oil.  Roast for about eight minutes.  Sprinkle with salt and vinegar.  Actually, nowadays, both salt and vinegar must have several adjectives to be acceptable.  Works for me.

Before:

And after:

Hard to believe that a state park has a “deluxe-pet-friendly cabin” located on what has to be the most beautiful perch above the Oregon Coast.   But it’s true.  

All the Spring-Breakers had gone home, so we had Cape Lookout almost all to ourselves except for a charming family in a nearby cabin.  And there was a plethora of retired folks several miles down the road in their million-dollar RV rigs.  I think they were too busy playing cards to venture down our way.

Lots of walks on the pristine beach, amazing sunsets, a sliver of a moon peeking through the trees, waterfalls,  and monumental rock formations  all took our breath away.

I have found the Pacific Coast to be wild and blustery all the way from San Diego to Astoria.  It always amazes me when visitors from other parts of the country come expecting to find a warm swimming hole.  It’s not Virginia Beach, for heaven’s sake!

When the tide is out, it leaves a wide beach of hard, clean sand and beautiful shells. Families come down from their tent campsites and dig up clams for chowder made over campfires.

There are also many interesting plants in the surrounding forest undergrowth.

Always the old school teacher, I can think of some very interesting scientific facts that could be illustrated with these.  It slips my mind what they’re called.  I’ll have to ask Elizabeth and add a footnote.  Roxie just seems to find them interesting on a purely canine level.

Equally amazing was the occurrence of so many sunny, rainless days on the coast and here in the valley as well while we were gone.  This permitted the painters to carry on with the facelift 1880 is getting.  Fun to return home to see so much progress.

It’s good to get away  — but coming home again is the very best.