Friends are Work

This last couple of weeks has been busy for me...trying to catch up with friends and do some one-on-one.  After months I’ve made the effort to get off of the farm and interact with other humans…and yes it is an effort…I like being in my own space.  I love my solitude…my home…my cocoon...my warm snugly sofa..."I vant to be alone".    I’m the first to *hang up* the work shoes and *retire*…my dear friend Dee Dee works from home (she’s a dog breeder) and is very busy, Paula has five years left with the State University system,  Nancy is an RN and has switched jobs frequently over the years so she has another ten years at least, Charlene has to work forever, she has no retirement plan,  Debbie will retire soon with over 35 years at Raley’s and Barbara owns her own recycling business...they envy me and all my free time.  They don’t realize I have very little time or desire for socializing now that I’m not out in the Public.  I work from sun up to sun down…I love it…it's not so easy to squeeze in stretches of *down time* and when I do it's just me and that sofa and a book.   I know I must make the effort…friendships are as much work as a marriage (and don't tell my husband but usually twice as valuable)…you can’t just sit back and hope they are everlasting…you must  keep communication open, and let the other person know how much you value them and you must share time and laughter.  So yesterday I loaded the Rover and headed up to my old stomp’n grounds (Princeton) and grabbed my friend Dee Dee and off we went to Chico: YEP…Playboy’s Number One College Party Town (I can’t remember what year that was).  I love Chico:  founded by one of the original pioneer’s  in the first wagon train to California before the Gold Rush…John Bidwell worked for John Sutter…went up North and started his own Land holdings…his wife Annie gifted almost 2,000 acres in the middle of town for a HUGE park: Bidwell Park (big shock)…lots of great history, beautiful homes and huge ranches and bike trails.

Bidwell Mansion

Lower Bidwell...Swimming Hole in Town

Upper Bidwell: Chico Canyon

So Dee Dee and I are going to start attempting to ride the One Mile Trail in Lower Bidwell Park...and we will most likely die.  Other than our everyday take care of the animals, gardens and family we don't exercise...no gyms, no running/jogging...I swim  tread water in the pool for about an hour in the evenings during the summer: from June-September...it helps, but I don't really work up a sweat...it's an excuse to not babysit the Grand kids after 6 p.m. and to play all of my Rock and Roll classics at a billion decibels and ignore the world.

Dee Dee bought a one speed cruiser from Walmart...and I found my old boy's bike in the barn.  I bought my bike about 7 years ago and rode it to the post office when I had my Real Estate office (the post office was two blocks away)...before that I used to ride from my home in Glenn to the town of Willows (9 miles) or to the tiny of Princeton (9 miles)...back and forth almost everyday...of course that was in 1976!  Haven't been on a bike after that until I did the Post Office thing.  Same with Dee Dee...we are going to die.

The Flat Part of Lower Park: Our First Bike Trail