Everywhere he goes he takes tomatoes.  He is greeted with smiles and happiness because almost everyone he meets loves getting his fresh from the garden tomatoes.   Today he took with him enough tomatoes for the people he plays Pan with and enough cucumbers that I’m not going to have to eat them all.  He grows the cucumbers for me.

There is something wonderful about a tomato grown in a home garden.  It probably has something to do with being picked red and delicious just before you eat it.  Maybe with great slabs of tomato on BLT (bacon, lettuce, and tomato) sandwiches.  Maybe just eating one directly from the vine.

In addition to the big tomatoes, he grows the little ones for me.  Fat round cherry tomatoes, pear shaped yellow ones, and who knows what else?  Don’t ask me.  I just eat them.

I’m sorry, but you’ll just have to visualize his tomatoes.  The spammers are still after me and they’re tagging my photos.

I hope you have a generous tomato farmer in your neck of the woods.

Marilynne

Recently Starbucks faced this issue.  I tried to find an analysis on their web site, but was unsuccessful.  The issue is simply that Starbucks has invited you in to enjoy their coffee and food items and use their free internet.  It’s using the free internet that causes the problem.

Most coffee houses have a dining area designed for customers who sit, eat, maybe talk a little and then leave.  OK.  They never considered that someone might come into their establishment, maybe buy a coffee or maybe not, and then sit there for hours using the internet.

When you buy your lunch or your coffee and a treat, you turn around and look for a seat.  There was hardly anyone in front of you so you didn’t expect to see – every seat either occupied or filled with someone’s stuff.  The squatters often take up more than half of the seating.  They consider this your problem.

Because I’m a bold woman of a certain age, I often ask them to clear their stuff off of the next table where they’ve overflowed onto or even ask them to move their laptop a bit so I can share their table – there being no other seats available.

After the startled look they usually bustle about clearing a space for me.  However, I think that’s a special privilege afforded a woman of a certain age.  Perhaps they think I’ll die on the spot if I don’t sit soon – or worse yet, faint and dump my coffee on the table, perhaps on the laptop.

So, I urge you to be bold in this issue.  This is a problem with all coffee houses – in my area Panera, Starbucks, and Peets.  (Maybe Peet’s is the worst.  It’s an upscale neighborhood and those people tend to feel entitled.)

I’m asking customers to unite.  Fight this with politeness and determination. After all, some day you might want to plug in your laptop while you have a little coffee.

Marilynne

Later – I just dropped by Starbucks this afternoon and to my surprise I found only two WiFi ers  and they were sharing a table for two.  Maybe the world is changing – or maybe I just dropped in at an unpopular time.

1. Were you named after anyone?
My Mom named me Marilyn after Marilyn Maxwell, a movie star she liked.  My Dad wanted a biblical name, so my middle name is Ruth (which is also the name of my Mom’s friend).
2. When was the last time you cried?
Any time I see a weeper of a movie you’ll find me sniffing and looking for my hankie.
3. Do you like your handwriting?
I do.  I spent a lot of time perfecting all those neat letters.  I might as well enjoy it.
4. What is your favorite lunch meat?
Lin doesn’t like lunch meat and I don’t either.  However, my favorite sandwich is chunky peanut butter on wheat or good artisan bread.
5. Do you have kids?
I have three daughters of whom I am very proud.
6. If you were another person would you be friends with you?
How could I possibly know that?  I think other people like me.
7. Do you use sarcasm a lot?
Who me?
8. Do you still have your tonsils?
No.  They came out when I was small.
9. Would you bungee jump?
No way!
10. What is your favorite cereal?
I do like cereal for breakfast.  Probably my favorite is whole wheat cereal (hot) cooked with fresh apples, raisins, and a lot of cinnamon.  Of course, you have to pour cream on it to make it really good.
11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
Sometimes
12. Do you think you are strong?
I am really strong for my age and so is my husband.  When you consider my health issues, that’s pretty startling.
13. What is your favorite ice cream?
Those little mini Drumsticks that are just like the big ones, but are so much smaller and have a smaller calorie bite.
14. What is the first thing you notice about people?
I want to know if they’re looking at me and if so, do they like what they see?  After that I want to know the inner person.
15. Red or pink?
I like them both, but today I’m wearing pink.
16. What is the least favorite thing about yourself?
I get to talking and forget to engage my brain.
17. Who do you miss the most?
I miss my kids.  None of them live close.
18. Do you want everyone to send (link) this back to you?
It would be nice, but you are free to do what you like about it.
19. What color pants and shoes are you wearing?
Grey sweat pants with a pink stripe, a pink T shirt, and no shoes – just grey and pink short socks with birds on them.
20. What was the last thing you ate?
Roasted almonds.
21. What are you listening to right now?
Just the click of my keyboard.
22. If you where a crayon, what color would you be?
I agree with Lin here.  I’d like to be plum – maybe plum with a streak of pink and another of cream.
23. Favorite smells?
Home, flowers, fresh air (my home often smells of fresh air), clean laundry, but not my dog.  He smells like dog.
24. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?
I have no idea.  Probably a telemarketer.  I’m not a phone person.
25. Do you like the person who sent this to you?
I surely do.
26. Favorite sports to watch?
Not a watcher of sports.
27. Hair color?
Grey so white people comment on it.
28. Eye color?
Grey blue.
29. Do you wear contacts?
No.  I feel that I rub my eyes too much.
30. Favorite food?
I like to eat.  It’s all my favorite.  However, my favorite for today is the fresh peach we ate last night.  I want more.
31. Scary movies or happy endings?
Happy endings.  I don’t see the point of being scared artificially.
32. Last movie you watched?
Salt.  It was scary.
33. What color shirt are you wearing?
Pink to top my pink and grey sweats.
34. Summer or winter?
I like fall here in San Diego.  Summer’s too hot and winter is cold enough to keep the windows shut.
35. Hugs or kisses?
Hugs AND kisses.  Why not have both?
36. Favorite dessert?
Angel food cake with strawberries and cream.  No icing!  I don’t like cake with icing.
37. What book are you reading now?
“Death in the Garden” by Elizabeth Ironside.  I’m reading it slowly because it’s an English novel.  They don’t approve of people who race through to the end.
38. What is on your mouse pad?
Lightning.
39. What did you watch on TV last night?
House Hunters International.  I wonder if I was as stupid when I looked for a house.
40. Favorite sound?
The birds singing in the morning.
43. Rolling Stones or Beatles?
Beatles.
41. What is the farthest you have been from home?
Australia.
42. Do you have a special talent?
I square dance, write mystery novels, paint in watercolors, and play the piano.  I wish I had enough time to do them all every day.
43. Where were you born?
Ontario, Canada.
44. What time is it now?
It’s almost 9 PM and I’m worn out.