Steam bath

I have been enjoying reading The Control of Nature by John McPhee. He is talking about man-made controls all floods, landslides and lava flows. They have not been very successful but interesting. His treatment of lava Histo flows from the Kilauea volcano on the big Island of Hawaii has recalled a memory.

Norma and I were with an Eelder Hostel Group stayind in a National Forest barracks on the rim of Kilauea. It was December and quite cool at that altitude. The barracks were not heeded and the showers not satisfactory. We got an idea. That idea what to gop down into the crater which is about 2 miles long and 2 1/2 miles wide. It consists of a hardened lava that is not easy to hike in. There is a calera. We did not go near that. We found a steam that suited our need and made a tent of a parka. We had an el naturale steam bath, that Iincluding the steam. An experience that will not be forgotten

Diets

Each weekI eat with a number of different people, most of the people are on some kind of a diet. They try to eat certain foods and or avoid certain foods. Each of these are trying to avoid health problems are trying to overcome effect in their physical condition. I, personally, have succeeded in living nearly 88 years without thinking too much about my diet. There are some foods that I do not particularly care for and find very few that disagree with me. I like to think about a quote from Mark Twain, "I eat what I like and let it be fought out and sorted out down below."

Pecan melt-a-ways

Again, pecan melt- a-ways were on my mind. I have made a few more. It is best not to make too many anytime as they are so good that they are difficult to resist. The process to make them is simple, fast and no mass or cleanup they are primarily used in place of desert.

Normal

Today should be a normal day. It is hard to believe that there is such a thing as a normal day. Normal may only be a cycle on a washing machine.

Book Fair

I spent more than eight hours at the Los Angeles Times Book Fare at UCLA. The discussions by popular authors were interesting. In the evening we had a screening of a new movie that is due out on May 4,"Missing You" It was a great movie concerning Alzheimer's disease. The situations had some parallels to Norma's and my life.

Garden Tour

Today Anne a friend of hers and I will be taking part in the Theaodore Payne fourth Annal Native Plant Tour. It is a self-guided journey through some of the most beautiful Los Angleles-area gardens containing native plants. I have not done much with native plants since volunteering at the Santa Barbara Botanical Gardens, more than 10 years ago. In am lucky to be invited.