A typical day in Chico

Having a full day off and feeling better after a two-day bout of some sorta 'bug, Don and I set out to run a few brief errands before the temperature reached it's expected 100 degrees today.

Since we had been 'under par' lately, neither of us had any coffee for the past few days, so the first order of business was a trip to Starbucks. Being that it was one year ago that Don and I ventured from San Diego up here to Chico to interview with the Board of Trustees, I decided I wanted to go to the Starbucks on the outskirts of town on Nord Avenue. This was where we stopped after we drove from the airport and I was looking for a place to change clothes and put on my make-up before my 1:00 p.m. interview.

The restroom at the Starbucks had such poor lighting I didn't want to risk putting on my make-up and looking like a cosmetic anomaly. It was 12:40 and we didn't have much time. While waiting for our drinks, I called my friend, Jessi who lives in Kentucky to ask her if she thought I could get away with being casually dressed and without make-up. The friendly barista overheard my conversation and smiled sweetly and said, "This is Chico. You are dressed just fine." I told Jessi what the young woman assured me but Jessi convinced me otherwise and Don and I hustled to the church arriving at 12:50 p.m. and I excused myself to change clothes and prepare in the restroom of the Favor Building where we the interview was being held.
Ah, only one year ago...

On our way back home today, Don and I went past the road leading back into town and ended up driving through the beautiful community of Durham. Gorgeous orchards and open spaces. For a brief time, we thought we might have to call Kristen Wilson who recently moved to Durham to suggest to us how to find our way back. Instead, we just continued driving and enjoying the view and beautiful weather. We continued on our errands to Lowe's for some household items and ran into Kristen while there. Small world, eh?

On our way to Safeway, I wanted to stop at the library to look for a novel I was eager to read. Luckily for us, Friends of the Chico Library were having a big sale and we spent over an hour pouring over the boxes of books (including hardcover!) for sale. I ended up taking so long, Don went into the library to locate the book I came to borrow while I began to fill up one of the empty boxes I found. We ran into two members from church and said hello. I bought about a dozen paperback mystery novels to send to my aunt Sunny in Los Angeles as well as a dozen or more books that I had to bring home. We engaged in a brief conversation with the lovely folks volunteering there as I bought a license plate frame to help save the Butte County Library.

nb: On Monday, May 18th there will be a special budget meeting with the Board of Supervisors and they will be hearing citizens concerns about the closure of our libraries. Monday's meeting is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. in Oroville. There will be a car pool and a bus to go to Oroville for the meeting, leaving at 8:25 a.m. at our Chico library. For more information you can call, 530-891-2762 or visit the website:
www.buttecounty.net

Our visit to Safeway was productive as our Vitamin Water was on sale and I had a lively conversation with the cashier about the evils of high fructose corn syrup which is one of the reasons why I like Glaceau's Vitamin Water. And why we were stocking up our supply for the warmer days ahead.

On that first visit here a year ago talking with someone about how special it is here in Chico, she said that if it wasn't for the triple-digit heat here in summer, everyone would move to Chico.

Several of our friends who travelled here for my recent Installation shared with us they really enjoyed their brief visit here and were also feeling the draw to live here. In fact, a few of them are seriously considering moving and relocating here later this year.

Now I believe it.