My favorite comic strip ever was “Calvin and Hobbes” and I have the massive 3-book set of the complete collection. Every few years, I page through them to revisit the great art and the alternately funny, poignant, and thought-provoking strips.

One theme in the strips is Calvin’s interaction with the monsters under his bed. Rereading the comic brought to mind the monsters I had under my own bed as a kid and the steps I took to banish them.

I had alligators under my bed. If I had to get up in the middle of the night, my feet had to hit the floor at least a foot away from the edge of the bed to avoid them being able to snatch me. And the same getting back into bed.

Additionally, if any part of my body hung out over the edge of the bed, that part was fair game for the ‘gators. That wasn’t a problem when I was small, but as I grew up, my twin mattress made keeping all my limbs within the confines of the bed more difficult.

We moved to a new house sometime after I turned eleven and the alligators came along. The weird thing is I always knew the alligators weren’t really there. But knowing they weren’t there and feeling comfortable allowing my foot or hand to hang out over the edge of the bed were two entirely different things.

At some point during that year I decided this was an absolutely ridiculous situation and that I had to do something about it. I was too sensible to be scared of nonexistent monsters. Yet there I was, jumping in and out or bed every night.

I still remember my epiphany: if I couldn’t just get rid of them, I could change them! So, in my mind, the alligators became squirrels and instead of biting, they could tickle me if I left a limb hanging out.

This worked very well and I soon made an additional refinement: they could only tickle me if I was over the edge of the bed for more than 5 minutes. It became a bit of a game to see how close to 5 minutes I could come before snatching my hand or foot back.

All of this, mind you, while the logical part of me knew there was no substance or reality to any of this. It eventually got to the point where I gave myself credit for all the years in which I hadn’t used my 5-minute grace period and therefore could hang over the edge as long as I wanted as I had hours and hours of time before I could be tickled.

At that point, the whole monster under the bed idea finally began to fade away. But I still marvel at the steps my kid’s brain took to solve the whole problem.

I still think of those squirrels every once in a while, but I’ve got a queen bed now so they don’t have a chance to get me 🙂

Here are some pictures taken while out kayaking on our little lake:

My hat collection has continued to grow and now some of them are sprouting/sporting feathers!

The hats had taken over the top of my dresser and were threatening to spread to other pieces of furniture so I have found them a new home:

For those of you who might remember her, that’s a picture of Tuple, my previous dog, hanging above the hats.

Got these done just in time to celebrate the 4th!

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Took these while out walking this morning. The ridge the coyotes are on is just outside the front gate to our little community.

Here’s the beach I launch the kayak from:

Took that yesterday morning after a nice long paddle.

And just because I haven’t posted one of her lately, here’s Brindy chilling out while I wash the sheets:

When I lived by the ocean, I used to go kayaking several times a week. I had two kayaks and even built a customized trailer to haul them around. When I moved to the desert, I got rid of my kayaks and all the accessories.

But here in Nevada, I actually have access to a lake less than 10 minutes away. I’ve joined a “country club” for the summer and they offer kayaks for free as part of the membership. This morning I went kayaking for the first time in 15 years or so.

I was really nervous about getting on the water again: new place, unknown equipment, and a body that is 15 years older. I was also afraid that the experience couldn’t live up to the joyous memories I had from years past.

I needn’t have done all that fretting: I had a glorious time this morning. I spent a half hour paddling and can’t wait to go back and do it again.

Paddling in northern California years ago required dressing for a possible dunking in cold water. Here the sun is the main source of worry: I have to completely cover up or I’ll be seeing my dermatologist even more often than I already do. Hence this très chic outfit:

I ran across a canoe-shaped vase and immediately thought of the Tiki Room at Disneyland. If you’ve been, you know that canoes full of flowers drop from the ceiling and the flowers (I especially remember the bird of paradise) begin singing. This is my paean to them: