I had several very vivid dreams this morning. There were three that I remember:

1) I walked out of the bedroom and into the living room. I walked back into the bedroom five or ten minutes later, and Phillip had completely reorganized it. He had moved Gladden's cage onto a low table, had turned the cage on its side (so it was wider than taller), and had moved Gladden's house from up high on the cage wall to the cage floor. Gladden was very happy and was running around.

2) Chuck (the homecare provider from work) had phoned me, just to talk socially. Since Chuck and I never talk much (this is true in the waking world, too), I didn't quite know what to talk about. I looked over at the TV, and there was something on about golf clubs. So I told Chuck that I was thinking about buying a set of golf clubs, and I asked him if he knew much about golfing.

3) Phillip had bought a new Hummer, and was showing it off to me. On the inside of the passenger door, there was a panel of red warning lights. One of the lights was labeled "Engine Off." I remarked to Phillip that I didn't know that Hummers did that. Phillip reacted as if I was stupid. Just about every car these days has an engine that automatically shuts off when the car stops, he explained.

My dad is still in a nursing care facility. His condition is worsening. My mom is moving in with my brother and sister-in-law. My family is helping Mom sell off most of her possessions this weekend. I am very sad.

This evening was the last yoga class of the current session. I'd completely lost track of that. There will be no class next week, and then on the following week the next session begins.

This was also the first class in which I used my Valentine's present from Phillip: my very own yoga mat. I discovered a feature of my new mat that doesn't happen with the class mats. Toes, fingers, heels, and anything else pressing into the mat leave little indentations. It was unexpected, a little worrisome, and distracting at first. But then as class progressed I go used to it, and realized that eventually the indentations do go away.

I like my new mat.

Gladden fell this morning. I didn't see it happen, but I heard it in the next room. It sounded like a long fall. Gladden didn't seem physically hurt, but he had that expression of embarrassment on his expressionless face. It scared all three of us.

Sugar gliders are designed to survive some amazing falls, but Gladden is no longer young. He's not in the best physical shape.

Gladys Night died on June 3rd last year of an unspecified cancer.

Gladys Night's Little Pip, Squeak died on November 13th last year of unknown causes. (I agree with Phillip's theory that it was a broken heart, which has recently been classified as a real disease.)

Gladden T Hart is living on to an old age.

At last Sunday's Writers' Group, I read an unfinished piece about my walks home from work - the things I see, and the things I think about along the way. In other words, my typical style.

One of the things I wrote about was a mysterious little building on the corner of 9th and James. It's mysterious because it appears to be a boarded-up abandoned building, but there's often some activity going on inside. The keypad lock on the door makes me think it's official business of some sort, rather than squatters. There's also a wonderful mural along the west side of the building - various animals and trees done in a more-or-less realistic style, except for one mystery animal done in a cartoonish style.

That last paragraph should have been written in the past tense.

When I rode into work this morning, the mystery building was surrounded by temporary chain-length fences. When I walked past it this evening, it was a pile of rubble. That wonderful mural is no more.

That was bummer number one.

It's been too long since Kelly and I talked. I called her today at the only phone number I have for her, but her cell phone from Arizona is disconnected. I don't have an address for her anymore - either a physical one or an email.

Bummer number two.

The comment Pet made to me yesterday made me realize that last Saturday's blog entry was poorly written. I didn't mean to say that two and a half miles is a long walk for me. Pet and I have both been on hikes a lot longer than that, and some of those hikes have had some steep elevation gains.

What I meant to say was that it was a longer walk than I usually do, and the combination of it being sandwiched between a day of work and a strenuous yoga workout, and it being at a faster pace than I normally do, and the last mile of it being uphill, made me more tired than I would usually be on a Friday night.

Meanwhile, Phillip sent me a news story this morning. California is thinking about taxing car owners according to the number of miles driven each year. That seems like a good idea, on the surface. What bothers me, though, is the reason behind the tax-per-mile. Fuel efficient cars (the Prius was the example given) are becoming more and more popular with Californians, which means that people are paying less gasoline tax than they used to. So the per-mile tax is designed to make up for lost revenue.

The problem I see is that a per-mile tax will encourage people to drive fewer miles, and use mass transit more often, which brings California back to the issue of lost revenue.

Taxing bad behavior is a good thing, because it encourages people to adopt good behavior, but it also puts governments in the awkward position of desiring bad behavior.

Phillip & I took the day off today. My place of work was very supportive of my reason, and I have no doubt that Phillip's coworkers were, too.

We drove down to the WalMart parking lot in Hawk's Prairie, where we picked up Pet. Then the three of us continued on to Olympia. At Olympia, we joined other members of Phillip's and my church - LuAnn, Lindsey, Steve, and that young couple whose names I can't remember right now (John and Cathy's son and his fiance) - on the steps of the State Capitol building. Lester, Jamie, and Pastor Shannon were there, too. So were a couple of thousand other people from all parts of Washington. It was the "Faith-based Rally for Marriage Equality & Equal Civil Rights for all," organized by the Religious Coalition For Equality.

Maybe we made a difference.

Maybe we didn't - there wasn't much press there. NWCN was there, but, so far, there hasn't been any report in their broadcast.