2007, San Francisco. For being a place that’s only a five or six hour drive away, we sure don’t get up there that often. And when we do, it’s most likely for a convention or for business, so we don’t sightsee much.
This time we did.
I still want to walk the Bridge some time. Maybe park here on the Marin side and walk over and back. With a camera, of course. You’ll be the second to know when I do it!
Filed under Photography, Travel
What, I “need” to get up in five hours to watch SpaceX try to launch Starship?
The Rocky Mountains are impressive, and you can get some dramatic weather as well. From our Colorado trip in 2008.
Filed under Photography, Travel, Weather
What was supposed to be an “atmospheric river” bringing us 1″ to 2″ of rain over three days has turned into far less than an inch of rain yesterday, a nice day today, and maybe another half inch of rain or so tomorrow night into Saturday.
Meh
There were scattered showers popping up here and there. Most of them were “there.” We got nothing.
Out to the west over Ventura County there was some action and convective activity. Very pretty!
Filed under Photography, Weather
The first storm of the winter has arrived.
Just before the rain started, and it wasn’t a hard rain, just steady, the undersides of the clouds were dramatic.
The mail carrier was driving up one side of the street and back down the other as I was wandering around in the street to get the best pictures with minimal interference from wires overhead. He was nice enough to not run over me.
The smell of petrichor was heavy just before this first rain. The rough underside of the cloud deck indicates that it’s a cold storm with a lot of turbulence.
It will be cold and wet here for several days.
Filed under Photography, Weather
Continuing to set the wayback machine, this is from 2009 in Vermont. I was in my mother’s front yard outside of Barre, watching the sun set behind Camel’s Hump, about 15 miles away.
Filed under Photography, Sunsets, Travel, Writing
On the one hand, I guess it’s a good thing that “succeeding” or “winning” at NaNoWriMo wasn’t a priority for me this year, but more of a “throw something against the wall and see what sticks while knowing well in advance that I really, REALLY don’t have the time for it” thing. On the other hand, that also explains why I’m not pushing harder to keep up. It’s a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy.
But I won’t be beating myself up over it too much. I have plenty of higher priority and more critical things to fit that bill if I need it. In addition, a bit more self awareness and self care is on the menu as I reach a certain age, or maybe even acquire a tiny bit of wisdom.
The Catholic school nuns living in the back of my head with their Puritan work ethic and guilt by the metric ton are getting a bit quieter. Or, more accurately, they’re being told where to shove it more often, sometimes with physiologically improbable instructions added in for fun.
Meanwhile…
I recently got a couple of these pill cases to use to organize my daily meds. Nothing fancy.
Something on the order of $1.99?
On the packaging were the following instructions.
“This product is neither child resistant…” That part I get. This product can and probably IS used to hold something that could harm children if taken improperly. That’s exactly why I wanted it – there are no children in the house and I needed this to replace old ones I have which were becoming a royal pain in the ass to use because they were child resistant.
But, “nor is it a toy”?
How pathetic is your childhood, how barren, how joyless, where THIS would be considered a toy?
My brain thinks these thoughts, asks these questions. Sorry!
Filed under Farce, Photography
Another day with minimal word count. The work deadlines have been met and today was quiet, but there are a lot of personal things that have been pushed off onto back burners for weeks that had to get addressed for my peace of mind.
So we’re 33% done with the month, but I’m only 15% done with the writing. I guess that I’ll have to make it up in volume!
Meanwhile, in a sunny spot on a cool and windy day, a new member of the yard guard has appeared. “Popcorn” sized, but stockier than all of the other baby lizards we’ve seen. Also utterly fearless. I was bringing in the trash cans and normally all of that rattling will spook them into cover from 30 feet away. Not this dude! I practically ran over him and he never budged. I went and got the camera, came back out, got down within about three feet of him, close enough so that I couldn’t focus the telephoto lens and had to lean back a few inches. He still never did more than a couple of twitches to verify that he wasn’t dead or frozen.
I hope he lives and gets to be a big lizard!
Filed under Critters, Photography
Sic transit gloria mundi.
2014, northern Vermont. Marshfield, to be exact. We were back east for my 40th high school reunion, seeing the sights up at Cabot Creamry, looking for lunch. Marshfield is barely a wide spot on a two-lane state highway, but I spotted this place and pulled in. Tiny place, like five parking spots and maybe six tables, plus a HUGE pastry and dessert display. One of the most amazing meals that I’ve ever had, and the desserts (we bought a ton to go for a family get together) were blissfully divine. So much more about the owner and this place – too much to tell here since I’m supposed to be making up nonsense and drivel for NaNoWriMo.
Sadly, when I recommended this place to a friend planning a trip to Vermont, they found out that it has closed.
Shazzbatt!!
Filed under Photography, Travel
The light at the end of the tunnel, indeed. Somehow the audit questions have all been answered and the backup documents provided. (IYKYK!) The October financial reports have been finalized. Of course, there are a gazillion things that have been pushed off onto the back burners that will need to be dealt with, but none of them are at an “Oh God! Oh God! We’re all gonna die!” level of priority.
I always forget what this feels like. Sort of like that cool down period when you’ve just finished a marathon. Perhaps the proper response is to have a couple of bananas and some Gatorade.
Most of the post-deadline balance disruption is mental. Spend enough time where every single minute is so tightly focused on deadlines and priorities and you find yourself a bit adrift when you have options, including the option to sit on your butt and watch the hockey game. (The Kings are winning by the way, 3-1 over Las Vegas with 4:00 left.) Surely there must be something critical and high priority that I’ve forgotten! WHY AM I NOT WORKING?!
That’s the tiny animal brain talking. The more sane portions of the cerebelum know that we’re good. There will be more times for stress and panic. But tonight is not one of those times.
Maybe I’ll write a few words and jump back on that horse after three missed days.
2015, Duke Gardens in Raleigh, NC. Wowsers!
Filed under Flowers, Photography, Travel
Today’s been worse than yesterday, which was in turn worse than Sunday, at least as far as having any time to write. This too shall pass (one way or the other) but for now, another zero word count day.
And I almost completely forgot to post this until I noticed the time.
You know how Arnold Schwartzenegger looks as the Terminator at the end of T2 when he says, “I need a vacation!” Yeah, that.
Another endurance moment. 2010.
After having a “come to Jesus” moment about my fitness (or lack thereof) and weight (way too much) in 2009, but not yet being ready to run a marathon, I instead walked a marathon (on Saturday) and a half-marathon (on Sunday) for the Santa Barbara Avon Walk to fight breast cancer. Along with several hundred miles of walking during training.
That pink baseball cap? I still have it here somewhere. I had it custom embroidered with the phrase “Pain is just weakness leaving the body,” only in the original Klingon.
True story!
Filed under Health, Photography
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