It Was NOTHING Like Today...

You know those scenes in movies where it looks like someone is standing on a ladder dumping huge scraps of paper to make it look like it's "snowing"? That's what it looks like outside my window today. Big, puffy, heavy, wet, white snowflakes are flitting about.

And it's cold. Not 70 below zero like it was last week, though. :o)

10 short days ago, it was balmy and rather tropical here, so I took the girls to the park for a picnic. It was Sprout's first, and she did FAHbulously. She sat on the blanket and played and watched people and ate her Gerber puffs like a champ. Mookie wanted to play rather than eat (which is nothing new.), so I made her sit and eat half of her lunch before she could go play. :o) I love the park. I miss having a park at the end of the street where we could go every. single. day if we wanted  to.

I took quite a few pictures of the picnic, but I'm only going to show you 2, but I think you'll see that we had fun.

Wook at doze smoochy cheeks.

Mookie was bouncing.

It's important to remember that the sun does shine around here, and there are days when we can venture to the park. Now that it's February, it'll probably be a few weeks till we can do it again, but at least I have pictures to remind me that those days will come again.

I hope you have a great week!

Welcome To Our 'Ool

So, um, issssHOTTTTTTTT up in soCal.

I know some of you are enjoying autumn, enjoying the crisp change in weather, enjoying the cooler nights. Not I. Oh, not I.

Back in July and August when it was hot everywhere but here, my neighbors were complaining about the cold. I was not. Not only was I not uncomfortable, but I knew our inferno was coming. And oh, has it ever. In spades and buckets and dumptrucks.

Right now, at 3:18 pm, it is approximately 104 degrees Fahrenheit outside. And there is NO breeze. None.  And inside? It's 89. (edited to add that it got up to 95 in Mookie's bedroom later on in the afternoon).

We don't have central air conditioning in our house, nor do we have a window unit. Most of the time, we don't need it! But when the winds shift, and Mother Nature decides to have mercy on the rest of the nation at our expense, we get our comeuppance. And we are instantly shellacked with sweat. It's like living inside an oven.

This afternoon I thought of putting Mookie in a cooler bath just to help her cool down, but then I thought "Why should she have all the fun?" So I inflated our little pool, and filled it up. With nice, cold hose water. In the garage. A bit unorthadox in the inflatable pool realm, but the garage was much cooler than outside! And much shadier.

And it was goooooood.  I invited Kelly and her girls down, and I think it's safe to say that we were all cooler when it was over. Mookie dumping buckets full of cold water on our legs might have had something to do with that, but it sure was a welcome shocker! :o)

Tomorrow the high is only supposed to be 87...but I'm keeping our "indoor pool" up just in case we need an afternoon cool-off.

Banzai!!!

A couple of weeks ago, one of the moms in our Mom's Group invited us all over for a play date. She had an infant-friendly splash pool and lemonade. Need I say more? :o)

It was a warm, California day -- perfect for splashing around in the back yard! Mookie thoroughly enjoyed herself. So much so, that we have now purchased a Bonzai splash pool for our own backyard! And I know Kelly has done the same.

MAAMMAAA!!!!!! This is AWESOME!!!

I can't believe Mama wants me to wear a hat and sunglasses. She's totally over-protective.

Did Emily bring out MORE watermelon? Yummy!

Catch a wave, 'cuz I'm sittin' on top of the world!!

Splish. Splash. Splish. Splash.

This thing is perfect! Mama can we get one?

I wonder if I can get that sparkley ball away from Robbie...

This will be a God-send her come September and October when it actually gets, you know, HOT here! :o)

Hello, March

We made it home, safe and sound. Well, safe...but not so sound. I've got a sore rumpus. :o) Mookie was a champ in her carseat for a million hours.

So she's standing up today just to make up for all the non-standing she did all weekend.

But the weather here is MAHvelous. Mookie got up early this morning, so we strolled to the grocery store down the street to get milk and a Sunday paper. I bundled her up thinking it was going to be chilly, but NO. It was incredibly mild, and stroller-friendly. And I've had all the doors and windows open today letting the fresh air flow through the house. I love this!

Hello, March!

Perfect Blue

The Rockies through the branches of a Blue Spruce.

This is the blue sky of my childhood. The color all blue skies should be.

Last week, we had a wee bit of a snowstorm and a humdinger of a windstorm.

Typical for Colorado, of course, is the brilliant blue sky to contrast the pristine white snow. Here are a few of the pictures I took after the sun came out -- but before it had a chance to melt the beauty and turn it into slush. :o)

Berries (Dec 22)

Here's a photo of the view out our window at the moment. A few green leaves, and some lovely red berries.

I suppose if I was really brave (and really dedicated to this photo project), I could have gone outside to take the picture. Instead, I took it through the glass. Where I was warm. :o)  It's pretty cold here in northern Mich, folks. Pretty cold.

Tomorrow is Grandma R's ninety-EIGHTH birthday. 98. So we'll be spending some time with her, of course. And I hope to get a few nice photos of Mookie with her sweet Great-grandma. Seriously, that lady is an incredible example of what/how/who I want to be when I grow up. She's awesome. I'll tell you more about her tomorrow night, I hope.

(btw...the in-laws have dial-up, so posts will be few, and photos will be small...sorry!)

Bbbbbbbbbburning Up

Have I mentioned that it's hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhot here lately?

(sigh)

Apparently, Mother Nature didn't get my memo last week.

Because of all the hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhheat, I got to witness a drama unfold yesterday that I've never seen in real life before. And it was exciting!

I was on my way to church for an outreach thing, and I had to stop at the grocery store on my way. As Mookie and I were leaving the store, I smelled smoke, but it didn't smell like trash burning or a car or a house, but I couldn't see the smoke, so I forgot about it and drove on up the hill.  As I was driving, I saw a very strange-looking yellow plane flying west, and rather close to the ground. It looked like a glider to me, based on the shape of the body, but I couldn't figure out where it would be gliding to considering that I was about a mile from the Pacific Ocean. I thought maybe it was going to circle back and land...somewhere, I didn't know where, but I didn't think I was close to any airports or landing strips. Not knowing much (obviously), I put it out of my head and made the final turn to church. 

As I crested the hill, I saw a commotion across the street from our church -- and then I saw the smoke. Our church is across a small street from a big field. And part of that field was aflame (not the church, though, thank God). And not only has it been hhhhhhhhhhhhot lately, it's also been very dry. There were 3 fire trucks, and I could hear a helicopter overhead. I saw some of the church staff standing outside watching what was the very beginning of a California brush fire being fought by firefighters. I parked the car and heard the VERY loud rumble of airplane propellors, and I craned my neck to see what was making all that ruckus, and it turned out to be the yellow plane from before! And from my parking-spot-vantage-point, I saw it drop water on the fire! That was very cool. Very cool, indeed. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera out and ready when that happened. I did, however, take a few photos from inside the car.

Immediately after the yellow plane dropped the water, a small fire truck drove up the hill, and then returned a few minutes later. I guess he was going to see if it was still burning, and it was.

I don't know anything about brush fires, or how they get fought, so I gathered up my stuff and my baby, and went inside. I had only been in about 30 seconds when I heard the loud rumble of the yellow plane again, and I was SO disappointed that I missed it -- AGAIN!!! Ugh!!  Just then, the pastor came through saying he was going back out to take some pictures, and I asked if he thought the plane would come by again, and he said it would, once it reloaded. (No, I hadn't clued in, yet)

So I left Mookie with some lovely church ladies, grabbed my wee Canon and went to get some more pictures. Once outside, I saw that there were two helicopters, and there were some firefighters walking up the hill. You can see how dry the hill is.

We kept watching, and waiting. And we saw that the fire kept burning. (Note: I didn't actually see the flames, but I did see black and white smoke).

After a couple of minutes, I saw one of the helicopters drop water on the fire! I was totally shocked about that! I wouldn't think a helicopter could hold enough water to do much damage, but it turns out that it dropped water ahead of the fire, to wet the brush.

After a few more minutes, the fire-fighters-on-foot came back down the hill, and it seemed quiet for a little while. I was about to give up on seeing the yellow plane again, and was missing my sweet (and tired) baby. I was just sure she was making a lot of noise, so I was about to hand my camera over to another lady and go to the baby, when I heard that characteristic rumble again. Yay!  I also heard the pastor say that the church camera's battery was dead. I am glad I had my camera out, and ready!

So I set the camera for continuous shoot, and started shooting. I got about 10 good shots, but I'm only going to post a couple. Turns out the big yellow plane is a "scoop plane" or a "water bomber." That's why it was flying so low, so close to the ocean...it was scooping water to come and dump it on our little fire! (I know. I'm quick like a bunny.)

                                     

Anyways, they completely contained the fire within a couple of hours, and there's nothing left but ash and memories.

And as far as California wildfires go, I hope this is the only one I ever witness.

It Is H.O.T.

H.
O.
T.

Seriously. I am miserable. It is currently (7:00 pm) 88°F in Mookie's bedroom, and 84° outside. Having the windows open isn't helping right now because the air? It isn't moving. At all.  It is sunny, and clear during the day, and we are getting NO moving air off the water.  It is perfectly clear at night, and we are getting NO moving air.

What good is the Pacific Ocean being a mile from your house if you get NO moving air off of it? Huh?

Poor Mookie is napping in her diaper. And we've had a heck of a time getting her to sleep because (again) she associates being swaddled with sleeping, but if I swaddle her, she's now too hot to sleep. Yet another swaddling conundrum. Some parents have a hard time weaning their child of pacifiers? I think I might have a hard time weaning her of swaddling. But, of course, there are worse things, right?

Last night, when it was 87° at 7:30 at night (Mookie's bedtime), I opened the garage door, took her to the car, and turned it on with the air conditioning on at a comfortable temperature. I figured if she was comfy, she might sleep. I was willing to sit in the car for hours (not running it, of course) just so she could sleep in peace and comfort. But she wasn't having it. After 45 minutes of running the car, and she still wasn't having it, so we went back inside. Into the hot house. With hot bedrooms. (BTW, I've got a hybrid, so it wasn't like I had a Ford Expedition and was running the a/c!)

We spent some time in the library today. And I was gonna go again this afternoon, but she fell asleep (in the blazing hot bedroom), and so I let her sleep. Now it's too late because it's almost her bedtime, and by the time we got to said library, it would be time to turn around and come home! :o)

I wonder what it's supposed to be like tomorrow. Oh, great. More. Yay.

Those you out there all excited about autumn, and feeling a chill in the air whilst you are stargazing at night...I have one thing to say to you...can I come over? And bring my half-naked baby? I'll bring the Yahtzee.

Dear Mother Nature,
Could you please double-check your to-do list from last week? I think you might have missed something. It seems that you forgot about southern California when you flipped the switch for "autumn."  Thanks, we appreciate it.

Did You Feel That?

That's been the first question out of the mouths of the last 2 callers I've had in the last 10 minutes.

"Did you feel that?"

Turns out at 11:42 am PDT, Mookie and I experienced our first (and hopefully last!?) earthquake! Apparently it measured 5.8 on the Richter scale, and the epicenter was somewhere near Pomona. (I don't know exactly where that is in relation to me, though).

I had just put Mookie on the bed and I was getting onto the bed to lay down next to her to read, and it felt like one of the cats jumped up on the bed and missed...like the bed kinda moved. And I looked around and didn't see her, then I noticed that the little mirror I have leaning on the wall was kinda wiggling, and the blinds on the window were kinda waggling, and the door was wobbling. Then I heard my neighbor outside talking to her kids, and I figured I had just experienced a wee little quake!

Red letter day! :o)

I don't know enough about earthquakes to know if we'll have any more today. I know there are "after" shocks, but are there "pre" shocks? I guess I need to do some reading...

Anyways, just wanted to share! :o)

**Edited to say** -- there were apparently 15 aftershocks, and the epicenter was 29 miles east of LA, but we are south of LA proper, so it would probably be about 40 miles away. Dave called to say that he was standing with other folks, and said that they all felt the quake and then thought that maybe they needed to leave the building.  Also, the US Geograpical Survey (USGS) recently downgraded the earthquake to a 5.4. And as far as I know, there is no damage in my area.

I'll let you know if there is anything more to know about us, but I think (hope? pray?) that there will be nothing to update. :o)

Hot Like Wasabi

when I bust rhymes
big like Leann Rimes
because I'm all about value

(gotcha singin' didn't I?)

Anyways, MAN it's hot here today! It's hot like wasabi. (see how I did that?)

Okay, here's another song for ya:

I
I was standing
you were there
two worlds collided
and they could never tear us apart

This very same Wasabi weekend, two worlds collided. Well, three, actually. Bloggie Worlds, that is.

Katie, from Roses are Red, Violets are Violet was in the "area" for a conference, and so Friday night, Dave and I drove up to Pasadena to have dinner with her, and another long-time friend, Cindy. I haven't seen them in 47 evers! It was SO GOOD to see her and Cindy again! We used to be in a church community group together when we all lived in the same area of Atlanta. When I called Dave Friday afternoon to tell him what I was doing (driving a bunch of miles, through Friday afternoon LA traffic, having a yummy dinner with two girls I could chat all night with, then driving a bunch of miles home, in the dark, after a LOOOONNNNG and tiring week)...he was not as excited as I was. I think he even used the word "worry". Hmph. So I started to whine and said something like "But I wanna! And I haven't seen them in 47 evers! And it's not just Katie, but it's Cindy, too!" (Not that you, alone, wouldn't have been enough, Katie. 'Cuz you totally are!) Then he got all wise and stuff on me and said "Well, maybe they can wait a little while longer, you can pick me up from work, and I'll drive and you can rest."

Well. We had a plan. And we carried out said plan. And we got to their hotel, recognized them immediately, and hugged like we hadn't seen each other in 47 evers! :o) The only thing different was the hairstyles! They are still wonderful, loving, funny, Godly, caring, gregarious ladies. We ate dinner and dessert and talked till our faces fell into our empty creme brulee pots. (They were tired! They are 3 hours ahead of us, and working, after all!) So, we said our goodbyes and promised to not let it be another near decade before we see each other again. (Pasadena is a wonderful place, as far as I can tell. Just so you know.) Good times, man, good times.

(by the way, Katie, the word was "paradox". Yay me! The TV show Big Bang Theory confirmed it for me tonight. And Dave was watching, so I got to be all "See, I told ya so!" right then and there! Woo! Gotta love that!)

Then Saturday morning, we got up early, packed the cooler and the beach umbrella, and headed to the beach. Yum! Mike is in town for a couple of days, and wanted to play a little beach volleyball (Dave could never resist that offer!), and since Grant and Kelly just moved to the area, but haven't seen Mike in a couple of years, I thought they might have fun going along. Plus, Grant's brother lives here, too, and they're both really athletic, so it rounded out the group nicely. We have other friends in the area that know Mike, and haven't seen him in a while, so they came along, and we just made a big fort of chairs out on the beach -- the guys played while the ladies hung out and talked military wife-dom, kids, years to retirement, living in LA, husbands in school (blech), living in military housing...usual stuff. :o) Periodically the guys would come over to the shade for a bite to eat or a drink of water, and then run down for a dunk in the ccccold ocean, then go back to burning their tootsies on the hot sand playing volleyball. Eventually we decided to pack up the gear and go to dinner (for more chatting and military talk, of course!)...then we parted ways. I don't know when we'll see Mike again, but he always seems to turn up, so I'm not too worried. :o) We miss having him around, but he'll be moving back to the States in a few months -- not as close as we've were before, though. He's the only one of the three bloggers that took a picture of us, so if you want to see what we all look like together, click here. :o)

Yup. All in all. It was a hot, colliding weekend. The only thing that could make it any better w0uld be to have air conditioning in our house when it gets this stinkin' hot! (And by stinkin', I am meaning in the physical "ew, something stinks" sense of the word, not as an exclamation).

'k I don't make films
but if I did
they'd have a samurai

Peace out, yo!

The sunrise I didn't want to see

This morning started for me something like 6 hours ago (and it's only 10:00 here).

I awoke to the pitter-patter of little feet sometime before 4am. Thoughts running through my head were: Are you trying to stand up in there? Are you training for your first marathon? What are you doing, baby?! Are you nocturnal?

I was awake when Dave came to bed (darn, stinkin' PhD) sometime around 4am.

I was (still) awake when Dave got up to get ready for work sometime around 6:15am.

I finally fell asleep around 7am (that baby was ACTIVE!).

Then my cat woke me up at 8am. Thoughts running through my head were: This house better be on fire, kitty cat. Are we being invaded by aliens? What do you WANT?!

And I finally gave up at about 9am. I opened my eyes to a beautifully clear, warm, sunny day. Then I opened the blinds, and opened the windows.

I knew it would be a beautiful day, though, since I took this photo at about 6:15. The photo just doesn't do the color palette justice. It was a gorgeous sunrise. I'm glad I saw it, but I sure as heck didn't want to be awake at 6:15 to see it!

Livin' the High Life

Nothing much to report here, I just know it's been a while.


It's a beautiful morning in Southern California. The kitty cats are reclining in patches of sunshine, I've got the doors open for fresh air (I love fresh air!). I'll be hanging bed sheets out on my makeshift clothesline in about 15 minutes.


Dave is going to the Big Orange Home Store to pick up supplies for his Saturday Honey-Do list. Should I be nervous that he's going alone? :o)


Last night we enjoyed a lovely steak dinner at Outback after waiting over an hour for our table. I have forgotten about "call ahead seating". I shall not forget again!


Last weekend we drove to Redondo Beach for a little afternoon stroll. It was a bit breezy, but we had a nice walk, and saw people playing volleyball, and laying out (crazy!), and surfing, and sailing...all those fun water sports!

As we were walking, I was thinking that next summer, once Kelly and her crew move here, (and after May 26th, of course), she and I can drive up to the beach, and walk our little babewskis along the beach path for a some sunshiney exercise! Cool, eh? Wanna come?

I've found about 3 Christmas gifts so far...which is 3 more than I was expecting to have before February...I'm just not very with-it this year. Ah, well, I'm sure it is the Movers' fault somehow! :o)

Hope you have a great week!

"If You Don't Like the Weather...

...wait 5 minutes. It will change."

Or so They say.

They, who did not enjoy sunny temps in the mid-70s yesterday and then wake up, shocked, to see inches and inches of snow on the ground this morning.

They, who could probably see past the houses across the street, but I can't for all the big flakes blowing sideways for the last few hours.

They, who say it doesn't snow in Colorado until Halloween.

They, who did not plan to take the dog for a hike, then drive an hour to visit Grandpa today.

They, who probably have proper snow attire, and would probably be playing in it right now.

They, who are not likely going to spend their day in their pj's and bathrobe in front of the fire. (yeah, me!)

They, who might be more willing to go outside and get better pictures than me!

Ode to Summer

an original piece of poo-etry from Melissa in honor of the Autumnal Equinox

I have missed you this year.
Summer, Oh Summer.
Where did you go?
Did you spend too much time in Texas and Florida and New York?

I miss the way you gently caressed my skin with your warmth.
Summer, Oh Summer.
I miss the way you magically lightened my hair and darkened my skin.
Have you forgotten me?

I love you and thought you loved me, too.
Summer, Oh Summer.
I can't wait for you to wake me with your brightness next year.
I'll be waiting for you on the beach.

Downright Cccccold.

59.

Degrees.

Fahrenheit.

Today.

I've got the heater on.

I'm wearing a sweater and a down vest.

And my fluffy, mid-calf, slipper-boots.

And I've just finished my 3rd cup of hot chocolate.

And I'm still cold.

Here's an interesting thought...since we haven't had much of a summer here in England this year, I wonder if there will be either more, or more intense cases of S.A.D. here this year. It is a very real condition, that usually goes away in the spring, and doesn't return till the winter...but maybe that won't be the case this year. Who knows.

All I know is that I'm tired of being cold.

Dangit.

Dim and Grismal!

Rain, rain, go away. Come again some other month!

Seriously.

It is COLD today. Sometimes I forget to turn my calendar over...so maybe that's the problem. Maybe I forgot to turn all 9 of my calendars from AUGUST to, oh, I don't know, November? Did I sleep through summer? Oh, wait, summer happened last Thursday.

Current temp (8:17 pm, GMT): 64°F.
Today's High: 67°F
Highest predicted temp all week: 68°F

And in case you are wondering, today I wore a long-sleeved shirt, a sweater, thick jeans, thick socks, and my Land's End All-Weather Mocs. And, yes, the fleece jammies have made another appearance.

Saturday I opened my box of summer clothes (the one that has been mournfully collecting dust in the corner of my bedroom since May). I solemnly removed each piece of clothing, systematically shook it out, meticulously folded it up, and begrudgingly placed it back in the box. Maybe I will actually get to wear my cute summer clothes when we move to Cali. Is it warm enough in LA in October for cute skirts and flip-flops?

Summer, Oh, Summer, Wherefore art though Fair Summer?

This is the day...

...that the Lord has made...



...for laundry!

This is the day...

...that the Lord has made...


...for convertibles!

Of course!

Inter...

Here's a new word for ya:

Interpatchyvaguesmidgeymittent

I invented it. (duh). It is a description of what our Internet service is like right now. Forget what I said in my last post about how our Internet was working but our phones weren't!

So, if I seem to be interpatchyvaguesmidgeymittent for the next couple of weeks, you'll know it's not me, it's the underground telephone cable that apparently got flooded out, or something.

To make up for it, here's another photo from the end of our balloon ride a couple of weeks ago:

Hope all is well with you!

The Rains

Some of you have experienced it, most of you have probably only read about it on the Internet or heard about it on the news.


We had a good deal of it here on Friday morning - a lot of the local roads were flooded. They actually sent us all home from work early because they knew the river next to our building would flood over the road and we wouldn't be able to get out. The rain had pretty much subsided by the time we left, but the flooding didn't. Of the 3 routes I normally take, I knew one would be flooded, so I took a different one. Unfortunately, there was a low point in the road I didn't consider, and the water was deep for about 10 car lengths...and there were 3 cars stranded on my side of the road (that had not come through the water very successfully) and 2 on the other. Even some taller vehicles, not just little rat-runners like mine! So, I waited for the car in front of me to go through (didn't want to get stuck behind him, that's for sure!), and then I started out slowly, kept it slow, and periodically I would engage the clutch and gently rev the engine to be sure the water didn't linger. That, and lots of prayer, and I made it through. A few more revs on the other side, and I sailed home. The sun was actually shining the last few minutes!


I got home and worked for a few hours, then Dave and I drove up to Suffolk for the weekend. We didn't have any more rain at all...until we were driving back from Norwich on Saturday. We went there with Mike and had beautiful weather all day - until we were about 30 minutes away from our temporary home, and then the skies just opened up! I was wishing I had one more notch on my windshield wipers! 3 was just not clearing it! The rain ended, and Mike headed home.


We're home again now, and the only evidence of the torrents of rain here is that our phone is down. Our internet isn't. I don't understand that, but it apparently has to do with telephone magic. BT expects that they will have the problem fixed by the morning of August 3rd. Today is the 22nd. That's, like, 2 weeks without a phone. Two. Weeks.


Man, I hope BT is wrong!


But, at least the Internet is still working...and, really, loads and loads of other Brits have it way worse than I do right now. I've got water. And electricity. And a dry floor. My pets are secure. I'm pretty blessed.


Sadly, they are predicting more rains for tomorrow. Coming up from France again. Seriously - the Frenchies shouldn't be quite so generous!! Good things that come from France: cheese, wine, lace...not weather.