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Atmospheric River
28/3/23 08:09... somehow I keep finding myself singing those words to the tune of "Fascinating Rhythm." In other news, I knew we always need the rain, but I'm kind of over this weather.
YMMV, of course.
YMMV, of course.
(no subject)
27/2/23 09:54I live in San Francisco, which has a notoriously... odd climate. From microclimates that can be so micro that crossing the street can change the temperature by 10 degrees, to "the coldest winter I ever spent was summer in San Francisco" (NOT Mark Twain. Dunno who it was, but it wasn't Twain), San Francisco is weird. Winter here means rain and cold (for local values of cold--but it's a damp cold). San Francisco is also in a years-long drought. But this year... oh, this has been the year of atmospheric rivers and days of bucketing rain. And actual thunder and lightning, which is breathtakingly rare in San Francisco. Because of the aforementioned drought, we grit our teeth and repeat, again, the mantra "we need the rain." We do.
It's another soggy day, rain sheeting down the windows and the occasional grumble of thunder. It's a day off, so I'm sitting in my bathrobe, finishing my coffee, and muttering "we need the rain." I'm plotting stew for dinner, or some other simple, warm, comforting food that will chase the damp chill out of my toes...
It's another soggy day, rain sheeting down the windows and the occasional grumble of thunder. It's a day off, so I'm sitting in my bathrobe, finishing my coffee, and muttering "we need the rain." I'm plotting stew for dinner, or some other simple, warm, comforting food that will chase the damp chill out of my toes...
Living the Future
14/4/22 07:54The new furnace is in, a day earlier than expected. And... wow. Rather than an occasional **whoosh** of hot air, everything is just a nice, even 68°. Everywhere in the house. And it's run and scheduled from the inevitable app. There are many things in the future to deplore, but this is nice.
It Would Figure
12/4/22 08:25... that over the three days when we're having the furnace replaced the Bay Area would be experiencing a cold snap. Of course, San Francisco cold is not like, say, Minneapolis cold. But my blood has grown thin my fingers and toes are a little blueish.
Is This San Francisco?
23/2/22 08:0139° this morning. In other parts of the country this is laughable--I know, I've lived in some of them. But... in the Bay Area it's startling. And I've lost my chops, cold weather-wise. At least it's sunny.
(no subject)
23/11/21 10:40
This weekend our 15 1/2_year journey with Emily came to an end. We got Emily when she was three months old from the SF SPCA. For the first ten years of her life, I was the alpha parent. For the last five years my husband Danny sort of took over. During that time I've written about Em and her antics, foibles, and demands. In the last year or so she started really showing her age (although on a good day she was still capable of dragging one from one end of our hilly San Francisco neighborhood to the other, looking for humans to charm and treats to demand). But in the last week she started to decline sharply. Her already-wobbling hindlegs gave out, and then her front legs, and it was... time. The vet who came to our house was kind and gentle--I think there's a special place in heaven for someone who does what is essentially hospice work with pets--and he was very sweet with us as well. He listened to our Emily stories and understood our familial we-deal-with-stress-with-laughter reaction. And then she was gone.
The house is quiet. I can hug my husband without Emily immediately responding with "Excuse me? You're supposed to be hugging THE DOG" (freely translated from barking and nosing in between us. I may be able to take a fur-free breath some time this decade (it turns out I'm allergic to dogs... who knew, until we had one?). But the house is still infused with her silly, ridogulous spirit. And can you believe the side-eye she's giving me?
(Virtual) Reading Tonight!
25/7/21 11:17I suck at the whole "self-promotion" thing. That being said: I'm one of a great lineup of readers tonight at the Fogcon reading series. Featured readers are Nancy Jane Moore and Claire Light, and there are shorter readings by Marion Deeds, Wendy Van Camp, Gillian Polack, Lisbet Beryl Weir, Alanna McFall and... me. Afterward there's a chance to chat with the readers, too. All for the low-low price of no price!
To get the all-important Zoom link, register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/authors-read-featuring-claire-light-and-nancy-jane-moore-and-you-tickets-156274034845
To get the all-important Zoom link, register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/authors-read-featuring-claire-light-and-nancy-jane-moore-and-you-tickets-156274034845
234 Years Later
4/7/21 08:41A lady asked Dr. Franklin, "Well Doctor what have we got a republic or a monarchy?"
"A republic," replied the Doctor, "if you can keep it.”
We're working on it, Ben. Still.
"A republic," replied the Doctor, "if you can keep it.”
We're working on it, Ben. Still.
Emily and the Dove
8/4/21 10:16Our neighborhood has a mourning dove which I have heard occasionally( (it may have more than one, but I can attest to one, at least). Up until this last week I have never actually seen the bird, but in the last week it has decided to come check out our yard. It's a lovely, graceful looking bird--and yes, dove gray. And it only seems to show up when Emily is in the sunroom ready to go into full alert. Poor Elderdog has rear legs that are failing her (when she eats I watch as her butt slumps lower and lower) and she has become entirely farsighted... but when she sees that dove she is galvanized, darting to the back door, barking furiously, desperate to go out and capture the intruder.
The dove is in no danger of capture, but it's kind of nice to see that Emily still considers that she's in the game.
The dove is in no danger of capture, but it's kind of nice to see that Emily still considers that she's in the game.
I Married a Youngster
4/4/21 09:49I got my second Pfizer shot three weeks ago. My older daughter and her husband both have theirs (because of the sectors they work in). But my husband, who is six months too young for the 65+ cutoff, has finally been lasso'ed in to eligibility. After five days of compulsively refreshing the various sign-up sites, he has an appointment this coming Friday.
And the US hit a record of 4 million shots in a day this week. Hot damn.
And the US hit a record of 4 million shots in a day this week. Hot damn.
For Women's History Month Australian writer Gillian Pollack enlisted a month's worth of guest posts on women and their history, as is only appropriate. Mine went up today (March 28), and rather than being about a woman who changed the world, it's about my great-great-grandmother, Lois Selucia Hobbs. Because her experience is one of the millions of her time: a small life. And I don't think the small lives should be forgotten.
Anyway, it's https://gillianpolack.com/womens-history-month-guest-madeleine-robins-2/.
Anyway, it's https://gillianpolack.com/womens-history-month-guest-madeleine-robins-2/.
The End of an Error
8/11/20 08:34I realize that for some of my fellow citizens the results of the election were not what they wanted--some seem to view it as tragic. I am celebrating the possibility that my nation may not be edging toward failure--we're still an experiment, after all.
So I'm not gloating. But I am, by God, happy and relieved and very happy.
So I'm not gloating. But I am, by God, happy and relieved and very happy.
... I am stress-baking today. Sourdough pretzels, to start. There may be more--am considering sourdough pasta--later in the day. (I had a quart of sourdough discard when I started working this morning. With the pretzel dough proofing, I now have 24 ounces, so using the stuff up is still on my list of To Dos).
Everyone stay safe and sane today, and tomorrow.
Everyone stay safe and sane today, and tomorrow.
Among other things in a flurry of making in the last week (bread, masks, the usual) I made a new batch of bacon jam yesterday.
This morning, inspired by demons or something, I put a spoonful of bacon jam in my oatmeal. It was amazing. So, you know, it appears that's an option.
This morning, inspired by demons or something, I put a spoonful of bacon jam in my oatmeal. It was amazing. So, you know, it appears that's an option.
Domestic Report
12/10/20 12:50Yesterday afternoon my sewing machine stopped working. Like, the shaft refused to go up and down (I'm sure there's a more engineering-like way to say this, but that's what happened). So today I took it in to my repair shop. Apparently, with the amount of use I've been giving the poor thing, a massive amount of lint had built up under the , got impacted under the bobbin, and stopped everything cold. Nice chap at the shop pulled out the lint and the machine worked again. Also: I should change my needle "after every other project" which is a hard metric to define when I'm just endlessly making masks. I said, "so every two weeks?" He nodded. So that's sorted.
Also yesterday, I started a batch of sourdough cinnamon sugar doughnuts. it's a somewhat involved process, in that it requires an overnight proofing. but the only rising agent was the sourdough itself: they rose like gangbusters (these things are the width of DVDs). The texture is distinctly not cake-like: they're crispy outside and fluffy inside. They also (for my money) don't have much flavor other than the cinnamon sugar. So if I try these again, I'm going to mess about with the sugar in the batter itself (and maybe add more cardamom), and I'm going to make them smaller. Overall, I consider the experiment successful, and I'm bundling most of them off to send to my daughter, who was expressing a need for doughnuts.
Also yesterday, I started a batch of sourdough cinnamon sugar doughnuts. it's a somewhat involved process, in that it requires an overnight proofing. but the only rising agent was the sourdough itself: they rose like gangbusters (these things are the width of DVDs). The texture is distinctly not cake-like: they're crispy outside and fluffy inside. They also (for my money) don't have much flavor other than the cinnamon sugar. So if I try these again, I'm going to mess about with the sugar in the batter itself (and maybe add more cardamom), and I'm going to make them smaller. Overall, I consider the experiment successful, and I'm bundling most of them off to send to my daughter, who was expressing a need for doughnuts.
Actual Question
7/10/20 08:31Does anyone else ever wake from a dream wanting to Google a piece of information so they can return to the dream and utilize it?
Easy breakfast (or tea): crumpets, made with one major ingredient: sourdough starter discard. Plus some sugar, salt, and baking soda, and oil for the rings.
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/sourdough-crumpets-recipe
Takes maybe 10 minutes. There's a learning curve (or there was for me) in getting the griddle temperature right, and I find it makes 5 crumpets, which means (since I have a set of 4 rings) that there's a straggler. But yum. They toast nicely, but Danny won't stop eating long enough to split and toast them, so there's that.
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/sourdough-crumpets-recipe
Takes maybe 10 minutes. There's a learning curve (or there was for me) in getting the griddle temperature right, and I find it makes 5 crumpets, which means (since I have a set of 4 rings) that there's a straggler. But yum. They toast nicely, but Danny won't stop eating long enough to split and toast them, so there's that.
Life in the Time of Whoa
14/3/20 12:25The museum I work at very sensibly has closed for a couple of weeks--it's not that we have an enormous amount of traffic, but we're a public-facing organization, and while public transportation has been half-way empty in the last week or so, riding BART in the morning is no one's idea of social distancing. So: it makes sense, and I'm on board with it.
Today is Pi Day, so I got up, exercised, and put together a pumpkin pie, as requested by my husband (you have no idea how shocking this is: since we met, the fact that I could make an apple pie qualified me as a Great Woman, but... apparently desperate times require pumpkin). It's Saturday, and normally I'd be at work (Danny is at work--his job is partly work from home, but there are times when he has to get his head under the work station and make all the sound processing software play with the hardware). So I'm the dog walker. I'd thought of taking Emily for a walk in the Glen Park Canyon, but--surprise! The Bay Area is getting some much needed rain. So the big walk of the day will be a little less ambitious.
I've made myself two promises about these work-from-home days: exercise every day, and write every day. Let's see how that goes.
How are you?
Today is Pi Day, so I got up, exercised, and put together a pumpkin pie, as requested by my husband (you have no idea how shocking this is: since we met, the fact that I could make an apple pie qualified me as a Great Woman, but... apparently desperate times require pumpkin). It's Saturday, and normally I'd be at work (Danny is at work--his job is partly work from home, but there are times when he has to get his head under the work station and make all the sound processing software play with the hardware). So I'm the dog walker. I'd thought of taking Emily for a walk in the Glen Park Canyon, but--surprise! The Bay Area is getting some much needed rain. So the big walk of the day will be a little less ambitious.
I've made myself two promises about these work-from-home days: exercise every day, and write every day. Let's see how that goes.
How are you?
