Tag: weather

Posted on by — Leave a comment

out of the fog

I started to write a post about Veterans Day, but got distracted by something and forgot. Story of my life these days. My attention span is not what it used to be.

However, I’m here now. There is a heavy fog laying over my town today. I love the way fog makes you feel isolated and insulated from the world at large. It feels almost magical, like almost anything could emerge from the fog.

I have this image in my head: Fog hides the modern world, and there are just glimpses of buildings or cars, then something stirs. He steps out of the fog. He is tall, his powerful legs covered in fur. The antlers on his head drip with condensation and moss. His beard is full, glistening with the moisture of the day. His hooves make no sound as he approaches and holds out his hand, inviting me to join him.

Not sure if that image will develop into an actual story or not, but it’s there in my head.

I’m writing/editing for a while today, but there are things to do! Places to go! The start of the holiday season has already begun here, with parking lots full and people running madly from store to store. Have they forgotten that the internet exists?

Ugh. I’m all over the place today. My head is spinning with stories and memories and a need for more coffee!

I’ll come back when I have some more cohesive thoughts.

Photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel on Unsplash

Posted on by — Leave a comment

drop it like it’s hot

Summer has definitely arrived. We’re supposed to be at or near 100 today and over that tomorrow. Can I just say “ugh”? My body is not built for that kind of heat!

It’s a good thing I have air conditioning in at least one room!

I guess those thirteen years in El Paso, Texas burned my love of that high heat right out of me. Fortunately our summers here don’t stay over 100 degrees for months at a time like they did in El Paso.

It’s almost enough to make me want to go to the beach. Almost. But, seeing as California dropped all restrictions yesterday, and people in mass will be swarming the beaches, I think I’ll just hide away from it in my dark little home with my AC and my fans.

I can see it being salads for dinners for the next few days. Hope you’re able to stay cool, Readers!

Posted on by — Leave a comment

snow and ice

As big swaths of our country are enveloped in snow and ice, with places struggling with the freezing cold that don’t generally have to worry about it, it could be a wake up call about climate change. I have serious doubts it will have that effect however.

The willful ignorance in this country, even with the evidence right before our eyes, is a glaringly American trait, and it is not one of our good ones. I remember our first winter in El Paso, Texas. There was a freak snowstorm and just a few inches of snow had the city shut down. They didn’t have the infrastructure to handle it. Cars and trucks were sliding off of roadways, people couldn’t get their cars out of driveways that had iced over.

For us, it was amusing, having come from Upstate New York where that much snow wouldn’t have even warranted a snow day, but for the native El Pasoans, it was a nightmare. The only plows in the city were at the airport and there weren’t enough of them to do much more than make I-10 marginally passable.

The only place locals had seen that much white on the ground was at White Sands.

I’m seeing a lot of that same energy in the pictures I’m seeing from friends and loved ones across the south. People who do not understand the level of danger in driving on roads that have iced over with tires that were not made for driving in snow and ice. I saw a clip yesterday of an SUV backing out of a driveway onto a street that looked clear, only to just slide sideways down the road.

Wherever you are today, Readers, I hope you stay safe and warm. Avoid putting your life, and the lives of others, in danger.

Cover Photo by Damian McCoig on Unsplash

Posted on by — Leave a comment

in the hot seat

Here in the San Francisco Bay Area we are expecting a heatwave this weekend. It’s the first of the summer, but it’s expected to be intense. Here in the town where I live, we’re expecting degrees of 108, but it’s been exceeding the expected high temperatures every day this week.

What is making it worse is the humidity. It’s got my arthritic writer’s hands all cranky.

I am sitting under the air conditioning with a fan blowing on me trying to keep cool. It was already over 81 in the living room at 8am. Even my heat-loving kitty is laying under the AC.

It makes it hard to focus on work, but I have lots to do. I seem to have reached the end of my coffee, and the document I’ve been waiting on has rendered, so I guess it’s time to get back to it.

Happy Friday, Readers! Stay safe, stay cool.

Cover Photo by Luis Graterol on Unsplash

Posted on by — Leave a comment

happy spring?

It’s another rainy, rainy day here in San Francisco.  Just walking from BART to the office has my legs soaked from the knees down.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the rain, and gods know we needed it, but after a solid month of the stuff, I find myself craving the sun.  My cats are also completely over the rain.  This morning, instead of getting up with me, they sat on the bed staring at the pet door.

The streets are turning into rivers and the ground everywhere is just saturated.  I am sure all of the plants are thrilled that we have escaped drought status, but I think I am quite over the rain at this point.

Enough of that, however.  Today is Ostara on the Pagan calendar, the spring equinox.  Today is the tipping point that dumps us out of winter and onward toward summer.  From here out the days start to get longer, at least until midsummer.

It is a time to plant intentions, to begin new things.  Get those seeds in some dirt and let’s grow something profound!

Of course, it’s also Wednesday, so here I am in the office like a good worker drone.  Lots to do, coffee to consume, etc, etc…

How about you, Readers?  What are you looking to grow this season?

Posted on by — Leave a comment

a storm’s a blowin’

I was startled awake at four AM this morning by gusty winds outside my bedroom window.  I had been aware that we were expecting a significant storm, but the reality of it was a bit jarring as I was waking up from some scattered dream that I think was about getting arrested.

My dream life can be a bit spectacular, in part due to one of the medications that I’m on for my back pain.  Toss in the pain from my recent surgery and the storm, it’s little wonder I found myself awake so early.

My bariatric surgery was Tuesday.  I came home from the hospital on Wednesday, and I’ve been convalescing at home since then, learning all of the adjustments I have to make to how I do things…like it’s a waste to make a whole pot of coffee, when it takes me nearly an hour to drink one cup!  I am, in fact, enjoying my first cup of (decaf) coffee since the surgery as I am writing this.

Most of the swelling has gone down now, but my stomach looks like someone used it for target practice…someone who wasn’t very good at targets, LOL.  They made seven total incisions, the biggest one is just over an inch long.

My first full day home was the worst for the pain, and I slept most of it off in a haze of pain medication.  Since then, each day has gotten better.  I anticipate that by the time I see my surgeon for my follow up, I should be ready to get back to my normal routine.  Until then, I will be working from home so that I can rest when I need to and such.

So, here I sit, sipping my coffee and listening to the wind and the rain outside, contemplating what shape today’s writing will take.  I hope your Saturday is filled with joy, Readers.

 

Photo by Bryan Minear on Unsplash

Posted on by — 1 Comment

in the morning fog

Winter in San Francisco generally means temperatures in the mid 40s to mid 50s and fog.  Sometimes really thick fog.  That does seem to be the case this year.  Even though I live a good 45 minute BART ride outside of the city, my little city can get pretty socked in too.

Fog means dangerous driving conditions, particularly when you don’t know the roads you’re driving on.  For me, I find fog mysterious and beautiful, especially when it hangs low over the mountains or the bridges.  I never do seem to get out into it with my camera however.  One of these days I’m going to get up to the Marin Headlands when the fog rolls in.

Just imagine what the world of horror movies would be like without fog!  It sets a mood, for sure.

where-shadows-fall

If you have been waiting for the paperback to get your copy of Where Shadows Fall, your wait is over.  As of this morning, the paperback is available.  Click HERE to get it.

We’re headed into the busiest time of year, with holiday parties and get togethers, shopping and cooking and chaos of all kinds.  My life is no exception.  I’ll be trying a new-to-me cookie recipe this coming weekend for a company pot luck, and I have my first holiday party tomorrow evening.

Then it’s all a landslide into Christmas for me.

What about you, Readers?  Do you have a special holiday tradition, no matter what holiday you celebrate?