Author Archives: Deborah Drucker

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About Deborah Drucker

I am a native of California who lives in Southern California. I have a background in healthcare and Special Education. Writing is a new adventure for me.

Wee Things

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My English grandmother used to use the word ‘wee’ to mean small or little. We never got accustomed to using the word that way and thought it was funny. We might say ‘the wee hours of the morning’ to mean very early. I used to look forward to the weekend when I was working. Now every day is like a weekend. The days run into each other. If you watched ‘Downton Abbey’ you heard the Dowager Countess of Grantham say,’ Weekend? What’s a weekend?’ She didn’t know what a weekend was because she never had to work. So me and the Dowager Countess have that in common now. We are a wee bit alike in that.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday, #SOCS, is hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt word for today is ‘wee’, use the word ‘wee’ or use a word that contains it in the post.

Featured image ‘Portrait of the Countess Anne d’Escherny by Alexander Roslin via Irina on Flickr.com

Weekend Coffee Share #31-Weathering The Heat

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Coffee’s ready. Grab a cup and pull up a chair. We are having Italian Roast today. If we were having coffee I would tell you the weather this week gave me a great excuse to spend a lot of time indoors with genealogy research. The temperature reached its apex with 122 degrees on Wednesday. I was watching the temperature climb on my cell phone weather app all day. I did get out for Yoga in the pool and an indoor class this week. I am getting more flexuous from the yoga exercises.

Back to wearing masks in grocery stores and indoors, anywhere there are other people. Getting tired of this virus, its variants, and reading about people who refuse to get vaccinated. I am glad many businesses are starting to require proof of vaccination.

There has been a considerable amount of bad news stories about drought and fires here and around the world. Does anyone really doubt global warming?

The temperatures are heading back down. It is just hitting 100 degrees mid-day today, and predicted to reach around 113. We already did some errands and I took a few minutes to snap some photos of a place I was curious about. Some cool photos of water around me and a glimpse of badlands, a place for future hikes.

Canal in Badlands
Canal from other view
Badlands Trail
Start of trail, too hot to hike today
Desert land, water, and sky

Weekend Coffee Share is hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer.

Flexuous was the Merriam-Webster word of the day for Wednesday, meaning ‘lithe or fluid in action or movement.’

Weekend Coffee Share#30-Desert Life In July

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Coffee’s ready. Grab a cup and pull up a chair. If we were having coffee I would tell you that I am starting to fall into a weekly routine. Not saying it won’t be disrupted by some random event like the shifting tides of the pandemic. There are more advisories about the need for masks when indoors. I was just getting used to participating in a yoga class without a mask. I continue with the Zoom book group. We discussed a book I really liked this week, so that helped me open up more. The book is ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel. I heard it is being made into an HBO series and I will look forward to that.

The roadrunners have been out and about around here more and more. I spotted 2 siblings (?) crossing the street in the next block. They quickly disappeared into a backyard. There was a large adult outside the clubhouse when I went for a yoga class. It made that rapid clicking sound as it took shelter behind a shrub. One of these days I might have a camera ready to capture a good photo of one again.

It’s still a bit too hot to go for walks. I did go out walking before sunset, 108 degrees, and it was a challenge to make it through one of my routes. There was a hot breeze blowing and I didn’t mind getting sprayed by one of the large sprinklers from the golf course. I wonder if the breeze is like the wind chill factor only it’s the wind heat factor. No roadrunners in sight. They were probably sheltered under a shady bush somewhere.

Madagascar Palm

Weekend Coffee Share is hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer.

Weekend Coffee Share #29-Don’t Zoom In On Me

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Coffee’s ready. Grab a cup and pull up a chair. If we were having coffee I would tell you I have got a head start on you today. I had to be out early and already finished my coffee. Driving down a nearby road I spotted a roadrunner which is always a great way to start my day. I worry about them crossing busy streets though. This week I have spent a lot of time indoors again because of the hot weather. I did manage two yoga classes and took a drive with my husband to Palm Springs. I still like our end of the Coachella Valley better.

We are reading in the newspaper every day here about the rise in COVID infections. So we wear masks at the grocery store again, because we have heard that even fully vaccinated people can be vulnerable when there is an overabundance of virus out there. My book group is still on Zoom.

On that note, I have to tell you that Zoom book discussions are pretty uncomfortable. It really is similar to public speaking. All eyes are on you and on top of it you can see those eyes looking at you on the screen. As an introvert not comfortable with such close scrutiny I find it difficult to speak well. I was talking to a friend who does not like the Zoom experience and doesn’t have her camera on if she is in a Zoom get together. At a couple of Zoom memorials for people who had passed during the pandemic my husband and I had our camera off as well. It is too distracting and an invasion of privacy. My friend and I discussed how it feels intrusive, unless you are Zooming with someone who is close to you. I know many have done Zoom meetings for work and I sympathize with you.

My new Zoom disguise

Well have to zoom off now. Have a great weekend.

Image by National Park Service Death Valley

Weekend Coffee Share is hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer.

Least Favorite Word

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The Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt is ‘least favorite word,’ use the least favorite word in your post.

This is a hard one on the spur of the moment and because I love words. Words go in and out of fashion. Word snobs rub me the wrong way. I am democratic in my acceptance of words unless they are crude and derogatory toward others. That being said I can think of one word I am not fond of. Not so much that it is a ‘least favorite.’ The word has become very popular in recent years. The word is ‘awesome’. I would hear it over and over, like ‘you’re awesome’, or ‘that’s awesome,’ or just plain, ‘Awesome!’, as an exclamation. Even if I see something to which the word would apply, I would not say ‘Awesome!’ Or maybe it’s because people use the word so liberally for so many things that aren’t really awesome.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by Linda G Hill.

Weekend Coffee Share # 28-Rabbit Tales

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Coffee’s up. Sit down and pull up a chair. We have rye toast today for a change. If we were having coffee I would tell you I spent much of my time in the rabbit hole again this week. I mentioned that I am into genealogy research. I strongly matched DNA with several people. I have researched the surnames on their family trees but no link up with anyone on mine as yet.

The weather has been pretty warm so I have been spending more time indoors. I did get out to a pool yoga class this week. I was glad that I tried this new class. It was nice to be outdoors in the community pool.

The Delta variant is taking a stronger hold in California. My husband and I decided we are wearing masks indoors when out in public as an extra precaution. I hope more people will get vaccinated so we can get rid of this virus.

Weekend Coffee Share is hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer. Featured image of rabbit by Wildlife Terry on Flickr.com

Not my family tree but I like it

Hope-ful

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Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today. -Thich Nhat Hahn

Full of hope, not really, but working on it. I usually lean toward optimism. Just tired from the events on the last year plus. The pandemic and all the other problems that we see on the nightly news. But we will get through this. It will just take more time.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday, #SOCS, is hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt for today is ‘hope.’

Image of ‘Hummingbird’ by JLG on Pixabay.com

Weekend Coffee Share #27-Down The Rabbit Hole

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Coffee’s ready. Pull up a chair and grab a cup. If we were having coffee I would tell you this past week contained a loose assortment of things. I finished the latest book for our book group. I would highly recommend ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel. You might think a book about a fictional pandemic would not be appealing in these times, but it really drew me in. After I finished it, I wished there was more.

A real page turner

We’ve been binge watching another series on Netflix, ‘Manifest.’ It mainly keeps me interested because I want to know how it’s going to end. And I started back doing genealogy research. That’s where I really get hooked. I think it is that there is something rewarding about finding records about people on my tree and following the winding path that links us all together.

Some branches

Weekend Coffee Share is hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer

Featured Image is Forest Tower of Camp Adventure in Southern Zealand, Denmark by Stig Nygaard on Flicker.com

Weekend Coffee Share #26-Abundance Of Roadrunners

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Coffee’s ready. Grab a cup and pull up a chair. If we were having coffee I would tell you we coped with the extreme temperatures here in the desert. Now the heat dome has moved northwest. We continue with temperatures in the 100s F. We are doing well with air conditioning, but it makes it harder to fall into a routine with outdoor activities. It can be in the 80s at 6 AM. It gets hotter in the afternoon, so the evenings are still hot too. I do go to an indoor Yoga class. This week I am deciding if I need to wear a mask there again. We heard the announcement by the LA Public Health Department that people, even vaccinated people, should wear masks while in public, especially when indoors. This Delta variant is causing concern and I read the Biden administration is sending out ‘surge teams’ of specialists to assist communities where the virus is spreading rapidly. Our county here has not made any announcements about wearing masks.

I hadn’t seen the roadrunners for a while during the high heat, but just spotted one crossing the road yesterday. And today, so excited to see three of them. One was right near our driveway. I thought it was going to go in our yard, but it must have gone next door. The most wonderful sighting was on the patio outside one of the restaurants in our community. I think people must be feeding that one because he was not as shy as the others, and I was able to get a few closer photos of him. He was just beautiful and my photos did not capture all the colors around his eye, but you can see a blue streak on his tail. It was good to see that the roadrunners are surviving the weather.

This roadrunner had some striking colors. Can you see the blue streak on his tail?

A nice closeup. Can you see there is some color around his eye?
The roadrunner takes a bow

Weekend Coffee Share is hosted by Natalie of Natalie the Explorer.

Ups and Downs

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This is Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by Linda G. Hill. The prompt for today is ‘up/down.’

We’ve had lots of ups and downs here lately. The temperature gage has gone up and down for the past 2 weeks. I now know we can manage survive 120 degree F weather. The water levels in the states reservoirs have decreased due to dearth of rain. But we had some rain here in the desert this past Wednesday which was a welcome change. The grapefruit tree definitely appreciated the extra moisture. I learned about a large reservoir for Southern California that will help provide water for the dry times. But the rivers and streams of the state are so dry that that baby salmon had to be transported to the San Francisco Bay. The temperatures hear are headed up this weekend but will be down again next week.

Lake Oroville on the morning of Memorial Day 2021. In May 2021, water levels of Lake Oroville dropped to 38% of capacity. The boats are dwarved by the exposed banks while California is headed into another drought year. (Frank Schulenburg)

Stream of Consciousness Saturday, #SOCS, is hosted by Linda G Hill. Image of Lake Oroville by Frank Schulenburg via wikimedia.org