Category Archives: Blogging

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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?

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

Weekend Coffee Share #25-Not Quite Into The New Normal

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Coffee’s ready. Grab a cup and pull up a chair. We have cinnamon toast today. If we were having coffee I would tell you it has cooled down some this week, as low as 102 degrees F on Wednesday with some rain showers. We are heading back up into the teens on Saturday. It was good to have some rain and I am pretty sure the citrus trees appreciated it. Some of the leaves on the grapefruit were getting puckered with 120 degrees. I love the smell of the earth after the rain. I went to check the mail box one late afternoon during the high heat and there was a hot wind blowing as well. I thought I was going to burn up right there. I did take an early morning walk this week. I did not see any roadrunners.

We were hopeful for a smooth transition from lock down to post-COVID life. We had a setback just after opening here. We had just had week one of the end of restrictions and I had gone to a couple of yoga classes without a mask, when we received an email from the HOA telling us that a person who tested positive for COVID had been inside both club houses in our community. It made me realize that COVID is still out there and close to home. But I have been telling myself that I have to trust the the vaccine is providing all the protection I need and I have to re-enter society eventually. How long am I going to wait? So I am continuing to take the beginning steps. I went to the grocery store again but I still didn’t feel comfortable getting too close to other customers. I keep reading in the paper that fully vaccinated people are protected even against the new Delta variant, so I will try to remember that.

The book group I recently joined is still meeting on Zoom until the Fall. Meeting on Zoom feels like being on camera, which it is, and a bit outside my comfort zone. I didn’t realize it would have this effect on me. It feels a bit like public speaking when we discuss the books and it is awkward for me. I have to get accustomed to it. It’s easier for me to express myself in writing.

Speaking of books, I am reading ‘While Justice Sleeps’ by Stacey Abrams. It takes place in current times and it is an engaging suspense thriller involving a Supreme Court Justice and the government intrigue he and his clerk are swept up in. Stacey is an articulate speaker and talented writer as well.

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

Hold On To Your Sun Hats

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This is Stream of Consciousness Saturday and the prompt words are, ‘hat, het, hit, hot, and hut.’

We are in the middle of a heat wave here in Southern California. The temperatures are into the triple digits. Here in the Coachella Valley the temps are in the teens heading up to 20s, so our huts better be air conditioned and it is good to wear a hat outside. The current heat wave is the result of a meteorological phenomenon called a ‘heat dome.’ That sounds like something out of science fiction. The aliens construct a heat dome over the land to roast the inhabitants into submission. You might say it’s nothing to get het up about. We are having ‘flex alerts’ to prevent rolling blackouts. It’s supposed to start cooling down by mid-week and only hit 108. That’s not so hot.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday, #SOCS, is hosted by Linda G Hill.

Weekend Coffee Share #24-Odds and Ends

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Coffee’s up. Today it’s Peets French Roast. Grab a cup and pull up a chair. If we were having coffee I would tell you we are in the middle of a heat wave here. It is already 100 degrees F at 8:30 AM. I did do a couple of early morning walks this week, but I would have to get up really early to get out when it was cool today. And I did not wake up early because my husband and I were binge watching ‘Mere of Easttown’ last night until midnight.

Have you ever tried cleaning a barbeque, grills and other parts, after the grease has baked on. I bought this non-toxic spray foam that is supposed to remove it all, but it takes a lot of scrubbing and the addition of Brillo pads. And all the baked on stuff didn’t come off. I researched grill cleaning tips online and one suggestion was to put the grills in the bathtub to soak. I can tell you that is not going to happen. I bought another brand of non-toxic grill cleaner and I will let you know how it works.

We re-opened in California this past Tuesday. I took my first Yoga class without a mask on Tuesday morning. It was the first time I saw the instructor’s whole face. The class was not crowded and I felt comfortable. When I walked into a local market on Wednesday morning it looked like the staff and customers were all wearing masks. I thought I had missed some information about the mask wearing rules. I almost went back to my car to grab a mask and then decided I would just pick up one item I needed and make a quick exit. When I got to the check out I asked the cashier about it and she told me if I was vaccinated I did not have to wear a mask but the staff were still wearing masks. The same thing happened at the bank. There was still a sign outside the bank that said face coverings and social distancing were required. So this time I went back to the car and grabbed a mask. When I asked the teller about it she said the employees were continuing to wear masks but I did not have to. Seems like not everyone is ready to go without a mask yet and I don’t blame them. Customers are not required to show proof of vaccination.

I was thinking about how the roadrunners were doing in this heat. I read that they are very adapted to the desert and take shelter when it’s really hot. I only saw one this week on one of my early morning walks.