Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Fabulous

Saw this at a bus stop on my way home from meeting S. for coffee.  Actually, a mocha, and the best damned mocha to be had in this town.  At my favorite spot, the Naked Lounge.  When I put my 'date' with S. on my calendar it reads, "S. Naked. 11 a.m."   Hmmm...what would people think?

Actually one of my sisters was hoping it was a prospective boyfriend, but no, S. is gay, married, happily so.  And I haven't swung that way in 23 years.  I guess the family is hoping for me to hook up with someone.  They don't care which gender, they just want me to find someone wealthy.  Me, I want someone HEALTHY.  That's a lot better than money, honey.  That's about as fabulous as it gets.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Ugh. In addition to the 107 degree temps, we now have lots of smoke in mid-town Sacramento.  There are many fires burning around us.

The fire is burning on both sides of Hwy 20. Firefighters made progress throughout the night putting in containment lines. There are still homes threatened in the Long Valley and Spring Valley area. Additional firefighters will be arriving this morning from throughout the state. Hwy 20 is closed between Hwy. 16 and Hwy. 53. Check with CHP or Caltrans for the latest road closures. 

Incident Base Camp now located at Lakeport Fairgrounds.

Updates: 

  8-12 2200hrs: 5,000+ Acres 25 % Contained   8-13 0600hrs: Multiple Strike Teams ordered and responding this morning.   8-13 1230hrs: Air attack just requested 3 additional type 3 air tankers, and also just ordered a VLAT - Very Large Air Tanker most likely the DC-10 (Cancelled no visibility)

 8-13 1300hrs: New Fire: Lakeport incident - Lake County #Wildfire 1 acre running up hill towards structures. Resources very limited. 

 8-13 1300hrs: Slopover on Highway 20 is priority now.

 8-13 13:25hrs: VLAT just landed at MCC and is being reloaded then will be heading for the Wye Incident. No ETA. Date/Time Started: August 12, 2012 3:52 pm
Administrative Unit: CAL FIRE Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit
County: Lake County
Location: Highway 20 and Highway 53 Intersection, east of Clearlake Oaks
Acres Burned: 3,000 acres
Containment 3,000 acres - 25% contained
Structures Destroyed: 3
Threatened: 480 homes in Long Valley & Spring Valley area.
Evacuations: Mandatory evacuations in place for Long Valley & Spring Valley area.
Injuries: 1 civilian
Cause: under investigation
Total Fire Personnel: 324
Engines: 45
Fire crews: 7
Airtankers: 4 

 

Between the heat and all the dry vegetation, I think fire season is going to be a long and dangerous one.  When GF and I were driving back from Bolinas on Saturday, there was a fire in the median strip of the freeway.  Probably due to some idiot throwing out a cigarette.  Who throws a cigarette out of their car in California?  A colossal idiot, that's who. 

 

The folks have escaped to Monterey and are enjoying fog and cool temps, as well as the fabulous Monterey Bay Aquarium.  "Prepare to be amazed." That's the slogan.  And it's true.

 

Meanwhile, I'm holding down the fort, closed up tight against the smokey air.  Air conditioning set to 73 degrees.  Nothing to do for it but laundry, movies, and reading.

Old Friends New Friends

Make new friends

But keep the old

One is silver and 

the other gold.

This is a song we used to sing in Girl Scouts when I was but a wee Brownie.  How true it still is.  Today I met new friends, friends that I only know through Facebook.  And joining us were old friends that I've know since 1996 and are true and dear -- you know, GOLD.

We had a great time, touring the State Capitol building, eating lunch at an Ethiopian restaurant, hanging out at my house, and topping it all off with some primo ice cream at Gunthers.  And posting all the while on Facebook to the delight of many.  Sacramento is a great place to entertain out-of-towners.  Even in this heat (100 today) there are places to go. Just not outside.  The river would have been nice, but then we would have had to walk around OUTSIDE.

I've met several blogger friends and Facebook friends and have been delighted each time.  It's a kick to press the flesh with heretofore cyber friends.  Our friends from Dallas were wonderful -- fun and easy and great to play with.

So, know that you have an open invitation to come play in Sacramento if you are in the area.  We always manage to have a great time!

River Walk

Last night, after a great dinner at Michelangelo's, L. and I took a stroll along West Sacramento's River Walk.  Great evening to be out, with a breeze coming off the river, the sun low and glowing on the bridges and buildings.  Couples and families out, and of course a contingent of indigents, complete with an in-tact pit bull off his leash.  But I digress.

L. made this a mystery date; she said "bring your camera."  It was fun.  Had no idea where we were going, and this was the perfect spot.  Just look at that skyline.  She knew I'd have a blast taking in the sights and trying for some good shots of it all.

Looking back to the West Sac side, took pictures of the Ziggurat buidling, which I am sure has been photographed many many times over the years.  You can easily spy it driving west into the area.  That, and Tower Bridge, which was looking lovely yesterday in the warm evening glow of the sun.

This would also be a good walk with mom in her wheelchair, and we are actively looking for paved and accessible places to do just that.  Last weekend we went to the UCD Arboretum, which has paved trails perfect for our needs.  L. and I had gone there on a previous date, so I knew it would be a good place for mom.

Poor maligned Sacramento, it really does have some great things going for it.  I think we hit 3 of them last night:  Great Food.  Great Walk.  And then, for the 'cherry on top' we had ice cream at the venerable Gunther's, which is celebrating its 72nd year! 

Still a relative newbie to this city, I do get a fair amount of excitement from exploring it and eating at new restaurants.  I have out of town friends coming in the new future, and I can't wait to show them the Sacramento that I have become very fond of.  And of course introduce them to the woman I have become very fond of as well.  Goes without saying.

Life is good, brothers and sisters.

Impurity, Sin, and Damnation

I have been to hell, and it is called Joe's Crab Shack, in Old Town Sacramento.  Having agreed to meet some friends for a late lunch, I tooled on over to the river-front eatery only to encounter Old Town Gridlock.  Cars, horses, buggies, pedestrians -- all taking their sweet time getting anywhere.  Parking garage: full.  Street parking: non-existent.  I'll spare you the details because I can't bear to relive them in my mind, but I finally found parking and got to the restaurant.

This restaurant had an uncanny resemblance to Dante's Inferno.  Jam packed with human-kind (and that's being generous) and ear-splitting loud music, I should have listened to my instincts and high-tailed it out of there.  But NO.... I was sucked into its vortex by my wish to honor my friends' invitation to lunch.

The food was bad, the wait staff was obnoxious.  I couldn't imagine why my friends picked this place, but hey, in for a penny, in for a pound.  I munched as much as I could bear, as my friends tore through their crab and lobster pots.  I should've just ordered clam chowder.  Perhaps then I would have been content -- maybe.  I couldn't hear 75% of what my friends were saying because the whole damn place was like being inside a jet engine on full blast.  (Sounds delightful, yes?)

Lunch was followed by a stroll through tourist-land and the most jaw-dropping curio shops imaginable.  The deep-fried calamari and crab-cheese-jalapeno poppers were making their merry way through my guts and I found myself chanting the mantra "why, oh why?"again and again.  As soon as I could politely extricate myself, I did.  Home for a lie-down and much needed recovery after 3 hours in crazy town.

Needless to say, not my idea of a delightful Sunday lunch with friends.  My friend Lori says I should've asked her - she could've told me.  I should've.  Urban Spoon rates the top 100 restaurants in Sacramento.  Try as I might, I cannot find the list of Worst 100 Restaurants in Sacramento.  And I'm not about to start the research to begin that list, either.  No, the memory of this day will haunt me long enough.

Fini

I'm moving in today!  It's been 10 months in the making, and I'm extremely excited.  The move will actually take place in 3 stages -- my apartment today, the parents on Monday, and all the furniture and items that have been in storage from San Diego on Wednesday.  It'll be a busy week.  With, hopefully, a massage to follow....  I'm pretty good about leaving the heavy lifting to the professionals, but it's all the minor lifting and the the constant walking back and forth that get me.  My upper back is already barking at me from the small amount I did yesterday, just framed paintings, some pottery and odds and ends not in boxes.

It has begun!

Wordless Wednesday

Sacramento Delta, November 2011

"I Don't Want to Sound Like a Racist, But...."

Walking through Capitol Park the other day and I fell in step with an older gentleman who I had met before.  He's got his bench in the park where he loves to sit and pass the time.  He was proud to tell me he'll be 80 in November.  He's a talkative fellow, with a distinct British accent, and he has shared great stories with me.  As it turns out, he was on his way to Chavez Park to check out the status of Occupy Sacramento.  "Ah," I thought, "a fellow traveler.  A comrade.  Right on."

He shared that he feared our country was headed for civil war.  We commiserated about the concentration of wealth and the inequality in the U.S. We were nearing the traffic light on L street when he said, "I don't want to sound like a racist, but this is not the first time the Jews have done this."

Schreeeeeeeeechhhhhhh.

I was on my way to a film festival--I had somewhere to be.  His comment hit me upside the proverbial head.  I was, literally, speechless.  Gobsmacked, as the Brits love to say.

I still am.

More Life in The City

 Remember how excited I was when I first moved to mid-town Sac?  Well, the fun continues and this weekend it was a three-day fund-raiser for arts programs in city schools.  You could 'purchase' a square of sidewalk and have at it with chalk!   I've been going around the park for 3 days now watching the progress and listening to some good live music.  It was a blast.  And the Italian ices weren't bad, either.  Oh, and the $2 tacos with cilantro piled high.

This all happened in the park across the street.  Once again, the best in urban life.

Ah, The Torch Club.  I heart the TC.

Life in the City

So far, so good in the city, folks. We watched, with great excitement, the Amgen bike tour race through our neighborhood. Then I followed them down to the finish line at the state capitol.

Plenty of excitement, hoopla, things to see and do. Restaurants galore. I like stepping out my front door and walking through the neighborhoods. A mix of commercial and residential. Old old Victorian homes next to 1960s block apartments. And always the vegetation -- abundant trees, flowers, and the ROSES. Everywhere.

Musing on the Mews

Moving In

I was driving around my new home city today with my GPS on, but getting lost anyway, and though the panic of getting lost crept in somewhat, I was also focused on the new landscapes:  rivers and wetlands, a cloud studded sky,  the skyscrapers rising from the flats. It was a blissful experience to enjoy the ride.


It's great to be back in Northern California.  I can hear the Sierra calling.  I can smell the Tahoe National Forest.  I dream of wine-mellowed days in dry volcanic foothills.


We are not yet settled...we are in a hotel.  Movers are driving north, arriving Monday. The move in all it's phases has begun, and I went by the mid-town apartment today for my first look.  Small, but doable.  The lease agreement is thicker than the mortgage papers I signed years ago.  I kid you not.  They have an iron-clad agreement that I will hold them harmless in any and all circumstances. 


The place is next to a lovely community garden.  Across from a park which hosts a Tuesday Farmer's Market.  A 2- minute walk to Hot Italian, which I hear has great pizza.  Coffee houses galore.  Such a new experience for me to live in an urban setting: I wonder, will it wear thin?  Will the noise and the constant movement get to me?  Or will I find it endlessly stimulating and convenient? 


Who wants to start a betting pool?