Good reading weather

 

 

On this day in 1961, a young chimpanzee named "Ham" was rocketed into space. Strapped to a couch, he performed his tasks correctly for 16 minutes, but then it took hours to recover his capsule from the water. 

When he was finally released, his face had an enormous grin, which people naturally interpreted as a happy smile. Now we know that particular chimp expression is one of extreme fear and anxiety. 

I like T.C.Boyle's books and read them as soon as they come out. His latest (above) is based on complex relationships between animals and humans, and revolves about a team of academics who raise a chimpanzee like a human baby and teach him ASL. This takes place in the 1970's, when the idea of chimps and gorillas communicating with sign language was considered preposterous.

Among other interesting things, the experiment results in a cringe worthy inter-species love triangle. Not so far-fetched, considering we share almost 99% of DNA with chimps, our closest evolutionary relatives. 

"Sam" is a fully developed character, and Boyle shifts the point of view between the human and animal. Makes for some tricky writing but he pulls it off.  Boyle's novels are usually based on actual historical events. Engrossing, but they can be dark stuff. 

Also on the nightstand, John Irving's new 800 page novel, "The Last Chairlift." Now 80, he claims this will be his last "big" novel. Some of the cattier reviews suggest that's probably a good thing. 

Starting in the 1970's, I've read every one of his books, some more than once. I even made it though the giant slog called "Son of the Circus," which took place in India.  Hopefully "Chairlift" with its Aspen ski setting is more engrossing. If the weight of it doesn't crush me in bed, I'll be working on that one all summer!

Flurries in the forecast today, then we warm up to plain old rain for the weekend.

The land of moss

 

It's only 24 degrees this morning and January wraps up with the coldest temperatures of the month. But the sun was out this weekend and that was cheerful, if you like looking through dirty windows at a mossy yard! Not exactly a private courtyard with fountains and citrus trees. All good things come to an end.

But spring is well on the way in Seattle. The days are longer, although the mornings still very dark compared to the California desert, where the sun comes up almost an hour earlier. 

Anyway, here we are, safely home after coming in contact with countless germs. Hopefully, we luck out on Covid once again. I thought I was coming down with something last night, but it was probably just fatigue and the stupefying day of television football. That final game a real bummer for our family in Ohio, watching such a lousy end for their Bengals. Next year...

That's about all the news that's fit to print. 

Moorton Botanical Garden

 

Bye Palm Springs...the big times come to an end.

Desert snapshots

 

Some magical views of the Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve. We stopped there for a short walk on the way back from our hike at Big Morongo Canyon Preserve.

 

Along with abundant wildlife, the Morongo Preserve has some of the oldest exposed rocks in California, these dating back 3 billion years. Which puts things into perspective.

Last full day in the desert. Tomorrow we head north to Seattle.

Food, drink, walks

We have an orange and a grapefruit tree just a few steps from the room. The hotel provides a picker pole so the guests can help themselves. Ho-hum stuff for the California folks, who probably don't even notice. But for us, pretty special. John gets grapefruits each morning that make the most delicious juice. As usual, we're the first people up.

There's a small kitchen which is nice for breakfast. One night I made salad and some barbecue ribs on the big grill by the pool so we didn't have to go out. There's an almost overwhelming number of (expensive) restaurants nearby, so a daily dilemma of what and where to eat. 

But in downtown Palm Springs, no fast food outlets, not even a small grocery store to pick up a simple take-out meal. I'm sure this is no accident. It gets very dark in the desert (streetlights only on the main drags) and the sidewalks are uneven, so I don't want to walk far at night, especially after a big dinner and glass or two of wine.

We ate at Lulu's California Bistro last night, a few blocks away. Good food and the nicest service. It's been years since I had a real restaurant burger.  This one mushroom and Swiss cheese and worth every calorie. Pay the piper later. This is vacation.

After the hurricane winds yesterday, it was a lovely, still day at Desert Hot Springs. We had tacos for lunch at the Windmill Market and bought dates. It's a unassuming place along the highway and you would never think to stop, but those in the know go for the best date shakes in the valley and friendly service. 

Entirely different place, but reminds us of our Lone Pine Fruit and Espresso stops. It's just nice to patronize a place that isn't part of a corporate chain.

Today a walk at Big Morongo Canyon Preserve. It might get up to 70 in Palm Springs, which is warm for January. Lucky us.

Desert wind

 

Beautiful waxing crescent moon as we were walking back from downtown last night. We shared a pizza at an outdoor table with a heater going over our heads. 

Yesterday wasn't great for outside activities and some places were closed because of the wind and blowing dust. The weather has settled down again, and today and tomorrow look like the nicest of the year so far, perhaps reaching 70 degrees. We've been lucky with the winter desert weather, which can be very changeable.

Our small hotel is enclosed with thick walls and vegetation, making a peaceful haven even on the windiest days.

I think most of the villas are occupied, but the guests are even quieter than usual. This place does not really attract the party crowd. And we're just at the start of the tourist high season.

The noisiest thing on the premises is the lion fountain on the walkway outside our room. I call him Mr. Bubblemouth because we hear him talking all day. At night, he goes to sleep.

Today we're taking a drive up to Cabot's Pueblo Museum in Desert Hot Springs with a stop at the Windmill Market for dates. Tomorrow we hope to get in a hike.

Salton Sea

 

Words that come to mind when you think of the Salton Sea area include polluted, desolate, smelly, and impoverished. The body of water was created by accident in 1905, when floodwater breached a Colorado River irrigation channel and filled the "Salton Sink" basin in the Imperial Valley. 

Without any natural inlet, the lake basically started to shrink as soon as it was created. But in the 1950's and 60's, it became a water sports playground destination for southern California, including the rich and famous. Ruins of old resorts still dot the shoreline.

Needless to say, with its depressing beaches of stinky dead fish and crunchy white bones, people avoid it. The water is saltier than the ocean and heavily polluted with agricultural run-off. 

However, the east shore is home to a large state park and interesting visitors center. Everything clean, nice and empty. We saw just one camper in the hundreds of spaces. People come here to take in the bizarre atmosphere, stargaze and enjoy the solitude. Not to mention, this is a birder's paradise with over 400 species. That's half the species in north America.

Yes, those are thousands of partially buried tires.

How on earth? Anyway, so many things about the Salton Sea boggle the mind.

But we had the beach to ourselves on a beautiful morning. I loved seeing all those birds and was glad we made the hour drive from Palm Springs.

Other than that, just settled into our regular Palm Springs routine. There is something comforting about coming back and doing the same old enjoyable things. The adventure travel days are behind us. Salton Sea was enough excitement for one day.

 

The weather is desert perfection for January, with sunny skies and high temperatures in the 60's. 

 

 

Evenings are cold, but we have a gas fire pit in the courtyard to warm our old feet with a glass of wine. There's also a private outdoor bathtub. The swimming pool is on the chilly side, my only complaint. The lap of luxury for a few days.

 

And of course, plenty of this going on. Chicken fajitas.

Late start

 

Running late this morning-- I'm practicing vacation mode. 

I leave you with a cute picture of two "Ozians." That's Nova and a friend in dress rehearsal for the community theater production of the "Wizard of Oz." Performed later this spring at the Twisp Community Center auditorium, this will be a true family affair as Tom, Maya and Nova all have parts. 

Have a good weekend. Hope your favorite team wins.

My, oh my

Carne asada for dinner last night and it was as good as it looks. Sometimes things come together in the kitchen more or less by accident. I bought a sale package of weird thin cut sirloin, and brushed it with olive oil mixed with a bit of fajita seasoning from the packet. A little of that stuff goes a long way. 

It only took about 4 minutes to flash fry in the cast iron skillet. Homemade pinto beans from the freezer, peppers and onions and tortillas made feast for a working night. Everyone was happy.

I'm getting a routine going on my Cafe shift, although I still make the occasional mistake like cutting the bread too thick. (Hey, I'm a generous person!) It takes a solid hour of work to set up in the morning, baking cookies, etc. but it's peaceful with just a few people drifting in for coffee. Then the lunch "rush" starts about 11 when the other volunteer shows up for her shift. By then I've been on my feet for 3 hours and ready to go home.

It isn't especially intellectual work, but social and satisfying doing something different. Personally, I think the menu is pretty ambitious (complicated composed salads, etc.) for the senior clientele, who lean heavily toward the egg salad on soft bread and cup of soup special. Old teeth, you know.

Anyway, I switched my schedule at the Cafe so I can go to the Thursday afternoon ukulele jam again. They still meet outdoors, but the weather is slowly improving and they found a great location in the covered courtyard of a local coffee house called C and P Coffee.   A wonderful place, totally Seattle and about as different from Starbucks as you can get. This is big improvement over the boat launch park at windy, cold Alki Beach.

Countdown to vacation is on, and today I need to get caught up with a week's worth of laundry.

Wordless Wednesday

 

About time

 

A unique amaryllis flower, worth the long wait. It was supposed to bloom by Christmas. I potted two big fat bulbs in November, but the other one has barely stuck its head up. Maybe Easter. They say to put them in a "warm, sunny window." Good luck finding that in Seattle this time of year.

Speaking of time, January 17th is "Ditch New Years Resolution Day." That is, if you made some in the first place. With goading from my new Apple watch, I've upped my exercise routine, kudos to me. The other resolutions are hardly worth mentioning, because I make the same ones every year. A long-standing favorite: Be less judgemental.

Happy to say things are starting to dry out in California, just in time for our trip to Palm Springs. By next week, temperatures in the 60's and the sun shining on a freshly-washed desert. 

The "unlucky" grid

 

West Seattle

On Friday the 13th, the power went off on just as I was starting dinner. We were home from the Symphony and settling in for the night. No wind, no storm, no nothing. We've lost power at our house more times in the last 2 years than in the previous 40 years. 

This time, apparently a tree fell on lines far south of us. Who knows, maybe the grid is stressed from the new housing density. Electric and Internet lines are strung off old wooden poles in West Seattle, both unsightly and vulnerable.

Anyway, this particular grid, which includes a long stretch of Alki Beach, is only a block wide in places. So if you live along one of the unlucky perimeters, you can see the cheerful lights glowing in the house right across the way. Misery loves company, and before long you resent your neighbors for nothing more than their good luck. This has happened several times. 

Then just as I was getting into pioneer life (almost total silence and dinner by candlelight) the alarm squawked and everything jumped back to life. Fortunately, a shorter outage this time around.

What else is new? Rain every day in the forecast this week. No news there. We're looking forward to an upcoming trip to southern California. It should be dried out by then and beautiful in the desert.

Not much to do this weekend except watch football. I had a gigantic bunch of bananas from Costco and made a cake, also some candied walnuts.

The walnuts are boiled first, then coated in a light sugar honey syrup, finally baked. An interesting and tricky recipe. There's about 30 seconds between mahogany perfection and a burnt mess of expensive nuts. They're are not as sweet as they look, and addictive. Also good in stir fry if you haven't eaten them all first.

Happy holiday Monday!

Friday the 13th

 

Are you triskaidekaphobic? From the ancient Greek, the word means fear of the number 13. Humans are a superstitious bunch, and builders omit "unlucky" 13th floors in buildings, hotel rooms and ship cabins. 

We're almost on the downward slope of January. We should never wish our days away, but YEA! February is deep winter in most parts of the country, but here in western Washington it's our transition month, with noticeably more daylight and bulbs popping up.

In a few weeks, the early bloomers like camellias brighten up the streets and carpet the sidewalk as the flowers drop off in the rain. It seems like the other day when Nova and Maya were babies and entranced with all that color on the ground. Compared to the Methow Valley, Seattle looks like the garden of Eden in February.

No surprise, another rainy day with endless moisture streaming up from California. The yard feels like walking around on a sopping wet sponge. We're going downtown for a mid-day Symphony concert with the senior crowd. A nice program of Hayden, Mozart and Beethoven. 

Have a good weekend.

Heigh-ho

 

 

On a Ho-hum rainy Thursday. 

Our turn

 

What a nice day yesterday. Not a cloud in the sky and warm enough for just a light jacket. I got in over an hour of peaceful yard work with just the birds for company. 

My brother Dave also drove up from Enumclaw in the morning. We hadn't been together since Thanksgiving in Twisp, so exchanged gifts (Cougar Gold cheese and French champagne, thanks!) We had a relaxed lunch (white chili, cabbage salad and sweet cornbread) followed by a taste of genuine English "figgy pudding." 

John bought it at Husky Deli in December. Very dense stuff that tasted somewhat like the filling in Fig Newtons, but better. It must have been the rum. The British have been making Christmas puddings for a long time.

So now it's our turn at the fire hose with the warm atmospheric river pointed north tomorrow. They are talking about inches of rain in the lowlands over the next two days, with heavy snow followed by melting in the mountains. 

Even the Methow Valley, the favored cold spot of the state, will get rain over the next few days. I can only imagine the sloppy mess with snow coming off the roofs and the mountains of snow around town melting. Speaking of roofs, so far so good. John says this is called "proof testing." An engineering term meaning see if it breaks. 

A brief lull

 

Just a pause in the atmospheric river parade, but we're looking forward to a couple of dry days. And a tease of spring weather, getting into the 50's this afternoon. It was a teeny-tiny bit lighter when our outdoor timer went on at 4 pm yesterday. I hope to get some soggy yard work in before the next storm on Thursday.

On Monday I went to The Ukes, for the first time in several weeks. The group seems to be forming again, that's the good news, but with just a few of the old members returning. For some reason, the new men cluster together on one side of the room, talking and showing off their little riffs, which reminds me of grade school boys. Someone walked by and asked if we were a "segregated" group. Very funny.

Rain, rain, go away

 

I'm starting to go slightly nuts with no outdoor exercise for several days. For a fresh air freak, nothing is worse than being cooped up inside. Yes, yes. Just buy some decent rain gear.  It's Seattle in January. Or move to Arizona and complain about something else.

Fortunately, the main atmospheric river is aimed south, so we're getting off easy (this time around) compared to California. Talk about feast or famine. Their reservoirs are filling up again but what destruction and chaos down there.

Over in the Methow Valley, heavy wet snow brought down trees and power lines this weekend. Our homes are OK, although a giant tree came down across the street from Amanda and Tom and they lost Internet and phone service. Amanda sent this picture and said, "Mom, you would not like Twisp right now." No argument there.

 

How about that, the Seahawks "exceeded all expectations" this season. We heard the last few minutes of overtime on the radio as we drove by the stadium coming home from the concert yesterday. Great timing, with hardly any traffic. I went to bed with my book while John watched the Sunday night game that handed them a lucky wildcard spot in the playoffs. So that brightens up a gloomy January in Seattle.

Cafe life

 

Margie's Cafe, West Seattle Senior Center

John dropped me off yesterday for my first solo morning shift. I expected the worst, but instead, the Cafe was tidy and the big kitchen ready for the day. No need to call in Gordon Ramsey after all. Sometimes, I jump to conclusions much too fast. The chaos on Tuesday was just the result of the long holiday closure.

Anyway, there was plenty of time to get the coffee station going and some cookies baked before the first bleary-eyed people wandered in. Working those first early hours was actually kind of peaceful with Chef in the kitchen prepping lunch and making soup of the day. 

Soon I'll get to know the regular Thursday customers (seniors are creatures of habit) who come for the same activities and sometimes treat themselves to lunch. I'm looking forward to it. Other than one lady complaining about celery in the tuna salad, everyone was polite and nice.

We're back to typical Seattle January weather again. Meaning rain. There's a concert on Sunday afternoon to look forward to (Mozart Piano Concerto #23 and a Shostakovich Symphony.) That's a light and short program after Handel's Messiah marathon.

Have a good weekend. 

 

National Bird Day

 

What is the most beautiful bird in the world? The Chinese Golden Pheasant is always on the top ten lists. Hard to argue that.

There are several "bird day" holidays scattered through the year, but today was created to call attention to the plight of captive birds. Including the lowly domestic chicken, which we take for granted. Until we don't.

Not a single egg carton on the shelves at Safeway yesterday. They were telling customers perhaps a shipment "later in the week." This due to the avian flu which has decimated the flocks and driven up prices. Almost 60 million birds have been affected. 

Amanda is concerned about their backyard pet hens. So far they've been lucky, but in the winter the wild birds flock to the chicken feed, which is how the disease spreads.

An old photo of me and my sister in about 1953, with some avian friends on the farm.