News from gloomy land

 

Our colds are progressing through the typical, boring stages of misery. I don't feel as sick, other than sudden violent coughing. (The sounds in this house are not pretty.) John is a couple days behind me in symptoms, since I gave it to him. Nice.

It's been raining almost constantly this week. The sun came out today, and the bright light seems intrusive. No worries, more storms move in tonight.

I found a quarter inch of water on the front floor of my car this morning, for second time after overnight rain. All the AC vents were bone dry, so the culprit is likely a damaged/leaky door seal. The new seal costs about $100, although the Toyota dealer probably charges 10 times that to install it. Appointment next week--stay tuned. 

I've been grateful the well-stocked freezer, even though we don't have much appetite. After all the mushy soups and casseroles, I'm making fried steak and baked potatoes tonight. Maybe red meat will build up our strength. And some popcorn and football. Have a good weekend.

Feeling low, laying low

 

We made vegetable beef soup yesterday with some leftover pot roast. That was about it, other than a quick trip out for cold medicine. I've been mostly horizontal since Monday. And now John has come down with this same nasty thing. We are seldom sick, so a miserable experience. Travel has a way of catching up with you.

We are avoiding the political clown show as much as possible and just watching a little diversion TV, until I fall asleep at 7:30. We saw "Martha" on Netflix, the new documentary. 

Oh, Martha. She was displeased with how she was portrayed as an "old lady" in the the production, and made her feelings clear afterwards. A formidable, tireless person, and the documentary was kind of fun to watch. Not one to hold back, she had some real choice words for James B. Comey and former boyfriend Charles Simonyi. And opinions on every subject.

 

Waiting for eggs

 

Red Sex Links are usually the most friendly in the chicken world. Amanda says that's true with hers-- the hens are never skittish, they come running and follow you around like pets when you go in the coup. Gentle Nica looks worried. What a funny dog. This is one who goes berserk at the sight of a deer or wild turkey and the chase is on.

The hens are plump and healthy after 6 months of eating table scraps and expensive chicken feed. Where are the eggs? An increase in day length is a key driver, so Amanda put a light in their house, also some fake eggs in the nest boxes. If all 12 start laying at once, that will be a very good problem.

I came home from California with a bad cold (what a surprise) and spent yesterday laying around the house. It is good weather for hunkering down.

Mood indigo

 

 

With all this jet-setting around, we fell behind on the fall outdoor chores. Yesterday was the last dry day in a long time, so we had a window to get stuff done. 

John cleaned the gutters; I tided up the messy front porch and threw out the dead mum-- the pumpkins can stay until after Thanksgiving. Then my least favorite seasonal job, putting lights on the arbor, which goes a long way in brightening up the dark time. 

As for the garden, I'm taking a laissez-faire approach to cleaning out the beds-- I usually have everything cut back to the ground by now. This is better anyway for the wintering birds and the insects. Not to mention, more interesting to look at. When the trees and shrubs drop their leaves, I'll mulch the beds and skip the compost delivery this year.  

Today is Veteran's Day:

“A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.”

Bob Dylan

 

 

Last but not least

 

 

The traditional picture-- John bids goodbye to his old friend at the airport.

Give me the simple life

 

Believe it or not, that mess is a gussied up fish taco plate from the upscale Palm Springs restaurant Clandestino. Calling it a Mexican restaurant is a bit of an understatement. We also had cheese-stuffed fried squash blossoms, which disappeared before I could take a picture.

All good things come to an end, and a person (at least this person) can't eat like that every day. 

But the good life goes on in southern California, and we often notice how much happier people are, especially those working in stores and restaurants. At least compared to Seattle, where the food service workers radiate depression over their jobs and life in general. It must be the climate.

The Palm Springs Art Museum has free admission on Thursday evenings during Village Fest, so we waddled over after dinner.

They had a wonderful special exhibit called "Particles and Waves." From 1945-1990, Los Angeles was the center of advanced scientific research, and artists (many of them born at the turn of the last century) produced these amazing abstract art works using the new materials, processes and machines-- such as the first "computer art."

So we had an enjoyable last evening in Palm Springs...

One more desert sunrise, then was time to head to the airport for an easy flight home. At least, everything seems easy compared to our recent Delta experience. It was a smooth flight up the coast, with all the familiar Northwest volcano mountains "out."

But not for long-- now it's going to rain into the foreseeable future. We're happy to get back to normal routines of eating and exercise-- time to hunker down and let the Northwest winter (and everything else) run its course. 

A seismic shift

 

The three hour "San Andreas Fault Movers and Shakers Jeep Tour" begins in the open desert outside of Indio, about a 45 minute drive from Palm Springs. There were 6 of us on the jeep, and we really didn't know what to expect.

The tour takes place on 850 acres of private land, and winds through the fantastical landscape with plenty of educational stops and short hikes into the slot canyons. Truly a geology paradise.

 

We had a good time...and nothing like geology to put current events into perspective.

And our tour guide Bonnie was excellent.

The final stop at a palm oasis and a recreated Cahuilla village. 

Other than that, we've just been doing our usual Palm Springs things. We have a quiet room at a small inn, with a view of the mountains. We've been spoiled by the hot mineral water, and the pool here feels too chilly for swimming. But it's a nice place to sit and soak in the winter sun and breath the clean air. No smoking.

Even in southern California, the sun sets early these days.

We made a pilgrimage to the Desert Memorial Park, where Frank Sinatra's grave recently made a mysterious change. (Click the link.)  Hummm.

 

Frank rests in good company with other local celebrities.

The cemetery was still decorated with flowers from Day of the Dead celebrations-- a poignant sight.

 

And last but not least, a must stop at the Moorten Botanical Garden. Village Fest tonight, then we head back to the land of rain and clouds in the morning.

The mixed bag

 

Palm Springs is pretty much a known commodity, but we never know what to expect when we come to Desert Hot Springs. Suffice to say, there are usually surprises. 

The weather has been sunny and warm, but unpleasantly windy for the past 24 hours. On the bright side, we have the nicest, biggest room at the Lido Palms--a quiet corner unit with a view of the San Jacinto Mountains (and a vacant lot) from the kitchen window. Desert Hot Springs is NOT a fancy spa town, like it sounds.

We're sharing the motel with a large group of elderly Armenians who arrived by van from Los Angeles. They all speak (very loud) Russian. Apparently, this same group comes several times a month, so you can hardly blame the owners for welcoming their business. Not so great if you just happen to be here for a quiet visit. 

Ack! They set up a smoking area in the courtyard adjacent to the indoor hot tub. Who smokes at a mineral water spa in the clean desert air? (Now you know.)

I pointed to the sign and complained, but the tough old lady just gave me the evil eye. I know what fights to pick. 

Fortunately they are late risers, so John and I had a beautiful solo swim in the pool this morning, watching the sun come up. As we shall do tomorrow, our last day here.

After our New York trip on Delta Airlines, I kept expecting something to go wrong but everything was perfect yesterday. Not a single apology from a single Alaska employee. How refreshing. We had the rental car in 5 minutes flat, and decided to have a quiet lunch in downtown Palm Springs. There was a huge pride festival and parade going on, so no parking places available for many blocks.

We gave up and had lunch in Desert Hot Springs instead. I had authentic pozole soup for the first time.

 

We eat lots of Mexican food down here, and it's almost always good. Today we went to the Windmill Market for a date shake and lunch on their patio--John had a single taco. I had a whole delicious pastrami sandwich and ashamed to take a picture of it.  

Headed down to Palm Springs tomorrow.

Blue skies, smiling at me

 

The Palm Springs weather forecast looks great next week. Yea! On our last few trips, we've had "unseasonable" weather. We're spending two nights in Desert Hot Springs, then three nights in Palm Springs. 

We've done this trip many times and don't seem to get tired of doing the same things. The big attraction in DHS (other than Cabot's Pueblo Museum) is some of the best hot mineral water in the world. 

In Palm Springs, we'll be at a quiet old inn where we stayed once before. It had pretty rooms and a warm pool; hopefully it still does. Our favorite place for many years (The Andalusian, now called The Lucille) changed ownership and just isn't our cup of tea anymore. But downtown Palm Springs stays the same, with good restaurants, shopping and crazy Village Fest on Thursday night, the legacy of Mayor Sonny Bono.

There are beautiful hikes in the Coachella Valley to different palm oases and waterfalls. We've done most of them over the years, also a celebrity house tour which was a blast.

But something more adventuresome planned this time-- a three hour jeep tour featuring an up-close and personal look at the San Andreas fault. That will be on Wednesday, the day after the election. Geology surely helps to put things into perspective. 

Here's a video of the jeep tour highlights from a few years back.

Halloween soup

 

I bought a big Kombucha at Lone Pine and made a labor-intensive roasted squash soup yesterday. I forgot to take a picture of John chopping it up with a cleaver and hammer, a dangerous task if you aren't being mindful. Or as he would say, "have the right tools."

Most soup recipes start with raw cubes (peeling is a pain) but this roasts the squash chunks in a hot oven until tender and caramelized. Then you just scoop it out into a broth already seasoned with lots of garlic, onion and spices.

Finally, I used my handy immersive blender to puree everything into a super creamy and healthy soup. That little tool is a dream come true, after years of slopping hot mess in and out of a blender.

It turned out restaurant quality delicious. Let me know if you want the recipe.

As promised, here's Maya and pals ready to hit the town last night. She is dressed as a "1960's Corpse Bride." That decade when their grandparents came of age is ancient history.

We had about 75 trick-or-treaters, all of them very cute and polite. And soaking wet along with their poor parents-- it poured rain. For future reference, the treat of choice seemed to be York Peppermint Patties. 

Ready or not

 

Quite a few trick-or-treaters come knocking at our front door, but it will be raining tonight so traffic might be lighter. There are many neighborhood kids around, but this is about the only time we see them. Children aren't free range anymore. In the old days, Amanda would costume up and head out alone or with a group of friends. 

 

This is Twisp back in 2017-- Nova is the witch and Maya a unicorn. Nova is too grown up now for trick-or-treating, plus she never eats candy, but she will probably hang with her friends or go to the haunted house they set up at the Community Center. 

Maya has a major sweet tooth, and so does her best friend Kate, so this is their kind of holiday. The last time I asked, Maya wasn't sure what she was going to "be." Amanda will send a picture tonight. 

I'm just going to be myself-- the old lady witch who has lived in the blue house on the corner for the last 40 years.

Western Larch

 

The Western Larch is a rare conifer tree that only grows at elevations of 1,600- 8,000 feet in the Northwest. In the fall, they turn bright yellow and drop their needles. I had perfect driving weather on Blewett Pass yesterday, and they looked like gold candles scattered through the evergreen forests-- a strange and beautiful sight.

This trip wraps up the easy driving seasons. In the winter, our visits are short and I don't go alone. The house is winterized and in good hands, the driveway snow-plower confirmed for another winter, so now we just wait and see what it brings.

After three years in Twisp, I'm cooking Thanksgiving dinner in Seattle again. My sister Marji is coming from Las Vegas and the family from Twisp, so we'll squeeze eight around the table in our little dining room. 

We don't usually plan trips this close together, but we're flying to California on Sunday. New York was a trip, but this is more of a mini-vacation to familiar old places in Desert Hot Springs and Palm Springs. The weather looks perfect there next week, with high temps in the mid-70's and clear desert skies. The dark time has certainly slammed down in Seattle.