What happened?

[#1]

What happened to our long long thread?

[SierraPelona]

thanks, inky! i'm up to 201 subscribers today.

my eye is feeling better already, thank goodness. most of the redness is gone and the gritty feeling is mostly gone.

and it rained last night! it's going to rain again this afternoon. i love it when it rains.

[inkwear99]

Yay that your eye is better already!!!  

And Yay again for the rain!!   

Hope you have a great weekend!! 

[SierraPelona]

thanks inky!

we had a big storm that moved through the bay area, with a tornado warning issued for san francisco. i'm too far to have been affected by that, thank goodness, but the airport recorded 83 mph winds and had to shut down service for a while. they're still determining if it was an actual tornado, and if so it would be san francisco's first. in my area we had some heavy winds overnight and a lot of rain.

more rain today, with a break tomorrow, then more rain on monday. i like snuggling up under a cozy throw with a mug of tea or cocoa on days like this.

[inkwear99]

Wow, lots of different things have been going on in San Francisco in the past week or so.  Stay safe!! 

[SierraPelona]

thanks, inky! a tornado actually did touch down in a town in the next county, injuring some people, flipping over cars, and causing other damage. no one has ever seen a tornado in that area before. i'm glad the damage wasn't even worse.

that town is on the windward side of the mountain range, whereas my town is on the leeward side. the mountains absorb the brunt of any storm energy moving through, so we rarely get the worst of it, thankfully.

[inkwear99]

A tornado there does seem very strange.  I am glad that you are okay though.  So scary! 

[SierraPelona]

yeah, no one knows how to prepare for a tornado. no one has a basement to hide in. people don't know to get to a lower level interior room, preferably without windows. a lot of people don't know not to go outside and stare at it! that's asking for a lot of trouble.

up to half a dozen atmospheric rivers are on their way to us, bringing back wet and stormy conditions throughout northern california during the holidays. so much for the dry december originally predicted! i'd much rather have the storms than a drought, though.

new blog posts:
golden spoon pic
clouds time-lapse 24
scenes from alviso 2
https://pahavit.livejournal.com/

[inkwear99]

Yes, having a tornado in California is not like having a tornado in the mid-west where people have basements and are used to them.  

Hope you have a great weekend! 

[SierraPelona]

saturday was our 18th anniversary. we went to a museum in san francisco to see amazing chinese watercolor art, then we had dinner at our favorite restaurant. we shared a roasted mushroom pizza and baked polenta with autumn vegetables, plus honey cake for dessert. it was all delicious! we look forward to going there every year, and we've never been disappointed.

new blog posts:
scenes from alamitos creek video
a couple of driving super-lapse videos
bouquet canyon early winter
https://pahavit.livejournal.com/

i hope you have a great holiday, inky!

[inkwear99]

Happy Anniversary.  Your day sounds like a perfect day to spend together.  

Merry Christmas Eve.  Hope you have a wonderful holiday.  

[SierraPelona]

thanks, inky! we had a quiet day. we had butternut squash with pecans and cranberries, roasted fingerling potatoes with rosemary, and crispy tofu for a special dinner. dh also roasted some jalapeño peppers, and after cutting them he made the mistake of touching his eye before washing his hands. he had to jump in the shower to rinse his eyes. fortunately that did the trick! i don't know why he got jalapeños. we don't really like hot peppers, yet he came home with a bag of them, for some reason.

we're enjoying a break from the rain. my town hasn't been affected by the storms, but the wharf in santa cruz collapsed and was washed out to sea. the wharf was in disrepair but an injunction stopped any work being started in order to do another environmental impact review. in the meantime, heavy surf tore into a 150-foot section and broke it off the end of the wharf (which had already been closed off). and more atmospheric rivers are on their way. a lot of beach towns are going to get hammered. i'm grateful i'm on the other side of the mountains, which absorb the brunt of the storms.

my latest blog posts: highway super-lapse, sage seed heads pic, and holiday light show video.
https://pahavit.livejournal.com/

[inkwear99]

Your dinner sounds very delicious.  Too bad about the jalapeno's getting in dh's eye.   That hurts so bad too!!  

I saw that about the wharf in Santa Cruz.   When my brother and I were teenagers we went to see our Great Aunt.  She lived in Palo Alto and took us on adventures for a week.  One of them being dropped off at Santa Cruz. She was meeting a friend for the afternoon and literally just dropped us off to enjoy ourselves.    We had a great time.   

[SierraPelona]

i've  been to the santa cruz wharf a couple of times. it's really pretty there, with beautiful views of the ocean. at my first visit i was dismayed at how many runaway teens were hanging out panhandling on the streets. they were kind of nasty, too. the panhandling kids in san francisco were never nasty when i declined to give them money, but the santa cruz kids were sarcastic and aggressive. i shouldn't have said anything and just kept on walking!

now santa cruz officials are saying that rebuilding the pier might not be feasible or appropriate. it's a huge tourist attraction and brings in a lot of revenue to the city, but a structure like that, in that harsh environment, is doomed to deteriorate over time and would be incredibly expensive to repair and maintain. damage from previous storms still hadn't even been completed yet when this new storm struck.

i don't know if keeping the pier closed indefinitely or tearing it down completely is the answer. i don't envy the santa cruz officials who have to figure this out! no matter what decision they make, there will be a very vocal outcry against it.

anyway, i hope you enjoy new year's eve, and have a happy new year!

[inkwear99]

Yes, either way, there will be an outcry from people.  It is a huge tourist attraction but trying to rebuild it might not be worth it.

We won't be doing much for the New Year.  Trying to keep the dog from going crazy from all the fireworks, I am sure.     

[inkwear99]

Happy New Year's Eve!!!

[SierraPelona]

i hope you had a good new year's eve, inky! i also hope the fireworks weren't too bad for your dog. it's awful what some animals go through on new year's eve and the 4th of july.

my first cat used to hate those kinds of noises. he'd hide under the bed and growl at thunder, fireworks, the blue angels, etc.. for a big majestic serious tabby, he turned into quite the scaredy-cat when it came to loud booming noises.

the noise wasn't too bad in my neighborhood this year -- a few fireworks/m-80s around midnight. but the downstairs neighbors cranked up their stereo really loud all evening long until well into the wee hours, which i did not appreciate at all. and on new year's day they had the stereo going again, so loud my couch cushions were vibrating! it must have been deafening right beside their speakers. fortunately that only lasted for one song, then they turned it down.

newest blog posts:
southbound interstate 280 super-lapse 27, a skipper pic, and cloud time-lapse 25
https://pahavit.livejournal.com/

[inkwear99]

Happy New Year!!

The night wasn't too bad.  The dog did well with the pills.  The fireworks started around 10 and lasted until around 12:30.   Then they stopped and we were able to get some sleep.   

Sorry to hear about your neighbors and the music.  I don't understand people and how oblivious they are to other people. 

[SierraPelona]

i suspect a certain amount of alcohol was involved. some people get drunk enough and they stop thinking about the consequences of their actions. anyway, i'm just glad new year's eve is only once a year!

the rains are gone now and we're in for an extended dry spell, with warmer temperatures than usual and increased fire danger. i'm not quite ready to say goodbye to the rain, because we don't get enough of it and i like cozy rainy days where i can snuggle up with a nice warm cuppa.

my latest blog posts: scenes from stevens creek no. 15, 2 highway videos, and "sunday afternoon."
https://pahavit.livejournal.com/

[inkwear99]

I agree with you and the alcohol.  I am glad it only comes around once a year too!!  

Bummer about the rain.  I too, love cozy, rainy days.   

[SierraPelona]

i've been following the horrific wildfires in southern california. i have a few on-line friends who live in the area, and they are all ok, but one is on the edge of an evacuation zone so she packed up her pets and drove to her parents' place in tucson for the duration, to be on the safe side.

it's heart-wrenching to see the devastation and destruction. southern california has gone 8 months without significant rainfall, so their fire season never ended. that plus the fierce santa ana winds were a recipe for disaster.

[inkwear99]

I have been following it all too.  So devastating.  I feel so bad for all the animals, the deer and bunnies.   So sad. The wind is crazy and I hope that dies down today.    

[SierraPelona]

if any of those fires turn out to be arson, i really hope they catch the perpetrator(s) and throw the book at them.

so far all my on-line acquaintances in so-cal that i've heard from are ok, thankfully. one learned that her previous home had burned, but her current home is ok.

and some landlords are trying to rent-gouge people displaced by the fires, sometimes by thousands of dollars. i really hope these despicable greedy people get prosecuted for that!

as of this evening, the palisades fire is only 21% contained, the eaton fire is 45% contained, and the hurst fire is 98% contained. containment is only the first step, though. getting all the fires completely out is the other part of the battle. and apparently more fierce santa ana winds are in the forecast.

i used to live in the northern part of los angeles county when i was in college, and so far none of the fires have gone over the ridge into that area. fingers crossed!

some new blog posts:
"refrain" sculpture pics
clouds time-lapse 26
scenes from india basin 16
https://pahavit.livejournal.com/

[inkwear99]

All of that you mentioned is just horrible.  If it was arson, I  hope they can get the people who did it and lock them up for a very long time.  This is affecting so many people's lives.  So devastating and like you said, still not contained.  And after that, they clean up of everything will take a long time too.  So sad!! 

[SierraPelona]

the 3 biggest southern california fires are between 90% and 98% contained, which is a big step. but there's a very long road ahead.

i've had a busy week, with doctor appointments and a visit to the lab for routine blood work and to get x-rays of my shoulder and hand. i have mild arthritis in my shoulder and a bone spur on my thumb. that explains why my hand was hurting so much for the past several weeks! i'm not sure what the treatment is for that, besides anti-inflammatories and maybe a cortisone injection. i may need to message my doctor next week to see what my other options are.

there's a bunch of stuff on my blog, including scenes from guadalupe river, and some arty videos.
https://pahavit.livejournal.com/

[inkwear99]

That is good news about the fires, but you are correct, a very long road ahead! 

Sounds like a very busy week.  How is your shoulder doing too?   Have you gotten more range of motion? Hopefully the doctor can figure out a good and easy treatment for you.