Drought and other matters.

For the first time since we moved out here the drought is over. We have had below normal rainfalls since we started coming out here over 5 years ago. This past winter was supposed to be an El Nino year so not very rainy but we started off with a huge storm in December, virtually no rain in January and then a couple of months of rain every week. It has been enough to raise almost all the reservoirs to above or just below full capacity! There is also over 60 feet of snow pack in them thar mountains which will hopefully slooowwwly melt down to continue to fill up the reservoirs and water the ag fields. This picture was taken at Lake Lopez which is at 89.9% capacity. The area at the far end of the lake used to be a beach. We walked all around the lake on a beachfront for the last few years. This year the beach has disappeared and we found some highland trails we hadn't been on before and it led us to some spectacular views of the lake.

This week has been a busy week with the senior luncheon on Monday and the first year anniversary of Ladies who Lunch. I prepared both the entree and dessert. Fortunately I found some wonderful lasagna at Smart and Final and made 4 Canoli cakes. Our seniors love their sweets!

On Tuesday we celebrated the first anniversary of the Ladies Who Lunch group and I promised cake. I made this scrumptious Chocolate Truffle cake and we had 10 ladies for lunch many of whom took slices home to their spouses.

On frying pans

When T and I moved to California we didn't bring a lot. The only pans I brought were my two favorite flat bottom wok fry pans. Once I got out here I noticed they actually weren't in the best of shape and started to look for replacements. It took me 3 years to find the replacement and I found it at the local Albertson's grocery store! Amazing!

Supermoon

On Saturday night there was a supermoon - the largest moon for the next 18 years or so as it was at the closest point to the earth. Well from Friday to late Sunday night it has been raining and we missed the supermoon at it's fullest on Saturday night. Last night we saw it peeking from behind a cloud. It wasn't until this morning at around 7 am that I got a good glimpse of the moon, albeit on the wane from full but pretty impressive just the same.

Rainy weather

We don't get much rain here on the central coast. I beginning to think that we only get real rain a very few times when it comes down in buckets. Last night was one of those times. Because the area doesn't get much rain, the roads are not set up to deal with these occasional floods as there are few catch basins and the water just flows down streets and these dips in the road. Many of the low lying areas flood during these times and create new lakes/ponds for the ducks to swim in - and they come right away! Last night we had a about 3.5 inches of rain and it cause a number of road closings - here's the latest list:
According to the California Highway Patrol, the following roads are closed or flooded due to the storm Sunday:

Southbound Hwy. 101 just north of SR 154, mudslide

Thompson closed between Hwy. 166 at Poague
Black Road closed between Mahoney and Betteravia
Flooding along South Bay Blvd., closed at Hwy. 1
South Bay at Hwy. 1 closed in anticipation of high tide, possibly flooding onto South Bay Blvd.
Palmer Road at Cat Canyon
Dominion at Foxen Canyon
Hwy. 246 between Mission Gate and Sweeney
Hwy. 166 just east of Cuyama is partially flooded, but not closed
Portion of South Quintana and Lower State Park Road closed in Morro Bay
Hwy. 101 just south of Santa Rosa in the 3 bridges area, due to flooding
Major flooding on Hwy. 246 near Chumash Casino
Southbound SR 135 at Graciosa, lanes flooded
Avila Beach Road closed between Ontario and San Luis Bay Drive
Main Street at Charing in Cambria, flooded
Hwy. 246 just west of Buellton, flooded where the road splits
Turri closed at South bay and Los Osos Valley Road
Hwy. 1 just north of Division at the Rail Road overcrossing

After the Japan earthquake

The Japan 9.0 earthquake (upgraded from an 8.9) was a week ago yesterday. There has been much fearmongering about drifting radiation from the nuclear power plants in Fukishima. The central coast had a supply of potassium iodide tablets which has quickly run out. People in the surrounding areas of the Diablo Power Plant (a nuclear power plant) are able to get the tablets free. People from all over California were streaming into the county trying to buy some. There were people calling and threatening drugstores; someone called wanting to buy the entire supply so they could sell them on craigslist! The good news is that they have restored some power to the reactor site and they can pump water into the reactors to cool down the rods.

Interestingly I've had two people ask me if I have relatives or friends in Japan. I know, I know...we all look alike. I've just been answering the specific question with a no. It takes too long to try to explain etc.

Ladies Who Lunch - one year anniversary

Today is Tuesday so it must be Ladies Who Lunch day. A year ago D and I started having lunch at the Grill and started to invite other women in the community to join us so we could all meet other women who wanted to meet other people. It's hard to believe that it's been a year! Over the year we have had anywhere from one person to 13 people come at a time. We have learned about many different house problems each is having. We've weathered numerous health issues of the attendees or their family members. We have sent soldiers off to war and welcomed others home. We've shared vacation experiences and stories of families in crises. We've laughed and cried and become friends. I am glad to be part of this wonderful group of Ladies and we are continuing to welcome new people every week. No guilt - just come share when you can! I am grateful for their warmth and friendships!

Here are the lyrics once again from the song "Here's to the ladies who lunch" from the play "Company":

Here's to the ladies who lunch--
Everybody laugh.
Lounging in their caftans
And planning a brunch
On their own behalf.
Off to the gym,
Then to a fitting,
Claiming they're fat.
And looking grim,
'Cause they've been sitting
Choosing a hat.
Does anyone still wear a hat?
I'll drink to that.

And here's to the girls who play smart--
Aren't they a gas?
Rushing to their classes
In optical art,
Wishing it would pass.
Another long exhausting day,
Another thousand dollars,
A matinee, a Pinter play,
Perhaps a piece of Mahler's.
I'll drink to that.
And one for Mahler!

And here's to the girls who play wife--
Aren't they too much?
Keeping house but clutching
A copy of LIFE,
Just to keep in touch.
The ones who follow the rules,
And meet themselves at the schools,
Too busy to know that they're fools.
Aren't they a gem?
I'll drink to them!
Let's all drink to them!

And here's to the girls who just watch--
Aren't they the best?
When they get depressed,
It's a bottle of Scotch,
Plus a little jest.
Another chance to disapprove,
Another brilliant zinger,
Another reason not to move,
Another vodka stinger.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!
I'll drink to that.

So here's to the girls on the go--
Everybody tries.
Look into their eyes,
And you'll see what they know:
Everybody dies.
A toast to that invincible bunch,
The dinosaurs surviving the crunch.
Let's hear it for the ladies who lunch--
Everybody rise!
Rise!
Rise! Rise! Rise! Rise! Rise! Rise! Rise!
Rise!

Spring forward

Today was the day we turned our clocks forward an hour to move into daylight saving time. I'm not really sure what we're saving and who is benefiting anymore from the change. I do like the later sunset time. It's amazing how losing an hours sleep can upset so many schedules. Many people are late to activities all the next day and some into Monday. The loss of an hour seems to throw some into zombie mode.

Last night I turned all the clocks ahead an hour. I was scheduled to unlock the church in the morning so I was careful to set the alarm as I was sure I would oversleep. As is the case when I have something to do at a time specific in the morning, I tossed and turned all night and when I saw the clock turn 6 AM, I got up and bathed and dressed. I turned on the tv to CNN news and noticed that the time on the news said 5AM. I thought "hey you guys at CNN, did you forget!?!" I then checked on the coffee and was surprised that it hadn't started to brew as we set it up the night before. It also said 5 something! It was beginning to dawn on me that I perhaps had set the clock in the bedroom two hours ahead instead of one! I was sleepy before I found this out but then I was really sleepy - power of suggestion. Any way, I went to church dutifully to unlock the church only to find that someone had beaten me to it. At first I thought someone had left the place unlocked overnight but it seemed curious that so many of the doors were left unlocked and the bulletin display board was outside the main entrance. So again it took my brain a few minutes to accept that I had been beaten to the punch.

I haven't figured out what I learn from this experience yet other than to be sure to check each clock twice after I've set it and not to sign up to unlock the church on the days we turn the clocks forward or back.

So I've set my clock back an hour and I hope this means by tomorrow morning I will be all caught up. This must just be a way for me to get ready for my trip to the east coast in April.

8.9 earthquake in Japan

Last night there was an 8.9 earthquake in Japan. It was out in the ocean and the tectonic plates crunching caused tsunamis in Japan and then many more that crossed the Pacific ocean through the night and into the day at the speed of a jetliner. The shoreline around us was evacuated starting around 4:30 AM with many RVs and other tourists rousted out of bed and ordered to leave the beach areas. All the beaches were closed but there was full coverage all day. The tsunamis were relative mild only between 2 and 8 feet but the water pulled back to the end of the piers and then flooded back many times throughout the morning. The evacuees were not allowed back until around noon when the emergency preparedness teams deemed it all clear. The Diablo Nuclear Power plant was in emergency mode and all the local emergency teams got a opportunity to test out their plans. After watching the first wave come and go, it looked like it wasn't going to amount to much so we went about our usual Friday routine. Fortunately there was only some minor damage to boats in the marinas. One man was killed in Santa Cruz I believe. He was out trying to take pictures and got washed away.

Week 2 of Tai Chi

Week 2 of T'ai Chi brought a full class of 8 students. One of the returning students was absent the first week and has never taken t'ai chi before. The returning students are all very engaged and in order to keep them motivated, I decided to do the second week lesson and encourage the first timer to jump in at that point and hope she can catch on. I have found that when you miss the first class it is almost impossible to catch up as the first class spends a lot of time familiarizing the class with the "eastern" movements. I offered to come back on Saturday after the morning yoga class but the student couldn't make it. So....I'm hoping she'll stick with it.

Surprise birthday celebration for Sally

This morning we had a wonderful surprise birthday celebration for the owner of the fitness center. She had been away at a surprise birthday event for the weekend so we held her party this morning. There were a few hurdles - how to surprise her when she's the first one there; what to bring at 7 AM for a party that will start at 8AM and for a person who doesn't like sweets. She only had a 45 minute window to celebrate before more classes so everyone was very creative and we managed to surprise her and the folks brought some extremely creative non-sweet treats - lots of fruit, some vegan energy cookies, a delicious frittata, nuts, hummus, salsa and gaucamole with tortilla chips. Great way to start off a day! Yay!

New T'ai Chi Class

Yesterday afternoon I started teaching another 10 week session of T'ai Chi 24 forms. There are 8 students in all but 4 did not or could not join us. The four who did come were very interested and made very good progress. The group ranges in age from 18 to 70. I have taught t'ai chi for nearly 20 years and have practiced for almost 30 years. After all these years the instruction has gotten easier as I have a better idea of where students are going to get stuck and when they begin thinking that they can't accomplish the learning. It's always difficult when people miss classes as it's almost impossible to catch up. With half the class missing we may have to start over. I'm thinking of giving the class the option of going an extra week.

Another successful senior luncheon

The last Monday of the month is Senior Luncheon day at our church. With the shrinking purchasing power for people on a fixed income we started serving a free served luncheon to the seniors at our church starting last July. In August I started cooking the main entree and sometimes the dessert as well. In response to a survey we conducted we put on a Chinese meal yesterday. I prepared a stir-fry chicken meal on pan fried Chinese noodles. There was a tofu vegetarian alternative as we have a few vegetarians. There were 40 people in attendance and everyone seemed to have a great time. We also had a coleslaw and for dessert a mango ice cream with almond cookies. We've had anywhere from 30 to 60 people since we started. Menus have included pasta with meat sauce, quiche, enchiladas, chicken pot pie, barbecued chicken salad, tilapia patties on salad. We've always had enough to prepare take-away boxes for another meal or for a family member who didn't come to the luncheon. It took a couple of hours the night before to chop up all the vegetables and chicken and a couple of hours yesterday morning to cook all the food. It takes a lot longer to prepare and cook for 50 or 60 than for 4.