January 6-the sun shrouded in fog

A sepia-tone morning

Saturday, in the city

We left the Valley heat behind today and made our way to San Francisco and the tiny apartment where it was much cooler than the 106 degree humid heat that enveloped Fresno.  Now, it is evening, just past sundown, with the lights on the bridge beginning to twinkle through the blanket of fog that has been pulled over the bay.  it is 59 degrees.  There was a Giants’ baseball game at AT&T Park at 6 and the fans are now leaving, walking quickly along the Embarcadero since the air has grown chilly.

The triangle was vacant when we arrived around 2, but now at 9  I can count five encampments of homeless, maybe six if there is someone under the tree by the utility boxes.  There is room for plenty more.  I will keep you apprised.

In the meantime, this afternoon we hiked up a low hill to catch a glimpse of a crane we had seen as we were arriving.

The workers were removing concrete from a rooftop garden, bringing the chunks of cement down in big boxes, using the crane.

It was a cheap way to spend a Saturday afternoon, watching the experts do their job.  Cheap for us, that is; probably pretty costly for the people renting the crane and truck to get rid of the concrete.

Another Monday in SF

We are in whiteout mode here, 17 floors up.  The fog has come into the bay, obliterating all hint of any water or bridge out there.  The streets aren’t bad and traffic is flowing nicely, well below the fog ceiling.  I could probably go a few blocks west and be walking in sunshine. The fog horns consistently blow to keep track of the ships and barges coming in and out of the bay.

There is quite a mess left on the streets after last night’s flash mob pillow fight.  There were even feathers in the elevator as I went down to the Starbucks for paper and soy mocha.  The innards of a foam pillow littered the sidewalk and I could see the remains of another pillow had been tossed on top of the canopy of the apartment building.  Someone has a big cleaning job today.

Although a holiday, there are many who are working, but in more casual attire than I saw last week.  Starbucks had a line out the door and tables were filled, at 8 a.m. with Apple laptops.  I am always happy to see Macs as I have a love/hate relationship with PCs.  Mostly hate.

Terry and I had a conversation about this, though, when I returned from my morning walk, and I realized that most of my PC experience is based on the computers at school which are controlled by Oz, the district’s IT department.  I don’t struggle with my Macs at school because I am the one to control them.  Of course, the district will no longer allow me to update machines or software.

Tomorrow is an inservice day, so although I will be at work, there will be no children there.  I had considered staying an extra day in SF, but I don’t want to use any more of my sick days than absolutely necessary.  I have so many that they add almost another year to my retirement schedule.  I have rarely been sick in my 21 years of teaching and most of my sick days have been taken for doctor or dentist appointments and an occasional stress day.  I am scheduled for jury duty in March and this time I am not putting it off until vacation time like I have in the past.  We’ll see how that works.

To think, to work, in quiet

It is a cold, gray, dismal day here in the San Joaquin Valley.  Planes have been grounded due to the heavy layer of fog.  I finally persuaded myself to leave the house at 9:30 when the temperature was 44.  It is now 46, just shortly after lunch.  I know, for those of you living in snow, you are probably wondering what the heck I’m crabbing about.  But, you must remember, this is the place where every day in July was over 100.

I went out at 9:30 so I could work on yearbook pages while it is still quiet at school.  We have another week of winter break, but those pages will be due at the printer soon, and they are pages I need to have lots of quiet to ponder–the underclassmen pages.  I assign 15 pages to each class, but with disparate numbers, I must juggle the number of pictures to each page.  This year, since we are a much smaller book, I am including candid photos mixed in with the head shots.  That takes even more thinking.  Fortunately, I had the yearbook kids take the photos during the fall and write the headlines for each page before leaving on break, so it’s just a matter of putting the puzzle together.

I only did the freshmen section this morning because I got so cold I had to leave before noon.  The district saves money by turning off all heating when school is out (or cooling if it was summer) so it is hard to go in and get too much work done.  In the summer I take fans to keep me cool; today I sat in my coat and worked.  I also played CDs of Mexican music to help me think of warmer climes.

I’m going back tomorrow to do the sophomores’ pages.  I won’t go until noon, though, so it might be a smidge warmer, but I doubt it.  We have the same forecast for the week–cold, gray, 40s and 50s, with fog lifting late afternoon.  It’s January and that is typical.

Autumn in the backyard

Autumn in the backyard

Originally uploaded by dkzody

Although there is none of the usual tule fog for Thanksgiving in the Central Valley, the reason is bad news for us–no rain. The drought continues. Our weather is so glorious, the light is so golden, the trees are beautifully dressed in reds, yellows, and oranges. The smell of autumn is intoxicating as we have so many bay trees and citrus trees. Someone should make a perfume with that recipe.

With a whole week away from school for the holiday, I have plenty of time to rake leaves and linger in the backyard to enjoy this beautiful time of the year. Today, after taking care of the newly fallen foliage, I sat on the greenhouse wall and read and wrote in my journal. Behind me, in the saddle of the pear tree, a squirrel was munching on the nuts I had left there. He did not appreciate my presence even though I am the source of his bounty.

Suddenly there are leaves, small pears, and other debris, raining down on my head. The squirrel had scurried up above me and was shaking the branches. Perhaps he was only trying to pry lose some of the pears for his own lunch, but after I got up and left, I could see him nibbling the nuts again. He too is enjoying the lovely fall weather in the backyard.

Down by the oceanside

 

On the third week of holiday we went to the ocean.  We have stayed in a condo, near the beach at Cayucos, which is on the central coast of California, a few other times.  They gave us a free night, no strings attached, and we added another night, and took off for warmer temperatures and some sunshine.  It is cold and gray here in the heart of California, and likely will be until February, so I figured this was my chance to see some sun.

Pier View Suites

We walked on the beach, which was abandoned at this time of the year.

Empty beach except for hubby

I love to watch the sun on the water, listen to the waves lapping on the shore, and feel free from all cares and worries.

Cayucos beach looking towards Morro Bay

Although Cayucos doesn’t have a whole lot to do other than walk on the beach or pier, there are some interesting characters that hang out downtown.

I also ambled around in one the so-called antique stores on the main drag.  I had been looking for a pyrex bowl to replace the one I broke, and these kinds of stores often have odd pieces of pyrex.  Although not the right color, I found the bowl I had been looking for and made the big $8 purchase.

 

Green pyrex bowl

 

 

 

Too soon it was time to head back home, where the gray fog still hung over the Valley.  As we drove across the countryside, towards the hills, we could see the top of the fog bank.

 

On the road to reality