Rainy Friday

I love a rainy Friday when I can stay inside and get things done, including read, although this does not give me much blog fodder for today.

However, a week ago I spied this woman who was enjoying the fall colors on our street by taking all kinds of photos. The trees are now less than half-full of leaves. Winter, such as it is here, is on the way.

Fall Allergies

Who knew that fall was an allergy season? I am now well aware of that. When we went to Death Valley, I was spared the ear congestion and sneezing that have been poking at me lately. I finally decided to take Sudafed (you know the kind you have get from behind a locked case and then show your drivers license for). I have to take the 12-hour variety instead of the 24-hour kind since I cannot sleep with that stuff in my system. The past two days I've felt hopped-up, so my energy for teaching has increased. Hmm... I don't recommend it for every day, but I am taking advantage of this pre-holiday energy....

Untethered Technology

Yes, we are dependent upon our internet connections like most of the world, but when we headed to Death Valley, we knew that we would have to cut the cord. Our cell phones don't work there, we knew the wi-fi would be limited (nearly nonexistent, actually), and the room had no tv. I don't think there were many radio stations, but we didn't check.

That was fine. We like being unplugged for a few days so we can relax and enjoy our surroundings and each other's company.

However, we did use technology for our entertainment. First of all I put an audio copy of John Grisham's Calico Joe on my iPod so we could listen during our drive. When that novel ran out, we caught up on NPR podcasts of Most Emailed Stories, and I listened to my newest favorite album recently purchased on iTunes.

We also had some DVDs of the tv show we are working on - The Good Wife - which we watched on the laptop. This was especially helpful when it got dark early. Although we also had that old technology of ink on paper which is bound together into a book, it is hard for me to read for more than an hour at a stretch, although I did finish the Oliver Sacks book during the vacation.

Death Valley, Day 2

Day two was heading north. I talked H into touring Scotty's Castle, and I had heard that Thanksgiving weekend was a pretty busy time in the park, and that it may take up to several hours before we could book a tour. It wasn't too busy, and we only had to wait 20 minutes to tour time, giving us enough time to peruse the small visitor center and visit the facilities before our hour-long tour.

Although it was somewhat interesting, and the grounds are lovely, it wasn't one of our highlights. I would take a second tour of Hearst Castle before I would return here for the underground tour.

Not far from Scotty's Castle is the Ubehebe Crater - formed 2,000 years ago in a large eruption. You can't really tell from this photo, but it is 600 feet deep and 1/2 mile across. You can also hike up higher to see smaller craters, and we made it up to one of those. 

If we had rented a jeep, we would have taken the time to drive out to The Racetrack, but it would be a good half-day journey or more, so perhaps we will go back to see it some other time. Check it out at this link.

I think my favorite walk was our last one through Mosaic Canyon. The rock formations are varied and quite beautiful. Check out my Flickr page (link on left) for a few more photos.

Death Valley National Park

Several years ago I thought it would be great to visit Death Valley National Park over Thanksgiving weekend. We are big fans of the NPS, but August, our big travel time, is the worst time to go to this desert. We waited too long to make reservations then, so this time I was on it early, and booked a little room in Panamint Springs on the far western edge of the park.

It doesn't take too long to get there from here - just about 4.5 hours, and we arrived a little too early to check in. The closest attraction is a little hike to Darwin Falls which requires a bit of rock scrambling over wet places, but at the end of the hike is this sweet little falls.

I think one can feel as though you've seen the best parts of the park if you spend two full days there. Of course, if you go when it is fall/winter, those days are short with the sun setting at 5. We spent the first day from the middle of the park heading south. 

The first thing we came to were the Mesquite Flat Dunes - and we took our time tromping through the sand and taking photos.

After a stop at the new visitor's center at Furnace Creek (with a lovely new movie to tell about the park), we headed to a popular overlook at Zabriskie Point, looking west over the valley.

We decided not to take the walk down into the canyon here, mostly because we did not want to hike back up.

Further down the road we took a little walk to the Natural Bridge through a narrow canyon.

The farthest south and the lowest point we reached is what people think about when someone mentions Death Valley - the Badwater Basin Salt Flats. It's the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level.

Heading north again, we took the one-way loop through Artist's Drive and saw the Artist's Palette - lovely-colored hills of pastels.

So, our understanding of the park is that there is plenty to see, but it also involves quite a bit of driving. Many of the places are accessible once you drive 2-3 miles on gravel roads, and then you walk for 1/2 mile or more. We did not take our usual 4-mile hike in the morning on this trip, but we did get to see many beautiful things.

Hallucinations

Second book finished over Thanksgiving week - Oliver Sacks' Hallucinations. If you are unfamiliar with Sacks' other works, he is a neurologist who publishes case stories around a theme. The last one I read was his Musicophilia, stories about people with unusual musical conditions brought on by various brain abnormalities.

This book has some overlap with that one with some examples of musical hallucinations, but it is mostly about visions as brought on by various conditions, from blindness to epilepsy to intoxication and injury. Parts of the book were so repetitious - descriptions of these hallucinations. I was more interested in why they happened that exactly what the visions were wearing, or the shape of the geometric figures.

Parts of the book were very interesting to me - explaining how the ghosts people have seen or alien abductions can seem very real to the people who experience them.

Albert Stewart

Last month my friend Carol toured the home of Claremont artist Albert Stewart who used to teach art at Scripps. She was showing me photos of the various sculptures in his home, and I was especially enamored of this owl. What surprised me, though, was that I started recognizing his style and realized that he had done quite a bit of the art at CUCC. 

Years ago there used to be tours every few months of the art in the church, but I never went on one of those tours, so I dug out the old pamphlet that we were given when we joined back in 1987, and as I thumbed through, I was amazed and impressed with the number of great artworks we take for granted in this building - from Millard Sheets to Sam Maloof.

So I went around a took a few photos of my own of the Albert Stewart works.

This is one of the wood panels at the front of the church - The Sower and the Seed.

Here is a sculpture on the north side of the sanctuary.

 This is the lectern with the eagle representing John.

This is the pulpit which is Matthew the Evangelist.

Productivity

This is the second year that the Claremont USD has taken the whole week of Thanksgiving as a holiday, and although it puts the beginning string students a little behind for learning Jingle Bells for Winter Sing next month, I have to say that I am greatly enamored of this time to catch up and try to get ahead.

This week I have been able to have appointments for: routine blood work, eye appointment, teeth cleaning, haircut. I have also been able to clean up areas of the house that have needed it.  I have drafted my Christmas newsletter and have wrapped some Christmas gifts. I worked on the peppernuts. Lesson prep has included string classes, Winter Sing prep, and just knowing the general plan of what will take me through December lessons. I have also gotten to read books which is good since the library has come up with a handful of books arriving all at once. Oh, yes, I have also had time to practice violin and viola.

I could do with one of these kinds of weeks every two months or so....

I Like Pie

Ever since I saw the sign I Like Pie in the Village West Plaza over six months ago, I have been waiting for it to open. It is finally open, and, this being Thanksgiving, I wanted to try it out. I had heard on Facebook that the Pumpkin Cream Cheese pie was really good, so that seemed like it would be perfect for the Thanksgiving table.

I arrived in the early afternoon yesterday, and this is the sign that greeted me. Pretty much anything pumpkin was long gone. So, I decided that Holiday Pear with Cran and Orange would be a good second (and only) choice.

First of all, these pies are individual pie cups, not what you think of as a pie in an 8 or 9-inch round tin. Second of all - pricey. Each of these little cups is, well, it's hard to say. I thought that the sign inside said $4.50 each, but the checkout slip said 1 pie - $5.00, 3 pies - $13.50. There was also a mention that I had requested a box (see second photo), so it seems that it might be the reason for the 50-cent higher price of the first pie. No mention anywhere that it costs extra to have a box.

It seems to me that this place needs to get its business act figured out, and perhaps realize that the cost of the pies is pretty high for the serving size (although I think it is the perfect amount of dessert). So, that being said, along with a little ice cream on the side and a little reheating, these little cups of pastry are very tasty. I just won't pop in very often for one.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers!

Packaging

When I swapped my music room with H's study in the summer, it did not occur to me that the two little wall sconces would not be adequate light for reading music when it was dark outside. On days when I teach my private students, it is now dark for the 4:30 lesson, and that sent me right to the internet to see what kind of floor lamps would be good.

I found a great lamp for cheap at Target and found that it was only available online, so I ordered it. It came right away, but it took me a good 15 minutes to free it from the styrofoam packaging, and then I needed to take the vacuum to a 3-foot radius around the box to catch all the free-floating bits.

Here is what the packaging looked like mid-unpacking.

Here is the finished product (which now does have lightbulbs).

Flight Behavior

I read everything that Barbara Kingsolver publishes. My favorite novel of hers is Prodigal Summer, with The Bean Trees a close second. While I enjoyed much of Flight Behavior, it doesn't outshine her other work.

I did enjoy the main character, Dellarobia, who is well-drawn and, despite her flaws, garnered my sympathy. I did not mind the scientific explanations about the effects of climate change, a criticism of the book. However, I did find that some of the scenes needed some serious editing because the, albeit beautiful, descriptions went on and on and did not add to the forward motion of the plot.

Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho

I am a Sunday School aide this session (which means I am a second adult in the room and help take care of little things, like making sure the kids are signed in and out, serving snack, helping with various tasks, but not lesson planning or teaching), and yesterday's lesson was about Joshua and the battle of Jericho. The teacher of the 2nd and 3rd grade class built this replica of the Jericho walls and had the kids reenact the story by walking around the city walls the requisite number of times. Do you know how many times that was?

I'll tell you. It was once a day for 6 days in silence, and then on the 7th day, they blew their trumpets and walked around the city 7 times (for a grand total of 13) until the walls fell. The kids played on their kazoos and then helped with a minor earthquake to knock the city down. They might remember this story in the future...

Persimmons 2012

Last year I believe was a lean persimmon year, not only with our tree, but with many others in Claremont. Two years ago we had an enormous amount. This year we have had quite a few, and I took one heavy bag to church yesterday morning to help decorate the tables for our Thanksgiving dinner we shared after this morning's service. I was not the only one who brought so many, so I'm guessing that other trees are on a productive year, as well.

How ESPN Drew Us Over to the Dark Side

We finally succumbed. Apparently ESPN does not read my blog and therefore did not respond to my request to allow people without cable or Dish to subscribe to their channels independently. As of yesterday, we are now cabled up. Of course, it took a little while for us to make our choice between DirecTV and Time Warner, but since we already have internet and phone through TW, it doesn't cost too much more to add tv, so we are giving it a go.

We had a few initial problems with the box (no playback of recorded shows and disappearing audio), but after unplugging the box and rebooting it twice, we seem to be on a roll. Now my only complaint with TW is that they decided to start charging a rental fee for the internet modem (remember when we all rented our phones from Ma Bell?). We will buy our own and remove that $5 a month charge.

On the plus side, now we can watch more of our favorite sports teams, our main reason for taking the plunge, but I will try not to let HGTV take up all of my free time....First real game we'll enjoy....Ducks v Stanford tonight!

Chinese Elm

This week we had our huge Chinese elm tree trimmed - a biennial event. We always have it done in October or November so we can enjoy the shade through the hot weather and then welcome the sunshine in when the days are shorter and cooler.

Black Bean Pumpkin Soup

I found this recipe on the Smitten Kitchen website (after hearing so much about it from other blogs and NPR), and now that it is soup season, I made this recipe last night. I did not follow it exactly (using Polska Kielbasa from Sprouts instead of ham, and I forgot the garlic), but it was pretty good, and it will stay in my Evernote recipe folder.

You should look at the pictures on the Smitten Kitchen recipe page since hers are definitely more beautiful than this one which I took halfway through eating the soup...

Decisions, Decisions

The part of making dinner each night that I like the least is trying to decide what to have. I find that more taxing than actually making the meal or cleaning up after it.

(Side note: I also heard a story that the since the president must make many decisions every day, he has cut down on at least one and wears the same type of suit every day so that he doesn't have to stand at his closet and make a choice. Perhaps he chooses his tie, but I really can't say for sure. Maybe they are on a rotating schedule....)

Anyway. I have come up with a plan to help me with this food thing. For every day of the week I have designated some sort of meal. One day when I teach until 5:00 I get take-out, and I have a list of places I can rotate through. Another day I have a list of about 4 favorite vegetarian meals, and I just pick one, preferably one that I didn't make last week. One day I make soup. Another day when I teach until 5:00 I have leftovers. (I love leftovers, and since we only have two people eating at home every night, we usually have something in the fridge.) On Fridays we have grilled salmon. Weekends are up for grabs.

So far this has made making grocery lists so much easier for me. I will change the basic plan over to a warm weather version (no soup) about May or June. I do not know why I haven't done this earlier.

Goodbye Today, Hello This Morning

Since our early marriage we have tuned into NBC's Today Show while eating breakfast, starting our days off with Jane Pauley and Bryant Gumbel.

We stayed steady through the changes in the hosts, but then I noticed my frustration when they started showing more and more what I call "trash" stories - pure sensationalism, little content. I would change the channel to see what else was on, and I ended up with CBS.

Now I start the day with Charlie Rose and Gayle King.

Inside/Outside Weekend

It's been another weekend where I look forward to the regular week day so I can slow down a bit...

It was also the kind of weekend of crisp, clear, windy, chilly weather where some of our activities were outside. I believe that fall is actually here to stay for a bit.

Some of our outdoor activities:

Showing off the Turrell Skyspace to some of our church friends who had never seen it before.

Embracing the elements, we attended a memorial service at the RSABG for our friend Steve who left us too early at a young 63 years. This is a photo of one of the bowls he had made that was on display for us to enjoy during this lovely tribute to a life well led.

 

Along with many Sunday church activities, we also heard a few concerts which you can read about at my music blog. Yay for indoors activities, too!

City of Scoundrels

Always wanting to know more about Chicago, I ordered this book from the library and finished it in less than a week. Although the events in this book happened in a period of about two weeks in 1919, I kept waiting to find out just exactly how these tragic events helped shape the birth of modern Chicago. Krist never really says.

I did not know much about the devastating race riots of that time, nor Mayor Bill Thompson, and I certainly didn't know about the crashing of the blimp in the Loop, nor the transit strike or missing child. So, if you are a diehard Chicago history fan, this book has some good information. If you want The Devil in the White City, this isn't it.

For the Record

We woke up to a house that was 62 degrees, so we turned on our furnace for the first time this year. It is our brand new energy-efficient furnace, and it's very quiet.

Friday Photos

Through the raindrops and before the heavier rain (first significant moisture of the season, and some chilly weather), the Kindergarteners were busy working with chalk on the sidewalks at school yesterday morning.

Skyfall

It has been four years since the last James Bond movie (Quantum of Solace) came out. I blogged about seeing a private advance screening with the HMC community here. Skyfall, the newest Bond film starring Daniel Craig opens tomorrow, and yet we were able to see it at the Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City last night. A little more detail: Michael Wilson, one of the producers of the Bond franchise, is not only an HMC alum, but also a trustee, and he once again allowed HMC to preview the film. 

I have to say that I am not a Bond aficionado, but I actually really enjoyed this film. When I looked at Rotten Tomatoes this morning, the critics gave it a 93%. If you don't like action and violence at all, don't see it, but I enjoyed the Adele song, the cinematography, the theme, and the characters.

One of the appetizers included a mashed potato bar. Yum.

Walking toward the theater.

The theater

Voting Day

I may not vote often today, but I did vote early. Here is the line at Sycamore around 7:30 this morning. This time it took about 10-15 minutes. Usually we walk right in.

HMC New Building Progress

Last week the giant orange construction crane that has altered our mountain view was dismantled at HMC's new building. You can see an updated photo every five minutes at this site to follow the progress of the building. For more information about the building itself and what it will look like and what it will contain and how green it is, here is the home page for that. It is supposed to be finished this summer for use next year.

Palm Springs Weekend

This year H was fortunate to return to the HMC Trustee retreat in Palm Springs for the weekend. Mostly I was fortunate since I got to accompany him and enjoy the wonderful accommodations of the Smoke Tree Ranch. As I looked at last year's blog post about this weekend, I was reminded about the cool weather that weekend. This weekend was just the opposite, and I was glad I had sandals and short-sleeve shirts as the temps reached up to 90, and the sun was fierce.

This year we enjoyed watching the Oregon / USC football game (with the Duck victory) with the provost of the University of Oregon who is a trustee (and alum) of HMC. Now that we are home, having enjoyed the extra hour of sleeping in this morning, we are shocked (well, not really) at how dark it seems since we changed clocks. At least I will probably be up bright and early tomorrow morning.

View of the mountains from Smoke Tree Ranch

The Round House

Our book club will be discussing Louise Erdrich's latest novel, The Round House this month. This book was a finalist for the National Book Award and has garnered a great deal of praise (although so many books get great reviews, it's hard to know which are really worth it).

After reading The Barbarian Nurseries, this one let me down. I so much loved Erdrich's The Master Butchers Singing Club, and I had great hopes for this one. It was fine and had some interesting information about the judicial system on Native American land, but the characters did not give me a strong enough reason to keep turning pages. Knowing that we will discuss it was the impetus that I needed to finish it.

Friday Photo

The highest word score I've ever gotten - 146!