Not Spam

I just think it's funny that the mail that ends up in my spam folder is now starting out with "Please click 'Not Spam' above if delivered to your Spam folder.

Really?

Signals

It's the season for catalogs, and a few weeks ago I received the Signals catalog, the public television store. I haven't gotten this or Wireless (NPR) for a few years, so I was happy to peruse the offerings. I really enjoy the funny sayings on the various shirts, mugs and whatnot, and I thought it would be fun to list some of my favorites here.

Enjoy!

Earth without Art is just "Eh"
Who says nothing is impossible? I've been doing nothing all day!
I'm not short. I'm fun size!
Yes, it's true. I'm not on Facebook.
Libraries are my candy store.
E = Fb - The Musical Theory of Relativity
The library. It's like taking your brain to the gym.
I dream of a society where a chicken can cross the road without its motives questioned.
Sarcasm is the mind's natural defense against stupidity.
I have a degree in Philosophy. Why do you want fries with that?
Irony. The opposite of wrinkly.
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
There. Their. They're not the same.
The Hokey Pokey Clinic: A place to turn yourself around.

Sweet Tooth

It would be helpful to me if I had read the latest Ian McEwan book, Sweet Tooth, for a book club. Discussing this book would help me distill my thoughts about it. I am a fan of McEwan's writing (Atonement and Saturday), but I am unsure whether I liked this book or not. I certainly enjoy McEwan's prose - it's easy to read, and his observations are spot on.

I was under the impression that this was an espionage tale, but I had a hard time reconciling the plot and what I think of as spying. There are certainly secrets involved, but nothing like what I imagined what it would be when I heard that it was about MI5.

I wonder if the novel at the center of the story is a commentary on Cormac McCarthy's The Road.

If you want a better review of this book, try the LA Times review or this one from The Guardian.

I do know that you need to read it to the very end to understand the whole of it.

Alternative Christmas

For the first time this year, I heard about the newest alternative to Black Friday and Cyber Monday - it's Giving Tuesday.

During Advent at CUCC, we provide the opportunity for easy giving for some of our favorite local and international charities. Today we kicked off Alternative Christmas by having representatives from these charities available to talk about their good works. After deciding which worthwhile charity will receive your hard-earned dollars, you fill out a form and make out one check. Voila! You have not only helped make the world a better place, but you can make these donations in honor of someone you love. If you missed Giving Tuesday and today's CUCC Alternative Christmas, it is not too late to donate something to your favorite group, and CUCC is accepting donations for the event for the next two Sundays in church, or the church office during the week.

I like to think globally and act locally, so I support Heifer, International, Habitat for Humanity, All Our Children International, and our very own ECC (Early Childhood Center at CUCC).

Another local organization that reaches the children of the Claremont USD (though not represented at our Alternative Christmas) is the Claremont Educational Foundation which provides funds for all schools in the district for a variety of things which the school budget just cannot cover.

Holiday Parties Begin!

I know the holidays have started. I went to my first party of the season this afternoon at Claremont Yoga. We were promised food, wine, tea, chair massages and henna, and they were delivered. Since I only go to one class a week, I do not know everyone who comes to the various other classes, and I was surprised to see people I know from other places at this party. I shouldn't really be surprised. It's a small town.

I had henna done on my right hand, and if I follow the directions well, after this flakes off, the reddish/orange color of this design should last 7-10 days.

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.