September 8: Blackout

On Thursday afternoon, a string of events occurred that caused a huge power surge and outage throughout Southern California. All of San Diego, Imperial, and parts of Orange County went dark for 8-12 hours. 1.7 million homes and businesses survived by grilling dinners, burning candles, using flashlights, and opening windows after a day that reached 107 degrees in some areas. Neighbors hung out together. Families reconnected without the interruptions of computers, televisions, and other electronic playtoys.

We played gin rummy by candlelight and enjoyed the evening so much that I'm tempted to have a "blackout" night once per month.

September 3: Labor Day Weekend

My dad always told us that Labor Day was for labor...namely, yardwork. I didn't know differently until high school.

But this weekend, Labor Day meant yardwork for our family as well as T mows the weeds that we pretend make up a lawn....

J and B pull weed along the concrete slab....

Keith, J and B take a quick breather....

At least the yard looks acceptable now. ;)

Day 67: Grading Never Ends....

Although we're off this week for spring break with Elizabeth, we still had Class Day on Thursday which meant that I still had grading to do...all day long on Tuesday.

Day 72: At It's a Small World

J in line for It's a Small World


T & T in line for It's a Small World

Day 11: The Big Game

B watched the Big Game today with the rest of the family (and his stuffed squirrel Pattertwig), despite the Chargers not winning over the Steelers today -- in the snow, to boot. Well, at least we have our beautiful San Diego weather with temps of 85 at church this afternoon. Take *THAT*, Pittsburgh! Gotcha. Hah!

Boys!

I came out this morning and found all three boys oblivious to me and very involved in their game. I don't quite understand why all three boys were playing a racing game on the X-box upside-down, but at least they are sharing without arguing, right?

Poor Dash looks as bemused as I feel. I can see his little doggie brain thinking, "What ARE they doing????"

Fathers' Day on the Mountain

We spent Fathers' Day (and our anniversary) at my parents' little cabin atop Mount Laguna. For the events of the day and for a couple more photos, click here.



The cabin's chimney....



Fallen logs near the cabin....



Wildflowers each the size of my thumbnail....

Ugh .. Gas Prices

Okay ... this is getting downright ridiculous. It should not take $30 to fill up a measley Corolla. And I don't want to think about how much it costs to fill up the Sienna. And from what I've heard, gas prices will not be improving anytime soon.

Proof of a Busy Week

My last few weeks have been crazy-busy, and this week more so than most. My rather full desk diary is proof.

A Day in the Life....

I snapped this photo without really thinking as I passed through our living room. E is on the sofa with the dog as she plays her DS, and B is on the floor playing X-Box. T was in the green recliner also playing X-Box, saw me with the camera, and ducked behind B so I wouldn't include him in the photo. (If you click on the photo, you can see his green shirt behind B. Hiding from photos -- it's a 12-year-old-boy thing, right?) Anyway, it's just an ordinary lunch break in our ordinary life, and I wanted to share it with you all.

Tuesday: All in a Row...

In the Nine West Outlet as I browsed for shoes... thank goodness for four Nintendo DS's. They make shopping with four kids a breeze.

Saturday: Reading, Reading, Reading....

I spent all day on Saturdau reading the second half of Dicken's Great Expectations for our Logos group discussion on Sunday after church. So this is where I spent my entire afternoon and evening ... all the way until 3 a.m., in fact. But I finished it! And it was very cosy, curling up under the beautiful prayer quilt made for me by the seamstresses of Lake Murray as part of their prayer quilt ministry.

Thursday: Dobby

E fell in love with a puppy at the animal rescue portion of our local pet store. She named him "Dobby" immediately and wanted him dreadfully (something that happens every time we set foot in the store, actually, although she took to him more strongly than usual). But for right now, one doggie is enough.

She eventually wants to volunteer at the Alpine Animal Jungle, and, when she's old enough, perhaps even work there. The owners live in our town and are really wonderful people.

AFC Championship Game

The corner of Main and Magnolia is probably the busiest intersection in El Cajon, my hometown -- population 100,000+ and fifteen miles east of downtown San Diego. And why is this intersection deserted at noon on a fine Sunday afternoon? The AFC Championship game, featuring our beloved San Diego Chargers.



But the Chargers' Superbowl dreams died a cold death on the New England field. Congrats to the Patriots for going 18-0, but still, the Chargers have only been in the Superbowl ONCE: 1994. And they lost. We would have loved to have had our turn winning the trophy and rings. Just once.

There's always next season, I guess....

Dash at Play...

The kids allowed Dash to join in their soccer game this morning. They love it when he joins in their PE games, but he does tend to hog the ball a bit....

Gr-Gr-Gr-Gr-Grading....

Getting sick last week put me quite behind on my grading for my Class Day writing classes. Then there was Thanksgiving, the surprise party for my sis-in-law, and the Holiday Art Fair all in the past week while I've still been recovering.

I like to spend about 15-20 minutes per paper (each 3-4 pages long), and I still have about 20 more to grade. Tonight. For class tomorrow.

Guess I'm putting in my earplugs while working tonight so no one disturbs me....

Wednesday: Children of Hope Concert

The Children of Hope performed at Lake Murray on Wednesday night. I took the four kids plus Sheri's daughter down into town to experience this choir of 5-8 year old kids who danced to and sang praise songs. The kids who performed for us were from the Philippines, India, and Uganda and were either orphans or abandoned. The organization is World Help, which is very like World Vision, and their mission is to reach the American evangelical church with the worldwide plight of children and get people to adopt individual children or churches to support "houses" and/or "villages" that will care for these specific children and many like them.

I'll write more on my regular blog when I have time. It was such a wonderful experience, and E was especially touched by these children.

Smoke in the City

Today we made our first foray into San Diego since the fires began. The Harris Fire is still kicking up smoke in the East County. Both of these photos were taken in Alpine, halfway between the San Diego suburb of El Cajon and our mountain town.



For a few more smoke photos, check out these.

The Smoke Descends

As the winds shifted today from the offshore Santa Anas to the usual onshore breezes, the smoke finally made it to our mountain valley. We found our eyes and throats burning, and we were all coughing much more than usual. In fact, I stayed inside today except for sneaking outside once or twice to get a few photos, and my chest still hurts from breathing the smoke.



I've taken this photo in several seasons now. When you contrast this gray, smoky sky and hazy mountains to the bright blue skies of yesterday's photos, the effects of the fires can definitely be seen across the meadow. Those mountains to the north usually stand out in stark contrast; today the most distant peaks can barely be seen.



I took this from our front porch, looking southwest in the afternoon sun. The skies yesterday were a deep blue; today smoke from the fires about ten to fifteen miles away decends into our valley and hazes even the usually blinding afternoon sunshine. And this is an extremely mild version of the extreme smoke of the fires this week down in the city....

News. Fire News.

My day was consumed with news today, or it was whenever we actually had power. So when the power was on, I was watching the TV news coverage from the local NBC and CBS affiliates and also checking online news. But when the power was out, which it was from 1:30 to 5:00 AM and again from 9:15 AM to 1:45 PM, our options were limited. During school hours today, I tuned J's battery-powered radio to AM 600, KOGO, where I was able to keep up with the latest evacuations, road closures, and various updates. I even heard my PV neighbor, Pam, calling Roger Hedgecock for information on the fire closest to our town, which so far hasn't been a danger.

So despite losing power several times during the night and day (and even again tonight for about twenty minutes), keeping up with the latest news on the seven fires burning in San Diego County was my priority for this day, one that unfortunately will go down in San Diego (and California) history.