Category Archives: Daily Life

Recuperation

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Had a bad case of bronchitis the week before last, that I’m still getting over. In search of Comfort Reading™ I re-read all of Steven Brust’s Khaavren tales; and then, not yet satisfied, I took Patrick O’Brian’s Master and Commander from its place of honor on the bookshelf. It was followed by Post-Captain, and yesterday I finished H.M.S. Surprise. And now that I’m started, well. I’ve got some good reading ahead.

Well, The Rain Stopped….

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…which, given the burned hillsides up yonder is a very good thing. Our house isn’t in any significant danger, but there are many houses that have been.

On the other hand, the rain stopped because the clouds went away. The sky is blue, and it’s sunny out there. Do you know what happens in cold weather when the cloud cover goes away?

The temperature drops. After a week of temperatures in the upper 40’s, I woke up this morning to find that it was about 30 degrees outside. I know that that’s balmy compared to many places in the U.S., but it’s rare here in Southern California, and our house simply isn’t insulated for it. I foresee a frigid weekend ahead.

But be all that as it may—the hillsides here are still up on the hills, where they belong. And that, as they say, is priceless.

Uh, What?

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My five-year-old daughter and her five-year-old friend Lucy just walked into the room where my older daughter was about to play a video game. Says Lucy:

I want to play a game with you. A queen and princess game. I’m the queen, and you two are the princesses.

To which my five-year-old adds:

And anyway, I have a bracelet.

Wait, what?

No, But You’re Thinking About It

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So we were at church today, and my two girls were fighting over who got to sit next to Mom. I finally pulled the more egregious offender (the five-year-old) onto my lap, facing away from her sister.

She sat there for a while, sobbing; and then, when she got over it, she sat up a little, and slowly turned to face the front. And then she slowly moved one leg around my knee. And then she started swinging that leg little by little.

And then I said, in her ear, “Leave your sister alone.” “I wasn’t touching her!” “No, but you were thinking about it.” And she frowned, and the leg came back around my knee.

It’s nice to know that after four kids I can finally figure out what a five-year-old is thinking.

Spam Takes a New Turn

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So I got a new kind of spam comment on my other blog today. The text of the comment was actually making an attempt to engage with the topic of the blog post. So how do I know it was spam?

  • The person’s name was odd.
  • The person’s e-mail address was clearly based on someone’s name…but it wasn’t the same name.
  • The person’s website address was for some kind of business that sells vitamins and anti-oxidants…the sort of thing you get in comment spam. It certainly didn’t look like a personal website.

This presented me with a bit of a quandary. On the one hand, I don’t want to encourage spammers, or give them any help in increasing their Google page ranks. On the other hand, the comment was somewhat to the point. The guy had obviously read the post, I figure he deserves credit for trying.

So I accepted the comment…and deleted the website address from it. 🙂

The Bear Went Over The Mountain

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A bear was seen on a suburban street about a mile from my house this afternoon.

About a mile further down the hill from my house.

I have never heard of a bear being seen in my town, and my family has lived here since the 1950’s. I knew mountain lions were being spotted here and there, up near the where the houses end, but bears? More fallout from the Station Fire, I guess.

Now I’m waiting for the tigers.

Cold Season

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I know kids grow up fast these days, but I’m nearly certain my five-year-old daughter shouldn’t be speaking with a bass voice.

Not only that, but when I suggested that she go upstairs and lie down for a while, because it would help her feel better…she went.