Cats are such weird critters

Don't get me wrong, I'm a cat lover from way back, but they are still lovably weird critters.

I've written before about my cat's tendency to put her toys in either her food or water dish, or both. And that a little research told me that for cats, particularly cats who have lived on the streets as this one did for awhile, their food and water are the most important things going. The dishes are 'safe places' so they tend to put their toys there so they won't be lost.

I didn't really have a problem with this, other than soft things in the water which sometimes made a mess. But in recent weeks/months I've noticed that for the most part, there are only these two toys in the food dish and they are there all the time. She takes them out to play with, or sometimes so she can reach her food, but they always show up right back in the dish. These, apparently, are the ones she really loves the most. Kind of fascinating, really. Especially since she has 10-15 of those milk jug rings in different colors, but keeps this one in the dish.

That indestinguishable white blob used to be a mouse, tail and all. Awhile back the seam came apart, baring the box inside that makes it rattle. But, the box wasn't coming out, so I ignored it for awhile until it became so apparent how much she really loves this little blob.  So I sewed the seam up again so it lives awhile longer. She has a black one that came together with the white one, but has never played with it like she does this one.

There's a guy up on the roof blowing leaves from the gutters and the noise plus the leaves falling past the window really have her attention. She can't see the guy on the roof, but loves the movement.

Cold, wet day here. Winter's coming.

Skillet roasted lemon chicken

So, this is how it is, peeps. You don't hear from me for weeks, and now twice in one day. What can I say.

I've been itching to try a new recipe from one of my favorite TV chefs, Ina Garten and I decided today was the day to do it.

Ina would never steer me wrong, and this was another winner.

She, of course, touts that it's 'so easy'. And in a sense, it is. Ina, of course, has the money and connections and assistant chefs and whatever else it takes to make it look easy on TV. Unlike me.

Hers was already spatchcocked, butterflied, whatever you want to call it. Mine was not. This was my second ever attempt at doing this myself, and it was certainly a lot more successful than the first. I recently scored some cheap kitchen shears at Goodwill, and that helped.

This is what the bird looked like, backbone and ribs removed along with wingtips. Naked and ready for Ina's magic.





First, some fresh thyme from my garden, some fennel seed, salt and pepper hit the grinder and then some olive oil to soak and let those flavors meld together.


Slathered that bird on both sides and under the skin here and there with the oil mixture, then laid it atop some sliced lemons, onions and garlic in the pan.

Into a 450 oven, added white wine at 30 minutes, out at 45 minutes, let it sit another 15 minutes covered in foil.

I thought the onions and lemons could have used a little more cooking, and the sauce was a little thin, so after I ate I reduced it all over high heat and now it's lovely and thick, for future use.

But all in all I have to say, once again, Ina did not steer me wrong.

She never does.

Happy Thanksgiving

Sorry I've been MIA -- all is well, just not feeling to much into writing lately, and not much to write about. I mean really, do you want to hear the details of my cat's trip to the vet to get rid of tapeworms? I didn't think so.

Thus -- thought I'd take a moment to wish all of you a very happy Thanksgiving.  And reduce that wine in any way you choose!

Small steps

Surprise! I'm still here. Just been a busy time.

For anyone on any spiritual path, doubting whether small steps can make a difference, I post this. There's a saying in Buddhism about 'drop by drop the bucket (of wisdom) is filled'. Look at what was accomplished below in 5 months of steady effort, and realize that your own steady effort to fill the bucket of wisdom can be just as effective. We just don't have photos to show our inner progress.

I've been watching the reconstruction of this spillway on the live cam pretty much daily, from the beginning. The progress has been astonishing. Today is their deadline to be finished with phase 1, and as of this morning, they are finishing the last bits and pieces. Next year, they'll replace some of the upper spillway and probably those barriers at the bottom, which they judged to be in good enough condition to wait. And also finish the entire spillway with more layers of enriched concrete, as I understand it. That entire middle section is lower than the upper section, for example, and I believe it's a different level from the bottom section as well. But it's deemed strong enough to take large amounts of overflow for the upcoming rainy season.

Another fun graphic from yesterday.

This roller-compacted concrete was only used in the middle section, where the deep washout is shown above. The upper and lower sections used poured concrete with huge rebar grids. I've really learned a lot watching this, and the drone flyover videos they post on twitter once or twice a week.

What's hard to grasp in the photo of the entire spillway is the sheer size of this job. The drone flyovers get down close and show just how wide, how deep, and how big a job it really was.

So that's most of what's on my mind today. What's on your mind?

The fires continue

Napa and Sonoma are still burning. Almost 200,000 acres so far. This fire, the Tubbs fire between Calistoga and Santa Rosa, was one of the first and is still spreading and causing mayhem. According to CalFire a moment ago, it's at 37,440 acres and only 10% contained. Seriously threatening the wonderful old city of Calistoga, which has been under mandatory evacuation all day.

Another big fire further south is threatening the historic city of Sonoma itself, and many homes in the surrounding area have been burned. The Mayacamas mountains, between the Napa Valley and the Sonoma County, began blazing at the very top a couple of days ago, moving down the Napa side to Mt. Veeder Road where there are many wineries and homes.

Not the clearest image, taken from a live map. shows all the fires currently burning in the area, from Cloverdale to the north, to the Tubbs fire that is threatening Healdsburg as well as Calistoga. Down into the eastern side of Sonoma county in the mountains and over into the Napa side. Plus fires still active in Napa. This is not over yet. Barely contained anywhere, still spreading. High winds in the forecast that can continue to spread it quickly, which is what happened initially.

The planes, large and small, didn't get into the sky until today because of poor visibility.  Several of the large tankers, shown above, and numerous smaller planes. Helicopters have been at work all along, but the planes are a big help.

Heading to bed tonight, wondering what morning will bring.

Fire -- or a Buddhist lesson in impermanence

Update 10/10. Soda Canyon Road, which leads to my friends' home in Napa.

After a week or two of being under the weather, I'm happy to say that Cipro has done it's job and today my energy is back in force. Seems I had a bladder infection, which is something I managed to live almost 75 years without experiencing. Could have gone another 75. Could have been worse. A mild case, from tales I've heard.

Turned on the computer at 4am and saw 'napafires' trending on twitter. I was mesmerized and heartbroken over the next 4 hours as I reached out to friends (all safe) and watched the devastation. People, this is home to me, regardless of where I was born or where I live now. Given the money to make it possible, this is where I'd choose to live. Eugene's a pretty good second choice, but it ain't Napa/Sonoma Counties.



Napa got it first, but Santa Rosa is actually taking the brunt of it, with whole neighborhoods wiped out. Hospitals being evacuated at 4am. KMart, hotels, motels, various unknown businesses, wineries, eateries, all burned. Fire departments in Napa and Sonoma counties considered the fires unstoppable, and have focused on getting people evacuated and safe.

At this writing, 3:30pm, at least 1500 structures and over 70,000 acres burned, zero percent contained.



Happy my friends are all safe, though.

Tibetan proverb

This little jewel arrived in my twitter feed this morning from @tinybuddha, and it's something I think all of us can benefit from hearing.

In a world filled with so much stress, far too many of us (me included) tend to eat too much, exercise too little, forget to laugh and love. So I share this reminder with everyone.

Took me several days of limp noodle exhaustion, but as of yesterday I'm pretty much back to normal after the waterfall hike last week. I'm still utterly glad I went, but that doesn't alter the fact that it was hard on this old body! Good for the mind, and the heart, however.

Beat up, battered and bruised -- in my mind

I feel worn out, beat up, battered and bruised, and every damn year of my almost 75, but it was worth it.

I had a friend from Bhavana visiting in town for a couple of days. We spent the first day in Eugene, seeing the sights, walking in nature and downtown. She lives in Florida and was right in the path of Irma. No harm to her house, or her, though. Still, a harrowing experience. She's never been to Oregon before, so I wanted to give her a good tour of this beautiful place.

Yesterday, we drove into the mountains to walk the waterfalls trail on the McKenzie River. I did this once, probably 1997 or so, by myself when I stumbled across this place accidentally, and probably again with a local hiking group 10 years or so ago. I'm not really sure. But, I was younger and more nimble in those days.

The trail is only about 2.5 miles, but they are not easy-walking miles. From the parking lot one descends a very short distance to the beauty above -- Sahalie Falls. This is an OLD photo -- no snow yesterday. But it was drizzly and my camera was in my pack, so I didn't get one of this view. From here, the trail descends downhill via steep steps that are mostly wooden railroad ties, with no hand railings. I really could  have used a hiking stick for extra stability, but no longer have one. The wood was wet, too. I was wearing my hiking boots, and while the Vibram sole is great for most surfaces, it's pretty slippery on wet wood. So -- it was slow going. Plus the view of the river and various rapids and cascades and falls was so great we stopped often just to take it in and take photos.

One of many light drops/cascades/rapids along the downhill walk.

The water was crystal clear, and I am always fascinated by deep pools with that astonishing color.

The day was damp and drizzly much of the time, but still beautiful. We've had days of rain, so were grateful to have this much of a break so we could walk in comfort.

This is Koosah falls, the second large one on the trail. Memory tells me this one is 90 feet, while Sahalie is a tiny bit bigger at 100 feet. Very beautiful, regardless of size.

Naturally, what trail goes down must go back up. At the bottom there is a bridge then we picked up the McKenzie River Trail up the other side. Not so many viewing spots over here, and the trail is as steep going up as it was going down, but no steps. I wasn't sorry to see them go.

This is the top of one of the falls, but I honestly don't remember which one. Since it's towards the end, I'm guessing it's Sahalie.

It was hard to get a really clear view of the falls, so I had to settle for the downhill view and lots of that fabulous blue-green water. 

Gotta say, I was really happy to see this bridge! My old body handled the whole thing much better than I expected, especially the uphill portion. I trundled right on up it, though by this point I was getting a bit tired and ready for some food and water and a soft car seat!

Upstream view from the bridge.  From here, we still had a good walk back to the car, but it was mostly level and a good trail.

All in all, it was about a 3-hour hike, which is a lot for such a short distance. But it was difficult on the downhill side in particular, and when you factor in stopping often for photos, time adds up. I'm so very glad we went, though. I doubt that I'll ever see this trail again in this lifetime, and while the body feels beat up, battered and bruised and really tired, that's all temporary and in the end the body will be stronger. Not bad for an old lady, really. Especially an old lady who hasn't walked a hill to speak of in about a year and a half.

Hazardous

The air in Eugene yesterday. Worst yet, with fires encroaching from the east and smoke from fires all over Oregon and Washington combined with a heat spell and little wind. I went outside briefly, and it was brutal, so I've stayed inside with the AC going, day and night. This morning I opened the blinds in my bedroom and could smell the smoke coming in around the closed window! I immediately engaged the lock, which closes out more air, and closed the little vents at the top of both windows.

Maybe this will illustrate it better. This was yesterday afternoon in the surrounding area. Of the three towns, you can see that Eugene was the worst, literally at the top of the scale.

Somehow that's surprising, since the fires are approaching Oakridge, to the east. I'd think they'd have more smoke, but not according to this.

Today should be the last day of the heat wave and hopefully, some winds will come along with the cooler air and blow some of this away.

I'm grateful that I have AC, and a place to live where I can escape the smoke. Not everyone is so fortunate -- people living in homes without AC, particularly those with already-existing breathing difficulties -- must find this very difficult.

I need to go out this morning long enough to be sure my plants are watered for another 100 degree day, but that doesn't take long.

Aside from the unhealthy and unpleasant air, I personally hate the idea of so much of the northwest's beautiful forests burning, perishing into blackened stumps.

Kat dancing

Around here, this is known as the 'vacuum cleaner side-step'. Hard to get a pic of the full experience, since I can't move the machine and hold the camera at the same time. Moving the machine towards her is what brings on the dance. But this is close enough. Always brings a chuckle to the chore.

And oh, by the way, I'm still alive and well!