I hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July. It’s so dry here that I don’t expect fireworks. There haven’t been any fireworks ahead of the 4th.

The smoky haze here is beginning to get to me. It’s quite thick. This morning the house smells stronger than yesterday. It’ stoo warm here not to have the windows open at least part of the day and overnight to cool off the house. I’m having trouble breathing with all the smoke.

Until I did some reading, I didn’t understand the lightning storms. Of course lightning can cause fires. I just couldn’t imagine how you can have lightning and no thunderstorms. It’s possible to have dry thunderstorms–yes–thunderstorms with no rain. Here’s a little more description.

Yesterday my mother asked when we would get rain to put out the fires. I laughed. We will see rain around November.

The heavy cloud cover on Friday night prevented getting that sunset shot over the ocean. The next day the sun came out around noon, so I have some interesting photos. It’s too bad we didn’t stay longer…

Wow! I really should pay more attention to what is going on. I was surprised to hear that the California Supreme Court overturned the ban on gay marriages. Check this out. I wonder what the rest of the country (media) will have to say about “crazy” California. It should be interesting to hear. Probably infuriating. Gotta love this state!

Yesterday I spent the day at the Dicken’s Fair in San Francisco. I have never been to any of these kinds of fairs. Not Renaissance, nor any others. It was lots of fun to see everything and to see people dressed up. I own a custom Victorian style corset, which I wore. Boy, did it hurt. I have never worn it for so long. My ribs hurt while I wore it. I spent the day with the guy I’m seeing.What else can I say except that it was great. Twnety-four hours later I still wasn’t tired of him. I’m sorry that I don’t have any photos. I forgot my camera.
If this fair is your kind of thing and you’re in the area, the fair is still open on December 22 and 23.

Last night’s earthquake was a bit scary because I wasn’t sure if things were going to fall out of the cupboards and off the shelves. Nothing did. The cats hid for over an hour under the bed. We just had another quake (3.7) around 4 pm. The cats hid again. The dog isn’t very happy about the ground shaking either. Last night I checked every room, every shelf, closet and cupboard. I pushed everything back in place. I spent about an hour las tnight afterwards feeling nauseous. A typical reaction for me. This is only my third earthquake (fourth if you count this afternoon’s).

Today was a nice reprieve from the weekend. Quiet. Too bad there’s no mail. The holiday caught me off guard.

Now if people would just keep their word. Although I’m not perfect at it. I have a lot to get done this week, so it’s time I get back to it.

We’re having the most gorgeous weather here today. Nearly 80 degrees. I just love California.

The park fire south of here is making everything hazy and hot. I’m having more trouble than usual getting motivated or even being awake. There’s also a slight burnt smell everywhere you go. The park is just over 30 miles from here. The fire has burned about 19,000 acres as of this morning and is expected to burn more before they get it put out. This is borrowed from the San Jose Mercury News: the fire is expected to reach 30,000 acres, as a comparison San Francisco is 29,888 acres.

The pictures below of the Lick fire came from the San Jose Mercury News website.

I hope your Labor Day weekend has been more exciting than mine. I have spent a few hours a day cleaning or catching up on errands. It’s too hot to spend more than a couple of hours in the morning doing these things. I still have some sort of stomach flu. At this point, I’m wondering how much longer it will last. Although on the up side, I may lose several pounds. It’s another hot day ahead. I think I will read. The books I ordered at the end of last week arrived yesterday. Looking ahead to my schedule, I don’t know how much time I will have for reading, unless I don’t sleep.

Also coming up…I’m going to miss the Nebraska vs. USC game on TV. I’m in a seminar all day. I hope they beat USC this time. Why Nebraska plays USC when they aren’t in the Big 12? I don’t know. Any bloggers/readers who are Nebraska fans who can send me game updates on September 15?

Every time I get on the highway near my house, I am reminded of my childhood. For some reason this year, cattails are growing next to the on-ramp.

As a kid, I always saw cattails around one of the ponds on the golf course. I don’t know why I always liked them. They do look a little like a cat’s tail. My mother dried them and preserved them, so there were some cattails in the house in floor vase. I liked the way they felt–all velvety. I always felt sad when they fluffed out and the wind carried the fluffy seeds away. I think they look best when they are brown.