Distraction: Welcome Sophie!

Friends let friends put diapers on their dogs.

Mind time: Pritzker lecture on Sea Levels

Tonight, I took advantage of my Cal Academy membership and attended a free Pritzker lecture-- and heard the head of the Bay Conservation and Development Commission speak about rising sea levels and how that will affect the Bay Area.

From the lecture, I learned:

• The sea level is expected to rise 16 cm in the next 50 years and 55 cm in the next 100 if the current trends continue unchecked. What does unchecked mean? It means that we continue to drive as much as we do, waste energy as much as we do... anything that maintains our current level of emissions.
• That sea level rise means that the current 100 year floodplain will be the new high tide line.
• Ultimately, the bay will more or less return to the same shape/area as it was back when Sir Francis Drake was nosing around... which is cool, except now there is all this development along the shorelines. Choices? Move or invest in levees and/or sea walls.
• Investment tip: put money into companies that build levees and sea walls. (not really. maybe)

The speaker also emphasized sustainable communities -- not only do we need to prepare for the rising sea level, but make efforts to not add to the problem. Elegant solutions include creating communities emphasizing consolidated resources (markets, public areas) and walking, limiting cars, and using building methods to reduce energy (placing trees next to building to increase shade/decrease the need for air conditioning, that kind of thing).

And on the topic of climate change, discussed tonight was the fact that there is no debate within the scientific community about whether or not the process is occurring. Scientifically, there are numbers and facts and conclusions; questioning happens, as it should, but the process of peer review prevents extreme, unsupportable conclusions from being published. But climate change is a politically and fiscally charged topic. Adam Frank, an NPR blogger, does a really great job of breaking down the social life (for lack of a better term) of climate change here. There are dinosaurs involved.

That's all. Go buy a canoe and turn off a light.

(a)musing

• I am going to see Amanda Palmer on May 22nd. Amy, Ashley, and I will be dressing in our steampunk circus finest and committing ourselves to a raucous evening. Anyone know how to sew a bustle?
• I know this ash-cloud business (mostly dissipated at this point) was very stressful for people (soon Lareina!), but I kept wishing I had gone on that trip to see Miss Sarah in London right before ash inhibited jet engines. Stranded in London with friends? Sign me up.
• I recently learned never to cook a new recipe for a dinner party. Major meltdowns happen when rolling dough that crumbles, thus threatening the life of your galette. The banana with peanut butter frosting cupcakes were magical though.
• I really need a potato masher.
• Two weeks from now, I will be in Hawaii. Shedding light on my pale pale skin. Boogie boarding with my mom. Weeeeeee! (also? more volcanoes!)
• Trips to Planet Granite have been increased in prep for upcoming beach vacation. Plank pose has become my life. Oh, shoulders. There you are. Clavicle? I see you!
• I am completely obsessed with Bones and am taking an enforced break between Seasons 3 and 4 on Netflix Instant viewing. Life is being inhibited. Also, I have a huge crush on Seely Booth. Yes please.

Reconnecting

A month or so ago, my hard drive went boom. Today, I got to know it a bit better.

During the week: albino knuckled

Last week, I was driving a fleet vehicle on a project site. I started on a paved road, then a gravel road, then a dirt road with muddy puddles and a steep incline and steep decline on either side. By the time I rolled the car to a stop, I was sitting upright and rigid, finally understanding the definition of 'white-knuckled.' The road in front of me more or less disappeared in a swath of rocky gravel, hardly wide enough to turn around.

Back and forth, back and forth, a gazillion point turn followed. I jumped in and out of the car to check how much room I had before the edge of the small ravine, and nosed the hillside like bumpers in San Francisco. My other option was to back out, which just seemed impossible.

Years later (more like 10 minutes), I made my way back along a mud road, gravel road, tires finally grabbing sweet sweet pavement. And I laughed at myself after for being so nervous. But I definitely gave a nod to all the random driving lessons my dad gave me in the Sierras when I was fifteen.

Also? I saw like 20 peacocks, including this fancypants albino:

In my kitchen: Potato and Leek Soup

Last Sunday was cold and blustery. Rain rain rain pretty much every time I went out of doors, and most of the time I was inside as well. As fortune would have it, I had already decided to make Potato and Leek soup, a perfect meal on a winter-in-April day.

This recipe is basic enough. The main ingredients are leeks, potatoes, onions, garlic, and celery. Actually, add some broth and salt/pepper to that, and there you go: soup. I made the error of not looking at amounts when prepping for this dish, and had to run to the market across the way for more potato and to Andronico's for more leeks -- note, you end up cutting off the tops of the leeks, so always buy more than the recipe says. The rain seemed to know right when I had to run outside to really come down.

By the time Bill came over, the apartment smelled pleasantly like a British cottage in the middle of the countryside with weather outside to match. The finished soup heated up the serving bowls quickly. Potatoes retain heat very very well! And while we thought the Potato and Leek soup was really good and definitely warming of the mulligrubs, we hypothesized that it would be even better after a day or two. We were right -- I ate leftovers at lunch today (see photo), and all the flavors had melded and intensified. Fantastic.

Soup recipes generally are for 4-8 people. Since I am usually cooking for 1-3, I have leftovers that exceed the 'take for work the next day' capacity. My freezer is a delightful array of little tupperwares with little soups in them, labeled and stacked, waiting for a day where my fridge is empty or I'm running out the door, lunchless, to work (they defrost by lunchtime). I try to make a point the putting the newest made soup on the bottom, and to use the soups within about three months of making them. I have no actual reason for using them within that time period other than it seems like a good idea.... Anyhow. Potato and Leek soup = Win.

Night Swimming (that photo on the dashboard)

Look what arrived in the mail today! Without a glitch! No call from immigration saying this fee wasn't paid or that line wasn't signed --- smoooooth sailing, which I take as a sign that it is high time for a trip. Heck. Yes.

In other news, I am apparently a night swimmer. In the middle of the night, I imagine woken by that crazy loud storm we had, Bill looked over to see me on my back, arms in the air in front of me, waving back and forth. Gracefully, I guess. He asked me if I was awake, and I looked at him with a chipper, "Hi!" and then proceeded to roll over, fast asleep.

I remember none of this. Having lived by myself for about seven years, I wonder how often I night swim without witness.

again and again

I have watched this over and over. Definitely the most beautiful pro seat belt video I have ever seen.

(also, it makes me cry)

small spaces

I am house-sitting in San Rafael again, in a house on the edge of Lagunitas creek. The place is fondly referred to as "The Villa" due to the relaxed Mediterranean vibe it creates. I almost forgot to come into work today, the sun room (with its tile and coffee and wifi and early hour sun) is that enticing.

The Villa is very quiet, and as such, you would think I would sleep like a baby. But no. Without the usual drone of buses and the general hum of San Francisco, every creak in the house and every movement old lady cat Cleo makes sounds like someone breaking in or a prehistoric animal tip toe-ing to eat me (having obviously just come through the anomaly in the closet). The large spaces in a house versus a small studio are spaces for unwelcome thoughts, intruders.

I think this is something you adjust to -- the quiet, the space. In my small city apartment, my belongings crowd around me, whereas in this house I can see baseboards. At least Miss Cleo, she snores, which is kindof like a mini bus curled up by my pillow.

tiny bits of Easter

Pine Lodge, Pollock Pines (again)

An old dude was walking around with a leashed cat on his shoulders. Another fell off his stool -- everyone rushed to his aid, fearing stroke, heart attack (he was really old), but no, he was just drunk. The bartender had obviously just had her breasts WAY augmented. Like whoa. Erika, drunk, looked at her at one point, gestured at the buxom lady's chest and said, "Hmmm, you should really just tone this all down, honey." Bartender missed it completely.

I love the Pine Lodge. They have a stripper pole. And snow and beer pong. And pine trees and Clampers (also wow). And awesomeness.

looking at flowers (also known as work)

And that is actually Amy, not me. But don't fret. My mother couldn't even tell the difference.

the veg in veg monitoring

Work terms become a second language. You don't even realize that what you are saying (often) might not make sense to someone in a different industry. I feel like I throw around the term "veg monitoring" quite a bit, to the response of quizzical looks or blank stares ---see the above photo for an accurate pictorial representation. Morgan and I crept and sat and crept and sat along hillsides in south San Jose yesterday. I usually visit this particular field site in the drier months, when things are prickly, thistly, and full of ticks, but Thursday's visit was rad --- tons of wild flowers were up, and I even saw a federally listed Bay Checkerspot butterfly! Schizophrenic clouds chased us all day, alternating the temps between freezing and quite warm. Good day. Next week, I'm going to a site a bit further south that is really close to one of the highest density wildflower fields in the Bay Area. Awesome.