Ugliness, but Beauty (too) Rains Outside

It has sprinkled off and on here for most of the morning... Juan turned the sprinklers off this morning when he got home. The sky ranges from a dull grey to a brilliant blackish-silver with puffs of smokiness in it. The cold air chills me when I walk outside, so I do absolutely everything I have to do (outside) quickly. I don't do cold well... It is ugly when I look south, but looking to the north, I see the beauty I described above. We need the rain. My plants need it, and the whole city needs to be washed, fresh and clean again. The wind and the rain clear the air, leaving it crisp and cold, but invigorating, ready for something better.

I look at the new pink blossoms on my peach tree (there's finally more than one, with many blossoms ready to burst open). They are so pretty, such a light pink color... so new, so young... Hopefully, this year, the peaches will reach maturity. The squirrels have been my enemy for the past two years, letting nothing on this precious little tree survive. I'm sure it's the squirrels and not the birds, as when I lost all of the new fruits, the branches were broken from the weight of them climbing the wood, not yet strong enough to hold something so large and heavy.

The grapevine is finally dry, waiting for me to cut it down. I don't want to throw it away, once cut. I read somewhere the wood from the vine lends a different flavor when smoking meats. I think I might give it a try. Either way, I hate to see such an effort of nature go to waste. I hate to waste, yet sometimes I have no choice...

Cilantro is now abundant, growing tender and young, ready with pungent fresh flavor and aroma. This crisp greens are tasteful, even while only smelling them. Yum... now if only I had some tomatoes... Unfortunately, the squirrels destroyed those fruits as well, and they hang half-eaten on the vines. The cold has not killed them off yet. Hopefully, this will be another year where they can over-winter, as they are really good plants. The squirrel problem should hopefully be resolved by spring when the tomatoes will blossom once more. I hope that I will not have to pull them all out again; I hope they stay green and continue to thrive.

I realize some of you may be thinking I'm crazy, that your fruits and vegetables are long dead, due to the weather... But, that is (used to be, at least) one of the benefits of living in Southern California - the weather is fairly nice to us here. We can enjoy the cold (snow) when we want to "visit" the mountains. We don't have to endure the more harsh winters that some of you do. Like I said, I don't do cold well...

Happy birthday to MLK! He was a man with a dream... this year's presidential election sure does look like his dream coming to life... I guess dreams really do (and can) come true...

As the schools were closed today (and so was the library - so no "Storytime" for Marissa), I managed to get Stacy to practice and the rest of us to my friend's house. So, it was a different friend, as the original plans got put to rest. Poor Karen got sick... I wish you better! But, after Marissa cried that she wasn't going to see her little friend, Margaret came through and said we could visit with her. Marissa was instantly joyous once more. Isn't it amazing how resilient a child can be? I wish it was that easy for the rest of us.

I'm sure Stacy was quite frozen, but they needed the practice. They have a big game tomorrow against a team they had previously beaten. The "other" high school claims our team only beat them because they "hadn't practiced that day." Yeah, right! Their team has been practicing together since the summer. Our girls only started right before the official season started! You go, girls! Stacy's unsure if she wants to play again next year. I think she should. It really suits her, and she's good at it.

Rey, on the other hand, simply states she is not going to play water polo, at all. "I don't want to get hit in the face!" is her response. I think she would enjoy it, as well. She doesn't realize that so far, the only person she has seen get "hit in the face" is the goalie. That comes with the territory of the position. It is a very aggressive game, much more so than I originally speculated, but extremely fun to watch! It would be good to see the girls together again on a team, playing at the same time, and not running back and forth between swim heats.

Don't get me wrong... I love to watch them swim, but that is more of an individual effort, not a team effort. Team work is very important to me. I believe it involves more than the sporting issue, but prepares our youth to work together to build better futures, as well.

Time to kick them into "teamwork" gear and get their room finished... Toodles for now! lisa