Happy (burp) T-day!!!

I’m here at work with a stomach full of food, wondering when I can go and share time with family and friends.
We’re lucky the newsroom had a few dollars left over to splurge on a catered dinner for us on Thanksgiving. We do have a lot to be thankful for, after all (mostly that we’re [...]

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Walking in the rain

Wheeee … it rained in Orange County tonight and that made me (and sister) festive. Rather than worry about potential mudslides to our north, we dug out the dogs’ raincoats and made our way into the weather.
Neither Katy nor Shelby seemed to mind the plastic gear strapped to their backs. We kept their hoods folded [...]

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Meet Noir

The menagerie of animals on Pine Street is growing.
I am a sucker for lonely, hungry animals. I believe, for the most part, that most of our domestic creatures enjoy the company of humans. Seeing them alone and in peril on our busy streets puts fear in my heart. So, when I can, I feed and [...]

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Good news, for some

Fire watch
I was tempted to watch the news all night, tracking fires from Orange County and due north. But by 2 a.m., my eyes were watering and the sum total of the day caught up to me.
Christine and I had witnessed the smoke and overall chaos in Yorba Linda. After we collected her boyfriend’s valuables [...]

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Fire videos

A glimpse into our trip to Yorba Linda, where we evacuated Bobby’s things as ash fell from a smoke-filled sky:

On our way to Bobby’s, we’re amazed by the smoke and general scene in Yorba Linda:

We wait in traffic on our way to Bobby’s as first responders blast [...]

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Fire on the horizon

Update
We’re back from evacuating Bobby’s valuables from his condo in Yorba Linda. The sky there was a mess of smoke in various colors of brown, orange, white, black. The winds were whipping strongly and ash was flying.
It took us about an hour to collect and load Bobby’s things. There’s so much you want to take, [...]

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Say cheese!

Like every other vacation that comes and goes too quickly, I’m left to cobble memories and photos of my journey … this time, Mexico. Our travel gang again racked up a successful trip, from Mexico City to Oaxaca, then home in time for Election Day.
For a look inside our journey, watch my slideshow, then scroll [...]

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What a welcome home

With barely time to catch my breath from vacation, it was full-speed ahead to Election Day.
The day was a whirlwind, with so much anticipation for results I couldn’t concentrate on much of anything, never mind a past-tense trip to Mexico. The election results  have taken my breath away. I was hopeful for Barack Obama, but [...]

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Oh, happy dead

Greetings from lovely Oaxaca.
It´s been a crazy, busy time for my travel group down here, so I´ve had little time for the Internet or news from home.
Despite mind-boggling, heart-wrenching news of layoffs at my workplace in Orange County, I´ve managed to keep a happy face and enjoy the sights, sounds and food of this wonderful [...]

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