Life of Wry

The sour grass. Aka Yellow Woodsorrel or Oxalis Stricta. My favorite weed of spring.

We have some, wish we had more. We have a sweet little patch in the front and a large swath in the back by the citrus trees.

The picture above is about 7th and E.. seen on my way to the coop. It’s all over the Old North neighborhood… worth a walk down there.

I was watching the Academy Awards tonight (of course!) and about fell off my chair when they did a Red Carpet interview with the fabulous Rita Moreno, who is 92.

Because… she looks just like mom. Sometimes I think mom looks like Audrey Hepburn, sometimes like Lucille Ball. Tonight, it was Rita Moreno. Jim thinks part of it is the era…a lot of women looked like a lot of women.. the poses they struck, the clothes they wore, their make up, hairstyles. Mom was always very expressive.. lots of funny faces. She really CAN look just like I Love Lucy (and could behave like her, as well).

But check this out.. I tried to get one where the facial expressions were close.

Here are a few more I could quicky put my hands on….

Jim and I saw a movie tonight about a guy in Tokyo who cleans toilets and lives a quiet life. I liked it. (I didn’t like it as much as I LOVED Maestro, but it gave me a lot to think about.)

As we walked home, we talked about how the movie made us each feel better about our (not insignificant) routines. Jim and I are both very… uh… habitual.

There is comfort in routines. And now I can see that a life shaped by routines can also be quite meditative.

Unrelated: here’s what our house looks like at night… when the tulip tree is in full bloom and the calendula, daffodils, sour grass and poppies are emerging:

…. has been lifted.

Meaning.. Ima feeling a whole lot better today about where the presidential campaign is, and the prospects for a positive outcome, than I was yesterday. Further, I didn’t realize how weighty everything had been feeling.. dire, not so hopeful about the election, deeply worried about a Biden loss (and I can’t even say whose win).

I mean, the media’s been singularly focused on Biden’s age. All the polls obsess about it. We know who started this and who continues to beat the age drum. The right wing media is all in on this narrative. The political ads are deeply cruel and mean-spirited (surprise) and effective, apparently. It’s all anyone talks about. It has bled over into the mainstream media (and everywhere) and never mind the two candidates are, for all intents and purposes, the same age. To read the news you’d think only one is old and he’s incapable of getting from point A to point B, much less run the country. They say.

Blah blah blah.

The Magas set the bar for the SOTU speech last night mightly low. Their mistake (they’re not very bright). All Biden had to do was yell and show vigor and their entire hypothesis crumbled.

He did a lot more than that. He was (more or less) vigorous and focused last night and was the last guy in the room, as he spent the hour (or so) following the speech working the room (and making sure he was caught on lots of hot mics saying strong things). He followed it up today with a super solid (for him) speech in Philly that underscored all his talking points from last night. He was even better today.

All of this is to say:

I personally had been feeling despondent about the election. It’s been all about the other side for months b/c they’re the ones with a primary and they filled all the news cycles. It’s been the trump show and the trump-attack-Biden show. The media’s lapped it up. Biden’s been quiet, waiting for his moment. With the results of super Tuesday, with Haley dropping out, with the SOTU delivered, the general campaign pretty much began today, and began on a good, solid, positive note. Biden’s in good shape (not teetering on the brink of death, as it turns out), his message is emerging (it’s good, even), trump’s in so many deep legal morasses that are costing him bigly (which was in the news a lot today)… this is all pretty good. And hopeful.

Not to say we’re anywhere near there. Biden will eff up a lot, the con man will work his maga magic on his miserable manipulatable minions and it will be ugly ugly ugly. He’ll score undeserved victories that will flood the new cycles and it will be severely dispiriting.

But I see a path.

Biden should win. There is no way on earth the other guy, in a functioning democracy (which is hurting at the moment) could possibly ever get anywhere near the presidency. Nothing about a trump win makes any sense whatsoever. I’m confident about that. I just haven’t been confident in the outcome.. because propaganda, tricksterism, cheating, lying, stupidity, fear, injustice, weakness on the part of people who’ve been corrupted by power… all of it. And more.

But I feel so much lighter today.. surprisingly so.

(*) See what I did there? Itsa pun.. a great pun! Thank you State of the Union!

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A couple of good ones:

Gosh… could write about so much..

1) Cole Brauer’s finish in the Global Solo Challenge, making her the first woman to sail around the world non-stop and alone (at 29). Followed her more or less daily videos on Instagram for a few months and grew to really admire her. The idea of that kind of effort appeals not at all.. but I could understand a lot of it (b/c of my years of sailing and some racing) and put myself in her shoes (er, sailing boots and foulies) each time I watched one of her videos. Could I ever do such a thing? Most def not.

This is the route:

And this is a shot from the trophy presentation (she came in second… it’s a long explanation.. google it). She’s darn cute. (But more importantly: incredibly able; fierce; strong.)

2) Wonderful lunch with Susan at Grange. I even have a pic of that..

That’s a seafood chowder with a floating, savory, cheesy spiral cracker that, when dipped in the chowder, was over the top insanely good — maybe, though, a bit rich. A sensible pile of greens, a spicy steak 1/2 sandwich, and a “treat” — a layered cakey thing that was a nice way to end a meal. Susan was her lovely self.

3) I backed out of going to Arizona tomorrow for a long weekend of canvassing and petition signature gathering and voter reg. That, too, is a long explanation. Let me just say I made the right decision for this weekend for a number of reasons and I’ll canvass in Arizona probably 1-3 times before it’s all said and done. Whew.

4) SOTU. Lot of democratic angst going into the speech tonight. Biden had to prove to the country that he is not senile, basically. So he came out hot and stayed hot for the entire speech. His oratory style is not at all to my liking, but I’m not the one he needs to convince. The post speech punditry seemed to suggest he did exactly what his team prepped him for (plus valued-added “unscripted” riffs). They were happy and satisfied. The non-fans said he yelled too much and made it too political-slash-campaigny. (Too campaigny… lol… how about MTG in full Maga regalia — against House decorum rules — or the relentless politicking at SOTU of the former guy when he was prez… like, for example, his giving the Medal of Freedom to Rush Limbaugh DURING THE SOTU). (Hypocrits.)

I say, damned if you do, damned if you don’t. If Biden didn’t yell for 60 minutes, he’d have been accused of being low energy and unable to do the job. So that’s what he did. Otherwise, he twisted facts and slurred his words… standard fare, but nothing too wincy for this democrat. I may have relaxed about halfway through. I actually wrote a speech for him a few days ago. I thought mine hit all the right notes. His hit on just a couple of my points but not in the way I’d have suggested, were I a part of his speech prep team. Still… I think we live to fight another day. It’s going to be a long 8 months. Ugh.

Here’s a screen shot of fiery Joe, dutiful stand-up-sit-down Kamala, and out-of-his-element-sometimes-confused Mike :

More screenshots. Some of today’s political cast:

L to R, T to B: Roberts and Sotomayor; Gaetz and Burchett; Mazie and Bernie; Ketanji Brown Jackson; Clyburn and Maxine; Nadler; Pete; Bohbert; Halland, Garland, Austen and a smidge of Mayorkas.
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I’m a bit shocked by how tired I am. Yes, I need to establish a better sleep habit.. but I think (oddly, to me) that I’m still catching up from a couple weeks in Guatemala with very, very little sleep. In case you needed to know this.

Drove over the mountain today for lunch with my cousin Heidi.

The hills outside of Winters were so verdant!

The Glory Hole is almost almost almost at spillage stage. Not sure it’ll get there this year.. but it’s oh so close.

Heidi and me in the parking lot at Mustards Grill.

A few shots of the drive home… spectacularly beautiful day in the Berryessa Hills and Napa Valley. Those clouds!

(Somehow I had my camera on an inappropriate setting, so none of these are in focus.)

This was a quickie snap through the passenger window (I did slow down to take it.. in fact, may have stopped).

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Finally, boy was I a race car driver today. This was some of the most fun I’ve ever had behind the wheel! Our Acura RDX is probably the highest performing car I’ve ever owned and today I pushed myself to figure out how to take corners at a pretty good clip. About an hour from Winters to Rutherford on 128. So. Much. Fun.

I’m usually a 3pm massage getter. Today — don’t ask me why — I scheduled a massage for 6:45am.

This was the view looking west as I drove down Russell, sun rising behind me and illuminating what’s left of the walnut trees (that used to line Russell Blvd and form the loveliest tree canopy ever!).

I did nothing to this shot to enhance the colors, but I do admit to crudely editing out most of the road signs and a few oncoming cars with their headlights glaring. (Oh, and the heads up display on my windshield… )

It was just stunning!

Here’s a shot that I didn’t edit.. I actually pulled over for this one:

By the time I drove home (8:30), the sky was a dull grey and the trees just kind of sad looking.

I’m so far behind on blogging.. I hardly know where to start. Terrible way to start the year.

Wait…. let’s try this again.

A great way to start the year is with a mind-blowing trip to Central America. If that’s why you’re behind on blogging.. maybe you oughta just take a deep breath and reflect for a moment. You’ll catch up in due time. Or.. not. Chill, babe.

Welcome to my self talk.

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Ok. Here’s today’s. Jim and I finally got our appointment to get approved for Global Entry. All things considered, it happened pretty fast. We applied on December 5th of last year, so it took just three months. I overheard a Customs and Border Patrol employee tell a guy today that the wait time is now 15 months. I think part of the challenge is that you have to show up at a Global Entry office and those are scattered around the country’s larger airports; if you don’t live near one, that’s hard, and some airports have longer waits. And then there’s just timing… how many other people are applying at any given time. There are not that many slots available on any given day. So… three months was short and we only had to go to SFO. We were prepared to go to San Diego if that would save us a year, perhaps.. but didn’t have to.

Anyway.. after pre-vetting online via an application, some finger printing, photo taking and document review w/ a gov official today .. we are good. Our GE cards should arrive in a couple-three weeks.

Global Entry allows us to skip the long lines at customs upon return from foreign travel. It also gives us TSA-pre status (which we already applied for and got last year and which has, so far, been great). It’s good for five years and didn’t cost much… around $100, I think.

Here’s a pick of the drive down… taken from the Bay Bridge (through tinted windows).

I’ve talked about the Short sisters before…. the seven sisters (and one brother) raised in Cedar Falls, Iowa at the turn of the century (some born in the 1800s, like my grandma Mary, some bled over into the 1900s). They all had kids. Grandma Mary and Grandpa Victor had three kids, of which dad was one. Great Aunt Tootie had just one kid, Bonnie (I am her first cousin once removed but I call her Aunt Bonnie).

All of the Short sisters (and Great Uncle Romeo) are long gone. Most of their kids are also gone… I haven’t done a count recently, but I could probably do it on one hand. But for sure Bonnie is the oldest of those remaining. So.. she is the Short matriarch (though she was a Buck).

Aunt Bonnie is a hoot. The definition of hoot. She is fun, funny, relentlessly positive, infinitely cheerful, wears colorful clothes (always), tells hilarious stories, and loves, LOVES her dog Sadie.

In any case, her 93 birthday is on March 8, so today I made a card for her. It was fun to make… I used photos from my most recent visits in October 2017 and April 2023.. I know she’ll get a kick out of it.

Yesterday, I put my ballot into our so called Ballot Drop Box in front of City Hall. This is the new protocol… well, new-ish for me.

For all of my voting life — some 50 years — I voted in person on voting day. For the last 28 or so years, I walked into the Senior Center across the street to vote. The whole deal… the red-white-blue directional signage leading you to the room, the warnings about not politicking within so many feet of the polls, the chatting up of the election workers, the scanning of the list posted outside indicating who was eligible to vote in this precinct, the photos I’d take of Peter who might accompany me or, later, selfies of important elections (like Obama!)… all of that.

These days, California has shifted to largely mail-only voting. You can vote in person, but it’s not like it used to be with dozens and dozens of polling places all over town. Now, if you are a Davis resident and want to vote in person you have to go to a Voting Center! And there are options for Voting Centers.

:: You can go to the Veterans’ Memorial Center on election day, or for the ten days before that and vote the way you always used to, in a little booth.

:: Or, you can go a location at UCD, one of the junior highs, or one of the elementary schools on election day or three days before that and vote in the little booth.

But most people are signing up for mailed ballots. I’m one of those. These you fill out at home and return by mail.. or you can deliver them in person for an entire month before the election to either the Yolo County Clerk’s office in Woodland (who would do that?) or to Ballot Drop Boxes at two of the Davis Nugget markets (but only for certain hours), or to a 24-hr Ballot Drop Box, of which there are two in Davis, one on campus and one at City Hall. Or — just to add more helpful but undoubtedly confusing options — you can drop your ballot off at an in-person Voting Center (either an 11-day center or a 4-day center).

Got all that?

It used to be so easy.

Now it’s easier — at least there are more options — but more confusing.

Anyway, all of this is to say that after dropping off my ballot yesterday at the 24-hr City Hall Ballot Drop Box (right across the street!), I was very relieved to get not one, but two confirmations that my ballot was in the County Clerk’s hands (so to speak). An email and a text.