World on fire

It seems appropriate to start this dumpster fire of a year with “unprecedented” wind storms and wildfires tearing across Los Angeles. So far we’ve been very, very lucky. 

I had warnings of big Santa Ana winds headed our way yesterday, and my primary concern was power loss (and of course my recurring slightly irrational fear that the big pine tree at the corner of our lot will crush our house and kill us all). The last time we had a big wind event here was in 2011 when I was pregnant with Bobby - power was out a night, a full day, and then part of another day. I threw out all my food in fear of infection. But mostly I was just bored. So that’s mainly what I was planning for. 

Turns out wildfires were way more of a danger than I had imagined. While the winds died down for us by about midnight, they raged through the night in some areas, and many of my friends had to evacuate and/or probably have lost their homes, friends just a few miles away in Altadena and Pasadena. It’s unlikely the fires will come here, especially with the winds gone, but we’re all on edge.

I’m shocked we never lost power. Internet will probably be out for days, but obviously my cell phone is working. Woke up to a hellscape of raining down ash and orange sky; I didn’t know what to do about the kids and school. I got a call that school would run as usual, so drove through the mess of downed power lines and tree branches in the road to Theo’s school, only to be met by an administrator who told us we should head home since the school was in no condition to be open and half the staff wasn’t going in. I didn’t bother to check Bobby’s school (and glad I didn’t, as just a few minutes ago I got the call from that school to come pick up our kids for the day). So we’re here doing non-internet things, and waiting. I don’t imagine this will be resolved any time soon. The destruction is massive and infrastructure is seriously damaged everywhere. I’m glad we at least get two more weeks of Biden before the Orange turd takes over and tells us to go fuck ourselves because we don’t worship him. 

Today’s going to be a nail biter, for sure. Think good thoughts for us.

Road trip!

Kids were back at school today after yet another interminable three week winter vacation, and I don’t know how to do anything anymore. When do we have to leave to be on time? What do they want for breakfast, again? It’s amazing how fast you lose track of routines.

While I enjoy my last moments in a house so quiet my ears are ringing, here’s a recap of our AZ/UT trip.

We had a long (7+ hours) drive from LA to Kanab, Utah on Saturday the 28th. When we arrived at our Airbnb condo, someone else was occupying it. Fortunately we were moved right next door and it all worked out. The next day bright and early we went to the visitor center for the orientation meeting for our Wave visit. Hearing what lengths people go to to get these permits, legally and illegally, reminded me how special it was that we got one on our first try (and also that the weather the next day would be perfect for it). After this we revisited the Sand Caves which we had to cut short due to a monsoon on our last visit in July of 2021; a little gnarly scaling the rocks up and down, but we managed. Then went to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes where the kids sand surfed with snowboards.

Both kids - but especially Bobby - showed such skill on the board that it made me realize I really need to get off my ass and book us a ski weekend somewhere. I’m worried about the expense, of course, but I think they could be really good at this and it could be a new winter activity for them. Now I just need to win the lottery. 

The next day we got up early to meet our guide - a jolly retired local cop named Kenny - to take us to The Wave. It was a long day of hiking over rough terrain, and it was wicked cold in the morning, but we ended up being pretty well prepared; we had our camelbacks for water, packed lunches, had good stout boots, and enough layers to be comfortable throughout the day. The Wave itself was very cool - but to be honest we’d seen so much cool stuff on the way that upon seeing it my first thought was, “is that the whole thing? I thought it’d be bigger!” Still super cool, though!

The next day, New Year’s Eve, we headed up to snow country in Heber Valley. We had a desultory celebration at midnight in our kitschy motel room, and everyone immediately crashed from sheer exhaustion.

On New Year’s Day, we swam in the Homestead Crater, a fascinating cave/hot spring that had been on my wish list for a while. You can’t see it very well because it was full of steam, but trust me when I say it was very cool. That reminds me, on the way to Heber Valley we stopped at a roadside hot spring called Meadow Hot Spring which was also pretty awesome.

The next day we did some snow tubing. We all bundled up like crazy fearing being cold, but as it turned out most people were just in long sleeved shirts. It was a fun couple of hours until we were all sick of it. Then we had dinner in an “alpenglobe” at a local restaurant.

Friday we did the long drive to Las Vegas, spent the night in a hotel where the elevators didn’t work and we were on the 3rd floor, then the next day packed up and went to Meow Wolf Las Vegas, also known as OmegaMart, something Theo’s been obsessed with for ages. I don’t know if it was just the fatigue or the fact that we’d already been to the (to me) far superior Santa Fe version last summer, but I couldn’t wait to get the hell out of there. Too overstimulating and pointless and confusing. Creative, yes, but my brain just couldn’t hang anymore, and I think I speak for all of us when I say it was underwhelming. 

Saturday night we returned home, recovered and did laundry yesterday, and today normal activities resumed. The trip was overshadowed for me by a weird viral throat thing I had the whole time, in which all night every night my throat felt like someone was holding a blowtorch to it; mostly during the day I was fine, and I never *felt* sick, but by Saturday it had escalated to a dry cough and painful throat all day, so I spent the day Sunday in urgent care. Fortunately or unfortunately they said it’s just a common virus, not one that there’s any treatment for, so they said just to take care of my throat and rest. Ok then. As of today, after suffering this stupid thing for over a week, I have to say it’s the worst it’s ever been. I sure hope it fades out soon, before I have to start singing again.

The H also is still having tremendous work woes - a printing press that’s still not working after nearly two months of attempted repairs - I think he managed to keep it together pretty well, considering, but it did lend another layer of stress.

When we got home, the fridge had crapped out again, but only temporarily, so the new ice cream I had bought to replace the old ice cream was ruined, but everything was starting to freeze again. We ordered a part that comes on Thursday that should be a better bandaid than the last one…who knows? I’ll just say I’m so sick of the fridge failing and ruining our food. I’m reluctant to cook anything or really stock up. Sheesh.

For now I’m going to ignore the fact that today is election certification day, continue to cough up a lung, and delve into the mountains of tax work that has to get done this month. Whee!