49 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 12-6-17”

  2. I tried to think of something cute to say.
    But I can’t think of anything at all right now. See you later.

    🙂 When I was a radio operator on C-97’s, we would often end our final messages to a ground station with the letters CULOM for “See you later old man” I am often tempted to sign of a post here that way.
    CULOM

    But this isn’t final. Just starting the day.

    Liked by 2 people

  3. Re: Some comments from yesterday.
    Elvera used to do Sudoku (If I spelled it correctly). She doesn’t do that anymore.
    She watches FoxNews a lot.
    She doesn’t understand much.
    But then I don’t either.
    😆

    Liked by 3 people

  4. Good morning , Chas and AJ and all.

    The trip to town was a success, although, he was rather sore when he got back. They got the new batteries for the gmc and a rim for the spare on the ranger.

    I may have mentioned that the wind blows. We currently have a wind energy crew doing preliminary work on a proposed farm. I have had the opportunity to sell breakfast burritos, each morning. It has been a blessing to be able to generate a little income, without having to drive to the city. So, here I sit, in the dark, waiting for the crew to gather for their morning safety meeting.

    Liked by 4 people

  7. It sure is cold in the mornings around here. Even though we’re getting warm (and windy) days, the nights and mornings are chilly.

    Two stories to write today and then I have 2 days off. Friend and I are going to Knott’s Berry Farm tomorrow for their Christmas layout in Ghost Town. We were there a few years ago and have wanted to go back, but they only offer it sporadically now through the season leading up to Christmas.

    Angel Tree gifts have been purchased on are on their way. I need to wrap and get those to the church on Sunday.

    Liked by 2 people

  8. I understand that, DJ. Had to break ice on all of the water troughs and water bowls this morning. Must be around twenty five. Is that what you figure?

    Liked by 2 people

  9. Ok, well, we’re in the 40s overnight this week, but still … I’m having to wear a sweatshirt in the mornings.

    On a more serious note, though, our fires are of major worry. None threatening us near us on the south LA coast, but I drive through this (below) area several times a year on my way north to the valley.

    _________________________________

    A brush fire erupted near the Getty Center early Wednesday morning, prompting officials to issue mandatory evacuations in the Bel-Air area of Los Angeles and shut down a major portion of the 405 Freeway.

    The fire started near the 405 Freeway and Mulholland Drive just before 5 a.m., Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Margaret Stewart said.

    The fire had burned about 50 acres as of 5:30 a.m., according to Stewart.

    Aerial video from Sky5 showed the fire burning on the east side of the freeway, the Getty Center is located to the west of the 405. …
    ___________________________________

    Liked by 2 people

  11. Today is December 6, 2017. One hundred years ago, at 9:05 on December 6, 1917, the munitions ship Mount Blanc blew up in Halifax harbour in Nova Scotia, killing 2000 people, injuring another 9000 (many blinded by shattering glass), and flattening the city of Halifax between the harbour and Citadel hill.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. And the wind conditions are expected to get worse in the next couple days. 😦

    Sounds like many homes have been lost already. One of our photographers posted a photo yesterday of smoke billowing above (and a hillside range or two beyond) the Hollywood sign.

    Like

  14. Mumsee @ 1 0:21
    In lighter news, I am getting over my reluctance to ask for help.
    I was in Bed Bath & Beyond looking for some pads for a Bona floor sweeper. All I saw was a pack of stuff for $39.95. But I explained to the cashier what I wanted. She got somebody to help me. I bought two pads for $17.06.
    I notice the store ladies are anxious to help an ugly old man who doesn’t know what he’s doing.

    Liked by 2 people

  19. Chas, my mother watches old movies most of the day.When we lived with her a few weeks, she would sometimes watch the same movie two days in a row. She does do needlework while she watches. She can still make pictures and pillow tops, although they are not nearly the quality they used to be. She may still do a bit of painting or another miniature box, but does far less of that.

    She also still reads. Sometimes she buys and rereads the same books. How much she actually gets out of her reading is something I do not know. She does get something out of it all, however.

    I know in the nursing home they had her do some very simple needlepoint. Simply putting the yarn up and down through holes is something many can do. That can lead to a pretty picture or pillow top, while keeping hands busy.

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  20. From a writer friend on the East Coast on FB this morning:

    Mom was looking out the window and said “There’s a squirrel climbing up your wreath.” I said, “No, there is not a squirrel climbing up my wreath.” “Yes!” she said, “Look!” Sure enough a squirrel was, by then, sitting inside the wreath that is hanging on my front door. He was eating the pine cones, nuts, fake berries and other decorations. My wreath is now rather barren. I’m also now going to be sure that any decorations on the wreath are not necessarily enticing to squirrels, but safe should he decide to dine again.

    Liked by 5 people

  21. Roscuro @10:48 Wow. I had never heard of the incident–2000 dead and 9000 injured in the explosion which was ‘ the biggest blast the world would see until the advent of the atomic bomb.’ And the ‘largest mass blinding in Canadian history’ with 1 in 50 survivors sustaining damage to their eyes.

    Liked by 1 person

  23. Art and I are enjoying a BBQ lunch in AL. Has anyone been to the Golden Rule? We heard about it from a co-worker. Really good food. Not so good for a diet, but it is breakfast and lunch.

    Liked by 1 person

  24. Debra, more information about the strength of the blast, with photographs, are in this link: by-december-1917-world-war-i-had-been-raging-for-three-years-halifax-located-on-canadas-east-coast-served-as-an-important-port-for-shipping-troops-and-supplies-to-europe-1

    Like

  30. DJ, I was just wondering how those fires might affect the coyote situation. On one hand, it will probably kill a lot of wildlife, but it will probably also displace some. I thought we saw a slight uptick in coyote presence after the wildfires in Chattanooga this year—and our local fires were not nearly as damaging as what seems to be happening in California.

    That last picture looks quite terrifying.

    Liked by 1 person

  32. Re: the California fires. I have no doubt that Johnny Cash may have a home in California. But on a visit to Nashville, we went by Johnny’s home. I think it was in Hendersonville, Tenn. I remembered because of the name.

    Also. I don’t understand how fires can spread from house to house. They are not that near to each other. The man on TV blames the “Santa Anna Winds”. However when the on-site reports is on, his hair isn’t blowing. Neither are the trees in the video.

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  33. Chas, from what I remember about chemistry, an actual spark isn’t needed to light the next house, it just needs to get hot enough for the building materials to begin to vaporize and start combusting with the oxygen in the air – each material has a flash point. A propane tank or gas line exploding due to the heat from the burning house nextdoor would speed up the process. Of course, an sort of connecting vegetation, from lawns to hedgerows would also link flames between houses.

    Liked by 1 person

  34. When I lived in Chicago, one January day I worked from home. I was sitting on the couch, working, in the living room (the front room of the house), and my housemate was in the bathroom getting ready to go to work. I looked up and saw that the house directly across the street from us was on fire. The flames grew high and fierce, at some points even reaching out to touch the house next door. (I remember thinking it looked like it was licking the house next door.) The house next door had some melted siding, and for all I know it might have had some damage inside. But on lots 25 feet wide, obviously the houses are very, very close together, yet a roaring fire in one house, close enough to touch the house next door, only burned one house. (It wasn’t total destruction, but several months of rebuilding.) I kept expecting it to engulf the second house at any time.

    My friend and I both put aside our work for the morning, starting our workdays in the afternoon, and spent the morning attempting to love our neighbors (holding babies, making hot drinks, etc.).

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  35. Hi all. Just catching up.

    I saw this comment form Donna last night: “when it comes to stopping a coyote, no perimeter fencing or barrier is truly infallible.”

    I think that could be applied to the “coyotes” crossing the Southern border. That wall that some people want won’t stop those coyotes. The best deterrent for them would be to bring home most of the overseas military from places they don’t need to be and put them along the border.

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  36. Santa Ana winds tomorrow are predicted to gust up to 70 mph. Donna’s photo is over the Sepulveda Pass–a road I have driven a gazillion times. Bel Air Presbyterian Church is on the next offramp at Mulholland Drive. I haven’t heard if it survives.

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  38. My MIL once watched the same movie several times in a row over the course of a day, & didn’t realize it was the same movie. She enjoyed it, though, every time. 🙂

    TBS plays A Christmas Story every year starting at 8:00 Christmas Eve & going until 8:00 Christmas night. We had it on in her room, & she kept watching. She was enjoying it, so we didn’t change the channel. And Mary wasn’t the kind to pretend to enjoy something she didn’t like.

    Liked by 3 people

  40. Above is a very eerie video of the Sepulveda Pass.

    Michelle is correct, this is a stretch of road that’s very familiar to most of us in LA

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  41. Chas, the winds were mostly calm today, thankfully. They’re expected to pick up tonight and tomorrow which is why firefighters are scrambling before that happens. As Michelle pointed out, the 70 mph winds predicted for Thursday will be the worst of the week, should that materialize.

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  42. The homes in the hills are isolated from each other but they’re not all that far away geographically. Heavy (dry) vegetation everywhere. People pay big money for that isolation and privacy. Including Johnny Cash at one time, apparently.

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  45. If only we could have given California the rain we got last weekend. We had standing water in our yard again and our sump pump running during the night. Very unusual in December. It is all frozen now, though and under a trace of snow. It is so sad for those losing homes right before Christmas. 😦

    Liked by 1 person

  46. In New Mexico, and I am sure Colorado also, we are continually trained in maintaining defensible space. Is this not an issue in CA? Ladder fuels contribute to wildfires tremendously. Do they really not let you control the manzanita due to endangered mice?

    Liked by 1 person

  47. Debra, yeah, I’m guessing this is affecting a lot of the wildlife, coyotes included. Unless all the coyotes are already here in the city now … ?

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  48. It’s dry as a stick out here and my sinuses are feeling it.

    Meanwhile, another house horror — those 2 windows that need to be replaced were pretty delicate. Today I found that Tess apparently broke & knocked part of the glass out of the one, so it’s quite drafty in the living room. I’ve barricaded the area with a bookcase and some other items.

    One more eyesore around here. Still no call from the window folks, I’m on “standby” and they were pretty sure they’d get a cancelation sometime before Christmas. But who knows.

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