Another cloudy Saturday

[Colliemom]

Morning all. Another cloudy morning here at the 45th. . 25° They say we may have some sunshine this afternoon, we shall see. We only had one day and part of a second day Of sun, the entire month of December and so far we have not seen the sun at all this month. We have been having a little light dusting of snow but that’s all. And usually that is gone by mid day because the temps have been holding up around the low 30’s. Nothing exciting on the weather front this coming week, although they are watching a system toward the end of the week. I haven’t had to use the snowblower in almost 2 weeks. I sympathize with you Shirl, because I’m feeling the same way. I would like to get in my truck and take a ride someplace too. I think the dogs are getting bored too. We took a nice long walk yesterday and they were full of energy. They spent time snooping and sniffing and checking out all kinds of stuff. We were gone not quite two hours.

Karen, Spectrum might be right about the security on your router. Wi-Fi signals can be picked up by anybody. I can get my neighbors routers here at my house but of course I can’t use them because they’re locked. But somebody who is very enterprising could figure out a way to get in there. I have Trend Micro as my security system and have used it for a number of years. One of the things that it does is, scans my router all the time to make sure it’s always secure. It covers my computer, my iPad and my phone. I too am on Spectrum. I use a Lynksis router.

Sorry to hear about Karen West too. Hope you girls in Northern California are staying high and dry. The hurricane hunters flew into that atmospheric river to see what was going on. Looks like another big round of rain again end of next week. Anne, is any water getting into the Oroville watershed?

I finally found a printer and it was supposed to have been delivered yesterday, but then they said it was delayed and it will be here on Monday. I don’t have a problem with that. It’s a Canon 7020a.

Judy, reading back on the spaghetti sauce discussion, I am one of those people who add just a little bit of sugar to my sauce. Are use Ragu and sometimes those ready-made sauces can be a little sweet in themselves. So I put just a tad of sugar in there to take that sweetness out. Don’t really even know it’s there but it does make the sauce taste good. I’ll add some stewed tomatoes and also some Parmesan cheese to the sauce when I cook it along with the ground beef. Made a meatloaf the other day from my recipe that I found at a low carb site, couple years ago and it turned out yummy. It’s a very simple recipe, but instead of using breadcrumbs it calls for grated Parmesan cheese. When it was done it looked just like a big yummy cheeseburger. The reason that meatloaf recipes call for breadcrumbs is, because you need a Filler to hold the meat together and breadcrumbs were always really the only thing that was available for many many years, so people just naturally gravitate to the bread crumbs. The Parmesan cheese keeps the meatloaf moist, more so I think than the bread crumbs.

So, as you can see, nothing exciting going on here. Need to get cleaned up and get dressed and put some washing in the dryer and then sit down and do a little work on my woodcraft cut out. It’s laying on my kitchen table way too long. I got some other things I want to do in the house here and I need to get going on that stuff so I can get it done. I picked up some touchup paint the other day so I can do a little touch up a in few spots in my kitchen and I have a couple of other things that I want to do that won’t take too long. But those are not on today’s agenda. I have a bunch of appointments stacked up on my calendar this month starting with next week. Furnace tech is coming out on Tuesday to check and service in my furnace for it’s yearly check up and I see the eye doc on Wednesday. Got my first Shingles shot yesterday and also my tetanus, p hepatitis and pertussis shots, been about 10 years since I had last one.p. That one has got my arm kind of sore. Have a great day everybody.

[PeggyinCT]

Good morning Everybody from sunny Kino Bay. I just read with sadness about Karen West. She was one of the original forum sisters and she gave out flamingo wine glasses at gtgs. Because I was still working I couldn’t get to Texas, but she made a point to bring me one when we all got together in Kansas. She will be missed.

By now you might have heard about the shootouts happening here in Mexico. Luckily I’m in a little fishing village and all is calm. Hopefully Carol and Bill are away from it all too. Enjoy today. Peggy

[OregonLuvr]

Good morning all. Cloudy but with a bit of sun peeking out occasionally. We have showers predicted for all week but most of the time they miss me. Just puttering around the house now after breakfast. I have most of my electronics up and running, just need to update 2 more tv's and my echo show. I got my video doorbell all dialed in last night so good to go now. Threw a load of laundry in and will change my bed tomorrow as I leave for Medford on Monday for a few days.

No cooking this weekend as I will be gone so need to eat up what is in my fridge now that I didnt freeze. Will eat the rest of my fish and green beans for dinner again. Tomorrow, we shall see.

[Bethers]

Ty had his off leash run and when we started to head back to the park a cat taunted him and, of course, he gave chase. This has happened before and usually after a minute or two Ty comes out of the tall reeds. Well, he didn't. Scared me. No bark, no cry, nothing. Just a dog missing in the tall reeds which are the same color as him. I walked back and forth along the canal a few times. Finally heard a bark so at least I knew he was ok. Before I got to the turn to our road, two ladies came looking for me. Ty had come back to our gate and was just waiting for me. They checked my rig thinking he might have gotten loose. Let him inside the gate but he, I guess, just paced looking for me. When I arrived and we opened the gate he came right out to have his leash put on. Crazy stink pot! But he's exhausted lol I'm glad to see that he'll head for home if the chase leads that direction. And I'm very happy to know people in my park will come to find me if there's a chance I'm hurt/injured.

When I was married to an Italian, his father and grand parents who came straight from Italy would not use Parmesan cheese. Since I've never cared for it that was good for me. They used Romano cheese instead and that's what I use still. I just thought it was funny that they didn't use Parmesan.

I have an HEB pick up order to head out for shortly. Mainly fresh fruits and veggies, with a couple of their deli meals because I can lol

Peggy, I'm hearing more about shootings here in the states. Stink everywhere.

[Shirlv]

Afternoon All, sunny and 40°. Peggy, Carol and Bill are good per her blog. Their town shut down and closed all roads and businesses. Beth, think Ty is very clever. Porch friend delivered my jar of her homage Christmas candy today. I don’t need it but can’t let it go to waste. Lol Trying to decide if it’s healthier to eat a lot and get rid of it quickly or just a little now and then. I just discovered Hormel smoked ham in a small can. I fixed it like tuna salad, nice lunch. Cod and green beans tonight since I had a hotdog baked bean and home fries last night. Laundry and paperwork todays chores. Be safe

[Cudedog]

I would like to get in my truck and take a ride someplace too. I think the dogs are getting bored too. We took a nice long walk yesterday and they were full of energy. They spent time snooping and sniffing and checking out all kinds of stuff. We were gone not quite two hours.

Good morning, Sue, and all who follow.

Sue, you hit the nail on the head with me - I am itching to get in my van and just go for a drive somewhere - anywhere - but it is difficult to see the scenery out my van's windows when it is pelting with rain.

So I guess I will need to just leave that for another day.

Good to hear about your nice walk with your pups. I took my Big Joe out for a bit of a walk late yesterday afternoon for a quick one between downpours. Stopped raining just before I left, started in again right after we got back.

. . . Hope you girls in Northern California are staying high and dry. The hurricane hunters flew into that atmospheric river to see what was going on. Looks like another big round of rain again end of next week. Anne, is any water getting into the Oroville watershed?

Here is my "go-to" site for Oroville water levels:

https://oroville.lakesonline.com/Level/

There been quite a lot of rain over the Oroville watershed the last couple of weeks, definitely a good thing. The lake water level has come up about 16 feet in the last week (as of this writing, with more water coming in). This might not sound like a lot of water, but considering the massive size of the lake, it takes a tremendous amount of water inflow for it to go up just a few inches, 16 feet in less than 7 days it truly remarkable (Lake Oroville is the second largest reservoir in the state of California, after Shasta). As of this writing, lake level stands at 716 feet. "Full Pool" is 900 feet. Anything over that - or, really, closely leading up to it - is maybe time to head for the hills!

Will the lake level get to 900 feet before the end of our rainy season? Probably unlikely - but definitely possible! Stay tuned here, to your "Lake Oroville Information Channel".

Here is a bit more about Lake Oroville, for those who might be interested:

"The lake is fed by the North Fork, Middle Fork, West Branch and South Forks of the Feather River watershed. This watershed drains an area of 3,611 square miles (9,350 km2). The North Fork and Middle Fork Feather Rivers comprise 3,222 square miles (8,340 km2) of this area which includes portions of the foothill and mountain regions of the northern Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade Range.[9] Storing over 3,500,000 acre-feet (4.3×109 m3), it is the second-largest reservoir in California, after Shasta Lake."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Oroville#Hydrology

Notice all of the mentions above regarding the Feather River. I live about twenty miles directly downstream of Oroville Dam, my house sits about a mile from the Feather River. Of course, my town is surrounded by levees, which (mostly!) keep things safe - but levees are never 100% and there have been some major levee breaches over the years that have caused major flooding and loss of life here.

It is when water releases from Oroville Dam begin (all water releases from the dam are into the Feather River) that I make sure my "Go Bag" is near to my front door. There is also a known earthquake fault at Oroville Dam, so if I should ever feel a major shake (even in the middle of the night), without hesitation I would just grab my car keys, my Go Bag, my Big Joe and head for higher ground. I wouldn't wait around for any news reports, water from Oroville Dam could reach my area in less than thirty minutes or so.

Can't resist posting again about the Oroville Dam crisis of a few years back. The main concrete spillway had failed, it was feared that the so-called emergency spillway might fail as well. Had it done so, a wall of water thirty feet high would have been released down the Feather River.

I was evacuated out of my house for several days, me and 180,000 other people.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oroville_Dam_crisis

I finally found a printer and it was supposed to have been delivered yesterday, but then they said it was delayed and it will be here on Monday. I don’t have a problem with that. It’s a Canon 7020a.

Glad you found a printer that will work for you. I don't print a whole lot, but I really like having one when I need it!!

. . . Made a meatloaf the other day from my recipe that I found at a low carb site, couple years ago and it turned out yummy. It’s a very simple recipe, but instead of using breadcrumbs it calls for grated Parmesan cheese. When it was done it looked just like a big yummy cheeseburger. The reason that meatloaf recipes call for breadcrumbs is, because you need a Filler to hold the meat together and breadcrumbs were always really the only thing that was available for many many years, so people just naturally gravitate to the bread crumbs. The Parmesan cheese keeps the meatloaf moist, more so I think than the bread crumbs.

Interesting to read of the many ways forum members make meatloaf! As a child in my family (and I fixed meatloaf in this way for my own family as an adult), we just used oatmeal for the filler, with a raw egg to moisten the oatmeal a bit. We kneaded the oatmeal, the egg, and the meat together into our meatloaf. With oatmeal, a person really couldn't tell the oatmeal was there after the loaf was fully cooked.

Thanks for the post, Sue. I look forward to your posts every morning.

Have a nice day, everyone. Rain is predicted here every day for at least the next week. We certainly need it, but you can bet I'll be keeping my eye on those Oroville Dam lake levels, with my Go Bag at the ready!

Anne

[asirimarco]

Good afternoon to All - Bill and I are fine here in Mazatlan. When the guy was arrested in Cuilican about 140 north of here and the cartel started to act up the governor and mayor of Mazatlan acted quickly. Army went into Cuilican and got control. Mazatlan was locked down. All roads coming into and out of city were closed. Airport was closed. Businesses were told to close and every one asked to stay home. It was like a ghost town here. If we weren't watching TV we wouldn't have known any thing was going on. Yesterday every thing was back to normal. We went out today and drove all around the city, just enjoying the nice weather. Also took a nice walk in the Centro Historico.
Glad to hear the lakes are getting some water, wish Lake Mead would. But not quite enough rain in Nevada. Lots of snow in the northern part though. But Meads water comes from the Rockies.

[Colliemom]

Anne, if you need to grab that GO Bag and run for higher ground, I am at the highest elevation in the northern lower peninsula of Michigan

Interesting on oatmeal in the meatloaf. Mine also calls for a little ketchup, egg, some onion and some salt and pepper. I use an organic Parmesan that doesn’t have any cellulose in it.

[JudyJB]

Definitely still raining and cold here in Napa! I am hoping the parts for my front end work will be in on Monday and Tuesday so they can do the work next week and I can be out of here on the weekend. I have 8 days reservation at Organ Pipe Cactus National Park, and if anyone wants to join me, there are still spots available. No hookups, however, so a generator is recommended. Temps there are in upper 60s and 70s, plus no rain is expected so there will be sun!!

Also, Anne, I've been using that site and found out that Lake Oroville has gone up 30 feet since New Year's Eve, while Shasta has only gone up 10 feet in that time period. And I also wish Lake Mead would get some rain. Really what it needs is not local rain but rain farther north in Colorado, which is where most of its water comes from.

Brief respite on the rain, so I might try to get a load of laundry done. Might have time before next shower. Oops, here it comes, so will wait until tomorrow. I have only two pairs of long pants that I have been constantly wearing and don't want to buy more. I did buy a thinner pair of what were supposed to come to my mid-calf, but mid-calf for someone as short as me ends up being ankle length. But they are mostly for warmer weather.

Need to find out if 17 year old grandson was able to solo today. I suspect not because of the rain. He was extremely nervous about it all last week. He is a very careful and competent kid, so he should do fine when the weather gets better. Don't think they want a young pilot to fly alone in bad weather and that's about all we have had here lately. I think even if instructor would allow him, parents will not!! He should have his license by late spring. (Found out he flew today with instructor to experience winds, and also had ground school, so he is making progress. He wants to go to college and get a professional pilots license.)

[Cudedog]

Anne, if you need to grab that GO Bag and run for higher ground, I am at the highest elevation in the northern lower peninsula of Michigan

Well. . . Sue. . . I'm a pretty good runner, but I don't think I could run quite that far!!

Thanks!

Anne

[Cudedog]

Need to find out if 17 year old grandson was able to solo today. I suspect not because of the rain. He was extremely nervous about it all last week. He is a very careful and competent kid, so he should do fine when the weather gets better. Don't think they want a young pilot to fly alone in bad weather and that's about all we have had here lately. I think even if instructor would allow him, parents will not!! He should have his license by late spring. (Found out he flew today with instructor to experience winds, and also had ground school, so he is making progress. He wants to go to college and get a professional pilots license.)

Becoming a professional pilot is a long and expensive road for young people these days. I wish your grandson all the best. If your grandson is a reader, I recommend the book "Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters", written by airline pilot Sully Sullenberger (of "Miracle on the Hudson" fame). It is an excellent, inspirational read.

https://www.amazon.com/Highest-Duty-Search-Really-Matters/dp/0061927589/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1673146334&sr=1-4

Amazon blurb: "Sully's story is one of dedication, hope, and preparedness, revealing the important lessons he learned through his life, in his military service, and in his work as an airline pilot. It reminds us all that, even in these days of conflict, tragedy and uncertainty, there are values still worth fighting for—that life's challenges can be met if we're ready for them."

Anne

[Acadianmom]

Not much going on here today. I started out for town in the truck and a new warning light came on after a couple of miles. I turned around and came home. If it's not one thing it's 10 others. The truck book says that if the light is not blinking the truck is drivable but if it starts blinking the truck might have to be towed. I didn't want to find that out on a Saturday. I'll have to call the dealer on Monday.

It's good to know that Ty would go home. He might get a surprise if he tried to chase a couple of the cats here. I have a couple that have attacked the neighbor's dog. He will make a run at them and they just sit and look at him. Speaking of attack cats, I haven't seen Inky in a few days. Guess he is roaming again.

The best part of my day was I had a crawfish pie for supper. I should probably take something out to cook tomorrow but I'm not hungry now.

I think some of the rain will make it here tonight. Hope we don't have more storms.

Martha

[snowball]

we don't have any chance of snow for days... but it is cloudy when the % chance is 6 that means no precipitation ... I maybe a skeptic but unless it's over 75 % I don't trust the predictions ...
I got done what needed to be done.... I told mom at breakfast that after I had the dishes in the dishwasher I was going to help her with a shower... so I go in and get stuff ready and come tell her that she can go in and get undress she frowns I go back to my room to wait for movement nothing go check about 10 minutes later since I'd not heard her and she is asleep so I start the dish washer about 45 mins later I hear her going into the bathroom (it's funny what you can hear when you get used to the sounds... in this case walker going over the threshold) so I cut her off at the door told her to go back in and get undressed... she still was frowny about it but she did and we got her shower done and hair up in rollers... I even stripped my bed so the sheets and bedspread can be washed...
we had hot dogs for supper... didn't make it to the store today so will have to go on Monday we will be out of milk and I want to try this beef stir fry according to Marion the beef is really tender . so will try it
but need to find the oyster sauce and dark soy sauce... we don't have an Asian market here so will be interesting to see where I find it if I do...
my dd#3 went to SLC so have her looking for my yarn for me so I can get started on my grandson's afghan
in the West we have had a drought for a lot of years... it's not going to be over rode in a few rain storms or snow storms... the Great Salt Lake is mere years from totally disappearing from what I've read recently it will create lots of problems if it does we still need lots of snow for several years... to replenish various lakes including Lake Meade lake Powell the Great Salt Lake
you all have a great day
sheila

[JudyJB]

Thanks, Anne. I will put that on my Amazon shopping list for a special occasion. He knows it will be long and expensive, especially without going into the military, but there are college aviation programs that will help him get there. And parents are supportive. He is a very good car driver and a responsible kid, so I think he will do well.

DIL called me tonight and said if the wind and rain got too bad tonight to call them even in the middle of the night to pick me up. It is only about a mile to their house, but frankly, I have been in worse storms in this RV than is predicted. Don't want to tell them that, however. I think a bigger danger would be flooding, but there is not that much rain forecast for tonight. River dumps fast into SF South Bay anyway.

[Cudedog]

Thanks, Anne. I will put that on my Amazon shopping list for a special occasion. He knows it will be long and expensive, especially without going into the military, but there are college aviation programs that will help him get there. And parents are supportive. He is a very good car driver and a responsible kid, so I think he will do well.

Your grandson sounds like a wonderful human being.

Mr. Sullenberger "soloed" when he was 16 years old. He talks about this in the first few pages of his book - which can be read under the "Look Inside" link above the image of the book, on the upper left-hand side (link to the book is in my above post).

When I was a young woman, one of my early jobs was as a receptionist-coffee maker-scheduler-poster maker-whatever at a local flight school at a local "small planes only" airport in Southern California.

Flying lessons then were very expensive - and this was more years ago than I care to count. I can only imagine what they must be now.

Sometimes young people really do find their life's calling at an early age. I salute your grandson, and his parents in supporting him in his life-affirming endeavor.

My best wishes to you, Judy, and to him.

Anne