January 31st: Hooray! After waiting a year, 1st vaccination shot

I'm happy to report that I received my first coronavirus vaccination shot. I will say that a year ago I didn't think a vaccine would be developed this quickly. Hopefully, the production and vaccination process will speed up. I have wanted to get back to Florida and the boat. The boat doesn't like being neglected for long periods of time. Even if I just go back for a couple months it will allow me to do regular maintenance and take care of any issues that have come up over the last 9 months on the hard. There are always issues! I really hate to leave it untouched until next year. We'll see how it goes.

We had some very high winds come through the other day, gusting to 49 mph. I walked down to the beach where it was exhilarating. I took a couple videos. It's amazing how much palm trees bend. Obviously, that's why they don't get knocked down.

This one was taken out my window. There was a flash flood warning for Cardiff. We can always use the rain but it doesn't really help when it comes in a torrential downpour! I live on the side of a hill so no flooding here. The water just runs down to the ocean.

I rode my bike to a different location, Solana Beach. It's a very nice beach and a rather long but fun bike ride. The beach area is very nicely taken care of.

Solana Beach

There are a lot of old Volkswagon vans here in California. They certainly fit the California stereotype. There were several I captured on film. Most of the ones I see are in nice condition.

Wendy is still knitting. I am amazed at the stuff she can knit. I knew she was working on a stocking cap for a while, but I had no idea what the finished product was going to be. Very fun. It is sitting on top of the purse/bag she knitted. I told her it reminds me of a Minion!

Stocking cap sitting on top of Wendy's bag

Speaking of Wendy, I ran across one of my favorite pictures of her. I took this when we lived in Marshallville, Ohio when she was almost two years old. This was back in the days when we enjoyed having dandelions in our grass!

Wendy, almost 2 years old (1976)

The last time I walked the beach the tide was coming up rapidly so I moved to the road at Moonlight beach. There is a house there that has a truly amazing landscape. It has to be a tremendous amount of work keeping it up I daresay just about every type of cactus and succulent is represented.

Cacti/landscaping, home at Moonlight Beach

I also walked past the Encinitas library. It is a wonderful building built on the side of a hill. Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus, it is not open other than pick up and drop off. 

It occurs to me that I haven't put a sunset picture up in a while. As I think about living in Ohio during the winter I thought those of you up north might need a virtual sunset!

Sunset in Cardiff

January 23rd: Some fun

It's hard to believe we're approaching the end of January. The weather has been a little erratic. Typically in January the temperatures run in the low sixties during the day and 40's at night. That's the way the year started. I actually enjoy walking the beach when it's windy. The waves are fun and if the tide is just right the waves retreating over the millions of stones make a really cool sound. 

I looked at the ocean out my window one morning and saw what looked like the rain that was predicted. Hmmm! Should I chance it? Why not, I've been wet before. I did put my phone in a plastic bag just in case. 

It worked out well. The waves were just right hitting the rocks so I was able to get a couple good videos. (Make sure your volume is up.)

It was only 55 degrees so I did not want to get my shoes wet. Here's a good wave dodging video!

I was finally able to get a good video of my favorite little birds, sanderlings, running in and out with the waves to catch a small meal. I love watching them run.

I had some buttermilk left from our New Year's turkey brining so we decided we might as well use it to do a chicken. This time I spatchcocked it. (Cut the back bone out so it will lay flat and roast better.) It turned out great. It's the only way to roast a chicken. 

I woke up one morning to what sounded like more construction, or I should say destruction. I looked out my balcony doors and there were a couple little bulldozers with claw like attachments tearing down a building in the back yard of the house across the alley. The yard was very overgrown, and there was also an old concrete fence being knocked down. I wondered if the house was going also. Then I noticed a painter painting the trim on the house, obviously just the yard and building were being demolished.

I was impressed at how quickly they worked. By the afternoon, there was just a big pile of rubble in the middle of the back yard. Several large dump trucks came through the alley, were loaded up and by the end of the second day everything was cleaned up. That was Friday so I wondered what was next and if they'd work Saturday. At 7:30 am I had the answer. Fortunately I was already awake. This time it was the roofers. It was 80 degrees and had to be very hot but they just kept going. They had the old roof torn off by the end of the day, and a conveyor dropped all the new roofing materials on the roof. There were also a couple guys with a chain saw working on the palm tree. I was afraid they were going to cut it down. It's a very nice tree and that would have been sad. They just did a nice job trimming it. 

Sunday morning the crew showed back up and installed most of the new roof. Monday morning they finished it and trucks hauled away the rest of the debris. These guys really work hard. Made me tired just watching. It was fun to watch the project move along so efficiently. It looks really nice. Quite an improvement.

Thinking about trees, tree trimming is different here. The trees in this picture are quite popular here and when they trim them, everything green gets cut off for the winter. Even the branches. They look very strange. But when the branches start growing again they fill out quickly.

Wendy and I finally got around to the swing project. A while ago we had noticed it getting rusty. So Wendy bought some purple paint to fix it up. Then we kind of forgot about it. A few days ago, as I was enjoying the swing, I noticed the rust was increasing. I suggested it was time and Wendy agreed.

My job was taking the swing apart and preparation. Wendy is a more patient painter so that was her job. Then of course we both put the swing back together. 

It turned out great! I'm wondering if stickers will start appearing.

I've enjoyed watching the full moon come up. The timing and location are perfect for viewing from my balcony. There is little humidity so the sky is very clear and I can see many stars in spite of light pollution.

Rebecca sent me a very cool photo. It's definitely blog worthy! I just try to get a clear picture of a bird! Talk about persistence!

Speaking of bird pictures, I still keep trying to get good pictures of the birds at the San Elijo Lagoon. I was able to get this one of a Snowy Egret, but it was all hunched down. 

Then I finally found a way to include the birds of the Lagoon. Turns out they had some nice pictures outside the visitor center. I've seen all the birds pictured here plus others. I really should get a pair of binoculars because the lagoon is very wide and the birds tend to keep their distance.

December 1st

My yucca plant at the lagoon continues to open. I didn't realize how far out the blooms would extend. I'm curious to see if more will open all the way down the stem.

January 5th

January 20th

I estimate the height to be 12 - 15 feet tall. It's very impressive.

It's fun to see the variety old cars here near the beach. I was able to get a picture of this classic at Swami's. Surfboards and all.

Classic Corvair

Another fun vehicle comes with a story. I went for a walk to Moonlight Beach and was crossing the road at a four way stop. In the middle of the road I found a set of car keys with the electronic key fob. I knew someone would be looking for them. Fortunately, there was a tag on them that said Encinitas Auto Repair with a phone number. I called and told them I found the keys in the middle of the road. The serviceman said he'd looked everywhere for the keys. He was only a few blocks away so he happily came to retrieve them in this old classic Corvair. It is apparently his pride and joy. He intends to convert it to electric!

Cheryl often entertains me with funny cartoons, etc. She is the one sending the minions. Here are a
couple well worth sharing.

January 10th: Heading into the New Year

 

I continued to enjoy the Christmas season while it lasted. I made some more cabbage rolls, which are a traditional part of our Christmas season. And of course we had our pork and sauerkraut New Year's Eve. 

Moonlight beach tree

I walked down to the beach one evening because I wanted to see the huge pine tree by Moonlight Beach that was decorated. That's a peace symbol on top. It's visible from miles around. They must bring in a very large crane to decorate it. The diamond at the bottom is about 4 feet tall. The window on the left is the second story of a house.

Swami's Self Realization
Fellowship Christmas decoration 

While I was on the way, I walked past Swami's Self Realization Fellowship Entrance. I hadn't seen it at night and was very impressed with the decoration. The hanging blue lettered sign reads "Joy to the World".

Hummingbird

Once the amount of daylight dropped, my humming bird attracting Inca Lolly plant on my balcony stopped blooming. I hadn't seen a hummingbird for a few weeks. One showed up Christmas morning and even sat on a branch long enough for me to go down and get a picture of it. 

It seems to be hanging around the neighbors Bougainvillea. The Bougainvillea  continue to bloom which is really nice because I see them out my large living room window. It's fun to watch the hummingbird hovering from flower to flower. Now that the daylight is getting extended I'll see if I can get my Inca Lolly to start blooming again. I really enjoy watching them come to my balcony.

Bougainvillea outside my window looking down

White Pelican

The weather has been great for walking and bike riding, Almost always sunny and temperatures around 65 degree. I've been going to the San Elijo Lagoon a lot. One morning I was walking along an inlet and saw a very large bird. It was swimming toward me and as it got closer I realized it was a white pelican. White Pelicans are larger (9-10 foot wingspan) than the brown pelicans. I've never seen one here before. Two rangers showed up and started closing the path where the pelican was. Turns out the pelican was injured and apparently couldn't fly. Someone was coming from Sea World to rescue it. White Pelican info

I was reminded of a picture we took while boating in Ontario, Canada when we were doing the Great Loop. We saw huge flocks of white pelicans getting ready to migrate. They are beautiful when flying. They fly in formation and when they turn you can see a black stripe on the bottom of their wings. White Pelicans in flight

Yucca Plant starting to open

In earlier blog posts I've had pictures of the very tall flowering spike of a yucca plant at the lagoon. After several months it finally started to open. 

I was able to get several pictures over about two weeks as it continued to open. 

Yucca Plant spreading
open further, January 3rd

This morning there was a colorful bird that seemed to like the high perch. I couldn't identify it.

I don't know how much more will open up but I'll report again.

Yucca plant January 8th

Front of iPad

I finally bought a case for my iPad. It is a dark blue and I found it hard to spot on my black countertops and dark wood tables. Wendy suggested the obvious solution. Stickers. The Cricut machine came through again. It turned out great! And it is much easier to spot.

Back of iPad

The December 13th blog included the picture of my new birthday present puzzle. Here it is again. 

I have found it to be a real challenge. I actually spend some time almost every day working on it. Many of the pieces are the same shape but different color patterns. It took a very long time just to get the frame together because I had several pieces in the wrong places. 

Next I tried adding to the inside of the frame. With 1,000 pieces I found it almost impossible. I needed a new strategy. I recalled Karen and Craig's 5 year old nephew said he doesn't start with the frame, he just starts putting the pictures together. Sounded like a great idea. I finally got 7 pieces of cardboard and separated the pieces by color. 

It's still a challenge, but now I am making progress. This one will keep me occupied for quite a while longer.

I went for a walk the other day on the trails northeast of  Matt and Wendy's house. The sky was crystal clear. Looking East I could see several mountain ranges, some snow covered. 

I even noticed an informational sign at a nice viewing spot. 

One reason I chose this trail was to pick up some of the giant pine cones. They will make great starter kindling for Rebecca's fire pit. 

The mug is in the picture for a size perspective.

We decided it was best not to travel back and forth to Studio City given COVID19. As Rebecca pointed out, if we'd happen to get in a car wreck, we wouldn't even be able to get hospital care! The situation around LA is very bad. The vaccinations can't come soon enough. 

Trevi and London

I miss getting together with Rebecca, London and Trevi. We Facetime very often which helps. Here is a picture of the pups from last Christmas. In the mean while, all of our projects are on hold.

In these trying times I believe we need to find humor and enjoy it. Cheryl Webb, our Canadian boating friend sent this Minion cartoon. Linda loved the Minions. I'm sure she is enjoying it with us!