I arrived home from visiting my parents, and on the drive, I passed one of the base camps for the firefighters working on California’s wildfires.  A field filled with tents.  At the McDonalds in Willits (fine roadside fare at the halfway point), a few California Department of Forestry men arrived at the same time we did.

We’ve been spared, other than horrible air quality, so I’m not going to get overly dramatic.  Life is normal in our neck of the woods, but within an hour or two of us, fine folks are having a long, tough go of it.  And I am amazed at the skill and dedication of the crazy band of people from all over the world who have come to help out. 

80% of the country’s firefighting resources? 

More than 25,000 firefighters have arrived from 41 states plus Canada, Greece, Australia, New Zealand and Mexico, he said. So far, FEMA has obligated more than $154 million to California to pay for firefighting, evacuations, shelter, traffic control, equipment and supplies, Paulison said. Nearly 150 helicopters and more than 1,000 fire engines are involved.

--- Deb Rieschmann, AP Writer

Bush made it to Redding today to survey some of the damage from the more than 2,000 fires sparked by lightning nearly a month ago.  He spoke to some of the fire jumpers, which reminds me of my friend Nina’s son, who I’m sure is quite busy.

But mostly, I just want to echo the sentiments of the banner I saw hanging on the chain link fence outside the base camp entrance: “Thank you, firefighters!”

This link, via Parent Hacks, offers a simple suggestion that could save a child’s life.

My sister-in-law opts for the Post-It that says “Lili” right in the middle of her steering wheel, but I like this one, too. 

Since the California wildfires and heat have meant we’ve been holed up inside for over a week now, and things are not predicted to improve, I’ve decided to take Maddie on an impromptu trip to see my parents.  They live near the coast, and temperatures will be about 30 degrees (!) less than we’re experiencing here. 

Matt has a very awesome indoor camp next week (computer cartooning), so he’ll be staying behind, but things have been getting ridiculous.  The Air Quality Index yesterday was 201, “Very Unhealthy”.  We’ve been downgraded to a mere “Unhealthy”, but they’re making recommendations on the news like, “Even indoor exercise is not healthy with this level of particulate matter.  Today’s a great day to be a couch potato.”

Time to get out of dodge. Cough. Cough.

My desire to work on my personal blog has been, shall we say, less than inspired.  I have been devoting time to my teaching resource site, and it’s been phenomenal.  Rewarding. 

Once I stopped caring about blogging as a personal outlet, I ended up at BlogHer.

On accident.

A few months ago, my sister-in-law asked if I wanted to do another “girl’s weekend” in San Francisco.  Her favorite hotel is the Westin St. Francis, and we met there in April.  After that trip, we decided this is a good way to get away from it all.  Since she’s up for a marketing conference (or some other thing I’m not remotely interested in...) next week week, she extended her stay.

Which means I am now going to BlogHer.  Not the actual conference, but still…

Cracks me up.

I can’t wait to see my sister-in-law’s face when she realizes her oasis has been taken over by a blogging conference. 

Via Mir at Cornered Office:

The Way to Get People to Snack on Fruits and Veggies

I recently flunked my cholesterol test (damn you, cheese addiction), so I’ve been working on ways to make healthy options more convenient.

This is it, I think.  Thank goodness for Amazon.

I met my new doctor the Monday after school got out, and she ordered up a bunch of labs as part of her, “Nice to meet you, let me have someone jab you in the arm,” sort of bonding.

No, really.  I like her.  I’m just a bit bitter about the results.  I had a feeling it was coming, given the fact I have both parents on Statins, despite the fact they eat pretty well.  I’m usually pretty happy about the traits I inherited from my folks. 

It appears all my years running fast and loose with blue cheese and cheddar are catching up with my genetics, and I have high cholesterol.  My good cholesterol is also high, which didn’t surprise me.

Years ago, back when I was single, I had a doctor imply I was either a closet vegetarian or alcoholic because my HDL was so high.  I had images of myself, holed up in front of the minibar with a bag of spinach, but no...I am neither a big drinker or a fan of leafy greens.  Which apparently, is part of my downfall.

So in her message, she referred me to the American Heart Association, and I have to say that it was a bit of a downer.  The thought of the next 40-50 years eating all those greens, withOUT dipping them in blue cheese, well, it’s just sad.

I can hear my mother right now.  She’s muttering something about appreciating the ability to eat green veggies for the next 50 years.  Which is better than not being alive to eat the veggies at all.  But darn it.  I really like a good blue cheese.

And pizza.

jkldsfaljkasdflj;sadfljk;afsd;jk

Before church this morning, I took the kids to the Yolo Basin Wetlands for a nature drive/walk.  Maddie liked the rocks.  Matt and I enjoyed the birds and beaver lodges.  Something I like about fellow early-morning birders and hikers?  They’re so much more friendly than commuters. 

Church was good.  Saw one of my old students.  Which reminds me.  In the terminal at SeaTac, I saw a family from my old school.  The same family I ran into in Washington, D.C.  Let me say that I NEVER see them around town...and now I have seen them in two different states.  Bizarre.

During Maddie’s nap, I took Matt to the library and then to a group playdate.  As I dropped him off, his third-grade crush was arriving.  As Ryan and I picked him up, he gleefully told me that TWICE during hide-and-seek, “...we conveniently hid in the same place.  Not the same room.  The same place.” Goodness, I’m not quite sure what to think of my little Romeo.  I know *I* had third grade crushes (Alan), and I’ve known a few of my boy students have been smitten, but this just seems early for a boy to be clued into the whole crush thing. 

After church, we visited Ryan’s stepmother in the hospital.  She is recovering from pancreatitis and the accidental morphine overdose they gave her when they admitted her to the hospital.  We learned of her illness a few days before our return from Seattle, and I’m glad we were able to visit her.  We love her a lot, so it’s hard to see her there...especially because we’ve known for years that she is phobic about hospitals to begin with. 

My daughter, by the way, seems to have grown six inches since we left for Seattle.  She actually *looks* like an almost-four-year-old.  How’d that happen?

Off to bed. 

Hubby and I took the ferry over to Bainbridge Island today.

What a great day. 

Wish I’d brought my firewire to upload pics each day. 

"Have you ever been to Louisiana?”

I looked down at David Sedaris, unsure what I was supposed to say. 

Which is silly, really.  You should say what you have to say, and it shouldn’t matter that your favorite essayist is asking you.  It shouldn’t matter that your chance to talk to a man who’s made you cry (oh, that damn parrot story) and laugh so hard you wish you’d done your Kegels, that chance is now being spent answering questions about which you have no interesting comments.

“No.  Should I?” The fact that this is not witty in the slightest is softened by the essay David reads one hour later about his discomfort talking to strangers...his awkwardness and tendency to rely on a few stock stories makes me feel a tad better.

“I don’t know.  It’s an ugly place, really.  But the people are fun.”

Just yesterday afternoon, I had been frolicking in an aisle of Seattle’s Elliot Bay Books (the joy akin to Heidi traipsing through Austrian heather as it first blooms in Spring).  I glanced up to notice a sign announcing that while the David Sedaris’s book signing and reading was sold out, there would be “standing room only” accommodations.  I like the moments in life where serendipity brings about opportunities.  And seeing David Sedaris would be a memorable moment, a highlight of our trip to Seattle. 

Elliot Bay Books is the kind of bookstore you WANT to meet a favorite author in...brick walls, creaky wooden floors, and the signing down in the basement next to a coffee bar. 

So tonight I went to the bookstore about 6:30 PM, in hopes of being able to see him.  It turns out he was signing books BEFORE as well as after the reading, so I stood in line. 

One book, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, was signed to Maddie and Matthew.  He penned, “I’m so angry I missed ya!” And after asking me about Louisiana, he asked how I got there tonight.  Again, no witty reparte on my part.  We discussed his California visits, and how he’d never “found a bookstore that works for me in San Francisco.” We chatted up Book Passage for a moment, and he moved on. 

The reading and question period was everything I’d hoped it to be.  My view, by the way, was better than I expected by far. 

Seattle has treated me very kindly. 

And I’m too lazy to write.

This “Improv Everywhere” video courtesy of Busy Mom.