Update from Peru

My friend from high school, Sally, lives in Lima, Peru. Tonight I got their update with photos of the earthquake. Let's remember to keep the communities in our thoughts and prayers. Her husband wrote:

"The images of people in shock from the destruction of the earthquake continue to fill our news. Many towns and villages are virtually destroyed or so badly damaged that people are afraid to live in them. Please continue to pray that the aid that is pouring in continues and that it is distributed in a fair and efficient manner. Pray that the kindness and generosity of many Christian aid organizations such as Samaritan’s Purse and Operation Mobilization will reflect on the love of God and encourage many people to seek Him in this time of struggle."

How hot was it?

And, the other question, how do you know if it's hot?

I think there are a variety of ways to know if you are hot. Fritz, the weather comedian on Channel 4 pointed out that heat causes moist glowing skin. LA county is investigating the deaths of 16 people over the weekend to see what the role of the heat was in their demise.

This is what it looked like right here on the Family Blog yesterday:


Our thermometer with sensor on the back porch reported this sometime on Labor Day:


And our patio:


How can you tell if you are hot?

Summer in Placerville

Well here in Placerville we is used to the high heat. With the shade tree and the watering hole we is just com fort able as heck. When Beth gets a bit warmish I just get a large palm leaf and wave in over her. One of these days we may get some of that electricity stuff but I still haven't figured out how to get it through those tiny wires. Hope the weather breaks in your parts. Your always welcome to sit out the heat in our parts of the woods.

Heat Wave

We are suffering through creatively at our home without air conditioning. There are two fans going. One on the doggies. One on the humans. I have that small wading pool in back to keep us refreshed up to our ankles. When all else fails, there is always a quick shower. The wet hair does bring relief. I've gone out to water the plants and "accidently" gotten some water on myself.

I finish all physical activity in the morning. Our upstairs offices are in the 90 plus range, so I'm grateful for a long weekend of no work! It is a treat to run an errand and cool off in the car air conditioning there. We are really guzzling the ice tea.

Falling asleep the last few nights was hard due to the lack of cooling in the evening. Brought back memories of a certain August wedding. We do manage to fall asleep and sleep soundly until morning, thanks to the aid of the ceiling fan in the bedroom.

I'm just glad I don't play a sport -- the high schools and colleges are practicing football, and the baseball teams still have to play. I've get salt in my eyes from sweating now and then. I told Glen, "When I'm really cold this winter, remind me of this day." We watched a movie with a winter scene and snow falling to help us cool down last night. It didn't really work, but it provided hope as we remembered being cold once.

Brown Cow, anyone? Frosty rootbeet blended with vanilla ice cream did help us tolerate yesterday's triple digit temperatures!

Turnbull Fire Report Follow Up

A couple of pictures of the fire affected area. I rode up today after it was really too hot to do so. There is debris in the road: rocks and sand. The burn area begins about one mile from the top on the Whittier side.



There were several large birds of prey circling on the up-hill-side.



This was the third day and the lowest mileage that Jeff and I rode together. Today was about 14 miles; Saturday was 40 miles round-trip up the San Gabriel River; Monday was 33 miles, we went south on SGRT. I know, 87 miles is nothing for some of the readers of this blog. But I had fun and feel like I put in some effort.

A quick Wednesday trip accross the border

On Wednesday, I took a quick trip to Tijuana's Colonia Las Palmas to visit some friends who were visiting from Boston: Jeff, Tara, Zack, and Ezra. This is their second year to visit this neighborhood and work for a week at this school. They take their kids and enjoy developing friendships with the people who live and work in the neighborhood. They have an organization that is seeking to serve people in a variety of places called Six Seeds.

Last Tuesday there was a fire

Even from our house there was no smoke or fire visible, anyone near Whittier could see the smoke billowing over the hill. Cindi noticed that the helicoptors were rotating through Leg Lake, so we decided to go take a look for ourselves.



There were 5 of them, taking turns dipping into the lake and filling up through their straw.



And flying back over to the fire that was actually in Hacienda Heights.

Here I am again at last

Uncle Glen was over this afternoon and worked on my computer and now I hope to be able
not only to make comments but to enter a blog. For me it isn't hard to get off base. I also
downloaded a bunch of stuff that Glen said I needed. We'll see how it helps.

Has anybody been to Wrightwood?

I've been there twice now. Did you know Mile High Pizza doesn't open until 4pm on weekdays? They'll get no business from me! The Mini-Mart has the best deal on soft drinks--a 44-oz Coke for only $1.29 + tax! (I think their bananas go for 29 cents.) Or did you know that the local bike rider could down 5 ClifBars and 2 tacos, and still be hungry for a McD's meal before dinner? Or that he could down an apple fritter, a cake donut, a pastry, and an oatmeal cookie on top of several ClifBars in a day besides breakfast and (very large) dinner? Now you do.

My first route to Wrightwood (July 31), where I used nearly all of the highway, is 91 miles one way. (Dad picked me up at La Cañada Flintridge on the way back.) The route I took the second time (Aug 13), which took me up hwy 39 (San Gabriel Canyon Rd) to Angeles Crest, was only about 65 mi each way.

A man posted about his own ride on hwy 2, from Glendale to Wrightwood.

Cycling Free Post

What? No posts about Russell Martin yet? Two home runs, how about that! And, he is such a nice fellow.

Anyone see Beckham bend it last night?

Desert Scrappin' Camp

[Caution: This post contains nothing related to cycling or doping.]

I am in the desert at someone's desert villa for a few days of scrapbooking with friends. We watch back-to-back DVDs, scrapbook, snack, and swim. Oh, and sleep. We get a lot done with our photos, catch up on friendship, and unwind. It was 110 degrees today. Tonight, we will float in the pool and watch the meteor shower, predicted to be quite the night sky event. A shooting star a minute at the main part of the event...sometime between 11:00 and dawn. I may miss that.

Cycling in Washington State

My favorite childhood memories are from Fairhaven. My grandfather's Drug Store, the town library, my grandparent's house, the local parks, and visiting my cousins. I use that town's web site as my default page for my browser. The town hosted part of a cycling event and here is the link to the picture and description.
http://www.fairhaven.com/