Among Friends

[Noel7]

@Moonchilde

Oh, I do know about micro-climates!  The entire Bay Area is loaded with them, and not only that, so is the city of SF.  There can be numerous differences in temp of 10 degrees in spots across the city, and it is common to rain in one area but not another.  Not to mention fog at the west side of the city and sunny heat in the Mission District.

[JustJazzmom]

We are in our first winter blast here. It's 14 degrees here and outside feels like minus 4. We raised the heat slightly in the bathroom as the cast iron tub is ice cold. The tub sits out on an overhang with radiant heat below it. Tomorrow it will be in the teens here.

[JustJazzmom]

Busy day here. I put away the manger & the table it was on; did a half mile walk and bought more hot pepper suet for the birds. Now to set up something for dinner. Looks like some leftover chicken with some other side dishes -- chicken flavored rice and salad are looking good about now.

[Noel7]

Off to do grocery shopping.  Menus and recipes planned, glad to get rid of holiday treats, although, now that I think about it, we probably still have the Pannetone around.

Hope everyone is doing well

@GingerPeach

How is your weather?  We've had a lot of rain lately, DH mentioned the weather report said we got more than an inch of rain in the last 24 hours.

[Moonchilde]

Plenty of rain here, but I've been so lucky not having to drive in it. Both yesterday & today, it only rained while I was at work in the building, not during my drive to and from.

Several feet of snow in the local mountains, many flooded areas, but just medium to heavy at times in my 'hood.

[GingerPeach]

For me, It's seemed like a continuation of the weekend for the past few days.   I haven't felt like posting since I've been more inspired these past few days to organize and rearrange things around the house.

I have, for the most part, decluttered the bedroom, and also my kitchen countertops.  A little rearranging was all it took for the kitchen.  It's amazing what a difference moving things around can make.  There's actually some empty space on the counters now!  The next step is cleaning and polishing the floor.  

I bought a small chest (half off from Grandin Road).  It allowed me to move the tv off the dresser and onto the chest. I am getting another piece with wicker baskets from the Improvements catalog that will fit on a small wall.  These are for the bedroom.  Once that last one is in place, the rest of the clutter should disappear.

@Noel7

I have a bucket on my back patio (not specifically to catch rain, but just for general gardening purposes).  It started out empty yesterday and this morning had about two inches of water.  The base is about 10" square. (Obviously, this is not an accurate rain gauge by any means, but it's the most that has fallen in one period to date in my own yard.)  Weather outcomes in my neighborhood are just as Mike Nicco has been describing in his reports.  

I hope everyone is having an inspired January.

ETA:  I cooked a lovely mushroom risotto for dinner.  This is what happens when you create room to spread things out so you can slice, and stir, and mix, and stir some more.  I like that slightly fizzy Portuguese white wine, vino verde, as an addition to risotto.

[Moonchilde]

For Trader Joe's fans -

I just had TJ's Crab and Langostino Rangoon won tons (I think they're somewhat new). Beautiful and delicious - you could proudly serve them at a party. Just a few minutes in the toaster oven and instant classy yum!

[JustJazzmom]

Actually @GingerPeach, any container can be a rain gauge. Rainfall can fall the same level, no matter how wide the container.

Been seeing photos of all the rain the West has been having. Wow is all I can say.

[GingerPeach]

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@JustJazzmom wrote:

Actually @GingerPeach, any container can be a rain gauge. Rainfall can fall the same level, no matter how wide the container.

Been seeing photos of all the rain the West has been having. Wow is all I can say.

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You're right, for general purposes.  But there is some formula used by weather services for construction of standard rain gauges.  My bucket is nowhere near any accepted standard!

[Noel7]

Good Morning, Homegirl

Last night we had more rain coming in by way of the porch door.  DH came up with something to block it.  Thank goodness it's not getting into the garage.

I have to go in for blood tests today so I hope the prediction of some sun this afternoon is true.  It's in the 40s again so it will be cold out there.