Sunday evening, drinking mulled wine next to a picnic spread on the floor, we decided to order tickets to see the opera Don Giovanni on February 14. Our three seats are now reserved. For once, there is feeling of excitement associated with Valentine's Day, rather than the usual indifference.

Since it is also pre-employment life, there is a little time to update. After a downpour most of yesterday, light sprinkles in the morning gave way to clear skies and we saw several rainbows on our jaunt along the coast. We also saw a lot of wildlife. The sea lions were right up against the gate, and there was a little lone goose amongst the ( Read more... )

The first day of 2014 I had a sunrise run by the beach, an unexpected hike to a mountain summit, and spent the rest of the day working on research. Good times and good company. Cheers to a good new year.

The weather has been far too summery the past few days. Even that smell of summer is in the air... It's nice, don't get me wrong, but this feeling of premature arrival is weirding me out a bit. I really wanted more of a winter. At least some more rain...

Cloudy blustery grey rainy morning, chestnut green tea with milk, Bach Cello Suites. Not sure I feel like going anywhere anytime soon.

On the first day of the year I visited snow in the mountains, had Szechwan eggplant and spicy squid, and watched some episodes of House. On the second day of the year I saw a stunning sunrise over the ocean and got a little work done.

Hit up the five peaks of Mission Trails - Cowles Mountain, Pyles Peak, Kwaay Paay, North Fortuna, South Fortuna (in that order) - with the gang. Souplantation and 99 Ranch directly after. Started raining a little bit just as I was getting home, and when I looked up I saw two red-tailed hawks hovering around in the sky.

Close encounter with a little skunk this morning at a street corner close to home. Merry Christmas!