Tug o' War

It was too smokey to go for a hike this morning so the dogs had to find a way to entertain themselves.

Aftermath - Rim Fire

There is still tons of smoke at the cabin, which did not blow off until around noon time.

We went up to Tuoloumne Trails to check out the fire damage and were able to drive and walk thru the area that burned.  It was super cool to see.  We parked the truck and hiked thru the burned area.  We could see holes where the manzanita roots burned right into the ground.

When we went back to get the truck, Tina and Marty ran into a Forest Service guy, who told them they really shouldn't be there but he wouldn't tell anyone.....so went went farther down the trail!

We will go back later this afternoon after the smoke lifts in that area to get a better view across the canyon!

Again....why we can't have a nice rig!

The thick smoke makes it hard to see the damage across the canyon, but that hill used to be covered with trees

The dogs were hot and tired

Woot!

Grace made the 8th grade football team.  Only girl and beat out 20 boys!  She is a beast.

BUT - you never would have know when she went off to school this morning in skinny jeans, a lace top and cowboy boots.  She is 6 feet tall in the boots and looks like a model with her looooong legs!

Rats!

Went out into the garage today to get in my mini to go to work and a GIANT rat ran under my mini!!!!  Closed the door and took the Tahoe instead!

Moustache Question

Marty has a new TNDC shirt!

TNDC Big Kids

Last nite, I made the big kids stop their stupid kid tricks long enough to snap this picture of the goofy group!  What an awesome bunch of kids!

TNDC - Stupid Kid Tricks

The kids spent TNDC this week doing stupid tricks.  These are videos of some of the tricks they tried.  The last thing I saw them doing were cartwheels in the front yard.

Fran.....are you out there?

NSC Fran - if you still read my blog, email me or post a message on this blog (the message only goes to me).  I have been trying to find an email for you and can't find anyone who has it.

Rim Fire T-shirt

Here is the t-shirt that some local Groveland folks made to sell and use the revenue to donate to the recovery from the fire.  I think we will all be sporting them!

Football

Guess who is the only girl trying out for football in the 8th grade?

Stay tuned to see if she made the team.  We should find out at the end of the week.

Yosemite Big Trees

Sprinklers are placed around the perimeter of the Merced and Tuolumne Groves of Giant Sequoias in an effort to protect the big trees should the wildfire advance on the groves.

Rim Fire

Here is a pic that was just tweeted by CalFire.  Please say a little prayer that we have no serious injuries or fatalities.  For the size and fierceness of this fire, it has been incredibly safely fought. 

Camp Tuolumne Trails

Here are some amazing pics taking from Camp Tuolumne Trails during the fire.  They are so fortunate that they only lost food from the power outage.

This is sooooo scary!

Rim Fire Perspective

This is a great map that shows the size of the Rim Fire compared to other fires in the area.

Rim Fire Update

Guardraile on Highway 120

Now the 15th largest fire in California history and bigger than the Complex Fire from 1987.  Quickly climbing to be the 12th largest fire.  Lost Berkley Camp yesterday which is an area where we geocache.  And reportedly hit Hardin Flat Road pretty heavy and that is where we sled.

Sign on Cherry Lake Road

Perimeter as of today

Rim of the World overlook

End of Sabbatical

A homemade red velvet cake to celebrate the end of my sabbatical.  The cream cheese frosting is amazing!  Have not tasted the cake yet. 

Reflection

On my last day of sabbatical, I wanted to spend some time reflecting on my time off of work.  My time off was a real gift - it allowed me to do things that I have been wanting to do for a long time and it allowed me to spend a lot if time with my family and my dogs.  In reflecting back over the last two months, this is what I learned:

1.  I really like my job and the people I work with - I missed them and the work.  I feel very fortunate that I feel this way.

2.  I feel very fortunate that I have a good job with a good company and although sometimes there is politics and drama - I am so fortunate.

3.  Life needs to be put into perspective - every day - all the time.  Seriously -- don't sweat the small stuff.  If they are out of your favorite bagel at the bagel shop, there is no reason to swear and stomp away.  Really....not having the right bagel is not life threatening to anyone....get a grip and choose a different bagel.  Heck -- maybe you will find out you like it better.

4.  Be flexible.  Being flexible doesn't mean you are giving up power and letting someone else get away with something.  Being flexible is kind and allows you new experiences.

5.  Surround yourself with people who provide you with energy, joy,  love, and happiness.  If the people you hang out with don't do that, there are many others who will -- focus your energy there.

6.  My husband is awesome.  He just really is.  He is also goofy and dorky....but that is part of the awesomeness.  I am a lucky wife.

7.  I LOVED spending time with Grace this summer.  She has inherited Jim's awesomeness in so many ways.  When I imagined having a daughter when she was born, what she has become is so much better than what I imagined she would be like.  And she just gets better and better.

8.  I have loved having the time to spend with Drew and his wonderful group of friends.  I see the people that he chooses to surround himself with and I see that he has mastered #5 above....and how awesome is that?!?!?

9.  Spending time with your old doggie doing things that you both love is priceless.  And it's even nice with the little wiener side kick!

I am truly blessed to have had this experience to take some time off to recharge my soul, my mind and my body. 

Now....off to work I go.  I am ready and looking forward to it.

Smart Dog

Look how smart Daisy looks in my reading glasses.  She is reading dogshaming.com - which is hilarious if you have never seen it - always makes me laugh out loud!

A couple updates on Daisy Mae:

She turns 10 next weekend!

I have had 3 people ask if she was a Dalmatian since I painted spots on her.   And one woman came out of her house to ask me if she was a Dalmation/Lab mix!

I took her on a 5 mile hike this morning and at 10 years old, that really poops her out - she spent the rest of the day snoozing!

Rim Fire Cabin Trip

We just returned from a 24 hour trip to the cabin to check on the Rim fire.  It was a super interesting experience and well worth the effort.  We left SJ at about 4 am and could really start seeing the smoke as we headed out of Sonora.  The sun coming up was glowing orange.  We drove straight to Roy and Anna's cabin becuase they were in the mandatory evacuation area.   The police had the road closed but allowed us to walk into the closed area to Anna and Roy's place - which was just two lots in as they were on the edge of the evacuated zone.  We checked out their place, which was fine and headed to our place.  

Our place is across the lake and farther from the fire.  Our place was fine but the smoke was so thick throught the entire community that it actually made me feel claustrophobic and the dogs were totally sluggish from it.  We went to our house, fed the dogs, stretched our legs, ate some apple pie and then headed out.

We spent until 4 pm driving around checking out the fire from all different perspectives.  We even tried to go down a dirt road to get into the closed area - not unsafely into it - just on the edge.  The smoke was awe inspiring.  Watching the helicopters was so cool.

We took a break to eat some Cochina Michocana for lunch and listened to the locals and the waitress who had been evacuated from their homes.  And a group of the local high school students came in because school was cancelled.

At 7 pm, we went to the local elementary school for a briefing from the incident commander.  Boy, was that interesting!   Here were the highlights:

*  The guy heading the operation is from the Southern part of the US and he manages the biggest and baddest fires in the whole country.

*  As of last nite, they had lost 9 structures and saved 6000 (that number changed to 23 structures lost today)

*  This fire is highly unusual in its behavior and is one of the fastest growing fires they have seen.

*  Flames were 100 to 200 feet high

*  They were down at the river taking rafts across to the other side to fight the fire.  They lost the fight and had to retreat.  That led the fire to climb quickly up the canyon and head into Buck Meadows where they had a "hell of a fire fight" but saved the community!

*  Some jackass got all angry because they were knocking on doors to do the evacuation - he thought they should just rely on the reverse 911 system!?!?!  The Sheriff responded and said, I can answer that simply by saying, "you are too important to rely on a phone system for evacuation"!

*  People who live in super remote areas with no infrastructure (i.e. fire hydrants) want to know why they are not getting priority!!!  Let's see.....protect one house that has no resources around it or protect 2600 that have fire hydrants, did fire abatement and have a lake full of water for fire drops????  Really????  What is wrong with people????  When you made the decision to live in a remote area, that is part of the deal.

*  They turn off power so that power lines don't fall on fire fighters and kill or injure them.  Sounds reasonable - right?  NOPE - some of the people were complaining about it!

*  They are setting up another base camp in Sonora that will house 1400 fire fighters in the next two days.

*  Our community has been pretty well protected and they are currently doing mop up.  If that goes well in the next couple days, the evacuation order could be lifted.

*  120 will be closed for at least 5 days due to the damage and the number of personnel in the area

We really enjoyed the meeting until it was time for questions and answers and the hillbilly trash came out of the woodwork.  People wanted power back on, evacuation orders lifted, the evacuation procedure changed.....  We finally got up and left.  These firefighters are risking their lives saving our community and these jackasses are whining about being inconvenienced!

After the meeting, we got pizza and went home.  We stayed the night and woke up to thick smoke again.  We felt that things were stable so we packed up and headed home at 7:30 this morning.  We took all our important papers....just in case!

We are heading back next weekend and hope to be able to drive around to see the damage. 

It will be a very sad day when we get out to see Cherry Lake....

Dirt road we went down trying to sneak onto Ferretti Road - the evacuated area.

Don Pedro this morning covered with smoke

Our street when we were driving out this morning

Fire trucks coming down 120 this morning

View from Cresthaven yesterday afternoon

View from up on Merrill Road yesterday afternoon

Helicopter drops

Info station at fire department in town..  Some jackass tried to tell them they were not using their resources right!

Smoke from Marina yesterday afternoon

Going to the Marina in the morning - you could not see across the lake!

Smoke heading out of Oakdale and up to the cabin at 6:45 am

Just a little bit of ash on the Pontoon Mama

Walking up the road to Jim's folks house

Closed road in front of Jim's folk's place

View of smoke from our driveway

View of smoke from the Marina in the afternoon

Ahi was not impressed with the event!

Tre

I forgot to post this after our trip to Uncle B's.  This is "Tre", Sam's Bearded Dragon.  Brian took him out and let us feed him apples and then let him run around the house.  He is super cool by freaks me out a little.  Of course Grace wants one.....I don't think I do!

Breakaway

Today the 8th grade went to Breakaway Camp until tomorrow afternoon.  This camp is to bond the 8th graders and set the expectation for leadership in the Jr High.  The kids all get put on color team and spend most of today playing games.  Can't wait to hear about it.

Busy Day

It has been a very busy day today.  I have been following the Rim Fire at the cabin.  At about noon today the fire jumped the containment line and they started evacuating the community our cabin is in.  We confirmed about an hour ago that they are evacuating our section of the community.  The fire is currently 5% contained.  Here are some recent pics:

This is our airport - they are using it for fueling planes

This is the ranger station we always go to

While I was monitoring the fire, the dalmatian (and eyebrow) fairy stopped by our house.....  I think I need to go back to work....I am started to do crazy stuff with my free time!

And then... as I was walking in from the grocery store, I heard a scream coming from across the street.  I ran over there to find that the sister of one of our neighbors took a header on the side walk and her glasses broke into her face.  She also lost consciousness so I called 911.  Our neighbor was absolutely hysterical so I had to take control of the situation.  Drew came out to help and immediately asked if she was breathing....he actually sounded disappointed when I said "yes"!  He wanted to try out his CPR skills!  She ended up needing stitches and an xray of her head but will be ok.

I hope tomorrow will be quieter.  AND I hope our cabin is ok.

Check

On my list for my sabbatical was to re-line the fountain in the backyard and put in new plants -- check  -- done!  I love it!

Blueberry Gallete

Made this delicious blueberry gallete last nite.  It had a layer of cream cheese and then two cups of blueberries topped with  more cream cheese.

Beets!

This last week of my sabbatical has been all about cooking.  Today I made this yummy beet salad with dill and pine nuts.  I used two different types of beets and roasted them.  So yummy!

FIRE!

There is a big, out of control fire near the cabin.  School closed, highway closed because the fire jumped it and our local high school is the evacuation site for those forced out of their homes.

So scary.

Click here for up to date info

Assistant Coach

Grace and I went to my brother's house for a quick visit and while there, Grace helped coach Mimi's soccer team during practice.  It was super fun to watch.  One of the girls walked up, saw Grace and said, "look mom we have a girl teacher!".  My nephew, Sam, helped too so he could earn community service hours.  I was fun to see Sam and Grace hip checking each other on the field!