Sacramento has very hot summers. By comparison to places that get really cold on the east coast or in the midwest, we don't really get cold winters. But it is quite a bit colder than the bay area, where I lived for years, and as I am apparently a California Weather Wimp, I think it gets really cold.
Yesterday, Ashling and I went to Davis to do the annual "Turkey Trot" a 5K run just before Thanksgiving. We also planned to go to the Causeway Classic, the big football game between traditional local rivals, Sac State (the Hornets) and UC Davis (the Aggies).
For those who don't know the area, Davis is town about 20 miles west of Sacramento, home to UC Davis, a fine institution of learning. You get from Sac to Davis on I-80, and after you cross into Yolo county, the freeway is a causeway over the Yolo flats, hence the term "Causeway Classic" for the big football game. We left on Saturday at about 7 a.m. heading to Davis for the Turkey Trot, and man was it foggy! This Valley fog is way different to bay fog, much thicker and harder to drive in. I was just glad that there was so little traffic on I-80 as the visibility was very poor. In fact, when we crossed the Sacramento River, the fog was at its thickest and the river was not at all visible. But we got to Davis safely. But it was cold! Again, not by real winter standards, but by California wimp standards. I was glad to get running to warm up! And also to be around the crowds - there are about 5000 participants. It's a nice enough course through Davis, the best part being how flat it is. No hills! I clocked a time of about 30 minutes, Ashling, of course, was several minutes ahead of me.
After the race, we headed home so. Crossing the Yolo flats, we saw where the Davis fans had adorned the flats with the a rather large sign stating "Sac Iz Wac". I am guessing that spelling and grammar aren't a top priority for the Aggies. But it was cute, we giggled about it all the way home. Game started at 2:05, we headed over to Hornet stadium a little early and enjoyed the smell of the barbeque at all the tailgate parties on campus. Given that Sac State doesn't have a particularly prestigious football program, the stadium is smaller than, say, Memorial Stadium at Berkeley. However, I would say that Hercy the Hornet is a very cool mascot, partly because he has a stinger and partly because he can ride a unicycle. However, the first half of the game was filled with some of the sloppiest football I have ever seen, and I have sat through a large number of high school football games. That combined with the chilly weather led to us leaving at halftime, which unfortunately means that we missed one of the greatest comebacks in college sports history when the Hornets came back from a 14-3 deficit at halftime to win 31-28 with just 20 seconds to go! That's the price of being a California Weather Wimp and being unable to last a couple of hours in the shade when it's less than 60 degrees!
Gordon & Helen in Hangzhou
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
The new shed
The last of Gordon's big outdoor projects for this year is the new shed. When we moved in, the house had a shed. But, oh my god, what a mess!!! There was so much ivy in it. I think the ivy was holding it up. Not to mention all the nasty things left behind by critters that had been in there. Yuck! Anyhow, we have a two-car garage, but there is so much stuff in there, mostly tools and motorbikes, that I can't park my car in there. So I went through this summer parking my car in the driveway, and I really don't want to do that again. Honestly, some afternoons I'd get into my car after it had been sitting in the sun for a few hours, and I would get third degree burns on my fingers from touching the steering wheel. Not good! So the shed had to get built so that Gordon could put his stuff in it so that I could park my car in the garage.
The first major task was killing the ivy. That took a long time, because it was some large ivy. It was frustrating because he was working so hard but it didn't look like much was changing! Except for the big pile of roots that had to go out in the green bin that is. Once it was pretty much dead, and cleared from the concrete, then he could go to work on that. We used the concrete that had been poured for the old shed, but it need some serious patching and chipping. Then it was time to begin building the actual shed. Gordon actually bought a book "shed-building for dummies" I think it was, and just picked out a nice design and went from there. A picture is worth a thousand words, they say, so click here to see pictures of the shed in progress.
I think the most most stressful time was the day before our first big storms of the season. We knew there would be some serious rain and wind, so Gordon had to get the roof on that weekend, and then get something called housewrap around the shed. That was important because the windows and doors weren't in yet, and the housewrap covered that. Since we were storing all of his tools in the new shed, it was important to keep as much rain as possible out of there. The storm tore up some trees, even dumping some into the pool, and almost destroyed the sunshade, but the shed and the tools stood up well.
Keep checking the photos - it should be finished soon and I'll keep posting photos.
The first major task was killing the ivy. That took a long time, because it was some large ivy. It was frustrating because he was working so hard but it didn't look like much was changing! Except for the big pile of roots that had to go out in the green bin that is. Once it was pretty much dead, and cleared from the concrete, then he could go to work on that. We used the concrete that had been poured for the old shed, but it need some serious patching and chipping. Then it was time to begin building the actual shed. Gordon actually bought a book "shed-building for dummies" I think it was, and just picked out a nice design and went from there. A picture is worth a thousand words, they say, so click here to see pictures of the shed in progress.
I think the most most stressful time was the day before our first big storms of the season. We knew there would be some serious rain and wind, so Gordon had to get the roof on that weekend, and then get something called housewrap around the shed. That was important because the windows and doors weren't in yet, and the housewrap covered that. Since we were storing all of his tools in the new shed, it was important to keep as much rain as possible out of there. The storm tore up some trees, even dumping some into the pool, and almost destroyed the sunshade, but the shed and the tools stood up well.
Keep checking the photos - it should be finished soon and I'll keep posting photos.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Summer in Sacramento
This week, there was a really good article about living in Sacramento in the Sac Bee. Click here to read it. The article, by a San Francisco native now living in Sacramento, talks about how the hot summers really define the lifestyle here. Now I've been really lucky - since I moved to Sacramento we've experienced one of the most delightful summers imaginable. But there have been a couple of hot weeks and I totally see what he means about how the weather defines life here. The cool active mornings, the slow midday and the lively evenings. I also think he's right on when he says we can look at day with a high of 92 (for my European readers, that's about 33 centigrade) and marvel at how cool it will be. It sort of reminds me, in an opposite type way of course, of how when I was growing up in Ireland, we would head to the beach if it got remotely close to 70. That was some hot beach weather then! On a personal level, it's pretty amazing how quickly I've gotten into the if-it's-not-100-it's-almost-chilly mentality. Also, how quickly I've grown to love the shade. It's way different in the shade! And the air conditioning. I believe in A/C!!
There are a couple of things I would also note about how Sacramentans deal with the heat. First is the use of water. When it's hot, I come home from work and get into the pool. I've gotten into the pool at 9 or 10 o'clock. Then you don't even have to worry about the sun. Pools are a big deal. And of course, there's the river. When I drive over the American River, I always glance to see how many people are out on the river. On the weekend, there are hundreds of people, either just hanging out or floating down the river in rafts. I've done it myself. It is so much cooler on the water. And even though you're in the river with crowds of people, it's cool, because, really, everyone is just so nice. I don't know if the heat contributes to it, but people are so friendly here, it rivals Ireland! The first day we went out on the river, we forgot to bring paddles for the raft (well, we were rookies) and someone just gave us one. I am not making this up! He had a spare, and he noticed that we needed it, so he just gave it to us. That would *never* happen in the bay area.
The other thing that the heat brings out is a totally different sense of style. It sort of makes sense, I suppose, it's hot so we dress skimpier. All of us. I'm a 48-year-old grandmother and it's completely acceptable for me to leave the house in short-shorts and a tank top. Admittedly, I'm in decent shape, but hey, other places in the world have rules about that sort of thing. Not here! And the skimpier clothing leads to more display of body art. There probably aren't actually more tattoos per capita here or anything, it just looks like it because they're all on display.
The article also talks about how we lean toward evening activities because of the heat. That's so true. I go listen to live music in the village near my house every Thursday night. I walk down by the river and it is simply full of people biking and walking their dogs, or kids. Restaurants in midtown serve food until the wee hours of the morning. If only we could get a siesta in mid-afternoon, life would be perfect! Maybe that's the way we should be furloughing - a two-hour nap each day.
I don't know how it's going to be in the winter. There may not be sun, there might even be rain! I might even get an early night. But I guess I'll just wait and see.
There are a couple of things I would also note about how Sacramentans deal with the heat. First is the use of water. When it's hot, I come home from work and get into the pool. I've gotten into the pool at 9 or 10 o'clock. Then you don't even have to worry about the sun. Pools are a big deal. And of course, there's the river. When I drive over the American River, I always glance to see how many people are out on the river. On the weekend, there are hundreds of people, either just hanging out or floating down the river in rafts. I've done it myself. It is so much cooler on the water. And even though you're in the river with crowds of people, it's cool, because, really, everyone is just so nice. I don't know if the heat contributes to it, but people are so friendly here, it rivals Ireland! The first day we went out on the river, we forgot to bring paddles for the raft (well, we were rookies) and someone just gave us one. I am not making this up! He had a spare, and he noticed that we needed it, so he just gave it to us. That would *never* happen in the bay area.
The other thing that the heat brings out is a totally different sense of style. It sort of makes sense, I suppose, it's hot so we dress skimpier. All of us. I'm a 48-year-old grandmother and it's completely acceptable for me to leave the house in short-shorts and a tank top. Admittedly, I'm in decent shape, but hey, other places in the world have rules about that sort of thing. Not here! And the skimpier clothing leads to more display of body art. There probably aren't actually more tattoos per capita here or anything, it just looks like it because they're all on display.
The article also talks about how we lean toward evening activities because of the heat. That's so true. I go listen to live music in the village near my house every Thursday night. I walk down by the river and it is simply full of people biking and walking their dogs, or kids. Restaurants in midtown serve food until the wee hours of the morning. If only we could get a siesta in mid-afternoon, life would be perfect! Maybe that's the way we should be furloughing - a two-hour nap each day.
I don't know how it's going to be in the winter. There may not be sun, there might even be rain! I might even get an early night. But I guess I'll just wait and see.
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