Fog has arrived

Looks like the summer fog season has begun. Probably won't see the sun for more than a couple days in a row until November or so. I get to endure 6-7 months of cheery Ed Hat people who actually like the fog. They haven't lived in Santa Barbara their entire lives like I have. I remember sunny summers. We don't have them anymore. Oh well, guess it's a good time to go fire up the Extinction for another trip to Costco!

There is sun above this horrible fog

The endless fog continues. It's thicker and wetter than ever. It appears to be raining.

I brought an umbrella and rain chaps with me on a hike yesterday expecting to be rained on part of the day. Lo and behold, at about 2500 feet, we broke out of the fog into a gorgeous, warm fall day with light high clouds in the sky. We sat at the summit on East Camino Cielo Rd. in the warm sun and dreaded heading back down into the soup. It's really becoming quite intolerable. It's so dark and gloomy all the time I find myself wearing my headlamp in the house sometimes so I can see what I'm doing.

I made another pair of shoes using my Simple Shoemaking patterns, the pattern for a two-piece casual. They turned out more like slippers than shoes.

I made them from a leather skirt I found at the thrift store. I lined the very thin leather with interfacing and the silk nylon lining that came with the skirt. I used aloha shirt fabric for the insole and stitched the upper to the insole and a layer of yoga mat. The stitching came out looking very unprofessional so I glued on some trim to hide it. Then I glued on another layer of yoga mat so I can wear them outside.

When worn they appear very soft and wrinkly so they really look more like slippers than shoes. Otherwise, the pattern is nice.

One thing I have learned from my 3 successful shoe attempts is that I need to pull in the heel area so that it tapers inward against my ankle. The pattern had a straight line from the part that attaches to the sole up to the top of the ankle. But on me, that leads my foot to fall off the back of the sole. If I angle the seam inward, my foot doesn't fall off the back and it's much more comfortable.

I'm hoping to one day get this right. For now, my black ones are the closest ones to getting it right. I'm not sure I see the advantage of the stitched on sole to the sole glued around the outside edges. Unless I can learn to stitch an even, nice-looking stitch, I'll always end up struggling to figure out how to hide the stitches.

I glued mousepads on to my two other shoes so that they'll last longer. I hope that's what will happen. I chickened out of gluing on a boot sole to my black shoes. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to aim right to glue the top to the sole straight. It's very hard to do. Once the two sides touch each other, that's it. They're stuck.

Fog monster

The evil demon fog is rolling in. It just won't quit. No sunny mornings yet. We're wrapping up the final days of summer and now it's too late to hope for a warm sunny summer day.

I admitted to The Man that I'm holding out on trying to find a "real" job until he's finally fired or retired from his job. I hate the weather here in Santa Barbara. I don't want to get myself tied down until I know I can leave. So I'm taking Java programming, working part-time doing a lot of really great web development (learning tons and tons) and soon my whale job will start up again. Just hanging in there, waiting.

Waiting for summer, waiting for The Man's situation to change, waiting for better days ahead.

Still foggy

Yet another freezing cold foggy day. What are you supposed to do when you really don't want to live in a place anymore but you are in a relationship with someone who will be hanging on to their job to the bitter end, probably for years to come? I guess you just have to freeze to death every "summer" in the fog or run away and go hiking on the PCT.

It's now Weptember, when we weep that we missed summer

In case anyone is wondering, it is still foggy here in Santa Barbara. No summer at all this year.

It's official: The Worst Summer Ever

Normally in summer here it is foggy 30% of the daylight hours. That fact is enough right there to hate summer in Santa Barbara, but this year it has been worse. It has been foggy 50% of all daylight hours since June 1. It is the worst summer we have ever had. The foggiest summer ever recorded.

Every morning I wake up to cold gray gloom. I have to turn on lights as if it was winter. I have to put on a down jacket to walk to work. Today I was still wearing my jacket when I arrived at work 1.75 miles later. The sun was out in the afternoon, but to do some things in our shady yard, I had to wear a jacket because the wind coming off the ocean where the fog lies in wait was as cold as the fog itself.

I've had all I can bear of this. I cannot wait to get the heck out of here. I leave tomorrow to go to the Eastern Sierra. I'm going to finish my trek on the PCT. Then I think I'll get a commemorative tattoo. And keep hiking.

The fog ate the sun this morning and plunged us back into darkness

There was a strange glowing orb in the sky this morning. But the grayness took it away.

It's still foggy this summer. It's been really cold. Yesterday was a day for down jackets all day and down blankets all night.

Tomorrow I'm leaving for Nor Cal. Sunshine, warmth, heat, summer. I am so happy to be leaving!

No more summer

Summer went away again. We had a week of nice hot sunny summertime weather. You could sit outside in the evening. I could go to work without wearing a jacket (carrying one however for the infernal air conditioning.) I could even ride my scooter with a light jacket.

No more. Summer went away again behind the fog. Once again I have to turn the lights on in the morning, I shiver under my down blanket on the couch and I have to zip my down jacket all the way up on my walk to work. At least I don't have to wear a jacket inside the office since this weather makes them turn on the heater.

I can't wait to get out of here and go hiking next week in the summertime.

A tiny break in the fog brings joy to all

The sun burst forth late in the evening yesterday. I went to the park to play my fiddle with the Glendessary Jam. There was a huge turnout. Everyone was so happy. It was warm and beautiful. We played tunes in the key of G which for some reason seem to be really fun and full of variation.

The park was full of people. A group was belly dancing. A couple was getting married in the gazebo. Baby ducklings were bobbing in the pond. People would come by to hear the music and dance. I didn't wear a down jacket. Ah, this is what summer is supposed to be like.

Of course the fog was rolling back in before the music was over. I could feel the cold wind. My fingers were getting cold and stiff. I went home, having enjoyed a brief moment of happiness. It's another gray day today. Back to my down, back to the gloom, back to barely feeling alive.

Keyword: Persistent

Persistent. That's a nice way to describe the gloomiest fog ever.

Persistent marine layer expected to burn off in the afternoon. That's a nice way to say it burns off at 5:30PM and rolls back in at 6:00PM.

Persistence sucks.