My Town Monday: My San Diego Living Room

Ever wonder what Mr. Summy does in his spare time?

Recently he invented... a treadmill shelf for his lovely wife. 

Mr. Summy came up with this brilliant design. He attached (with the help of his handy assistant, Child #4) a drawer glider on the outside of the treadmill handles. This is so I can glide the desk up and out of the way when folding the treadmill for storage. 

Child #4 is drilling holes into the side wood pieces. Mr. Summy is supervising.  I am napping. (kidding!)

Voila! A beautiful treadmill shelf is born. There are plans to paint it black, but it is completely functional. Cost $27.   As compared to, say, the Trek Desk which is about $500.

Just a gratuitous crazy pic of child #4

How many miles will I walk while writing the next book? I might actually keep track.

 
p.s. Watch this Wednesday for The Book Review Club!

My Town Monday: Fun Holiday Events in San Diego, CA

Good Monday Morning to you all!

Yes, yes, I've been somewhat absent lately, not due to a lack of love, but to a lack of time. While I do love my children, Mr. Summy, friends, family, Christmas decorations, gift giving, and writing books, blogging, all of them together is a bit overwhelming. ;)

Anyway, it's that time of year when I get to feeling sad and nostalgic and wishing I were going home to Canada for Christmas. I can barely listen to Anne Murray without tearing up.* Being the practical person I am, I thought I'd google see what fun stuff I can get up to here in San Diego that would be a little like the fun stuff I'd get up to in Toronto. Here goes....

Skating...
Skating by the Sea at the Hotel del Coronado (thanks google images for the photo)

At the Hotel del Coronado, they flood the Windsor Lawn to make an ice rink for skating next to the Pacific Ocean Nov 23 to Jan 8. It costs $20/$25 (adults) and $15/$20 (kids) for a 2hr/3hr session, including skate rental (not many of us own skates down here!). Growing up, our neighbors flooded their backyard, and all the kids in the neighborhood skated on it for the winter. In fact, that's where I learned to skate, pushing around a wooden chair until I got my balance. This took years (joke).

Please click here for skating details, such as the times the rink is open.

Looking at the lights...

San Diego Boat Parade of Lights (thanks again google images. What would I do without you?)

I've missed the Dec. 11 viewing, but on Dec. 18 from 5:30 - 9pm, over 100 boats, all decorated up for this year's Back-to-the-Future theme, will cruise 7 1/2 miles in the San Diego Bay. It's free. The parade starts at Shelter Island immediately after the 5:30pm fireworks. Please click here for details about the route, times, etc.

I have a couple of other fun ideas, but I'll save them for another post. Have a great Monday. Be good to yourselves.

Please check out the posts by the other My Town Monday participants by clicking here.



*Don't feel too sorry for me because I may be heading to the Great White North this summer.

sources:
http://www.hoteldel.com/
http://www.portofsandiego.org/

My Town Monday: The Drowsy Chaperone, San Diego, CA

It's that time of year when, here in the US, we're thawing our turkeys, baking our pies and thinking about what we're thankful for.

Well, I'm thankful Jim Williams ended his hiatus of sixteen years and returned to the stage.

Here's Jim Williams as Man in Chair in The Drowsy Chaperone, currently playing at the Coronado Playhouse, 1835 Strand Way, Coronado, CA. (619) 435-4856

This past weekend, Mr. Summy, two good friends and I went to see The Drowsy Chaperone. I'm not exaggerating when I say it's one of the best plays we've seen in the last four years (which is when we started regularly going to the theater together). And we ALL loved The Drowsy Chaperone--no mean feat for people who have trouble agreeing on which sushi rolls to order.

In brief, The Drowsy Chaperone is a very funny musical comedy. From the Coronado Playhouse's website: This hilarious show-within-a-show begins when a die-hard musical comedy fan dusts off his favorite cast album, a 1928 smash hit called The Drowsy Chaperone. The album magically bursts to life and the audience is instantly immersed in the glamorous, comical tale of a celebrity bride and her uproarious wedding day.

I called Jim after the play to ask him a few questions for this post (yes, I'm that kind of pushy blogger).

Me: So, what ended the sixteen-year hiatus? Did the stars align? You won the lottery? Your wife threatened to leave if you didn't get back on stage? Seriously, tell us and we'll make it happen again.

Jim: It was the play. When it first came out on Broadway, my daughter gave me the CD. Then I saw it in Orange County. And I said that if The Drowsy Chaperone ever comes to San Diego, the Man in Chair is the one part that will pull me out of this hiatus.

Me: Which begs the question...why did you take sixteen years off? Did the stars misalign? You lost the lottery? Your wife threatened to leave if you didn't spend more time at home? Seriously, tell us and we'll make sure it doesn't happen again.

Jim: It was a combination of Santee* losing its place for performing, and my wife and I deciding to do a bunch of traveling. And it was a nice break. When I did theater in the eighties and nineties, I was in rehearsal Monday through Thursday and then in performance, perhaps at different theater, on the weekend. This went on for about fifteen years.

Me: What was it like, jumping back in the saddle, er, the armchair, after so much time away?

Jim: When I was first preparing for my audition and I was trying to memorize a monologue, I thought this is never going to work. Then, the next day, I discovered I’d remembered more than I was expecting. Also, I really didn’t think I’d get cast for the part.

Me: And how’s it been?

Jim: Exhilarating! A lot of this is due to the cast of the show who were wonderful to me. They’re all extremely talented. And you couldn’t ask for a better producer or director. It’s been a thrill!

Me: What’s next? And if you say another sixteen-year hiatus, you understand there are people who might hurt you. ☺

Jim: What I really really want to do most is work with my kids and grandkids in theatre. So, I’m on the look-out for a good role and the opportunity to work on stage with my kids and grandkids.

Me: Directors and producers of San Diego County, you heard the man! Thanks, Jim, for the interview. And thank you for The Drowsy Chaperone! In kid/teen lingo, you rocked the house!

(*Santee is our little corner of San Diego county.)

The Drowsy Chaperone is playing at the Coronado Playhouse until Dec. 4. I can't recommend it highly enough. The show boasts a TON of talent. Debbie David's (the drowsy chaperone herself) delivery was impeccable; I couldn't have laughed harder. Tiffany Loui was a most energetic bride-to-be. We will be sure to see everything directed by Thomas Fitzpatrick; he's that good. It was a trip seeing Jessica Brandon, Manny Bejarano, Meredith Russo and Katie Beth Umlor on stage again. Really, I feel bad not mentioning everyone associated with this play!

Here’s a link to the theater: The Coronado Playhouse. Do something nice for yourself and go see this play.

Please check out the posts by the other My Town Monday participants by clicking here.

Oh, and disclaimer: I wasn't compensated for this post. I'm just a blogger who likes a good play....and a good book...and a bag of fresh licorice.

My Town Monday: Glow-In-The-Dark Waves in San Diego, CA

Here's what our ocean looks like during the day...

Red Tide in San Diego (photo credit: Gary Robbins, Union-Tribune)


And here's what it looks like at night...

Bioluminescent waves (photo credit: Brian Witkin, google images)

Phytoplankton, an algae that blooms late in the summer, is lighting up our beaches thanks to a scientific phenomenon called bioluminescence. When these tiny creatures are jostled, a chemical reaction occurs at the cellular level, and, wow, a blue light flashes.

So, when a wave breaks, billions of these single-cell organisms emit blue flashes. It's kind of like a wave of fireflies. Of course, there are lots of fun ways to light up the night: run along the beach, stir the water with your foot, surf, throw water from a bucket, etc. I've even heard you can fill a bottle with sea water and flush it down your toilet.

How long will the red tide be with us? No one knows for sure. It arrived at the end of September and may suddenly leave if the weather changes and blows it out or if a bunch of salp, a small jellylike creature, drift in and eat them up or if... Then again, the red tide might stick around for a while.

But, at least for the moment, we have glow-in-the-dark waves in San Deigo!

I'm this week's hostess. If you throw up a My Town Monday post, let me know here or on the official My Town Monday blog, and I'l link to you on both.

Below are links to some interesting My-Town-Monday posts by other bloggers:

Debra of From Skilled Hands has proof of great beauty in her small Village of Peninsula, Ohio

Jeannette Marie Powell has a haunting post on Frankenstein's Tower in Dayton, Ohio. Ooooh...


Enjoy your Monday!



sources:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/sep/27/red-tide-causing-stunning-bioluminescence-san-dieg/?sciquest
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/red-tide-glows-blue-along-the-san-diego-coast-photo/2011/09/30/gIQAFGXr9K_blog.
htmlhttp://www.nctimes.com/news/local/article_27326fb7-8916-55b4-8633-829a61dc69fe.html

My Town Monday: Blue Whales Spotted, San Diego CA

Thank you Google Images for this picture of a blue whale. The swimmer is not me.

Endangered blue whales are being spotted off the coast here. This is unusual. While we're pretty good at predicting when gray whales will cruise by, blue whales don't have regular migration patterns. According to the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, the blue whales have come to visit for our krill. Thanks to complicated factors like super swirling ocean waters this year, we currently have an abundance of these shrimp-like creatures. Blue whales are always on the lookout for a swarm of krill. A blue whale might suck back 4+ tons or 40 million krill a day.

Blue whales (they're actually blue-gray) are enormous. In fact, they're the largest mammals in the world, growing to 75-100 feet (depending on the hemisphere). Males weigh about 100 tons, while females, ta dum, can weigh in at a hefty 150 tons. Nursing calves gain 200 pounds a day, which translates to 8 or so pounds an hour and 1 1/2 inches a day! How wild is this?! It's like you could actually watch them grow!

To help you get even more of a sense of how huge these guys are:
~50 people could stand on the tongue of a blue whale
~A blue whale's heart is the size of a car

Blue whales can communicate with each other over hundreds of sea miles. More than heard, their low rumbling sounds are actually felt. This is my favorite fact. Also, they're very fast swimmers. They generally cruise at 12 mph, but can ramp it up to 30 mph when necessary.

It's a good time to go whale watching. The blue whales will be here until Halloween. There are only about 5000 of these creatures in the world.

Oh, and just in case you don't know this, whales have belly buttons. ;)

Here's a link to the official My Town Monday blog for links to more posts about various corners of the world. Always of interest!

Oh, and Happy Canadian Thanksgiving to my fellow citizens!



sources:
http://www.acsonline.org/factpack/bluewhl.htm
http://www.10news.com/news/29413683/detail.html
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/planetocean/bluewhale.html

My Town Monday: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

Well, well, well. Guess who's coming to lunch (yes, it's lunch, not dinner, but I couldn't resist the title!) in sunny San Diego?



It's our very own President Obama! No surprise that he's smiling. We've promised him our world-famous wonderful weather AND lunch at a private home in swanky La Jolla. Yes, it's the same swanky La Jolla where Child #3, Child #4 and I spent a large portion of our summer thanks to ambitious Child #3's determination to take a high-school Spanish class.

It's kind of weird to think the president is just a hop, skip and a jump west of our little house today. Unfortunately, I won't be attending his fundraiser luncheon. $5,000 per plate is a smidgeon beyond my budget. As is the additional $10,000 to have my pic taken with the President. (Although wouldn't that have been a fun photo for the blog!!?) And there's also the small matter that my name wasn't among the 160 on the guest list!

After lunch, the President is headed up to LA. In fact, he won't be far from his old stomping grounds of Occidental College, where Child #2 is currently studying.

IF I were going to the luncheon and found myself next to the President, here's what I'd say:

-Thank you for changing the horrible health care system in this country even a little bit. Now Child #1 is insured once again under our plan and can remain there until the ripe old age of 26. I can't begin to tell you the number of his friends (people in their early 20s who are part-time students working jobs that don't offer medical) who were completely and utterly uninsured.

-Please forgo your visit to the House of Blues in West Hollywood and instead stop in at Occidental College and deliver these home-baked cookies to Child #2.

-Yes, you can have a few of the cookies.

Here's a link to the official My Town Monday blog for links to more posts about various corners of the world. Always of interest!

Wishing everyone a wonderful Monday!

My Town Monday: Great Egrets in San Diego, CA

I planned to regale you with another post from the lovely La Jolla, CA where Child #3 attends Spanish class for 6 1/2 hours at a posh private school and Child #4 attends a variety of half-day summer activities. The mornings find me writing in a library or a coffee shop. During the afternoons, Child #4 and I browse the shops and/or buy our lunch at a local restaurant or bring a picnic for the beach.

HOWEVER, I was in LA all weekend at a water polo tournament with Child #3, and, after I dropped off the kids, I headed back home. Yes, it was a waste of time and gas, but I wanted to be in my own house with the dog and the chameleons.



We have a lot of birds in San Diego County. I took a picture of this egret from my backyard. I belive it's a Great Egret, not the Snowy Egret. When I zoomed in on the head, I could see a blue patch between its bill and eye, a marking of the Great Egret. The Snowy Egret is yellow between the bill and eyes. It's definitely not a Cattle Egret, which are not usually found close to water. You can't tell from this photo, but a creek runs nearby. You can see Cattle, Great, Reddish and Snowy Egrets in and around San Diego County.

A lot of our Great Egrets are merely visitors, but I've seen the one in the photograph several times now, so perhaps there's a nest of sticks lined with grass high up in a eucalyptus tree, maybe even one of our trees. I've also spotted several Great Egrets at, of all places, the industrial park where I pick up crickets for the chameleons!

Great Egrets mate for life and have developed an interesting parenting technique. The parents allow their chicks (there are usually three in a brood) to KILL each other! Yes, if there's a squabble over food, the parents let the kids duke it out, often resulting in death for the weaker chick(s). This would be like me exiting the room after tossing the last package of Girl Scout samoa cookies into the fray called my children!

In addition to dealing with negligent parenting, the chicks have an alarming habit of climbing out of the nest and plunging to their death! Quite frankly, it's a miracle I see any Great Egrets at all! Few of the chicks even make it to 6-7 weeks (when they're called fledgings).

Hope you had a great Monday! Down here, 7-11 stores give out free Icees on 7-11!

Edited to add: Thanks for all the emails about how the comment button wasn't working. Hopefully, she's good to go now. :)

My Town Monday: Feathers in San Diego, CA

A huge craze right now in my neck of the woods (and perhaps in yours) is feather hair extensions.

Over Memorial Weekend, Child #4 and I spent a day at at the annual Vista Strawberry Festival. (Vista's about 42 miles northwest of our house.) I was tied up for a while with several very fun local romance authors, giving writing workshops and signing books.

A few booths down from us were a couple of hairstylists offering feather extensions. Keep these 3 points in mind: I needed to keep Child #4 occupied. She'd been coveting feathers. It was the day before her 11th birthday. You see where I'm heading....

The day before, Child #4's good friend attended our Santee Street Fair and, you guessed it, got feathers.


Here's the result. Yes, it's the perfect example of birds of a feather flock together. Ha! Aren't they in fine feather?!

And now, after the fact, here's some interesting info about feather extensions. (Thank you for the link, CJ.)

-The long, skinny saddle feathers are found on the backside of roosters.
-These rooster feathers are used to make fishing lures.
-The roosters are genetically bred to produce these feathers.
-The roosters often do not survive the plucking.
-Fly fishermen are unhappy about the current feather hair fashion because roosters feathers are now tougher to find and more expensive.

Who knew a trip to a nearby street fair would result in feather extensions which would result in this post. You could've knocked me over with a feather! ha! Or perhaps this post is a feather in my cap! More ha!


I will show the white feather and cease with these silly puns! Instead of tar and feathering me (which, quite frankly, would be very extreme!), please click here for links to more My Town Monday posts! It's always fun to see what's going on in other corners of the world.

May your Monday be pleasant and calm with no one ruffling your feathers! Last pun, seriously!


sources:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jun/5/style-raising-hackles/?page=2

My Town Monday: San Diego's Human Calculator

Some San Diego attractions: the ocean, the mountains, the desert, many sunny days, the zoo, Legoland, Seaworld!

AND we are also home to Scott Flansburg, the Human Calculator! This nickname was bestowed upon him by Regis Philbin.

Scott adds, subtracts, multiplies, divides, figures out cube and square roots in his head faster than a calculator!

An MRI showed that several parts of Scott's brain were at work when he was solving these math equations. The rest of us are only using one part. I may be operating on less than one part.

You may well have heard of this guy as he's appeared on a bunch of TV shows (Jay Leno, Oprah, Dateline, Good Morning American, Regis and Kathy Lee, and many more). Plus, he's in the Guinness Book of Records. And he has written some books on math for both adults and kids.

If you've never seen this guy in action, take a peek at the video below. It's pretty incredible.

Thank you, Child #3, for this My-Town-Monday post idea.


Click here for links to more My Town Monday posts! It's always fun to see what's going on in other corners of the world. Happy Monday!

sources:
http://www.cincinnatihomeschoolconvention.com/don’t-miss-scott-flansburg-–-the-human-calculator

My Town Monday: Wyatt Earp in San Diego, CA

Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (1848-1929) was born in Illinois and died in Los Angeles. He has a reputation as the Old West's "toughest and deadliest gunman." (http://www.wyattearp.net/) Most people associate him with the bloody gunfight at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona on October 26, 1881. During this 30-second, thirty-shot showdown, Wyatt and his brothers, Virgil and Morgan, along with Doc Holliday took on the cowboys, Ike and Billy Clanton and Tom and Frank McLaury. Billy Clanton and the two McLaury brothers died. Click here for the details of the fight.

What many people may not know is that Wyatt Earp operated four saloons/gambling halls in San Diego between 1887 and around 1896. The establishments were located in our Gaslamp Quarter, called the Stingaree District back then. Patrons were offered games of faro (a card game), blackjack, poker and keno. Earp often made $1,000 in profit per night! His most famous gambling hall was The Oyster Bar. One reason for The Oyster Bar's popularity was The Golden Poppy, the brothel upstairs, where each room was painted a different color and the lady of the room wore a matching dress. The Oyster Bar was located in the Victorian building at the current address of 835 Fifth Avenue. Visit here now for a steak dinner at the upscale George's on Fifth.

What was life in San Diego like back in the day when Wyatt Earp lived here? According to Adalaska Pearson of the San Diego Historical Society's 1928 description, it was "crazy with gambling fever developed from fortunes made in real estate, saloons and gambling houses...Crime was rampant. Murder, theft, robbery, fights and general licentiousness was the order of the day, hold-ups were a daily occurrence." (http://www.gaslamp.org/wyatt-earp)

Oh, so not much has changed. (Kidding, Mayor Jerry Sanders!)

Check out these interesting My-Town-Monday posts from fellow bloggers!

Jim Winter hails from Cincinnati, OH with a post on the National League's Big Red Machine.

Robyn of You Think Too Much has some great thoughts on her local library in Madison, IN

From Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Barbara Martin steps back in time for a look at wall, window and floor coverings in 1906.

Debra of From Skilled Hands has some beautiful photos of spring which has sprung in the Village of Peninsula, OH

Clair Dickson's been up in the Pictured Rocks area of Northern Michigan, snapping pictures of Wagner Falls.

I'm this week's hostess. If you throw up a My Town Monday post, let me know here or on the official My Town Monday blog, and I'l link to you on both. Have a great day!




sources:
http://www.gaslampquarter.org/history/earp.php
http://www.wyattearpmuseum.com/
http://www.wyattearp.net/
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WWokcorral.htm
http://www.georgesonfifth.com/about.htm

My Town Monday: Nude Woman Rescued in San Diego, CA

In the midst of all the doom and gloom currently in the news, I bring you a more whimsical local story for today's My Town Monday post.

Last Tuesday, a naked 27-year-old woman was stranded on a cliff overlooking Black's Beach in San Diego. She'd left her clothes on the beach and was hiking up a steep cliff when she got stuck. The cliffs are about 500 feet high. Luckily, a good citizen noticed her and called 911. The lifeguard rescue team rigged up a rope system, and the woman was safely reunited with her clothes. She suffered scraped knees.

No one knows who made the 911 call. Possibly a hang glider who was floating by and got an eyeful of the disrobed damsel in distress.

I guess she was headed up to the parking lot? Although I'm not sure why she thought nudity in a family parking lot was a good plan.

Was the woman cited for nudity? No.
(Black's Beach, the beach below her, is considered by locals as "clothing optional." Lifeguards can do give out tickets for nudity here, but probably not all that often.)

Was the woman charged for the resuce? No.

Was the woman cited for anything? Yes. She was cited for not obeying the signs warning of unstable cliffs! Well, they are sheer.

And that's how we roll in San Diego.


Ya gotta wonder how many hits this post will get with words like "nudist" and "naked"!! Ha!

Please click here for links to more My Town Monday posts. Have a great day!


sources:
http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/kswb-naked-woman-rescued-from-cliff-20110322,0,1791400.story
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/mar/22/naked-woman-rescued-from-torrey-pines-cliff/

My Town Monday: Snow in San Diego County

Snow! That's the big news in San Diego County!

In Julian, 50 miles or so northeast of my house, they got SIX inches! Julian's about 4,200 feet above sea level.

You may remember a My Town Monday post I did in August about the Pine Hills Egg Ranch? Well, they're located in Ramona, about 30 miles northeast of my house. Ramona is 1,500 feet above sea level and got an inch of snow. The Pine Hills Egg Ranch did a roaring trade yesterday with all the San Diegans who went up to play in the snow.

We'll be back up to the low 70s, even at the beaches, by Friday.

And some fun snow trivia:
-Chionophobia is the fear of snow.
-A snowflake has SIX identical arms.
-The average number of snow-producing storms annually in the USA is 105.
-On Feb 2, 2004, students, parents and teachers from 60 schools in London, Ontario, Canada all lay down in the snow at the same time to make 15,851 snow angels!

Going completely off topic, Mr. Summy and I went to an EXCELLENT play this past weekend: The Crucible. It's put on by Pickwick Players and runs through next weekend. The play was intense; the calibre of acting was incredible; there isn't a bad seat in the house. So, if you're into community theatre, click here for the details.

Please click here for links to more My Town Monday posts. Have a great day!



sources:
http://t-love-pdx.blogspot.com/2008/12/snow-trivia.html
http://www.farmersalmanac.com/weather/2008/11/24/snow-facts-and-trivia-get-in-the-snow
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records/amazing_feats/teamwork/most_snow_angels_-_multiple_venue.aspx

My Town Monday: Children's Pool/Seals' Beach, La Jolla, CA

We had a GORGEOUS weekend in San Diego. It was in the 70s at the beach, and there was a high surf advisory. This meant warm weather and spectactular waves. We headed to La Jolla.

This is a view from street level of the Children's Pool AKA Seals' Beach.


The walkway was closed due to high waves, some as high as nine feet.

Those lumps lying on the beach? Seals!

I did a post in 2008 about the seals on this beach and how the City of San Diego was planning to dredge the beach to get rid of the seals. Obviously this didn't happen. Today, there were a couple of groups with tables at the top of the stairs. One group wants the City to continue to allow humans and seals to co-exist on this beach. The other group wants the area to be seal only. I pretty much ignored them all. I was just out for the sun and a stroll, not to get embroiled in the ongoing brouhaha.


Here's a close-up of a harbor seal.


A seal frolics in the waves.


No trip to the beach is complete without some impromtu building. This is the work of Child #4. She also buried my feet.


And, of course, a stop at the ice cream truck was in order.

All these photos were taken with the brand new camera I got for Christmas, a Casio EX-FH20. It's quite complicated (for me) and has an amazing 20x optical zoom. Hence the close-up above of the seal. I wasn't actually within touching distance of him. :)

Happy Birthday to my little sister!

For links to more My Town Monday posts, please pop over to to the official My Town Monday blog.

My Town Monday: We have it; you don't want it

Hurray for Monday! It means my charming, lovable, noisy, messy children go back to school after two weeks off. (I am so looking forward to some quiet writing time.) And Monday brings My Town Monday posts.

Question: What is something we have here in San Diego (other places have it too) that you don't want?

Hints:

-It will be particularly lush this year because we've had so much rain.
-Captain Beechey, a 19th century explorer, took samples from California back to England for their gardens.
-Your pet can carry it on its fur.
-It can be very pretty in November.
-You're likely to run into when hiking.
-It contains an oily sap called urushiol, which causes an allergic reaction.
-The amount of urushiol on a pinhead can be enough to cause rashes in 500 people.
-Don't burn this plant. Both the ashes and the smoke can be bad for you. The smoke can get into the membrans of your respiratory system.
-This plant regenerates quickly after fire.


Answer: You're all so smart that you've probably guessed the answer. It's poison oak. And perhaps many of you have suffered from the itchy rash that turns into oozing bumps. Yuck.

Poison oak in San Diego in November. Pretty, eh? There can be three, or even five, leaflets. Remember this poetic warning: "Leaves of three, let it be."

Beware! Even when the weather is sunny and lovely, wear long pants and long-sleeved t-shirts when hiking. Especially this year.

For links to more My Town Monday posts, please pop over to to the official My Town Monday blog. Happy New Year!



sources:
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/health/529-Rains-Create-Poison-Oak-Bumper-Crop--95125869.html
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/ww0802.htm
http://www.scripps.org/articles/1001-poison-ivy-oak-sumac

My Town Monday: Monarch School, San Diego

Guess what? I'm off in Missouri having a big adventure! Yes, yes, I have school visits today and Tuesday. So....my delightful critique partner, Kathy Krevat, is doing this week's My Town Monday post from San Diego.

Take it away, Kathy!!!


Monarch serves more than 600 homeless and at-risk children every year.

Monarch School is a very special school with a unique mission. It serves the homeless and at-risk students of San Diego County, providing an environment where these students can improve their lives through education.

The average age of a homeless person is less than 9 years old. With more than 2,200 homeless children in San Diego, the need to serve them is critical. Monarch serves more than 600 children every year, 4-18 years old in grades K-12.

Monarch is a collaboration of the County and the Community – the San Diego County Office of Education and the nonprofit Monarch School Project, a 501(c)(3). The county provides teachers and an accredited education and the community provides healthcare, clothes and food along with the support and enrichment programs that give these students a chance to break their cycle of poverty and homelessness.

Monarch’s proud 2009 graduates are all continuing their education.

One of the latest and greatest achievements for Monarch School is the opening of a new library enabling their students to check out books for the first time in the school’s twenty-one year history. Stacy Bermingham, school reading specialist, noted that without an address, students can’t get a library card, so it’s critical to have a library on campus. Books are still needed. Donations of Barnes and Noble or other bookstore cards can be sent to Stacy Marshall, Monarch School, 808 West Cedar Street, San Diego, CA 92101. Be sure to include your name and address. If you have books you'd like to donate, email Lety Direen, Monarch School Librarian.

My daughters belong to a wonderful community service organization called J*Company’s Artists Taking Action which enables high school students to use their artistic skills to help their community. They are coordinating The Comedy Improv Show to raise funds benefiting the Monarch School. Improv teams from Canyon Crest Academy and La Costa Canyon High School will provide a hilarious, family-friendly improvisational comedy show where the two teams will compete for your laughs. The show will enable Monarch School students to attend J*Company youth theater shows.

If you like Whose Line Is It Anyway?, you’ll LOVE the Comedy Improv Show!

What: Improv comedy show (family entertainment) to benefit Monarch School
When: Saturday, October 9th at 8:00 p.m.
Where: David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre at the Lawrence Family JCC, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS, 4126 Executive Drive, UTC/La Jolla, CA 92037. Take highway 5 south to Genesee and turn south; the JCC will be on your right in 1.3 miles.
How much: $10

Thanks, Kathy! Please check out the links to the other My Town Monday posts on the official My Town Monday blog.

My Town Monday: WWII Bomber Raised from Murky Depths in San Diego, CA

On May 28, 1945, a couple of pilots were flying a practice run in a SB2C-4 Helldiver bomber plane. The engine stalled (a common default in these planes). The plane ended up at the bottom of the Lower Otay Reservoir (not far from the US Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA, the subject of Mon., Aug. 9's post).

(You can breathe a sigh of relief; this is a happy post. The two pilots surived. In fact, one of them is now about 90 years old and living in Michigan.)

Okay. Cut to present day. A couple of bass fishermen are out doing their thing. They have a nifty electronic fish finding device. (This has got to make fishing more enjoyable!) One of them notices a plane's tail poking up through the silt in the Reservoir, about 85 feet down.

An underwater robot was sent down to take video. The video was dispatched to the Navy who, after watching it, knew they wanted this plane. They sent 12 Navy divers.

It took a couple of days to dig the plane out of the silt. This past Friday, a crane slowly lifted the rare WWII bomber from the water and set it on blocks.

There are only a few of these planes on display in museums around the country. Most of them were crashed or were shot down during World War II. We're hoping to display the aircraft in San Diego. It'll cost about $400,000 to restore.

This all goes to show that you never know . . . what's lurking beneath the surface! (Wasn't that a smooth way to remind you of last week's Great White Shark post!

Click here for links to more My Town Monday posts. (Thanks Clare2e for hosting this week) Also, if you're even marginally thinking about writing a My-Town-Monday post, please do! Throw up your post, then leave a comment here or in the comment section of this week's Women of Mystery MTM post, which, by the way, is interesting and about rocking the libraries in Bound Brook, New Jersey.

Happy Monday!

sources:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/jul/21/search-fish-unearths-history/?metro&zIndex=135432

http://www.cbs8.com/Global/story.asp?S=13019801

My Town Monday: San Diego and the Poinsettia

You know the poinsettia, that lovely plant you put out at Christmas? There was a time when the poinsettia on your coffee table probably started growing right here in San Diego County. For almost 80 years, about 80% of the poinsettias around the world began life in Paul Ecke Ranch greenhouses or fields in Encinitas (located on the coast, about 26 miles north of downtown San Diego). However, for economic reasons, in 1997, the Ecke Ranch licensed Armstrong Garden Centers to produce the plants. The ranch continues to research and develop more varieties of poinsettias and also geraniums.

In 1825, Joel Poinsett introduced the native Mexican poinsettia to the United States. In the 1920s, Albert Ecke figured this winter-blooming plant would make a great holiday plant. The poinsettia wasn't very well known, and he started selling it at roadside stands around Hollywood and Beverly Hills. In the 1960s, Paul Ecke Jr. went to a ton of trouble and effort, buying television and print ads, to promote a holiday season that included the poinsettia. He made sure poinsettias were always on the holidays TV sets of The Tonight Show and the Bob Hope Christmas specials. It worked. We now consider poinsettias a part of the Christmas season.

A few interesting facts about poinsettias:
-the more blooms on the poinsettia, the more you'll pay for it
-a fresh poinsettia doesn't have any yellow pollen growing on the flowers
-poinsettias are NOT poisonous
-California is the top poinsettia-producing state
-There are over 100 varieties of poinsettias.
-Dec. 12 is National Poinsettia Day. This is the day Joel Poinsett (the man who brought the poinsettia to the US) died.

In 2005, San Diego began an annual college football tradition where a team from the Mountain West Conference versus a team from the Western Athletic Conference in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. This year's game is on Thursday, Dec. 23 at 5pm @ Qualcomm Stadium.

How do you even pronounce the name of this plant? Here's a robotish voice saying "poinsettia". Warning: it's not the fastest link I've ever met. But, now I realize I've been mispronouncing "poinsettia" my entire life!

LIST OF MY TOWN MONDAY POSTS:

Laura Curtis of Women of Mystery: volunteers at Mt Kisco, NY

Jim Winter: Shots of downtown Cincinnati, OH from Mt. Adams

Debra of From Skilled Hands: Python Day in Peninsula, OH

Gabe of Gabe's Meanderings: the Assiniboia Downs racetrack in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

This week, I'm the hostess with the mostest for My Town Monday. So, if you've put up a MTM post, let me know in the comments section here or on the on the official My Town Monday blog. And I'll link to you on both blogs. Happy Monday!




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poinsettia_Bowl
http://sandiego.about.com/cs/visitorinfo/a/poinsettia.htm
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/poinsettia/facts.cfm

My Town Monday: It's All In Your Perspective

Here's how our first public school teacher, Miss Mary Chase Walker, felt about the fair city of San Diego when she arrived in July 1865:

I arrived in the bay of San Diego on the morning of July 5, 1865. It was a most desolate looking landscape. The hills were brown and barren; not a tree or green thing was to be seen. Of all the dilapidated, miserable looking places I had ever seen, this was the worst.

We have around 146 sunny days a year and 117 partly cloudy days. San Diego County has 70 miles of beaches. You can visit the coast, the mountains and the desert. All in the span of a day. Our average daily temperature is 70.5 degrees.

These days, we have attractions that weren't even a twinkle in anyone's eye back in Miss Walker's day: the Zoo, the Wild Animal Park, Legoland, SeaWorld, USS Midway Museum (naval craft), trolley tours, Balboa Park, etc. The list could go on and on and on.

Although I will admit, the earthquakes are starting to freak me out.

Happy Monday to all! I'm late getting this post up. But it's still Monday in my neck of the woods! ;)

Links to other My Town Monday participants are here on the official My Town Monday blog or on Travis Erwin's blog. Travis is this week's MTM host (thanks Travis!).



sources:
https://www.sandiegohistory.org/bio/walker/walker.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_San_Diego

My Town Monday: Mason Street School, San Diego

Have you been wondering where I disappeared to? Mostly just catching up on life. I handed I SO DON'T DO FAMOUS back in after another round of revisions. And I've been hanging out with friends, going on school fieldtrips, doing a couple of school visits, reading a bunch, defrosting my freezer. Like I said, just catching up.

However, it's Monday. And you know what that means: My Town Monday posts!

Down here in San Diego, we're approaching that most waited-for day of the year: the last day of school! What better time to bring you San Diego's first public schoolhouse!

Mason Street Schoolhouse (taken with my Blackberry. Aren't you amazed at how clear this photo is?)

Mason Street Schoolhouse is located in Old Town. The school was built in 1865 of uneven boards salvaged from torn-down buildings. The first teacher was Mary Chase Walker who was paid $65/month. On April 1, 1865, Miss Walker took a four-month steamer ride from New York to San Francisco where she was unable to find a teaching position. She heard there was an opening in San Diego and headed our way.

Here is Miss Walker's description of life as the first public school teacher in San Diego:

My school was composed mostly of Spanish and half-breed children, with a few English and several Americans. I aimed to teach which was most meaningful to them; namely reading, spelling, arithmetic, and how to write letters. At recess the Spanish girls smoked cigaritas and the boys amused themselves by lassoing pigs, hens, etc. The Spanish children were very irregular in their attendance at school on account of so many fiestas and amusements of various kinds. For a week before a bull fight the boys were more or less absent, watching preparations, such as fencing up the streets leading to the plaza.

Miss Walker had about 35 students, ranging in age from 4 to 17 years. Students were rarely on time as few families owned a clock. The one-room schoolhouse was heated by an iron stove and was open for business 9am to 4pm, 12 months a year. Attendance plummeted to 15 after she invited a black woman to lunch, and Miss Walker ended up resigning over the controversy. She had been teaching at Mason Street for 11 months. Shortly thereafter, Miss Walker married the president of the school board, Mr. Morse. She became involved in the suffragette movement. She lived in San Diego until her death in 1899.

The schoolhouse was only recently painted red. The original color was that greenish shade of the door. (taken with my Blackberry)

Here are a few school rules + punishments from back in the day:
-coming to school with dirty hands or face: 2 lashes
-boys playing with girls: 4 lashes
-making swings and swinging on them: 7 lashes
-telling lies: 7 lashes
-playing cards at school: 10 lashes

Contact Info: 3966 Mason Street, San Diego, CA 92110, (619) 297-1183

Oh yeah, and it's free to enter. Inside, you'll find the original seats and desks.

Links to other My Town Monday participants are here on the official My Town Monday blog or on Travis Erwin's blog. Travis is this week's MTM host (thanks Travis!) and has an interesting post involving bones and the Texas Panhandle.

Lastly, please consider joining My Town Mondays. We'd love to hear about your neck of the woods. If you do throw up a MTM post, let us know at one of the links in the above paragraph.




https://www.sandiegohistory.org/links/oldtown.htm#mason
https://www.sandiegohistory.org/bio/walker/walker.htm
http://teachers.eusd.k12.ca.us/encinitas/punishments.htm