I'm back in California, having left the lovely white Wisconsin to return to a surprisingly damp Cali! My flight back was a
leetle more eventful than I would choose, but I got here in one piece and so I shouldn't complain.
My flight itinerary both coming and going changed, sending me to two airports I've never been in before rather than the regularly scheduled stop at LAX (I flew out of Bakersfield this time around). Going, I flew from Bakersfield to Denver, then to Chicago and on to Green Bay. The nice thing about this route was that no one flight was particularly long. However, on the way back I was grateful to have avoided the Denver stop as some of the people on my return flight had been stuck there overnight. Instead I flew from Green Bay to Chicago, then to San Francisco with a final hop to Bakersfield.
The flight from Chicago to San Fran is a long one. When the pilot came on over the loudspeaker to let us know that we were within about 20 minutes of San Francisco, he also said that a storm front was moving into the area but that we were a good ten minutes ahead of it and it shouldn't be a problem. A few minutes later, we flew into some clouds. They were the sort of puffy, gathering-together-to-make-some-rain kind of clouds (that's a meteorological term); I could see that the ground was dark and stormy looking through the breaks in the clouds as we flew over. Then suddenly we were in the midst of Towering Clouds, gray and angry looking. Clouds so tall they completely dwarfed the giant jet. The kind of clouds you see on a movie screen and wince as you watch an airplane disappear in their midst. It was rather marvelous to watch them, although the fact that the small amount of turbulence we'd been experiencing increased exponentially as we flew between them was a bit unsettling.
We finally touched down (rather roughly) and had just slowed down to ground speed when we were hit with a fantastic wall of blowing rain. It smacked wings, cabin, and tarmac, blowing almost horizontally. Because there had been lightening sighted, the ground crew was inside and we were unable to
de-plane right away. They came out about 25 minutes after our landing and I went in to find that my flight to Bakersfield had been canceled (if it had left on time, I would have missed it anyway). They were hoping to take the 30-
seater to Bakersfield in another 3 hours, providing the weather settled down a bit.
To make a long story even longer, we left about 4 hours later. It was dark by then, and no longer storming although the pilot warned us it would likely get bumpy during the flight. There were indeed several pockets of turbulence--more than one sharp enough to make my stomach give that funny leap you get when driving over a little hill too fast. The worst was within only a few minutes of Bakersfield, at which point we dropped so far and fast that I found myself suspended in the air for several moments, held to my seat only by the belt strapped across my waist. I was not alone in being very glad to land and get off the plane! I'm still irked with myself for having packed both my cameras away in the overhead bin; I really would have liked to snap some shots out the window.
Anyway, that's my long way of saying that I'm back, safe and sound. :-) I'll post some Wisconsin pictures in the next few days, but tonight wanted to share some pictures I took yesterday in that
irresistible after-a-rain light. It was damp yesterday, but we didn't get a whole lot of rain; today it rained on and off all day and the foyer roof started leaking again. Joy. Our yard is also a muddy mess (can you say muddy dogs??), and the I-5 (the way down to Ben & Pei from here) is closed due to snow, but I'm grateful for the rain nonetheless! Among other things, it is dampening down the icky smoggy air which always makes me so sick after my lungs have cleared in the air of Wisconsin. It's nice to come home and not get sick! The rain also makes some great light, and is making everything green. :-D
You can see all the water in the ditch in this first picture.
Boy, oh boy is the rain making things green!
I found this flock of sheep when I was out exploring and trying to get closer to the mountains. 
What naughty things are these three planning?? :-D
I love this pair . . . I felt like I was interrupting a good gossip when they turned to look at me and my camera.
That's all, folks! More soon. :-)
"Where did you go? Why didn't you take me?"
"I don't want to have my picture taken. I want to lick your hand!"
This picture cracks me up--how happy do these goofy dogs look??
Looking forward to some time with Erik on the weekend and us all getting back on a sane schedule again next week!
Boy, oh boy is the rain making things green!
I found this flock of sheep when I was out exploring and trying to get closer to the mountains. 
What naughty things are these three planning?? :-D
I love this pair . . . I felt like I was interrupting a good gossip when they turned to look at me and my camera.
That's all, folks! More soon. :-)
They are plain white sheers that let in a lot of light, which I love (they'll match the paint better when we . . . paint. Someday.)
The ones in our bedroom are a little different; ivory instead of white because of our bedspread and dresser, with some pretty detailing.
Yes, I know. Boring. But I'm excited!!
He's a handy sort of guy to have around!
Changing directions a little here, have you noticed how few fortunes there are in fortune cookies these days? It seems so many of them have little quips or advice like, "Happiness is the key to success". All well and good maybe, but not a fortune. However, when Bill took us out for Chinese on this week, this is the fortune I pulled out of my cookie:
Not only a true fortune, but a fortune that is true! I will be flying to Wisconsin on Thursday and believe me, you cross desert in any direction you take out of Bakersfield.
Heartfelt wishes for a bountiful and joyous new year,
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