Saturday, September 19, 2009

Chillin' on the roof


After a week of sleeping outdoors at the family cabin in California, Alla and I decided to extend the pleasure by sleeping on our roof deck. Mostly, it's been quite pleasant. We'd burrow under the blankets and examine the few stars bright enough to overcome the city's glow, and then we'd sleep soundly until awakened by sunlight in the morning.

Last night was a little different. First, we were distracted by lots of sirens and other city noises as we waited to drift off to sleep. Second, we were further distracted by high winds. We put an extra sheet over our three blankets, hoping it would prove to be some sort of shield. Maybe it worked, but it's hard to tell. The wind blew hard all night, but we were fairly protected by wool caps on our heads and mounds of fabric over us.

In the middle of the night we evaluated whether we should abandon our rooftop outpost. Well, to be truthful it wasn't a very scientific evaluation, as we were both half asleep. I just knew that to get into bed downstairs would require removing the stuffed animals and the bed spread, while staying on the roof simply required that we sleep as close as possible to each other. We (or was it I?) selected the latter option.

We had no idea when the sun rose because both of us ended up with our hats pulled over our eyes. All I can say is, we survived.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

At the cabin

We spent a few days at my family’s cabin in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

From 2009-08 Cabin

I spent lots of time here as a child, but only see the place infrequently now. Before me, my mom and her family spent vast amounts of time here since she was a girl.

It’s a great place to gather with family and enjoy the many things we have in common. This time we achieved nearly 100% attendance and collectively brought far more food than necessary. Alla and I stayed beyond the reunion weekend, along with an aunt and uncle, and tried pretty hard to eat our way to the back of the refrigerator.

Our friends Lonnie and Rocky thwarted our efforts with the refrigerator. They came up for a day and two nights with us and brought up a whole lot more food. In between meals we hiked, swam and slept under the stars.

We have a few photos here. I need to ask my cousins to send me pictures of the reunion.