G-g-g-green!

I hinted at it in an earlier post and here it is: the newly painted family room. All it took was a gallon of the stuff and some minor changes to take the room from boringly bland to gorgeously (in my humble, nonprofessional opinion) green.

The drapes came down (nothing but deer back there anyway, and if they can climb the deck steps and peer inside, they’re most welcome to see whatever they see). The pillows were pulled from the guest bedroom and scattered (OK…anally arranged) on the (what-color-is-that-anyway?) sofa.

It’s the most contemporary room in the house, and I think it’s great fun.

California Fires

It’s back. With a vengeance. After a one-day reprieve on Friday—when it was actually possible to spend time outdoors and breathe deeply—the smoke has returned. The sky is no longer blue, and even though the sun is shining, the light is diffused by all the gunk in the air.

At present, 1781 fires are burning in the state of California—1450 of them contained. 558,738 acres have been destroyed so far.

Even though we’re dealing with the side effects of all the smoke, our Northern California town is not threatened. Many residents, however, are walking around in hardware-store masks, apparently unaware that the CDC says these are designed to block larger particles like sawdust, and are useless for smoke. But I think there must be some satisfaction in thinking that you’re doing something—anything—to protect yourself.

This is the view from our back deck in mid-afternoon on July 6: