Rainy Day Idiocy

About a month ago, I got a text from Sarah inviting me to join a group of "drinkers with a hiking problem" on an October sunset hike in the old (unused, I was assured) train tunnels near Donner Lake. "Sounds awesome!" I replied, and the plan was set.

Last week, as it became apparent that most of Northern California would be getting rain this weekend--make that rain and wind, actually--I wondered if the event would be postponed. It was not. 

"You still in?" Sarah texted.

"Sure!" I texted back. Hey, a little rain never hurt me.

So yesterday, a merry band of idiots set out to hike in the Sierra Nevadas during a rain storm. The temperature without wind chill was in the low 40s, which is "fucking freezing" for the woman who lives in the Sacramento Valley, even if she did live in England for a year, and then Washington State. Hey, that was over a decade ago.

That's not to say that the day wasn't fun. I had a great time, even as I shivered in my rain-soaked shoes. Every once in a while, you just have to do something stupid, right?

I met Sarah and her dad Mike at Sarah's place at about 12:30, ready to go with my fleece-lined, rain-proof hooded coat (if it was good enough for London in February...) and a small bag of snacks to offer up. Shortly after we congregated, a fourth member of our ride party, Timarie, arrived, and we started making our way into the mountains.

What always amazes me about California is how quickly you can go from being in a valley that is basically at sea level to being at about 6,000 feet. It didn't take us long to get up to the Donner Lake area, but some of our hiking group were lagging behind, so instead of waiting for them at the parking area near the tunnels, we stopped at a comfy little restaurant bar to start in on the drinking part of the day and to use their restrooms. 

Fireball shots for Sarah and I.

Cheers! 

Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain.

Inside was cozy.

There was money on the ceiling. Apparently locals and seasonal
workers leave it there with stuff written on it.

Irish coffee. 

Merry band of idiots about to leave a warm, comfortable bar to go hiking
in the mountains in the rain.

Perfect weather for hiking!! 

When we got to the entrance to the tunnel, it was pouring rain and the wind was kicking up a little. We all dashed as quickly as we could to the first bit of tunnel, but it became quickly apparent that the tunnels become a small creek when it rains. I was grateful we all had flashlights (and grateful to Sarah for saying, "Do you have one?" before we left and then handing me one of her extras when I said, "Uh-uh, should I?").

The first entrance. You can see the water flowing in.

COLD

The tunnels are heavily graffiti'd , which makes them interesting to look at...in the parts where you can see.

Starting to doubt my own sanity.

 It was about this time that I realized I'd left my nice camera in the car (oops) and only had an iPhone with which to take pictures.

The light at the end of the tunnel. 

 

A short break between tunnels. 

Cali came along. He loved all the rain, but was one cold little
rubber ducky. 

Small waterfall

There's a couple of dudes up there.

Dark. This is where I was very happy to have that flashlight.

ROGUE

Yes, I'm worth hiking in cold rain. 

By this time, my Irish coffee had caught up to me, and I needed a bathroom. Thing is, there are no bathrooms in train tunnels, old or new. Sarah had brought toilet paper as a just-in-case measure, so I grabbed a wad of that, stationed Sarah as a guard on one side of a pillar off to the side of the tunnel, and...

Yes. I peed in a tunnel. I know I'm not the first, nor will I be the last.

(Between this and dying my hair purple, I hardly know myself.)

We stopped to eat and have some hot coffee. People had brought chairs (I didn't, and it was fine because standing and moving kept me warmer). Someone had brought candles, and another person a small music player, so we had a small party in a dark tunnel during a rainstorm.

I brought cheese, crackers, salami, and pickle bites. 

Sarah brought hot coffee and Kahlua, which was a WIN.

Winning with coffee.

We are not losers who bomb. 

In better weather, we'd have done the whole tunnel (about two-and-a-half miles), but it was just too cold and our feet were soaked through.

We stopped back at the same bar/restaurant on our way out, to warm up.  

I got home around 9:30, and wasted no time in peeling off everything and jumping into a hot shower. I was in there longer than a California-loving drought-watcher really ought to be, but damn, it felt amazing to warm up. 

So yes, we were idiots, but it was also great fun. I'd love to hike the tunnels again in better weather at some point, for sure. 

Finding

I've had one of those weekends where I keep finding things that are exactly what I want for the condo...and while this does, indeed, make me very happy, it also makes my checking account a little nervous.

Case in point:

On Friday, I went to Target, and one of the things that was on my mind (but not my shopping list) was a set of black wall shelves. I checked them out and lo and behold...a great set of four shelves was on sale. I snapped them up, took them home, and discovered they came with two picture frames!

I put them up in the office yesterday, to display some of my Snoopy items.

While I was in there, I moved my desk and baker's rack to the window wall, and I like the set-up much better already.

Not a bad little office/music room. There's even room for
me to eventually add a futon.

If the shelves weren't enough, I had put the idea in my head that a matching pair of wall sconces (for candles, not electric lights) would be adorable on either side of my china hutch. I looked on Amazon but decided that ultimately, it would be more fun to find something while out and about--to go hunting.

Yesterday, I met my friend Meghan for brunch in Historic Folsom, and after our meal, we wandered into some of the little chi-chi shops along Sutter Street. And of course, in one of them--one of those "Shabby Chic Vintage" shops, I found a pair of wall sconces that had me staring at a wall, blinking rapidly, and thinking, "That's it. These are exactly what I didn't know what I was looking for."

Everything about them fits right in with my decor, and I knew they'd look fantastic on my teal accent wall.  (Not pictured, a plastic tray on the floor with food for my sweet house guest, Bella Blue.)

It's not even a room in its own right, but it's the world's cutest dining room.

After buying the sconces (not...outrageous, but not cheap, either...), I headed back towards Antelope, but along the way, I stopped at a little shop in Orangevale that Mom had told me about called Finder's Keepers. It was much the same as the shop in Folsom, and there, I found a marvelous metal coffee cup cutout (we're calling it a teacup in this household).

And then I stopped at JoAnn and found the adorable tea-themed prints I'd been eyeing were now on sale for 60% off and the one I loved most could be had for about seven bucks.

So now my blank kitchen wall has something pretty.

The little pop of red is perfect, right?!

Notice that everything I found this weekend matches my decor perfectly and fits my personality perfectly, as well.

Today, I've stayed home, because as fun as it is finding things, a lady's got to be frugal, too.

Moving Along

I had to stay home today, as it was the five-year mandatory fire inspection on my building and the guys inspecting needed access to my unit. It ended up taking them about two minutes, so I took a personal day and needed sub plans for a fat lot of not-much...but eh, it worked out, because I also needed a day to catch up on some grading (done!) and do a few little things around the condo (also done!).

I spent an hour or so really trying to organize my second bedroom, which has, of course, been the catch-all room since I moved in. I do use it, however--it's home to my printer, my eBay and Etsy stock, and my piano, which I play daily. While it's bound to have random piles of stuff still, I also want it to be a functioning room.

After a lot of moving things around, and some melodramatic sighing, I parted with some things and found homes for others.

I found a home for my Keane Strangeland flag. 

Next to the piano--my file cabinet, with printer on top. 

My bookcases--home to my books, random crap, and the whole of my Etsy
shop. 

 By the way, I'm having a sale in my Etsy shop--if you use the code FANCY (all caps) at check-out, you can get 15% off your purchase (minimum $5 purchase, please). It's good until December 22nd, and I'm really hoping to get rid of some inventory, so feel free to share this info far and wide!!

A collection of excellent books by women. 

I have to have some Snoopy and British stuff on display.

My well-loved Harry Potter books. 

This is my eBay stuff. One box is full of bubble wrap and those air pockets
you get from Amazon. The rest is inventory. Eventually, I hope to get all of that
OUT, and put a futon there.

My bedroom has been mostly done for a while now, but with a layer of dust on the top of the dresser, and no rhyme or reason to the stuff up there. Today, I fixed that.

That's a cast of Millie's paw, taken after she died. I'm actually really glad to
have it. She had the daintiest, cutest little feet. 

I hated and loathed the cheap-ass closet doors in this place, so my solution
is curtains. I love how they look, and having four panels covers the huge
opening and allows for me to move them around to get to different parts of
the closet. 

Every day, a little more gets finished. I have an arrival date for my new sofa--October 8 (turns out R.C. Willey had not yet called the Utah warehouse to get it sent to California--a WEEK after I ordered it!!). I look forward to having a big, plush couch to flop on. The bean bag is only comfortable for so long (about fifteen minutes). 

In Love With a Floor

If you are one of the lucky people who saw what the floors in my condo looked like when I took possession, then you will not think me odd for what I just did.

I'm sitting here, relaxing with a cup of tea and staring at my floors, thinking, "Damn...I love you."

The first time I saw the floors I was slightly dismayed by the shape they were in, but it took seeing this place without The Renters to know how truly bad they were. The carpet in both bedrooms was deeply stained and worn down, with bits of guinea pig poop waiting to surprise me. The laminate was scratched, and had bits of paint slopped on it, and looked dull from years of cursory care. And in both bathrooms, the seriously-dated linoleum was coming up in chunks.

I owned this place a full month before I ever walked barefoot in it. I actually took an Instagram video of the occasion.

The original plan was to rip everything out and put laminate in all rooms except the bathrooms, which would get fresh linoleum. A trip to the floor showroom, however, had me changing my mind within about ten minutes, when the owner showed me the vinyl flooring that looks like wood grain.

"It's nice..." I demurred, reluctant, as always, to change my mind quickly.

"It's water-safe," he replied.

"Like, if my dishwasher leaks?"

"Safe."

"Bathtub overflows?"

"Safe."

"I can mop it."

"Absolutely."

"Sold. Show me my color options."

It came down to two, with my eventual choice winning because it had the same cool tones as the paint I had chosen (my white is actually a gray-white, which a few people thought I might hate but it's worked out beautifully with all this teal). Friends and family alike looked at my choice with my paint chips and said, "YES. This one."

And it's beautiful. It's easy to maintain--I've mopped it once, and swept here and there. It's not too slippery, as I walk around in socks a lot. And it's one hundred thousand times better than the dirty, beat-up flooring this place had before. I didn't love forking over a few grand for all new floors...but I love the outcome and know that it makes the value of this unit greater than what I bought it for.

The past week-and-a-half has been better, since my rant two weeks ago about not being totally happy here. Getting furniture helps a lot, and I've cleaned up a lot of messes and cleared out a lot of extra junk. I had a couple of lazy weekend mornings to enjoy the quiet and see this place as more of a haven than a burden. Don't get me wrong, I still loathe that stupid dishwasher with the fire of a thousand suns (I have it running as I type this, noisy piece of shit), but damn...I'm in love with my floor.

Antiquing

I love antique stores, especially those antique "malls" where multiple sellers set up shop. The places where you can happily stroll and dig for treasures among shelves full of amazing things.

I found one online today, and it happens to be on my way home from work, so I decided to stop by and check it out, in the hopes of finding a really cool piece for my new home. I didn't, but I walked out of there having taken a ton of pictures for Instagram, and I know I'll go back soon (I need to drag Mom), for another look around. There was just too much stuff to look at, and I know I missed some things.

Much of the front of the store is set up in rooms, showing off some truly stunning old furniture from the 60s and 70s.

But then you get deeper into the store and the shelves are crammed with goodies.

I do not need more Snoopy stuff. I do not need
more Snoopy stuff...
(I didn't buy any.)

Creepy.

It's a fabulous place, absolutely full of treasures. I spent at least an hour poking around, oohing and ahhing at lots of great things. There's something about antiques that just fascinates me.