Tuesday, February 17, 2009

We got Rain

We are finally getting some much needed rain here in the San Fran area. After daily news stories shouting loudly about our impending water rationing - it looks like we have added a couple o' inches to our dwindling reservoirs. Somehow I doubt these few days of rain will be the answer to our prior pleading to the Gods of Cloudburst for water - - please send rain!! - but who knows. Perhaps it will keep raining for the next couple of weeks and all my neighbors will rejoice that their lawns will be saved. Not that rain means anything to them.

After a full day of rain yesterday and the day before and the day before, I caught a non-downpour moment to get out and walk Otto last evening. I observed that not one, but two, of my nearby neighbor's sprinklers were busy watering their already sufficiently drenched lawns. So much for the filling up of the reservoirs. Me thinks that the folks here in the Wood don't really give a wet mole rat's hide about rain or lack thereof. A green lawn trumps all. Dopes. I'm sure they walk by my lawn - which is currently a combo of green and light brown - and snidely comment that it would look a whole lot better if I just ran the sprinklers.

In other news, today is the last day of a four day no-school weekend. The rain did put a bit of a damper on getting everyone outside - but it was also a convenient excuse not to do a damn thing. We did try to go to the movies once, but it was sold out. The nice thing is that my guys are getting old enough that we don't need to don layers of foul weather gear to take them out for a walk any more. They are past their puppy stage and running them around to burn off excess energy is no longer a daily requirement. This is not to say that a little exercise doesn't do them good, but it isn't compulsory now. We can send them downstairs to become immersed in Wii - and it works just as well.

Truth be told, all the boys mostly hung out upstairs on the computers and played some game called "Ghost Recon". This means that I have listened to "Follow ME!", "He's got a grenade!", "Where ARE you???", "HEY!! I'm on your side. Why are you shooting at me???" for the better part of two days. Meals were opportunities to recount countless dangerous missions and how many times they killed bad guys or were killed by bad guys (or by each other). Heartwarming. I tried to get them to play something more interesting like Dominoes with me - - but many eyes rolled in unison. To be fair, George the Elder lamely tried to convince the boys that a non-combative game would be nice. But, in the end, they played mercenary fighters and I was afforded some time to myself to watch ice skating on TV. Nothing like watching a few triple axles or salchows end up badly. Cause after all - isn't that what we're all waiting for? Skaters sliding akimbo on their butts? That's what rainy days are for.

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