Weathering the past weekend

You should always keep in mind that when Californians bitch about weather, we don’t know what the hell we’re talking about. We get some rain and wind, and you’d think, the way a lot of us talk, biblical prophecy was coming true. And of course, to judge by what you see in the media whenever anything happens in the Golden State, you’d think all of us were frickin’ immersed in water and snow right now. Well, our little coastal burg got quite a few inches of rain this past weekend — more than some folks, a whole lot less than others — and yeah, the high winds and high surf were a pain in the butt. But the drought still ain’t over. And that’s what counts. Deb and I weathered the, uh, weather.

In fact, very very early Saturday morning, despite the storms and media fear-mongering, we packed up two dogs (our own and one we were dog-sitting) and trekked 200 miles across Damnation Alley (CA-41) to Fresno for a daytrip. For the second time in several months, I spoke to the San Joaquin chapter of Sisters in Crime, a national organization that offers networking and support to women writing (and reading) in the mystery genre. Last June, I talked about marketing. This time, as founder of the Blind German Mechanics, the San Luis Obispo County scion society of the Baker Street Irregulars, I was asked to speak about Sherlock Holmes on the occasion of his 154th birthday. It was great fun, there were terrific questions, and the club sandwich I was served was top-notch. Many thanks to the Sisters for their graciousness. I hope you’ll invite me back again.