Merry Christmas

Hope you are having a very Merry Christmas. We are. Yesterday we drove from Southern California to Northern California, to Placerville, where our daughter and her family live. We were apprehensive about going over the Grapevine (that's local jargon for the Mt. Tejon Pass that separates No. from So. California, the mountain range that separates the desert land from the fertile central valley, the San Joaquin, pronounced san wah-KEEN, Valley). The pass is at 4144 feet, and if there is any inclement weather, it could sock in the pass altogether. The inclemency this time of year means snow, and that means trouble in River City. It means a detour of about 50 miles on somewhat treacherous roads. So we were relieved there was no weather, just sunny blue skies and near freezing temperatures.

Then we got down to the Valley floor and found tulle (pronounced TOO-lee) fog. Every winter there is a pile-up or two of cars, anywhere from 10-30 cars) because people are insane enough to drive normal speeds when they can't see but about 2 car lengths ahead of them. There are always lots of injuries and deaths. Fortunately the tulle fog wasn't quite that bad, but it slowed us down for about an hour or two. We made it through safely. No accidents and no pile-ups.

Now we're going to enjoy the grandchildren (and everyone else too) opening their gifts tomorrow morning. I may not blog much, although I do have some photos I may post. I won't be doing much cooking in the next 10 days or so.

I wish for all of you and very Merry Christmas. Give everyone you love a big hug.