La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
As you may remember, refrigerator magnets get on my last nerve. I just hate the mess. Even one magnet puts me over the edge. Yesterday’s cartoon included a refrigerator. It also included refrigerator magnets of different types. I couldn’t help myself. I removed all the magnets. My apologies to the original artist. But I suppose I shouldn’t worry, I reproduced it without permission anyway.
As we sat down for dinner last night, I noticed smoke above and below the mountains in the distance. There was in fact a fire only about 6 km/4 miles from us. I woke up around 2 am and could see actual flames. I let SG sleep because he would have been a wreck. It was very unsettling and about 500 people had to be evacuated from the rural areas. We live in the city center and it still surprises me how quickly it becomes rural around us. About a half hour ago, the fire was reported to be contained, with no active fronts, and with work underway to cool the hot spots.
We were once driving home through the mountains (from a casino) of Santa Barbara County, California, when a fire was burning. We didn’t know about it until we were in a stretch of road with cliff faces on other side and no way to turn back. Boulders and rocks were rolling down the burning hillside and blocking the highway. We managed to make it through after a driver ahead of us rolled two out of the way. Directly behind us, the fire crossed the road. We were the last to get through. The fire raged and the road was closed for days. That’s the closest we’ve ever been to a wildfire. It was intense and truly made us appreciate how quickly things can get out of control.
Having nothing to do with the wildfire, a huge branch (tree-sized) split off a huger tree in our neighborhood, near the palace. Fortunately, the branch came down on the grass and not on the pavement. That could have been deadly.
After coffee this morning, I walked over to the university optical center, had an eye exam, and ordered a new pair of glasses. These are to replace the ones I lost in New York 7 months ago. I’ve been using drug-store magnifiers of the wrong strength all this time. It was a great experience and I found a pair of unusual (for me) frames. The fitter helped me pick them out and, amazingly, she gave me options that were cheaper (by a lot) than anything I had selected. Since my cataract surgeries, I’ve only needed glasses for reading and computer work, but I’ve found it inconvenient to constantly put them on and take them off. So, I got progressive lenses (which I had before the surgeries) with no correction on top because my distance vision is perfect. If I have to use glasses anyway, this will be much more convenient. I’ll be sure to share a photo once they’re here, maybe the end of next week.
I’m still doing fairly well. Maybe the lower dosage has made a difference. I won’t jump to conclusions yet. But I’m heading out for a walk.
Como recordarán, los imanes de nevera me sacan de quicio. Odio el desorden. Odio el desorden. Incluso un imán me pone nerviosa. La caricatura de ayer incluía un refrigerador. También incluía imanes de nevera de diferentes tipos. No pude evitarlo. Quité todos los imanes. Mis disculpas al artista original. Pero supongo que no debería preocuparme, de todos modos lo reproduje sin permiso.
Anoche, mientras cenábamos, vi humo sobre las montañas a lo lejos. De hecho, había un incendio a solo unos 6 km/4 millas de nosotros. Me desperté sobre las 2 de la madrugada y pude ver llamas de verdad. Dejé dormir a SG porque habría quedado hecho un desastre. Fue muy inquietante y unas 500 personas tuvieron que ser evacuadas de las zonas rurales. Vivimos en el centro de la ciudad y todavía me sorprende lo rápido que se vuelve rural a nuestro alrededor. Hace una media hora, se informó que el incendio estaba contenido, sin frentes activos, y con trabajos en marcha para enfriar los puntos calientes.
Una vez, íbamos en coche de vuelta a casa por las montañas (desde un casino) del condado de Santa Bárbara, California, cuando se desató un incendio. No nos dimos cuenta hasta que llegamos a un tramo de carretera con acantilados al otro lado y sin posibilidad de volver atrás. Rocas y peñascos rodaban por la ladera en llamas, bloqueando la carretera. Logramos pasar después de que un conductor que iba delante de nosotros apartara a dos. Justo detrás de nosotros, el fuego cruzó la carretera. Fuimos los últimos en pasar. El fuego ardía y la carretera estuvo cortada durante días. Nunca habíamos estado tan cerca de un incendio forestal. Fue intenso y nos hizo apreciar la rapidez con la que las cosas pueden descontrolarse.
Sin tener nada que ver con el incendio, una rama enorme (del tamaño de un árbol) se desprendió de un árbol aún más grande en nuestro barrio, cerca del palacio. Por suerte, la rama cayó sobre el césped y no sobre la acera. Eso podría haber sido mortal.
Después del café de esta mañana, fui a la óptica de la universidad, me hice un examen de la vista y pedí unas gafas nuevas. Son para reemplazar las que perdí en Nueva York hace siete meses. He estado usando lupas de farmacia con una graduación incorrecta todo este tiempo. Fue una gran experiencia y encontré unas monturas inusuales (para mí). La especialista me ayudó a elegirlas y, sorprendentemente, me dio opciones mucho más económicas que las que había elegido. Desde que me operaron de cataratas, solo necesito gafas para leer y trabajar con la computadora, pero me resulta incómodo ponérmelas y quitármelas constantemente. Así que me puse unas lentes progresivas (que usaba antes de la cirugía) sin corrección adicional, porque mi visión de lejos es perfecta. Si de todas formas tengo que usar gafas, será mucho más cómodo. Compartiré una foto cuando las tenga disponibles, quizás a finales de la semana que viene.
Sigo bastante bien. Quizás la dosis más baja haya marcado la diferencia. No voy a sacar conclusiones precipitadas todavía. Pero voy a dar un paseo.
• With refrigerator magnets (and Todd instead of Mitch). I didn’t go as far as shaving Todd’s head and drawing in a beard (nor a trimmer waistline).
— Artist Jeremy Nguyen, The New Yorker.
• Con imanes de nevera (y Todd en lugar de Mitch). No llegué a afeitarle la cabeza a Todd ni a dibujarle barba (ni una cintura más delgada).
— Artista Jeremy Nguyen, The New Yorker (revista)
• I would have chosen these in 2017, but they were too heavy on the bridge of my nose; they weren’t any better this time
• Los habría elegido en 2017, pero eran demasiado pesados en el puente de mi nariz; esta vez no fueron mejores.
Click the thumbnails to enlarge.
Haz clic en las miniaturas para ampliar.
There, or was, a shop on the side of Rockefeller Center, sort of behind Radio City Music Hall that has the most amazing selection of frames. Probably not the best values, but colorful.
David:
Is that Studio Optix? Very cool place. I wonder how much better the selection is there than in the place I went yesterday, which is also huge. No doubt I got a better price! Can you imagine?
Hi Mitchell, I am with you about fridge magnets! We have a pad of paper on a magnet on the SIDE of the fridge and that’s it. Very scary with the fires being so close to you. The last number of years here in Canada it seems to happen every summer. I can’t keep track of which provinces are having active fires. Looking forward to seeing your new glasses!
Robin:
When I would be in a friend’s house with refrigerator magnets, my borderline OCD would set in and I’d “fix” the arrangement. I could handle ONE pad of paper with a magnet, on the side. Maybe.
Your editing of that cartoon was seamless! Looking forward to seeing your new glasses!
Debra:
I was proud I was able to stop myself before reconstructing Todd to look like me.
I have a few selected items on my fridge, mainly health and voting related. I don’t like cute magnets so much, and I keep knocking them down anyway. Cute glasses, bit heavy for summer maybe. Boud
Boud:
The Kid Brother has a refrigerator covered in magnets. I used to love buying them for him, but couldn’t look long at the fridge. He told me a few years ago he has no more room (not a square inch). I don’t get it. Every shop has those glasses and they have always been painful to wear (although I’m tempted to sacrifice comfort for fashion.)
I don’t know I don’t see those glasses catching on Mitch. And your story is one reason I will not live in California. I consider moving there in the future but between all the weather anomalies, earthquakes and wildfires not to mention the cost of living it’s off the list. Escaping a fire like that’s way too scary.
Mistress Borghese:
Southern Spain is very similar to southern California (less earthquakes). We feel like we’re in a safer area from wildfires, but then look what happened. There’s much less wood construction here, at least. The only time I was a bit edgy in California was when we lived in San Francisco and crossed under the water to the East Bay on BART for work. THEN we both thought about earthquakes. Even worse (less safe) was crossing the bridge to the East Bay that had been seriously damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, deemed unsafe, and still not rebuilt. Our neighborhood was built on bedrock and was where many people moved after the 1906 earthquake so we felt fairly safe there. I never worried in other places we lived in California, although we were as prepared as we could be. But, yes, fires are terrifying. We had a number of close calls in Santa Barbara and for days it snowed ash and it was unhealthy to be outside.
Yikes! Those flames would have freaked me out! I have never been in a wildfire, knock on wood, and I hope that remains the case.
One of our newspapers did an article about how trees drop limbs in hot, dry weather. It’s a last-ditch attempt to save themselves if they are seriously deprived of water. Wonder if that’s what was going on here?
I need an eye exam too. I should add it to my list of things to get done while Dave is gone.
Steve:
I made a list of to-dos the other day. I’ve done 2 out of 10. But I made the list! Interesting about trees dropping limbs. A very good possibility.
I’d say THAT is VERY close indeed! Must have been very unsettling considering your experience with wildfires.
Looking forward to seeing your new specs.
Jim:
Seeing the flames during the night did concern me, but there were no alerts and they were getting it under control at that point. I did however peek a couple of times more during the night.
That’s a scary fireworks display..! Jx
Jon:
Yes, it was. Amazingly, no one hurt as far as I know.
I’ve asked friends for years to bring me back refrigerator magnets as souvenirs when they visit foreign lands. So far I have India, Germany, Jamaica, and Ireland. You’d hate my fridge! LOL But I do put them all on one side, not the front, if that helps. Also, a fridge magnet from Spain would be awesome (hint hint). 🙂
Jennifer
Jennifer:
I used to buy them for Chuck until he told me he has no more room. He wasn’t kidding! I love looking at them in shops. Good to know about your collection!
Your glasses are cute. I think you’ll start a fad. I used to have refrigerator magnets, but mine included naughty words. They were for adult visitors to make into sentences or simple phrases. I got a new refrigerator a couple of years ago and it was too much trouble to put the magnets back on, so no more “back off bitch” or “smell my pussy” on the refrigerator.
Love,
Janie
janiejunebug:
I’ve had friends with those magnets and I had a ball “writing” on their fridges. It also gave me the opportunity to organize the rest of the mess.
I do find it high-larious that you loathes fridge magnets so much that you edited them out of a cartoon! You would hate our fridge ….
And those new glasses look nice though perhaps heavy???😏😏😏
Bob:
Yes, I can be a bit much. I read the cartoon, decided to use it, and knew the magnets had to go. I do love those glasses. What a fashion statement. But they seriously hurt the bridge of my nose.
I ordered a new pair of glasses today, too! You would have a meltdown if you saw our fridge. That night shot of the flames is a bit frightening.
Kelly:
My mother had perhaps a dozen magnets on the side of her fridge (but the side was fully exposed to view all the time). I straightened and organized them every time I was there. After she died, one of the first things I did was remove them all.
OK, in the unlikely event you ever visit my place, I know what to take down in my kitchen before you arrive.
Kirk:
I hate the idea of you removing your magnets because of me. Just know that I might not be able to control my urge to rearrange them.
You would freak out in my kitchen…..my fridge freezer is totally covered with magnets from all over the world…no room for any more sadly! I love seeing them and remembering the the holidays and visits of the ones that I bought, and the friends that bought the others!
Frances:
I’m glad you wrote the follow-up because this message had gone to spam for some unknown reason. Magnets are wonderful things to collect when traveling. I always see amazing ones and bought dozens for Chuck. I wish I wasn’t so obsessive. I enjoy seeing them but the “mess” doesn’t fit well with what’s in my head. I used to carefully reconstruct the alphabet on the refrigerators of my friends with kids (but I never touched words the kids wrote…although rarely was there an actual word in the mess).
PS That was me, Frances about the many magnets! (I always forget that my name doesn’t appear when I comment on your posts…it does everywhere else!)
I have one word to say about driving through a wildfire with rocks and boulders falling as I drove- NO.
And I am so sorry but you can never visit me because you would pass out at the detritus on my refrigerator. And yes, magnets are involved.
Mary of Lloyd
Mary of Lloyd (I love that):
I would love your refrigerator! I might not look for long, but it would make me happy.
Our GP fridge may be a dud, but it doesn’t allow magnets; they are all in a bag for the next fridge or a garage sale, which ever happens first.
Urspo:
It’s too bad fridge magnets make me so crazy. I always find great ones.