Tule fog in the valley and gas prices

The fog was heaviest in the morning but it pretty much stayed the whole day. 

We're at the very top of this long central valley. 

The Tule Fog is a traditional annual fog that visits the central valley and San Joaquin Valley in the Fall and through the winter. Tule fog is thought to arise from wetlands full of tules, Schoenoplectus acutus, a reed or rush common to marshes in California.  

Our main north-to-south interstate is in the central valley - I-5. In years past there have been numerous multi-vehicle pile-ups due to the infamous tule fog. 

Once when I was coming back from visiting my son Michael in Long Beach, I hit the fog and got completely turned around - I could not see past my arm. I noticed truckers were on the side of the road, parked and I took my cue from them and pulled off. We waited for a couple of hours for some visibility. Even then, we drove 35 mph for many miles. It was the eeriest thing I've ever seen. 

Mind you, I am originally from San Francisco and the coast - I'm used to fog but this tule fog is different than the fog that rolls in from the pacific ocean. 

Nevertheless, it was pleasant to walk in - 

all that humidity (which we don't get a lot of around here) felt nice. 

It's good for the plants. 

 

After a long walk, I came in began to make lentil soup for our dinner and some crusty french bread in the oven. Yum!

Good News

I've convinced the husband to quit his second job or just work 2 days a week, preferably day hours.  I've held my tongue now for 5 mos.  

It just doesn't make sense. Here he is retired yet he is working this part-time job, to where we cannot go out and do anything - and he misses thanksgiving with the family because he is working at night. 

I am so glad I never saw any of that money in my budget so for me, it's no loss at all. Okay so maybe our date nights will be fewer and far between. He used his work money for getting tools and for taking me out to dinner; which I admit, I love going out to eat. I can handle it though - it's not like it was the most important thing to me. It was just a nice extra - 

Perhaps the timing is not good - with prices going up, but we'll manage. 

We always do. 

We've been making triple car payments since we bought the car in June and have already reduced the loan by almost a year and a half! (The payments are very low at $210.00 and thanks to my husband making 2 of them from his part-time job) 

We are THRILLED that we made the decision on that electric plug-in hybrid. We have not seen a jump at all in our home electricity and we are able to scoot around town, doing our errands totally on electric for 26 miles. Unless we drive over that amount, we don't use gasoline. 

Now the gas-guzzling old van is another story. We pretty much don't let it go down much - we keep topping it off so we don't have to pay an arm and a leg to fill it up. My husband takes it to work 1 night a week to just use it. He works 5 miles away.  Gas here for regular is steady at about 4.14 for the cheapest gas on up to 4.89 for the brand name gasoline.  

Well, I better go and get ready. 

The husband is taking me out for fish and chips for dinner and it's on him.