We Need a Breeze

My sister and her family are on vacation in Florida, where they are experiencing gale force winds.  Wow, am I jealous!  We're on our fifth day in a row of air stagnation.  Ugh!  My eyes and lungs are burning from the pollution.

Who'd have thought that we'd have really bad pollution during the week between Christmas and New Year in the Pacific Northwest?  You think of the PNW as clean and green.  The air has been foggy and still for several days with an inversion layer.  Even hiking in Forest Park leaves me breathless, and not from the ever present beauty.  Instead it is from the building levels of pollution from cars and factories (Intel, anyone?) that just isn't leaving because there is nowhere for it to go.  Ahh, the joy of allergies.

Hopefully, we'll get some fresh air overnight, but I'm not really thinking it will happen.  The weather report is calling for more of that freezing fog, where the super saturated air simply freezes on the road, plants, sidewalks... you know, anything that gets into its way. So in the morning, I expect that the air will still be sick.  I just checked and there is another "Air Stagnation Advisory" in place until 10 pm tomorrow.  Maybe I'll go find a water aerobics class tomorrow, since walking outside is not a great option for me.  Poor dogs, they may have to go two days without a walk.  Poor me!  I don't get those much needed walks, either.

On a happier note, my guitar playing seems to be coming along.  This week I'm learning 2 new scales, continuing to work on chords (notice the absence of the phrase "damn chords") and learning The Entertainer.  You'll laugh at the thing that made it easier for me... learning to hold the guitar the right way.  I'm still not 100% holding it steady, but I'm definitely getting better. 

Also, tomorrow is dog training class #2 for Buckley and me.  We have been working on "watch" this week, where I get him to look at me.  Of course. I'm holding food every time I use the command, which he then gets upon successful completion of the command, but hey - I consider it progress. Hopefully, we'll get some help with "sit" tomorrow. 

Until then, be happy and healthy!