Five Things Friday Vol. 30

Five Things Friday: just five things I’m thinking about or things that made my week, or things that I otherwise feel like sharing.

What’s your favorite summer fruit? I am usually all about berries, I love apples any time of the year, but right now I am slightly obsessed with peaches. I always forget how wonderfully sweet and juicy they are. I’ll have to pick some up on my grocery run today.

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There was an M6.0 earthquake in the Antelope Valley Fault Zone on the east side of the Sierra Nevada yesterday afternoon. We could feel it all the way over here in Sacramento, 100 miles to the west. I was startled when I felt my chair shaking a little bit. First, I wasn’t sure if I was imagining it, but when I looked up, I saw that our hanging planter by the window and the hanging baskets in the kitchen had started to sway back and forth. Jon was out in the front yard and said he didn’t feel it (but he was probably distracted). As you can see on the shake map, the seismic waves were pretty mild down here, but it looks like the people near the epicenter got a pretty good shake.

Sacramento and the Central Valley don’t really have active faults. The major faults systems in California are along the coast (the best-known faults are of course the San Andreas and Hayward faults) and in the Sierras. While there are many earthquakes in California every day, they’re hardly ever felt – even locally – because they’re relatively small in magnitude. We usually only feel any shaking in Sacramento when the earthquake is a larger event, like the one yesterday. 

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I think I have a bit of summer blues. Some of my friends have announced their summer travel plans, many other Germans I know have traveled or will soon travel to Germany to see family. I won’t be one of them.

This is the first week of summer break in Germany, and originally we had hoped that my family would have been able to come and visit this summer after their visit last year had to be postponed. Unfortunately, because of where we’re at with the pandemic, we had to postpone their visit again this year, as they’re still not allowed to enter the United States under the Covid-19 travel ban. As disappointed as we all are, I do believe that it’s not a good time to travel yet.  So, we’re just going to hang in there and make the best of this summer. Hit me with your best staycation tips, ha!

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This was a short week for me (because Monday was a holiday and today is my regular day off, luckily), but I feel like I have worked a full week and then some. I’ve been reviewing comments on a report with a colleague and instead of doing it separately and then getting together to discuss them, we tend to work more efficiently when we just sit down and work through them together.
However, in the time of Covid and WFH, that means we’ve been working on the report over Teams for hours on end last week and this week. Like I said, very productive, but tiring AF.  I am ready to sleep for the next three days.

*  *  *

Oh, and on a different note, have I mentioned that it’s supposed to hit 111F/44C again this weekend in the Central Valley? The joy! [\sarcasm]

Stay cool, kids, if you’re anywhere on the West Coast (except for San Francisco. They never seem to get the heat memo!). Otherwise, enjoy your weekend!

  1. I’m a big fan of Mango’s but not of Earthquakes….. lol! But II know for you an earthquake is something very exciting – which is crazy to me :)
    Fingers crossed you soon feel comfortable enough to go see your family (and me) in Germany!
    Booo to the heat but let me tell you – Germany’s summer is also no fun, a lookout of rain, humidity and thunderstorms.

    1. Mango! I’ve only had them (frozen) in my smoothies recently. Do you buy them fresh?

  2. WOW. That’s hot! Stay cool and safe! I’m sorry you can’t travel home, I am looking forward to the time where we all feel safe to get on a plane again!

  3. Damn, y’all need to come to Florida for a temperate summer! Haha. We’re staying in the 90s around here, which would be a cold spell for you guys!

    I wish, wish, wish you could visit your family in Germany this summer. SOON! <3

    1. Florida seems to have the best west year-round – minus the hurricanes.

  4. My fave summer fruits are cherries and watermelon. I haven’t had cherries this year as they haven’t been reasonably priced so I think I may just not have them this summer. Womp womp. But we’ve had 2 watermelons. I am the only one who eats it in our house, but I can eat an entire watermelon in a week. It’s such a great treat! I’m really hoping Will likes watermelon! I can’t imagine not liking it but Phil isn’t a fan of melons in general – he calls them “filler fruit.”

    My aunt and uncle live in Lodi and mentioned feeling the earthquake. I can’t imagine feeling the world shaking!

    I hope the extreme heat passes for you guys soon. That is so dang hot. It’s been a really hot and humid summer here, too. We are in the midst of a little break but it’s going to get back into the 90s next week which feels pretty uncomfortable here with our high humidity. It’s making me not like summer as much as I usually do!

    1. Oh, cherries. I’ll have to look for them. And watermelon is just so damn refreshing in the summer… “filler fruit” or not LOL

      Ugh. 90F + humidity is brutal. I don’t envy you.

  5. Sorry to hear your family still can’t visit. I hope you find some fun ways to have a bit of a staycation! Gotta enjoy what you can when you can. And whew, working for hours over Teams does sound super exhausting!

  6. Peaches sound good. I could eat some. Unfortunately they never really taste that great here in Germany. But I do love me some blueberries. Never having experienced an earthquake I find it rather fascinating – until I actually do than its probably scary. I am sorry you had to postpone the family visit yet again. Hoping there is some traveling possible rather sooner than later.

  7. I’m with you – ALL about the stone fruits in the summer. And blueberries, always, always blueberries. And watermelon. Pineapple… Huh. Apparently I just love *all* fruit. ;) (Seriously… I’m trying to think of one I do not like and… not succeeding.)

    I’m so so sorry about your family’s plans. And of course since I am commenting late I also know that not only were they not here, but you were worrying about them – and your other friends and family in Germany – with the recent floods. As always, I hope with all my heart that you can see them soon.

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