Hart Winery

I made a short road trip to the Hart Winery in Temecula today. Seating was outdoors only, mask and social distancing required. This was the first and probably the only getaway for me this summer of Covid-19. I did enjoy sitting in the dappled shade on the patio, gazing at the expanse of vineyard. The wines were served on a tray, poured into small plastic cups so the waiter didn't have to keep running in and out of the indoor tasting room to serve those outside.

I could've sat out there for hours, but the heat was kicking up and it was time to leave, but not before purchasing a case of three different red varietals.

Anne Sexton — Smith Corona Typewriter

The poet Anne Sexton was always filmed and photographed typing on a Royal Quiet DeLuxe. But I recently bought a copy of her posthumous collection, 45 Mercy Street, and the back cover displays a photo of a Smith Corona electric typewriter sitting on her desk. My assumption is that she wore out her Royal and purchased a brand-new electric. Of course this is something of interest only to people like me who have a fascination with the tools writers of the past used.

Sea Breeze

In the early evening, sea breezes blow in and spin our spinner and all the trees around, cooling everything off. The spinner was a gift from our former neighbor who moved to Idaho.

My Brother's Retirement

This is a short video my brother made of himself enjoying retirement. It's a Saturday morning, and the world seems kind and promising. Sadly, he had only five more months to live.

They Closed My Favorite Starbucks

This was my Starbucks of choice, the place where I got my coffee most mornings before commuting to work, where I visited every Saturday and Sunday afternoon, where I dropped by almost every day during summer vacation. Call them a victim of Covid-19 because once they closed "temporarily" at the peak of the pandemic, that was it. Starbucks decided to take down the sign and board up the place. With no drive-thru business, they probably weren't making enough profit to justify keeping their doors open. The place was always packed when school was in session, but that was part of the problem. The college kids from the surrounding Claremont colleges would park themselves there with their laptops and not move for hours, which meant little money flowing into the store's coffers.

Digital Graduation

It's always an honor to be one of the teachers selected by the senior class to read their names at graduation. We held today's digital graduation in our new gymnasium, a fantastic venue. The video will be posted to Sonora High School's website later next week.

At the Melville Winery in Santa Barbara County

I found this video in my file of old Flip Videos. The Flip Video was great, true point-and-shoot. Just a couple of buttons, easy to use, the ideal video camera to put in your pocket and carry around.