Category Archives: weather

Mercury Direct

Posted on May 17, 2023 by Laura Alford, PhD

It’s that time of the year again. School’s out, temps are up, and the planet of communication has stopped all its retrograde nonsense, hopefully in time to keep me from crossing ALL the lines at work. Also, post Derby Day … Continue reading →

Posted in End of the World, Goal setting, Graduation, karma, Texarkana, Texas, weather, Writing | Tagged 4/20, April 20, Bourbon, Dalai Laura, Daylight Saving time, dictator of the free world, Kentucky Derby, key lime pie, Labor Day, Lauritarian, Lauritarian party, limeade, Mercury direct, Mercury retrograde, presidential election, seersucker, standard time, stop the madness, Superbowl Sunday, Taco Bell Tuesday, tequila, whipped cream vodka | 1 Comment

The Mysterious Case of the Missing Funny Bone

Posted on January 13, 2023 by Laura Alford, PhD

My sense of humor is AWOL. It may have absconded on the Generals’ Highway between King’s Canyon and Sequoia National Forests at about 6,666 feet (give or take a few inches.) It could be that similar to the cartilage in … Continue reading →

Posted in accounting, Education, Texarkana, Texas, weather | Tagged 110 degrees, 6666 feet elevation, Dory, east texas, funny bone, Generals' Highway, King's Canyon, moving, mystery, ransom, scary roads, sense of humor, Sequoia National Forest, standup economist, summer | Leave a comment

Safe Spaces

Posted on September 29, 2022 by Laura Alford, PhD

After watching all the hurricane Ian footage, I’m incredibly grateful to be living several hundred miles inland. Granted, Texarkana is right next door to Tornado Alley and is smack dab in the middle of the Ice Storm Corridor bounded by … Continue reading →

Posted in Continuouse Improvement, Politics, Texarkana, Texas, weather, Writing | Tagged Arkansas, Bob Hope, Coastal living, contentious, drug lords, hijab, Hurrican Ian, hurricane Ida, ice corridor, immigrants, interstate 20, interstate 30, Iran, Jimmy Buffet, Joy, Khalil Gibran, Laughter the best medicine, Laughter through tears, macro-aggressions, micro-aggressions, Middle East, migrant farm workers, non-toxic, Of Joy and Sorrow, poetry, Reader's Digest, songs, sorrow, spirit, Steel Magnolias, Texarkana, Texas, thanksgiving, The Prophet, Tornado Alley, Truvy, USO, VIetname | 2 Comments

Superpowers

Posted on June 22, 2022 by Laura Alford, PhD

Several years ago I was on a job interview and it was going really great. Then, somebody asked me a question and my answer was something like, no, that’s not one of my superpowers. Imagine train brakes squealing in the … Continue reading →

Posted in accounting, weather, Writing | Tagged car wash, expensive shoes, happily ever after, HEA, homing pigeon, longest line in the grocery store, rainmaker, superpowers | Leave a comment

Take Five

Posted on October 28, 2021 by Laura Alford, PhD

This song by Dave Brubeck is on my Chillin’ playlist. It’s a jazz instrumental and at first I didn’t recognize it. When I looked at the name, I was transported back to a stuffy Unity Church sanctuary in Pacific Grove. … Continue reading →

Posted in California, gumbo, Louisiana, LSU, Monterey, music, Navy, parks & recreation, weather, Writing | Tagged algae, biking, call sign, cool front, Dave Brubeck, gumbo season, heat, hiking, humidity, LSU Lakes, Monterey, naval aviator, Pacific Grove, Take Five, traffic | Leave a comment

Me, Myself, & Monterey

Posted on September 2, 2021 by Laura Alford, PhD

Hermits are crotchety for a reason. Their interactions are limited to watering silent orchids, thwarting random ant invasions, and forcibly, but humanely, removing unwanted spiders from the lavatory. Are hermits lonely? Absolutely. Do they want company? Absolutely NOT! Imagine if … Continue reading →

Posted in California, family, Louisiana, Monterey, weather, Writing | Tagged ants, evacuees, family, fortunate, hedgehog, hurricane Ida, Louisiana, LSU, Monterey, orchids, spiders | Leave a comment

Trap Day

Posted on June 9, 2021 by Laura Alford, PhD

To quote the wise Admiral Ackbar: Monterey slang for the “summer” months includes the terms June Gloom and Foggust. This week has been stunning on the peninsula. Bright blue skies and daytime temps in the mid-60’s. we call these kinds … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Monterey, weather, Writing | Tagged beaches, beauty, Carmel-by-the-Sea, dogwoods, fog, glorious, Monterey, mountains, roses | Leave a comment

Hoist With My Own Petard

Posted on February 17, 2021 by Laura Alford, PhD

People warned me about Monterey before I moved here. It’s cold, they said. Fantastic! I said, for I had been hot my whole life (there are numerous historical blog posts to attest to the accuracy of this statement). Oh, how … Continue reading →

Posted in Ash Wednesday, California, Continuouse Improvement, Home Improvement, karma, Monterey, Statistics, weather, Writing | Tagged Bubba Gump, cashmere sheets, cold in Monterey, Dallas, down comforter, Ice Capades, icicles, leggings, Nike shorts, regression discontinuity, Snowpacalypse 2021, summer uniform, sweaters, tank tops, Texas, The Company Store, winter | 1 Comment

From the 318 to the 831

Posted on December 2, 2020 by Laura Alford, PhD

318. 831. The same, but different. Sort of like diet Mountain Dew and kombucha are both beverages. I’m very warm-natured aka hot all the time. When I moved to Monterey, I literally had 2 pairs of pants, 2 sweaters, and … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Louisiana, Monterey, parks & recreation, weather, Writing | Tagged 17 mile drive, Asilomar, bayous, beach boardwalk, bloom where you’re planted, California, crickets, cycling, cypress trees, daffodils, Del Monte Forest, diet Mountain dew, f, firepit, hiking, hot outside, kombucha, Louisiana, Monterey, Pebble Beach, pine trees, s’mores, spider lily, sunset, the same but different, winter wheat | 1 Comment

Toes in the Water

Posted on April 25, 2020 by Laura Alford, PhD

Yesterday I walked my bare feet into the Pacific Ocean for the first time in my life. It took me 336 days of living in California to do it. I’m not sure why it took me so long. Because beaches … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Children, family, Louisiana, Monterey, weather, Writing | Leave a comment