Offseaon Things

It has been a frigid February day here in the SF Bay. I mean we are walking around in upper 40 degree temperatures, which yes, is colder than usual. We’re a mid-50s kind of town. It’s been an unusual winter anyway with the Atmospheric River and the intense winds (a couple of days ago); branches were down, and things were absolutely blowing off buildings. It revived an old debate about the worst blow job in San Francisco history.

I like to call this part of the year the offseason. This for me is similar to the baseball usage of that word; the time before and after the season. The season, I allude to here is our city softball season. And while this has felt like an unusually long offseason we’ve had breaks from the “off”. We were able to play in two out-of-town contests: a softball tournament in New York City in October and one in Palm Springs earlier this month. In both cases it was a nice break from not playing. Also, the usual camaraderie with teammates makes it a special time.

There has been some changeover in the ball club this season and we’re seeing what that looks like at practice. New players require more things to work out. It feels like we’re a bunch of steps behind other teams and that does not bode well for winning a berth to the World Series. We will see how things play out! We are about three weeks to opening day. I’d like to go back to Minny, we certainly had fun there back in 2007, playing with the SF Coasters team. #crossingfingers

Frigid days also means some more books to read. I seem to be juggling my fair share of them. My hubby joined a book club that meets on Tuesday. I decided to be an invisible member due to my pesky work schedule. I follow along with the group weekly. I read what the group is reading at the agreed upon amount of chapters and hear about how the meetings went Tuesday evening. We’re on the second book now. It’s fun.

The first book we hopped on for was from a first-time author. Shelby Van Pelt’s Remarkably Bright Creatures shines a light on individuals in captivity. They are trapped in their own cages, including a very smart Octopus. I finished this book at the Palm Springs tournament because at one point I couldn’t put it down.

Lately I’ve been reading quite a few books on my iThings so I made a point to stop over at the local library and grab a couple of physical books. It’s great seeing people there, sitting down with a book or a magazine. The neighborhood I’m in has a small library but if it’s been a while you can generally step back in and find something different to read. I didn’t expect to walk out with two books but I did.

As I type this post the rain has started, I wonder if the accumulation will squish our softball practice dreams this weekend. I’m ready with a few books.

Marilyn of the Desert