It's amazing what the locals get riled up about!

My prayers are with you!

Speaking of frizzy hair, I just love, love, love, the Fructis Smoothing Milk. It is cheap, works, and smells great!

Living in Ventura, we get the L.A. TV news, but I'm from NJ and my husband is from NY, where they get *real weather*. We always laugh at the TV newspeople who are standing out on location saying inane things to the camera, like "I'm feeling a few drops here, we could be in for a mean drizzle any time now!" Be prepared for "Storm Watch 2007"....and a half inch of rain....maybe, if we are lucky. It is hilarious to watch. And don't get me started on how bad SoCal drivers drive when it's raining or the streets are slick......

I am praying for copious ammounts of anti-humectant products to come your way!

I wonder - do the cats get frizzy too? What is their secret??

Maybe I should start licking my hair??
hmmm

Yeah, I remember the craziness from when I lived in So. Cal. After being born and raised in Chicago it NEVER failed to amuse me!
.

Rain!!! I'm so excited!!

StormWatch! I remember getting on the road during the first light rain of the season, and seeing all sorts of crazy driving. I-5 would be flooded, but folks would still drive like the road was dry. Tail-gaters at 70mph, then blam! rear-end sexy time.

I moved to San Diego from Cleveland, Ohio and I love it when it rains here because these people are hilarious!

Oh, lordy, whatever would they do in a real rainstorm, Southern-style? Maybe all the corporations can issue a "stay home because of the weather" day--kind of like when we have a blizzard here in Denverish.

Sending smooth, shiny thoughts to your hair!

do they even HAVE doppler radar there to track this thing? :)

I'm underwhelmed by the weather report. ^.^ Oh no, drizzle!

On the hair front, I can heartily recommend Redken's Smooth Down Butter Treat, a deep conditioner that can only be decribed as scrumdiddlyumptious. It can also be used as a leave in, which is good if you (like me) have hyperfrizzy hair and live in a state where the relative humidity in the summer is roughly equal to that of the Marianas Trench.

Stay dry, buy a cute umbrella with kittens on it.

It's to early for rain yet. It never rains till halloween or the week before it. then it rains again at christmas :P At least that's how it goes up here in Ventura :)

I seriously thought you were kidding about the rain and CA thing until I was in San Diego this past spring and it rained. Holy cripes! My cabbie was freaking out on the way to the airport. People were driving like Texans in snow. I kept telling him, "It's just a little water, mister. It'll be okay. Focus!" Sheesh!

Hey Laurie! (sorry, not Frizz-Ease related heh)

You're the first person I've blog-stalked with their own Wikipedia article!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurie_perry

(*nudge* you might wanna poke someone to capitalize your name correctly, though ;D )

I live in Seattle (Seattle, people!) and when it first starts raining, everyone slams on their breaks and freaks out. I used to joke that one raindrop was enough to jam up traffic, and then I was in traffic with my husband one day, and we only had 5 raindrops on our windshield, and everyone around us was slamming on the breaks!

That's funny! I'm in CO. I understand when it snows here that people drive cautiously. I sure do. But when there are a few rain drops, everything stops. It's gotta be wayyy worse where you are! Good luck!

Schools close here in Nashville when it snows an inch, and there are about 300 more accidents during rush hour if white stuff is floating from the sky. Ha ha...

San Francisco is the exact same. All driving sense is gone!(Not that there's much to begin with.) You'd think it was the second coming when there's a little rain around here. Thank god it doesn't snow. I really wouldn't be able to leave home.

When we arrived in Mexico last June it was raining buckets, quite a rare event as far as we could tell, and the car-rental guy at the airport told us NOT TO DRIVE IN IT LEST WE DIE. We did anyway, and, amazingly, we did not die.

(He claimed that since it never rained the roads had no drainage and would flood, and admittedly this seemed to be at least somewhat true. Does LA have drainage?)

Hey Laurie- I went to Barnes and Noble last night to get your book and they said it isn't in til sometime in October. What up? Are they only available early down in LA? (I'm in Portland, OR btw). Or was this BN saleslady high? (she didn't giggle at the book title so I figure there was SOMETHING seriously wrong with her ... cuz really!)

Sigh.

-Pouting in Portland

I DO live here near LA, and I grew ip in New England, so I know weather...but if it DOES rain here tomorrow, I will be a nervous wreck. Wanna know why?

We haven't had rain in many months (years?) and the roads get all foamy and slippery when it finally does rain (has anyone else noticed that white-ish foam on the newly wet streets around here?) - and the REAL reason, is my son just got his driver's license...and HE has no idea about "weather!" Be careful if you see a kid in a pickup truck tomorrow.

.....a love affair with a gorgeous but certifiably crazy person who you want to leave but you just can't imagine your life without all the dramaticalness so you stay to see what will happen next.....

Yes, yes, I know this syndrom!!!

I say we all let our hair down and let it go wild in the humidity, I will be sporting a huge Afro!

This is so funny because it's way too true...

I grew up in California so I know first hand of which you speak. If it rained or even looked like it might rain, the southern half of the state shuts down.

When I moved to Massachusetts I was shocked at how it could snow 15 feet and people went on like nothing was happening. As my husband (who grew up in Massachusetts) "You put on a coat and go."

;)

I love it. I have noticed in San Diego that even a small cloud cover causes masses of people to stay off the roads. It is so exciting not to have traffic because of the awful "weather." ;) Being from a place where it snows (and ohmigod you can actually DRIVE in snow, imagine that!) I am always entertained by people here...

HEY. If it rains, that means I have to close the lid on my 'vertible. I haven't done that since last DECEMBER.

I'm confused.

Are you talking about "torrential downpour with gale-force winds" or "some rain?"

Here's a story to cheer you up:

I was living in South Jersey, where they are used to weather, but a friend came to visit one evening through an inch of snow. I don't know what was different about this particular snow, but it was clearly more dangerous than usual.

My friend reported seeing several BAD accidents in my town on his way there. But the thing that spooked him was that EVERY accident involved a police car, and two of them involved ONLY police cars!

That's right, folks! Woodbury, NJ managed to wipe out every police car they owned in the space of about two hours!

In about an inch of snow.

Your blog never ceases to make me smile. I was born and raised in NC, so we all overreact about snow. People still talk about the "1/2 inch blizzard" that shut the whole city down a few years ago. What amuses me is that people in the northeast seem to be the only people who don't freak about weather and they are very quick to point this out :) It's good to know that southerners aren't the only people who act like it's the end of the world when it rains or snows!

We are scheduled to possibly have some light showers here in San Francsico as well. On the one hand, I am scared! On the other hand, I get to wear my new silk raincoat. Life is a series of trade-offs.

Haha! My favorite is when the weather casters go into crazy "storm watch" mode over a few drops. It's so hilarious with their lightening graphics and scary music.

Oh man! I hate it when it rains here in the OC because then my Uggs get wet and then WHAT type of shoe am I supposed to wear with my mini skirt?
(I work at a college and I swear the local uniform is mini skirts, Ugg boots and tank tops. Makes no sense to me!)

Anyway...Laurie, I went to the Barnes & Noble in Huntington Beach at the Bella Terra Mall and I purchased the last copy of your book. I was very happy for you to see that your book is selling so well! Mazeltov!!!

:)Tami

sounds like Atlanta when there is a chance it might snow. The entire city shuts down if there is an inch of snow.

That's why the call Californians "freeze dried idiots" -- just add water!

It is the same in Memphis when there is the forecast of ice/snow. We rarely get more than an inch, but the way people rush the grocery stores makes you think a blizzard is coming. The schools have even closed for the next day based on the forecast (which means we won't get much of anything). Good times.

Good luck surviving "the storms"!

If you did happen to get some extra time off, you could do what I did last weekend. I, all virtuous, was going to vacuum some cat hair off the drapes. As I pulled off the front piece to attach the hose, dust bunnies and hair balls started falling out. I reached in and extracted a Wookie! Holy Cats! I spent the next hour taking out the roller bar and belt and scouring off a couple of years' worth of caked on crud. Needless to say, that was the end of vacuuming that day! I've been inspired by your cleaning/organizing/nesting posts but I have my limits. I'm just saying.

"Water falling from the sky! Dum-dum-dummmmmm!" HEE!

True story:

My brother moved from Philadelphia to Pensecola the year that Florida had ice storms. As he goes to work on public transportation, his co-worker says that he's the only one capable of driving in this, why didn't he? He said, "Because of all the other drivers out on the road who can't!!"

Kat -- the distribution is wonky, I know. My parents are going bananas because the book is supposed to be in Wal Mart and yet at their Mart de Wal there is no book. I think they have been driving all over Florida. Alas, I do not control the warehouse!

From what I am hearing at HCI, amazon.com got their first shipment in, fulfilled all the orders they could and are awaiting more books. B&N almost everywhere should have their books, so I don't know what's up with Portland except that they may be off some hub or something (??? Lordy people the things I am learning it is crazy I tell you what) and you may want to double check -- some stores are stocking it in knitting, some in self-help, some in family.

And here's something I learned which I thought was just so interesting, again on the "list of stuff I never considered but still, now that I know it, is interesting" ... did you know the major retailers (Target, Wal-Mart, K-mart and also the grocery stores) do not report sales to the NYT Bestseller list? I found that crazy fascinating. This book business is nutty. I feel like I'm learning a whole new job. Need wine.

LOL! Then again, I'm from Virginia where the slightest hint of a snow flurry sparks a full-on milk and toilet paper buying extravaganza. And yes, they do cover this on the news!

I do not live in a sunny clime and there was this one January about seven years ago when the news was all about this BIG WINTER STORM coming - it was like armageddon. And then . . . nothing happened. I've since decided that when the REGULAR NEWS starts predicting the weather then we can all sigh contentedly and kick back because the world just ain't that bad when we don't have anything to talk about other than the weather. (Katrina and similar events aside but then the real tragedy there had nothing to do with the weather.)

You will not perish. Your hair will frizz. I speak from experience. I live in New Mexico, where we also experience 'The Impending Doom of Dampness'...just not on such a large scale...man those there buildings are wicked tall! :)

Ah, this just in from the parentals: They found the book at a B&N near Tampa and now they are happy and my mom is crying :) Best. Phonecall. Yet :)

A few drops fell last night - it's scary, people, stay away from your windows!

It makes me laugh, and yet it is very dangerous that no one in Southern California seems to know what to do when wet stuff falls from the sky. It's like Godzilla is attacking or something.

In contrast, my dad used to joke about the 5 inches of "partly cloudy" that fell on us in two hours in Texas. The weather people apparently didn't see the tropical storm heading our way...

Of course, the show went on anyway, although the audience was almost smaller than the cast - and some of the cast were carrying scripts because the regular actors didn't show up - they must have been from Southern California!

Amber -- that building in the picture is what was formerly known as Library Tower (I think it's the US Bank building now) and it is the largest building west of the Mississippi!

"dramaticalness" - LOVE it!!

To each his/her own, dear Laurie, but I can't for the life of me figure out your love affair with L.A. I've been through there several times since I have relatives on my Dad's side that live there. Never liked anything about it except the Hollywood sign!

I'll just stay right here in Texas! :)

Swear to god. Storm watch 2007. Multiple levels of doppler radar.

I'm driving tonight to SnB. Just in case. This weekend, I'm putting my car in storage and installing shutters. It may drizzle people! Drizzle. Dallas Raines and Fritz Coleman have spoken.

I love when they declare it a "storm of the century" and we get like an inch of precip and a little bit of wind. Obviously they are bored and like to rile us up.
I started looking thru my book yesterday, and by looking I mean giggling at your cute pix in the back.

Yesterday in the San Francisco area there were some crazy winds. My hair is already messed up. Bring on the rain.

Good luck with that nasty weather.

It is god answering your prayers. If people are afraid to leave the house, you wil have less road rage.

Sue, yeah... uh, the pictures. I fought to get the dumbaii pic of me on the first picture page taken out but I was overruled. Apparently they think making fun of me in my own book is nice.

I anxiously await the Storm Story on the Weather Channel. Will Jim Cantore be there?!?

Oh, you should get the weather reports like we do here in Houston. Anytime there's even the slightest chance of anything remotely hurricane like, we start getting the forcasts of DOOM. And the - I kid you not - CONE OF UNCERTAINTY. That is the area that some computer comes up with where a hurricane might go. And the weather reporters are so disappointed when it doesn't come our way.

Ordered "The Book" online yesterday from Chapters in Canada - website says it's in stock. Now patiently waiting.

De-lurking to comment -

"Ah, this just in from the parentals: They found the book at a B&N near Tampa and now they are happy and my mom is crying :) Best. Phonecall. Yet :)"

That made ME cry. :)

Amazon is annoying me. They certainly didn't fill all the pre-orders with that shipment, but apparently from the comments did fill some new orders.

Does it really rain that infrequently there? What would LA do if they were to get a good Florida rain or a Minnesota snow storm, I wonder? ;)

aj-- I've had my own issues with amazon... such as, oh, the time they put the wrong description of the book up, and misspelled the title. Ah, good times.

But (another thing I have learned in all this) they want you ("The U.S. Department of They") to initially do as much selling as possible through amazon.com because their mysterious sales rankings determine some blah blah blah stuff which ultimately determines more blah blah blah.

For a control enthusiast such as myself I am trying to just go with it all but it is... eh. Rather a challenge LOL.

Self-help? Will your book tell me how to get cat hair out of the upholstery, or how an entirely black cat can shed screaming CAT HAIR ALERT hair on my black pants?

I would just like to point out here that I preordered from Amazon MONTHS ago (remember when you were #30-something on the high-volume list? I was proud to be a part of that) and haven't gotten my books yet.

Also, Tiffany, it depends on your definition of freaking out. If you were in the Boston area during the blizzard of '78, which was, don't get me wrong, a bona fide stop-everything-dead-for four-days blizzard, the mere word "snow" in the weather forecast, as in "ski country may get an inch or two of snow," sends you right into headless-chicken-in-a-grocery-store mode. At the time I was at college southwest of Cleveland, where, strangely, the weather was better, so I don't have this atavistic response.

Trista -- we got all of three inches of rain last year. It really does rain that infrequently!

Again, Lucia, I feel your pain (my parents haven't gotten theirs either) but I don't control the trucks, the warehouses, or alas... even amazon ;) It is incredibly stressful for me but there is pretty much zero I can do about it besides eat myself a new pants size.

You're back up to #305 on amazon's best-selling list... We'll have you rolling in money yet. Unless Soba changed your contract so you're getting paid in cat kibble to cut out the middle-man.

Oh, geez, Laurie, I didn't mean to add to your stress! (Like you need more.) I just meant it as a general commentary on the vicissitudes of the book business and/or life. It is totally not your fault, and I'll survive until they get to me, unless of course it rains.

Dramaticalness.......what a great word!

Three inches?! My curly hair would just give up and die, I think.

The joys of Southern California weather. I wonder how many idiots will fall into the LA River this time??

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOh, water! Falling! from the SKY! Giggle. What would happen to that city if something even crazier happened, like SNOW.

I don't know if it's all the CA transplants up here in good old Oregon, but even with all the rain we get up here, the drivers still slow to a creeping halt and there are accidents everywhere in a bit of a drizzle. It's completely absurd. How many times have we done this people? Like 180 a year? Yeah.

i think you need a slickah and some rain boots.

OH NO NOT RAIN!!! I'm in DC so I feel your pain. As soon as anything starts falling from the sky people go crazier than usual. My prayers are with you as you face the coming insanity.

Also huge Congrats on the book! Yay for you!!!

Samantha in Michigan, last winter there was snow in west L.A. and there was widespread pandemonium. We really did think the world was ending. hehe.

Laurie, I agree. I love L.A., even with the whole, "What's that? Water, from the sky? WHAT IS THAT?!" thing. Oh Los Angeles. <3

and of course no one will walk anywhere. it is LA afterall. ;)

LOL! This is sooo like the reaction of southerners when even the word "snow" is mentioned on the news. Heck, it can be September with absolutely NO chance of snow and they mention the word in relation to an event from the past winter and people are out the door ready to run to the grocery store.

However, when there is no rain the roads do get really slick and dangerous when the rains-even drizzles-come. So there is a need for carefulness and frizz-ease. Just trying to defend the craziness. :)

Dude, it's supposed to get down into the mid-40s tonight out here in the Inland Empire! I am going to freeeeeeeeeze to death! What's to become of us?

Oh and I can't find your book. I preordered it months and months ago, didn't get it on the first shipment so I did what you said and emptied the cart of the preorder, reordered the preorder and was told it would take until the end of October!! On my previous preorder, it was going to ship mid October. I'm worse off now..waaah.
I shall continue the hunt.

http://www.parkingdayla.com/ Check it out! I think you would appreciate it.

This is serious! It hasn't rained in something like 150 days.

I canceled my dentist appointment for tomorrow because it would require too much freeway driving. Hell' it's only a cleaning. I don't need 3 hours a panic before and after I get there. 'Normally a 45 minute drive ;-) but in rain it could be forever.....

A couple of years ago I was in the LA area on vacation. There was a thunderstorm of moderate intensity by midwestern standards. It was the LEAD STORY ON THE EVENING NEWS!!! The b/f & I laughed ourselves silly.

It finally dawned on me that your weatherperson is named Dallas RAINES. Get it? Ha! He has the perfect TV name and the perfect TV hair to go with it...

May the Force be with you as you are dealing with droplets of wetness falling mysteriously from the sky...eeeeeekkkkk....

I love Rita's comment on the CONE OF UNCERTAINTY. I think I am living in that cone...

Oh dear. Shall we all say prayers that you survive the disaster?

you crack me up.... you're right though... the big headline on the news... rain.

scary.

:)

oh well - could be worse - it could be OJ or Brittany as the headliner...

Have you ever watched Defending Your Life? LA weather kind of reminds me of weather in Judgment City...

Laurie:

Don't you love it when the lead story on the 11pm news says "Storm Watch" and they go to a live shot along Ventura Blvd., usually in Sherman Oaks, get the camera down to the curb and show a closeup of a little water trickling into the sewer. As if we don't get aboard the Ark we are going to be swept over the mountains and into the ocean in the flood of the millenium!

I don't think you lived here in the early 90's when we had a REAL torrential downpour & thunderstorm in the Valley for hours & hours, and by the afternoon the intersection of Burbank & Woodley was under 6 ft. of water from all the flood channels in the West Valley that empty into the Sepulveda Flood Basin. They were rescuing stunned citizens of Southern California by helicopter from the roofs of their submerged cars. Can you visualize what that did to evening rush hour commuter traffic around the vicinity of the 101 & 405??? The End of the World! Now when it's only drizzling they block off Burbank Blvd. between Balboa & the 405, primarily to annoy us commuters.

Maybe I'll take the train into downtown tomorrow...

Sorry 'bout your weather event possibly ruining your day and hair. Here on the other coast I'm planning on having an incredible evening. Not only am I going to see The Yarn Harlot at Borders, but (according to the computerized inventory) your book is in stock AND I have a 30% off coupon. CAP, Harlot & saving money -- maybe I should play the lottery tonight too!

Oh Laurie, I miss the freak out at weather. It was so funny while I lived there. But please, you MUST get a picture of the graphic the news station will create for Storm Watch 2007. That was always when I knew it was a party.

Ah, I do miss living in LA. People who don't live there are surprised, but it is a great city with wackiness abounding!

Living in Oregon is a bit of a let down. Oregonians won't even use umbrellas when it rains. I'm not sure if they are refusing to acknowledge the wet stuff falling from the sky or if they just downplay everything.

We have the same weather report zaniness here (south of you). We usually make OMG NUCLEAR WINTER!!! jokes.

I too had to google "Dallas Raines" -- he's a real person. Who knew? What are people thinking when they name their kids: "I want Junior to grow up to be a weatherman in Texas ... ".

Now that I know I can get your book here in Canada, I might just buy it for my flight over the Atlantic, on my way to Paris, for my birthday (in case you forgot).

OH! And I almost bought "Stitch 'n' Bitch" at the bookstore at lunchtime. I am considering taking up knitting again ... LOL

Juliana, I am tres excited about your birthday trip!!!

Y'all haven't forgotten about Johnny Mountain, have you? His hair can go up against Dallas or Fritz' any day of the week!

I'm a bit late to comment on your cleaning craze, but have you used baking soda to clean your kitchen sink, stove, and hood? It's amazing!! It also makes your hands soft. Just wet a sponge, rub it in a pile of b.s. (baking soda!), and scrub away. I have a white sink and it removes the black marks left by my cast iron pans. Unfortunately it's not very good for cleaning up cat hair; I also have that lurking in my hardwood corners.

Oh you are so right! The way Southern California media portrays the slightest bit of rain as a major crisis is becoming legendary. Or course the true crisis is the inability of California drivers to cope with it. After years of living on the mainland in LA, I don't miss the freeways and the traffic. But can you imagine driving a golf cart to work in the rain?

(this question edited, please feel free to email if you have a personal question. thanks!)

Seriously, I did make a list for the grocery store and run a bunch of errands today, because I'm not leaving my house tomorrow unless absolutely necessary. But I'm glad my dirty black car will get a bath.

I bought your book last night at Barnes & Noble! :)

Thanks for writing, I enjoy reading your blog every day.

Um, good luck with that raincloud, LOL. I live in "tornado alley" so I can't much sympathize.

My dh grew up in Orange County and my mil used to tell me how nuts people went when it rained. It's beyond me, but I believe that it happens. :-)

But Laurie, you don't understand. This storm is expected to bring not just dampness, but wind! Yes! Actual moving air!

Maybe you should warn Bob. If he's afraid of air, I shudder to think how he reacts to moving air.

For some reason, the 1st time I read that last sentence my eyes saw "Impending Doom of Dumb*ss" - which is kinda appropriate if your weatherfolk are worried about that storm (vs., say, earthquakes, mudslides, fires, and the other fun stuff in LA).

How funny. I was just telling my friend tonight about the crazy behavior displayed by the LA natives in a rain storm. I lived out there in 1989-90 and having grown up in Ohio, I've seen my fair share of precipitation. In fact, I can even drive in it. But God forbid a little rain falls in Los Angeles. Traffic slows to a halt. OMG what is that on the ROAD!?!?!?!?!? Stop, stop, try to drive between the raindrops! LOL!

Ah rain. All the junior reporters are issued full body yellow slicker suits and scurry out to the Sepulveda Wash where they report - not so much. But we do get to see more of Dallas Rains (who actually has a PhD in Meteorology). Still, as you read yesterday in this very blog, LA has the worst, and possibly the most, traffic in the US, and it has not rained here in a year. Do you know how much built-up oil there is on every road? It's worse than black ice when water hits it. And LA drivers don't know how to drive in rain.

I used to work on a project with a Canadian company, and they laughed and laughed when they saw the dry ditch that is the Los Angeles river, until they saw that wide and dry concrete canal filled and roaring about a half-hour after a rainstorm started.

I love that your Mom cried when she got your book. Go Mom! You must have cried when she cried. I would have. Hell, I'm proud of you and I've never even met you!

(I will restrain from commenting on how my book has been ordered since April or so and I haven't received it yet. Whatever. Brush it off. I'll be just fine. But when your Mom gets done reading her copy tomorrow maybe she could mail it to me? Just asking.)

As far as Oregonians and the rain, it's perspective. When I first moved here from Chicago it was February. And raining. But it was about 45 degrees. The day I moved from Chicago it was 35 below zero -- to me 45 degrees felt like a freakin' heat wave! Tropical! Green! The rain just capped it off! But I remember standing out in the yard in my shorts and t-shirt thinking, why are all these people staring at me and WHY is that man washing his car in the rain?

Well, I found out after years of living here, you have two choices: do things in the rain or don't do them at all. Except in June/July/August/Sep. Other than that -- plan on rain!

However, I have never ever had to shovel rain. AND it has never ever ever been sub zero here. I love it. I love the denial of the Oregonians -- what rain? This? Nuthin. Heavy dampness. Hardly nuthin.

I also love watching our weatherpeople try to figure out a way, oh, come February, after 3 months of straight rain to come up with a creative way to label the weather map. Partly cloudy? Partly sunny with clouds? Cloudy with sunbreaks? Oh, and my personal Oregonian favorite: The mountains will be out today!

However, we all say it too and we know what it means.

Plus, rain leaves plenty of time for reading -- if we ever get the books we order. Just saying.

sizzle: Great song reference !!

Gladys: I live near Memphis. You are right. I think it's because our stuff usually turns to ice with a quickness. Never the pretty white snow. See you in Kroger during the next snow !

(We joke a lot around here that it's mandatory to meet at the Super Wal-Mart and Kroger if there is better than a 20% chance of snow.)

What? No Dallas Raines pic today??? (I didn't know Fritz was still in the biz - does he still wear those weird eyeglasses?) Ahhh, not-so-fond memories of San Diego. And then when I moved up to the SoCal mountains and it snowed - OH. MY. GOD. Everyone and their brother would come up WITHOUT CHAINS. Traffic jams and accidents all over the place. (And they'd leave their trash everywhere, but that's another story.)

Now that I'm back in the Midwest, I've discovered something worse than "There is Liquid Falling from the Sky!" - it's "I have an SUV so I can drive 70mph in any weather, even when it's night and snowing so hard I can't see the road OR YOU". After a several years of almost being run over by those idiots, I stay home now if it's a big snow storm. Yikes.

Be safe, Laurie!

I believe it!! I visited my sister last year in April (she lives in Sacramento). It was slightly cool (okay, fifty-sixty?) and damp (ie, had rained but wasn't then), and all I saw were people wearing gore-tex coats... dude, I live in OREGON. Gore-tex is the requisite uniform a good nine months of the year. Me? Light zip-up hoodie, jeans and open-toed shoes.Clearly, if the Oregonian isn't bundled up, you are FINE. (However, talk to one of us in the Willamette Valley when it snows- we are just as paralyzed as the Los Angeleans)

Please tell me you have every single thing in your house wrapped in plastic! How will you survive?!?! Get the cats into bubbles - NOW. Dramaticalness - almost as good as strategery.

Several months after moving to Boston from Oklahoma, I was all freaked out because in the middle of a rotary, everyone was pulling over & stopping in the middle of the road. I thought an ambulance was comming, or a meteor was going to blast us or something, but finally realized that the Boston people were terrified of the RAIN that was falling. To me, the rain seemed average or light average, but in Boston it was the end of the world!

Several months after moving to Boston from Oklahoma, I was all freaked out because in the middle of a rotary, everyone was pulling over & stopping in the middle of the road. I thought an ambulance was comming, or a meteor was going to blast us or something, but finally realized that the Boston people were terrified of the RAIN that was falling. To me, the rain seemed average or light average, but in Boston it was the end of the world!

Oh how embarassing - I finnally make a comment, and it's posted twice!! Instant Karma for laughing at Boston!

Note to Kelly, I live in the Willamette Valley too, and being from Chicago -- the first time it snowed I thought "pish-toff, a little snow, big deal". It was the one and only time I have EVER driven in the snow here. Nobody else can!

Now I've turned into that person. 1/4 inch of snow? Not going anywhere. I remember one snow storm (of about an inch) and on the front page of the Statesman Journal in living color big as you please was a photo of our ONE snowplow with the driver standing proudly next to it. I remember thinking, won't the snow melt waaaay before that guy can get to my street?

Perspective. Funny thing....

I am a southern transplant living in Camarillo. The weather drama here in SoCal is a never ending source of entertainment for me!

yep rain IS an event here...jae in SoCal near LA

Yeah, the clouds this afternoon were so bizarre (in Long Beach)! We usually have a few puffy pretty ones and today they looked all big and scary and dark. Sure it was still warm and sunny, but we all started looking for long pants. Where'd they all go?

lol! I live in Nova Scotia ... and the weather changes every 5 minutes here!

I hadn't ever thought about rain and California, but now I have that song in my head ... "IIt never rains in California, but Lord, *somethin', somethin'*, It pours, Lord it Pours"

Cheers, and congrats on the immediate success of the book!

So I walked into the local B&N on Wednesday and there was your book on the shelf. I even took a photo to document it ... and posted it on my blog. Then I dragged my cousin over to see the book. I must admit that we did chuckle at you in all the knitwear. My cousin's reaction was, "In L.A.?" Because she lives in Hollywood currently. But she has lived in places that have seasons. And she's originally from Atlanta. So we were laughing with you, not at you. Really.

Oh, and there was a bit of rain as I drove my mom home from the airport. But just a bit so traffic flowed like usual.

Sweetie, we had two days of rain last week, first rain since summer started. The only reason people weren't running naked through it is because We Don't Do That Here. Bible Belt, you know.

Saw the screenshot of the weatherman, too: daily highs in the 70's? Trade you!

Liked the bit about the road rage, too. No, you can't take the prayers back. It is funny to try, though.

It's funny that you blog about this. I was watching the Weather Channel yesterday (because I have no life to speak of, and find Jim Cantori insanely hot) and they were commenting about the rain in your area, and how the locals "aren't used to the grey skies". You guys are too funny. Let the ground shake and you are A-OK about it... but some precipitation... GOOD GOD IN HEAVEN HELP US.

That is hilarious! Hey - I'm in Indiana - & we havent seen rain in so long - we forgot what its like too!

And Dramaticalness - LOVE that word - can I use it in Scrabble?

Hi Laurie, Found your book at Barnes and Noble. I canceled my Amazon pre order. I am enjoying the book so much. I don't want it to end.

I'm from Mississippi and we lived in Arizona (Mesa - Phoenix subburb, then Gila Bend) for a few years when I was in junior high. I remember traffic coming to a complete halt when it rained. Like, sprinkled. Kind of like how we drive in Miss. when it sleets.

HA! I'd lay in Pantene myself - but I have scrawny filaments that just hang there regardless of weather. Weather IS wonky - we had a couple of months of drought - and then it all came at once and parts of our area actually had FEMA in because their homes washed away (hmm...didn't take months, either). I hope no one ever catches me hunched over my little altar in the corner praying fervently for many feet o' snow come winter. I just LOVE being snowed in with pitchers of cocoa and piles of books, calling out from the middle of my stash. (It's true, though - when the first flake falls everyone drives like they think they're in Hawaii and don't know what to do - and this happens every single year!) Also - copies of the book were on the shelves at our local B&N instantly, but I do see that my Amazon order hasn't shipped. (I'm ok with it, I bought it at the bookstore; when my Amazon copy comes I'll give it to my friend...the copy I bought for her is now completely covered in eyeball prints.)

And it gets better. Today is PARK(ing) Day! I think it's going on down you're way too--I'm excited to get to eat in a park across from my office, but what will y'all do with your cars!? (Actually, that's what half my office asked too.)

Oh, and did you see? Your man Al Gore won an Emmy!

Gah, your blog ate my html: Link for PARK(ing) Day here: http://www.parkingday.org/

If anyone is still reading...

I have another CLEANING question!
Charlie's Soap (laundry) -- good or bad?

https://www.charliesoap.com/products/laundry-powder.aspx

CAP -- it's considered "green" and they say it rinses so clean that you won't need fabric softeners. That's cool.

Anyway, if any one is willing to comment, I'd love to hear. Thx!

Laurie, if some of the "blah,blah,blah" from Amazon preorders is more money, advertising,and touring budget for you, it's totally worth it. Please don't let the bitching about Amazon in ANY way take away from Book Joy. It will work out.

Must go check B&N! Only four miles away, but I only have a pushbike.... It actually only got to 50 here the other day. I nearly froze! And it rained on me as I was riding back from Home Depot. How rude!
For soapscum? Try a microfibre cloth. They are all the rage in Oz but I've only found them in the car care areas in US supermarkets. They are THE BEST. No chemicals required, just a damp microfibre cloth and not even much rubbing! I love my microfibre cloths.

So, we went to visit the MIL in July, and she was apologizing because of the "bad weather" because it was "partly cloudy." She also apologized for the heat, because it was in the 80s. We were visiting from Atlanta where the heat stayed in the 90's to 100s with 103% humidity the whole time...and not to mention our daily summer thunder storms. We couldn't help laughing at LAs version of "bad weather"

Major rain last night and thick fog this morning. My hair is out of control!!!

Thank God It's Friday!!!!

WHAT??? No Foxy Weatherman photo?

May God protect you and the Gatos from the impending doom of water from the sky!

I'm currently visiting SF from Australia so I'm popping into a bookstore tomorrow to find your book Laurie. Yay! I don't have to wait for international shipping. How's that for timing?

They're forecasting rain for Napa tomorrow (where I am going to be). Here's to seeing what the traffic will be like. Mates, I'm from tropical Queensland - cyclones and tropical storms. Though we have been in drought for the past couple of years (still technically am), and the first lot of rain after 3 months was a bit scary. Lots of oil on the road and blocked drains. After that cleared - no worries.

Tina

BAHAHAHAH! I grew up in L.A. (and now I'm in Tennessee, where, usually, it rains) and so well remember how we all freaked out when it rained. I'm still fascinated by it!

Gosh...I just wish I could tell you how much joy your blog brings me. I just discovered it, because I picked up the latest issue of Knit1, and saw your book in there, which was on the shelf in Books-A-Million, even though the lady told me it shouldn't be until October...

Anyway, you writing of Starbucks makes me think of my favorite song to drink a vanilla latte to - Keane's "Somewhere Only We Know"...it puts you in this lovely, peaceful, longing mood...try it. You'll like it.