View from my backyard, Friday morning.

Honestly, you guys. You'd think that by this point 2018 would have, as my mother would say, had the biscuit. Except the hits just keep on coming.

So here's what the last couple of days have looked like (and please scroll to the bottom if you want to skip hearing The Tale Of My Weekend, and just want to find out how to help those who have been seriously impacted by the events in California over the past week). I started hearing reports about the fires as I was driving home on Thursday night. By Friday morning, the view from my backyard was that picture you see up there: a huge ball of smoke that just kept growing and growing and growing, getting wider and taller and darker with each passing hour. Planes flying directly overhead carrying water and emergency rescue supplies. The whole deal.

Linus Bike (you have to check out their line; so good)

A little discovery I made this weekend: Riding bikes is, shall we say, not my forte.

When Francesca asked me to come with her on a bike ride through Venice - one that would apparently include lit-up beach bikes and an actual DJ riding along with us - I informed her of this fact. Whatever the muscles are that people who ride bikes possess, I do not possess them. Also, while I am reasonably athletic, two-wheeled vehicles have always vexed me (see: my motorcycle accident).