We've already passed the 15th of March so it's too late for me to warn you about possible gnarly Ides tripping you up or pissing you off or making you crabby.

Happy February -- So many exciting happenings this month -- Valentine's Day, my birthday on Valentine's Day, the Super Bowl (congrats to the RAMS and Matthew Stafford), and the two very biggest excitements, other than my birthday??

Eli pondering where to start on his memoirs.

Vol.

I hope all of you have your wrapping done, boxes mailed, all edible gift baskets sent, buckets of popcorn (three flavors) delivered here and yon. Guess what? Most of my house was decorated by the end of November including outdoor lights. It seems like yesterday we were stuffing ourselves with turkey and all the trimmings and sprawled on the sofa watching football in a stupor.

What a glorious month. The weather here is perfect, which means, alas, we really need a good soaking, so please perform your most graceful rain dance, chanting to your district weather minions to fountain say a million or so gallons of rain into No. Cal.