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32 | OHCC LIVING | FEBRUARY 2025 | Club W As we have said many times, Club W (formerly the Widows club), was formed to bring solace and friendship to those who have lost their spouses. But we have grown to be much more. With 140 members, there are so many opportunities to meet new people, make new friends, and of course lend help when needed. Our monthly restaurant lunches, our meetings on the third Saturday of every month with speakers, and other events, bring wonderful socialization to the group. And of course, there was our holiday luncheon. So many of our members worked hard to make it a success. Flowers on the tables, favors for everyone, a catered luncheon, and of course entertainment. But I will tell you about that later. What made the day a particularly happy one was how we celebrated Christmas and Chanakuh at the same time with a Christmas tree and menorah on the stage. On each table was a beautiful poinsettia which was given to the member whose birthday was closest to Dec. 25. The last two most recent times that these two holidays merged were 1959 and 2005. The next two times this will occur will be 2035 and 2054. Those are the results of my research. You folks can check me out, to make sure I am correct. And of course, we had entertainment. Our own Donna Russell, who has sung and played the piano, all over the world. It was certainly joyous to be able to celebrate both holidays at the same time. So please join us at one or both of our monthly events. I think you will enjoy them, and we will love getting to know you. Written by Selma Leighton One of the features of coastal San Diego living is frequent fog. In winter, it is common for early morning f lights out of San Diego International to be delayed or canceled due to fog, and it's often localized, and you don't know it's around until you get halfway to the airport. Fog offers some opportunities for photography. You can get shots that look like nothing you've ever seen in fog. The first thing to know is when is it going to be foggy. It happens most often (but not exclusively) in the morning. It occurs when the ground is wet, temperatures are low, the wind is not strong, and the skies way above are clear. This kind of sounds like what we get in the winter, although this year the wet ground is something we only hope to see. If you want to shoot at a given location, check to see if there are public webcams nearby. Look up Scripps Pier Cam, for example, and see what you can learn from a public webcam. It also occurs in San Francisco in July, and any time in Ireland. (Ask me how I know this.) And sometimes in the early morning in Ocean Hills. While actually shooting in fog, you might consider a tripod or other stabilizer so you can avoid camera shake and (if you know how) choose a low shutter speed. Switching off your cameras autofocus and focusing manually will help. Sometimes in fog, the autofocus will just give up and go on strike, and you can press that shutter button all day, but nothing will happen. Patience is a real virtue in fog photography. Keep your camera at the ready and watch as the various stages of a foggy cityscape or landscape unfold. You never know when a truly once-in-a-lifetime scene will present itself, especially at sunrise or sunset as beams of light break through the foggy environment. The Ocean Hills Photo Club is open to all residents. The third Thursday of the month is our normal meeting day, and we meet in Lamia at 1 pm. Annual dues are $10. Written by Jim McDonough, (760) 593-9994, jamespmcdonough@gmail.com Photography Donna Russell at the piano