October Week 4

It may be the last week of October, but our weather here in Southern California doesn't seem to get the meaning of the word 'autumn'.  We had triple digits temperatures and HOT HOT east winds.  It certainly made me thankful for air conditioning.  I can think of so many other things to be thankful for--like laughter and friends and good deals.  Here my Friday Fave Fives for the end of October.

1.  What made you laugh this week?  Laughter is good medicine!  Seeing a pumpkin sitting on a pillar next to the freeway made me I'm used to smiling at the bell on the side of El Camino Real (Hwy 101) as we drive past, but this week, we saw the carved pumpkin grinning at all the commuters and just laughed out loud.

2.  That phone fiasco that was fixed?  We had a little problem with my phone again (it got it fixed right away and all is well).  When I made a call to my brother and left a message, the phone couldn't hang up because the screen was blacked out. So I just kept on talking and telling him silly things.  Made me laugh.

3.  On Saturday we met dear family friends for lunch half way between their house and ours.  We've known them since we first moved to Los Angeles.  They are like family and they wanted us to meet so we could meet 'J's girlfriend'.  We love this family!

4.  Years ago, Dr. Mike gave us a gift card which he decided he wasn't going to use.  I saved it, forgot about it and then found it again.  This week, I took to the store, found out it had $20 on it.  When I checked around the store, I found a sweater on sale for $22.  With tax, I paid less than $4 for it!

5.  World's Best Neighbor called me and said, "Want tea at the tea shop?"  She had an errand there, so we enjoyed a cuppa and a scone.  I love those spontaneous 'let's do it' times.

Baltimore

My youngest daughter lives near Baltimore, Maryland on the Mid Atlantic Seaboard.  When we visit her, we often make the drive into Baltimore to explore the area.  Here are three snapshots that made me laugh or smile.

Someone at the Maryland Science Center has a sense of humor.

I know some people who would proudly drive this van around town.

The persistence of some plants amazes me.

This brave petunia was blooming in the midst of brick and cement.

October, Three

I have had some posts mulling around in my head, but I haven't written them yet because, well, I am waiting for my photos to be able to be downloaded to my new computer.  We'll see if I get any up for Friday Fave Fives this week.  Every week, I join others to focus on my gratitude for the blessings in my life.  (Yes!  The Professor did his magic, and I have pictures!)

1.  This past weekend I spent both Saturday and Sunday spinning at a historical adobe site.  Each autumn, Reyes Adobe in Agoura Hills celebrates with a two day (or more) festival.  Reyes Adobe is one of the loveliest simple original adobe homes left in Southern California.  Each year, our spinning and weaving guild is invited to demo our craft at the site.  Truly, we are given The Best Spot for our demos.  We're on a patio under an arbor with a covering of grapes vines.  The staff is fantastic and the visitors are friendly and interested in what we are doing.  In addition, I am allowed to encouraged to sell my hats.  Which I did.

2.  This week, I received a letter in the mail from a former student.  Occasionally, we correspond because his mother asked me to please keep in touch with him.  I had sent him a postcard from one of our recent trips, and he responded right away.  It's obvious he is thriving in his writing and other interests.  It does a teacher's heart good to know her students are doing well.

3.  I finished the last of the seventeen scarves I am sending to be included in a holiday give away for homeless people in the LA area.  They're all boxed and ready to be sent off.  More stash used up!

4.  A long hike.  The Professor and I decided to finally drive up the coast to Summerland and hike the trails that I did with a group a couple of years ago.  I remembered most of it, but when we decided to take the shorter way back to the town from the mountains behind, we evidently turned the wrong way on one trail and ended up, and I do mean UP, the mountain which added an extra two miles to our hike.  Really, it was fun.

You can't really tell from the photo, but way out there beyond the orchard on the hill is the Pacific Ocean.  That's where we started.  If you were in downtown Summerland looking up at the mountains, you'd be looking where I am standing to take the photo (about a 500 ft rise).

5.  On the way home, we stopped and had my phone fixed.  Yeah, I dropped it and broke the screen.  The fix wasn't cheap, but the fix-it guy is local, and we were happy with his price and his work.

Since I have my photos available, here are some bonus pictures just for fun.

More October

Hello!  I am writing on my new computer although I still don't have all my photos available.  Most of my files have been transferred and The Professor will most likely finish that task tomorrow.  Here I am to post my Friday Fave Fives.

1.  Safety in travel.  As we were leaving Humboldt County, we drove through California wine country. Yes, that wine country which has been burning in the fires.  We passed through the area Saturday afternoon.  Friends from the reunion last weekend had difficulty getting through the areas affected because they were traveling on Monday.  I am so sad for all the people who have lost family and homes.  So thankful we are safely home.

2. 3. 4.  Yes, we are happy to be home.  A wise proverb states that there are three great goods in life:  a comfortable bed, a hot shower and a good cup of coffee.  We are home and we have all three!

5.  Toward the end of this week (having recovered some from our trip) we decided to drive down to eastern Los Angeles County to visit the Southern California RV Show.  It's a long drive with horrendous traffic, but we were curious just what is available in the RV market these days.  A fave that resulted from it was that we were admitted FREE because The Professor is a (card carrying) military veteran.

Bonus:  An evening and a morning with Dr. Mike as our paths intersected in Stanford University area where he was giving a talk and we were overnighting on our trip.  I love it when serendipity happens!

I hope you have a great weekend with many unexpected blessings--watch for them, make note of them and be thankful.

Los Angeles Beach City

Redondo Beach is where a good friend of mine lives.  The city is tucked in among the beach cities south of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).  Whenever we are down in Los Angeles, we try to get over to see my friend and her husband (who is The Professor's friend as well). In fact, when we travel, we have permission to use their driveway as our car rental space.  Their beach town is an amazing place and we love to visit.

The Redondo Beach Pier is not your typical coastal pier with one long walkway stretching straight out from the beach into the ocean.

The pier is triangular V or horseshoe U shaped.

From the Boardwalk along the beach you can walk out over the ocean and then reconnect with the pathway farther down past the parking structures.

You can fish from the pier, stroll slowly and watch the waves roll past the pilings under the pier, or stop at Tony's for great seafood. I recommend the fish and chips. Redondo Beach Pier also has a number of touristy type shops, but usually I just pass by them without giving them a glance.

There are benches where you can sit and relax and catch your breath before jumping back on your bike (please walk it through the designated 'no riding' areas) and pedaling south to Palos Verdes.

I think we need to put our bikes on the bike rack and arrange a visit (coffee?  dinner?)!

Hello, October!

Again,last week I missed posting anything.  I didn't even put up any Friday Fave Fives.  The reason is that my computer screen LED light died.  My computer works, but I can't see anything on it. [insert sad face emoji]

We have been traveling again this week. But I want to be sure to check in with Friday Fave Fives if I get nothing else posted.

1.  So my first blessing of this week is that I have a new laptop computer.  The Professor checked, used his magic hands, but in the end, he determined that even having a new light installed was not cost effective.  The local computer store had a model I liked, so I got it AND got the sale price for it.

2. I am so thankful for a husband who knows computers, having been a university lecturer in Computer Science for many years.  After we brought home the new computer, he went to work setting everything in order and beginning to move the files over from the old one.  That task is mostly finished now.  It has been interrupted somewhat by our road trip.

3. That's my third blessing.  We drove north from Southern California to Northern (truly Northern) California so The Professor can join some of his classmates for a reunion at his high school in Humboldt County.  (If you don't know where Humboldt County is, think almost to Oregon along the Pacific Ocean Coast. )

4.  Faves Four and Five reflect back to the week before when we spent a week in the mid-Atlantic area (think Washington D.C, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia) on the East Coast of the US visiting with our youngest daughter and her family.  Mostly, we simply enjoyed sharing their daily lives, but we were able to visit a few historical spots like Annapolis and Baltimore inner harbor.  Incidentally, there are excellent independent coffee shops and unique book stores in the area.

5.  We arranged our schedule so we would (almost) be there to celebrate our granddaughter's birthday.  Although it was a few days early, we had dinner and a cake and gave her her gift in person.

Did you notice--no photos?  Yeah, that part of the computer will be set up soon.  I hope.

Happy Weekend!  We will be traveling south, waving at San Francisco...