#dtla

Happy Friday!  Happy Friday Fave Fives!  Here's how I spent my week.  At least how I spent one of my favorite days this week.  Join us at Living to Tell the Story for Friday Fave Fives.

I've been thinking all week about how to share my day in Down Town Los Angeles.  Yes, I traveled down there again.  This time, two friends from our small artists group wanted to explore LA with me.  Sometimes, people will say, "When I think of Los Angeles, I think of traffic, smog, and Hollywood."  Well, yeah, there is traffic; sometimes there's smog (not much anymore, really); and of course, there is Hollywood, which I avoid, and truly it isn't all that glamorous.

But Los Angeles is so much more.  There's history and beauty and mystery.  And great food.

1.  "The Girls" wanted to go up to the top of the City Hall building.  Twenty-six stories.  The top floor also has a walkway/observation deck all the way around the outside.  You can look down on all of Down Town from the four sides.  What views!

2.  We had to laugh--we found where the Halloween witch keeps her broom.

3.  Right in the middle of the crosswalk, there was the city seal painted on the bricks:

4.  We visited a new to me spot:  The Last Book Store.  Really, it deserves its own post.  Here I am posing in front of a wall of books, one of hundreds.

Tunnel of Books

Of course there was a knit shop tucked into a corner of the second floor.

5.  Los Angeles, like any large city, has its share of funky art, fun signs, and beautiful architectural detail.

I hope you enjoyed your 'day' in Down Town Los Angeles (#dtla) as much as I did.

What a Week(end)!

Wow. Where did the week go?  Well, I know where my weekend went; but the whole week flew by, too, which is why I didn't even get around to check on others who posted their Friday Fave Fives last week (my apologies! I'll do better this week.)  If you wish to participate in Friday Fave Fives, follow THIS LINK to Susanne's blog.

1.  Of course, my first fave would be the days I spent at Reyes Adobe Days last weekend.  I love this venue because the staff there are so welcoming and helpful and encouraging.  They moved tables.  They offered water.  They gave hugs.  (Don't tell the other places, but I think this is my favorite place ever to do weaving and spinning demos.)

My very serene view of the patio before everyone arrived.  Do you notice the damp spots?  Yes, it rained Friday night.  Believe it or not.  In Southern California.  Not much, just enough to get everything wet and make it all smell wonderful.

2.  On Saturday, I took my rigid heddle loom and worked on a scarf which I nearly finished that day.

Eleanor enjoys helping me.

Finished on Wednesday!

3.  On Sunday, I had my spinning wheel and worked with some alpaca fiber.  It's fun to play the guessing game with the kids.  "What kind of fiber am I spinning?"  Some of the hilarious answers included elephant, giraffe, dog and cat.

4.  You'd think I'd take a day to rest, right? Nope.  Monday morning, my friends and I surprised our friend with a Birthday Brunch.  At her house.  Her husband and daughter organized it, and for once, she was truly surprised.  It was the BEST!

5.  Guess what I did on Tuesday.  Yep.  Nothing.  The reason that is one of my faves should be obvious.

And here are some wise words to make you laugh:

You only need two tools in life.

WD-40 and Duct Tape.

If it doesn't move and should,

Use WD-40.

If it moves and shouldn't,

Use Duct Tape.

It's Autumn! Truly.

Hello!  It's finally cooling down a bit.  We've even thrown a light blanket on the bed.   It is mid-October, after all.  And it's Friday, so I am celebrating Friday Fave Fives by linking up with everyone over at Susanne's blog.  You can, too.

1.  See? There are autumn colors in Southern California!  A fallen leaf.

2.  And since it's fall, it's time for another weekend of spinning and weaving at a favorite venue, Reyes Adobe Days.  Honestly, I think the workers at the adobe and park are the most friendly and helpful I've ever encountered at a demonstration.

I'll be there Saturday and Sunday.  All day.  Selling my autumn hats.

3.  And little headbands.

4.  Stretching my knitting a bit, I tried a new bunny pattern.  Isn't she adorable?  Those shoes!  What you can't see well is that there are even buttons on the shoe straps.

5.  I've been rereading a children's book this week:  Redwall by Brian Jacques.  It is a fiction story.  Have you read it?

Los Angeles Downtown Day

This week I combined several of my favorite things in to one memorable day.  Here are Five Faves from just that ONE DAY in Downtown Los Angeles, my contribution to Friday Fave Fives with Susanne.

1.  I spent the whole day with a very dear friend.

2.  I rode the train.

3.  I walked. And walked. And walked. More than 20,000 steps according to my pedometer.

4.  Although my friend has spent many years living in the LA area, she had never walked or even known about many areas in downtown Los Angeles. So. I led her on a walking tour.

Bradbury Building

which is famous for appearing in lots of movies

Bells of  Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels

Who knew there were hidden monuments all over downtown?

The Million Dollar Theatre

Steps across the street from Riordan Library

5.  The compelling reason for us to meet 'halfway' was just to spend time together and encourage each other.  Which we did.  It was a day full of blessings!

End of September, Really?

Happy Friday!  It's time for Friday Fave Fives. with Susanne. And it's the last week of September!  How did that happen??  Anyway.  These are the five things I've found this week to be thankful for.

1.  Weather that is cool enough to wear my flannel shirts.  I do love my flannel shirts.

2.  My college friend wrote this book.  Another friend bought me a copy of it!  I can highly recommend it.



3.  Several years ago, The Professor and I read through all the books by Dick Francis.  He wrote murder mysteries based in England and focused on horse racing.  At least I thought we had read them all.  This week at the library, I found a title I didn't recognize, and as I read the fist chapter, I was sure I'd never read it before.  So I'm enjoying this new to me book.

4.  I've been working on a new bunny knitting pattern.  At this point, I have a head, a couple of arms, two ears and two legs.  Oh, and the body.  Now I just need to put Bunny together.  I'm enjoying the challenge.

5.  Our small groups at our church started up again for our autumn sessions.  It's good to be back together!

Farmers Market

Ralph Waldo Emerson stated, "Earth laughs in flowers." 

I think that the earth also rejoices in vegetables and fruit.

Especially when they are at our farmers market.

What an abundance!

Autumn Arrives

Happy Autumn!  It doesn't feel or look much like autumn here.  But that's what the calendar says.  Here is Willow's Week, celebrating Friday Fave Fives with Susanne and others.

1.  About autumn--The Professor announced a couple of days ago that he had just declared that fall has arrived.  Why?  Because it was cool enough in the morning to wear a flannel shirt!  I wore one the other day, too.  So, yeah, I guess it is cooling down a bit.

2.  Early Evening Hike.  There were six of us (including The Professor).  We hiked up and down the hills surrounding a neighboring community for between three and four miles.  I like hiking when the sun is no longer high in the sky--it makes for cooler temperatures.  And our companions were congenial.  (I'm going to post this and then check my camera--did I take any decent photos?  If so, I'll include them later.)

3.  BYOD.  That stands for Bring Your Own Dinner.  We have an arrangement with our friends for dinners.  She and I have been friends since college, and we have maintained our friendship all these years.  Since they live several miles out of town on their ranch, they text us their order for a local eating place, and we get our meals and drive to their place for dinner.  We enjoy our fellowship, and no one has to spend hours preparing and cooking.  I have always called my friend Blueberry Lady, but since they are now growing strawberries, she told me I should change her name to Strawberry Lady.

4.  World's Best Neighbor needed to go to Santa Barbara this week.  We drove her up there.  And since we were already nearby, we popped over to see an old (in both senses of the word) friend, take her to lunch and help her do some grocery shopping.  It was a joy to spend that bit of time with an long time colleague from our Indonesia days.

5.  That loom I purchased?  Here is my first project!  A scarf for those cooler days coming up.  I used two shuttles and two colors to create a sort of herringbone tweed pattern.  I'm so excited!  This is one I'm keeping for myself.

Happy Weekend, Friends!  Be watchful and thankful for those daily blessings.

Encouraging Words and Deeds

Hello, Friday!  And Hello, Friday Fave Fives!  A busy week here means not much less was blogged about.  But I still maintain my habit of posting Willow's Week with Five blessings.  You can follow THIS LINK and read other FFFs and maybe post yours, too.

1.  So, my sister-in-law knows me.  She knows I love to read.  Last weekend, she handed me two, TWO!, books in a series that she knows I am currently reading.  She found them for free and snagged them for me.

2.  Finally, I pulled the trigger.  I bought a small table loom!  It is called a Cricket Loom.  Fifteen inches wide. So I can weave more kinds of things on it.  This is not my exact loom--just a photo of what it looks like.  Now I just have to set it up and 'warp' it (that means putting the long yarn threads on it).

3.  Back to walking.  I am happy to back on our normal walking routine--two to three miles of up and down streets in our neighborhood in the early evening.

4.  I have been so very encouraged by sweet comments others have made about me to my husband.  I am not mentioning this to be proud!  I am reminded of how much it means to me, and it reminds me to pass on kind and encouraging comments to other people.  If those things mean so much to me, maybe my encouraging words will help someone else through their day.

5.  Rides.  Currently, we have one car at home as our second car is being used by a friend.  One day this week, The Professor and I both needed to be in two different places.  A friend who lives in my neighborhood gave me a ride to our Bible Study.  I really truly appreciated her willingness to help me out!

How about you?  What FIVE things can you pick out of your week that encouraged you?

HOME Sweet Home

Happy Friday!  I am HOME and recovering from jet lag and crazy hours in airports.  Here are my Friday Fave Fives--my blessings from this past week.  Follow THIS LINK to participate in FFF.

1.  I know I write this EVERY TIME I fly.  But it's always a fave for me.  We had a safe and uneventful trip on the way HOME

2.  After we touched down in Los Angeles, I texted our friend that we would be ready soon to be picked up.  We had arranged for him to use our car while we were gone, and in return, he fetched us from the airport and drove us HOME.  Win-Win.

3.  New Boy is growing up so quickly!  He has a phone for emergencies and after we were HOME, he reported this:  "I already miss you!  I love you!"  I guess that's an emergency message, isn't it?

4.  On our drive HOME, I texted World's Best Neighbor that we would be home soon.  A few hours later, she stopped by to welcome us home.  She really is the World's Best Neighbor and I am so very thankful for such a good friend who lives on property adjoining ours.

5.  All those things about being home are appreciated:  our own beds, our own routine.  I love being with my family, but I also love being HOME

All About Family!

This isn't really a Friday Fave Five since it is already Saturday.  But I want to take a bit of time from my busy holiday to share some things I'm loving.

1.  Sibling Time.  Three of my four children were together for the first time in a LONG time.  So we celebrated their summer birthdays which are all within two weeks of each other.

2.  The four cousins gathered together for only the second time ever.  That's one of the harder parts of encouraging your children to spread their wings and follow the paths God puts in front of them.

3.  Our clan does love ancient history, archaeology, old ruins and such stuff.  So we had to visit Serpent Mound in Southern Ohio which is a National Historical Monument of the Ancient American Indian culture.

4.  My PAL lives in the desert Southwest, so she isn't familiar with lots of green grass and tiny flowers.  She was fascinated with white and purple clover and buttercups.  You can't even see the yellow flower in her hand but she was so excited to show me.

5.  Finally, we got to attend The (No Longer) New Boy's baseball game!

Yes, this post is ALL ABOUT FAMILY!