Wednesday, May 21, 2008

A to Z - Wednesday 5/21/2008


I didn't even realize it until I sat down to write this entry, but I started out the day at Andrew's Diner (formerly Sitton's.) This stained glass is in the women's bathroom.



And on the way home, I finally remembered to stop and snap this for my friend, Toronto. She's due to have her second child in about a month. They don't know its gender yet, so they're calling it Baby Zed.

Splurge! - Tuesday 5/20/2008


Last night when I was wandering around between the gym and the writing group, I bought myself this yummy smelling lotion. It has an amazing silky feel.

Monday, Monday - 5/20/2008

On my way to the gym before going to Braveheart's for our writing group meeting. I just liked the look of this construction in Hollywood.

This is heading south on Vine.



Who knew it would be so easy to find?

Especially in Hollywood.


After going to the gym, I wandered around a little. You can't really see it, but there is water falling like rain from the facade to the right.

It smells very fresh and clean.



One of the really lovely aspects of our writing group meetings is that we have dinner together. For birthdays, we often order in Thai or Indian food. But usually it's made up of food we all contribute.

I haven't been contributing much for the past couple of weeks. Tonight we had macaroni & cheese made by Braveheart, salad brought by Tomasina and my lowfat ground turkey & vegetable soup and fresh cherries.

We had a great meeting. Anyway, it helped me a lot. I mean a lot. We talked, they read, they gave me good advice.

Wow. Lucky, lucky me.

There's Got to Be a Morning After - Sunday 5/18/2008


Yeah, we stayed up late last night talking with our friends after the celebration was over. And then went to our own room at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Arcadia.

They had all kinds of cute little notes like this around the room.




This is part of the courtyard within the hotel. We enjoyed the complementary breakfast served on the other side of the pond in the company of our friends and their family. Really lovely way to start the day.

This ramp was the scene of an interesting bit of playfulness with B's wheelchair (she's recovering from another foot surgery months after her car accident.) B's husband and previously married son were involved, and that's all I'm saying!



We said our goodbyes and headed homeward.


Yeah, that's a helicopter landing next to Angeles Forest Highway. A motorcyclist went down around an inside curve. We saw the helicopter going in for a landing and waited with a few other drivers while they loaded the rider up and flew him out.

Another rider, who hadn't been with the group that included the downed rider said, "Why do we see so many Harleys wrecked?" They weren't riding Harleys.


The guy was really lucky that he was riding with others who could call in the accident, and that there was a landing pad right there.

100 Degree Wedding Party - Saturday 5/18/2008


The orchids don't seem to mind that it was over 100 degrees in the outdoor courtyard where the wedding reception was held.

People who had come from out of state scampered over to a mall to buy lighter clothes before the shindig started at 5pm. The sun went down behind the walls that surrounded the courtyard shortly after we sat down for dinner.

Between the heat and the dancing, the champagne seemed to burn right off. It was great to hang out with our Hoosier friends and their son's new family.



Jim is quite a guy. He's the bride's grandfather. He's smart, sharp, and a great storyteller. He's also a World War II vet.

I snapped several pictures of Jim's hands as he and Hydra talked. He was very animated and they moved a lot, sometimes clasped around his knee.

The sincere thumbs up seems, to me, to be the quintessential gesture of the World War II generation.

Long Way to Pasadena - Friday 5/16/2008


Lots of stuff blooming along Angeles Forest Highway this season. It's a quiet way to get from Acton to La Canada-Flintridge.

I love these yucca stalks.


A tunnel. I also love mountain tunnels.

We were going to meet up with our dear friends who stood up with us at our wedding. They're in town to celebrate the marriage of their son. We held him before he was 24-hours old. Now he's 27.

We couldn't be more pleased that he's settling in Southern California. The last time his parents were out here before he moved here, the boys were in jams and we carried them around Disneyland when they got tired.

Cool Thing: A little history of Angeles Forest Highway.

Seven Almonds - Thursday 5/15/2008


I contributed this photograph of seven almonds to the food and exercise tracking site The Daily Plate, which I've been using for a few weeks.

Seven almonds + banana = excellent way to jump start your metabolism in the morning per my personal trainer.

I am on a fitness quest.