No show!

Okay, I admit it, I didn’t take a photo this day. Spent half of it dozing in bed, sniffling and coughing and reading a novel. Then felt better toward the evening and we made a fire in the firebowl and roasted hot dogs. My neighbor came to ask if we had a fire going… About 4 neighbors were walking up and down the street looking for the source of the smoke… It’s fire season.

Maybe I’ll take a photo of the ashes later and post it…

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Country fence

I was at the beginning of a cold, so my mom and I cancelled plans to drive to the coast at Ventura. Opted for lunch in downtown Acton and then a drive out some of the surrounding backroads. I liked the look of this old fence.

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Birds bathing Wednesday

This really didn’t come out well, but there were about half a dozen birds in the bath! All fluttering and sending up water spouts. The camera kept picking up the reflection of the window. I knew if I opened the back door, all my subjects would take off.

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Merkato - Ethiopian food Tuesday

Actually, the main point of our journey into Los Angeles proper was a visit to the L.A. County Museum of Art, but I can put a photo of that under my other goal to make 12 museum visits in 2005.

So this entry is about the Ethiopian restaurant my mom and I went to before the museum. Merkato, on Fairfax. We had the trout, which was delicious. It was accompanied by sides of dishes made, respectively, of tomatoes, lentils, collard greens, cabbage and split yellow peas. My second time, my mom’s first.

This doll was hanging on the wall.

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Shopping Monday

My mom’s here visiting. I have time off. Neither of us much enjoy shopping for clothes on our own, but we had a good time together.

Supply Cabinet

Pity the poor soul who feels a need to keep the supply cabinet in order. It just seems cruel that even the outiside of the cabinet is now cluttered with Internet humor and a recipe for Crispy Cookies of the no-bake variety. Who put these things here anyway?

Geranium in Bloom

I took a cutting from one of my favorite geraniums a few weeks ago. Now it has roots and a bloom and is about ready to be transported into potting soil.

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Day at the Races

My mom and I went to Santa Anita. Beautiful day for it. Perfect in the shade of the clubhouse seats. I think I won about sixty cents on this horse. Whoo hoo. We are among the big time two dollar betters. Both of us went prepared to spend $20 on bets, and came home without having spent it all. Won a little back here and there, and just enjoyed the heck out of trying to figure out who to bet on. Walked all over the track enjoying the views and the atmosphere. Discovered rooms where some hardcore and kind of sad seeming people were making bets and not getting outside at all.

Came home and watched Seabiscuit again. Hey, we sat right there! We walked right through there!

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Grave Markers

I took this photo while waiting at a long light. What I couldn’t get, what really would make this photo better, is the context of this little house. I’m in my car on a throroughfare with 3 lanes in each direction. To the left is some sort of big building. To the right is a major street and a huge Costco warehouse store in the background.

This sweet little house was probably in the middle of orange groves 60 years ago. Kids were raised here. The road was probably dirt. Now it’s a business. Where they sell grave markers. I wonder if anyone drives her kids or grandkids by this house and says, “That’s where I grew up.” I wonder what picture she has in her mind of the surrounding valley and her old neighbors.

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New table cloth Wed 10/12/2005

My friend Gia gave me this amazing piece of cloth. It looks classically French at first glance, but actually has little acorns and daisies rather than more formal icons. I love it. Couldn’t quite capture how it looks in this purple room. This is in my studio, where I write when I am not in our little library.

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Looking Through Glass

Sunset as reflected off a Starbucks window in the San Fernando Valley. I sat here and drank iced tea and wrote a little. I usually have 3 1/2 hours between work and my writing group meeting, so I go somewhere to sit and read or write. I pick up food to contribute to the potluckish meal we put together. I pick up and drop off books at the library. It's a nice little routine, although I try to go to different coffee houses and groceries or delis.

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Dash board lights

The dash board of the rental car I’ll be driving while my car is in the shop. It’s a Honda Civic. I like my Toyota better. The Honda’s a little more low slung than I like. The Toy has a better ride. But this is a reasonable substitute. I'm going to have this for 3-4 weeks, according to the repair shop's estimate.

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The campsite

About ready to pack up. I know, some of you are saying, this isn’t camping! Well… It’s camping without the morning backache, and with the company of our pets. Yah, yah. I admit it, it’s more like taking our own private hotel room with us to a park. We had a great time. This campground is in the middle of orange groves and boasts some live oaks that are said to date back to the 1400s. Had a great time making music with our friends from Thu-Sun.

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Amazing succulants

Love these big succulants. There were probably a dozen clumped together in one part of the campground we were staying in.

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Thai Peruvian Lunch in Ventura

Table and chairs outside the Thai Peruvian restaurant we ate at in Ventura. We drove there from the campground for lunch. The elephant chairs were so heavy we could hardly move them. Each was carved from a solid log!

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Wish I didn't have this shot

Boo hoo. That’s the smashed in back bumper of my sweet little Toyota on the left, and the front end of the SUV that rear-ended me on the freeway Thursday morning.

I’m okay. Everyone involved was okay. The SUV looked okay. The car she pushed me forward into looked okay.

I have $6000.00 damage to my car. I had just come to a stop five feet behind the vehicle in front of me when the SUV hit. My car did what it was supposed to and saved my life and limb.

My hands were shaking pretty badly when I took this shot, but I did get a clear one of just her SUV.

Pampas grass Wed. 10/5/2005

I love the way the little bits of green poke through!

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My cairn Tuesday 10/4/2005

Took this while giving my mom the yard tour. She hasn’t been here in almost a year. Lots has changed. Even the cairn, which the neighbor’s cat or the meter reader manage to knock over every few weeks.

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Flowers Monday, 10/3/2005

I bought these flowers at the grocery store on the way home, in anticipation of my mother arriving on Tuesday. I’m writing this entry almost a week later, and they still look great!

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Papyrus - Sunday 10/2/2005

Okay… Found my camera cable. I should probably have taken a photo of where I found it, so I can find it again should I ever lay it there again.

I thought I should get a shot of this papyrus before it goes brown for the winter and has to be cut back. I’m so happy this is surviving. It said on the tag that it does’t do well in windy areas, but my DH and I really wanted to give it a try, in spite of our windy area. Yay! It’s been lovely.

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