Your Birthday is a Holiday - Friday 1/12/2007

This website has a listing of the food holidays that have been designated for each and every day of the year. I could easily become obsessed.

My birthday is Fig Newton Day.

I want a recount!

My brother got bittersweet chocolate. My sister got potato chips. My other brother got both grilled cheese and licorice. Mom got peach ice cream. My dear departed father got clam chowder and chocolate covered nuts.

I ask you… Is that right? Fig Newtons!?

Okay, while IMing with the level-headed American about this, she pointed out that it is also International Hot & Spicy Food day. Oh. I didn't read that far. I saw fig newtons and I just naturally flew off the handle and went to see how my siblings stacked up.

I am appeased. I like the hot and the spicy, and especially the international.

Jay Saves the Day - Thursday 1/11/2007

My writing group is meeting tonight instead of our usual night, which means I have the hours between 3:30 and 7:00 to fill. Usually this isn’t a problem. It’s a delight. I hang out in a coffee house, run an errand, read a book, hit the library, and every so wonderful often meet with the inspiring Megs for a writing date.

But tonight. Woeful tonight. I sat at my desk, staring at the computer, unable to pull myself away from the XM 70s radio that’s available for free on AOL. I did a little research for my novel, put a fraud alert on my credit report (remember that story on NPR about UCLA student and staff records being hacked—yeah), goofed around on 43Things, and developed an ache in the small of my back. And also developed an ache in the pithy part of my soul. Just too many hours at the desk.

I finally packed up my gear and headed down the stairs when my office-mate left. It’s just too weird getting there two hours before her and staying after she leaves. Out on the sidewalk…I just stood there looking around. Undecided. What to do? I didn’t feel like doing anything. Still two hours to go.

I perched on the edge of an outdoor chair with my head in my hands, considering my options, feeling drained, when Jay said hello. Jay’s the guy who sits outside of Priscilla’s with his Pomeranian on his lap most afternoons. Sometimes alone. Often with people who are probably like me, that he’s been friendly with over the years.

I’m not sure about Jay’s story. I need to get it straight one of these days. What I’ve heard is that he was injured in an accident on a film set, and he spent a lot of time trying to get someone to help pay the bills. He’s got some sort of brain damage. He’s told me that himself.

“I won’t remember your name,” he said when I finally introduced myself, “But I’ll remember you. I know people by their essences, and I’ll remember that you’re one of the good ones.”

Tonight he said, “You look like you’ve had it.”

I said I had, and explained a little about how my brain seemed to have flattened out.

“Remember, we’re human beings, not human doings,” he told me. “Try to stay in the now. This moment. Get yourself a coffee. Hold it in your hands and feel the warmth. That’s happening right now. People forget to just coast. You need to just stay still for a while.”

Now, I know that that first line has been bandied about a lot. And it may be foolish to take advice like this from a guy who seems to do little else than stay still. But I managed to step back from my skepticism and let the universe deliver what it was trying to offer me.

After all, I think I have seen him journey from being very resentful about his current diminished situation to being fairly okay with it on a daily basis. Being in the now, rather than resenting the past or fearing the future.

“I think you just turned my evening around,” I told him as he held the door open so I could go inside and get that double espresso he was talking about.

He was gone when I got back to this table on the sidewalk. I sat here for a full seventeen minutes before getting out my laptop and starting to write. That’s kickin’ back for Sundry, let me tell you.
But it’s okay, because this has been fun, and it has to be fun sometimes. It has to be that when you’re writing you occasionally allow yourself to follow your nose like a little kid playing on a summer afternoon.

Shaggy Pays a Visit - Wednesday 1/10/2007

Lookit! Luna's brother, Shaggy, spent the afternoon in the office.

Luna showed him the ropes. The best places to hide rawhide bones (one of which is under my desk), how to get workers to turn around and coo at you, etc.


Here, they work on their synchronized sitting. This stuff takes practice.

It's not as easy as it sounds.

Kirk Never Had to Deal with This - Tuesday 1/9/2007

The Starship Enterprise always looked brand spanking new.

I suspect that the good Captain didn't spend as much time in his command chair as I do. Or apparently have such a wicked tendency to press down on the left arm rest. The right one's fine.

I have never denied that I lean to the left. I just hadn't realized it manifested itself so physically.

House Near the Library - Monday 1/8/2007

I usually turn around on this side street after visiting the library. I like the interesting mix of plants and lions (there's another one out of this frame) and, yes, even the old shadeless lamps!

Too Much Time on My Hands - Sunday 1/7/2007

When I saw this in the Trader Joe's parking lot in Palmdale this morning, the Styx song "Too Much Time On My Hands" came to mind.

You'll see what I mean if you click on the lyrics. Ah, life in the high desert berg.

Traffic School - Saturday 1/6/2007

Online traffic school is definitely the way to go. You can stop and start it multiple times (my sentence was 6 hours and 40 minutes.) You can do it anywhere you have an Internet connection. You can do it in your pajamas with a cup of tea.

You take the test and they send the results to your traffic court for you. On this site, all for $14.50!

I was bad. I was singing and there was no one in front of me to hold me back. I sped.

Now, I am absolved. I have paid my debt to society.

As an added bonus, I now understand what all the different colors of curb paint mean.

You may envy me.

You may touch the hem of my garment.

Water Again - Friday 1/5/2007

My water glass at Bob's Big Boy. Again, with the water. I don't know what that's about.

Except it's one of those common things that is actually kind of pretty if you really look at it.

And it's sort of comforting to be back at Bob's, where they know my regular order--hot tea, oatmeal and a big glass of water--and I am now one of the regulars. One old guy (since he's over 80 I don't think I need to beat around the bush) stops and chats with me a little bit every morning. I nod and smile, say hello, to others.

And I write. Rewriting is sooooo much slower than NaNoWriMo writing, but I am discovering cool stuff about my characters and figuring out what you will need to know about them at the beginning, and what they know about themselves, and what they have to learn.

"How's the book coming?" the twenty-something hostess asks me.

"Doing okay," I say. It takes a long time, but I'm up for it.

Weather Moving In - Thursday 1/4/2007

Rain being blown across the Angeles National Forest, on the far side of Acton.

Love the way the light slips through a mountian notch somewhere out of sight to the east at this time of year and throws an unexpected glow every so often.

Fuzzy Skulls - Wednesday 1/3/2007

It is probably appropriate that my first back-to-work photo is fuzzy. This is my little travel mug, which I filled with water for my first commute of 2007. I really find cold water the most refreshing beverage first thing in the morning.

If an archaologist found this in the cupholder of a car 1500 years from now, she would probably assume that I carried this as a talisman against death.

Who knows? Maybe I do.

Back to the Rocks - Tuesday 1/2/2007

We took B&J to the Devil's Punchbowl for another hike. Down to the creek at the bottom. This rock has been carved by water even though the creek is dry about half the year.



Sun on underwater leaves.

The ranger told us all kinds of cool things about the geology of the Punchbowl area. Stuff I've heard and forgotten and new stuff too.

He also pointed out that we could see both Mount Whitney in the Eastern Sierras and Telescope Peak in the Panamint Mountains on the east side of Death Valley from the parking lot. Amazing. That's more than 100 miles.

Made me want to start driving for the desert right then and there.

Rose Parade : Part 2 - Monday 1/1/2007

Light in leaves on the side street in Pasadena where B&J parked their car. A resident assured us that we could leave it there while we went to view the floats. What a pleasant town.



I got a kick out of seeing this on the sidewalk. Yeah, I get a kick out of odd things sometimes. But you see this used in various motifs in the Craftsman architecture and decor that is so prominent in Pasadena. Like, in ceramic tile patterns or as newel posts.


I like this one because it has easily recognizable components. Limes, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, beans, etc. This is from the viewing area at Pasadena High School.


Up close and personal with a Native American headdress.


The sky was so gorgeous that day!

Rose Parade: Part 1 - Monday 1/1/2007

We went to the Rose Parade! It took our friends, B&J coming from Indiana to get us to go. They treated us to bleacher seats, a program, and tickets to the viewing afterward. We drove to Union Station and took the Gold Line from there. Very smooth.

B pointed out that Mother Nature was a little scary. Guess all those hurricanes, etc., have put us off her a bit!



This one's for Ween! See? I told you I thought of you and Blue!


My personal favorite. A Dino Rock band. This guy's hair moved in the coolest way as the float moved down the street. All the dinos on this one were great.



The dog of Hydra's youth was a bulldog. I thought the cat's expression was pretty terrific on this one.

Yes, that was the party that was. Out with the old year, in with the new!


B told us that when they arrived just before dawn, there were still fires going... Logs burning right on the street! But everything went very calmly and people were 99.9 % thoughtful and friendly.

Antici.... Sunday, 12/31/2006

...pation!

A fuzzy photo of my new calendar book. Oh, the places it will go!

We were busy cleaning and cooking most of the day. T&M came for our traditional New Year's Eve dinner. Nice to be with people who don't feel compelled to stay up till midnight.

Well, it was midnight in Texas anyway, when we turned in. And it was a very nice evening, though we were to miss our usual breakfast together because we were taking off early for the Rose Parade!

Hike Coup - Saturday 12/30/2006

Actually, no, we didn't take over the park. And there will be no elegant little poem. I just, well, thought it was cute at the time. Here's Hydra up on a big rock looking across the Antelope Valley from the Devil's Punchbowl county park. If you click to enlarge the photo, you can see that some sort of bird of prey is also in the shot. Didn't know that when I took it!




We'd gone off the regular trail and saw this, which I think looks like a bird's eye and beak. Hydra thought he saw bear tracks, which is entirely possible, so we went back to the more traveled part of the park.

The moon was almost full. Love the layers of rock. We try to come here around New Years every year. Last year there was snow!


A nest on the other side of the punchbowl. Zoom!

Private Drive - Friday 12/28/2006

We took a drive down one of the many private roads of Acton yesterday. I'd driven most of this road with my mom about a year ago, but the unpaved part was rough on my little Toyota and we didn't make it all the way through.

Hydra and I took the Tahoe and did just fine. We drove very slowly and waved at everyone we met so we wouldn't look like interlopers. There's quite an enclave of houses down this valley. Everything from a few gigantic mansions to one gigantic mess of a place with old heavy machinery and trailers and cars scattered all over about 5 acres surrounding a house.

One of the things I found interesting was that the deeper we got into the valley, the more houses posted No Trespassing signs.



One place had a dozen or so longhorns with their horns cut off and this little calf sort of caught my eye.


Really, there's nothing more to say!


And then we got home, and the sun was cutting across the hill behind our house. I love this. You can stand here in the late afternoon and watch the shadow creep up. I love to sit out here in the summer and witness the way we spin away from the sun.

See the moon up there in the upper right?

Sir Knight - Thursday 12/28/2006

Hydra pointed this out to me on our way down to Valencia to see a movie and run some errands.

This house was just built a few months ago, and see that? There's a suit of armor on the front porch.

Now that's unusual. Hydra thought I'd like it. Even better, while we paused there for a few seconds to get the shot, a biker guy in full leathers came out on the porch and looked down at us.

What? You think you can come to our quiet little town and put a suit of armor on your porch and people are not going to look? Isn't that kind of the point?

Or are there just too many other suits of armor inside, and this is spillover?

Wind - Wednesday 12/17/2006

Winds were startlingly high in Lancaster, CA on Wednesday. To the point where you had to lean into it a little just to stay upright.

This is a photo of the clouds that were being blown past the theater where we spent about half the day.

We saw Dreamgirls and Rocky Balboa yesterday. Early matinee, lunch and errands, late matinee. Oh sweet indulgence!

Both movies surprised me. I didn't realize there was so much story in Dreamgirls. And the music, though not very Motown, is used in a very interesting way. You don't really hear the songs they are singing, you hear the emotional content behind the songs and their reactions to what's going on between them. Pretty smart stuff. It got to the point where every time the amazing Jennifer Hudsdon opened her mouth to sing, I started to tear up.

If you have any affection at all for the Rocky movies, this is a great ending story for the character. This one and the first one are the best in the franchise, because they stay close to the character they don't have silly villians. I was very happily surprised. There were lines here and there that sounded so like the old Rocky, it was kind of like seeing an old friend again.

It also made me think about Stallone's contribution to film in general. Rocky was a very successful independant film five years before Sundance first launched. It probably had a lot to do with the rise of indies.

The first and last Rocky films are really about trying to reach your dreams and about self-respect for best efforts. They so captured a part of the U.S. pysche that effects from the movies recently became part of the Smithsonian's collection.

Okay, and here's the other connection between wind and Rocky, that I hadn't even thought about till I wrote this. Rocky III may have saved our lives. Hydra and I saw it together in Fort Wayne, IN. We liked it so much we stayed in the theater and saw it again. When we got back to the place we usually parked our car outside our apartment, a huge tree had fallen (due to a big wind storm) and taken out a powerline on its way down. It was very startling to see the tree where our little car would have been...but it was even more chilling when we got upstairs and found that the power had gone out at the exact time we would have arrived home if we hadn't stayed for the second showing.

Cue spooky music!

Old Things - Tuesday 12/26/2006

I find using old things very comforting. I'm not hugely into antiques, but I love the idea that this cup has graced other tables in other times. I gave a few very old things as gifts this year...a pretty silver spoon engraved with the year '04 (as in 1904), and a pretty porcelain ladle, amongst them.

The inventive and super-sneaky Hydra managed to smuggle this gorgeous teacup out of the antiques mall without my knowing it. I have a number of teacups, so I really can't justify buying another.

This one is truly unique to my "collection," because of the shape. I don't have any others with that slight curve inward at the top. Violets and Johnny-Jump-Ups are near and dear to my heart, since they dotted the back yard when I was a little kid. My sister made me violet leaf salads when I had a cold, because they were said to have helpful nutrients in them.

My writing practice usually starts with a cup of tea, as it did this morning, with this new cup to accompany me.

I'm grateful that Hydra supports my creative life and my silly fascination with tea and tea things.

Books! Tuesday 12/26/2006

Since Liz asked, and I was so weirdly thrilled at the idea of sharing the titles of my new books, here's another photo for today.

From bottom to top:

I Like You by Amy Sedaris, just for fun.

The Joy of Cooking because my dear mum saw how Dodger has torn up my beloved old copy and sent me a shiney new one.

Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier, because I loved Cold Mountain

Best American Short Stories 2006, because it's traditional and I enjoy it

Best American Travel Writing 2006 because I am thinking about doing some of my own.

The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie because I'd mentioned I was way down on the holds list at the LAPL, given the author's newfound U.S. fame (I've known about him since his Fry & Laurie days, but did not know about this 1996 novel)

A Writer's Paris by Eric Maisel because we're going there this spring!

If you'd like to see what I read in 2006, it's all here.