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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