Collections

I remember, gosh, it was years ago, that my brother Pat found it interesting that I frequently photograph, what he called, collections of things. While downloading a bunch of photos I've taken in the last few days, it struck me that he was on to something. Thus, today, I present some recent collections, beginning with some beautiful fall leaves Bruce brought home last evening.

Stopping, on his way to the airport, he picked up these gorgeous leaves alongside the George Washington Parkway, near Arlington Cemetery. There are loads of good things about living in Florida, however, fall leaves are not one of those good things. These are so fresh, they almost still feel cool! I'd like to keep them around until our Thanksgiving feast to spread around on the tables, and I've read about preserving their freshness in a mixture of glycerine and water. Has anyone ever tried that method?

How about all the odd colored pumpkins recently available?

I, for one, knew nothing of blue pumpkins until this year.

While on my way to Lowes for some annuals, I drove through the peacock neighborhood which was jam-packed with peacocks. As in, probably 70 (!) roaming through people's yards. The males have all done their molting, and their tails are just beginning to grow back in, albeit without color yet.

The funny thing was there were so many of them that it made it somewhat difficult to drive down the street, ESPECIALLY when a man came out in his front yard with seed--there were like 15 in the road as they scampered over to eat.

I'm not entirely sure about these blooms, but I think they must be some sort of Morning Glories? The shade of blue, well, purplish-blue, is so appealing, one you don't often find.

Lately, one need only look up above for blue--since our monsoonish September, rain has been scarce around these parts, with hardly a drop all October. Most days clouds have been absent, however, when they do appear, they are lovely.

Crows on the bottom left--still scads of them, both just before sunset, and then again, before sunrise. I'm no cloud student so I'm pretty clueless about what any of these types are called; I just know when I find them interesting.

They hardly look real. Do you agree?

This morning I came across a collection to beat most collections.

Riding my bike East on Pershing, I saw a sign near the corner of Ferncreek advertising an estate sale. Although I had no money with me, I rode over to see what sort of stuff they had. As you know, I'm a little conflicted regarding estate sales, feel sort of funny going through another person's life, however, I suspect someone in the family needs money, and because there are plenty of customers who line the streets, ready and willing to part with theirs, estate sales flourish. Putting that all aside, as I walked my bike around back, I spotted some fabric. The worker said, if you are a sewer, this is the place for you. She WAS NOT kidding. Has anyone ever heard of a sewing hoarder? Well, now you have.

From what I could tell, the woman had been purchasing fabric for nearly 50 years. One entire bedroom was filled with it--boxes, shelves, closets, and even the floor! Zippers? Every color of the rainbow, not to mention lengths, were stored neatly in shoe boxes. Hundreds of zippers. The same goes for threads--oh my!!! Shelf upon shelf filled with sewing books. You literally had to climb over stuff to look at all of the fabric. Not confined to the one bedroom, fabric hung in the closet of another bedroom, probably twenty huge moving boxes overflowing in the garage. Even the living room! People, coming in behind me, took one peek through the door opening, and gasped!

Not only are all the fabrics in pristine condition, many of them are labeled as to the type of fabric, the cost, and the date and place purchased. This is some of what I brought home and I believe these are the oldest--dated March 13, 1969. The pink in the front cost 50 cents a yard, on sale from 69 cents. Purchased at Belks, in what I'm presuming is Albany, Georgia. Rummaging through as much as time permitted, I came across an old Ivey's box, as well as a Jordan Marsh one. In 1969 I was in my sewing heyday, the 10th grade; is it any wonder I was enthralled with the fabric from my youth? It was like stepping back in time. If only her clothing patterns were my size! Then too, our Mom worked at Belks in the Colonial Plaza, so there's that. Ivey's was a big department store back when Orlando had actual places to shop downtown! I came away with 16 different pieces of fabric, most of them 2 yards or more, as well as some machine needles, and a few other things. The total cost: $25.00. Anymore good, made in America fabric, is impossible to come by, making this stash very inviting. Furthermore, when was the last time you saw dotted swiss, or pique? So few people make their own clothes now that most of the great clothing-type fabrics are absent from store shelves. I have no clue what I will do with most of it, however, you and I know I'm a project kind of gal. In fact, my sewing machine is out, as I type.

It is a good thing I had a lunch date with Jean and Bev today because I would have come home with even more!! Add to that, they were closing the sale at noontime, so no possibility of making a second run. It was fun while it lasted for sure. I'm stunned wondering what it must have looked like yesterday on the first day of the sale. The too, the sales woman told me they had already filled two dumpsters worth of stuff! I always say that living in a smallish home keeps me from collecting too much, but that surely did not stop this woman!

Well, that's it for collections today, however, I did want to mention two excellent books I've just read: "Long Man", by Amy Green, and  "Equal of the Sun" by Anita Amirrezvani. The settings could not be any more different with the first set in in Tennessee during the last days of the depression, whereas the second one is set in Iran, 1576. If you're looking for something good to read, either of these, or so I think, will suit you.

Important Discoveries!

Because this blog is a space where anything goes, I feel at liberty to share a few exciting discoveries I've made of late. While there is no photographic evidence to back up my claims, you've never had a reason to doubt me in the past, so why start now?

I am a huge hot tea drinker, as in like three cups in the morning if I have time. I'm also kind of fussy about what sort of mug I use, preferring bone china if possible, and barring that, at the very least, I'm happy enough if there is some cute bird design to brighten the morning. Which means, mostly the insides are light colored, and stain badly. As I recall, my mother made a little baking soda paste to remove tea stains, and that's a good method, don't get me wrong, just slightly laborious. So, I'd taken to putting bleach in the water. This proved not to be the best idea. NOW, however, I've learned that that (can I write that?) miracle kitchen worker, white vinegar, works like a CHARM. My spray bottle with vinegar that I use to clean the granite is under the sink, but those sprayers never seem to last very long, so I just dump a little in with water, give it a wipe with the sponge, and the cup looks good as new.

So there's that.

Even better, as this may apply to more of you....drumroll please.....if you have a glass topped stove, you might have purchased a special product to clean it, including a little scrubby type pad. Mine is called "Cerama Bryte." One thing you absolutely know about me is that I'd rather do most anything than clean the house. I like a neat house, but as to clean, I squeak by. We have a minuscule shower in our bathroom, super small, with not great lighting, so it is easy for me to ignore the soap scum covered walls. WELL, no longer! The other day, when I finally looked at it in the daylight, I knew something had to be done. Of course, as far as I know, soap scum has never caused any human harm, but it is pretty ugly if I'm honest with myself. I've tried a gazillion different sprays, each one claiming to be a miracle cleaner, however, those claims are generally all hype. Not this trick--no hype from yours truly. Grab your cleaner and scrubby, putting a small amount on the shower walls in a circular fashion. Don't really know about the circular, but it sounds good doesn't it? Anyway, let it dry a bit, wipe with  a microfiber cloth, and be prepared to be amazed.

Let's throw in a little cloud picture....

Nice, huh?

In spite of what I learned at the agricultural center about it being too late for tomatoes, we have about six medium sized ones on our vines. If you are lucky enough to be successful growing tomatoes, by all means do it!! I hadn't had a home grown one in ages, mostly because I've discovered I was planting them where they did not receive enough sunshine. Guess which ones pictured below came from our back yard?

If you guessed those in the foreground, you guessed right. I had to cut off a bit where the skin split, but let me tell you what--those little babies were wonderful. As in, well I hardly know how to describe it, except it took me back about 45 years to a time we visited my Mom's father at his farm in Missouri. He grew tomatoes that I've never forgotten.

Let's throw in a bird picture because I was lucky enough to take it.

That is Lake Gem Mary taken the other morning, the lake we see when we are in our front yard.

I've also discovered, and by the end of the summer you will be thoroughly sick of it, but our big storms bring big sunsets. Lake Jennie Jewel, the one we see from our side yard, is a summer magnet for me.

Speaking of light, am I ever glad I took this photo to remind me of how awesome this globe looked when lit.  Looked? It is dark now.

Sadly, the bulbs are not readily available, so the days of this awesomeness are over. Probably my fault, as I left in on constantly.

Another important discovery, well it's not totally new to me as I'm not shy, but if there are no seats available somewhere, ask a stranger if you can share a table. When we went to the local sports bar to watch the USA/Belgium match, there was not an open table to be found. So, I approached a man who said he was waiting on his wife, but he was more than willing to share the other two seats. He mentioned that he was a huge soccer fan, so don't expect him to engage in conversation. Okay. Well, here he is after his wife arrived.

He did do a little talking, explaining various plays to us, but what he did at half time was the most remarkable thing, something so crazy it sounds made up. Ready? He got up and began doing JUMPING JACKS beside his seat!! And why did he do that, you ask? To relieve the tension he'd built up during the first half! Call us amused. Both he and his wife were very nice btw.

I continue to discover that there are interesting photographs to be made wherever I go.

Then too, sometimes mistakes, or unplanned shots, turn out to be ones that make me happy.

Now here's a discovery that will come as no surprise-- I'm not much of a website builder. Our son David is making a website for his wrestling card collection, inspiring me to re-think mine. I made it on the Mac several years ago with software that is a little out of date, or so I thought. So, after contacting the folks at Green Geeks who host my site, the helper suggested I make one using WordPress. After finding a video on YouTube, the dullest thing ever, I spent far too much time trying to make it happen, or not. In my case, not. In spite of my best efforts, I'm not even close.

The famous videographer, AKA Flicky Rich, came to the market yesterday with his adorable wife Jenn, and darling two sons, the youngest of whom is petting Mr. Roger's dogs.

I've discovered that having a video go viral is not something you really want to happen! The girl in the blue shirt  behind them is the terrific singer I told you about. I can't say enough about her voice, and how when she and her husband are the performers at the market, how fantastic it is. Speaking of which, we made it through until the end yesterday. And, although slow for me for most of the day, I had a super sweet girl not only take home one of the canvases and frames, but she ordered three more!! Awesome, right?

Finally, I've discovered that if you want to paint your doors bright blue, you should.

Marching Orders

It seems as if there are others catching up with my fascination, as this piece points out: Obituaries are a thing now..

So, that one was good for a laugh, not so much with this one, sent to me by my friend Cheryl, recalling the funeral for our neighbor: Kids Shame Abusive Mom. I've waited a very long time to read one like that!

Yesterday's paper ran this obituary: I'll leave out the name, but underneath said name, it reads, "Mom, the Myth, the Legend." Naturally that caught my eye! The body goes on to say that she of course "was loved by many and had the heart of gold. She lived life just the way she wanted....on her own terms!" Pray tell, what does that mean? She ran traffic lights if she didn't feel like stopping?

Speaking of the deceased, it seems as if the older I get, the more I sound like my Mother. As a young person, this seemed an impossibility, but by golly it has come to pass, as in today's blog post title. If I heard that once from my Mom, I heard it a dozen times! Ask Bruce about others because they could probably fill a page!

You didn't think that Matthew would let his Mom worry about what to wear in the English weather now did you? Of course he wouldn't. After reading my previous post he, called Monday afternoon, giving me my marching orders: a quilted jacket and boots. Like a dummy I asked if quilted jackets were in style. Duh! Would he have told me to get one if they weren't? Looking online I found a multitude of choices answering that question pdq. Don't know what pdq means? Another one from my Mom--the lol of her generation, meaning pretty darn quick.

While chatting with him, Angela came over, ready to start the move. And so we did. Actually not quite that quick because I was working on the pool and couldn't stop immediately. Earlier in the day I rode down to Lake Conway, parking my bike at the Ferncreek boat ramp.

This is the same place I took my current best seller, the old VW van. Every single time someone buys it I'm happy because it seems to make them happy. I was so lucky to have come across it when I did, a few days after Christmas, because I have yet to see it again, despite regularly riding this route. The clouds, of course, are for Karen.

Loading up the Pilot after the pool work was accomplished, we drove the 2 1/2 miles to the new house, and what a house it is, filled with all manner of beautiful woodwork and doors. Oh my, those doors are nice; pocket doors, swinging doors, a dutch door, which for those who haven't heard that term, is a door cut through the middle so the top half can open and the bottom stay closed. We worked until nearly 7:30, finally stopping for a sandwich at the old house. Matt, Angela's husband, is unhappy about moving, not wanting to leave the neighborhood. It goes without saying I don't want them to leave either, after all, it is Baxter's vacation home!

Isn't he just the cutest? Unfortunately, Tanya, our groomer, did not cut his hair quite short enough around his eyes, which will too soon be practically covered! Then again, maybe it's because he is getting older, and you know how men get those crazy eyebrows!

Tuesday morning, beginning at 8:30 we started in again loading both the Pilot, and her Lexus, making multiple trips between the houses. I don't know what else to tell you about it except that we worked all day long until 5:30, when I said it was time for me to get back home. I know one thing I can say: it is a big house, four bedrooms and four baths, an upstairs and downstairs, and so many other rooms I practically kept losing my way. I finally hung a piece of art on the wall to mark the stairwell which I kept passing. That may sound crazy, but it is a bit of a spiral, with the opening upstairs looking almost like a room entrance!

I gave her that much time on Tuesday because Wednesday the palm trimmers were coming at 8:30 in the morning. Arriving promptly, they cleaned out the smaller palms,

removing all the seed pods we simply cannot get to. These all look much improved and more importantly, which by the way, I'm mostly seeing people say more important, which I know is off topic, but I wonder why that is. Anyway, the seed pods are all removed, along with the dead fronds.

The squirrels are not going to be one bit happy, however, I sure am; the seeds kept dropping in the pool, clogging up the cleaner. Ignore the next photo, it's for me to remember their name the next time I need them!

While they were working away, a lady I'd met at Winter Garden came to the house to pick out some images to use for canvases at her new office in Longwood. Apparently she lives out that way because when she came into the house she remarked that she always forgets how cute the neighborhoods are near downtown. :)

After everyone left I went to Nordstrom, which I know does not surprise you in the least. Although I don't have the jacket in hand just yet, they ordered one for me, as well as the boots which were not in stock in my size. Before Bruce left for his department meeting in the morning, I told him about the jacket, and he told me that cords were back in style. So, now I have two new pairs of cords as well. Actually I'm glad they are in style because I find them very comfortable indeed. Leaving the store the sky was pretty gloomy,

which would have been fine if not for the photo shoot scheduled for 5:30. Canceling it due to the rain, I did decide to meet the young woman at her house which is only blocks away. I brought along my hat to use as a prop. Actually it is for a senior picture, the latest trend amongst teenagers. Thinking it might be a good idea to do a few test shots on her covered front porch, she was game.

Oh to have skin like that! We're going to try again for Friday evening, hoping the weather will cooperate.

I bought the hat at Nordstrom Rack a while back, and I'm pretty much obsessed with hats at the moment. People look at me funny, but I don't mind. I also bought a straw fedora with a black ribbon. Previously I never looked at hats, but yesterday afternoon found me in the hat department trying on a bunch of cute ones. Perhaps it is the Downton Abbey influence? Which, by the way, we finished season three on Monday night, and are anxiously awaiting the next season. Don't be jealous DA fans, but it starts in the UK while we are there!

While helping Angela move the smaller things, one thing became so clear to me-- once we removed the wall art, the house, despite having all the big furnishings still in place, was pretty much a shell. It's hard to put into words, but if ever I saw the power of art, this was the time. In turn, this makes me happy that for some people, my photographs are affordable enough that they can bring some into their houses, helping to make it a home. :)

Marching orders for today: photograph something beautiful!

Our Beautiful World

Everywhere I look there is so much beauty and diversity, I can't help but try and make it my own through photographs. I've spent some time this week purging old stuff from my library in order to make way for new things. Turns out, Picasa, my photo keeper, is not necessarily designed for people who take photographs daily, rather for the casual photographer. As such, on occasion it struggles to keep up with me, however, Matt has worked things out, for which I'm grateful.

So, what do we have to look at today? Plenty, as it turns out. If you've seen a more beautiful color of gerbera daisy, tell me about it. Almost raspberry colored, wouldn't you say?
More often than not, when I see something I think will please a friend or family, I stop on my ride to capture the scene. Karen Howard loves our Florida clouds.

In our yard we have SIX gigantic long needle pine trees--the above is a short needle version taken down the street. Bruce spent about a half an hour Saturday picking up all the "cobs", or what I'm calling them, in our yard. The squirrels are feasting on the pine cones, dropping the remnants, and in general, making a huge mess. Surely, you're not surprised.

Finding this plumeria petal on the ground, I put it in my bike basket to have fun with it at home.

Bonus points for awesome fragrance!

Is there anything more cheerful than a sunflower? Well, maybe a daisy....

The other evening, just before dark, following another rain storm, I went into the side garden and saw something flying around my declining salvia. The light was poor, and the insect's wings were going a mile a minute, but I still tried photographing something entirely new to me. I'm wondering if it is some type of cricket? Checking the web, I did not see one pictured as such, but the web doesn't know everything. Or does it?

Any ideas?

Yesterday morning Dave and Michelle needed a ride to the airport. You know who played the part of the chauffeur. Killing a little time before the store opened, I drove through the "peacock neighborhood", hoping to find some babies. Apparently I missed them when they were tiny, but I did see these two before they are all grown up.

Oddly enough, there were very few peacocks to be seen on either street. Very puzzling because at times I've counted nearly fifty of them. Where could they have gone?

This morning, wondering where to ride my bike, I decided on a visit to Eric's house as it's been a while. It's so weird because he lives with his parents, and I feel as if I must knock on the door to ask if he can come out to play. Well, he couldn't because he was off to serve, something he does with great regularity. This time he was on his way to teach gardening and healthy eating at our city neighborhood centers. Other days he delivers donated food to the Russell Home, and other places where donations are always welcome. Thus I was left on my own.

Spraying myself liberally with insect repellent, provided by his Mom, I roamed the gardens. It takes a real gardener to know what to plant for year-round color. Eric would be one of those. I'll show some of the blooms another day because by now I have probably taxed your attention span. What I do want you to see is a hawk; pretty much the closest I have been to one in the wild. He was right under my nose, however my attention was focused on a shore bird. But then I saw it a mere 20 feet in front of me.

In truth I am the worst at estimating distances, but it wasn't just the same. Perhaps he sensed me because he flew up into a nearby oak tree laden with spaghnum moss:

Some wing span, huh? I'm thinking he's looking for insects in the bark below. I was pretty darn excited, I'll tell you that much!

Now, if only my eagle would come so close! Generally I see the eagles in trees that are 100 feet tall, rather than 30.

Tonight is FAVO, and although I'm mostly ready, there are a few last minute details to work out. Wish me luck because I'll need it, between the ever-present threat of rain, and no ac in my space!!!

Swallowtail Sleepover

This story about mining in India, in some ways, reminds me of the novel I just finished reading, Serena.  Now you already know how much I love Ron Rash, but I'm warning you, if you read anything by him, get ready for some action. Reading one of his novels, or even his short stories for that matter, is like watching a train wreck--you know it's going to be bad, just how bad, time will tell. Jennifer Lawrence, of recent Oscar fame is playing Serena in the movie and I can't imagine how she will do it. If ever there were a fictional female character who is mean, well, that word hardly does her justice, Serena is it.

The story concerns a logging empire in the mountains of western North Carolina during the depression. Men work, despite nearly daily disasters, because they had no other options. It is hard for me to believe nearly these same conditions exist in our world today, however, according to the linked article above, much the same goes on in the mines, except there are children involved! Very sad indeed.

Yesterday, as I mentioned, was not a good weather day. My energy level goes way down when the skies are leaden. Nonetheless, I did accomplish a few things, like making cookies for Friday night. Generally, when I buy a new product, I tend to use the manufacturer's recipe on the back of the package. So in keeping with that, when I made the oatmeal cookies with cinnamon chips, I expected the recipe to work. I figure they have a whole team of people testing those recipes, even more so than say those from a cookbook. Did it work very well? Not so much. For one thing I think the oven temperature as stated was too low. Who bakes cookies at 350 degrees? They just wouldn't brown at that temp. Raising it to 375 worked only slightly better. Eventually I got some to bake properly, and although they taste pretty good,  are they ever unattractive! We'll see what my FAVO guests think. I'll report back on this one.

The day was quickly turning to dusk when I went out to get the mail, noticing, as I did, a black swallowtail butterfly flitting about the porch. Quick go get the camera!

Eventually, said beautiful butterfly settled on one of the tomato plant leaves and stayed put. This is an entirely new phenomenon to me.....I have hardly ever seen one stay still long enough for a photograph.

I took a gazillion photos, most of which did not turn out very well due to the waning light, going so far as to get my macro lens. All the while the butterfly didn't budge. Amazing really. I tried every angle in the book!

Look! A fuzzy yellow body. And how about those incredibly spindly legs??? And the eyes! I'll tell you this much, I am not good with the macro lens, one of the few photography purchases that I might have been better of not having made. Mostly it is because I'm too lazy to get my tripod out which is the recommended method.

You know what happened when the lights went out? The wings fold up for the night and aren't they gorgeous?

The blue is just killer! Before I went to bed I turned on the porch light, and there was the butterfly just chilling. Same thing when I got up before daylight. As I type at 10 in the morning pretty boy is still hanging out only now his wings are flattened once again.

My friend Sue tells me she had one stay for three days! Wonder what it all means? Any ideas?

Guess what else is back? A silly question I realize....

Recently Bruce told me he wondered why anyone would buy an orchid. When he gets back from his trip, I'll show him why. Year after year they just keep coming back. Don't you just love nature?

As they days lengthen, the sunrise is finally getting earlier, a fact for which I'm grateful. Because I missed my ride yesterday due to the blustery weather, I made up for it this morning. Along the way these cloud formations caught my eye.

Despite looking up the types of clouds on Wikipedia, like the unscientific person that I am, I can't really decide what kind they are. Cumulus perhaps?

In non-nature related news, Jonathan and Alissa have finally set a wedding date. Maybe I should call it a "getting hitched" date because it will occur in the Austin courthouse with nary a family member present. The following day, June 29, they will begin a long journey to Tokyo, a life-long dream for Jonathan. Alissa is happy to be going to Japan as well because she, like me, loves to take photos. This has been a long time coming and we are so thrilled for them. Another girl in the family!

The sun is finally shining again, for how long is anyone's guess. I'm taking a few things over to FAVO just now and I can't wait to see more of the bunnies in person. There's even one someone did in the "Steampunk" style! Don't know what that is? Neither do I!

Day One

Wasn't there a movie entitled "Planes, Trains and Automobiles?" Channeling that title, I'm thinking my little journey might be called, "Planes, Cars, and Feet." Although I skipped six days of bike riding, all the stair climbing and walking I did undoubtedly made up for it!

So, where to start? The beginning might be nice. Tuesday evening I took Baxter over to his "vacation home", otherwise known as Angela's house, because I knew the morning of the departure would be busy. Regina kindly agreed to pick me up at 6AM and she pulled up on the dot. I mention this because, as is so often the case, older folks don't like driving in the dark and it was plenty dark. Thank goodness the airport is close!

After settling into my first class seat, I got comfortable, and waited for take off. My seat mate had been kind enough to let me swap seats for the window, which, as we go along, you'll see I made good use of. Flying first class is nice, very, very nice. That is one perk of having a traveling husband for sure. If he'd been with me, it would have been even better because flying Delta all the time, it's like the show Cheers for him--everyone knows his name. I, unlike Bruce, am not a seasoned traveler, and I'm thinking this is maybe only the second time I've flown without him? Somehow I managed.

I don't know what the weather was like last Wednesday later in the day,  but it looks a bit gloomy in this photo taken as we were backing out of the gate. It was then that I thought I might just take a photograph about every hour or so as we crossed the southern part of the country.

The sun makes its presence known. I busied myself with eating a fantastic breakfast on a real plate!

Watched more clouds...

and finished a fantastic novel by Ron Rash, "One Foot in Eden".  Good grief that man can write! A few hours into the trip the landscape below looked like this:

which is very puzzling indeed. I have no idea what all those circles could be. Any ideas? Eventually the above landscape gave way to this:

Looking out the window on these mountains many of them looked as if someone had sprinkled ground pepper all over them, but we all know it was only an illusion--trees, and lots of them!

Coming from Florida, this landscape is like looking at the moon, it is so foreign! All that brown! Surely there is some green somewhere, but from 30,000 feet above, it looked all brown to me.

All good things must come to an end, and so it finally did, with my plane arriving at LAX about 10 in the morning PST. Bruce was busy so he'd made arrangements for Carol to pick me up. I stood watching all the hub-bub for a bit until she pulled up in her little sports car she's named, "Pearl Girl." Guess where our first stop was? Panera, followed by a quick run through of Trader Joe's by me, while she was paying at Marshalls.

For days Carol searched on Craigslist for tickets to see Neal Young at the Hollywood Bowl Wednesday night, eventually finding some. Here she's texting the directions to her house to the seller who offered to not only sell them, but deliver them as well!

In a city the size of Los Angeles, delivery is practically unheard of! The traffic, the cars, oh my! After a few more errands I finally got to see Carol's beautiful home in Beverly Hills.

We'll do some more exploring there another day, but before we go, I want you to know that all the beautiful art work is hers. After closing her Venice Beach art studio, some of the larger pieces made their way here. A real visual treat everywhere you looked!

After a quick lunch it was time to get back on the road so I could finally see my husband after 10 days! Carol dropped me off at his Century City mall job site:

You see that opening in Autumn 2012? Now you know why he has stayed out there! Problem after problem getting it done. Ha ha--just noticed my suitcase in the picture! You can sure tell LA is amovie town, what with all the huge billboards for upcoming movies.

A little after 3, I was on the move again, this time with Bruce, as we made our way to San Diego on the 405. 12 lanes of traffic going? Not a chance I would ever drive out here! Along the way we reminisced a bit about our year in California 35 years ago. Especially when we came across the exit to our first rented condo on Beach Blvd. in Huntington Beach.

In truth the traffic wasn't too terrible, mostly because we were able to travel a long way in the Car Pool lane. Bruce pulled into a rest stop near Camp Pendleton giving me my first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean:

Now, what really surprised me is that I took this photo around 5:45PM. I bet you're thinking so what? Well, I was expecting sunset to be closer to 7, and if you're smart you've already figured out it won't be too much longer and that sun will have dipped below the horizon. I persuaded Bruce to stop once again at Oceanside where I took this one:

Beautiful, beautiful sky! What I was getting at is that in Florida the sunrise and sunset are about an hour later than in Southern California. Duh! I thought it would be the same!

Eventually we made it to La Jolla, eating at some Mexican restaurant and collapsing in our comfy bed at the Hyatt. Tomorrow I'll show you what I saw in that lovely, albeit wildly expensive town.