’05 January

January 29

Kent, Robin, and Liz made a lovely wedding reception for the kids and a grand time was had by all. (I couldn’t get a decent shot of the big arbor and the cake in the same frame, so use your imagination!)

Gorgeous, and yummy too.

January 27

Sandy and Beverly at the South Bay Women In Travel meeting we went to, at the airport, where I bussed it in and ‘car pooled’ home. Thank you Beverly.

Getting there, first stopping off at Mom’s, worked just like it said on the schedule.

The people who live in this house must have thought it would be amusing to cover one of their windows in two-way mirror. I’m betting they have many amusing moments watching people watch themselves as they pass by.

That’s the thing about using the bus – you walk a lot. I’ve been noticing especially how fragrant it is when you walk. It must be the slower pace so that all the smells can be distinct. Jasmine, sea salt, cat pee, bar-b-que…

I Really like the way this fence works. I think it’s something like translucent fiberglass.

January 26

I met Bill for lunch today before it started raining (one bus in one bus out). It reminded me that during our deluge bus travel must have been a lot less appealing!

A view out the bus window on Santa Monica Blvd.

Walking was the order of the day for yesterday. I hit the laundry, the bank, the video store, the post office, the library and then the market all in one big swing.

Then Nancy stopped by for a late long and luscious lunch and then Marsha stopped by for a pre-chorale post-dinner snack. What an entirely lovely day for a retired woman!

January 25

Yesterday I took the bus to Sherman Oaks, to Darryl and Angela’s place and back. It was the agony and the ecstasy, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, but mostly agony and defeat. Forty-five minutes to get there, three hours to get home.

I woke up this morning ready to devote myself to a jihad upon the dark forces of the Metropolitan Transit Authority. Why WHY had they left me standing on a corner late into the night?

Fortunately having not yet gone completely insane, before embarking upon a holy war I checked the online schedule again. Ooops. My fault.

I am utterly utterly T*hrilled that it was my fault. Thank goodness. Phew. I can continue this Car-Free-LA project for a while longer and not have to take up my retirement as an activist. I am anyway acutely aware that nothing really desperate will happen to me by the good fortune of my dear family and friends still having cars!

January 22

Happy Birthday Mommy!! L&H hosted many guests to a delightful brunch at Shanghai Reds in the Marina.

We, the daughters, did our traditional birthday skit of course and Mom was one happy camper.

She turned 87 this year and her greatest excitment was that on her Next birthday she would be 88 and we would all have to talk double we would all have to talk double and we would take her take her to the Ojai Valley Inn to the Ojai Valley Inn so she could repeat so she could repeat the best birthday ever ever when she was 77 when she was 77 and we went there we went there and talked double talked double for the whole weekend The WHOLE Weekend.

WE the girls, were ExHHausted by the effort but Mom just looooved all the attention such a display generated so…

…If she is well enough next year to enjoy such a display then we will be glad to do it.

So far, since I gave back the rental car on Tuesday I have bussed it to Jury Duty downtown, to Mom’s, to Japanese class, and to a movie date with narry a hesitation.

So far so good however even now I can see that at some point I’ll be quite done with this phase. I have no idea at all as to when that will be but since I’m already mentioning it…

What a crack-up: ‘Free Dinero for College’ – classic LA Speak. (I’m just assuming everyone recognizes a bus-ad when they see it.)

January 20

Jury Duty: I was assigned to a jury panel on Tuesday and was among the first 18 to be questioned.

I was thinking to come up with any story that would get me out but then I decided telling the truth would just be easier. So I did and after hours and hours and another 12 jurors being called to fill in for those excused, late Wednesday afternoon I was released anyway. Then I thought, hey, what’s the matter with me? I’d be a perfectly fine juror. But they thought otherwise..

(Now I’m telling the Jury Duty story. Later I’ll tell the bus stop story. (I’m fine…no problem…next time I’ll just be walking a few extra blocks in the opposite direction is all…))

The charge was felony ‘lewd acts with a minor under the age of 14’. Of course it would have been a horror to deal with and there were many among the prospective jurors who ended up in tears and we hadn’t yet heard a word of testimony.

The whole process of jury selection and especially the judge’s participation was quite interesting, a real civics lesson, and now I’m so curious about how it will turn out that I have toyed with the idea of going down to listen to the trial! But probably not That curious.

January 17

This is my first entry since the faabulous wedding and I’m going to skip all the prior and subsequent cr*ppy stuff for now because that’s what I want to do, and I can, so that’s it.

Olvera Street with Sandy! The weather had cleared and we soaked up the sun and all the colors the sun revealed. Mirror magic and PhotoShopPhun.

Kids!

…and a Mariachi band. I am absolutely sure they were playing wild and bawdy songs because the crowd was whooping it up big time and the singer was full of suggestive hand gestures and broad winks.

Sandy got some great close-ups of the Olvera Street shops so I’ll get her favorite for here. You know how I complain about not being able to get a decent close-up… Do I complain about skin tone more than I complain about close-ups?

The Great Quiddler Challange, and Roger, the arbiter of all things word-ly.

Marsha lost her beloved father and these were the officiates at the funeral.

Marsha’s parent’s church in San Marcos, packed to the rafters with dear family and friends here in wholehearted loving support.

Waiting.

This is the one and only picture I took of the rain during what the commentators are calling the wettest 15 days in LA history. Fun though, that within that period the sun did shine for Darryl and Angela’s wedding and for the Rose Parade.

Ken, Car Show, Prime Rib… so I’ll remember.

The house next door is now gone replaced by a mud lake causing the cat to be constantly trailing mud through the house and into my bed. So much mud that I have to wipe up and then vacuum every single day.