Queen Anne's Lace and Lilacs

Good-bye, Old Camry

Yesterday was a bit sad for me.  I had to say good-bye to my very first car.  The first that was my own, that is.  We bought this 1992 Toyota Camry DX from an older gentlemen in some city around Los Angeles.  I had only been in California a couple of days.  I didn't know where we were that night, and I still don't know in which city we were.  The year was 1998.

The Camry had always been garaged.  I don't think anyone but the old man ever rode in the car.  Well, maybe his wife once in a while.  The back seat looked brand new.  The whole car looked brand new! 

I loved that car.

Until the boys got a hold of it, which happened to be right around the time Evan started driving.  A couple of years later, it was Brett's turn.  It's amazing how little time it takes kids to ruin a perfectly perfect car.  Oh, they never wrecked it in an accident.  Hmm...Tim did, come to think of it.  In a parking lot in Torrance.  Just the right headlight.  But, I digress.  No, it was the inside that was destroyed by kids, sports equipment jammed all over the place, food, drink...kids wrestling around with all of the equipment, food, drink.

And then, you know what happens.  The car is yucky!!!  And the kids, who made it so, don't want to ride in THAT car.

Oh, well.  For a couple of years, it was truly perfect.  I will miss it.  It's almost all that I had left of my wonderfully fantastic time in San Pedro.  Well, that and Tim, I guess.

Baseball and California

Evan and Brett went to the Oakland A's - Toronto Blue Jays game last Monday.  Unfortunately, I have no pictures of this adventure.  Evan and Brett had never been to a game in Oakland, and this is the last year the A's will be playing in McAfee Coliseum - so naturally, Evan had to experience that stadium while he still could.  Hmmm, I'm not finding anything about the stadium closing.......Evan?  Anyway, the Blue Jays won, 6-1.  And, now that I think of it, didn't you say you were going to see the Royals play?  (I've been a Royals fan forever.  My favorite Royal is George Brett - I even named Brett after him.  But the Royals weren't in town last Monday!)

On Tuesday, Evan, Brett, and Bethany went with some friends to see the San Francisco Giants play the Atlanta Braves.  The Braves have been Brett's team ever since he was on the Braves' Little League team as a wee lad.  I have no photos of this trip, either.  The Braves beat the Giants, 11-4.  Brett was happy.  (For the record, Evan's team is the Houston Astros.)

Since I wasn't there to tell of any funny or unusual experiences, I thought now would be as a good a time as any to give my public service announcement.   I first came to California in June of 1980.  I flew to Los Angeles, but I quickly traveled to Arrowhead Springs, a couple of hours away (near San Bernardino) for two weeks of Continental Singers' rehearsal camp.  It was a bit chilly those two weeks, but I was in the higher elevations.   And, it was probably a fluke.  I didn't spend much time in California, again, until the June of 1982 - for rehearsal camp.  It was even colder at Arrowhead the second year.  Still, had to be a fluke. 

It was 16 years before I, once again, found myself in California.  I flew, again, to Los Angeles, in June 1998.  Only this time, I stayed in San Pedro.  It's on a peninsula, a huge hill, just south of Los Angeles.  We were on the ocean side of the hill/peninsula, and even though it was the end of June/beginning of July, I froze the entire time.  Morning, noon, night - didn't matter.  Freezing!  I stupidly thought, as it was summer, that a summer wardrobe would be quite appropriate.  I mean, it's California, for heaven's sake!!!   Very wrong.  I moved to Pedro a couple of months later.  The chilliness is not a fluke - it's just how it is.  I lived there for two years - I wore a coat the whole time.  Bethany and I forgot what a "summer wardrobe" looked like.   In fact, it wasn't even a part of our vocabulary.

Here's what they never told you about California.  If you're on the coast, it's cold.  Those Beach Boy songs  really fake people out, with all their sand, sunshine, and warmth!   Now, LA is a bit inland, so it gets hot.  But if you're going to be on the coast, it will be cold.  Southern California is a tiny bit warmer than Northern California.  I'm way inland now, it's 200 degrees in the summer, but two hours away in San Francisco - freezing!  San Francisco experiences 14 hours a year above 80 degrees.  The rest of the year, it's cold, foggy (marine layer), and windy.  If you're going to San Francisco, Monterey, or any coastal area in California - it will be cold.  If you find a sunny spot, stay there - it will warm you.  Oh, and the sand at the beaches will reach about 500 degrees!  But the wind blowing off of the freezing cold Pacific Ocean is COLD. 

If you have grown up along the coast, you won't know what I'm talking about.  Or if you grew up in Alaska, you might think I'm crazy.  But if you come from the Midwest, or Houston, or anywhere that it gets above 90 degrees, bring long sleeves, pants, jackets, coats, etc. if you're going to be visiting the California coast.  And did you see the part about the water being cold?  Icy.  This isn't the warm Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico out here.

Years ago, when I'd be watching a Giants game, I'd notice that the people in the stands looked dressed more for football than baseball.  I didn't really care about San Francisco, so the thought quickly passed on by.  But, now I know.  You dress for winter for San Francisco's baseball games so that you don't freeze.

So, my advice for you:  If you're coming to California, and you'll be visiting the coast, it will probably be quite cool.  Pack accordingly.   

The Hawk vs. the Squirrel, Mac, and Me

Monday night, Tim and I were relaxing on the deck.  The sun had just set, and it was a pretty, calm evening (meaning, the dogs were not going berserk).  It was still light out, and the birds that come out at twilight were beginning their nightly calling.  I swear, it sounds like we live in the jungle sometimes.  I need to find out which birds are up there making those sounds.  Anyway, I digress.   We were discussing the "wind event" that was to begin Tuesday afternoon.  (You know, in California, it can't just be windy - it's an event.  A fire is a "fire event."  In Southern California, it can't just be fog - it's "the marine layer.")  Oops - I digressed again.  Suddenly!  Commotion overhead, in the trees.  Tim says calmly, "Hey, is that a hawk?"  I look up, and this huge hawk has gotten a hold of a baby squirrel and is trying to pull it out of the drey.  I start screaming, "HEY!  GO AWAY!"  The dogs go berserk, barking furiously and frantically - Mac is absolutely going insane.  The hawk lets go of the baby and flies away - leaves and little branches falling down on our heads.   

Not in my yard.

Naturally, we didn't have the camera handy.  By the time we grabbed it and ran back outside, everything had settled down.  You can see the drey and the squirrel on the branch beside it (click photo for a larger view).  The peace was shattered.  I was no longer in relaxation mode, on the lookout for that hawk.  And there Tim sat calmly, rocking in his chair.

Spring Housecleaning

Today was blog spring housecleaning day - and pretty much the only spring cleaning I'll be doing.  I learned how to insert a photo that could be clicked and viewed in a larger, separate window.  This has been bugging me for weeks, but I'll confess I wasn't looking for this today.  In the midst of something else entirely, I accidentally opened the instructions for this photo clicking thing.  It was so simple, and I think it's the same instructions my friend, Robin, sent me the link for a few weeks ago (I'm not going to tell her).  Well, I've never been good about reading instructions.  But, as it turns out, had I done so, this wouldn't have been a mystery all of this time.  Armed with this new knowledge, I went back and edited all postings with photos.  The photos are smaller now, and they are clickable. 

I totally scraplifted a woman's layout (at Designer Digitals).  I loved the layout itself, and the blue reminded me of the blue of my shirt in this photo.  Yes, the photo's old.  But, I like it.  And I can't say that about too many of the photos I'm in. 

Tim and I went to the Sequoias in July of 1998.  I spent most of my time in awe of being there.  I never imagined I'd be in California again, much less seeing those sequoias.  If you ever get the chance, you must get to the sequoias. 

The other place you must go visit, if possible, is Muir Woods.  It's in Marin County, outside of San Francisco, close to Sausalito.  There was a time that redwoods could be seen all along the coast.  Unfortunately, most were cut down, and there aren't many left.  Muir Woods is a national park, so they are preserved.  The redwoods, too, are quite awesome to behold.