Saturday, August 29, 2015

In San Diego tonight. 08-29-15

It has been one of those weeks when anything that could go wrong, went wrong!

Yesterday the garage replaced my power steering "pump" - I think that is what he said - and finished at 4:45pm.  Too late for the driver to pick me up  and get me back to the facility by five.  So the sweet lady who" womans" the office said she would come after five when she got off work and take me back to pick up my car.   I owe her big time, but don't know how to repay her  generosity.  Thanks to her I am driving my own car instead of a rental. 

This morning I threw some shirts in the washer (a front loader) in plenty of time to have them washed and dried to bring with me on this trip.   When I went to get them out of the washer I saw that the light was off, indicating the cycles were all finished,  I just opened the door as I thought it wouldn't open if there were water inside.  I didn't look through the window to see if they were done.  Out came a tank full of water and the clothes.  The water flooded through the garage and out the door, down the driveway.  Everything was wet, including both pair of shoes - the ones I was wearing and those I was going to wear to SDiego.    What to do?  By now it was almost noon and I had no time to hunt up a laundromat.  So I called my friend Carol, who had gone off to a baby shower, but Dick was home and I asked him if I could use his laundry facilities, explaining my problem.    When I got to their house, just a few blocks away, I asked him if he knew how to do laundry and he said yes.  I asked him if he would run the clothes on the spin cycle and then dry them in the dryer and I would come back to pick them up.   I went home and finished packing and getting KoKo's things packed up.  Everything in the car, including KoKo, I went back to Dick's "Laundry Service" and he had them all ready on the hangers and he had IRONED them!  I never iron them, just pull them hot from the dryer and put them on hangers.   Is he some great guy, or what?  Another generous person to whom I owe my gratitude.   I delivered KoKo to Nancy's son in Tustin (Nancy is flying in tonight) and hit the road.  It took three hours to get to my motel, but I wasn't stressed because I knew it would be very crowded and slow going.  My average speed for the 100 miles was 35 mph.

I'm settled in and ready for the ladies in my art quilt group at 10am.  It will be a great meeting with the 61 samples in the SAQA traveling trunk to look at and whatever show & tell the members bring.  Then out to lunch at a nearby Greek restaurant and then I have the rest of the day and evening to relax.  I'll probably go look at the Visions Art Museum exhibits again.  I do enjoy seeing quilts from TCQC on display there.  Then Monday morning I will drive home and have one day of rest before I will need to gear up again.  Where did the summer go? 

When the traffic was stopped we could see 10 or so sailboats off the coast at Oceanside - they are out there somewhere on the blue Pacific. 

Further south the highway passes sand flats that to out to the ocean with long bridges for Pacific Coast Highway.  When there are high tides the water can come up in here, but I have never seen it.
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Friday, August 28, 2015

Life and Figs 08-28-15

I still have little KoKo, he goes home tomorrow.  Yesterday was a tour de force for both of us.  I needed to do a written drivers test and couldn't get an appointment in time at the local DMV.  Four years ago I had the same problem, but was driving up to the Monterey area a few days before my birthday, so I made an appointment at the Goleta DMV (just north of Santa Barbara).  That worked out okay, so this time I made an appointment at Bellflower so I could leave little KoKo with Sherry, Corky's mommy in Long Beach.  She takes care of a dog now and then, I suppose it satisfies something in her as Corky (and now KoKo) did for me. 

When I started the car to leave it made a terrible noise, so I drove it around the block to see if it drove okay and it did.  We were off to Long Beach with a lesser noise, but something that obviously needed to be taken care of.  However, I hadn't planned that into my day.  I left KoKo with Sherry and gave her three toys to toss for him.  The drive to DMV and the testing took about an hour and half, it seemed to include an inordinate amount of sitting and waiting for my number to be called.  It was moderately air conditioned, but about 150 bodies give off quite a bit of heat - whew.  I took the test and missed one question which is bugging me because I think I had the right answer, but they didn't and were too busy to explain.   I did the eye test and had my picture taken, it can't possibly be as bad as the last one.  They won't let me wear my hat, even though I tell them nobody recognizes me without it.

Back to Sherry's where I hauled the SAQA Traveling Trunk into the house and went through all the samples, there are 61 in this trunk.  I'll  present them to my art quilt group in SDiego on Sunday and then ship them off to their next destination on Monday.  More on this after the  Sunday meeting.

Sherry took KoKo for a long walk and met some other dogs who wanted to play - KoKo really got a workout and has not been so demanding today.  It was cooler in Long Beach than it has been here.  Today it was 101F in Placentia with a humidity of 22%.  Way too hot for Auntie Del to go for a walk.  So, I'm glad KoKo had a tremendous walk last evening.  We have been out in the backyard half a dozen times today.  Don't want any accidents!

This morning I was at Castner's, the auto repair place, when it opened at 7:30am.  They hoped they could replace the failed part of my power steering before they close today, but here it is 4:20pm and they haven't called to say it is ready.  If not I will rent a car for the weekend, but I would rather be driving my own vehicle. 




I love figs and they have such a short season that I am never satisfied.  Trader Joe's is selling "Tiger Figs" which I had never heard of.  They are quite small, like ping pong balls, but very sweet. Not as sweet as the wonderful honey figs they grow in South Carolina, but a good second place.  Of course, one needs to eat them pretty quickly, so I am having my fill of figs.  If they still have them when I go next week, I will get another box.  Maybe two!
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Tuesday, August 25, 2015

A little fishy box 08-25-15

Three years ago I took these pictures at the home of my friend Joan in Pacific Grove.  I thought at first it was a netsuke, but it is a little carved ivory box (the owner of the box tells me it is not ivory - don't know what it is made of).  I don't have any information about the it, I just think it is wonderful. 
 
One side of the about 2.5" tall box.
 
And the front of the box.
 
And the other side.
 
And with the lid off. 
What a wonderful little treasure.
 
See an update on this on 09-30-15
 
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