DMV....Echo

Five days it's been since I've posted.  You'd think I was super busy.

I guess, in a way, I have been.

First up this week was an very interesting initial trip for The Maven and I to register our two cars, and Mr. T's in CA.  Luckily we had an appointment.

I had filled out a lot of paperwork ahead of time, but a lot of good it did me.

Sent back twice for corrections.  Got right back to the front of the line (daggers in the back) each time and then time to wait for our turn at one of the many desks where info was entered into the computer.

Long story long. After about an hour with the lady at the computer and a lot of $$$, the three cars are registered.  Next up, Smog checks,

vehicle inspections, then handing over of paperwork and FL license plates in exchange for California ones.

Mr. Tennis has done all the requirements as his job will start kicking into high gear very soon.  He won't have the time for lines, etc.

He's done!

Not his actual plate, mind you.

The Maven and I will tackle Smog inspection and vehicle inspections next week and then make appointments for the paperwork and handing over of FL license plates.  THEN, we will make appointments for driver's licenses - which Mr. T has done already.

He's a Californian!

Everyday I try to go and look at a different part of the LA Metro area.

Well, not everyday, but most days I try.

Today I finally remembered an area I've read about and always forget to go see when we've visited here in the past.

Echo Park.

An area of town with a notable/notorious past and a bright present and future.

It's listed as.... well, I will let the sign speak for itself:

I'd first heard of Echo Park through the author Michael Connelly. 

 He writes crime novels quite often taking place on the streets of various parts of LA and two, in particular, in Echo Park.  In his books the area is a mix of old run-down Victorian homes and an active drug culture, hence a lot of crime.  He does hint at the re-vitalization of the area, but his character, Det. Harry Bosch  mainly deals with the seedier side of this interesting area of town.

These books are dated and now I hear people are coming in, buying the homes and restoring them to their past glory. What a wonderful thing, I say.

An old hitching post.  Look at the next one!

I parked and walked around a bit, but still feel a bit shy taking pictures of people's homes,

so I eventually resorted to driving and shooting from my car.

It was a fascinating ride up and down hilly streets.

Beautiful, beautiful, ornate homes.

And some that have lots of potential.

Look at that top right area - I've never seen anything like that!

I know some of you would just itch to get your hand on this one!

I haven't done the research, but I know some of these homes have been the backdrop for movies, tv shows, past and present. As I settle in and have more time I would really like to learn about the history of this area more and then take some pictures that are truly worthy.  What about you?

Have you ever heard of Echo Park?

For me?  

Do I like the ornate Victorian style?

I like it to look at, but for me, my dream California home would be a small

bungalow or craftsman-style home.

Not that these are cheap!  Especially in this area. My photography skills do not do any of these homes justice - I need a "fancy" looking camera to give me some street cred.  But I think the residents are proud of their homes and don't mind - I hope!

A place that I can furnish and decorate in an eclectic fashion with things such as this:

A new find! 

 One of a couple I found this week in my exploration of neighborhoods and thrift stores.

More on that another time.

Have a great weekend and even though we are in California, we still say:

GO GATORS!

Fall Fun with Some Help From Family and Friends...

Although the temperatures have yet to feel like fall around here, I have put a few things out to get us in the mood for autumn, Halloween, and Thanksgiving.

My brother, Mr. Connor, was concerned that I could not find my salt and pepper shakers (still haven't) and sent a surprise package in the mail.

Those who shop in the South will recognize these Pilgrim shakers that are Publix originals.  I never had any of my own and Mr. Connor was thoughtful enough to send me the ones in his house to replace my missing shakers and to give me a taste of home.  Or as he put it, "now you will always have something on your table from Publix".  Thanks Richard!

They inspired me to hunt for my ceramic pumpkin that is an autumn staple in the Boston household and I think they are the perfect compliment, standing in front of it, welcoming those who walk through our front door.

And, I finally changed the chalkboard to welcome a new month!  Need to practice my chalkboard writing skills a little more - perhaps by November my chalkmanship will have improved.

The newest and cutest addition to the beginnings of my fall deocating is a pumpkin banner that I ordered from a very dear blog friend.  

She has a great little Etsy shop where she sells many different items including her crocheted pieces.  

She had done one that was apples and oranges and I asked her if she could do a pumpkin one.

She rustled this up in no time 

and I moved it from place to place in the house, 

but like it best on my green hutch with all my "treasures".  

The happy orange pumpkins are a lovely burst of contrast color against the rest of the hutch.

I visit Pat's Blog,  Corn in My Coffeepot ,everytime she has a new post up. (One of her best posts was how she came up with the name for her blog!)

 She has so many great ideas as she and her husband tackle the challenges of living a frugal life, quite nicely, on their Texas farm.  Her ingenuity and wit keep her readers interested, entertained and I always learn something new reading her blog.

When I asked Pat if she would mind if I featured her pumpkins on one of my posts, she immediately said, "oh yes!"  and offered my readers a 10% discount if they saw something they liked from her Etsy shop.

Thanks Pat and Richard, for getting my motor started for fall decorating!

Anyone wanting to look at the goodies at Pat's Estsy shop, click here:  9th and Denver. Or check out her blog and enter her shop from there.       

                

                                            

I may have to get that candy corn banner too, that's new!        . 

 If you can't resist one of her treasures simply type FALLSAVINGS12 in the promocode area and you will receive "The Boston Lady" 10% Discount.  

My. my, aren't I getting a swelled head naming it after myself.

Have a great week!

Bumby and Pippa

One of our new neighbors is a young female kitty that we call "Pippa".

That is the name of my next cat (if I ever get one).

It has been cooler the last couple of days so the windows were open and Bumby finally got an eyeful of the friendly Pippa.

Pippa is often laying on our sidewalk or in the middle of the street (!) when we come home and she likes to come and visit.

Gorgeous eyes and coat!

And make herself at home on the yellow bench on the front porch.

Bumby was not amused.

I see you trying to make nice with that trespasser! 

But not necessarily hostile either. 

After all she has experienced in the last six weeks, 

why would a little Pippa bother her?

Pippa trying to bite my camera.  So that's what cat lips look like...

It was a sad day for bloggers yesterday, especially in the "animal-blog" world.  A much loved and admired, "relentlessly huge", presence was unexpectedly lost yesterday when Mango the Mastiff crossed over the rainbow bridge.  "Mango Momma" gave this beautiful dog and his little brother, the "labradude", Dexter, a voice through their blog.  

Although he is gone, how wonderful that his irrepressible spirit lives on through the archives of the, now retired, blog

Mango and Dexter's Great Adventures

and Youtube too, of course.

Hugs to Mango Mama, Master and The Pea.

And thanks for always making me laugh, Mango.

Apparently I Am A Vain, Shallow Scaredy Cat!

I finally did something I've been afraid to do since the move.

Something so frightening and intimidating that I've put it off.

For weeks.

I got my haircut.

By a new person.

Not my "old hair person" who I knew for over 15 years.

Trish, if you are reading this, I did it, but there wasn't the usual chit-chat, laughing, sometimes crying.

Who cries with their hairdresser?

I did.

To have such problems - I feel very shallow that I considered this an obstacle.

That I stalked a couple of shops and looked them up on Yelp!, as if this was a life and death matter.

Even after watching two very good, beautiful friends lose their hair to chemo with grace, humor and dignity, 

I still made this a big deal in my mind.

(Miss you ladies!)

Got up today and just went!

No appointment.

Nice lady welcomed me and started cutting and buzzing after a few questions.

Me, no glasses at her total mercy, picturing this:

I should be so lucky to look like Anne (with an "e") Hathaway!

She looks great no matter what!

I texted a couple of friends for support. 

They understood my shallow vanity.

Cutting, buzzing, blowing, fluffing ended.

Glasses put back on.

20 minutes! That's all it took!

That's because we weren't talking like Trish and I did.

New lady, gave me some tips to make my hair not lie flat in no-humidity.

It didn't look bad!

It feels great!

Pretty short, but not Les Mis short!

Kind of Nurse Jackie short, but again, I'm no Edie Falco!

But I'm me!

I even took a picture for the curious:

Next time:  cut and color!

I think I will go back since we "know" each other now.

But, Trish, I miss you!

Our Weekend Kicked Off With This...

Being from Florida, I am used to going out into my front yard in Orlando on Shuttle launch days and being able to see the launch all the way over at the Space Center.  Never did I think I would see the shuttle flyover me - and so close.

I'm sure many blogs have covered the flyover the Space Shuttle Endeavor did atop a specially rigged 747 around South California on Friday, but I had to add our vantage point because, well, it was just so thrilling!

It was a last minute decision to head towards Griffith Park area in Los Angeles and we paid the price in traffic for hemming and hawing for so long.  We finally arrived to the neighborhood at the base of Griffith Park, Los Feliz and decided to pull into one of the side streets and wait as we had only about 10 minutes until the flyover was to occur in this area.

We weren't the only ones doing this.  The streets were lined with parked, empty cars.  People had parked and then walked up to the top.  We decided to stop about halfway because, one, we found a space, and two, we knew traffic going out would be ridiculous and three, time factor.

We waited in a small cul-de-sac for about half an hour with a small group of people who were doing the same thing.  Above us homeowners were on their balconies waiting for the great view they would have right from their homes.  They were nice enough to tell us, "here it comes - it's coming right over you!"

And it sure did!

My pictures are not the best, but Mr. T shot a video on his phone that captured the moment fairly well.

It's something I will never forget seeing, just as I've never forgotten the privilege of being able to watch so many launches from my front yard for over 20 years.

Next post:  we explored a little north of our area and found a really nice place!

Remember Those 70s Roller Skating Disco Moves?

Oh my gosh. 

Last weekend we went to Venice Beach to get some cool beach air on our faces before meeting up with the CA kids for dinner.

We've been there many times before and always feel a mix of delight, amusement, bafflement and sometimes sadness.  Venice Beach can be counted on to have a carnival-like atmosphere with a lot of little art/merchandise booths, colorfully dressed people ...

...and the notorious "Medical Marijuana" shops. 

No comment.

This was a beautiful weather day with lots of bikers on the bike paths...

...some awesome skateboarding in the skateboard park ...

If you'd like to see this young boy (8 years-old) in action, I've put a link to a Youtube video of him shot when he was six - it's at the end of this post.  We shot a video, but it doesn't show off his talents. Amazing!

...and a delightful group of roller-skating, disco throwbacks enjoying the deejay and showing off their skating/dancing skills.

And Mr. Tennis found something that intrigued him for something to try in the future.

Paddle-tennis!

Yep, he's going to play this version of tennis on scaled down courts, using special paddles and tennis balls  of which some of the air has been let out for less bounce distance.  While we were there they were playing a tournament.

Here's that skateboarding video for interested parties...

Games People Play

Mr. Tennis and I have a game we play, although some of the time he is unaware that he is playing it.  Usually he finds out when he stops by and reads the blog.

I will pick up something at the thrift or another store and add it to the "decor" of our house.  It usually takes him quite awhile to notice.  I thought he was back on his toes with this game since we've relocated to CA, but I think everything is so new to both of us that he just hasn't seen what's right in front of him every day (well since last week)

The Maven and I checked out an Antique and Treasures Mall not too far from where we live.  A really nice and diverse place.  I am a big window shopper and really think about what I buy, but when I saw this painting, I knew I had to have it.

Plus it was marked down 50% as was everything else in the booth.

The cow, of course, reminds me of our Boston, Sadie.  All black and white cows make us think of her for some reason.  And I love the sunflowers and the red house way in the background.  PLUS it was an orginal painting.

It fits. Maybe a little too well since Mr. T has still not "seen" it.  Just think of all the things I could be getting away with!

Gig's up now after he reads this!

And to be fair, I thought he had gotten a new computer the other day.  It just looked different to me, but no, it was the same old one. Just in a new setting.

Have a wonderful week!

P.S. Tomorrow The Newlyweds celebrate their First Anniversary! A year goes by quickly.

In Santa Barbara to celebrate one year!

Here's a picture of the big day last year!

Really?

Can you see it? 

I know it's blurry, but it was the best I could do with my cell phone.

It actually hit 110 at one point.

Many people are smiling right now because they know how I disliked the hot, humid, endless Florida summers.  I moved almost 3,000 miles away with visions in my head during the drive of open windows, cool breezes, no air conditioning...

Fizzle.

Or rather, sizzle.

It's okay, it's a "dry" heat. Which doesn't mean it isn't hot, but it's not sticky, so I'm good.

But just for a bit longer!  

The weekend is predicted to be quite toasty, we will go seek the coast for some cooler air, although I hear even they will be warm over there too.

Really?

Everyone have a wonderful weekend!