LA96C

Hey, I finally found somewhere cool to take visitors which is also free. As luck would have it, 'Esperanto Guy' is visiting and was with me when I found out Mulholland drive sort of dead ends at a gate where there is a park made from an abandoned missle launch site, LA96C. You can see into both the LA basin and the San Fernando valley from there. Super cool. As we were driving on the dirt road (you're a redneck if the directions to your home include "turn off the paved road at..."; you're a genX hiker if the directions for your afternoon jaunt include same.) we passed some joggers and bikers and covered both my car and them with lots of dust. Yet again, the monthly carwash plan = good idea.

Tomorrow, I think we'll go check out the LaBrea tar pits. And see if I can exchange my door pulls for Hafele 115.21.001-.004 cabinet hardware, which are very like mine, but twice as wide and would look better on my wide door stiles. I'd also like to mock up an over-stove cabinet with stainless (or fake stainless) on the doors. I saw such a thing today and I think it would make sense in the space, but I can't afford the $1200 quoted to me for an 18"Hx27"Wx13"D upscale version.

Other updates, both good and sad:
One of my mom's best friends died thursday. She was a month from turning 70. No known suffering, just "woke up dead". On one hand, if you have to go, that's not so bad. On the other hand, she's dead. It's weird for me since I've known her since I was 7; her oldest daughter was my best friend until 5th grade or so; her youngest daughter was one of my brother's best friends; and we spend between 1/3 and 1/2 of our holidays at their house. Diane loved to entertain. Little fun fact - compared to her, I'm never late for anything. If dinner was at 4, we all knew to eat heartily around 2 or 3 because dinner would be at 7, if we were lucky. Go with God, Diane.

Spent friday helping a friend with a charity golf tournament in Napa. I think it went well, but we'll know for sure when the $$ is counted. I helped last year too and this year was much more organized behind the scenes, but if people love it and want to come back, and get good press from it, it helps. I was unable to help myself and won a silent auction item of 10 cookbooks their magazine staff rated well. Some of you might have cookbooks in your future if I can convince myself not to keep all of them.

On saturday, we met even more book club friends in the city of San Fran. The plan was to go to the Exploratorium or some such thing then have dinner. But those were hard to get tickets and we wound up at the Love Fest. Wall to wall people around a city block with wall to wall cacophony. Four major decibel sources on each of 4 sides. People clad and unclad in all manner of funny stuff. If I can figure out how to upload my .avi clip to blogger so you can hear and view it, I will. I have to trust that my friend will send me the picture of the young woman in a skirt and Obama stickers used as pasties.

On sunday, I was awakened by screaming raccoons. Staying at my friend's house with a lovely garden has a downside (aside from the allergens) in that it hosts a substantial raccoon family. This family got really pissed when one (mom? dad? older sib?) got stuck in one of the cages and raised a ruckus. One XL raccoon kept coming over to the back door to bark at us. Scared the bejesus out of us all, mainly because her mostly-outdoor kitten was nowhere to be found. When I checked after flying home - a scared kitty came crawling out from under the decking with all his hair on end, and the raccoons managed a jailbreak. Relieved at the news, I picked up my friend and we went back to Stick-n-Stein for a quick nosh.