Still Happy

I love my Little Free Library. I joined an online group of other library stewards and I am little worried (e.g., one person's birthday wish was to have friends come over to organize the backlog of shelves and shelves of books in the garage). Some people curate their collections for different events. This is shark week on a cable tv channel (which my family members knew!!) and some people not only have shark books but also buy related toys and food for their libraries. I am not there yet (although I do have a little backlog - don't tell).

This book reminded me of my dad, who suggested the same of idea of asking people across many fields for their rules of thumb. This is the 1983 edition but the most recent one is only ten years old.

If you know your old friends' phone numbers by
heart you can still consider it your hometown!

Also in the library is a yearbook from 1937!

I found this in a little library by a senior living home and wondered if someone was cleaning out belongings. I loved looking through it then put it in my library and I hope someone else will enjoy it.

The grocery store has a little library now!

I love my Little Free Library!

Another adventure

I have been writing about all sorts of fun outings.

photo credit - IKEA

I forgot to show a picture (we hang it with the suction cups out so it does not get moldy) of our trip to IKEA to get the perfect bathtub mat to replace the one left by the tenants. We did have to cut additional holes over the years, which should have been a hint that it was time to replace it sooner, but it was easy to clean and lasted so long!

And even though I had been to Little Tokyo a few days earlier I went to Tokyo Central with a different friend and we fun checking out every single aisle This time I was able to buy more since we were in a car.

Weeks before all these fun outings we had a not-so-fun outing. Neither my friend nor I had ever been to the Museum of Tolerance so even though it was a Friday we joined the flow of traffic - two hours each way. Good thing we are calm people. Where was everyone else going?

This museum seemed different because they have survivors speaking on site each day. As with at least one other Holocaust museum each visitor is welcome to receive a card with a person's name and a bit of history. At different spots there are opportunities to use this card to learn more about the person. The girl I received was born in the same country and the same year as my dad. She did not survive. My friend's person initially survived by pretending to be a boy and staying with her dad in a camp until someone saw her using the bathroom differently. She was sent to the girls' bunks and died there.

In addition to lessons about the past and present events there was an emphasis on not only being compassionate, but also taking action on issues today. I left feeling miserable (people are awful! I should be doing more!)! The one section I did enjoy was narrated by Billy Crystal and featured famous people exploring their family histories.

I was happy to get home!

Some Days are Like That

Just one good thing after another!

• It was a nice temperature for a ride to the pool and I had a good lanemate that pushed me to swim a little harder.
• I was given some stationery and wrote a letter on paper.
• The wait to have my blood drawn was short.
• I remembered to take my coupon and own coffee mug when I went out to breakfast with A.
• (A little bad thing because even good days are like that - I washed the blanket the dog slept on with all our other clothing. I thought if i put the blanket in the dryer first all the hair would get fluffed off but I was wrong. I was hoping if I hung the laundry outside the hair would be blown off. Now I am hoping no one else will notice, which is most likely. Shh, don't tell.)
• The newspaper had two swimming articles.

Someone had an unused steel cup just like the one
I had lost and happily gave it to me, apologizing that
it had a Subaru logo. When I went to pick
it up she had wrapped it beautifully.

In addition to receiving stationery and a cup, someone else had a free pile I decided to check out. I am happy to say there was nothing I wanted, but as I was leaving I found a new-to-me little library. I remembered that I had an emergency stash of books with the grocery bags. That book found a good home and I found a book that our book club is reading later this year.

• Lab results came in and they were great.
• And to top it all off, I learned that Tom Hanks is playing Mr. Rogers in a movie coming out at Thanksgiving time. I love this quote from the Washington Post.

• Fans rushed to places not often associated with dealing positively with feelings: online comments sections. Their consensus? This is the purest, most perfect thing ever. Give it all the Oscars now.

Another Adventure

We drove to Asuza and took the Gold Line to Little Tokyo. This time the sign said there were eleven spots when there were none. I asked the person giving out parking tickets to request a work order. I think next time we will not park at the end of the line but go one stop to the west.

Most of our time was spend wandering through stores.

Here are some things I did not buy.

Foot peeling pack, both matcha and regular

Origami paper, which I love but I should use up what I already have

Totoro fan, which we definitely could have used on such a hot day

Kendama for $75
(I guess they have nicer wood and workmanship
than the $15, $25, or $45 kendamas)

These eye shades did tempt me

I am always tempted by little plates and bowls

Cute nesting dolls

Bazillion dollar sneakers that you could actually
touch since they were wrapped in plastic

I was not tempted by potato chips with different flavors:

plum, cherry blossom, cucumber, wasabi, tomato,

Mexican tomato chicken, sea salt and black pepper

Adorable toe socks with a different picture on each toe

Adorable stacking stuffed toys

The one place we spent some money was at the grocery store.

When it is a cooler day we will go back and visit gardens and temples.

Two in One

After returning from the observatory we had a quick lunch and headed to the American Museum of Ceramic Art.

It is always fun to play, "If you had to pick one piece (or one set), which would you pick?"
These two sets were favorites from the Peter Pincus exhibit.

There was an amazing display of Juan Quezada pieces
and information how they are made (the brushes, the firing, etc.).

The last exhibit we saw had many large pieces and I was glad to see that they seemed to be weighted down with sandbags and stabilized with putty. I would not want to be in that museum after a major earthquake.

One of our favorite parts is the gift shop, where pieces can be handled and examined. I was so sorry for the person who also enjoyed this but dropped a piece. Pottery landing on the floor is a terrible sound

The Eagle Has Taken Off

I am guessing everyone else went to the Griffith Observatory on July 20 to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the first man on the moon. We went the next day when there were still special events but (I am guessing) smaller crowds.

We used the free parking at the Greek Theater and walked uphill to the observatory. Even though we felt like we had great views, we were really seeing only a small part of the park.

Before the observatory opened we were able to look around, including checking out the week-long demonstration of Apollo 11's path (see above). I was amazed how many tourists were there! It was a great place to take pictures and a fantastic free museum.

Once inside we made our way to the special exhibit and heard the museum staff highlighted some of the science behind the space mission.  We could also listen to the live feed from fifty years ago on July 21, when the astronauts were on their way home. We also enjoyed hearing the director (Edwin C. Crupp, Pomona College '66) as he described some of the exhibits.

Other exhibits described space, how it has been explored, and
how to teach about it, including this analog star projector.

Being on the roof reminded me of being on the roof of
Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona. 

If only it were closer and if only there weren't a small observatory just a mile from our house I might go more often.

Not as Planned

I have been going on some adventures with a friend and it was decided to go to Watts Towers (I even found the books we had, see above). While the local train is in a great location, it is expensive and runs infrequently. The more-frequent and cheaper train doesn't come to Claremont (yet?) so we drove to the end of the line in Asuza only to find the parking garage full, despite the sign that said there were seven spots. The local streets had signs forbidding parking so we drove a couple more blocks and found a spot. We were excited to see stairs to the tracks, but not so happy to see a fence around them. Sigh.

So it is not Amsterdam, but there were a few bikes at the station.

We made our way to the train, found good seats, and waited for the train to leave. Eventually an employee came through to let us know that this train and the next one would not be going anywhere any time soon because of maintenance on the track further along. Looking at the electronic map we could see that it was going to take us quite a while to our destination. It felt like the universe was nudging us (no parking! delayed trains!) so we adapted our plans and went somewhere else I had never explored - South Pasadena (which I learned is its own town, not just south of Pasadena).

The highlight of the trip was (I know you won't be surprised) the library! It may not have been Simon Rodia's work, but we did get to see Jolino Beserra's Smoke and Mirrors.

We loved the Friends of the Library book sale, too!

my receipt

Why an ostrich you may ask? There used to be a farm in South Pasadena started by someone who was hoping to "cash in on the popularity of ostrich feathers as fashion accessories". 

We found The South Pasadena Ostrich Farm &
Marengo Elementary School Mural, as listed in Atlas Obscura.

We tried Munch Company for lunch (who knew pickled jicama would be good?),

resisted so many temptations at the toy store, Dinosaur Farm. Lucky for me we already own so many of the good things they had.

from their website
We did not have a malted or phosphate (or get a prescription filled) at Fair Oaks Pharmacy.

Our last stop before heading home was a little library (which is a little tidier now).

I was happy not to spend three hours getting to Watts Towers, but we'll try again in November.

Big Holiday in Town

It is a little hard to be motivated to write a post about the Fourth of July when there is a video that captures it better than any pictures I have.

I feel funny ending the post there so I will share a few photos.

Flag is out

No picture of the run, but it was my fastest in six years. Despite running only twice a year, D. still beat me.

My first shift was volunteer at the little kid water slide.
I was so distracted by kids going only halfway
up that I did not feel the earthquake.

My second shift was here, my favorite spot.
Anyone can speak on anything as long
as there is no nudity, profanity, or sales.

If can't read this send me a message and I'll send you a larger copy.

This was my favorite booth in the park.

I am always happy to see Uncle Sam.

 

Because I was speaking at the fireworks event
I was allowed in early and set out blankets.

Here's my fan club while I was on stage.
Thanks, Jeff.

Even though I botched it and the show started three
minutes early, I thought it was a nice finish to the day.