New Things

Because D. had taken some time off he was riding more, running more errands, and generally getting out more. I suppose that is why he scooped me not once, but twice.

He was the first to point out that
our neighbor now has a little library.

He was also the first to notice
the charging stations near Trader Joe's.

There are two kinds installed, Delta and
Signet, and each has two kinds of charger.

This definitely does not fit our car!

I noticed the new power box (sign reads,
"Work in progress. Please do not touch.
Thank you,"), but that was not as exciting.

This is both a new picture because I took it just
this week, but it does look just the ones I take each year!

Expectations

 I love when everything goes even better than I expect, but maybe one day I won't worry ahead of time!

A. and I needed to renew our EU passports and I wanted to do it after he was 18 years old so that he could get a passport that was valid for ten years. We could not get an appointment for the weeks after his birthday before he left for college so we decided to do it this week.

The first step after getting an appointment was to gather our documents. Some were exactly where I expected them to be but one was missing. Glad I checked ahead of time because the next place to look would be our safe deposit box. 

The good news was that it was right near the top so that could be checked off the list. The bad news was that the next day I opened my wallet (not something I do every day so that was lucky!) and my driver's license was missing. I immediately realized it had not been returned by the bank after they took to verify my identification.  All I had to do was ride over to the bank and retrieve it, right? 

Ha ha. The person looked one place and said come back later. I went home, questioned my memory, and looked all over. No luck. Back to the bank, where I could see three different people looking here and looking there. Maybe I left in my box they asked? But I would have to go home and get my passport so they could verify my identity so they could let me get into the box. Aaagh. Time was ticking because I knew I would have to leave town before the bank opened the next day in order to get to LA in time. 

And then, miracle of miracles, it was is the fifth place they looked.
I guess I was the first person to ever leave identification at the bank.

But, wait.  There was another worry to add to the list.

A. wondered about that crack in the tire.

D. said it was fine since I was just going around town. I was relived until I remembered that the next day I would be driving to LA. The tires were going to be replaced over break and for now it would just have to be the fingers-crossed method of repair. I am thrilled to report it worked!

The drive in was uneventful. 

The most exciting thing was seeing the removal of the
Staples sign at the basketball arena. The Crypto sign was
up on by the time we were heading home.

We got there so early we had time to walk over to emili's cafe.
It wasn't the best view but the company was great.

We hustled back to the consulate on Wilshire Blvd., we were escorted to the elevator, and we were immediately helped. We had all the documents requested and even one that had not been on the list. Our pictures turned out ok and it was eight dollars less expensive than expected. What a great experience.

Nothing exciting on the drive home, stopped to get ingredients so A. could make dinner, and home by noon.

Definitely exceeded all expectations!

A New Route

I have always driven to the Red Cross building near Cal Poly Pomona. It is not my favorite drive but there are a lot worse ones. Today the car had to be taken in to have a part replaced.

The tape hanging underneath the car shows why.

It turns out the repair conflicted with my appointment and I couldn't easily change it. I decided I would ride there and if I failed the iron test I would ride home and if I passed then I could get picked up.

It took only 35 minutes, but there was one hill that I was
sailing down, thinking, "I hope I pass the test! I hope I pass the test!"

Ta da! My beautiful platelets!

Unfortunately, it took the people an hour to tell D. that they did not have the part!! On the plus side, they did a nice job of re-taping it.

May Leftovers

I've seen only one of these.

 

I think this is a mistake.
I do not think it was -40°F in Cleveland.

That's a very fast cyclist or another mistake.

Not exactly a Lag B'Omer bonfire.

Happy birthday!

Scissors, video, and lots of curls on the ground.

Shavuot treat

September leftovers

A member-supported radio station in Pasadena hosted a storytelling event in town.
It was entertaining, free, and within cycling distance - ideal!

Did I mention I have a new job?

Not as fun as our old analog odometer, but this is still pretty satisfying.

After and before of a round braided loaf.

Lucky Day

How lucky to have a generous friend who drives the same car we do and shares an extra set of mats she was sent!

Perfect for those people who go riding soon after a rain storm!

Bonus

One good thing about living a place without snow is the lack of salt on the streets, which is known to damage cars. I do like seeing the old cars out on sunny days.

I think the top and bottom cars have their original plates and the middle one is a replica and the most popular specialty plate.

The way we roll

It is true that D. was able to make the bike rack he has had since before we were married work for transporting bikes, when I was driving to practice I spent an awful lot of time looking in the rearview mirror checking to see that the bike was still there. Time for an update.

Easier said than done. We borrowed the modern version of our old bike rack. It was sturdier and in some ways better, but still not the right thing. D. spent a lot of time researching tow hitches (use existing holes? create new ones? weld it on?) and different transportation systems that attach to the hitch.

In the end he chose the same hitch our friends have for their car, which is the same as ours. With A.'s help (and the help of a few building blocks that we still have) they were able to attach it without much problem.

D. chose a rack that was very similar to the rack we have used on top of our old car. It is a basic system that has been around for a while and he was able to find one used.

Ta da!

On the bright side

I got a blog post out of it.

So sad. No spare because there is a battery instead.
The goo and compressor would not work since it was not a puncture, just poor driving.

The towing people wanted to know if the issue was vandalism, an act of God, or mechanical. 

It was kind of interesting to see the process of the tire removal.

And to see the rim.

I was grateful to get home, safe and sound.

Good things of the day

Being in the car for a big birthday AND noticing it!

I know it is messy, but I love mulberry season.

And there were so many low berries.
Wish you were here!