January Leftovers

I was at a vintage clothing store and
I am pretty sure this is the same jacket I
was wearing in my bicycle crash in 1993. 

A friend taught me how to take one
frame from a live picture on my phone.

I rewarded myself with a trip to the
Cal Poly farm store. Lots of temptations!

I love this address carving so I thought
I should take a picture of it, just in case.

Getting ready

I love my neighbors!

Tu B'Shevat seder

 

Things I Acquired Today

 

I found a beautiful California Buckeye on the ground.
The early runner beats the squirrels!

Mail from Germany

Library books

A tissue pack - this might have made the happiest because seeing it transported me back to our town in Denmark, where I often saw them on the ground.

Fruit from two neighbors including a new-to-me fruit (in the upper part of the picture, the ones that look like tiny tangerines) called calamondin, which is a cousin of the kumquat

First Time for Everything

I did accept tangerines when a friend offered me some from her tree!

Not to worry, I still love fruit from friends and neighbors!

A neighbor had kumquats all over after the wind storm and I helped by picking them up!

A different neighbor's lemon tree was bending with
the weight of the fruit and she asked people to come pick them.

Yesterday a friend gave me lemons along
with tangerines and blood oranges.

Today the mail carrier brought navel oranges from
a customer along her route (picture does not show all
of them because I ate some before taking a picture).

And I told my friend with the tangerine tree that I would be happy to have some next week.

Travelling Solo

Southwest allows twelve-year-olds to travel without an adult and without being labeled an unaccompanied minor.

• Children ages 12 through 17 traveling without an accompanying Passenger age 18 or older are considered Young Travelers (YT) on Southwest Airlines.

• YT must be of sufficient maturity and capability to travel alone—this includes, but is not limited to, checking in, passing through the security checkpoint, boarding, deplaning, and claiming luggage.

• Parents and guardians are responsible for ensuring a YT arrives for checkin and boarding in accordance with each airport’s suggested arrival time.

• Southwest does not monitor YTs during travel. Accordingly, each YT must have sufficient maturity and capability to request assistance from a Southwest Employee if needed and the means to contact a parent/guardian if there is a travel disruption.

• Southwest Airlines reserves the right not to allow travel on flights that may be delayed, diverted, or cancelled due to weather or other operational disruptions.

A. is of sufficient maturity and capability and wanted to visit my parents on his own.  We didn't even walk him to his gate!  He arrived safely at the other end having changed planes and dealt with airsickness.  Way to go, A.!

view from my parents' front door

It all seemed like a good idea until he started telling me about playing games with my mom, swimming in the neighbors' pool (the same pool where I used to swim), and going to a baseball game with a new friend (they didn't stay all 16 innings).

Cleveland beat the Yankees in 16 innings 

I was jealous!  My parents also took him to the botanic garden, out for dinner, to theater, the library, and the Cumberland Pool.  They even bought him vacation food!  And I missed the block party!

A. got to ride the rocketship car, formerly at Euclid Beach!

Our Claremont neighbors, who had also been visiting family, were on A.'s first flight, but he was on his own for the second flight.  It was a joyful reunion and I hope after my parents recover they will invite A. for a return visit.  Maybe I'll go, too.

Rocks

Maybe it isn't my very favorite part of the garden, but I do like rocks (as you can see in our garden).  They are easy to care for and require no water.  And as an added bonus, they are free!

Our neighbors are adding a driveway from the street
(instead of entering the garage from the alley).
They have generously donated rocks to us.

The toddler and I collected some small ones and made a little rock garden.

Today they generously gave us a very large rock, which fits in perfectly.

It is also good for sitting and waiting.

Olives, Phase Two

Remember when I helped set up the olives?

They were hanging from the trees but had to be moved
because the salt leaking out was killing the plants below.

Our first peek in two months.  They looked like raisins.

Next was to take them out of the salt and rinse them.

They dried for a few hours.  The squirrels did not seem interested in them.

After putting them in jars we covered them in olive oil
(did not add citrus zest or chili, as suggested).

The ones that are not in oil are supposed to be able to stay in the frig for a long time.
The ones in oil can stay on the counter or go in the frig.

What I can't show you is the taste, which is fine because I didn't think it was very good.  There are so many variables that I don't know what we did wrong, but I also don't know if it is worth doing again to make any changes.

Return of Food in the Neighborhood

A friend shared a cucumber and some fantastic tomatoes, but mostly there seems to be stone fruit.  I beat the squirrels to a very few apricots, which were so much tastier than from the grocery store.  I think a nearby neighbor must have green plums because the squirrels are leaving half-eaten fruit in our yard.

Our friends with an amazing plum tree are overseas, but their tenants are also friends and even though they have their four kids at home they still can't keep up with the plum production.

Time to find some plum cake recipes.

With Neighbors Like These...

...We'll be taking more bike rides.

To the south of us lives Dr. Bob, who makes the most delicious ice cream.  He donated six pints to the soccer team's fund raiser and one of the winners donated her pint to us.

Our neighbors to the north bake at the best bakery in town, Some Crust.  Early this morning the bell rang and look what was outside the door!

I don't think it is because we saw the bakery's truck and asked for free samples.  The delivery guy told us he is going to repaint the door so it says, "Driver carries no cookies."