Appliances

I had no idea I was so patient.  I turned on the oven to warm up while I tried a new biscuit recipe and realized it wasn't warm yet.  I cleaned up a bit, but it wasn't warm yet.  I patiently worked on another part of the meal and I finally listened to the gently nudge asking if the oven should be warm yet.  Turns out it was stone cold.  The stove and broiler worked, but not the oven.  I would have used the toaster oven, but that wasn't working either.

My husband, the miracle worker, found the manual, took apart the oven, and called the manufacturer.  They wanted to sell him a $100 part or schedule someone to visit, which would have cost about $100, not including parts and labor.  After asking neighbors for recommendations he called the local appliance store and I was sent to pick up the piece (that is within my technical capabilities).

the old igniter

the miracle worker

the new igniter

If it is something that burns out, why do they put it in such an inconvenient place?

Cagles had plenty of bad humor on display.  The matches and bandaid are part of the Acme Gas Leak Detector.  The wool is part of the Acme Appliance Noise Reducer.  

And then onto the next appliance. 

After poking around a bit he figured out it was the cord that gave way.

He removed the old and connected a new.  Ta-da!

And to think I worried about blog material.

Change

Before

 Of course the before involved prior steps, as my aunt says.  The former owner's dad took the family on a trip to Northern California in the 1930's(?) and brought back a small redwood, which may now be about 90-years-old.  It is homesick for rain and mist and not looking happy in the suburbs of Los Angeles.

We brought in an arborist, but she was not optimistic about saving it.  We did some soul searching and chose to put the tree out of its misery.  After getting quotes ranging from $600-$2600 (not including milling the wood) we went with the lowest bid made by an insured tree removal company.

During

After

But the after picture does not show the end.  Some wood was taken to the farm at Pomona College for the students to practice on before carving the door of a yurt-like structure.  Some wood was taken by a local (around the corner) luthier, and some wood is stashed behind the stone wall in case we want to make stepping stones or table tops.  

Best of all, we are working with an artist (featured in the local paper) who will carve the stump.  I'll write another post when we agree on a design and the carving begins.

Day-After-Holiday Tradition

Can it count as a tradition if it has happened only twice?  The day after Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to visit Oak Glen, an apple-growing community about an hour away.  The apple picking season is over, but on that day they have activities

including making apple butter

shucking and shelling the corn

and then grinding it

so it can be made into hoecakes.

It was a good place to try archery, but next year he hopes to be tall enough to try hatchet throwing.  Swell.

Of course people have to eat and sugar seemed to be the theme of the day.

Instead of a caramel-covered apple A. and his friend shared an apple blossom with warm caramel.

At the next place we watched the apple cider doughnuts being made (sorry I couldn't capture the guard mugging for the camera after this shot was taken.

It was a cold and rainy day, but with scenic bathrooms like this I can't imagine staying away.

Holiday Tradition

In 2008 a local service group started a Thanksgiving 5K run that followed the same route as the Fourth of July run,

but starts at the southern end of the route, guaranteeing a downhill finish.  It goes right by our house so when I run by I get a lot of support from the neighbors.

Three of the four family members ran this year (and the fourth stood outside and cheered).  The oldest family member finished first, just over a minute (1:03) later I came in.  The timing is done with a small chip giving each person a precise time even if s/he crossed the starting line much later than others.  Because of that even though I finished a few seconds behind A., I officially beat him by nine seconds.  He was a good sport about it, maybe because he dropped his time by over three minutes and knows this is (most likely) the last time I'll beat him.

The overall winner was a Pomona College student who joined us for Thanksgiving later in the day and the fastest female was an 11-year-old who had placed third last year.

It was a great way to start the holiday and I am thankful for the volunteers and good weather.

Unusual Food in the Neighborhood

More current posts are on the way (although they may no longer be current by the time they are posted).  I have been meaning to share these for a while.

We live near the town's central park.

At the base of one tree was a familiar, but out-of-place plant.

It even has little green tomatoes on it!

Thanksgiving

I keep a few oldies-but-goodies and bring them out each year.  These are both from 2007.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Solvang

On the way home from Mission San Miguel we made our first post-sabbatical visit to Solvang, the Danish Capital of America (history can be found here).  We had fun poking around and I promised not to bore my friend with comments about what I deemed to be authentic or not.

We did find a store with food so tempting we bought some.

not tempting enough to buy

I convinced my friend to buy a souvenir, even though it is Swedish.

This is the kind we have, but I think she hers has birds.

We found a Danish restaurant that also had American food.  I thought I had ordered some vegetarian open-faced sandwiches (Smørrebrød) but I should have known better since there is no such thing.

Good thing we were able to order aebleskiver!

For me the best part of the restaurant was running into some young Danish tourists who were happy to chat with A.  I spoke to the best of my ability, but they were more impressed by how fluently Arlo could speak.

Now it is back home and onto the next adventure.