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Tonight Jacob and I walked downtown towards the roar of hundreds of automobiles taking to the street for a Friday evening cruse. It reminded my of when I was younger and we used to drive up and down the same street cruising. The first stop for Jacob was the brand new Hyatt hotel. He had the desire to try out their front door . . .
Then it was off to the cars, trucks, fire engine and one old city bus. It is a charity event they hold every year. More info here. This was the first year I have walked downtown during the evening. There were several vehicles that were proud of their lights in engine compartments or around the outside perimeter of the vehicle. I even saw one vehicle with LED lights on his wheels. I took several pictures, but many of them were filled with the wandering people. A couple turned out acceptable for the lighting available, one of which is below.
A few weeks ago there was a scooter parked in front of the neighbors house. It made me cringe thinking that the hope and change coming to my life was also a scooter due to rising gas prices.
So as I was out and about today, I saw another scooter. This one was being ridden by someone that was not college aged. Who knows if hope and change put them on a scooter or not. However, they did have a decal proudly displayed on the back of the scooter, a nice round United States Marine Corps logo. Now that is a scooter I would be proud to drive . . .
The young raccoons have been out in the evening running around. The other night I heard one scurry up a tree. It did not know what to do as i took a couple of photos.
Tonight a pair came out of a pipe under the road. I walked up, one took off and the other one went back into the pipe. I took a few photos of the raccoon in the pipe.
I get a little fun out of stalking the racoons with a camera. I will just have to wait and see if my vegetables start getting munched on later this summer. Perhaps they will be smart and just stay out of the garden.
Tonight we wanted to make a healthier pizza. We picked up the dough from Trader Joe and let is sit on the counter for almost an hour before we rolled it out. We used the Trader Joe pizza sauce as well. On went the cheese, pepperonis and the spinach. The pizza tasted great and it had to be healthy because it contained green vegetables . . .
For the past couple of days I have been wearing clothing that looks like it is from the 1800 for a pioneer trek reenactment. Tomorrow the trek finishes. Tonight I picked up Jacob for a visit. They had a square dance caller and Jacob did a lot of dancing which surprised me.
As for the trek the youth push/pull handcarts with their belongings a few or many miles a day. There is a two minute video showing some of the trek below. It is a good video.
Today I had the opportunity to be at one of Jacob’s track meets. He did well and set a personal record for the 1600 meter run.
I thought I would try out the veggie burger. It was good. Of course the onion rings were great.
After some thought, a couple of slices of bacon on the veggie burger would have made it great . . .
What is happening to my neighborhood? My neighbor just purchased a Toyota Camry hybrid. I thought that was a little green. However, my neighbor does commute into LA and the hybrid saves on the gas purchases.
When I cam home yesterday what did I find in front of the neighbors home? A scooter with an Obama 2012 sticker. That saves even more on the fuel bill. Perhaps we will all be driving scooters if Obama wins in 2012 because gasoline will probably be $10.00 a gallon by the time all the damage is done. Now that could really be a change . . .
I go hiking on a regular basis. My neighbor always teases me about getting eaten by a bear. I am not worried about the bears in Southern California. Ran into a bear while backpacking in New Mexico this summer without any problems as well. A new study that shows that “it really isn’t about the kind of gun you carry. It’s about how you carry yourself.”
As for firearms and bears, you need to be prepared because shooting a large fury object with teeth and claws is not like shooting at paper targets. Handguns are slightly more effective than rifles as well. The study had no way of looking at how many times there was not an attack or how some other posturing averted an attack. Just how well firearms performed in an attack. The results, “151 human injured and 172 bear fatalities.” More information is available here.
When asked, what is going on? I have to respond, “A lot.” There has been work, both at the job and at home. No time for adventure. January and February both slipped away without a good hike. Message to self – “You need to plan an adventure. Life is to short without adventure.”
Stopped by Starbucks to support the buycott. There was a line out the door so I will return later. On the trip I was relieved to know that locally we have a “Zombie Outbreak Response Vehicle” in the area as indicated by the sticker in the rear window. Not that the licence plate was a giveaway.
There is this project that I have been putting off for several years. Os should I say, the project just over the fence. There have been these trees that started growing on the other side of the fence that I should have cut down a long time ago. Lets put the major tree at about 3 to 4 inches in diameter.
Then I did not live at this house for about 2 years and they got bigger. I returned and they grew every year and I said that I would cut them down next fall. They have just got bigger. They are in the utility lines. I canned the power company and they will trim the limbs that the lines touch. However, if the go through the tree it matters not.
If I was smart, I would have taken a before picture. The best before picture is from January of 2010 – two years ago. So when we started, there were two more years of leaves between the chain link fence and the neighbors garage.
So after filling 10 normal size trash cans and going to the neighbors to load up their super size cans, which hold three normal trash cans, we cleaned up about 22 trash cans worth of leaves. The leaves were about two foot deep between the fence and the neighbors garage. How about a picture of some of the trash cans full of leaves.
What is left is a clear workspace for a contractor to come in an remove the trees. No more leaves, no more of the seeds that drop and get into everything, and no larger cracks in the cement. You can see the darker areas on the tree trunks that have not been bleached out by the sun by being covered with leaves.
There will be an update post sometime in the next two weeks when the trees are gone and the fence is back.
It is days like today when the temptation grows in the break room that I am resolved to recommitting myself tomorrow or the next day to eating better.
Some time, probably years ago, there was a Sporting Goods and Toy store in the San Fernando Valley area of California. If you looks at closely at the price tag on the 38 special you can see the “SPT. GOODS & TOYS” in fine print. I guess they sold both toys and sporting goods together. My neighbor gave me the boxes of sells and cartridges. There is no telling how old they are, unless you can remember picking up a box of 50 38 special cartridges for $4.85.
Nonetheless, I think both the era of cheap ammunition and a “Sporting Good & Toy Store” in the state of California are a thing of the past, long past.
A few days ago I posted the picture of the Hostess products in a basket. Why would anyone fill a basket with hostess products? Well, is I said that my 22 year old married daughter filled the basket with Hostess products, would that be a better clue? How about, she seems to be craving Hostess Zingers and a few other foods. Additional, she is sensitive to certain fragrances or smells. Perhaps she has had a little morning sickness. Well, the answer to wondering about the basket full of Hostess products is that I am going to be a grandpa. Sometime in the beginning of August there will be the addition of the first grandchild. Well, I am off to eat a Hostess cupcake.
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