A Bad Week

Why? I don't know. I would normally blame it on the full moon, or Mercury in Retrograde, or whatever. But it was none of those things. It was just a bad week.

I'm not even going to list all the things that went wrong last week. Only a couple. I'm just glad the week is just about over. When is a week over anyway? Sat. or Sun? Who knows!

Now, what is wrong with this picture? A cooler in the kitchen. What does that mean?
It means my beautiful 4-year old Maytag refrigerator died! I first noticed an odd noise as I went to get some ice one day. Then I noticed water dripping on my wood floor! After quickly cleaning it up (no damage done, thank goodness!) I opened the freezer and noticed that everything had thawed! After unplugging it, cleaning everything out, cooking up the thawed hamburger, I lugged in our biggest cooler, filled it with bags of ice from the grocery store, and emptied the entire contents of the fridge into it. I have an extra freezer in the garage, but no extra fridge anymore.

Until the lonely Maytag repairman could come out, we lived out of this cooler for 2 days. It felt a little like camping, but not in a fun way!

Finally, I have my refrigerator again. The guy replaced the starter unit to the compressor...whatever that means! I'm just glad it works!

Also, last week...

I got a call from Daughter #2 one evening that her car was broken into. She takes the train into downtown LA everyday and parks on the roof of the parking structure at the Fullerton train station. Well, upon getting to her car one evening, this was what she found. Below is a view of the floor in the drivers side.This is how the drivers seat looked.

She called 911 to report it. They said they would send a unit out there. Well, 2 hours later...my husband called a good friend with the Fullerton Police Dept. to see if he was on duty. He was. He said, "I'll be there in 5 min." I was surprised at how long it was taking to have an officer dispatched to my daughter. By then, Daughter #2's Sweetheart and I went to be with her. And her dad, too. After all, it was getting dark. I didn't want anything to happen to her in the dark in a parking structure! She discovered that her husband's iPod was stolen, but not the stereo. Her husband's scriptures were stolen, but not his pocket knife! So odd. Her "car kit" was stolen, but not her "72 hour kit". (note: a "car kit" has flairs, jumper cables, etc. a "72 hour kit" is what you should have in your car if you live in earthquake country like we do--includes food, flashlights, radio, etc.)

Officer Coyle filed a report and later the CSI girl came to dust for fingerprints. She didn't get any good ones. Boy, I was wishing I had my camera with me to take pictures of the whole event. The CSI girl even had on a CSI tshirt! (note: the pics you see above were taken with Daughter #2's Blackberry, just before the sun went down.)

Something good...this pretty quilt I worked on. It's hanging up at Calico House in Placentia, CA. I'm looking forward to a better week, next week!

My Idea of Heaven

Since it was my birthday yesterday I reflected on what I believe about life....life after death, to be more specific. I know what happens to my body. I'll be buried in the ground and my headstone will say,

"See I told you I was sick."

And hopefully if I do enough good deeds, I believe my spirit will go to heaven. That's it in a nutshell.

Well, many years ago I told a friend that in heaven we won't have our physical bodies, so we can go round the clock, right? No sleeping. No eating. I told her I'm planning on quilting and doing all the things I love 24/7. That would be my idea of heaven.

My friend said, "No way! Not me. I'm hoping we can take naps and eat ice cream all day." So my heaven would be her hell. And her heaven would my hell.

Seriously though...I do wish I could quilt round the clock. I love it so much. Today I worked on this:

And here's what I watched...in the background as I quilted...I know they'll have Steve Martin movies my heaven! (BTW: Did you ever notice the beautiful quilts in Roxanne's house? Rent the DVD and take a look! They are lovely.) And for your viewing enjoyment, here's one of my favorite parts:

My Los Angeles: part four

"It is this erotic bond between artist and subject--even if the subject is a water lily--that is read subconsciously by the viewer and ties the image to the beautiful." --Steve Martin

Yes...yet another Steve Martin quote for our last and final installment of "My Los Angeles."

Links to other installments here: Part One, Part Two, Part Three .

Have you wondered why I say My Los Angeles when I refer to Los Angeles? I've said that for years. Whenever I drive into Los Angeles from Interstate 10 and I see, through the smog and haze, the first view of the skyline of the downtown area, I say "My Los Angeles." You see, when Daughter #1 worked as a courtesy clerk at Albertsons at the age of 16, (I called her a bag lady), she would never just say Albertsons. She always said "My Albertsons."

So in the days when Daugther #2 worked as an under-18 actress, I would accompany her to jobs and auditions. As we arrived in Los Angeles, sometimes at 6am...I would look at the skyline and say, "My Los Angeles." And so the title has stuck.

~~~

I think one of the most pleasant surprises about my tour of downtown Los Angeles was the beauty. On the news and in the movies, we only see the negative of Los Angeles. There are many beautiful sculptures, fountains, gardens and architecture throughout. Here are some images that I enjoyed:

Walking from the California Plaza to the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Below, our first view of the Museum of Contemporary Art, or MOCA.

Here is one of the sculptures in front. I loved it!

There are many sculptures like this throughout the downtown area.

What kind of sculpture is this below? It's so life-like! Wait a minute! Those are my silly kids.

They are saying, "Our mother is CRAZY!"

Let's continue...

Here are a few of the beautiful buildings we saw...there were many. This is the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Here's the beautiful Westin Bonaventure Hotel.

Even the inside is beautiful!

Check this out! As we crossed the street near the Central Library, we saw this painted on the street! The Los Angeles Marathon had taken place just before we were there. (If I start training now, do you think I'd be ready for next year?)

Below are some views of the U.S.Bank building courtyard. I thought it was so pretty, especially after the sun went down. Lots of twinkly lights. Daughter #2 decided to walk up the stairs. Working downtown, she walks up and down many stairs every day!

And if you're like me and the BabyBoy, you can take the outdoor escalator up! Much easier!

Below is the view looking down the stairs into the courtyard. Twinkly lights make all the difference!

More twinkly lights! You can never have too many!

I guess their mother is crazy! Check out these images below. Even the freeway can be beautiful in Los Angeles! I know it looks like a bad drug trip, but I like goofing around with my camera!

Now, folks your little tour of downtown Los Angeles is over! You have been so patient with me. Perhaps someday, My Los Angeles can be Your Los Angeles too! Have a great day! (PS. I'm going to a Laker's game tonight! My Los Angeles Lakers?)

My Los Angeles: part two

From the Steve Martin film, L.A. Story:

"I have a favorite quote about L.A., by Shakespeare: 'This other Eden...demi-paradise... this precious stone... set in the silver sea of this earth, this ground... this Los Angeles.'"

~~~

The Los Angeles depicted in the film L.A. Story is not quite the Los Angeles of my ancestors. The McCunes (my family) came here in the 1900's. Some of them kept meticulous journals which have been published by my family. Reading these journals, it is evident why they came to Los Angeles. In many entries they remarked at how improved their health was because of the ocean air. They came here from Utah with it's beauty, yes...but harsh winters too. At first they visited the beaches here on vacations. Perhaps this is how it looked:

One journal entry from 1908 says: "While in Los Angeles we took the balloon route one day which took us to so many places of interest such as Hollywood, the Soldiers Home, Santa Monica, Moonstone Beach, Playa del Rey, Venice and Ocean Park, all very beautiful and interesting places. We spent the whole day and all for $1.00 each." Soon many of the McCunes began to make southern California their permanent homes. Some of them settled in Mar Vista, Ocean Park, Santa Monica and Hollywood. Perhaps this was how the Hollywood hills looked when they came here:

The McCunes that lived in Mar Vista owned much of the land there. They even have a street that carries their name. "McCune Ave." Here is some of my family in 2004 at a family reunion.

One of the McCunes wrote in her journal in 1921: "I take the streetcar...This is the worst place for autos in the world and so many more of them." Was this how it looked?Can you imagine what Elisabeth Claridge McCune must have seen in those days?

I suppose it really hasn't changed much. LOL! Just even more cars! Thank goodness we have traffic signals downtown now! Here is a picture I took a couple of weeks ago on my downtown Los Angeles tour with Daughter #2 and BabyBoy. This is the view from the YMCA building:

Here are McCune descendants, Daughter #2 and BabyBoy spitting from the top of the building. Silly kids! Isn't that against the law? I'll have to check with Mayor Villaraigosa!

I'm sure my McCune ancestors would have seen the Angels Flight Railway like this...(where that old building in the picture is, is now the California Plaza where Daughter #2 works.)

This is how we saw it the other day (below). Quite different, don't you think?

And here's the BabyBoy acting like he's buying a ticket. So sad. The trains aren't even there anymore. It's been closed down since 2001, when someone was killed on it.

Here is my lovely tourguide, Daughter #2, pictured below, in front of the building where she works:

Check back tomorrow for "My Los Angeles: part three"...there's so much more to share!

I'm On The Mend!

Here I am on the left circa 1960's with my big sister Vickie. I don't think I was really hurt as it might look. I think I was just playing with the bandaids...always trying to get attention!

Anyway, I am finally feeling like my 'ol self.


What I learned from being sick with "The Super Bug" ...


1. Never dab your lipstick with Kleenex Anti-Viral tissues. Yuck!


2. Movies can pass the time. (Movie: Daughter #2 recommended "Across The Universe."
I give it 2 thumbs up! I enjoyed it very much since I was raised on The Beatles and it includes many of my favorite tunes! I also loved it because it reminded me of The Who's "Tommy"...reality, fantasy, and great music.)

3. BravoTV can help pass the time. (I watched shows like Project Runway, Real Housewives of NYC, and Tim Gunn's Guide to Style...I'm hooked!)

4. Don't get sick when it's Girl Scout Cookie time. (You don't want to know how many I ate!)

5. Quilt a little to make yourself feel better. (I only made this little fleece baby quilt all week.)

6. Take your antibiotics as instructed! (that should be #1!)

7. Rest.

8. Have a napping friend like The Purse Dog.

9. Be patient.

10. Remember "this too shall pass." And it did. Now, it's time to get back to work!

Here's one I finished just before I got sick:

I did some "faux" McTavishing. I really don't know how to do it, so I just wing it! It's my version of it.

This was a 'Saturday Sampler' from Leah's Fabric Gallery in Orange, CA. I like the fabric colors the customer picked.


Sorry, it didn't get a full-view shot of the quilt. It was huge. Here it is all folded up ready to take to my customer. Hey, wait a minute! Who got in the photo again? My silly Purse Dog!

Facing Your Fears

Did you know that "Acrophobia" is fear of heights?

"Keraunophobia" is fear of thunder and lightning?

"Scoleciphobia" is fear of worms?

"Cryophobia" is fear of extreme cold, ice or frost. (this is a picture of my son snowboarding last week at Mountain High... notice ice in his beard! He does not have cryophobia!)

And "Alektorophobia" is fear of chickens?

No kidding. These are real fears.

Well, sometimes we have to just face our fears. And that's what Daughter #2 and I did last weekend.

One of my fears is speaking in public. That would be "Glossophobia." (I'm not kidding. I'm not making these scientific words up. Just Google them, and you'll see!) I gave an hour long presentation to the Southern Longarm Quilting Guild. It was a presentation about freemotion quilting. You see, I am an instructor of freemotion quilting and I am passionate about it. I presented a slide show that I created on PowerPoint. I also included music with the slide show. Wow! I think music makes all the difference! To see beautiful quilts that I have been able to quilt for the past 7 years, with film score composer, Thomas Newman music playing in the background, was so much fun for me. It really added to the presentation, I think.

So I guess to show pictures of quilts and speak of freemotion quilting was not as difficult as I thought it would be. You see, I was not afraid because it was a subject I love! Look at the Flickr badge on the right of my blog and you can see some of the pictures.

Daughter #2 has a fear of trains. It's called "Siderodromophobia." She has never been on a train in her life, but somehow she has always had a fear of trains, railroads or train travel. Well, now she's starting a new job in downtown Los Angeles at a law firm. Her bosses will pay for her Metrolink pass since she'll be coming in from the Fullerton station. It really is a great benefit. This will save on gas, wear and tear on her car, and she won't have to sit in traffic. Yuck!

But she has siderodromphobia! So last weekend we went on a 'trial run.' Sat. evening Daughter #2 and her Sweetheart and I caught the Metrolink in Fullerton. My DH went ahead to Union Station to pick us up. We weren't sure if there was a return trip back to Fullerton that late at night.

Here she is with her Sweetheart. She's smiling and looks calm. (she's a good actress!)

Here they are getting ready to board the Metrolink.

The train is just starting to move. Can you tell by the look on her face? This is the face of fear!

She made it! Can you tell by the look on her face? This is the face of relief!

Later we all walked over to Olvera Street for dinner. It was quite an adventure for her.

This morning (Mon.) she text'd me to let me know she made it to her new job. I know everything will be fine. I'm so proud of her for being so brave!