La Calavera

Another fine outing for Dia de los Muertos. This year we did full calavera make-up. Here's my guy in his best skeleton face and some photos from the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

A Scene Unfolds

As Pepper was trying his best to nab an afternoon nap on the Chippendale under the bay window, Ranger decided he needed some company and a little playtime. Pepper snoozed through most of Ranger's attempts at play but as Ranger became increasingly raucous, Pepper's tail began to rise and slap down against the sofa with a thwack.Ranger bonked and sniffed and rolled over onto Pepper and at some point gave Pepper a doggy-kiss on the head. She never bites but she does slobber. Then finally looking my way with her floppish brown ears and innocent face, leaving Pepper to nap once again.

Glowing in Neon

I've been wanting to take the Museum of Neon Art's Neon Tour for a long time. One of those things in my To-Do folder that I have now done. My husband made the arrangements for us and even with the threatening rain we were up for it. It was a windless night though a bit damp, and through the open topped double decker bus ride through downtown to Hollywood we never got rained on. With wine, cheese and crackers at the museum, as well as wonderful stops at Philippe's and Cantor's, sporting their own neonage, I snuggled with my husband, a cup a joe on my hands, as we shared a classic Black n' White cookie from Cantor's.

All along the way our host and his megaphone pointed out neon, lit and unlit, some I was familiar with and some I had never noticed before. He peppered this with Los Angeles history and anecdotes, keeping it lively and very interesting. He was prone to spontaneous chats with various pedestrians, and people leaning out of their apartment windows waving as we rolled by.We took an unexpected turn down a side street in Hancock Park where, from our elevated seats, we were treated with grand glimpses beyond the ivy covered walls that I usually see driving by in my Honda, into the park-like yards and lighted windows of these beautiful old homes. In addition to the neon our host also pointed out the vintage street lamps and all-over-the-map architecture of this fair city.It was a very enjoyable event. I'm so glad we got to do this and the dampness in the air with the skybeams hitting the bottom of big billowy clouds added an extra element of uniqueness to it.

There's a Bridge that Leads to Nowhere

Will's been telling me about this hike for some time so when he got an invite to go with some Flickr photog pals he responded in the affirmative. We were up at about 5:30 this morning, coffee brewing, animals being situated for the day, Green Chili Pork Stew slow cookin' in the Crock Pot. And we were off with our packs and our hiking sticks to meet up at Scott and Mary's house just down the boulevard where we waited for a few others to show up, and rendezvoused with a few more along the way, ending up with a small caravan of vehicles filled with people and dogs heading up to the East fork of the San Gabriel River.The trail is beautiful as it follows the river up to the Narrows.The weather conditions were perfect with cloud cover for most of the trek breaking open to let the sun shine occasionaly, then the clouds would roll in keeping it from getting too hot. Several creek crossings and very rough terrain get you to a beautiful bridge built in 1936. Unfortunately the great floods of March 1938 washed the road away and it was never completed. But the bridge stands in unbeleivably good shape on its gracefully curving support piers.While the others went on around the bend to the Narrows, Will and I rested and then took a scramble down to the river's edge. On the way back we saw a couple of Big Horn Sheep up on the side of the hill. I noticed some dark droppings along the trial on the way up and wondered what they were and thought maybe dear or rabbit. But they must have been sheep.At about a half mile away from the vehicles, big fat drops started falling and soon it was raining pretty good. I took in several deap breaths, glad to be off the rough trail and breathed the smell of damp earth as I stretched and got a big hug from my baby. See I took a spill on one of the river crossings, landing solid on both knees while attempting a leap that was too much of a stretch for me when I should have just waded across. It didn't bother me much at the time, but further down the trail my emotions bubbled up and on the way back I felt the right knee giving me some trouble. But after 10.4 miles and about 8 hours on the mountain we headed home where we were greeted by our animals and settled in with some Ibuprofin and Green Chili Pork Stew.