That is Spring the way I think about Spring, coming from 4 season climate. The funny thing is I have not lived in a 4 season climate for about 11 years now. From Croatia I moved to Atlanta, then to Austin and then LA. But even now, after all those years my body seems to steel be tuned into seasons, expecting them. For example, every September I feel like my body expects cooler temperatures, almost craving them, feeling restless when I (my body) realizes that Summer is here to stay.
I also miss rain and gloomy weather. I think I might be one of very few people that do not feel depressed during gray weather (well, if it lasts too long...). I thought it was for the same reason, expecting rain in October, as well as that feeling of cozying with a book and a cup of tea... But the other day I was watching an episode of Northern Exposure (did I mention I love that show), when Chris mentioned something (during a rnt about something or other) that made me realize it is not the cold temperatures I expect, or rain, or gloomy weather (even though I still like the rain) - it is the slowing down that comes with Fall and Winter. I guess I am used to a certain schedule and rhythm that includes very active Summers. Summers mean vacation, spending time outside, having fun. When Fall takes over, you go back to work (or school), weather changes making you spend more time inside (how do you really focus when it's always sunny outside: I always feel I have to go outside or I am going to miss something), your activities change (more reading, less frolicking around)... Then Spring comes, everything smells fresh, hormones go wild, you know that vacation comes in a few months and you prepare for the fun. Is there rhythm in everlasting summer - I am sure there is I just cannot get in tune.
Please, don;t get me wrong - I am not complainin, at least that's not my inention. The tepmerature here was 72 F last week, while in Boston they had -18 F (with the windchill factor, but still!), so it might seem I am bitching and ungrateful. I am not, nothing can beat california weather, especially near the beach where we live. It is just the way my body feels.. I don;t know.
Wow, this is long. Well, just to show you how I appreciate the weather here, here is a sunset picture, taken on the same day as the picture above. I love sunsets here, especially in the winter when the air is clear...

Recently we have had some strange weather in LA. First it was really hot, but now it is:
chilly and... (this is a bad picture, but I heve learned that with children and animals you shoot first and then adjust your camera parameters later. This little guy was up on that rock for a while, moving his (her?) head towards the sun, and then looking back at people. By the time I adjusted for high light, he was gone back to his little lamp heated bed.
...very, very dry. This is not an action shot. He actually stopped at this point, and as about to get up. But his hair?! Everybody around was laughing hard... his hair was standing up straight - even his curles were gone - from all the static electricity in the air!
These pictures were taken at the LA Zoo - the children playground is really fun for the kids, but they had notices leftover since the heatwave - the playground was aactually closed because the metal parts (basically everything!) was so hot it was causing burns. Hello? This is LA, and LA Zoo is in one of the hottest areas of LA, and they build a metal playground that heats up so much? It's not that the high temperatures were so high - we get high temperatures during summer months too... anyway...

Home edition of the LA Times today featured a few (not so well known) gardens to visit to "relax, renew and restore". Here are three of them... These are definitely going on my "to do in LA" list.

The Orcutt Ranch includes 24 acres of gardens and a citrus orchard (you can even pick fruit there in the summer). It is supposedly best to visit during the cool winer months.

Wattles Mansion and Gardens will celebrate 100th birthday next year. It is popular for weddings and other events, but also for the gardens that extend into a park going deep into Hollywood hills.

The Mother Center, Self-Realization Fellowship. Apparently great views of downtown LA, on a clear day. I really want to see this one, and these days, since it's cold and windy, could be perfect for some good views of the downtown.

I found these recently....

Getting Crafty in Southern California from Susan: many links for knitting, crocheting, sewing and crafting in general. I would just add that there is an updated list of fabric stores in downtown LA here. This list also specifies which store is retail and which wholesale only (or both).

I just missed the last mini craft fair of 2006 organized by Felt Club. But they also have a holiday event, and of course, more shows coming next year. (I just realized I will be out of town for the holiday event too, bummer)

Apparently there are good things to be found at the Rose Bowl Flea Market, held on second Sunday of each month. I cannot belive I missed this month, AND I will be out of town next month too.

I want to check the Japanese 98c store. I have been in Southern California for a while now, but have not heard about Marukai until a few days ago. I also have yet to visit Little Tokyo too...

I have written before about my love-hate thing for LA. Well, yesterday there was no love at all.

I was taking my son to his swim lesson - he is two years old and the lesson is 15 minutes. The lesson was (supposed to be) at 6:15pm, so we left before 5pm because it usually takes us about 45 minutes. On a good day (happened only twice) we made it in less than 30 minutes. Once we did not make it at all, because we got stuck on I10 for so long that I just gave up and turned around.

We left the Santa Monica main library, which is at 6th and Santa Monica (for those of you who know the area) at 4:50pm. The destination was Fairfax and Olympic, I usually take I10, because even if it is slow, it is faster than taking surface streets. But the I10 ramp on 4th was completely backed up, all the way from the light on 4th, so I decided to take surface streets and get on I10 further up, on Centinela. I got to Pico and Centinela at 5:35. I was up on the highway at 6:00!!!!. Of course we could not make it by 6:15, so my hubby called to see if any instructor was available later. Fortunately, there was someone, at 6:45, so I kept going. Once I was on the highway, it was moving, slowly, but it was moving. I thought I should make it by 6:35, so I have enough time to change him and all, but we got to the pool at 6:45!! I could not believe it! I was so frustrated! No, I was mad!!! I just had my son strapped in his seat for 2 (TWO) hours, so he could swim for 10 minutes. And he was such a good boy. Can you imagine, two years old and did not complain once. I think he could sense that I was out of my mind, so he kept quiet.

When we got there, I rushed to change him, all the while explaining to him that L. (his instructor which he loves) is not there, so he would swim with V. (whome he never met). He is a bit shy and tends to attach to people he likes and than it is hard for him to go to sombody else. He seemed OK, he said he would go, until we were at the edge of the pool when he held me so tight I could not peel him off me. He would not go with V. Not a chance. And I did not want to push, I don't want him to be unhappy with swimming, he as doing so good, already floating and turning over by himself. But most importantly he enjoyed swimming so much, he would not want to leave at the end of the lesson; and he would say to me "swim with L.?" almost every day. I did not want that to change.

But then L. came and offered to take him for a few minutes. But he wouldn't go! Even with her! She even brough the little slide over, which helped a little - he eventually got in the water. She put him on the platform to climb on the slide, and then he started crying again, wantes to get out and go home. That was it. We went home. Another 45 minutes in the car, going back. Ten minutes into our ride he fell asleep. I guess he was too tired to swim. Poor kid. At this point I am rethinking the whole thing. Driving so far, twice a week, for 15 minutes of swimming! It seems crazy! It is crazy! But he loved it so much.

I am actually rethinking the whole driving in LA thing. I was so frustrated yesterday (I still am) that I don;t want to drive anywhere outside 10mile radius from our home. Actually I am rethingking the whlole LA thing...

One last thought - this is LA. LA! City on Pacific Ocean. 13 milion people or so. One of the biggest cities (area wise) in the world. And there is only ONE good swim school for kids (www.lennykswim.com). They started only a year ago, before that people who were serious about their kids learing how to swim early, took their kids down to Orange County. This is LA! One decent swim school (two locations, but still!). But there are plenty of plastic surgery clinics (9 just in Beverly Hills!).

That's LA (I grin).

I always try to find things to do with Luka in and around LA, so here I will try to write about places we have been to and those we would like to go to in the future.
As a first entry - a place I heard about on local news the other day. A huge treehouse in Torrance, in Charles Wilson Park (2200 Crenshaw Blvd. between Sepulveda Blvd. and Carson St.). It is the last of eight treehouses build by Forever Young Trehouses organization, which plans to build one of these treehouses in each state by 2008. The idea is to create treehouses available ans accessible to anyone and averyone including persons with disabilities. This particular treehouse in Torrance, has over 2500 sqft! It looks amazing and promises to be lot of fun. And... on Saturdays, this is where the Torrance Farmers Market is held. If we plan it right we might have some fun and eat some good food at the same time. We plan to check it out this weekend! Pictures to come...

Luka is only 18 months old, but living in LA you learn you have to think about school very early. The situation is scary, with public schools in a bad shape, especially in some areas (like ours). We support public schools, but I cannot send Luka to just any school. So I started looking... We know we will probably have to move in a few years to be close to a school we like, even for a charter school, because I do not want to spend hours commuting (I spend too much time in traffic as is).
As I find info about some schools, I will post it here. For today, here is a link to High Tech High, a number of charter schools in San Diego which have a very interesting and novel approach to schooling - no sit down lectures, all learning is through projects and hands on work. And no books, for all reference materials they have - computers (of course). That is exactly a type of school I would like Luka to go to. Maybe in a few years they will have one of those in LA?

It rained really bad today. I could not stand to stay in the house all day, so I though a trip to the Farmer's Market would be fun. I did not want to go shopping, I wasn;t even thinking about that. All I wanted to do is go to the Barnes and Noble, browse through some books while Luka is playing with the trains at their childrens' section. But, while I wasn't thinking about shopping, everybody in LA was. We got there in record 25 minutes, but then spent more than half an hour looking for parking. All 8 levels of the parking structure were full. Full! But they were still letting people in, so there were cars just circling around and around and around (some were smart enough to pick a wide isle and wait for someone from that isle to move, which is probably the best thing to do - but you cannot do it unless it;s wide enough to not block the traffic completely). However, when we got out of the garage - it did not seem more crowded than usual. It actually seemed less crowded since the outside sitting areas (of restaurants) were closed, and very few people were eating at the original farmers market since it was still raining on and off. Where were all those people?
The moral - never, ever go to the LA Farmer's Market on January 02!

And, what do you do with the pedal if the waves start coming in?

Beach off PCH, near Gladstones restaurant.

Just to give you an idea of a different type of sunset we get here in LA, at least closer to the ocean. In the four years we have been here, I have seen dense fog like today mostly in the fall or late summer time. It moves on the land quickly and can linger on for days. But this fall was very strange with the rain that came early, and the unusual cold. So I guess the fall is a bit late... (Click on the picture to see what it looked like just minutes before)
I remember sitting on a beach one Sunday a few years back, in early September, talking on a phone to my husband who just left town for a business trip. I looked over to see Santa Monica mountains disappearing in the fog. In a few minutes the fog was all around me, and when I noticed that I cannot see where Ocean Park Blvd ends at the beach, I decided to go home. It felt really, oh well - spooky, for lack of a better word...
Actually, fog greeted us when we drove into Venice for the first time, on a Wednesday night in October of 2001. The fog did not lift until that Sunday morning. Spooky, but I like it...

This is one of the best sunsets I have seen here in Santa Monica. Today was beautifully warm and clear, which makes for a nice sunset.
January through March is the best time for a sunset - too bad it happens so early in the day, most people are still at work...

There is nothing special about this picture, right? Well, it would be just an ordinary "No Traspassing" sign if it were not hung on a fence of the new townhome construction in Venice, CA. If you know Venice (specially area near Venice Blvd/Abbot Kinney) you know there there are no fishing areas here, and I have not seen a deer for a while (ever actually). If you click on the picture you will see the construction...

I often defend the people of LA when others say that everybody here (LA) is shallow. It's all about the looks and not the mind... There is no cuiture here... some might say. But it's all how you make it for yourself - I would reply. It's not all Hollywood and not everybody is a dumb-blond-wannabe with a tan and perfect teeth. 

But... then I read an article in LA Times about a new bookstore in Beverly Hills and I wander... Apparently, a new, independent bookstore just opened in Beverly Hills, after a decade that that town had no bookstore. It seems that the city decided they needed one, but they did not want a chain, like Borders or Barnes and Noble, I am sure not because of books but because of the image... they had a couple of bookstores over time, but they did not survive for long. I wander how long this one is going to last?

However, According to the Beverly Hills Chamber od Commerce (and LA Times) these businesses are doing just fine:

• 55 full-service restaurants;
• 33 jewelers;
• 17 caterers (?);
• at least 27 clothing boutiques;
• 13 art dealers;
• 11 shoe stores;
• 9 plastic surgeons (?);
• 4 interior design studios;
• at least one furrier...

I guess with all this shopping one does not have time to read books...

Today was the day of the Malibu Triathlon.
Four years ago we did not know about it. On our way to California, driving from Texas via Montana (long story; 6 weeks long) we were somwhere between the Tetons and the Yellowstone National park at that time. Three years ago it was cancelled because it was scheduled only a week after 9/11. Two years ago, now living in Santa Monica, we woke up early on a Sunday morning to drive all the way up to Malibu to see the celebrities participate in this event. A year ago, this time living in Venice, we woke up even earlier to again drive to Malibu, this time to participate in this even as a relay team. I swam, my husband ran and a friend rode the bike. We ended up 9th in the mixed team division. Not bad. However, all the credit needs to go to the runner and the biker, because my time was really not too good (see below for results). After we found out the results, we agreed that we (meaning especially I) would train even harder so that we could make it to the podium the following year...
But, it wasn't meant to be. This year, I could not be on the team. In the 38th week of pregnancy I am sure (I have not tried though) I would not fit into my swim suit. At least it would be very hard to peel it off! I was replaced by 'some guy' and the rest of the team did it again this year. They did even better, they were 7th, but in an even tougher division of all male relay teams. Congrats!
The worst thing is that I could not even go to cheer them today. I had a very tough night, and at 4 am could not even think about getting up, driving 45 minutes and then stand aroud in heat until 11am. But next year, I will be back, and we are getting up on that podium...

2003 Malibu Triathlon results for team TIZ:
DivPl #9                                 
TIZ Tm #97                  Score:  1:46:25
Name                        Sex  Time
"swimmer (me)"           F    31:43  (0.5 mile, even though everybody said it was longer)
"biker (friend)"             M     1:29  (transition)
"biker"                        M   46:02  (18 mile)
"runner (my hubby)"      M        46  (transition)
"runner"                      M   26:25  (4 mile)

Update: 11/08/2004
2004 Malibu Triathlon results for team Orange (very original!):
DivPl #6                                    
Team Riley - Orange Tm #139  Score:  1:41:51
Name                 Sex Age    Time  Bib#
"swimmer (not me this time)        M    0   26:25  2315   
"biker (friend)"                          M   30    1:09  2316   (transition)
"biker"                                     M   30   47:19  2316
"runner (my hubby)"                   M    0      51  2317   (transition)
"runner"                                   M    0   26:07  2317   

Yes, the question is why do we have to have the hottest day of the year almost at the end of this summer?? Why does this summer, the summer I am pregnant, have to be hotter than average? Why do we have to have almost record highs now that I am entering the ninth month?
We moved here, to the West Side four years ago, and one of the deciding factors was the climate, the average temperatures throughout the year between 62 and 71. Isn't that just perfect? The record high for September (104 F) was in 1963, today it was 100 F - Lucky me...

Update: Here is what the Santa Monica Beach looked like over the weekend. (LA Times Cover Page on Tuesday 09/07/04). Whay is everbody standing (even those under the umbrellas) ?