Things You Don't Want To Live Through Twice (Week 11 Of Quarantine)

Yesterday was a horrid day. In honor of that, I will skip my totals for Week 11.

If having to be quarantined for months on end wasn't enough...

I checked in with Facebook and found out that there was going to be a demonstration regarding the killing of George Floyd. It was going to happen at 11AM at the corner of Valencia Blvd and McBean Parkway. Basically our Mall.

I had 2 errands to run and so I made sure to do them early in the day. I brought 8 bags of food, TP and clothes to our Church, for many organizations that are distributing things for the less fortunate in So Cal. Then got eye medicine for my cat, from the vet.

Our local demonstration went on until the mid afternoon, and then dispersed, after they had walked to the Police Station (which is adjacent to the Mall). Big sigh of relief, from me.

We then heard that Saugus Cafe had opened and so my Husband wanted to go. I allowed it, but I want to say, I was not comfortable with eating without a mask, in a restaurant. It is too soon for me.

Meanwhile, there was a demonstration going on in the Fairfax area of Los Angeles. I could feel it coming, because I had lived through the L.A. Riots in 1992 (which I wrote about HERE). Late afternoon and things started hopping, with things set on fire and then looting. Talk about a flashback. My girlfriend lives in that area and was screaming on Facebook about what it was like on the ground and it did not sound pleasant. Finally, the Governor called in the National Guard.

As all this was going on, a fake Twitter account said that people were coming to our area of town, because we are rich and white. Really?

The Sheriff's Department said it was not credible but covered the Magic Mountain area, anyway. At that point, I went to bed, I had had it.

We survived to live another day.

Photo is of yesterday's Sunset.

INXS

I have written before about the fact that back in 1987 I worked on American Bandstand. You can see it archived at KCET's website, HERE.

My favorite group that I watched perform, was INXS.

They were there to promote their new album (at the time) Kick. The first song they came out with, off that album was "Need You Tonight".

I have not watched this video, since it aired back in 1987, but amazingly, I found it on Youtube the other day.

Someone had recorded the song on a VHS tape and uploaded and posted it. I guess since Dick Clark is dead, these things sometimes happen.

No matter what, check it out and see our camera, which was on the floor of the stage with the kids dancing. Luis Fuerte on camera and me keeping the kids from tripping on his cable.

Curious as to who else I saw that year? Here is the entire lineup for Season 31

Food For The Poor

It has been difficult to give to the poor, over the last 3 months.

This week I was invited to drop off food at my Church.

I had not stopped buying things on extreme sale and had just been holding them (or figuring we could use them if things got worse).

So I had 2 bags of things, right off the bat.

This week I went and shopped for Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Mecca, which is a very poor area out in the California Desert. It is the Women's Guild ongoing project that has been put on hold. I gather that some of the men took what provisions were left at St. Kateri Church, over to Mecca the other day and found out the Pastor for the Church had to turn away over 1000 people who needed food.

I am sure in this pandemic, it is even harder for them to to survive. I have no idea how many stores exist out there.

So this is my collection of things to make their life a little better, at least for now.

I found so much that was not very expensive, but nutritious.

Hopefully it will help.

Update: Love SCV posted some photos of the food drive. My stuff is there, mixed in. Yay!

Jazzman & Zanzibar Sounds Of Steely Dan?

Recently some of the Steely Dan groups that I belong to have been alluding to the fact that they think some of the songs out there, harken back to Steely Dan songs from the past.

2 songs that get mentioned, in particular are:

Jazzman by Carole King

In a cool kind of way, the lyrics were written by former member of Steely Dan, David Palmer (who sang Dirty Work and Brooklyn on their first album, Can't Buy A Thrill).

Tom Scott played the sax on the song.

The 2nd song mentioned is Zanzibar by Billy Joel. This is the original recording, btw, with the sax solo by Freddie Hubbard.

HERE is a more recent one, from Shea Stadium in NYC.

Jazzman came out in 1975 and Zanibar came out in 1978. To put them both into perspective, Aja (their most Jazz influenced album) came out in 1977.

Yes, the songs have Jazz influences in them and they are both good songs, but Steely Dan...No, I do not hear it.

Give them a listen, it is worth the time, since they are both great songs.

The sax solos are outstanding, on both of them.

Lucia & CeeCee

My niece-in-law posted a photo of her daughter and their new cat, up on Cluster the other day.

We had seen just 1 video of the cat and heard that it's name was CeeCee.

I have no real information about it (even to it's sex).

But since I fell in love with KCAT way back in the 80's, I have always had a thing for black cats.

I hope all is going well with them.

A Visit To Father Ed

The man who married my Husband and I almost 30 years ago, died on this day in 2012. I wrote about him, HERE.

Since it was Memorial Day weekend, I asked my Husband if we could take a drive to our local cemetery in Newhall.

We had in our possession the location for his grave and after much to do, with help from the staff, we found him.

The grave is well taken care of and that made me very happy. He was a good man and he deserves to be remembered.

I placed a rock (in the Jewish way) to let others know someone cared to call on him.

I said a prayer, too.

Please note that this post was given the date of 5/27, before I clicked my link and found out he passed on 5/27. That man could always make miracles happen. :-)

The Lights Outside My House

A friend of mine from work has been decorating her new house with lights. It is quite a production, considering how little dirt area she has.

Coincidentally, Almost all our solar lights have died and in this time of being not able to go out and things, it has bothered me, as I sat out at night. No lights on the walkway in normal times is a safety hazard.

So I checked out my go to solar place...Harbor Freight. Yes, you could order via their website and so I did.

I only ordered 10 lights, but after replacing all the walkway lights, I really could have used another set of 10.

No matter, we are looking just a bit better out there and it makes me happier, once again.

I know it is hard to see in this second photo, but we are still lighting our "Blue" light in the window, for Saugus High School. Was that mass shooting just over 6 months ago? It feels like the world definitely turned since then.

These last 4 lights are different bugs, dragonfly, butterfly and hummingbird. They shine with multicolored lights.

We picked up another set of 3 and now have 4 in the front and 4 in the back.

A definite piece of happiness, to add to my solitude. It beats HGTV, by a mile. :)

Nawiliwili, Kauai

My Water Post For Today.

The absolute best looking departure on our 5 stop Hawaiian trip in January was the port of Nawiliwili, Kauai.

It was an outstandingly beautiful day and that never changed.

This photo was taken just after we got free of the port itself. People had been watching us and we watched them.

Then, suddenly, it was a totally different view.

I love the waves crashing and the lighthouse on the left.

I hope you enjoy.

Totals: Week 10 Of Quarantine

It's Memorial Day Weekend and who knew we would all still be staying at home for the 10th week.

In good news for the angel house, NASCAR racing came back last week and so we got to watch some really good racing at Darlington, SC.

On a personal level, after checking out more sink dish drainers then I ever wanted to check out, we finally found one via Wayfair. It is almost identical to the one we had and fits perfectly in our sink.

We are still holding our own, at the angel house. Still healthy and still staying home, for the most part, even though things are beginning to open up a bit, especially in Ventura County.

Quarantine Week 10

Toilet Paper: 27 rolls left of the 40 roll score, from 5 weeks ago. Add to that the 12 Costco Rolls and the 15 rolls in the emergency supply and we are still rolling in TP.

Paper Towels: 2 weeks ago we scored with a web order on Costco dot com. 12 rolls! That was on top of 6 rolls of a no name brand at Von's. We have 2 rolls left from our original stash, so all is well with that.

Tissues: I picked up 2 Kleenex square boxes this week, added to our 3 boxes in the closet. Of everything, tissues seem to be around a store, each week, so I have managed to keep them going during this quarantine.

Soft Soap: A large bottle under the sink in the bathroom. In addition I still have 2 new Lavender bottles that I got at Rite Aid. We are still set, for quite a bit.

Wipes are being used, but are similar to last week's totals, thanks CVS.

Meat: I still saw no meat shortage here in LA. I did buy a package of pork ribs at Smart and Final and Chicken wings at Von's this week. It is Memorial Day this weekend and we NEED to BBQ. :-)

The inventory of our freezer hasn't changed too much. It is jammed.

Once again (do I sound like a broken record, or what), the main reason I went shopping this week, is for some fresh produce. Fortunately, Von's had plenty of salad. Hubby is happy.

Pantry is, thankfully, still full of staples. I saw cereal for $1.99 this week and so I broke down and bought 2 more boxes. I had some idea of bringing a donation to the Food Pantry on my own, but amazingly, Knight of Columbus at my Church is having a food drive next Saturday. WIN!

We got another bunch of free stuff from Von's Monopoly game, which is (thankfully) coming to an end. I didn't do quite as well (money wise) this week, but still came out paying $124 and saving 40%, due to the free stuff and sales.

We will continue to stay at home, so there will probably be a week 11 entry next week.

I hope you are holding your own in these very unsettled times.

SoCal Connected Profiles Mass In LA

A week ago, KCET did a small story about my Church and how they are connecting with their parishioners during the quarantine.

It was very well done and shocked the heck out of me, because (number 1) I used to work audio there and (number 2) I tune in quite often, to participate in the Mass.

Father Albert mentions in the video, that one of his interests is the technology of audio and video. So he is the one who sets up the Mass each day.

If you would like to view it, you can do so HERE.

Things Are Hoppin' In My "Garden"

It has been just one month since I planted my "Victory Garden" in the front of my house.

I won't give you the full garden right now, but just a preview of the biggest movers, so far.

I have about 10 cherry tomatoes currently growing on one of my plants, 1 "big boy" growing on the big tomato plant.

Those 2 purple flowers are going to grow (God willing) into eggplants.

My cucumber is beginning to show off flowers and 1 of them definitely has a cucumber attached to it.

I am just so jazzed to watch them grow, from day to day.

The best under $20 I have ever spent and it keeps me happy and busy in this hard time.

The Last Photo You Took Before Lock-Down

Facebook and Twitter have been asking you to post your final photo before the Lock-Down.

I went back to Friday March 13th, just over 2 months ago and found a photo of my Other Son at Saugus Cafe.

It was our last dinner with him

Now days, it is seeing no one and staying at home.

This photo makes me miss eating out so much. Sigh...

Little John Dwarf Bottlebrush

The hummingbirds in my neighborhood are currently happy.

I bought these three dwarf bottlebrush plants a few years ago and this year they are really going crazy.

Look at the yellow pollen on them!

The hummingbirds (obviously) appreciate it, though I am not so sure people with allergies appreciate it flying in the air.

Anyway, I like the fact that they have such bright red flowers and the contrasting yellow that is currently on each of them.

It won't last long, but, for now, I am enjoying it.

HERE is more info, if you want to check them out.

Rocky Raccoon

My Son lives in a rural area of Michigan and so the other day he looked outside and coming out of a drain was a mother raccoon and her 5 babies!

He went running for his "Good" camera and got a few photos of them.

All I got was a photo he took with his cell phone, shooting the display on his camera...thanks son.

At least I can see what he was talking about on our "Facebook" call.

BTW, I think the baby at the end looks just like mama. :-)

The Thunderbirds Came For A Fly By

We have seen the Air Force Thunderbirds before, especially HERE in 2008.

In this hard time, there have been planes sent around the Country to cheer up the American people who are stuck at home.

Last Friday was our turn.

Amazingly, it was not the normal 5 planes in formation, but 8 planes!

My Husband got all 8 of them in his close up photo, though mine has them too...if you check out their noses real closely. :-)

We were incredibly lucky that they came through Saugus, right by my house!

So many people waited by the Hospital, figuring that they would fly right over it, but for some reason, they did not.

It was the highlight of our day.