28 November 2007
18 November 2007
On a Mission
Near the end of the self-guided tour, surrounded by models of all 21 California Missions, is this sundial with its inspiring message: "Horae Omnes Vulnerant, Ultima Necat." In case your Latin's rusty, that translates to "Every Hour Wounds, The Last Kills." Cheery, these missionaries. (And no, my Latin isn't that good - there was a translation posted.)
Meanwhile, about the real estate: Tessie's getting bigger, and our apartment isn't. We met yesterday with an agent who will be helping us search for new accommodations. Her first recommendation to us was to consider San Gabriel, hence today's visit. We had two open houses on our list, both gleaned from today's LA Times. We only made it to one, a four bedroom (three plus an office, really), two bath house. It had a nice backyard, if you didn't look over the hedge at the dirt lot with the giant radio transmitters in it; a deck with uneven boards covering the hole where the hot tub used to be and which is accessed only through the master bedroom; visible evidence, in the form of a clutch of eggs, of insect activity in the closets; and a driveway seemingly designed to funnel all rainwater directly into the garage. Hmmm. All this for the low, low price of...
... two-thirds of a million dollars. U.S. dollars.
It's going to be a long, tedious, disheartening house hunt.
10 November 2007
Another Afternoon in Town
She seems to tolerate it:
After walking around the exhibit area, we decided (o.k. - Tessie decided) that we should explore City Hall:
And, from there, it was back to Tessie's favorite bar:
Our last stop before home was at Pasadena's new Whole Foods market. We didn't do any shopping; we just wanted to have a look at the place. We probably won't ever do any shopping there, and I'll explain why soon.
03 November 2007
On the Town
So, with Hannah out at a volunteer event for her former employer, the Children's Nature Institute, Tessie and I were on our own for the afternoon. We made a scenic tour of the fountains of Pasadena, going from the Western Asset building courtyard (where we saw not only the fountains, but snails, too), through City Hall, where we didn't linger as there was a wedding ceremony in progress, to the Paseo Colorado and its spouting fountain. Tessie loves watching water, and I had my hands full holding her back from all of these fountains, so pictures weren't a possibility. Perhaps next time.
I was able to pull out the camera at our next stop, Tessie's favorite bar: Lucky Baldwin's. It was a hot day, so I decided to indulge in a little 'refresher' in the shade. Tessie had an ice water.
From there, on to Central Park. No fountains, but there were swings, and Tessie surprised me by enjoying the slides as well: I would sit her at the top, and she would scoot herself forward until gravity took over and she slid down with an immense grin on her face!