Sunday Things

 

I went with my friends to Pasadena on Sunday, to the Asian Pacific Art Museum. It was a small place, but we enjoyed the exhibits, and it was free!

I thought Violet would enjoy the exhibit on music, since she has been interested in old/ancient stringed instruments.

There were even camels to ride!

After the museum, we went out to Jen's favorite Thai restaurant. 

Meanwhile, Stace and Violet went to a music shop to look around and get new picks for the mandolin. 

They also watched our favorite history programs and were inspired to make a medieval apple and pear pie.

When I got home, we went out to the archery range, and then to the store for the ingredients.

Then, they started chopping!

Simple, as it would have been 500 years ago.

But beautiful...

...and delicious!

We watched Fantastic Mr. Fox while enjoying our pie.

Saturday Fun

Stace went into work Saturday morning, but got home in time to come with me and Violet to an Acton farm for a harvest time event. 

We bought some baked goods, got coffees, and picked a bouquet to take home.

The farm shop is so cute!

Even cuter was this trio of kittens, born to a feral mom on the farm.

Our handpicked bouquet brightened up the dining room nicely.

Later that afternoon, I had a lovely date with this handsome man, as we attended the wedding of his co-worker. Here, we were on the rooftop bar of the venue in Newhall.

Twice in one year to get spiffed up and celebrate love!

Stace is still quite proud of the gorgeous lining of his new suit. 

We had a lot of fun with a few of Stace's other coworkers as we enjoyed dinner, dessert and lots of dancing.

Week in Review

Melanie and Ellie came up on Saturday and Sunday to work on her brakes. She brought dinner both days, so that was nice. My parents came over on Saturday evening as well, as they had taken Ellie to a pumpkin patch.

On Saturday afternoon, Vi and I went to a craft fair at our church parking lot, and on Sunday, we went to an art festival in Newhall. 

Violet took part in one of the booths, drawing from one of the item prompts in front.

The art fest featured some amazing chalk art, along with booths from vendor artists, including our friend Qiana.

Stace and Mel were able to wrap up early enough Sunday to leave some daylight for Vi ad Stace to shoot arrows.

In the week, Stace continued working on getting a broken bolt out of the caliper bracket, and eventually had success. Then, finishing the brake job was simple.

Cora had to have a TB test for her to get hired by the school district as a theatre technician. Stace went with her when she had her skin test examined, and he took this humorous photo. 

Also related to work, Cora went bowling with her Fright Fest coworkers after the close of Sunday's event. They were bowling at 2 a.m., with an arrangement with the bowling center. She had fun!

Fright Fest 2025!

 We returned to Fright Fest on Friday, with my Dad (and his good camera gear) and Colleen and Rigo. We came upon the spookiest siren!

The makeup artists are truly amazing, artists in every sense of the word. 

Cora was ON. It was fun to watch. See the video below. She's loving her crew and being a scare actor. The hours are long but she really is enjoying the experience.

Rigo said he was more creeped out by her persona, and the sounds she made, than he'd ever felt at Fright Fest! She makes a shrieking sound by inhaling; she swears it doesn't bother her throat. It sounds like the shrieking eels in Princess Bride, or the Ringwraiths from Lord of the Rings.

We watched her work for a while, and got these photos. Thanks to Colleen for this one - the black light was cool! - and to my Dad for the rest. She's wearing her contacts here.

We then went up to Mom's new scare zone, Thunderbolt Alley. Here, there are numerous characters you might find in a '50s movie - well, the dead zombie type of movie. 

Lorraine Lurane introduced us to her new friends, including this poor guy. He apparently was a star football player who had an unfortunate in-game head injury.

We also enjoyed the slider show again - Cora would love to be a part of this team next year. They really put on an impressive show. With my dad and his camera, we got VIP treatment and viewing! 

(Colleen took this photo.)

Dad got this photo prior to the show, of two of the chief sliders. Jinx the Fool, on the right, has been encouraging to Cora about learning to slide.

We took a break with a drink in the bar, and chatted. It was a great night with my Dad and friends!

Week in Review

 On Sunday evening, while Cora was at work, we went to the archery range again. This time, Stace let Violet drive once we got on the dirt road.

On our way home, we stopped at my Dad's house, where he fed us pizza and Stace helped him open a locked box.

On Wednesday, I picked up Ellie from her school and stayed with her for a bit, so her mom and dad could go to a museum. We had fun, and Ellie, being very outgoing, introduced me to everyone she knew. So cute!

Later that night, the three of us continued watching Tales from the Green Valley. It's the first in the series of BBC historical farming shows we've enjoyed over the last few years. This one has the presenters living farm life circa 1620.

When I got home, the cats were very interested to see what I had in the bag.

Speaking of very interested - I can't eat my oatmeal cake without Winston demanding I share it. He's so weird. I give him tiny bites so he can munch without putting his mouth on my breakfast.

Also this week, Violet and I took a sunset walk at Quigley, and spotted four deer, a big group of vultures on the ground in the field, and two great horned owls! I was very sad to not have one of our real cameras handy. In this photo, the owl is in the center, and at one point, two owls were together on this electric pole. I could see them so clearly, but the phone camera in such low light was rubbish.

Still, a very cool nature walk!

On Friday, Havana Savannah had a lunchtime deal where they sold their pizzas for $6.95 each. The line took forever - good thing Cora was home to pick up Violet before she went to work. But, they are good pizzas, especially at that price!

Waves Weekend

I graduated from Pepperdine University in 2000, so this year marks 25 years. JT suggested we attend Waves Weekend, the annual celebration of all things "Waves" (the ocean-front school's mascot). It's a Parents' Weekend (for current students), Homecoming and Alumni celebration all in one.

 

The guys came too, getting a good look at the campus that meant so much to us. And, in a way, brought me and Stace together - without JT, I wouldn't have met Stace.

The alumni were treated well - we paid for tickets for Saturday, and with that, were given lunch and a dinner banquet later.

After lunch, we watched the Pepperdine Improv Troupe performance, and then checked out the art museum. We were sad to see the bookstore and on-site Starbucks closed rather early, but found drinks at a little store in the student center. We checked out the exterior of the dorm we lived in, and looked around the large library, seen here.

Pepperdine is a Christian university, and the chapel features this beautiful stained glass window.

With Cora's theatre experience, we sneaked into the shop behind the theatre - it was huge! Strange for me to think that Cora could be here now, taking classes and living on campus!

After the banquet, we enjoyed one last look at the Pacific, with the lights of Santa Monica, to the south.

It was nice to be on campus again, especially with getting to see JT and Jim.

Meanwhile, Violet spent the day with Liana and Family, as they went to Carpinteria to the Avocado Festival. (And, Cora worked!)

Same ocean, just a bit further north than we were! Many thanks to Colleen and Rigo for keeping Violet entertained while we were gone all day.

Tidbits

Winston joined Seb on the bed, and was sniffing him a lot. Seb hissed a bit. Then Winst settled down, lying ON Seb's tail. So silly.
 

I went back to the bargain store that sells closeouts and Amazon returns on Thursday, when all items are $2. I found a lot of interesting things to buy, amid the bizarre. The best deal was the protein powder on the left - these are $50 on Amazon! The probiotic OraStix dog treats sell for $25; the box of several cheddar almond flour crackers goes for $24. The dried passionfruit sells for $17, and a couple of supplements I bought go for $14 and $17 each.

Later on Thursday, Violet asked if I would take her to Vasquez Rocks for a bit after school. My nature girl needed her fix.

On Thursday night, Stace, Violet and I went to Cora's high school to watch the improv club have their first show of the year. Unfortunately, Cora had rehearsal for her college show, but we enjoyed seeing friends again. 

Stace saw Cora's name up on the plaque in the trophy case from her award in May.

The electronic cat toy I got from the bargain bins store came with a foil ball and a glittery soft small ball. I'd forgotten how much the cats love those, especially Seb, who has been playing with it like a kitten. 

Evie enjoyed playing with it by pushing it under the chair, then wriggling under the chair to try to get it. So so silly.