Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Which side of an Arctic Tern has the most feathers? A: The outside!
It rained hard around 9:00-11:00 AM and the rest of the day was zip! I was wishing for more rain as we need it; Sue was wanting it to dry up so we could go to lunch!
Nice hat Frosty!
Random Memories: Christmas season in the dime store was busy, very busy. Dad would often come home in the company truck and have dinner then bring the “step-van” full of supplies to the stores in the LA and San Fernando Valley. I would ride along with Dad. I specifically remember Laurel Canyon drive with the Chevy step van loaded to the hilt.
Dad would load that van to the top including the driver’s area and I would somehow fit in between the boxes and hang on for dear life. Dad was a super driver and Laurel Canyon gave his expertise a challenge. In those days, the road was two narrow lanes with hairpin curves. It was steep going up the canyon and steeper going down into the valley. The views were quite amazing, LA was like a box of jewelry seen from varios points in the canyon.
Until the twentieth century, passage up the canyon was made on foot or by mule. In 1907, an 82-mile dirt road, later named Laurel Canyon Boulevard, was built. It ran up the canyon, dividing at what is now Lookout Mountain Road; the left road went up to the summit of Lookout Mountain, and the other went to the top of the Santa Monica Mountains and then down to the San Fernando Valley.
Returning from the valley, the old truck did well since it was emptied of its contents. We would fly down the canyon. Dad made the gears sing; yes, it was a manual transmission and Dad could double-clutch with the best of them!
That’s the van we used to make the deliveries and that’s little old me in about 1955.
Laurel Canyon was known for being dangerous but in earlier years it was much worse. At least in our day, the road was paved and all the gravel was gone. I do remember Dad showing me Harry Joudini’s home which was just off the roght side of the road near a sharp turn.
In 1915 it was not an easy drive but we didn’t have to do any deliveries then; Dad was eight and I was yet to be a twinkle in his eyes!
Through the window, I peered, and the rain has come and gone! Disappointing for those of us that wanted a real storm. We need all the water we can get!
The house cleaning folks are due today, so we went to CPK for lunch! The menu is going to get a lot of study as I am up to 213 pounds this morning, so low calories are the order of the day! The half-Ceasar with chicken was the answer, 400 calories, yeah!
Gin & Tonic Time
Coming home, we took a short nap and then began with the Christmas movies!
First, we watched “Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups”. Summary: When Mrs. Claus travels to Pineville, the playful Santa Pups stow away on her sled. Taking mischief to a whole new level, they begin granting joyful wishes to Pineville’s boys and girls, but something goes wrong – the Christmas spirit begins to disappear. Now the Santa Pups and Mrs. Claus must race to save Christmas around the world. From the creators of Disney Buddies, this magical, heartwarming tale is brimming with hope, cheer, and Christmas spirit.
The babies were so cute!
Then we watched “TheThe Ultimate Christmas Present.” Summary: Two teen girls, Samantha Elizabeth “Sam” Kwan (age 13) (Brenda Song) and Allison Rachel “Allie” Thompson (age 13) (Hallee Hirsh), find a weather machine at a shack in the woods. After learning of its controls, they use it to make it snow in Los Angeles.
Cute story
We did our serials(Royal Pains and Boston Legal) and then crashed after having our tookies. One last look out the window reveals the “weather-guesser” was wrong again! Blue skies and no rain when yesterday’s forecast was 90% all day and night!
