Rain, More Rain and a few rays of Sunshine

When we imagined our life on the outskirts of LA we thought the biggest issue would be the heat , running out of sun tan lotion and trying to decide between the Beach and the Pool – but fate is a cruel mistress with a wicked sense of humour. We are currently enjoying the wettest winter in Californian history and so remain with British Sun-Tans !!

I took Lulu to a dog kennels called Wagon Tails Ranch in Woodland Hills. It was recommended by my neighbour and whilst it looked lovely on the web page and I’d had some nice emails from the owner, I didn’t hold out much hope that Lulu would settle, as she’d been so nervous around other dogs since we’ve been here. We arrived in Woodland Hills to a large Ranch style house in the middle of a quiet street. It looks so quaint, as if it should be out in the country side. The owners clearly like dogs as the front of the house is decorated in all doggie decorations. As we came in, the house smelled of that lovely doggie smell - Ok so you have to like dogs a lot to love that smell. The girls who showed me in were really welcoming and really keen to meet Lulu. She loved them straight away. Judi the owner, let one dog out at a time and Lulu was so excited and happy to meet them. One of the first to be let out was a puppy called Daisy, who Lulu adored and for the first time in months she raced around and played, smiling and wagging her tail so hard that her whole body was moving. Judi let a few more of the dogs out and Lulu was fine with them. It was so lovely to see. I’ve now breathed a sigh of relief and feel less guilty about bringing her here on her own and have booked her in for what they call a play date next Friday. They have a very large false grassed area which has awnings covering it for when it eventually does stop raining and gets warm, although it may all be a lie and the awning are there because it rains a lot here. It also has misting sprays to keep the dogs cool - again I love the smell of wet dog - imagine that x 15 dogs! lovely!!!

On my way home the radio was playing a song by Weezer which I’d forgotten all about, called Beverley Hills, which is all about being part of the rich and famous. I never in a million years thought I would be living anywhere near here…..yet the rich and famous seem to be keeping themselves to themselves ….. go figure !

I have been trying out different grocery stores in the past few weeks. Pavillion’s and Ralphs are my favourites, but the main consensus here is that Trader Joes and Sprouts are the best. I cannot see the attraction myself, as it doesn't have all the things I normally buy, but Im sure after a few years here I will be converted. Interestingly the baking section in Sprouts was only filled prepacked boxes, no flour in sight, so maybe they don't go into a lot of baking here, though I did find a good baking section in Target today. The pickled onions and beetroot were over $8 each, so that be added to the list of presents brought from the UK- imagine that breaking in your suitcase though. Another thing I cant find is Cadburys Highlights - what does it matter you ask, but it is an absolute necessity when you are on a diet!!! So have instructed Max to bring some with him when he comes in a few weeks. I did look to order it on line through Amazon, but it was $22! Another thing I can’t find is Blu-tack – honestly Ive tried everywhere, it doesn’t exist here. Ive no idea what they use instead, so I did order that through Amazon.

I have included a picture of a large flowering hedge near one of the shops that was covered in butterflies, something you don't see everyday - so beautiful.

The freeways here are very bad as I have mentioned before, even worse than the M25. It has become so bad that most people avoid them like the plague at certain times and the news says that a new business venture has started which flies people in on small planes. The actual journey distance should be ½ an hour, but in the rush hour it can be around 3+ hours, so the 15-minute plane ride sounds amazing.

Talking of small planes , Mark spent a couple of days in CareFree in Arizona with his boss – allegedly doing work but they still found time to fly up to the edge of the Grand Canyon to a place called Sedona for lunch. The Airstrip was on the top of a mountain with a plateau on top….. apparently Mark closed his eyes during both the first attempted landing and the actual landing itself !

I loved pottery again this week and we all experimented with different glazes on the pots we had already made. We were encouraged to try different layers of colours which we will not know the result until firing it. People are getting to know each other and were a bit chattier too. We will be shown how to throw bowls on the wheel next week. We have also signed up for a field trip with the group to Scripts college to see Fred Marer collection -never heard of him, but I’m excited none the less.

We travel home from Pottery each week and love this stretch of road as it has lots of interesting shops and signs. One of which is Johnny’s World-Famous Hamburger- never heard of it! Jiffy lube is another one – apparently, it’s for oil changes. Another large and long sign is Work Boot Warehouse which shows a young woman lying on her side with a tight, low-cut shirt on and very shorts jean shorts - but to be fair she does have her work boots on!

I met Jose the pool cleaner and we had a bit of a chat about Lulu who he loves and the fact it is going to get incredibly hot in the summer. The confusing thing is that the gardener is also called Jose. Mark says we will call them Jose(A) and JosB (HoseB). 😊

I met up with the Scottish lady called Elaine from the chorus group in a café called La Pain Quotidien. It was so lovely and we chatted for hours! Felt like I had known her for ages. She’s only been here for two years so is keen to be friends. Her husband and son are pilots, but run a business involving subs - its amazing the diverse people you meet isn't it.

We played Gang Beasts with the boys again this week which really makes me laugh as it is just so ridiculous, but I must be careful as I had described this game as Gang Bangs to a friend, which is clearly an entirely different thing, although both involve a bit of hugging and flailing of arms - so I'm told!!! 😊

Our favourite restaurant is called Captain’s Table, well actually it’s not called that, but I do suffer from malapropisms on a daily basis, its actually called Californian Fish Grill. I guess I always think of Captain Birdseye and fish- see there is a logic to it……… I also refer to Universal Studios as Great Universal. Its lucky Mark doesn’t even question me now and just knows what I mean.

It was an eventful week with Aqua. Linda and Julie were both good on their respective days. On Monday there is an old gentleman who regularly comes in when we have started the class and sits in a chair by the side of the pool waiting for us to finish. He is clearly deaf as a post as each week instead of picking the chair up to move it to the other side of the pool, he pushes it and it scrapes slowly along the ground. It’s a horrible sound and is hilarious as Linda with the stick always shouts and blows her whistle at him, but he can’t hear and we just watch him until he finishes. I don’t know why he does it and why he doesn’t come a little later.

Another event was after I had changed in the toilet, as I always do, as the towel they give you, whilst being described as ‘large’, is anything but, well maybe for sizes 8 and below. Anyway, I came out and as usual was surrounding by skinny ladies who were quite happy walking around ½ naked, with their ‘large’ towels around their waists. In the middle of the changing room I noticed an old man standing in a towel looking confused. I told him he was in the wrong changing room and pointed him to where he should be going, past the toilets and past the ladies showers. The poor man just looked wide eyed and confused, so after further attempts by a few of us to make him move I walked him a few steps past the showers to the exit. He just followed but kept stopping each time I did. Eventually we made it to the men’s entrance, but he wouldn’t go in, so I had to walk in too, saying to myself, ‘please don’t let there be naked men’. He finally got it and went on himself. It was odd as not one of the other women helped him. It reminds me of a time when Mark and I had been on a skiing holiday with his work mates and Mark’s boss and he had wanted to go into the sauna that required a definite lack of clothing. The boss’s wife and I had declined, but after ½ hour we realised that the men had the room keys. After a bit of daring by Lynne as to who would open the changing room door to see if we could see them, I pushed the door wide to reveal an incredibly hairy man standing completely naked near the door, drying himself with a hairdryer. Well needless to say, Lynne and I behaved in a very adult manner and squealed and ran away. I am much more mature now.

After unpacking all my bits and pieces, I realised I was missing something – a sign that said The Loo!

So today I went to a pottery painting store (one of my other favourite places) in Calabasas and painted a tile. I had a lovely time as I was the only person in the shop and sat painting and listening to the 80s songs that included Phil Collins and Rick Astley - Together Forever.

I’m amazed I haven’t heard more rap and modern type of music here. Most malls and cafes only play 80s music, much of it British.

Ive also been practicing my baritone part for the chorus on Tuesday and its lovely to sing but very complex. Feel quite nervous, but in for a penny or cent here.

Tonight I met Mark after work and we re-joined Costco… Woo Hoo !! … to celebrate (and prepare for our party in April) we restocked our cocktail bar and wine rack for an eye watering amount of money – still $20 for 1 ½ litres of Vodka seemed too good an opportunity to miss. The only real difference to the store compared to the UK is that they were selling the Hot Dogs outside 😊 .

We now have American phones and are organising a house warming party - we are actually here.....still feels unreal.

Just checked the weather forecast - more rain!!!