Stan’s Obligatory Blog

Last year I went to the Los Angeles County Fair, and at the time, Susan and I hatched plans to enter my perfect blueberry muffins in the fair this year. Susan is out of the picture now, but the fair is coming up. So I decided to still put the plan into action. And I’ve even improved the recipe a bit since last year.

The contest rules don’t specify that the recipe has to be completely original, but I didn’t want to enter a recipe that I didn’t make up myself. The only exception here is the black walnut bread. That’s my grandmother’s recipe. I’ve never seen it anywhere else, but I didn’t make it up, either. The blueberry muffins and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are my recipes that I’ve developed right here in my own kitchen.

I think this will be an interesting adventure.

I’ve long been a fan of Sandra Tsing Loh. We have a number of common threads in our lives, starting with being mixed Chinese and German to having physics degrees from major universities to having spent time working at Hughes Aircraft back in the ’80s. And now we have another – Sandra Tsing Loh is getting divorced.

This is rather disturbing to me, but from reading her article, it sounds like she’s accepted the idea that she’s just not interested in being married any more. And I don’t get the impression that she thinks that it’s somehow all her husband’s fault. Which is a good thing.

That said, I’m looking forward to the day when this whole divorce thing can just be a distant memory. Just a speck in the rear-view-mirror of life.

Today’s bike ride was an old favorite of mine. Down to Hollywood, then up the hill to Griffith Observatory, and then over Mt. Hollywood to Burbank and the Valley. This was the first time we’ve done this route since last year.

In Los Feliz, we saw a house with an unusual roofing pattern. Then we headed up the hill into the park. At the observatory, I saw solar-powered Botts Dots. I also got my picture taken with the great astronomers.

Heading over the hill into the Valley, we got to enjoy a nice winding downhill. I got some good action shots of Don and John coming down the hill. Then we went to Priscilla’s in Toluca Lake for bagels.

Coming home, we rode across Glendale and then up and over the stupidly steep little hill on Glenoaks before the long grind up Chevy Chase and Linda Vista. Then the nice sweeping downhill to the Rose Bowl, and then back to the park on Orange Grove.

It was a very nice ride.

45 miles.
cycling

Saturday night we went out to one of those redacted parties. You know. The ones that are great fun, but Not Safe For Work, so therefore I don’t write about them in detail here. And this one is no exception. But boy was it fun. Everyone I know was there, and we had a nice time socializing before heading off to ‘dance’ as it were. It was a fun night.

Now I’m going to write some more random stuff just to fill out the post with a bit more black. I think that’s what it needs, right? It just doesn’t look like so much fun if the black is just a small area. So I need to put in more blather here. Since, well, you know, this is just a tease. But if you want to know the real story, come bike riding with me. It’s really a very entertaining story. It’s what has saved my soul through this whole spirit-crushing divorce drama. And it’s the reason I don’t hate Texas any more.

Saw this on Violet Blue.

On Saturday morning, I unexpectedly found myself with a couple of hours free. So I went for a bike ride. I went with John from the Sunday group, since he had been planning on doing a short ride, too. We met up near the Rose Bowl and rode down to South Pasadena. Then up and over the hill with the water tower. Then back up the arroyo to the Rose Bowl, and up Linda Vista to La Cañada. We took the bike path back across the dam there, which was new to me. That had a nice view of JPL and the arroyo. Then we headed home by way of Altadena.

It was a very pleasant little ride.

25 miles.
cycling

On Monday, I had a rare free evening, so I went riding. I did my usual route down to South Pasadena, up the hill to the water tower, and then down to the Rose Bowl. I rode around the Bowl a few times. Along the way, I saw an attractive young girl with some major tattoos running there. That’s a sight that always brightens up my day. I also met a guy who had more stickers on his bike than I do. After a few times around, I headed home by my usual route through Altadena. It was a very pleasant way to spend the evening.

30 miles.
cycling

Last month, I went to see Cirque Berzerk. I liked it a lot, and I told Lucinda about it. And after hearing about it, she wanted to see it. Since the show had been extended into August, we had a chance, and we went tonight.

She thought that the crowd was pretty amusing. A lot like the crowds she’s seen when she went to tattoo conventions with me. And the show was great fun. She said that her favorite was the trampoline act, but that she liked all the acrobatics. It was a fun little evening, even if it did make for kind of a late night for us.

Today’s bike club ride was an old favorite. The Mt Washington route that goes through La Cañada and down into northeast Los Angeles. Then home by way of South Pasadena. It was a typical summer day. Cool in the morning, but it got hot later on.

Tommy joined us today for the first time in a long while. So I got to chat with him and tell about all my adventures of the past year and a half, from the sublime to the ridiculous. It was fun to get caught up.

We rode up past the Self Realization Fellowship on Mt. Washington, and then down the other side and into South Pasadena. We stopped at Kaldi’s for a bagel and juice. Then we took the slightly roundabout route home in order to plump the ride up to the normal 40-mile distance. It was a very fun little ride.

40 miles.
cycling

On Saturday afternoon, I took Lucinda and her friend to see “G-Force” at the El Capitan in Hollywood. We’ve been seeing previews for this movie for a while, and they were pretty excited to see it. The tickets for the El Capitan were a bit more than at the regular theater, but they included a visit to the “G-Force Experience” attraction across the street. This made it more than worth the extra price for the tickets. The movie was very entertaining, even if I just couldn’t shake the idea that Agent Darwin looked just like a slightly furrier John McCain.

The “G-Force Experience” included life-sized games for the kids to play, set dressings from the movie, an obstacle course for the kids (and parents) to run through, and a show. It was great fun, and we had a very nice afternoon there.