Gender wars of household chores

How did I miss The gender wars of household chores: a feminist comic.  It was published in the Guardian back in May!

In case you are wondering, Emma hits close to home x2.

More Sewn Goods

This weekend, I sewed a bunch of things that I need around the house besides the visual pun apron.

Kathleen Fasanella calls her book, The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Sewn Product Manufacturing, because .sewn. goods includes a great many things that are not garments for humans. If you look around your world, you'll notice how many things are sewn. Garment manufacturing has largely moved overseas, but there are still state-side opportunities for manufacturers of niche sewn goods.

Of course, we can be our own manufacturers.

I made two yoga straps, 3 napkins and a lunch bag from the retro aqua fabric. I also refashioned one of Bad Dad's holey T-shirts* into a cover for my heating pad and sewed a curtain to cover the hallway linen closet. The 2AB pillow covers are on my sewing table and should be finished this weekend.

The eagle-eyed may notice the vintage Calvin Klein blouse pattern on the napkins.  I'm trying to figure out what to make with my 1.5 yards of 54" wide blue/black Tana Lawn.

* The bottom parts of his Ts tend to be fine, while the top develops holes.  Why is that?  I cut the top parts with holes into rectangular-ish pieces to use instead of paper towels.  100% cotton can be composted.

AB + AB

But not the ones from the pillow poll.

I mis-remembered the size of the pillow inserts I had purchased and made plain black cotton canvas backs for a 24-25" pillow forms.

I purchased the canvas from the Colorado Fabrics Home Dec remnant rack for a song.  The helpful ladies at CF taught me how to reduce bulk at the edges by using an invisible zipper 2-3" in from the edge.  If I didn't tell you the zip opening was there, would you see it?

I pulled out my Japanese jacquard fabric and realized that it is only 42" wide so I need 20" pillow inserts.  I went into the closet and found that I had, indeed, purchased 20" pillow inserts.  That sent me the Elfriede's for the "B" side fabric.

Hmm, how can I use the pillow backs that I put so much work into already?

I stopped by Home Goods on my way home from work and picked up two 26" pillow Euro square pillows.  I carried these home on my bike.  The nice ladies at HG taped the pillows to my bike rack and panniers to save me from having to come back with my car.

On my last trip to LA, I found excavated this heavy-weight black/white cotton jacquard on my shelf of home dec fabrics.  I bought this in 1997 for use in our first apartment in LA together.  When we moved into our townhouse, I put the fabric away and forgot I had it.  Sometimes, it pays to be a packrat.

The other AB + AB pillows are in the queue after DD's Halloween costume and back-to-school wardrobe.  Due to the prolonged heat wave in the western US, Fall clothes are not yet needed.  If I drag out the back-to-school sewing, can I plausibly call them birthday presents?

No Go

Remember when I made such a point about aligning the doorway to make moving furniture easier?

I should have trusted my instincts and insisted on a wider door.  I went with standard 30" doors (with 29" wide openings) on all bedrooms and 24" wide doors on all bathrooms.

The couch was 4 inches too long to go through the 78" doorway while upright.  The 36" wide hallways were too narrow to angle the couch through.  So they took the feet off the sofa and tried to go in straight and horizontal.

It's a no go.  If the door opening was just 3" wider, the sofabed would be in the sitting area on the east side of the condo today.  I should have insisted on a 36" door there instead of being talked into the standard sizes.

Instead, I have two big leather couches in my living room.  It looked like a furniture gallery.  Ugh!

Initially, I was hysterically calling Bad Dad and the lady who sold me the sectional.  But, it looks fine for now.  When Iris graduates from HS and Bad Dad moves out here to join me, we were going to embark upon a second round of remodeling tweaks on the eastern side of the condo.

We were going to replace the aluminum sliders with wood-framed French windows so we'll replace two doors instead of one.  We took all of the asbestos-laden sheetrock off the wall with the doorway that needs to be widened; the tweak will not require the asbestos-removal team to return.  The sofabed will eventually reside in the east balcony sitting area.

I feel better about it after laying down an area rug and doing a little sewing.  The view from the ironing table is inspiring!

I bought 25" square pillow inserts.  What color(s) should I make the pillow covers?

Truly a Bad Mom

Every now and then, I am reminded that I am truly a bad mom.

Exhibit n+1: Iris slept in a closet on her recent visit.

Embarrassing evidence.

The bed that I ordered for her had not been delivered. The sectional that I ordered for the living room was also enroute, but not here. She had the option of sleeping on the sofabed in the open-plan living room, where she would have been awoken by parents making coffee and breakfast; or putting the sofabed mattress on the floor in her east-facing bedroom, which doesn't have window coverings yet. What a dilemma for a night-owl teen.

Hiding the evidence.

She looked at the closet and asked, "Can I sleep in the closet like Harry Potter?"

We pulled out the sleeping bag and two yoga mats. (The 2" camp mattress is in LA, not Boulder.) The bed was a bit firmer than she liked, but this was her preferred alternative.

Details and schedule

Wow, I was surprised by the number of people who want to see design details.

New door opening with glass door.

This is an especially stressful time at work. Last week, I audited an NCL Workshop and gave a short demo on how to find data for analysis. This week, I'm attending a WRF Workshop and giving a poster presentation of how to find data for numerical weather prediction.

In between, I moved into the condo (which looks more finished than in the picture above).  My family is arriving about the same time the WRF Workshop winds down.  Amid all this activity, I'm helping to write a NASA science education proposal due in 1 week.  Yipes!

Design detail posts will be posted gradually, and in a rushed manner, as I come up for air.

Meanwhile, I found a photo of the doorway we moved.  It used to be on the right, which seemed unnecessarily complicated.  Why go around a corner and then turn again to enter a room?  How does one move furniture into this room with 36" wide hallways (and 34" clearance door jamb to door jamb)?

36" wide hallways are the minimum width required by code.  Now, 40" and 44" are more common.  We couldn't really widen the hallway without MUCH effort because of the immovable adjacent posts that support the concrete floors and ceilings.  This is a 1960s 'hung' concrete high-rise building for those of you who speak architectural history.

I $plurged*and moved the door about 40" to the left, to align with the hallway.  I'm not sure if this was a good Feng Shui move.  But, it sure simplifies getting bulky things in and out of the room.  A door with a glass insert also allows the room and hallway to borrow light from each other.

Originally, I wanted ribbed (aka reeded) glass.  But, tempered safety glass is only available in clear or frosted.  We went with frosted, to match the rice paper in the Shoji screen closet doors.

The door is at the door workshop so that they can take the protective coating off the glass.  More pictures later.

* It was a splurge as anyone who has ever paid to move a 1960s asbestos-laden wall can attest.

Treehouse 2

When Bad Dad and I were shopping for our first home, we nicknamed the houses. We called the house we eventually bought in California 'the treehouse' because of the several large trees on the north, east and south sides of the home.

I bought another treehouse in Boulder.

Poang chairs with Lack table and my hand-knitted bolsters.

This condo is in downtown Boulder, with a walkscore of 91/100.  Yet, I look out through trees towards the mountains on the north and west sides and across trees and a creek on the east side.  The shuttle to work stops two blocks from here.

We installed mirrors against one wall to amplify the view.

We have two architects.  One architect/general contractor (GC), and an hourly architectural consultant who is a retired architect.  The consultant came up with the idea of cutting the mirror into pieces about the same size as the windows and then sizing a chair rail the same depth as the windowsill and kitchen countertop.

The line continues across the kitchen countertop, with glass-fronted kitchen cabinets and a window along the rest of that wall.  The effect is all light and line.

The GC primarily builds gorgeous (and large) custom homes.  The consultant primarily built 'not so big' homes that are modest in scale, but with many thoughtful extra touches.  Are you interested in seeing some of the other details they designed?

It's starting to feel like home as I unpack and put my hand-made items out.  I intended to tie-dye these IKEA Poang chair cushions.  But, I love the tone-on-tone creaminess of my hand-knitted bolsters layered on top of the natural unbleached and undyed cotton canvas.  I may leave them in that state for now.  Do you recognize the patchwork Valentine pillow I made for Bad Dad?

Sewing Area Progress

The contractors are putting the finishing touches on the condo this week. I spent most of the weekend unpacking and running the type of errands that you normally do when moving.

I set up my new sewing table, but didn't unpack my machines yet; they are still doing drywall patching, and plaster and paint touchups.  From the right end of the table, you can look out the window at a peek of the Flatirons through the tree branches.

New Sewing Table under track lights with sunlight temperature LED bulbs.

Do I really have 7 bankers' boxes of patterns?  Apparently, yes.

Patterns and books.

Today is the start of a very busy two weeks at work. Then, I need to sew under time pressure before Bad Dad and Iris' visit. (Iris asked for a replacement of a nightgown that she wore to shreds.)

I packed a suitcase of clothes so I could stay with friends for a few days between when my apartment lease ended and the condo was ready for occupancy. However, a few days turned into two weeks.

I learned that I can live on a capsule wardrobe if I have to, but I prefer not to. I like more variety in my wardrobe.

What was it that Bartleby the Scrivener said?

Wordless Wednesday

On the needles, another Absorba

Countertop and floor tile samples with bath mat.

We are in the thick of home remodeling in Boulder. I've been busy in the evenings making things in anticipation of moving in in about 6 weeks.  I've posted my many previous variations of Absorba, a garter-stitch bath mat.

The latest incarnation uses yarns that pick up the gray and olive tones in the quartz countertop and porcelain floor tiles I selected for the kitchen and baths.  This bathmat is destined for Iris' bathroom.  Do you think the color combination is too subtle for a teenager?  Her bathroom is also the guest bathroom.

The olive yarn is actually 8 strands (of 2 ply) cotton/rayon/linen blend mill ends on cones from Shuttles, Spindles and Skeins.  I picked up the gray Bernat cotton at Joann's.

It's been a stressful week and I popped into SSS for some TGIF yarn therapy.  Two cones of the olive may have come home with me.  How do you think the rest of the olive yarn would look knit up in Chance of Showers?  Sized for me or for Iris?  Do you know anyone in Boulder who can ply up the yarn for me?

Wordless Wednesday

Not Square

But done!

If you are concerned with squareness and matching prints, do not work with hand-printed African fabric.  But, if you embrace the spirit of making with more imagination and ingenuity than tools, then you can sleep under something like this.

Who can tell if this is perfectly square once a puffy comforter slips inside?

I got tired of the mound of UFOs that engulfed the couch.  This was finished.  Others found better homes while they awaited their turn.

This simple envelope of fabric took 2-3 months because it is so difficult to lay out and cut ~90"x90" in my tiny apartment and without a helper.  (See the fabric planning step in Slow Sewing.)

I had to move the furniture out of the living room, clean the floor, tape down one piece, then smooth the next layer down....  I avoided it until I really wanted to see my couch again.  Then, miraculously, the trimming and machine sewing only took one (long) evening.  I finished the hand sewing the next evening.

Creating and furnishing a second household has been terrible for my stuff diet (and finances).  I had to purchase duplicates of everything (including a home) we really need and use.  If you think about it, you need 2-3 sets of bedding--one on the bed, one in the wash, and one spare.  In Colorado, you need light cotton bedding in the summer and flannel sheets in the winter.  When Mark and Iris visit, Iris also needs a set for the sofa-bed.

I divided up our LA bedding, but we didn't have enough to fully stock the CO home.  In the summer, I caved and purchased a cotton duvet set.  For winter, I used a red flannel sheet set that I already owned and some coordinating fabrics from my collection.  I didn't have enough of the African red/black print and auditioned many fabric pairings before selecting this black/white stripe.

The duvet-top fabrics and buttons came from SAS Fabrics.  The other notions came from Joann's.  The flat sheet from the set became the other side of the duvet.  Cozy!

The bed may look familiar, but it's actually a duplicate.  I often have difficulty falling asleep in hotel rooms.  In order to make both places feel like home, I purchased the exact same bed and mattress for CO. The duvet I sewed in this picture stayed in CA.

Nerd Mugs

When I moved out to Boulder, we divided up the coffee mugs. On my last visit to LA, I noticed the nerdiness of our mug collection. (Isn't it amazing how absence helps us see anew?)

These are only the ones that remained in LA. I have some nerdy mugs in Boulder, too.

I've shown you mine.  What do your mugs say?

3 Pillows

Actually, that was a slight exaggeration because I haven't sewn the square pillow yet.  But, the two bolsters are done. Finito.

I started with swatches of simple motifs like the braided and honeycomb cables from Alice Starmore's Aran Knitting, Fishermen's Wool and 6"x12" polyester neckrolls from Wawak.  I washed and blocked the swatch and then calculated how many stitches to cast on from the swatch gauge.

For the second pillow, I repeated the braided cable motif as a frame to fill out the central motif from Jess' Birthday Sweater.

Now the couch doesn't look so smooth and shiny.

I wet-blocked and pinned the cable rectangles to open up the fabric.  Then I stitched the ends together for about 1" on both ends.

The ends were surprisingly easy.  I picked up 100 stitches, divided into 10 sections of 10 stitches, and then performed a k2tog decrease every other row.  When I had 10 stitches remaining, I threaded the yarn tail through the 10 loops twice and gave a gentle tug until the hole closed up.  The ends were steam-blocked with a steam iron (above the surface) and then patted into shape.

Each end took about an hour to knit and finish.  Each rectangle took about 20-25 hours.  Sewing the zippered muslin cases and hand-stitching them to the knitted cover took another 1-2 hours.

To the friend who asked why I don't sell these: A physicist ought to earn as much as a plumber, right?  Would you pay a plumber 50 hours for these two bolsters?

I made pillow cases out of unbleached muslin and used zips left over from the days when I sewed dresses for a little girl that wore only pink and purple.  (She wears mainly black, gray and olive drab now.)

Then I hand back-stitched the rib opening to the zipper.  If you have ever hand prick-stitched a dress zipper, you can do this.  Well, your effort might be neater than this.

You can tell the cast on edge from the bound off edge on the honeycomb pillow.  I forgot that cables shrink the width of the knit fabric so much, you need to cast on fewer stitches for the ribbed edge and increase stitches on your set-up row for the cables.  By the time I figured that out, I wasn't going to rip back and redo it.  There's also one place where the stitches were moved the wrong direction.  Oh, well.

The purple zipper tape peeking out of the wavy edge reminds me of the wavy lips of a southern giant clam (Tridacna derasa).

Raveled here.

The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed the flooring samples for my new place.  Yes, I will be moving yet again--hopefully to a longer-term place.  Which sample do you like better?

Color Lab Workspace

Have you seen the workspace series in the NYT? Previously, I'd seen the series about fashion designers. I'm really interested in behind the scene work so today's story about Beverly Bell, manager of color and quality standards for textiles at Pantone fascinated me.  Go read Where the Spectrum is Sliced and Diced.

How cool is this table-top spectrophotometer? In my dream home, I'd have room for one. Hmm, I'd also like to have both a table-top DNA sequencer and a replicator while I am dreaming.

Bad Dad is a spectroscopist. We initially met across a laser table*. We would feel right at home if our kitchen looked like a lab where the most colorful things are the food.

* Although we used a low-power laser to study the ions, we used a 10,000 volt power supply to generate the plasma containing the ions of interest. There was literally electricity in the air when we met.

In other news, the condo search is not going well.  If you are selling a condo in S, W or E Boulder near public transit lines and/or the bike path, can you contact me?

The move is happening

The view from the balcony:

the logical place to put the couch:

and the logical place to put the bed:

Boulder is expensive.  I had hoped to get a little bigger apartment for the money or pay a little less rent on such a small space.  But, the location is ideal for car-free living, and the entire property is well-maintained and smoke-free.  Dealing with the leasing and ever-changing rent structures (what is the deal with dynamic pricing and these mega-REITs?) was a PITA, but I am going to let that anger go in preparation for dealing with the utility and telecom companies.

The housing search visit was a little bit too eventful. I would love to say that I sprained both (!?!) ankles in a base-jumping accident, but the prosaic truth is that I rolled one ankle out on a staircase, then rolled out the other one when I shifted my weight in compensation.

I move solo mid-May and start the new job in late May. At first, I'll be working 100% in Boulder. Once I settle in and learn enough to be productive on my own, there will be distance telecommuting opportunities.

The view westward from my new office building:

Yes, work meetings are sometimes held on the trails.  My office faces east, toward the great plains.

I had a hilarious interview with a young dot commer in which he asked me why I had always worked in the government sector.  I quipped, "Who else hires PhDs in theoretical physics?"  He informed me that he had entered college expecting to go into theoretical physics but found it too difficult and moved into computer science instead.  (In case you are wondering, I never heard back from them.)

Instead, I will be joining this team of professionals, who perform another interdisciplinary and hard to describe task in another FFRDC.  This time, our specialty will be a core function instead of a "nice to have if we have the budget".

I want to thank my friends in Boulder who took great care of me--and even loaned me crutches--as I hobbled around last weekend.

Waste Heat

A (physicist) friend in Boulder said that incandescent light bulbs and "waste heat" get a bad rap. So what if incandescent light bulbs put off heat if you use them in the winter or at night, when your house could use the "waste" heat anyway?  Heat is not wasted if you need it.

I'm reminded of this because we are experiencing the coldest temperatures of the year (so far) without home heating.  We are awaiting a new motor and other replacement parts for our 15 year old furnace.

Our thermostat keeps track of how many total hours the furnace runs and we've been logging about 50 yours per winter.  This doesn't sound like much, but the total includes only times when the furnace cycles on.  The motor also runs the whole-house fan, which is hooked up to an electrostatic air filter.  We run that any time of the year when dust or pollution is a problem.  The motor ran for more than 50 hrs*15 years and we should have checked the system *before* we needed it.  Live and learn.

We replaced most of the incandescent light bulbs in our house with fluorescent ones.  Right now, I am really grateful for the few remaining incandescent bulbs in our home because of the welcome heat they put out.  Our indoor temps have been hovering between 55-63 F this past week while outdoor temps have dipped as low as the upper 30s.  At home, we dress like we do at night at camp.

Related:

• Furnace Wars 2012 
• Stick That Up Your Light Socket 

Aside:

I just love this vintage lamp my MIL gave me. I need to replace the rotted leather lacing, but it's in great shape otherwise.  I've received some fantastic mid-century pieces from Sweden and Japan from both my mom and my MIL in their recent decluttering campaigns.

Repairing versus buying new

My sister wondered why we repaired the 11 year old washer instead of buying a new, more energy -efficient one. Others wondered why we didn't call a repairman. It's complex.

A year ago, when the dryer broke, I actually went out to look at new washers and dryers. However, the new front-loading ones are 30" deep while the top-loaders are 27" deep. Our laundry room is very tight as it is. With 27" appliances, we can barely open and close the door and access the pantry door. Another 3", and we could have to remodel. That would not be cost-effective or green.

We could have bought a new 27" top-loading washing machine, but Consumers' Reports had said that the new top-loaders use so little water, that they cannot get clothes clean effectively. They could only recommend the new front-loaders. We don't have room.

Additionally, I became interested in fulling (mistakenly called felting) knits. With a top-loader, I can check on the progress as often as I wish and pull the item out at the precise moment it has shrunk to the desired size. Front-loaders' doors lock during the wash cycle and I would lose control of the fulling process. Then I would be stuck manually moving a plunger in a bucket to full knits (which my sister swears doesn't take too long and is a good upper body workout).

Furthermore, Mark experienced such a feeling of accomplishment when he fixed the dryer last year, I couldn't call a repairman until after he had taken a crack at it. We can afford to hire help when we need it. But, we wanted to set an example of self-sufficiency for Iris.

$200 in parts and an exciting week later, our washer works again. Our laundry is done. Iris watched her parents repair an old broken item instead of throwing it away and buying new.

Related:
Goodie bags and the wealth of nations
The great flood of 2008

The great flood of 2008

We went a week and a half without doing laundry and lived to tell the tale. Actually, we tried to do laundry last weekend but the washer got stuck on the same wash cycle, over and over again.

After spending some time perusing ApplianceAid.com and RepairClinic.com, Mark ordered a new burn timer (pictured above) online and paid for 2-3 day shipping. He had successfully repaired our circa 1997 dryer last year using the wisdom of the web. (A laptop and wi-fi are wonderful things when you need to see how to take apart a large household applicance.) We were both feeling confident.

The part came on Wednesday. He installed it. The timer worked, but no hot water came in. Further perusal of troubleshooting webpages and examination of our washer suggested we needed a new hot water valve. (11 years is a good run for a hot water valve. It was probably already in creaky condition and gave out when we took the washer apart.)

We did not want to order online again. We ccould not go a second weekend without a working washer. Additionally, Mark removed the entire washer shell in order to inspect all the other parts for signs of failure. The inner carcass of the washer rested in its usual location in the laundry room, the exoskeleton stood in the middle of the kitchen, add piles of laundry everywhere and even Mark was disturbed by the mess.

The Sears Appliance Center in Culver City had the part we needed in stock. Dare we brave the dreaded I-405 to fetch it? Mark was low enough on socks and underwear to volunteer to drive there at lunch on Thursday. Thursday is the highest traffic day in LA, which gives an indication of his desperation.

That evening, we had dinner downtown and saw the Drowsy Chaperone. When we got home, he changed and went right to work at 11 PM. He needed my help for some parts of the reassembly process, but mostly worked alone. Shortly after midnight, we were able to start a load of rags in hot water and watch the timer rotate through the wash cycle.

Success! He began to clean up. I went upstairs to the shower. Before I even stepped in the shower, I heard, "Oh, no! Oh, sh!t!, Oh, [insert stronger expletive]! I ran downstairs as he yelled, "Quick, throw me some rags!"

One look at the sheet of water flowing out of the kitchen and heading to the front door and I didn't think we had enough rags to stem the tide. I ran out to the garage and brought in 2 string mops (to form a dam) and a bucket. We worked for a few minutes, settling into a rhythm where he mopped and I wrung the mops into the bucket. Then we exchanged the wet and dry mops.

After 2/3 of the water was mopped up, I asked, "Do you think we should have used the shop-vac?"

BTW, the washer repair was fine. He just forgot to reconnect the drain hose. When the washer hit the first drain/spin cycle, the water shot out across the floor from the laundry room through the kitchen and into the hallway. By 1 AM, we put away the mops and shop-vac, and headed upstairs to a hot shower and slumber.

Home is a State of Mind

I have been thinking about the idea of home for the last week. I had such a sense of homesickness as I drove the (San Francisco) Peninsula. Although I have lived in many places, I still think of myself as a mid-Peninsula girl. As I drove between San Jose and San Francisco last week, the sense of homecoming was palpable. It wasn't because I was driving to my mother's house; she moved there after I finished college. It was the familiarity of the landscape.

The sunsets of my youth haunt me. We never even saw the sun at sunset, but no matter. The fog banks poured like molten lava through gaps in the coastal range. The setting sun lit the fog up in Technicolor hues of orange, yellow, hot pink, violet, indigo and every shade in between. The mountain backdrop appeared cloaked in a dusky blue-black, deepened by the complementary colors of the sky. I used to take evening history classes at the College of San Mateo, near the top of one such gap in the mountains. I felt like Dorothy driving into the Technicolor dream world.

One summer in the middle of high school, I took Field Biology. We spent 3 days a week in the field and two days in the lab. We explored the entire bay area that summer. I can make out the rock formations and tell you how they formed. I can't remember the names of the plants any more, but I can tell you their distinguishing characteristics and how they are adapted for their home. Over there, my fellow students, hunting for wild orchids that grow by artesian springs in the coastal range, stumbled upon an ingenious pot farm, complete with a drip irrigation system. We slowly backed away and I never did get a good look at the orchids.

Behind every exit of I-280, there is another memory. I found myself pointing out every landmark for Iris. See that monolithic rock over there, that is serpentine, the state rock. She looked up from her book and said that it looked more like a mountain than a rock.

Look, the ridge above Stevens Creek is on fire! She was not impressed. She has seen a wildfire on every SoCal-NorCal trip. This was a two alarm trip because we saw a fire on the I-5 in the central valley on our return drive.

Remember that lake? We stopped to view it after my stepmother's funeral and before we interred her ashes at the top of the ridge over there. Actually, I choked up just thinking about that and didn't point it out to Iris. Her nose buried in a book, she was blissfully unaware of the sadness of that freeway exit.

Each California Mission Bell Marker triggered more memories. They mark the route of El Camino Real, "The Royal Highway", that connects the Spanish missions between San Diego (Mark's hometown), through Los Angeles (our current home) and San Francisco (my hometown), and terminates in Sonoma. Our route crosses the "El" north of Los Angeles and follows it for a short stretch along California Highway 82.

In a land where everyone is from somewhere else, that's how you can tell a native Californian. We ask each other which mission we recreated for our 4th grade California mission unit. Every student, in public or private school, would have made one. Most would have visited at least one mission with their parents as homework. Mom and I went out to visit Mission Santa Clara. I procrastinated and then turned in a shoe box turned into a "generic" mission.

However, a non-native made me feel especially Californian. She met a Californian and followed him out here. At first, whe wondered why so many people want to live in a place so crowded and so expensive. Then they settled in, bought a house and joined a church. She raved about her parish priest. As a bridesmaid, I would get to meet him at her wedding.

As we followed her directions for getting to the wedding rehearsal, we saw some mission bell markers. Mark remarked that Mission San Jose was in the vicinity. As we got closer to the church, the realization came to us at the same time. We were headed for Mission San Jose! My friend, who hailed from the other side of the country, was getting married in not just her parish church, but one of the oldest churches in the new world. I always cry at weddings, but this one was especially poignant because of the history of the place.

Perhaps home isn't San Francisco, Los Angeles or San Diego. All of California is our home.

Asides:

• Iris brought 3 books along for the northbound drive which would have been exactly the right amount. However, she lost one of them and had to read one of the remaining books twice. I later found the book under the front passenger seat.
  
• I drove our new (to us) Prius and only used 9 gallons of gasoline each way. The brief patches of stop and go traffic only served to increase our gas mileage.
• What is it with Californian priests and their Birkenstocks? Mark and I have been in the wedding party for two CA weddings in which the priests (one Buddhist, one Catholic) officiated in Birkenstocks.
• I made my bridesmaid's dress. The bride and I shopped for fabric in LA. She sent each bridesmaid (scattered across the country) some heavyweight Thai silk dupioni, china silk lining, a pattern, thread and zipper. Each of us made our own dresses or hired a seamstress.
  
• Missions are like presidential libraries. If Mark and I are in the vicinity and not in a hurry, we always make a detour for a visit. It doesn't matter how we feel about the conquistadors or the individual presidents' legacies, we are history buffs.
• I cruised the "El" once and only once with a friend from high school. I didn't see why she would want to do that every weekend. It looked as lame as American Graffiti.
• Environmental monitoring is truly dual use. A helicopter pilot, making a routine inspection for possible wildfires, found an elaborate pot farm near Glendale, CA. Read about it here.