Bloomsday 2010

I have been remiss in reporting milestones in our microclimate. When we returned from our trip to NYC, we were greeted by a cereus in full bloom. It looked like the flower had been open for 24+ hours. (The blooms on this plant tend to last 2 nights.) So the first cereus bloom of 2010 was April 16-17. It was April 28 last year.

The same orchid pictured in Bloomsday 2009 bloomed later, and the flowers are dropping earlier.

The columbines have come and gone.

The irises popped open around May 17, which puts them on par with last year.

Iris harvested our first strawberries last week.  That's behind 2007, but we also planted them later.  They never made it into the house.  She ate them without washing, while walking the 10 feet from the garden to the dining room.  I am glad that our veggies are 'unsprayed'.

Notice the general messiness of our kitchen garden?  That's called natural pest control.  The garlic chives and green onions are supposed to ward off insects.

We also have new dresses, both from current Burda patterns.

The sleeves puff out like little flowers.

2010 El Segundo Bike to Work Challenge Results

I admit that I was tempted not to bike in today, when confronted with the rain mist this morning.   But, I waited until 8:30, when the rain lightened up and biked in. It felt great.  In raw totals, my team did not win.  However, the metric that really counts in my book is the ratio of bicycle-commuters to total employees.  We win that one handily.

From the press release:

Congratulations to the official winners of the 2010 Bike To Work Challenge -- Raytheon !!!!!

The rain truly made this year a challenge to cycle commute, but 131 employees safely cycled to work. The total includes Los Angeles World Airport's Westside Welcome Station/Pitstop at World Way West, Equity Office's Welcome Station/Pitstop at the Howard Hughes Center, and Electronic Art's Welcome Station/Pitstop at EA.

The breakdown was as follows: 

1. Raytheon 38
2. The Aerospace Corporation 30
3. Boeing 20
4. Los Angeles Air Force Base (Military/Civilian) 17
5. Equity Office / Howard Hughes Center 9
6. Electronic Arts 6
7. Los Angeles World Airports 5
8. DirecTV 3
9. Mattel 2
10. Scitor 1

The numbers are drastically down from 2009 and 2008.  Everyone blamed the weather.  In bicycle meccas, Amsterdam and Portland, today would have been labeled a fair weather day.  I think that we are not used to damp bicycle commuting and lack the proper raingear.  Heck, Angelenos are not even very good at damp automobile commuting.

On the bright side, the odds of winning the raffle were very high.  Both Bad Dad and I won DVD players.  Because we only have one TV, and it is already hooked up to a newish Blu-ray player, we didn't need another DVD player.  We gave them away to coworkers within minutes of winning.

If you didn't bike in today, you have another chance at some serious SWAG. 

Thursday, May 20:  In addition, Raytheon and The Aerospace Corporation will co-host a Pit-Stop at the El Segundo/Nash Green Line Station from 6 to 9:30 a.m. in honor of the 16th annual Bike-to-Work Day.   All cyclists are invited to stop by for refreshments and giveaways.  This is but one of the 40 pit stops throughout the LA region.  View the Google Map of all Bike to Work Day Pit Stops.

Pledge at the link below to be part of the solution and win prizes. In addition, obtain information about 40 pit stop locations, local events, free rides, and bike safety tips. Visit
http://www.metro.net/around/bikes/bikes-metro/bike-to-work/ for more information.

Granny Squares on Steroids

My, grandma, what big crocheted squares you have.

They are so large, she needs to crochet them with a broomstick.

They make Jack and the beanstalk giant-sized crocheted and felted granny squares and braided rugs out of merino wool roving.  Read more at Oversize Felt Rugs, Born in a SoHo Loft.