#oldpeoplearegoodateverything

I watched the conclusion of The Great British Sewing Bee tonight and I have only one thing to say: #oldpeoplearegoodateverything.

Ann deserved to win the competition and all of the participants were worthy competitors.

The epilogue confused me.  It said that Ann had recently taken up quilting.  That's not true.

Look at Ann Rowley's Flickr stream, particularly the Patchwork and Quilting sets. There are examples of her quiltwork going back several years.  Check out the label on her Stars in the Garden quilt.  The quilt was started in 2005 and finished in 2007, years before The Great British Sewing Bee.

Exploring Ann's Flickr photostream, you can learn that she knits, crochets, quilts and makes garments.  She can pretty much do anything well.  Is this among the neatest and best executed tubular cast-ons you have ever seen?

#oldpeoplearegoodateverything and may we all live to make it true!

Ciclavia April 2013

Iris passed up a chance to ride between Venice Beach and downtown Los Angeles on the back of the tandem. She stayed home to do whatever it is teenagers do at home. Bad Dad and I rode Ciclavia to the Sea on our own. I practiced stoker photography.

It was pretty thrilling to ride city boulevards without worrying about dodging cars and trucks.

Crossing California 101.

Crossing Interstate 110, the Harbor Freeway.

We saw about a dozen of these double decker bikes.  They show incredible skill getting on and off these elevated bikes at intersections.  You'd be even more impressed if you knew how crowded the event was on the west side.  (Follow that link for physics professor Clifford V. Johnson's photos of overcrowding and thoughts on how to make the next Ciclavia better.)

Bad Dad refused to pack any ride snacks, preferring to forage off the land. In Counter Intelligence: Where to Eat in the Real Los Angeles, Jonathan Gold wrote, "There may be as many as 500 Salvadoran restaurants in central Los Angeles, and at least half of them are pretty good."  The route along Venice Boulevard gave us a chance to sample the odds.

We are happy to report, we struck pupusa gold at Con Sabor!  We picked it because it looked like it could be a good place, didn't have a line out the door, and had bike parking.

Neither of us ordered stuffed pupusas, but they brought hot, fresh plain ones with our entrees.  I ate shrimp in garlic sauce with plantains and Salvadoran rice.  Yum.  I was also impressed that they offered about 30 different pupusa choices, half of them vegetarian.

We are going back. But, just like the reviews in Yelp warns, the food is good, but the service is slow. They cook it to order so bring a good book or conversationalist while you await your food.  We ate so much, we negated all the calories we burned and then some.

The next Ciclavia follows Wilshire Boulevard, between Downtown and the Miracle Mile (aka Museum Row aka Midtown) Los Angeles on June 23, 2013.  If you see a family with a silver Tandem, do say hello.  Contact us in advance and we can meet up for Ethiopian food in little Ethiopia in Midtown.

National Park Week

In the midst of Earth Day Week hoopla, you may have missed the announcement of National Park Week.

Did you know…that from Monday, April 22 – Friday, April 26, the national parks waive all entrance fees? So, whether it is your first trip, or the latest of many memorable park experiences, there couldn’t be a better time to get out and explore!

Did you know…that with 401 parks coast-to-coast, every American is less than 100 miles from a national park experience? National Park Week is the perfect opportunity to explore and enjoy these amazing places — so check the calendar of events, lace up your boots, pack your bag and set out on a national park adventure uniquely your own!

That's right. Sequestration be damned! The the National Park Service and the National Park Foundation partner to waive park entrance fees all week.

You needn't feel left out just because you can't make it out of the city this week.  Did you know that the NPS operates small historical sites/parks/museums in cities around the country? We visited the Statue of Liberty in Disney vs NPS.  NPS also operates Ellis Island, Angel Island...

Go find a park near you!