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My Altadena

4/10/2025

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When my grandfather passed away in 1993, he left me a small inheritance.  There was never a question of what I was going to do with the money. I wanted to buy my own home.

Growing up in rentals with pet restrictions (no dogs or cats), tyrant landlords and constantly wondering if the place would be sold and we would have to move, I decided renting sucked.  My grandfather had always said that real estate was a sure thing. “People always need a place to live.”  I started looking as soon as I had the money.

Pasadena was my first choice, but  I soon realized that I wasn’t going to be able to afford much.  Altadena seemed to be a real possibility.

I didn’t know very much about Altadena, other than one of the first friends I made when I moved to California lived there.  She said most neighborhoods were safe and I liked the idea that all my friends, regardless of their ethnicity, would be comfortable there.  I had heard stories about some of the communities around Pasadena where if you were driving a nice car and weren’t white, chances were excellent you were going to be pulled over.  Hello Arcadia in the early 1990s.

After searching for months for something I could afford, I finally bought my 948 square foot tract home in a diverse neighborhood in West Altadena. It was supposed to be my “starter home.”   But as the years went by, it became just home.  Numerous projects, a garage that burned down and had to be rebuilt and a major addition a couple of years ago, and one day I realized I had been there over 25 years.  I had put more than just my sweat into it, I had put my heart and soul.
Despite living there for so long, I never knew much about the history of Altadena.  I just knew I loved that we didn’t have HOAs and if you needed to get rid of something, you could just put it by the curb and someone who needed it, would take it.  One of my neighbors used to put her paintings out in front of her house. Another one sold honey and crafts in her driveway.  We were a community of musicians, creative types and people who worked “in the business,” not always in front of the cameras, but behind the scenes.

That all changed in the early morning hours of January 8th, 2025.  We had always lived with fires in the mountains, but this was different. It was a combo fire tornado that destroyed entire neighborhoods, including my own, where I was one of three homes left standing on the street.
Suddenly, little known Altadena was all over the news, along with Pacific Palisades, who were hit with the same fire tornado, despite being 40 miles apart.

Unfortunately, some people began talking about the two areas like they were one and the same.  It broke my heart when people began commenting, “That’s just a bunch of rich movie stars with a ton of money.  They’ll be rebuilt in a matter of months.”

I can’t speak for the Palisades, having never lived there, although I know not everyone who lost their home was affluent. But I can speak for Altadena. We are a working-class community of folks going to work every day, trying to raise their families and hold on to the American dream.  If you haven’t been schooled, as I wasn’t here is a little background on how Altadena became the amazing place it is today.

It had not always been diverse. Before the 1960s, it was predominantly white. Social change, like school integration and freeway construction, led to a significant shift with people of color, including many Black families, moving in and establishing a middle-class community.  From 1960 to 1970, Black homeownership went from 4% to 27%, as redlining laws prevented them from purchasing homes elsewhere in the state.  As of 2023, 81% of Black residents in Altadena owned their homes- nearly double the national average.

I have seen my neighborhood change over the years. As older homeowners sold or passed away, homes were sold to flippers. It brought in younger buyers and families, adding to the diversity. Today, Altadena’s residents are 58% people of color, with Black residents making up 18%.  West Altadena remains the most diverse side.  It always made me smile when during Pride month, my favorite Altadena Mexican restaurant, El Patron, has three flags flying. The Mexican flag, the US flag and the Pride flag.

None of us can know what our community will look like in the future. None of us would have ever thought it would look like it did in the days after the fire. We see it coming back slowly, as debris gets removed and lots get cleared. Sadly, not everyone will be able to return, but those of us that do will be left to keep intact the most important aspect we have always been most proud of. Everyone is welcome.
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You never realize how much you love your community until it gets taken away. That being said,  I believe Altadena will rise literally from the ashes. Will it be the same? No, but it will still be my Altadena.

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BACK TO THE BLOG

3/27/2025

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It has been almost a year since I posted on this blog.  Last year was challenging.  Kody, my beloved pup, had some major health issues.  My job had become extremely stressful.  Most nights, after some long days, I did not feel like doing anything creative.  I felt drained, both physically and emotionally.  Trying to write about everything that was going on seemed daunting and more like another job than an outlet.

I had vowed that at the beginning of the year, I would go back to writing and posting.
On January 7th, I took Kody to a specialist who diagnosed what I had already suspected.  The huge lump on his stomach was cancer and removing it on a 12-year-old dog was neither humane or even possible.


We came home to Altadena and lost power for the second time that day.  I suspected it had been turned off by Southern California Edison due to some outrageously strong Santa Ana winds.
I never suspected that night that most of the community I had lived in for over 30 years would be gone the next day. My home would somehow be one of three sparred on the entire street. But my life would never be the same.


As hard as the start of this year has been, it has put some things in sharp perspective. I thought last year was tough?  In looking back it was my reactions to what was happening that made it worse.
I have been thinking a lot about a line from my all-time favorite movie, “It’s A Wonderful Life.” Clarence, the angel says to George Bailey, “You see George, you’ve really had a wonderful life.”


I did too.  Or I should I say I do. Because despite everything that is happening, there are still bright moments, laughter and good times. My house is still standing, nothing short of a miracle. I still have the people I love in my life.  


I am going to keep my vow I made to get back to this blog. To share my story and experiences with dealing with yet ANOTHER fire (my garage burned down in 2003, something I did post about here), and life in general.  I hope some of you will continue to take this crazy journey with me.  You might even learn from my mistakes along the way!

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Party Closet Upgrade

4/3/2024

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Party closet above before the upgrade
I remember when I explained to one of the guys working on my addition that I was going to have a closet in my dining room, he told me it was a dumb idea and it was going to be ugly.  His lack of creativity and imagination never ceased to amaze me, and he was one of the most miserable parts of my renovation.  I have never regretted putting the “party closet” in, which is what it has been nicknamed almost from the day it was finished. Having an extra refrigerator for drinks when I entertain means no more beer in coolers with ice. It also holds all the party supplies, like silverware, solo cups, a wine refrigerator and charcutier boards.

What I have regretted over the last couple of years is the fact that due to lack of time and money, I did not have proper storage in the closet at the time it was built. I had two shelves put on the back wall which were open and not easy to access. As I used it more and more, it became more and more cluttered.  Since when I do have parties, I leave the door open for easy drink access, it wasn’t something I could ignore.

Getting it properly tricked out finally moved to the top of my home project list a couple of months ago. My first thought was Ikea, but initially, I was concerned getting standard cabinets wasn’t going to work.  I have an Ikea walnut look cabinet in my office I really love, but finding the right size and shape cabinets in the walnut didn’t seem to be an option.

My next thought was to go to Home Depot and try to get cabinets that matched my kitchen.  Yes, they would install them and that would be something that wasn’t going to happen with the Ikea route, but I calculated that the cabinets were probably going to be close to $1,500 for a very small space and as the DMan pointed out, “It is a CLOSET!”

It was back to the IKEA website. After a couple of hours of searching and a lot of measuring, I chose three cabinets, in slightly different finishes, one with a door and two open, that fit my vision. The total  was under $400. Miracle of miracles, they were in stock and arrived within a week.
Next step was finding someone to install them.  Having had a set of kitchen cabinets pull off the wall in the middle of the night, I really wanted someone who would do a good job.  I thought I had found someone who specialized in IKEA cabinets and had excellent reviews on Yelp. He quoted me as much as I was paying for the cabinets. When the cabinets arrived and I tried to track him down for a date, he ghosted me. I suspected the job was too small for his liking.


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Gold metallic paint experiment

Meantime, I decided to experiment with a gold metallic paint on the back wall.  The paint job did not come out exactly like it did on HGTV. Still not sure why, except that there was a sponging technique that I don’t think I had down. Considering most of the wall was going to be covered, it was a good one to practice on and with everything in, it looks fine.
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Andrei Tiurin Cabinet Master
Since Yelp wasn’t yielding anyone willing to do a mini closet redo, I went to Thumbtack.

I read some reviews and looked at some pictures and contacted Andrei Tiurin.  I sent the request to him on a Tuesday night and he texted me back right after I went to bed with a fantastic price and the availability to do it the next day.

He arrived on time and although it took longer than he had expected, the cabinets came out perfectly! They feel very sturdy, so I won’t be worrying about hearing a crash in the middle of the night. Plus, he took a fun picture of him and his work that he texted to me. (See above).
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Party closet upgrade complete
Even though I had measured everything out, I had not measured everything I wanted to store in the cabinet to make sure it was all going to fit. If you read any articles about organization, this is an important step.  I was lucky. Everything I wanted to store and more went in with ease.

The whole project came in at about a third of what it would have cost me if I had gone with my original idea. The DMan was right.  It is just a closet.  But since it has been completed, I can’t help going in to admire how organized it all looks! 

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Happy Covid New Year

1/22/2024

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I have to say, I am always behind the hip and trendy. By the time I get around to seeing the latest movie, Netflix show or even hot new music, it isn’t even trending anymore.  I give the term “late to the party” a whole new meaning. So, it makes sense that I finally got Covid for the first time at the beginning of 2024. The flu and the RSV virus is the focus of the media right now, so to be honest, Covid wasn’t even on my radar.  I had been vaccinated and boosted, but got lazy about getting my fall booster this year. “I will get to it after the holiday season,” I told myself.

Rolling into December, the holiday season was great.  The D-Man and I had planned to start with our yearly trek to Six Flags Magic Mountain on December 22nd.  Unfortunately, the California storm that moved through meant the park was closed that day.  We ended up having a nice brunch and going bowling at Bowlero in the Santa Anita mall (something we hadn’t done in probably 15 years and our scores really showed it!) Not the day we had planned, but a possible new tradition.


Christmas Eve I had a house full of my California family and friends, Christmas Day was spent with the DMan and his family. The day after Christmas it was off to the desert with the DMan, his family, Kody and Aja for a kickback week in La Quinta at a quiet Vrbo with a nice pool and fantastic mountain views. I had also decided to focus more on gratitude, so I challenged myself to posting something I was grateful for on Facebook for the last 12 days of the year. It was not as easy as I thought it would be, but it made me think about all the good things I have in my life.


On the way home on December 30th, I had a cough and a dry, scratchy throat, but I figured it was the dry weather. Since we had to use the Six Flags tickets before the end of the year, the plan was to spend New Year’s Eve Day there and maybe grab an early dinner.


I woke up New Year’s Eve morning with almost no voice. Having had laryngitis so many times over the years from singing too much, I didn’t think much of it.


At the park, I tackled nine rollercoasters.  It never rained but it was cold and although I thought I had dressed warm enough I was feeling very chilled.  We had an early dinner at the Red Lobster after the park and I started to feel like I might be getting sick.


Once we got home, we watched the “Twilight Zone” marathon and some New Year’s Rockin Eve.  I went to bed just after midnight, figuring after getting some sleep, I would wake up all better to watch the Rose Parade and some football in my pajamas on the couch. 


Not so much!  I woke up New Year’s Day feeling like I had been run over by a train and I knew it wasn’t your common scratchy throat.


After having some conversations with the DMan around where we might find a Covid test on New Year’s Day morning, I remembered I had put some Nyquil, cough drops, etc. on the top shelf in the bathroom.  Pulling the stuff down, there were some Covid tests I had bought and forgotten about.  It didn’t take the full fifteen minutes to come back with a very positive looking test.  (The Dman initially tested negative, but tested positive three days later when he started feeling lousy.)


I can now say firsthand Covid sucks.  Fever, chills, headaches, sore throat, body aches coughing and the general feeling that walking across the room is more activity that you can handle, lasted a good week.  I haven’t taken a sick day from my job in nine years, but I took one that week, adding on to a day off I had already planned on.


I did get the Paxlovid prescription which probably helped stop it from getting worse, but it knocked me down harder than any illness I have had in a very long time. The DMan got mostly fatigue and body aches, but he was also down for about a week.


Of course, what we experienced is nothing like what Covid was in the beginning, and I am so grateful to have gotten it now instead of then.  I may have struggled with coming up with twelve things to be grateful for rolling into the New Year, but I have plenty of things I can add now. Even going back to the gym and struggling through my workouts after being away from them for awhile makes the grateful list. Plus by finding more gratitude, I can already cross off one of my resolutions!


I am going to say that a rough start to the New Year means you are going to have a great year. Which means 2024 should be AMAZING!

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Smog Test and AtHome Shopping AKA My day off

11/9/2023

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I don’t consider my 2007 Toyota Tacoma old.  I consider it broken in.  This is the first Toyota I have owned and other than maintenance, I haven’t had to have anything fixed.  Of course, after 180,000 miles, I am starting to run into a lot of maintenance. I took a day off from work last week to get some of it done.  The dealership had told me I needed new spark plugs and a new battery and since it was registration time, I thought I would get the work done first and then take it for a smog test.  Not exactly a sexy mini vacation, but I figured I would use some of the day to check out a new home store chain that recently moved into Pasadena along with being done with truck stuff for the rest of the year.

It was a SoCal perfect weather day, and I was scrolling through my phone enjoying the late afternoon sun when the person doing my smog test approached me and asked me a question I wasn’t expecting.
 
“Did you recently have a dead battery?”
 
I looked up from Facebook and said, “No. I just got a new battery.”
 
Now he looked confused.  ”Why? Did the other one die?”
 
“No, but the dealer said it was getting old and I didn’t want to get stranded with a dead battery.”
 
“When did you get the new battery?”
 
“Today. Is that a problem?”
 
“Yes, because you got a new battery, you didn’t pass the smog test.”
 
This was the first I had ever heard of this, but apparently, this info is out there. After failing, I found several different articles and opinions about it online, including this from a smog tips website:
 
Replacing the battery or even simply disconnecting the battery on a vehicle will cause the engine control unit (ECU) to reset and clear all the emission monitors (and trouble codes; if any existed). Emission monitors are needed to be READY or COMPLETE in order for the vehicle to pass the smog check.
Completing or making "Ready" the emission monitors requires driving a car through a specific driving pattern. Emission monitors are internal self-tests which the ECU performs to ensure a vehicle is not polluting and is running efficiently. The entire process of self-testing various emission control systems is called a Drive Cycle.
It is recommended to drive a vehicle 200-300 miles over the course of a few days in both city and highway traffic conditions in order to make the emission monitors "ready".

To say I wasn’t happy about this situation is an understatement.  I am now looking at paying for another smog check, as well as a tank of gas to do driving I hadn’t planned on. This could have all been avoided had Toyota Pasadena asked a simple question before they replaced my battery.  “Do you need to have the vehicle smog checked in the near future?” Because even though dealerships know this fun fact, they didn’t ask. Not great service. Not even good service.

On a more positive note, I did get to check out AtHome, a new home store chain that moved into the top floor of what was once the Pasadena Sears on Foothill.  Don’t be fooled by the old front entrance which is boarded up and is going to be a new Hobby Lobby. Drive to the back and you will find a shiny home store that is full of everything you would need to set up a new home.  It is huge!  Right now, it is full of Christmas stuff, so if you are looking for any decorations, this is the place to go.  Everything is reasonably priced and right now, organized and  clean.

If I have one criticism, it’s that I didn’t really see anything out of the ordinary. Home Goods, which is right next door, has things that are less basic as far as colors, patterns, glassware, and even holiday décor.  But if you are looking for a one stop shop wide for some new towels, organizational items and maybe a mirror, this is your place.
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A new piece of information and a new place to fill in any missing Christmas décor. Not such a bad day off after all.
 

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SUMMER 2023 WRAP UP

9/18/2023

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Saturday is officially the first day of fall, meaning the summer of 2023 is almost in the books.  Although I checked a few things off my to do list, it was not my most productive summer.  But even though I didn’t do much, I really enjoyed myself.

There were the weekends spent with the D-Man and Kody by the fire pit listening to music, a nice San Diego trip Memorial Day weekend and our trek to Wisconsin. Although we didn’t take another major vacation, we spent a long weekend in northern California with our good friends, enjoying chill time and wine tasting.  I checked out Kool and the Gang and the Village People and had an amazing dinner at The Backyard at the Hollywood Bowl. I spent a Thursday night listening to some local music in Loma Alta Park in Altadena. I went to an actual movie theatre for the first time in over a year to see “Barbie,” and enjoyed some BBQs and dinners with family and friends.  Labor Day weekend the D-Man and I had dinner and drinks at the Rooftop Lounge at the La Casa Del Camino in Laguna Beach.  I finished the long weekend with a wonderful day in Del Mar, just enjoying the sand and the surf, after having lunch at The Poseidon restaurant.

Then there was the tropical storm that hit southern California.  I was lucky to not be in a flood area, so it turned into a Sunday with all the windows open, listening to the rain and enjoying some cool weather in what is usually a scorching month.

This is also the summer I discovered, after a bit of a struggle, that I want to do more writing.  I read a Judy Blume book on a work trip to Seattle called “Sumer Sisters”, that I loved, and it got me thinking about writing fiction.  As a pre-teen and teenager, I spent hours writing novels and stories.  Once I got involved in music, with limited time, I stopped.  It feels like this might be the time in my life to give it another shot.  I am not sure where it is going to go, but I am beginning to remember how much I enjoyed it.

Isn’t that what summer is for?  Time to enjoy yourself and make memories with the people you care about.
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Come to think of it, isn’t that winter, fall and spring are for too?
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WISCONSIN VACATION

8/20/2023

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The Swingin Door Exchange in downtown Wisconsin
I am hanging out with Hurricane Hilary today, after seeing “Barbie” last night.  If you have not already seen it, take your BFF, take your daughter, or take your soon to be enlightened significant other.  It is worth the hype.

After finally finishing my chores for the weekend, I have the windows open, listening to the rain and looking at some pictures from the Wisconsin trip the D-Man and I took earlier this year.
I love the reactions I get when I tell people where I went for vacation.

“ I went to Wisconsin.”  This is typically followed by silence or a comment like, “Why?”  I guess when you live in SoCal, Wisconsin isn’t a top vacation spot, but I don’t really understand why not.

I have talked a lot over the years about how great Summerfest is, but there is more to Wisconsin.  On this last trip we had a fantastic time at the World’s Best Music festival.  We saw Debbie Gibson after a thunder delay, caught a great local cover band called The Playlist and then a great show by Earth, Wind and Fire. But there is more to southern Wisconsin.

 Here are three places to explore when the music isn’t playing:
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The Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Milwaukee
​DOWNTOWN MILWAUKEE
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Downtown Milwaukee continues to go through a transformation and every year we visit it gets better and better.  The Milwaukee Bucks have their arena downtown and the area around Fiserv Forum is nicknamed the Deer District. There are fun bars, restaurants, and summer festivals even when it isn’t basketball season.  If you feel like doing some roller skating, there is a Starbucks that has an outdoor roller rink in the summer and that turns into an ice rink in the winter.  The Third Ward District, on your way to the Summerfest grounds, has more great places to eat, drink and hang and the Riverwalk is also a great way to see the whole downtown.  If historic architecture is your thing, downtown Milwaukee is the place for you.  We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, which is not at all what you would expect it to be.  In a historic office building, we had a room with high ceilings and windows that made it feel huge. if you are looking for some great bar food or a place to grab an after Summerfest drink, check out the Swingin Door Exchange across from the hotel.  After Earth, Wind and Fire, we stopped in and found the place filled with friendly folks who invited us to join them in a game of “Shut The Box.”  (It’s a Wisconsin thing, but Google it for the rules.)

But if you are looking for some small-town Wisconsin charm close to Milwaukee, head north to Cedarburg and Port Washington.
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Cedar Creek in Cedarburg
CEDARBURG

Historic downtown Cedarburg is just about 20 minutes from Milwaukee.  If you are looking for quaint shops and scenic creek views, plan on spending an afternoon.  We started our day at the PJ Piper Pancake House with German pancakes.  Then it was off to the Cedar Creek Winery for some wine tasting.  No, it is not Napa and if you are a wine snob, you might want to pass.  But if you want a nice light summer wine to drink by the lake, try the Strawberry Blush.  Although we didn’t make it this year, there is also the Crème and Crepe Café, if you saved any room for some lunch, right next to the winery.  We always spend a portion of the day at Fiddleheads Coffee.  The coffee is good, but the back porch area is the perfect chill spot, especially on a hot day.
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The Harborview Hotel in Port Washington
PORT WASHINGTON

From Cedarburg, make the 15-minute drive to Port Washington. With its touch of New England charm, the downtown is nestled on the Wisconsin shore of Lake Michigan.  Take a walk at the Coal Dock Park, which not surprisingly, was once the site of a coal dock. Or get a real feel for Lake Michigan and walk the breakwater to the lighthouse.  The Harborview Hotel has been recently updated and features the Beacon restaurant where they have my personal Wisconsin favorite, Perch fish fry, daily.  On a nice evening, you can sit outside and enjoy the water view.  If you are looking for a little more adventurous menu, try the Twisted Willow.  Great food and atmosphere.

If you are looking for a different vacation spot next summer, combining quant and urban, southern Wisconsin could be the place for you!

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Happy Summer Reset

6/22/2023

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It is officially the beginning of summer and I have no idea how half of this year is already gone!
I consider Memorial Day weekend the start of my summer.  The D-Man and I took a wonderful trip on the train down to San Diego.  We stayed at the Residence Inn, right in the middle of the Gaslamp district and we had a ball.  The weather was more like winter (grey and chilly) and we really didn’t do much but walk around and half some good meals, but it was wonderful.

It was a nice break and I really needed it. My creative juices have been unfocused and after a mentally challenging workday (which I have had a lot of lately) and a physically challenging workout, it has been difficult for me to do anything but watch some tv and do a little reading. I finished watching all ten episodes of “Daisy Jones and The Six”, which overall, I loved.  I didn’t like the change they made to the ending from the book, but still recommend it if you like band dramas.

I have a list of projects around the house I want to get started on.  I have been thinking about redesigning this blog, doing some more songwriting, and even starting a novel.  But so far this year, I haven’t tackled much.   Add to that, my finances, after all the house renovations, are a bit ragged, which is not comforting to me with the economy getting shaky.  I have also been considering where I want to go with my career.  A new job within my organization or look for a new position entirely?

We tend to look to the New Year as a time to make resolutions and goals and start over.  I say, let’s implement a mid-year New Year, to be called Summer Reset. The perfect time to look at what you have done this year and what you can do with the rest of the year.
I have a vacation coming up.  I hope some time away will give me a chance to do some thinking and clarify what I need and want to do.  Maybe thinking of mid-year as a clean slate will help me focus on my goals again.
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Happy Summer Reset!  If you aren’t exactly where you want to be or have some things you know you should be doing, no better time start than this new holiday!
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Summerfest Memories

3/17/2023

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It is that time of year again.  The time when the best music festival in the country starts announcing acts and putting tickets on sale. No, not Coachella. Summerfest, The World’s Largest Music Festival in Milwaukee Wisconsin.

Having already snagged some tickets, but looking at the discouraging airline prices, I started reminiscing about the past years of attending.  They are celebrating their 55th anniversary, and I have been there for most of those years.

My first Summerfest I was nine years old. My father took my best friend and I to see Gladys Knight and The Pips at the Main Stage.  We were in the bleachers pretty far back and even standing it was hard to see.  But I felt like this was a very cool place.

A friend I met in middle school had parents who were big jazz fans.  They would go down early in the day, bring a deck of cards and camp out on a picnic table, enjoying good music, each other, and some beers.  My friend and I would roam the grounds, stopping off to watch local bands and upcoming acts at all the stages.  That’s if there wasn’t someone we wanted to see over at the Main Stage.  In those days, everything was general seating on bleachers, so it was total first come, best seats. The gates to the Main Stage would open a couple of hours after the festival grounds opened, which meant there would already be a line waiting to get some seats. A testimony to people in Wisconsin, this situation never resulted in anyone being killed or even injured, something I am not sure could have been pulled off in other parts of the country.   Despite not being very athletic, I got quite good at doing the Main Stage Mad Dash when the gates opened. Bleacher jumping and getting somewhere in the first few rows and then spreading my body out as far as I could to save as many seats as possible for my friends.  We rarely sat farther back than the first five rows. By high school, my seat saving skills got so good, we were almost always in the front row.

When I hit the workforce at age 18, too broke for any real vacations, I took my two weeks during Summerfest. I went every day, sometimes from open to close, depending on the lineup.  My dream was to sometime play there, since at this point, I was singing in bands.  That dream finally came true in the last 80s when we got booked for an early evening gig on one of the smaller stages.

I moved to California shortly after that gig, feeling like my goals for Wisconsin were completed.  I went through several day jobs before having a real career, buying my home, and of course, continuing to do music. Every summer, I made my pilgrimage back to the place where my love of music had been cultivated, sometimes convincing California friends to come along and eventually, the D-Man, who is not particularly fond of concert going.  Every time I walk on the grounds for the first time of the season, all the memories and good times come flooding back.

A Wisconsin friend and I were commiserating about the Summerfest changes.  The three weekends instead of the 11 straight days of years past.  The demise of the wine coolers, for more expensive signature drinks. The less than stellar lineups on certain days.

The D-Man, never one to listen to complaining, had enough.  “Would you stop it? There is no other music festival like this in the country. Stop complaining and just enjoy it!”

He had a point.  Those of us who love it, want it to be better.  Or maybe we want it to be the way it was.  But like so many things in life, it is what it is.  Still my happy place.
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Check out www.summerfest.com for more information.
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CD Cabinet Reimagined

2/9/2023

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I am doing a bedroom refresh to FINALLY accommodate a king-sized bed I just ordered.  I haven’t bought a new bed for myself since I moved in the house almost thirty years ago, so I am due. I looked at probably 200 hundred beds online with some very specific criteria and even though I got in on sale, I spent more than I wanted to.  It should be arriving in about a month.

In the process of getting things ready, I got rid of a large clothes armoire that I had cleaned out.  I also had a cd holder that I had moved to the garage that was basically taking up space because it wasn’t really the right size to store anything I had in the garage.  It was in good shape and I liked the way it looked, so I had been reluctant to throw it out.


Staring at it one day, trying to think of something to do with it, it finally hit me.  It would make an excellent jewelry armoire.

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I wanted to glam it up a little since the inside was very plain.  I found some great peel and stick tile on Amazon.  I had never done peel and stick, and it was fairly easy to install. (I would suggest an extra sheet or two, since the first one I put in the back wasn’t straight and it didn’t come up as easily as it went down.)
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Since the inside was black, it was hard to see anything in it.  I ordered a couple of two packs of the Brilliant Evolution LED Touch Stick On Lights from Amazon for around $15.00.  I have become a little obsessed with these lights.  They are bright and stay where you put them!  I have them under my kitchen sink and in my outdoor closet.  So handy when you are digging around in the dark for cleaner or matches for the fire pit!
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The whole project took a couple of evenings, getting the back tile in and organizing all my watches, buttons, earrings, and necklaces.  I have some additional storage space at the bottom that I still haven’t decided what to use it for.  The side doors also have room, but I am sure I will find things to put in there.
I have been putting things out to the curb a lot lately, so it felt good to find a new use for something that could have ended up in a landfill. I am hoping for more inspiration around some other items that I have waiting for their comeback!

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