Last Post for This Blog

Well, it's that time folks... this blog has come to an end.

I feel very confident that I accomplished my goal of informing, enlightening, educating and possibly even entertaining, everyone with the differences in coastal lifestyles.

So to all the folks on the west coast.... I didn't freeze to death during my first winter, nor did I suffer any frost bite...lol...lol...

And to all the folks on the east coast.. I hope that by now you realize "All that Glitters... is not Gold".

I want to personally thank each and every person who took time out of their lives to read my post on this blog. I sincerely hope you had as much enjoyment reading it as I did posting it.

I took this picture while in Lucerne, Switzerland. It is of the very famous Chapel bridge. This is the oldest covered bridge in Europe. Inside the bridge are paintings from the 17th Century. The pictures don't look that worn and I guess it is because they were protected from the weather.

Wishing everyone a life better than they could ever imagine.

Ciao

Sod Farms

I never knew what a Sod Farm was until I moved to the San Fernando Valley in California. There's a really big one near the Sepulveda Basin.

I was amazed that people had farms that grew grass. I remember telling my Dad, who was a farmer that grew vegetables, about these farms that just grew grass and he thought that was crazy.

I have seen a few sod farms here in Pennsylvania.

If I were a contractor building homes and got to the end and needed grass I probably wouldn't think a sod farm is a crazy idea. I know that there are different kinds of grass. Many years ago, someone I knew in California purchased Champion grass for their front lawn. That was when I learned about the grass market...lol...lol....lol.

I took this picture in Salzburg. It is the garden where the famous movie "The Sound of Music", with Julie Andrews, was filmed. The gardens are beautiful and are open for all to walk through.

It's funny cause I just realized that Mozart was born and lived in Salzburg. And I wonder if that is why Salzburg was chosen for the filming of a movie entitled "The Sound of Music"... hummm.. I wonder...

Ciao

Out with the Old.. in With the New

Every one's experiencing changes in their life. Personally, I think that most of the changes that is occurring, aren't "self-imposed" changes. Lots of peoples jobs are changing. Loved ones are moving on and leaving this planet. A change in one person's life can affect several. Kinda like the "butterfly effect".

The last several years of my life has undergone major changes. I often think that the changes are done with.... but then new ones arise.

My life changed dramatically when I moved from the deep south to Los Angeles (almost 24 years ago). And now it is changing drastically again. Partly my fault, and partly not. Almost like a "be careful what you wish for thing." You know like if you had this magic gene come out of a lamp and you tell him that you want him to clean and organize your life and then he deletes three of your websites because he doesn't see the use or need for them. Well, you can't be mad at the gene, cause he was, after all, doing what you asked...lol...lol..lol...

And that's what happened, I wanting a simple, uncomplicated, not-busy-every-moment, kind of life, inadvertently deleted 3 of my websites. All three were what I like to call "shits and giggles" websites.

I read the book "The Tipping Point" (How Little Things can Make a Big Difference) and in the book it said that, from the age of 1 to 151, everyone loves a story. You tell someone a story and that gets them feeling all warm and fuzzy, then you point them to what you want them to purchase. So in the middle of the night I woke up and wrote a story about 3 magic monkeys who created the "Magic Monkey Method." I had the website up with the story for a few years and at the end of the story it would point you to my t-shirt website. The book also said that people respond to vertical head movement and, they believe, that is one of the contributing factors to Reagan becoming President. I decided to see if it was true and made a video. Click on the word video to see the video.

A friend of mine called me up one day and said that he was going to go and get hypnotised for better sleep, clear thinking, more mojo, etc.. I asked him how much it was going to cost and he said $500 and I said, "Dude, come over here and I'll bitch slap you for $50 and you'll be fine." And then the light blub went off and "Bitch Slaps R Us" was created. It was a website that, with humor, linked everything else I did. I even created a video, which can be seen by clicking on video.

And then one night, a few years ago, one of my friends called telling me how bad the economy was and I told him, "So everyone is up shits creek, Dude go make paddles." The light bulb didn't go off then. Then he started talking about a recession and that's when the light bulb went off. I asked, "How about making recession survival kits?" He pissed and moaned about how long it would take to get it off the ground and soooooo as kind of an experiment I woke up the next morning and looked at the clock and it was 9am and I said to myself, "I am going to see how long it takes to set up a Recession Survival Kit business." I got the domain name, figured out what I was going to put in the kit. Designed the website. Set up PayPal. Went to the store and got everything to go into the kit, went to the post office to find out what size box I needed and how much postage would cost. The kit consisted of items in a brown paper bag. The items were; a handkerchief cause we know you're gonna be crying; a blue's cd cause we know you're gonna be singing the blues; a box of mac n' cheese cause you gotta eat; 16 beer recipes cause we know you're gonna wanna drink; a pad and pen cause we know you're gonna come up with some bright ideas. Recession Survival Kits sold for $24.99 (including shipping). This was a humor gift. From start to finish it took me 3 hours and 5 minutes. Website built, paypal capable and product in hand. My friend was blown away. Later I decided to make a video, which you can see by clicking on video.

Yesterday I felt a bit sad about the 3 websites being gone, but not bad enough to put them back up again. I told my sister this morning that I would let them go and I would create new things.

I am getting you ready for the travel website so I am going to be posting pictures from vacations around the world. This is one of my favorite pictures. Just a lone Chuch on top of a mountain. I was in Switzerland, on the worldest steepest cogwheel railway, going up to the top of Mount Pilatus. The mountain was named after a local legend that alleges Pontius Pilate was burried there. Amazingly, I had a full cell signal at the top of this mountain!

Ciao

I am Done With the Snow!

Last week I heard on the weather channel that a snow storm was going to hit our area Saturday and Sunday. I was surprised when I woke up on Friday morning to 12-16 inches of snow and it was still coming down.

I went out and did the mandatory shoveling. My neighbor taught me that you shovel the first 6 inches off and then the next six, instead of trying to do the whole 12 inches at one time.

My neighbor was out shoveling and I mentioned that I thought the storm was going to come this weekend. He said that it got here early.

So the snow stopped around 2:00 yesterday and it warmed up into the 40's (4.4C) and a lot of snow melted from the sidewalks and street, which is great, cause you don't want it to turn to ice.

I woke up this morning and opened up the window blinds and OMG there's ANOTHER 6-8 inches of snow and it was coming down pretty heavy. It appears to have stopped within the last 15 minutes.

I hear California is bracing for a rainy day. Stay inside you guys where it is safe and dry!

I heard that because of this narly winter we are having that the weather guru's are predicting a narly hurricane season. That sucks! My mother, who had her home rebuilt after Katrina, could potentially loose it again! Well, we'll just have to wait and see.

Ciao

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify

That's my new mantra!!!

I have been going through boxes, cabinets and closets and loading up the car for weekly trips to Salvation Army. I just don't want to carry anymore unnecessary stuff through life.

Last Friday I found 4 old cell phones. One had teal stones all over it. I really believe I was the first one on the planet to come up with the idea of blinging out things. My second cellphone that I covered was done in rainbow crystals. People in restaurants would come up to my table to see my cell phone. This was probably 10 or more years ago. I think I hung onto them because they were something I created. Well, now someone else can enjoy them.

Today is Wednesday and my next blog post will be sometime over the weekend. I am going to be posting only once a week since I will be winding down this blog real soon.

This is also in an effort to simply my life. I want to spend less time connected to technology and more time planting flowers, painting pictures and/or connecting with friends.

Speaking of friends.... I think it is totally wild that since the age of 12 I have ALWAYS had a friend named Judy in my life. My first friend named Judy lived a couple of doors from me and she was older than me and we hug out. We were friends for many many years. Around the age of 19 I met my second friend named Judy, who is still my very best, dearest and closest friend. Talking to her on the phone these last 2 Sundays brought back so many wonderful memories. Judy makes the BEST popcorn on the planet! Then around the age of 28 I moved to Los Angeles and immediately met a girl named Judy who I was friend with for 17 years. I don't know about you... but I think that is just wild!

So until this weekend....

Ciao

Let's Talk Weather!!!

Houston is expecting snow today. That's wild!

My sister lives in Houston and she actually got snow weeks before we did here in Pennsylvania.

I haven't written about "black ice". Mainly because I haven't seen too much of it, which is a good thing.

I first learned of black ice when I was in Iceland. I took this picture while in Iceland. This was right outside the door of my hotel. I wonder why they didn't put salt on the ground. The sidewalk was one sheet of ice. I walked in the street most of the time I was there. Talk about slippery.

Well, I guess by now everyone knows that we are experiencing an El Nino affect. Which will be followed by a La Nina affect.

I was poking around on the Internet and found an interesting website that pretty much forecast the weather for quite a bit. Talking about how the global warming that began in 80's would be ending around 2017 and then a global cooling will begin. Here is the link if you want to check it out http://forums.accuweather.com/index.php?showtopic=13603. It's a fascinating read that's for sure.

So right now California's bracing for more rain. Houston, Pennsylvania and Delaware are going to get a few flurries, not a big snow storm like we experienced a couple of weeks ago.

Ciao

What a Beautiful Weekend

The weather has been amazing the last three days. The sun has been shinning, blue skies and it's been about 50 degrees (10C). It felt warm to me so for the last three days there were no layering of clothes. I opened up my bedroom windows and let the cool breeze come in.

I spent Saturday checking out the tiny state of Delaware. Delaware was the 1st of our 50 states. It is an interesting state. It takes about 4-5 hours to drive from the top to the bottom and about 3 hours to drive from the southeast side to the southwest side. The farther you go south in the state the more farm land you find.

Delaware is a sales tax free state. I went to the Christiana Mall. That mall has every store under the sun. I haven't seen so many people at a mall since Clinton was president! It was wild!

The state of Delaware has income tax and it is 5.95%, which isn't really all that bad. That tiny little state makes almost all of it's money off of franchise corporate fees. Delaware has the most favorable "blue-sky" laws. Which are laws for taking a company public. Hence, the big players are Delaware corporations; Google, Apple, Sony, to name a few.

There is also a huge retirement community in Delaware which I thought was surprising.

I wanted to go back next Saturday and check out some more, however, the weather websites are calling for snow next Saturday in Pennsylvania and Delaware. I wish I could say that the weather man might be wrong, but with technology today they seem to be up with their game and pretty accurate.

Ciao

Winding Down the Blog

I have been thinking that this blog will probably be coming to an end very soon. I have been writing on it for about 9 months now and began upon leaving California.

The purpose was to educate, inform and entertain any one who was curious about my perception of life on the west coast vs. life on the east coast.

I have enjoyed writing on this blog so I may begin a new one when this one ends. The new one might be called "All About Me"....lol..lol... hey I don't know if I am just kidding about that title. I just threw it out there. The new blog will contain more information about my travels as I anticipate doing that quite a bit more.

Well, yesterday was Mardi Gras. I have been to about 35 Mardi Gras celebrations in my lifetime and they were all in New Orleans. So I never feel that I am missing out. Mardi Gras has changed a lot and since Hurricane Katrina and it will never be the same. I am glad that I got to experience it when it was in full force at the height of it's existence.

Okay thinking back to Mardi Gras when I was a child really makes me feel super old. When I was a child and we went to parades at Mardi Gras time there were these guys walking with big sticks with fire on them to light the parade way. They were know as flambeau carriers. The first flambeau carriers were slaves.

And what else makes me feel really old is that my uncle had slaves and I remember seeing them and feeling sorry for them when I went to his house. He said that he treated his slaves better than most because they got to eat the same food that he ate. One of their jobs was to polish the nickle plated motor in his Rolls Royce. I remember going to his house and telling him that it was illegal to have slaves and he would say, "They can leave. They won't leave." And I would look at them and they would say, "Where are we going to go? He is good to us." It was sad it tell you... just real sad.

And here's another thing that makes me feel really old when I think back to Mardi Gras as a child. I would see these groups of people covered in white walking down the street. You know who I am talking about right? The Ku Klux Klan, also known as the KKK. I can remember pointing to them and asking my Dad what are those? I didn't know if they were men or women under the sheets and my Dad would say that they were there to protect us. Hummm.....life in the deep south....

Since Hurricane Katrina, Mardi Gras in New Orleans is celebrated on a nano scale as compared to what it use to be. The parades would begin right after New Year's Day and there would be lots of expensive Mardi Gras Balls that took place. As a child my mother was a professional seamstress and she would make those elaborate kings and queen costumes. Our house was always full of colorful satin fabric, sequins and feathers. You were really someone special if you had an invitation to a Mardi Gras Ball. Those were coveted events.

Today there are fewer parades, fewer participants, fewer balls. People who live there still want to carry out the tradition and I can't blame them, minus the flambeau carriers and KKK..lol..lol..

I am sure it is still fun and everyone should experience at least one Mardi Gras in New Orleans in their lifetime.

Ciao

Sounds You Wake Up to in the Morning

It's funny, I was laying in bed this morning listening to the sound of someone shoveling their sidewalk and it reminded me of the sounds I have woken up to at different points in my life. More specifically different geographical areas.

In the south I would wake up to the sound of a lawn mower cutting grass. I loved that sound. When I am awaken to the sound of a lawn mover it reminds me of living in the south.

On the west coast I would wake up to the sound of helicopters flying over head. I hated that sound. And since I am a "gotta keep the windows open" kinda gal, I would have to jump up and close the windows.

Here on the east coast I have experienced both a familiar, but good, sound to wake up to and a totally different sound to wake up to. The familiar sound is the sound of lawn mowers and you hear them in the spring and summer. The sound I am getting use to is the sound of shoveling snow. I have not figured out whether the sound of shoveling snow is a good one or a bad one. Only my experiences in time will tell.

I took this picture when I was in Iceland. It is of the world's famous blue lagoons. It is said that these blue lagoons contain the most healing waters in the world. I don't know if that is true. I went into them however, I didn't have any ailments so I don't know if they actually heal. What I can tell you is that the sulphur smell gets in your hair and it is so hard to get it out. It literally took me about 2 months before I could get the smell out. The thought of shaving my head popped into my mind frequently during those two months.

Ciao

I'm Gearing Up for My Next Move

One more last move. That doesn't mean that my world will stop revolving. It just means that I will finally have a home base that will not need to be relocated. I will be able to hang the pictures on the walls and know that I will only have to move them should I really want to, not because I have to move.

Once that I get settled into my home I plan to kick up the traveling a bit. And I am super excited about that.

I was thinking that it would be great to be all moved into my new home my Memorial Day weekend! That is the weekend that I left California and also the same weekend, almost 24 years ago, that I first moved to California. How appropriate to be moving into my home.

I don't think that I am going to stay in Pennsylvania. My work with the state of Delaware has increased significantly since I moved to the east coast. I am considering making a move to that state.

Yesterday I began going through boxes and deciding what will actually make it to my new home. Not much, that I know for sure. I got enough stuff together, for Salvation Army, to fill my car trunk twice.

BTW, did you know that there is a Salvation Army in Queenstown, New Zealand? I had no idea that they were world wide. I was in Queenstown, New Zealand in December 2008, right around Christmas and the guy was standing outside of the store with his bell and red kettle, just like they do here in the states. I thought that was wild!

The skies are blue and the sun is shining down on the white ice and snow. This winter season has been one that I have never ever experienced before.

Ciao

Winterized Windows

These winterized windows are making me very very uncomfortable and unhappy. I know that I have a mild form of claustrophobia. It's not the "I can't ride in an elevator" kind. It's the kind when I first walk into a place I immediately notice if there are windows are not.

Years ago I went to join a gym in Los Angeles and you walked in off the street and there was the front desk and when they took you for a tour they took you downstairs and there were no windows because you were underground. I couldn't even concentrate on what the guy was telling me who was giving me the tour. I just keep looking at the block walks and feeling creepy.

When I would to go the Apple Store in the Canoga Park Mall I was okay because I could look out of the store front and see the mall skylight. I can walk into a store that doesn't have any windows but I am not likely to do any amount of shopping in there.

As a kid, my favorite aunt was claustrophobic. She would not pass a big truck on the highway, even though she drove a big ass Cadillac. And she would never get in an elevator. I remember when we would go somewhere with her we would all have to take the stairs, which didn't make much sense to me because sometimes those stair wells were small and had no windows. I personally think it was the least of two evils for my dear aunt.

Even though I can see out of my windows I can't open them and that bothers me. It feels like a weight on my chest. I have always, as long as I can remember, lived in places where I can open the windows. I love windows open and air flowing in and out. I don't care if it is hot air or cold air.. it's air and it flowing. And with my windows winterized there isn't any air flowing and it bothers me.

Yesterday I couldn't take it any longer so I unwinterized one of the windows. Wow, I could feel my energy change. I got excited and happy and I don't care how much my heating bill will be. I'll gladly pay for the happiness in heating $$$s if I have to.

This is a picture that I took from the first snow storm that we had. My first 6 inches of snow. The weather guy says we may have some snow showers tomorrow and/or Tuesday. But nothing like we have had in the past.

Ciao

What's Up With the Weather?

Man we've got some crazy weather going on. Yesterday, there was snow reported in 49 of our 50 states! Hawaii got lucky! Lots of states that
never see snow are seeing it. 10 snow flurries can shut down a state, if it hasn't seen snow before. They don't have salt or snow plows. No one knows how to drive in it.

Here's something that I have learned about the cold... if you dress for it, you don't feel it. I put on my boots, coat, hat and gloves before leaving the house. I can't say that I have actually felt cold. Maybe it is an age thing. I remember when I was younger that I didn't want to dress appropriately for the weather. I wanted to wear what made me look good...lol..lol.. And if that meant not wearing a coat when it was 40 degrees outside.. well that's what I did. And then I pissed and moaned the whole time about the freakin' weather, cause I was cold. Go figure... live and learn..lol..lol..

I took this picture outside of the back of my home. I am not sure what kind of tree it is. It sure looks like Christmas holly.

Ciao

Yesterday's Blizzard

The blizzard is all over. Mr. Sunshine is looking down on us.

Click on the picture, it's a video. I made this video yesterday. I decided to take a walk and check it all out. The only places open on Main Street were The Dollar Store, Subway Sandwich Shop and The Candy Store. The Candy Store was packed with college students.

Today is when it is suppose to be bad if you didn't shovel your sidewalks, or shovel near your car or even brush the snow off of your car. Because today all that snow that fell freezes and you have a big blocks of ice blocking your car in, on your car, and on your sidewalks. Good luck moving those! Yesterday most of my day was spent running in and out shoveling and brushing off my car. I just went outside and I must say, I am in better shape than most in the neighborhood.

So it's all over... no more snow storms this winter. The Farmer's Almanac says that by April 1st it will be seasonally warm in the northeastern part of the US.

I am truly thankful for this experience. I feel that now I can hold an intelligent conversation about living through a blizzard. Been there... done that.. Next!

This I know for sure: my next winter will be spent in front of a fireplace, I will never winterize windows again and I will not be sweeping snow or shoveling snow from around my car again.

I will be making my last move in the US in a few months and the place I move to will have newer windows, a fireplace and a garage for my car! Yippppeee....

Ciao

First Real Snow Storm

I took this picture last Saturday. It was of the 6 inches of snow that we got from the storm that paralyzed Washington, D.C. and Delaware.

Another storm is here. Supposedly, by the Farmers Almanac, this is the last one we'll get.

It started snowing last night and it is really coming down now. The news guy said we would get 10 inches but I think he might have been off a bit.

I have been watching my neighbor across the street. He has a 3 car garage and a giant driveway. He began shoveling the snow from his driveway this morning as it was still coming down. I really don't understand why he didn't just shovel the path in front of the garage door so his wife could get her car out and go to work. Because half way through shoveling the driveway there was already 3 inches of snow that had accumulated in the part he just shoveled. It's really coming down like crazy.

The weather man said it was suppose to stop this afternoon. If it keeps up like this we could get a good 2 feet of snow! Now I am getting to experience real snow! So far... so good.

Earlier this morning I saw a yellow truck that shovels the snow going down my street. That was about an hour ago and if you looked outside right now you'd never believe he was here.

I don't need to go anywhere... yippppeee! So it's probably a good time to just pull out the paper work and begin working on the my taxes... not so yippeee.

Ciao

OMG I Amost Forgot about Funeral Processions

Okay, you don't see funeral processions in Los Angeles unless it is someone famous like Ronald Reagan or Michael Jackson. I mean can you imagine trying to have a funeral procession with all the traffic that they have in Los Angeles? It would be even crazier on the Los Angeles freeways than it is currently.

I am not sure that they have funeral processions in other parts of the world. So for my European friends who are reading this. A funeral procession is something occurs from the place your dead one's service is performed to the place your dead one's being buried. Everyone in the "funeral party" which is everyone who was at the service follows the hearse to the burial place.

The rules applied in most of the United States are:

• All vehicles traveling in a funeral procession must be accompanied by a licensed escort. Usually one escort is assigned for approximately every 10 to 12 vehicles.

• Funeral processions have the right of way. People are required to yield, and not interfere or cause an obstruction.

• Stickers (colored markers) must be attached to front and rear windows of each vehicle.

• Everyone that's part of the procession is required to have their lights turned on, and some states require the escort to use hazard lights.

I think depending on where you live (how Christian your town is), folks may pull over and bow their heads for your dead ones last ride.

I remember as a kid that you knew how important or popular someone was by the size of their funeral procession. I remember seeing, what seemed like 50 cars in a funeral procession and saying "Wow, that person must have been someone important." And then I can remember seeing 5 or 6 cars in a funeral procession and thinking "That must have been someone old."

The reason I thought that they must be someone old is that, to me, it appears that the older one gets the less people want to do with them. I think that is why I am drawn to very old people. Because I know that one day I too will be very old and I don't want people to be so busy that the forget that I exist. You know old people are put away into retirement homes and such and kinda taken out of society. I think it is sad and probably part of why they die. I mean they are moved from the life that they know to one that other's think will be better for them. This is what happened to my friend Ruth. I now that her son thought he was doing what was best for her. But Ruth was sooooo terribly upset about the move. I know, I got her monthly letters. After Ruth was forced to leave her home and move to an assisted living apartment she lived less than a year.

I like the feel of the funeral processions. It's like their passing is shared with the world during their final ride.

Ciao

I Also Forgot What it Means When Someone Flashes Their HeadLights at You

I was driving down the road and the car approaching flashed their heads at me and my instant thought was, "WTF, I HAVE my head lights on." A friend who was with me said, "Slow down he was warning you that a cop is sitting just up the road."

This happens in the south and I had forgotten about it because flashing head lights in Los Angeles is not a cool thing. In facts, it will get you killed.

A few years ago I heard about a guy who flashed his head lights at someone. The car that he flashed then turned around and followed him to Seven Eleven. When he exited the store he was shot. Apparently, and unbeknownst to this poor dude, flashing your head lights in Los Angeles is a gang sign. Go figure.

Ciao

I Was a Freak in Los Angeles

So now I am finally beginning to understand why people treated me the way that they did in Los Angeles. Friendly people in Los Angeles are freaks! They are freaks of nature. It's not normal to be friendly in Los Angeles. In facts, some people thought that there was something wrong with me.

While walking around Warner Park in Woodland Hills I would say hello to anyone I passed. 60% would say hello back. One say I said hello to a woman and she instantly said hello and turned around and asked me if she could walk with me. I said "sure". As we walked and talked I continued to say hello to everyone who passed me. The woman whose name was Cristina said to me, "You make everyone say hello to you." I looked at her and said, "I don't MAKE anyone say anything." She asked me, "Why do you bother to say hello to someone you don't know?" I asked her, "Why wouldn't I? We are all human and we all live on this planet." She looked at me like I was weird.

My accountant recently told me, "Dottie you will do well on the east coast you are friendly, friendlier than most people." I thought that was an odd assessment. I am just me. And if you rub me the wrong way I bet you won't think I am friendly..lol..lol..

I was walking down Main Street the other day and it was about 20 degrees (-6.6C) outside and snowing a little and everyone that walked passed me either said hello or nodded their head and this was before me saying hello.

I also noticed that at a four-way stop the driver who arrived first at the intersection, although entitled by law to go first, often motions "after you" to me. Like Wow, that never ever happens in Los Angeles. The humility and thank you waves that occurs at four-way stops all but brings a tear to my eye.

Ciao

First Real Snow

Remember a few weeks ago when Philadelphia was hit with a big snow storm? Well, we only got about 2 inches of that. And up until this morning, that was the most snow that I had seen.

A new snow storm hit last night. It was a storm that came up from the Gulf of Mexico, first drenching the southern states with rain and then, as it moved up a northeastern path, it turned to snow.

The snow seems magical to me. It comes in the night and is soooo quiet.

We got 6 inches which is more than I have seen before. It is sooooo white and light and fluffy.

My neighbor showed me how to make a snow angel. She actually laid in the snow and moved here arms and legs and when she got up there it was ... an angel in the show.

Ciao

OMG I saw a Bookmobile

Like Wow, I didn't know that Bookmobiles still existed. I remember them from my childhood. In my 23 years in Los Angeles I never saw a bookmobile.

Bookmobiles were started in Britain in 1859 and the first ones were carts drawn by horses. The first year nearly 12,000 books were loaned out. The whole idea behind the bookmobile was to bring books to home bound people who could not get out to the library. They would lend you the books for a period of time and when the next time they were in your neighborhood they would pick them up.

In Los Angeles I had friends who either read all the time or never read at all. Yep, reading was an all or nothing thing.

Being the bibliophile (lover of books) that I am, it touched my heart to see that bookmobiles still do exist.

Ciao

I Got on the Scale This Morning

I left California 8 months ago, Memorial Day weekend, 2009. I am 5 ft. 6 inches tall. I weighed 123 pounds when I left California.

My weight is "relative". And thanks to Einstein, I learned that the word "relative" means: depending on where you are.

So if you are a doctor and you are commenting on my weight you would say that I am at a normal weight.

If you are in the south and you were commenting on my weight you might say that I was on the skinny side and try to get me to eat something.

If you are in Los Angeles and you were commenting on my weight you would say that I am fat. Yep, FAT! The first thing you would look at is my stomach to see how flat it is or isn't. That would be the determining factor on whether or not you wanted to be seen with me..... oops I meant, talk to me....lol..lol...lol... It is funny because yes if you were in Los Angeles your decision to say one word to be would be based on the flatness of my stomach. Isn't that wild? Don't you wish you lived there? lol..lol..lol...

I knew this guy who worked at the Apple store and he was a cutie. He told me "Dottie I only have pretty friends. I don't want to be friends with someone who doesn't look good." Woe is me... I hate to have to learn the life lessons that this Dude is going to have to learn. I asked him, "What about the qualities that someone might possess, you know all those important things that you can't see, like trust and integrity?" And he looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language. And that is typical of Los Angeles... if they can't see it.. it doesn't matter.

I haven't lived in this part of the country long enough to tell you whether I am considered at a normal weight, skinny or fat. I can tell you that I haven't gained one pound! Which was my main concern upon moving here. I didn't want to gain 100 lbs like my friend, Linda, who moved from Los Angeles to Idaho and was afraid to go outside when it was cold, raining or snowing. I have kept moving and living and I am happy about that.

Ciao