Category: Uncategorized

Many pictures from here. What started Nevada on the road to statehood is the Comstock Silver mine near Virginia City. Unlike Bodie CA that after the gold ran out became a ghost town, Virginia City is thriving, mostly as a tourist spot. Although there is still a lot of mining going on in NV, it is very different from the old days.

Unlike those newer buildings in Carson City, these have survived and now are a thriving tourist trap. I’m all in favor of services for tourists. At least they didn’t build a casino here, Reno and Carson City are both about 30 miles away – go gamble there.

I love ghost advertising, here is a good example.

Here is another example. the only sign that isn’t ghosted is the Mens’ crisis center, which appears to be for drugs and alcohol.

Here we have the creativity of Trompe L’oeil, adding two windows to a blank wall. Think about it, Windows were very expensive. Sure, the hotel next door had small rooms, each with a window. I don’t know what the building was, but clearly they didn’t need four windows. I bet most people on the street don’t realize the two center windows aren’t real

Here is the side of this same building. More Trompe l’oeil, also, I love how all old towns have these fraturnal societies. In this case the Odd Fellows.

Yes, Virginia City is Trump country, very proudly so. Although I must say, I did see some Biden signs, unlike here in LA, no one is tearing those down. In LA very few people will put up a Trump sign – except that huge one over the 405. Interesting how Cal Trans felt they had the right to knock it down, even though it was on private property. So yeah, I love seeing this.

Standing with a cup of coffee outside a saloon.

A town like Virginia City was full of vice, saloons and ‘working girls’ and yet, Churches were built. When fire or other disasters came through town, of course it was the churches that offered help to everyone. This Presbyterian Church was the first one built in town.

Then we have the the large Catholic Church.

This beautiful building was the school building, built 17 years after the discovery of the Comstock Mine. By then the money was being spent here in town on improving the community. An interesting comment is that it was Virginia City that built up San Francisco. The actual miners would piss away a lot of their money on booze. It was the banks and investors that made the big money, since San Francisco had been booming since 1849, that is where the rich people were and that is where they put all their money.

Up a few streets one sees the old Victorian homes. Some are Inns, I saw some of them being refurbished. It is great seeing that this little gem of a town thriving.

Leah

I’m sure you would like to see Lake Tahoe itself. The most beautiful lake that straddles California and Nevada.

Unfortunately, because of all the wild fires in the west, many still burning in CA, visibility wasn’t very good. Can’t see the mountains on the west side of the lake.

Some days were better than others.

Had to get a selfie!

Also, took a picture of other people enjoying the lake. Went up and spoke to them, they were from Ohio. Their son just got married in Colorado and then they continued on for a trip through the west. Aside from our horrifically high gas prices, they did love the nature CA has to offer.

A visit to Emerald Bay, I now this island has another name, but I thin the shape of it gives the name to the bay, because the water was bluer than blue. This kind of blue is what this lake is known for.

This day the sky and the lake were almost the same color, even the mountains blended in.

I love these rock towers that people are leaving on the landscape.

Smoke is back, and yet it makes for a very other-worldy image.

Exact same beach as the previous image. The air might be horrible, but look how clear the water is! Yes, I took this picture looking down at the lake water. It is so clear you simply can’t see it. All you see are the rocks.

We also hiked to a waterfall. Water out in the west is always precious.

Not a selfie! we traded taking pictures with another couple. Much better than the selfies.

Looking down from the waterfall to a high Sierra meadow. Fall colors are beginning to emerge. This whole trip was so necessary for the soul.

Leah

We desperately needed to get away. All this covid stuff is crazy, all the more so in CA where our dictator, I mean governor now is demanding we wear masks when we eat… I can’t even.

So we drove up to Lake Tahoe and had a wonderful getaway. Our first stop was in Carson City, the capitol of Nevada. As soon as we crossed the state line there was a Casino, then surprisingly not many casinos until Carson City

I have to say, here we are on the Main Street downtown, this is where the state capitol and all government buildings are. And the two casinos here are much bigger and more imposing. This was was having some work done, maybe it was replacing lightbulbs. Or Cleaning the sign. How cool is this wonderful blade sign with the old fashioned neon.

Same sign from another angle.

I’m happy to say, that although these are large casinos, they don’t dominate the city. Because Carson City is a government town, it suppresses a lot of business, that is the nature of most capitols. Which probably explains why Reno, just up the road is a much larger, more thriving town. The one benefit to this is that old homes and buildings don’t get torn down all that quickly.

We see new buildings made to look like the old western buildings did.

Look next door, that is a real old house. (I know, old is relative, probably less than 100 years). You can see the detail of creating a rounded section, that takes, time, money and good craftsmanship. I appreciate the new, boy do I love the old!

Another example of old, love the detail on the second floor, the pushed out bays. Yes, you can go back and look at the modern building, there are some upshots, but they are rectangular, not half a hexagon like we have here.

We walked partway on the Kit Carson Trail. A walk in old downtown Carson City of important old homes. This is what I mean when I say that the old is still standing. I have no idea the significance of this house, it wasn’t built by anyone important nor did someone famous live here, but it’s still standing.

This is the famous one, The Orion Clemens house, 150 years old. Orion was secretary to the territorial governor. But the real claim to fame is his brother, who would stay with him, the one who took on the pen name of Mark Twain.

Back of the house. These homes were built very close together, many do have yards, but not huge ones. In this case the yard has been converted to a parking lot. You may have noticed the sign on the house, today it is a law firm. This reminded me so much of growing up in Jerusalem. There like here, old houses or apartments became professional offices. Lawyers, CPAs’ Drs. For a number of years growing up, our upstairs neighbor was a law firm. I’m not upset about this, clearly people would rather live in larger housing developments, but the buildings are being used, not torn down.

Here is the sign out front, and yes, I do like that the frame is the state of Nevada.

This is another historic home that today is an antique shop. There is a lot of Victorian fru-fru going on here. Maybe to much, maybe just the right amount.

Another important house on the tour, once again, I do love the detail. The guy who photobombed this, I’ll keep him.

People do live in some of these old homes. Some already have Halloween decorations up. We spoke to a number of residents out in their yards. Between the businesses and the residents, the place is lively during the day, probably much quieter at night.

Can’t complain about someone with a cannon in their front yard. especially one that is so well cared for.

More on our trip soon.

Leah

I enjoy the calmness of cross-stitching, I’m not crazy about most of the patterns out there. I’m glad I found that book of old fashioned designs, so I decided to play.

Let embroider the roses.

As I said, it is very relaxing.

I like the technique of adding the back stitch on top, it certainly adds dimension to the work. I do love crewel embroidery as well, I guess what I enjoy so much about cross-stitch right now, is yes, I have to count, but the stitches are all the same.

What to do with these lovely roses? I’m not one to just have things lying around. I want a product. I happen to have some purse clasps so I went online to look for pattern ideas. Came up with a wallet. Now the fun part, going though my fabric and finding good matching fabric.

I had fun with the interior fabrics as well.

Here it is! Lovely!

A quick look at the tiny sews that hold this down, I did add some glue, because I just don’t trust those screws.

Back view.

Side view

With some items in it. I have to say, I really don’t need this wallet. I have a bright sturdy leather wallet. Just like I don’t need an unfinished item lying around, I don’t need a wallet. I actually have another small purse I made with the same style of clasp, it’s just sitting there.

A friend had a birthday. I don’t know that she ‘needs’ a wallet, but I do know that she loves my work. So as soon as I finished this, it was gifted to my friend. Of course she loved it, she returned the favor by giving me homemade jam.

I have one more of these clasps, I’m thinking of going through that book and making another wallet. Just because, the name of my blog isn’t accidental, no Idle hands! I always need a project going!

Leah

I wish I saw more people sitting on these chairs. But it is rare to see someone sitting out in their front yard looking out at the the world

The most common chair I see is the Adirondack chair. Often in plastic form. Here in a lovely front yard of a very nice house.

Also to be found in the side yard of a much more run down house.

One step down would be this table and chair.

Here we have the front porch chairs. Many of these modern Cape Cods have a front porch, once again, rarely used, but at least we must have lovely outdoor furniture.

I’m noticing that on the porch chairs or benches, there always seem to be pillows. I wonder if these get used. There is a tricycle in the yard, maybe mom sits in the chair while the kid tools around the yard.

I must be honest, I too have something of a front porch. I don’t have any chairs there, I used to have a bench under a tree. It came with the house, and the the wood all rotted away, so I got rid of it. I however do sit in my back yard as much as possible.

Ah, the swinging bench, this would be delightful! I’d bring out pillows and maybe a quilt, but not leave them out permanently.

Someone said that American flags are a sign of a Trump supporting house. I don’t know if that is true, but it may be. There are some Biden signs around, but in my neighborhood, one will never see a Trump sign. So this may be a hidden message, or not. I do have to say, it is extremely rare to see a Biden sign with an American flag…

My son lives in a more working class area, here is his neighbors car. She is a Lesbian, I’m stating that for obvious reasons – she’s not ‘supposed’ to support Trump. Except it appears that possibly 45% of LGBT people do. More power to her, I will probably be putting up and American Flag soon, but she is braver than I am.

I think this house has been abandoned for a while. The morning glory has completely taken over the yard, it is beginning to encroach on the house itself.

Something else that will be disappearing from our built landscape soon. These Dingbat apartment buildings, built in the 50s’ will soon make way for the larger type of building on either side. Often they have cool names, this one just has that very recognizable 1950s’ overhang.

Another one, what is nice about these two is they are on side streets, not on the big thoroughfares, although, they are pretty close to the corners. Ah, those colors! That and the roofline certainly scream midcentury.

Leah

I have to admit that the lockdown life is getting to me. Yes, I see some people, like my knitting friends, we meet in the park. That is so lovely, being together in real life. But one of the things I loved doing was giving tours downtown. That won’t be happening for a while. I get an email about how we have to have sensitivity training about inclusion. BARRFF. I know the LA conservancy gets funding from all kinds of sources. I guess BLM is one of them, so we need to be brainwashed. I won’t do it, I have always spoken highly of people based on what they did, not the color of their skin. Although for me, to celebrate Biddy Mason, a black pioneer here in LA, was always easy to do. So that’s probably completely gone, I’m not writing the Conservancy off yet, but they may write me off.

I haven’t ventured far from home on my walks, so it’s always interesting to see new things. I love to discuss religion, especially with people from another religion, so I guess I’m not welcome here. I also don’t really like these virtue signaling signs. It’s here in the neighborhood, so I shared.

Not the same house, although the color scheme is the same.

Another thing I really, really miss is the special tours and events I used to go on. Be it Atlas Obscura, or anything else I’d find out there. I loved touring, visiting and learning new things. All of that is gone now. They are trying to have events online, but it’s not the same, it’s really not the same. Also, I can only take about an hour on zoom.

This is one of the old original beach houses in Hermosa Beach. It is being torn down. I understand progress, I understand how small dilapidated old houses will make way for something much newer and larger.

This house is very small, the window and window box are tiny, almost doll house size. So I captured the image. I just noticed the Notice of Public meeting. So I have no idea if the neighbors have a say or not. I know my son feels that progress is happening and he’s living with it.

Of course this flock of flamingoes caught my eye. Every year I manage to take pictures of goofy flamingoes in someones yard. This one is different, it’s not the homeowner that put them here, they have been flocked. At some point they are supposed to move the flock and the sign to someone else’s house.

I hope this continues. I wouldn’t mind being flocked myself, but I have a large brick wall. There is one tiny location near my driveway where someone could flock me, but I doubt anyone will. It is this kind of neighborly ingenuity that puts a very big smile on my face.

Leah

If little sister gets one, then big brother needs his own.

It took a lot less clothes, cuz he’s bigger. And yes, there was a stain or two, but that just adds character.

This bear pattern is stinking cute!!! I’ve seen him made from mens ties. He can be made from new fabric as well. I just love using old children’s clothes.

Back view

Love the heart shaped nose. I deliberately didn’t over stuff this guy. I think I’ve done that in the past, but really, it should be soft and cuddly. For some reason all the grandkids love my pink elephant, he is nice and soft.

Tomorrow this guy will go back home, till then, he’s on my dining room table.

My sweater is coming along very nicely. The pattern called for decreases and increases for the waist and hips. I just knit straight. It looks fine, now on to the sleeves.

Can is back at preschool, Westley is stuck home for kindergarten. He is working on a math program that is much more advanced. I figure, he needs an art project. So I picked up a color by number project. The four year old has better fine motor control than the almost 6 year old. Then my son sends me this picture, they are working together, Cam calls out the number and West draws it in.

The next day, they are working together and are almost done!!! I am so happy and proud. I hope to see it hanging somewhere in the house next week. You better believe I will be looking for more projects like this!!

Finally, how cool is this to have found a rocker hairdresser that I can give this mask to?? And I absolutely love how she does my hair. Win, Win, Win!!!

Leah

I really really enjoyed the process of cross-stitch.

I found some wonderful books of cross-stitch at JoAnns. One has all kind of borders the others has wonderful images. Look what I found there!

The perfect illustration for the title, a notebook, fountain pens and ink. Ready to copy and recopy the Copybook Headings. I see many more cross-stitch with images rather than just words. Who knows, maybe there won’t even be words.

I bordered it with fabric and sewed it on the back of the quilt. Funny thing is, when I started, I centered the words, then as I was adding my name, I moved off center. I actually like that it is slightly off kilter.

Bright quilt, somber label, I think that is life. Full of both brightness and somberness.

Some more close up.

The fires all across the west have been horrible. Turns out that all that forrest mismanagement is finally coming home to roost. And then there was arson as well. A lot of people have died, many many more have lost everything.

The grandsons came by and we picked the melons.

It looks ok. The plant did what it could, produced a lot of seeds for the next generation. But there was no flavor whatsoever. Soon I’ll plant some peas and beans and probably more carrots. I have a handful of tomatoes left on the vine, I’d like them to start ripening so I can remove them and pull out the vines. Next year, I will try again. Out of everything, the tomatoes and beans yielded the best crop.

I LOVE these guys, what a blessing.

Even in the depth of pandemic, shutdowns and other plagues, one very good outcome is that these boys are learning to climb trees. And that in itself is a blessing.

Leah

My ability to walk around my neighborhood is greatly curtailed, vagrant encampments are popping up everywhere. And guess what? Call me racist or whatever you want (even though most of these vagrants are young and white), but I learned as a child never to put myself in dangerous situations if I can avoid them. So walking my neighborhood has changed. Oh and now, LA311, that used to clean out encampments now just tells me to shut up and live with it. And my councilmembers’ staff just has the same song and dance about ‘building housing’ Gee, five years you’ve been saying this…

So being able to go meet friends in the OC for indoor dining! That was heaven. Good friends, good food and we were inside!

But first:

At the entrance to the parking lot I see this booth and flags! Woo Hoo! I’m not in LA anymore. All three of these flags are exactly what I stand for.

None of these items were cheap, which is fine, long live capitalism. I’ll be honest, I don’t put on bumper stickers, or hats or t-shirts. Look at my first paragraph, I believe in being safe and since women my age are now being attacked on the streets of NY, why court danger?

I found this mask at JoAnns’ and yes, this is what I wear a lot. As Dave Rubin says, these days flying the American flag is a way of saying you support the President.

I bought this for a friend, she may wear it, she may not. It just felt really good to support the effort.

I know, you can’t really read the notice, but the images make it very clear that no masks are allowed. This restaurant was written up nationally. They never shut down. It was so good supporting them, I understand why most small business is scared of the oppressive arm of our overlords. Heck, in LA county they just announced that people are forbidden from going trick or treating….

While we were dining with friends, the temperatures shot up to 115 degrees, killed off the squash.

The tomatoes are bravely trying to hang on.

The rose got fried.

Look! two days latter another rose burst forth, a few singed petals, but beautiful and fresh. Meanwhile, the fires are decimating the west. Not just CA, OR, WA, WY, CO, all burning. And no, it’s not global warming, is the awful mismanagement of our forest lands.

My intrepid helper is watering the plants. This is the water we are pumping up from the street. Our neighbor is pouring out gallons 24/7. He was even fined, but as my son says: he doesn’t pay the bills, he has a business manager who does that.

Found this cute fabric at Joanns. Their selection of knit fabric is getting much better. So I made a dress and a matching mask. This little guy went back to daycare. They say he needs a mask. I am praying, that like my other grandson, the teachers will wear masks and the kids will be allowed to breath freely.

Leah

Moda Fabrics have been creating these wonderful projects. Their designer Stacy has produced a whole line of pre-printed panels. The instructions are on the panel, very easy, cut out the items and sew. The funny thing is there were quite a few spelling mistakes…. oh well, but the project was fun and for me, very very easy.

Here is the inside of the house. This is one of the more complex projects, there are animals, there are frogs, a farm. A lot of detail goes into this one.

I think that originally she had designed the dolls separately, they may have been a little larger. For this one, each doll has her own pet.

Lets’ show them with the different rooms of the house.

Opening the house.

All piled up and ready to close up and carry around.

Here we are, ready to give granddaughter her two gifts.

She LOVES the bear! I’ve already asked for discarded clothes to make her brother one.

Doesn’t quite get the doll house yet, but she sure loves my new quilt!

Leah