And just like that it's winter again in Southern California. After a few days around 80, the high hovered in the low 60s. It was back to wearing a sweater and a vest. The sky is a leaden color, but I don't think it's going to rain.
I just sent off the manuscript to Classy Yarns and I can sit back for a minute. Though not for too long. I had pushed everything aside as I pushed to finish the manuscript and now all of that is waiting. The first order of business is to update my website. It is a matter of deciding what changes I want to make and writing some copy and gathering up the cover photo, an excerpt and a photo of the project.. I will get it done over the weekend.
The trip to Ojai last Saturday and the information I read about the small town and the surrounding area made me want to send Molly there in the next book. I already am putting together a plot in my head and then I'll come up with arcs for each of the characters.
We had gone to Ojai on a weekday before and it was relatively quiet. The weekend was much different. There were lots of tourists like us. The playground Jakey loves is in a park that had a new age type music concert going on. There were lots of people sitting on blanket enjoying the relaxing sounds. I could just see the couple who were making the music from my spot in the playground.
It turns out there is a whole lot more to the park than I had realized and next time I plan to do more exploring. I was surprised to read that the population of Ojai is just under 8,000. It is nestled between mountain ranges and is known as an energy vortex. There are no chain stores. The stores all seemed to be small businesses with an artsy feel.
I missed it, but hope to see it next time, but near sunset there is something called pink time when the Topatopa mountain turns pink.
We took a detour on the way home and checked out Lake Casitas. The ride there was through lots of open spaces with mysterious gated roads hidden by trees and greenery. That's another thing, thanks to all our winter rain, all the open spaces are a bright spring green. I love looking out the window and never get bored. Jakey on the other hand has his nose buried in a video system and has no interest in looking at what we are passing.
We only looked at the lake from outside the fence. It's a dammed up river and surrounded by hills and open spaces. The reason for us checking it out was to see the water park. It was closed now, but would be great in the summer. I don't think Molly will be making a stop there, but Jakey will when it gets warm.
That is if it ever happens.
8 comments:
Good morning -- Your trip to Ojai sounds so nice -- I can see Molly there. I love small towns -- when my husband and I traveled, we stayed off the freeways as much as possible and went on back roads and through small towns. Moving to this big city was a huge change for me, though I live in an area that has most everything I need without venturing too far from home and into the "big city" part.
It's cool here this morning -- got a taste of summer last week, now back to sweater weather. I'd moved my cool weather clothes -- maybe did it a bit too soon.
I plan a lot of crocheting today -- I did a few rows of a basketweave pattern with a speckle yarn called "Bubblegum" -- looking good.
Enjoy your plotting and planning time.
Patty, the book I just turned in takes place in a small Indiana town. I changed the name, but it is based on a real place. We had a cottage in the outlying area. I have written before how much I loved going there. The tiny house is long gone and the only thing still standing is the outhouse surrounded by a forest. When my son comes to Chicago with me, we go out there. The town has changed and gotten more diverse. I think there is a Thai restaurant and a Chinese restaurant there now. The only thing that is still the same is Flannery's bar. I have never actually been in it, but you can see from the outside that it's the same.
It's nice that you have what you need nearby. It sounds like your weather was like ours. I did the same with my cool weather clothes. The sun is out today and it's a little warmer.
The basket weave pattern sounds interesting and I am going to see what Bubblegum yarn looks like. The name has me curious. Hope you weekend is good.
The yarn is a Red Heart called "Speckle" -- the color is Bubblegum, which is a light pink with speckles of about six other colors in it. I'll send you a copy of the basketweave pattern as soon as my son puts a new ink cartridge in my printer -- grrr. It seems to use a lot of ink for the limited amount of printing I do. Ah, technology!!
Gorgeous day today -- I can't have the doors open at the moment as there are lawn guys on the patio side and tree trimmers on the carport side -- noise!!
I don't know Ojai, but sounds as if I should visit.
And I do suspect it'll start getting warmer in L.A. soon. After all, it is L.A.!
Patty, I looked up the bubblegum colored yarn and it looks very appealing. That is so thoughtful of you to send the basketweave insructions. The ink with printers is a hassle. I thought I had overcome the ink issue by getting a tank printer, but there are still problems. It prints black and white okay, but the color printing is off.
Nice weather here too, today.
Linda, Ojai is an easy day trip. We took the scenic route the first time, but the 101 to the turn off highway. I can't remember the number.
It looks like we got the sun back. I'm sure I'll be wishing for the cool temps soon when it gets hot.
It's going to be fun having Molly in Ojai. I visited a long time ago. I have heard about a big outdoor bookstore there. Every time Patty talks about yarn and a pattern I write it down. She is the guru of crocheting as far as I am concerned. I also do not print a lot but I have to keep ink cartridges in my printer. Very often when I want to print something I have to jump through hoops to get the printer to work.
Chkntza, yes there is a big outdoor bookstore in Ojai. It is nice getaway place. I found it entertaining for people watching. It seemed like there were quite a few older dads with young wives at the playground. For an artsy community the people seem like dull dressers. The dogs in the park were almost all mutts. A lot of the women had really interesting shoes that looked really comfortable.
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