Ordering Online and More

What I'm blogging about today isn't nearly as great as last week, when I described SMART, the Specialized Mobile Animal Rescue Team, my friendship with them, and the new film about them--although I might do that again soon since I may go to another showing of the film. 

But one fun thing I did was to go see a production of The Fantasticks at the Pasadena Playhouse.  That show has been part of my life since I was the age of the teenage female character Luisa.  My high school did a production, too, and I was script girl.  (No, I can't sing.)  I pretty much remembered the script and the lyrics and found it interesting that over time the production has been changed to be more P.C. than the original.  Most people there wouldn't have known it, though.  I've seen many versions of the show at different stages of my own life so I can identify with different characters each time.  I really enjoyed it, including the room at the playhouse filled with pictures and memorabilia of The Fantasticks. 

This week I also want to talk about a different kind of experience I had which was fun: ordering dog food online and by phone.

 Boring, you say?  Well, it turned out not to be. 

My younger dog Mystie eats prescription dog food because of a digestive track problem.  I used to buy it from her vet but the price kept being raised and I found a less expensive online source.  Then I started getting ads on Facebook from other companies that sell pet food.  I happened to receive a coupon from one of them that I promptly misplaced, but I nevertheless looked at their site and saw that they sell the prescription food we need.  It was cheaper than the source I'd been using, plus that first source's website never seemed to work right. I had to give it a try. 

Time to order.  I began filling out the online order form and realized I had a question.  Since I'd been ordering food by phone from the earlier source, I didn't hesitate to call. 

What a fun experience!  The guy who answered could see what I had already filled out online, and he was easily able to answer my questions.  Plus, he was really friendly.  We wound up talking about dog food and dogs and all sorts of related stuff for nearly half an hour.  I was surprised he was able to do that without losing his job--but then again, as we talked, I thought of other foods and treats and other dog-related items that I would ultimately need for my dogs and asked if he had them.  I didn't order anything else yet but there are a couple of things I will most likely order in the future from them. 

My order is supposed to be delivered no later than today,so we'll see how that goes.  And my mind, as usual, is mulling over how I can use the experience in a book. 

But though I've ordered other stuff online, this has been the most fun.  Have any of you had a similar--or a better, or worse, experience? 

And do you have a show or play that means something different to you each time you see it?

Autumn in L.A.

As I grew up in Pittsburgh, where there actually was an autumn, it was my favorite time of the year. I’ve always disliked hot weather, and fall meant the time things cooled off. Plus, I loved watching the leaves turn color.

My favorite musical was even related, distantly, to fall. I adored THE FANTASTICKS, and especially the song “Try to Remember” which mentions the month of September. Autumn begins toward the end of September, and the month, to me, was the harbinger of school starting again (yes, I enjoyed school, notwithstanding the grumbling I did in my post last week) and the weather changing.

But years ago I moved to Los Angeles. There are essentially two seasons here: the rainy season, and the rest of the year. The rainy season, if there is one in any given year, equates somewhat in time with winter everywhere else. No snow or really cold weather, though--at least not in most years.

Palm tree leaves don’t change color. Neither do the leaves on most other kinds of trees that grow here. There are a few, though, that do. If you’re going to ask me which ones, forget it.

I used to know which maple trees in my yard in the east changed and which colors they’d take on. Here, though, I don’t pay a lot of attention to which trees choose to change color, or even when they elect to do it. I do enjoy watching the jacarandas bloom, then lose blossoms and leaves, but I can’t tell you which months they do so. I believe that liquidambar trees here change colors and shed leaves, too. Some trees imported from elsewhere act similar to the way they do in their native habitats, if they survive. Plus, there’s a big tree in our backyard that we’ve never been able to identify that decides once a year to lose its large number of small leaves.

On the whole, though, treetops tend to remain green. Other growth goes brown, at least on the ground, in the non-rainy season.

This all makes trips in the fall to places where the leaves change even more special. One of these years I’ll do that again.

By the way, the winner of my contest last week was N.L. Gassert. Nadja, if you'll e-mail me at lindaojohnston@rocketmail.com with your address, I'll send your copy of HOWL DEADLY. And although I’m not giving a prize here on KillerHobbies this week, I’m also a guest blogger today on Fresh Fiction--and I am giving away another copy of HOWL DEADLY there. Stop in and see why I write so much about animals: http://freshfiction.com/blog/

Have you ever visited L.A.? What time of year? Did you enjoy the weather?