#los angeles river trail

[jwong2000]

Ride Report - Griffith Park Observatory

34.69 miles, 2:50 moving time, 2,931 ft ascent Beautiful Summer Morning. Gorgeous LA Ride. Iconic views. Jeff, Kirk, Joe, Rick, Richard, David, Raoul, Ryan, Paul, Vicki Mile 0: Start at Jones Coffee in Pasadena. Mile 11: Ride up and down through Eagle Rock and Glendale. Turn left onto Sonora and through to Riverside Drive to the back side of Griffith Park. Mile 13: Start up the Griffith Park…

[dogwelder]

LA River Bikeway bridge

[radicalgraff]

"Confronting empire will not be polite"

Seen along the LA River trail in Los Angeles.

[crudlynaturephotos]

[aheathen-conceivably]

In the first weeks of 1930, a slow passenger train rode through the desert hills of New Mexico. It had begun its journey in the city of New Orleans before heading north alongside the snaking brown waters of the Mississippi River.

From there it had stopped in St. Louis, Missouri before it turned back south, following old pioneer trails as it cut through the American Southwest on the way to its final destination in Los Angeles, California.

In one of the cars, the light, determined click of a woman's heels fell in line with the rhythm of the rails below her feet. The sound had defined her life for weeks, yet she found it just as droning now as the day she had first boarded the train. She made her way from her own cabin, where her niece and brother were spending the final hour of their journey, to the room where her soon to be sister-in-law was readying herself. 

As she approached the door a rail attendant appeared in the car to alert the passengers, “Next stop Strangerville, New Mexico! All passengers ready your luggage! I repeat all passengers ready your luggage!”

Josephine increased her pace and rapped loudly on the door, wanting to ensure that her arrival could be heard above the railway attendant's call in the next car. A small voice told her to enter, barely audible alongside the thundering sound from below.

Josephine entered Zelda and Antoine's suite, which was larger than the one she had shared with Violette during the journey. Half smoked cigarettes and thrice-read books clattered against opulently carved woodwork bolted to the walls. Amidst it all stood Zelda in a white silk wedding dress, preoccupied with her reflection as she pinned a final curl in a perfect curve.

For a moment Josephine forgot the rail’s droning sound or the conductor’s hurried call, “Zelda, you….you look marvelous.”

Zelda turned briefly to acknowledge Jo’s presence, self consciously smoothing down the silk of her dress before she turned back to the mirror to fiddle with the clasp of her pearls, “Do I, truly? I’m afraid it’s quite old fashioned now, isn’t it? I suppose I should have gotten something new rather than just dyeing this old dress…”

Josephine walked over to her, taking the pearls from her shaking hands. As the car rattled on, she couldn’t tell if it was from the constant movement or her friend’s nerves. She spoke to her as she fastened the necklace, “It’s perfect, ma sœur, absolutely perfect. Are you ready? It’s time to put the luggage near the door; we’re the next stop.”

When Zelda didn’t answer Josephine turned her around, softening her face and her voice, “Zelda, you can talk to me, if you need to. Whatever it is. If you aren’t ready I’ll speak with Antoine. Whatever you need.”

Zelda looked at her curiously before an immense happiness overtook her face. She grabbed Josephine’s hands and smiled, “Jo, I’m only nervous because I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life. I’ve waited so long; we’ve waiting so long, it simply feels surreal. Like it’s impossible to feel so much happiness all at once without something going wrong.”

Josephine’s heart soared for her, and then sank as she realized that Zelda had learned to expect misfortune so much that she couldn’t even truly give herself over to excitement in that moment. “Zelda, everything will be wonderful, I promise you. You’ve been through enough, okay? Both of you. Today will be perfect.”

(A very special thank you to @simtleman for creating this gorgeous train build and then sharing it with me as well as all the CC creators you used to make it so stunning ♥️)

[madhatterbri]

Wanted Man | N.J.

Summary: I had an idea that kinda goes along with your Nick Jackson “arrangement” story. What if the reader is in debt to Nick for whatever reason and he starts to be more demanding with his wants (could be anything from sex to murder, anything really) and every time the reader wants to disobey, he reminds her of their deal. I think it’d be some interesting drama. 18+.

Happy Dynamite Wednesday, babes.

Trigger warning(s): Mentions of violence, blood, and death. Cursing. Also, mentions of the reader committing unspecified crime(s).

Requested by: Anonymous

Nick Jackson Masterlist

AEW Masterlist

Taglist: @smallestsnarkestgirl @magicalbuttertarts @theworldofotps

Y/N stared at the man sniveling on his knees before her. He was shaking like a leaf. Tears poured down his face and to the ground. The scared man begged for his life. The Los Angeles River behind him. Her mind drew a blank at what Nicholas Jackson told her.

Shoot him.

"I can't. This is going too far, Nick," Y/N said. She shook her head in disbelief. Her nails dug into her balled up fists. This had to be some sort of nightmare. She just needed to wake up.

"Fuck the deal and fuck you, Nick. I'm not doing it," she insisted. Y/N knew she didn't have much of a leg to stand on. Nick had so much on her, and the list was growing. Ever since she agreed to a deal with him months ago, her crimes list grew.

Nick pulled the gun from the inside of his white suit jacket. Her breath caught in her throat. She had never been this close to a gun before. With the gun in his palm, he reached out his arm for her to take the weapon. "Do it. We have a deal, Y/N,"

The deal. He always loved to remind her of the deal when she was going against his wishes.

"That's a shame. I bet you would have had a promising career. Your face will be plastered all over the morning news," Nick shrugged. "You won't ever make it in LA,"

"I'm not doing it. I'm not killing him," she defended. Her arms crossed over her chest. Heart pounded loudly enough that she knew the other two men could hear it.

"I was a little shy my first time, too. You get desensitized to it. This guy isn't even a good man," he explained.

"Neither are you," Y/N pointed out bluntly.

He hummed in response. "Come on, we can make your first time romantic. I can wrap my arms around you while we hold the gun like one of those chick flicks,"

Y/N didn't move. Instead, she gave him a disgusted look.

The guy suddenly stood up and started to run from them. He screamed for help as he ran. The man didn't dare look back.

"Fuck. I was going to make this as painless as possible. He is my cousin after all," he cursed. Nick aimed his weapon shot the back of the man's leg. With a single shot, the man crumpled to the ground. He screamed in pain and applied pressure to the bullet hole.

Nick strode over to him as the man attempted to crawl away. A trail of blood followed behind him. The man pleaded for God to save him. The mafia leader walked next to the crawling man. He always liked to taunt his victims. When he grew bored, he kicked the man to his back.

"I'm your cousin," the man reminded. "Is my life really only worth ten grand? Have mercy,"

"Mercy is for the weak," Nick told him. A line that Y/N heard plenty of times before. He lined his gun with the man's head.

"No!" Y/N screamed.

Nick pulled the trigger. The man now laid lifeless before his own flesh and blood. He placed his gun back in his jacket and patted it gently. Y/N had her hands over her mouth and nose. She was hyperventilating. Never would she have imagined witnessing something like this.

"Shit!" Nick called out and looked at his white suit. Blood splattered all over the once clean suit and shoes. Some of the blood even slid down his face. "Now I need a new suit,"

In his frustration, Nick shoved his dead cousin with his foot. He rolled down the concrete embankment. Another trail of blood followed him down to the water. The once blue water started to turn red around him.

Nick now turned his sights on Y/N.

"You hesitate again, and your body will be floating with the next guy, got it? I have an empire to run," he told her. "And you made a deal,"

Y/N glared at him, yet before she said anything they heard a sound.

He started to walk back to the limousine. Y/N took one last look at the body floating in the water. When the sirens sounded closer, she quickly followed after him.

Police sirens were heard off in the distance. Nick sighed and closed his eyes. His head dropped back. The last thing he needed was the LAPD snooping around. "Come on. I am on the LAPD's wanted list,"

[roseillith]

“In still and moving pictures, Wong’s presence appears firm and declarative, but in words we find her troubled by what her image has been made to say. To let Wong “speak for herself,” Huang often pulls quotes verbatim from interviews and much of her own published writing—most notably from a series of travel dispatches commissioned by the New York Herald Tribune before she left for China. She seems unsettled by the phantom entourage of her varied personae, searching the looks of untold others for a way of looking at herself. “I seemed suddenly to be standing at one side watching myself with complete detachment,” she told the Los Angeles Times of that early jaunt in Berlin. “Up to that time I had been more of an American flapper than Chinese.” When she landed in her paternal hometown of Taishan, the locals received her with disbelief: “Many women could not believe I really existed,” she later relayed, “they had seen me on the screen but they thought I was simply a picture invented by a machine.” But the Wong whose voice I want to hear the most—older and wearier, I imagine, made sharper by retrospect—never appears. The quotations trail off after 1936 and end in 1943, with some of her notes on Chinese cooking. Huang crams the last twenty years of her life into just three of the book’s forty chapters, careening through her career’s postwar stasis, her brief stint in television, and her quiet end as a dipsomaniac landlord in Santa Monica. 

While reading, I catch myself collecting mentions of Wong’s birth name. It sneaks on-screen in Piccadilly, when “the heroine Shosho signs Anna May’s Chinese name as if it were her own,” appending her anglicized sign-off with “Wong Liu Tsong” in Chinese script. The calligraphy is awkward and gaping, strokes made by an uncertain hand. Who was in on this, back then? Who looked at the sum of those lines and saw a name, not a piece of chinoiserie? It appears again in 1951, when the soon-defunct DuMont Network cast her as the lead in its television series, The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong, but those reels were flung into the East River when the company shuttered. “When I die,” Wong quipped two years before she did, a quote so famous it does not appear in this book, “my epitaph should be: I died a thousand deaths. That was the story of my film career.” But she hardly has a grave, never mind an epitaph—in the epilogue, Huang takes us to Angelus Rosedale Cemetery, where she appears as a single line on a shared tombstone: “Daughter, Liu Tsong.” I look for that name because, like her, I was also born with a different one, and no one has said it in years.”

[justdavina]

Katie Gavin Puts Herself First

A decade and three albums later, MUNA has gone on to become a defining force in pop music, blazing a trail for the queer renaissance we’re finally witnessing at the top of the charts. Through it all, Gavin was quietly writing and recording material that would eventually make up her breakout solo album, What a Relief, out now. Much like in “So Special,” its themes explore the inner tension between good and bad — Gavin’s desire and worthiness of being loved, despite turbulent life decisions and the harsh reality that humans will never be perfect.

On album highlight “Casual Drug Use,” Gavin forgives herself for reckless behavior, singing, “I’m not gonna lose it ‘cause we’re not going to get wherever we’re going right this moment.” Elsewhere she lets the mess spill out further, whether it be with her insatiable and at times contradictory need for a lover (“I Want It All”) or the way she holds onto and craves the flavor of an ex (“Aftertaste”). On “Inconsolable,” she sings about the emotional impact of generational trauma, and on “Sketches” she outlines how her disillusionment towards love grows the deeper she gets into relationships. “Oh, what a relief to know that some of this was my fault,” Gavin sings on “Keep Walking,” taking partial responsibility for her actions. “I am not a victim after all.”

Now 31, Gavin offers an extremely human retelling of her twenties wrapped in folk production that sounds familiar and lived in. Where MUNA allows her the space to step into more of an alter ego (a “queer superhero” as Gavin describes it), What a Relief is the artist at her most vulnerable and true to self. Below, I called her up from her home in Los Angeles, where she took me for a walk to the river over video chat and reflected on the past 10 years of making music. “I previously would have described myself as a people pleaser,” she says. “But I have this awareness now that I will make the sacrifices that I need to make for my art, which is kind of badass.”

[supersonicart]

Grant Redden's "Trailing Home."

Currently on view at Maxwell Alexander Gallery in Los Angeles, California is artist Grant Redden's solo exhibition, "Trailing Home."

Born and raised in Southwest Wyoming, Redden creates from the same land as his pioneer ancestors and father worked. His mother was born in a log cabin on the Henry’s Fork of the Green river in Wyoming, and his father’s family were some of the first pioneers to settle in the area. Redden paints on a 120 acre ranch, and actively continues to work the land. Strong and reliant, Redden pulls from the very lifestyle he creates, allowing the viewer to participate in his depth of experience. In this, he is continuing to contribute to the heritage of the west while at the same time creating from it.

“The more I paint, the more excited I get about the craftsmanship that goes into a well-made painting…” Redden says. Redden uses multiple layers of paint and color application to build up to the final piece. Up close, the work is completely abstractive; but stepping back makes the moments of varied hue and saturation mesh into a collaborative whole. Much like the partnership needed in ranch life, his compositions and paint application work together to create a synthesis in each final piece. 

Redden's work is heavily influenced by his love of the outdoors and his fascination with how people interact with the natural world.  Growing up on his family ranch in Southwestern Wyoming, Redden has a first had view of the old west - and these are the subjects he holds closet to his heart.  He's able to use relics from his family's past like the batwing chaps his father passed down, prominently featured in "Pidbald Mustang Mare."  Or the knowledge of riding through the mountains, which he did as a kid, just like the scene he created for the largest work in the show, "Trail Through the Ledges."  "We would do this when I was a kid.  We would pack salt and groceries into the Uinta Mountains where herds of sheep would stay for a couple of months."  “With some of my work, I strive to make it look like the cowboy and western life from 1900 to the 1930’s, while my models and landscapes are from what I see daily on the ranch,” Redden notes. Although, many may catch the influences of Frank Tenney Johnson and W. Herbert (Buck) Dunton, Redden’s creations are wholly his own.

THE SUPERSONIC ART SHOP | FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM

[open-hearth-rpg]

Open Hearth Video Roundup - March 15, 2024

Welcome to the weekly Open Hearth Gaming video roundup!

These recorded sessions represent only a portion of the games we play every week, and anyone is welcome to join the fun! If you'd like to play in games like these, join our Playabl community and click on the "Calendar" tab to sign up for upcoming games. To browse our entire library of session videos, please visit our YouTube Playlists page.

Discussions, Panels, and Seminars

Talking Hard Moves, Costs & Consequences Lowell Francis A community event talking about GMing and playing hard moves, managing costs, and balancing consequences for PbtA, Forged in the Dark, and other storygames.

Open Hearth Gaming Calendar

#Rich Kid Problem$ (Session 1 of 2) Donogh runs for Madelancholy, Sabine V., and Thomas Manuel Our kids show that they have 'more money than sense' by throwing around their influence, time and money like there’s no tomorrow. Alen, the offspring of powerful black marketeers works with Delilah, the scion of old money to float a new must-experience party boat. Leo, the mid-child of a Novae Rich family does his best to help them out while Zara, the fledgling of a military dynasty aims to sabotage!

#Rich Kid Problem$ (Session 2 of 2) Donogh runs for Madelancholy, Sabine V., and Thomas Manuel Our kids know that, when you hit rock bottom the best thing to do is get out the kanji-hammers and keep digging! Alen attempts to prise away their cousin Vladimir from Zara’s embrace, but this doesn't quite go to plan and there is serious blowback on the way! Leo and Delilah continue to grow closer but there’s a surprising fly in the ointment...

AKA: The Transponder (Session 2 of 2) Donogh runs for Anders and Jonathan With our agent Carter off the grid in Baikonur it falls upon the conspirator JC to push through the deal. But handler James finds him an altogether different prospect. Meanwhile the boss Robert wonders who he can trust (if anyone)...

Pulp Cthulhu: Dark Passage (Session 1) Lowell Francis runs for Horst Wurst, Paul Rivers, Puckett, and Will H We meet our heroes coming off of a job is Los Angeles which cost them dearly. They're called to San Francisco where they must board a cruise liner headed for Shanghai. Their task: locate the person who has taken possession of some stolen occult relics. But things turn nasty quickly with one person murdered and another vanished.

Pulp Cthulhu: Dark Passage (Session 2) Lowell Francis runs for Horst Wurst, Paul Rivers, Puckett, and Will H Further investigations aboard the Coolidge point to an occult murder-- but the truth may be more complicated than they first thought. What's the connection behind the artifact smuggling person they seek and the shape-changing sorcerous killer. And what is this music?

Monster of the Week: The Rockies (Session 7) Blake Ryan runs for Brandon Ungar, David Montgomery, Dom, and Grey Dodgy Deals Delivery

Monster of the Week: The Rockies (Session 8) Blake Ryan runs for Brandon Ungar, David Montgomery, Dom, and Grey Fickle Fey Fortune

Eotenweard: Tarham (Session 1) Alun R. runs for Dom, Dominik, and Pawel S. Cola the Hunter, Izold the Storyteller & Gwylog the Revenant arrive at the village of Tarham to find a settlement recovering from a recent attack. There's a disloyal warrior, a cowardly herder, a loyal outcast and an aging Lord. Then...carrion crows return along with the stench of death, shadows take on a life of their own, and there's 'something' out there in the dark...and bagpipes...

Godbound: Sundered Cycles (Session 30) Lowell Francis runs for Dan Brown, Ethan Harvey, Patrick Knowles, Sherri, and Tyler Lominack The first half of a journey into the mythic plane-- the crossing of the threshold, a journey across the ocean of souls, and a challenge atop a mammoth lotus flower.

Trail of Cthulhu: Fearful Symmetries: Arc Two (Session 4) Lowell Francis runs for Alun R., Paul Rivers, Sherri, and Will H Having made their made into the Bradbury estate-- the circle realizes the threat is both more dire and more immediate than they thought. After wrestling with various plans and consciences, they split up-- with Isabel and Richard trying to find Flora and the grove while Wilford and the Doctor try to see what they can do with Mrs. Bradbury and her impending delivery. Things do not go well. They go messily. Very messily.

Orbital (Session 1 of 3) Donogh runs for Mark and Puckett Discover our orbital, a strange place of crystals, fractal architecture & psychic warnings - the perils it faces: hunted star-crossed lovers from the War, a damaged warship seeking assistance, and something ancient stirring in the depths... Meet the orbital's residents: Cash Only - the Source of exactly what you're looking for, Rye - the Heart of a bar that epitomises the genuine warmth of the station, & Hemlock Pangolin - a Shadow on a secret mission to ensure the Orbital remains neutral ground a stoic hydroponics engineer who minds their own business.

Star Wars Saturday

Fellowship (Session 4) Rich Rogers runs for Greg G., Kae, Steven Watkins, and Tyler Lominack The fellowship dances and fights until they uncover an ancient artifact that will rock an entire world.

Fellowship (Session 5) Rich Rogers runs for Cody Eastlick, Greg G., Kae, and Steven Watkins The fellowship makes a difficult choice about the holocron of stillness and escapes Vuarlock for Dathomir.

Stars in the Dark: Stars in the Dark II (Session 2) Anders runs for Marc Majcher, Mark (they/them), Rich Rogers, and Steven Watkins Strange Smugglers and Gamorrean Grapplers - Our stalwart spies follow their target(s?) and discover that not everything is as it seems. Also: Gamorrean wrestling! Hotwired speeder bikes! A traffic stop!

Stars in the Dark: Stars in the Dark II (Session 3) Anders runs for Marc Majcher, Mark (they/them), Rich Rogers, and Steven Watkins Industrial Automaton Entanglements

Off-Calendar Highlights

The Between: Stars and Suns, Season Two (Session 5) Madelancholy runs for Jack, Sarah W., and Steph "A Tale of Two Parties" - New opening credits! 🎉 A little bit of chaos ensues when the Explorer and the Undeniable throw separate parties at Hargrave House. A sinister royal personage drops by. Come day, a demonic presence is reported at Kilborn Abbey, Ernest experiences time distortion, Dame Georgie talks to Mr. Figg, and Liat pressures the abbot for some answers.

The Between: Stars and Suns, Season Two (Session 6) Madelancholy runs for Jack, Mike, and Steph "For All Good Intent" - Sir Atticus returns from the Void with the help of a familiar friend, and returns to Hargrave House with Ragg in tow. Dame Georgie comes to an uneasy truce because of his new state, and Liat invites her fellow hunters to tea and oh-so-innocuous conversation.

[potatoesandsunshine]

WIP name game

tagged by @tameila 🌟 thank you!!! i just wanna apologize here for how there are so, so, so many of these. when i have an idea i create a document that very moment even when it’s just for a sentence. my storage space is in shambles.

RULES: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs. that last part will not happen i’m sorry. again, there are So Many. also i’m gonna sort them by fandom and nobody can stop me

Critical Role Campaign 1

a better name for fire

are your bags traveling elsewhere

flashpoint/ignition

get up and shake the glitter off your clothes now!

keyleth

never had the room to dream to fly

now is the season / of the hunter Death

the appeal of absolutes

the place where the river lets out

up where the air is light

Four Seasons

LAST TLOVM ONESHOT HIDING.MP3 FINAL_FINAL

Critical Role Campaign 2

a gentler sunrise

a tide that dreams of motion

an echo calling back

Beau & Fjord

food and conversation

glance now over the wrong shoulder

high noon somewhere

intriguing a dragon

Lo, Navigator

perpetual motion machine

the animal of destiny

the beau spoils yasha one

the cheese grater fic

the ridiculous shadowgast au

when all the silver-plated heroes start to rust

who will remember thy green flame

you’re fuel to a fire that’s fixing to die

it’s getting absurd i’m putting a readmore. they aren't all currently being worked on but i will talk about literally anything on this list.

Dimension 20

everything that flowers / flowers for itself

food people again

give your immortality to me

the gukgag/seacaster pairing you never knew you wanted

the most ridiculous isekai ever

the problem with delayed gratification

tonight might be my night to reminisce

Dragon Age

Bequests

hawkebastian bad ending

josie...

max ‘helen of troy’ trevelyan

not the same people that our old friends knew

the possession fic (shallow river, shining within her - the crane wives)

Fallout

the fallout 4 AU

f4

5. hey mister, that’s me up on the jukebox

6. there’s a local angel sitting on my right

Mass Effect

and then you live

ascends bright and calm the lord-star jupiter

The Zero-G Job

pluto shits on the universe

Untitled document

will there be flowers (after the war)

Star Wars

all roads lead toward the same blocked intersection

grease fire

Supergiant Hades

it’s done on a diamond, and for fun

taste of hot ashes on my tongue all day

The Good Place (i had actually forgotten about these! what a fun surprise!!)

i trust you’ve got nothing but good intentions

you don’t keep a ferrari in the garage

miscellaneous (this is a folder for WIPs that have less than 2 documents in the same fandom) 

better find another superstition

down along that devastation trail

god says yes to me

just like a torch

may your feet serve you well—and the rest be sent to hell

learn to wash your hands with fire

run for it, honey

she held her mouth up redly wan

Untitled document misc. 1

Untitled document misc. 2

winemaking

[jwong2000]

Ride Report - Long Beach Loop

64.53 miles, 3:30 moving time, 1,014 ft elevation Rick, Richard, Gregg, Rob, Bert, Elsa, Sue, Julian, Joe, David, Brian. Mile 0: Start at Peck Road Water Conservation Park. Since the dam was full, the bike path was flooded to the Arcadia Par 3. Plenty of parking and potties. Nice starting spot. It’s the beginning of the Upper Rio Hondo River Trail. Weather was awesome. Sunny and cool. It was a…

[sabineelectricheart]

The Good Ends to a Long Engagement

Summary: The Wards receive a visit from a few Oregon friends and Baxter comes to a very important decision.

Rating: K - Intended for general audience 5 years and older. Content should be free of any coarse language, violence, and adult themes.

Words: 2400

Notes: It came out as Main Character Bashing Week, but that’s not what I meant with it. I don’t think Cove would be a deadbeat, but, well, that isn’t any help against being eaten by a shark or something.

The summer was upon California once again. Days are getting longer and the extra sun shoots up the temperatures, a nice day to spend on the beach or by the pool.

Jamie is lounging on the kitchen table after washing up the lunch dishes, as her fiancé prepares a pair of cups of coffee for them to share. Baxter has sent his stepson upstairs to prepare for receiving visitors anytime soon, so the couple has a few moments of silence between them, something that rarely comes by when there are children involved.

"It will be good to see Frankie again, huh?" The woman says, conversationally, as she wipes the back of her neck with a towel.

He hands her the cup of coffee and takes the chair next to her.

"Yeah. Yeah, it should be interesting." He responds, not very enthused.

Jamie laughed softly. Although the people coming over were his childhood friends, coming from his hometown, she knows that the only one happy about the development would be herself, and maybe River, her son, if he is sufficiently convinced by the prospect of playing with the closest thing to a cousin he has.

Liz never got around to motherhood, being more than happy as a cool aunt, Terry and Miranda still had not found a footing, financially-wise, in expensive South California to apply for an adoption and the Adams had a little baby girl, who was adorable, but could not play with a ten-year-old boy. Neither his father or step-father had any siblings, so his closest friend in age amongst extended family was Asher Second, and they got along famously.

She and Francine Second had bonded over the experiences of single motherhood over the time they spent over in Golden Grove for Thanksgiving. The pair exchanged numbers and talked at length over the months, culminating with an invitation for them to come down to Los Angeles for a visit. The Oregonian woman asked her friend, Renee Murray, to come along for the ride and share the drive, so the Wards would be hosting four people for a couple of weeks, along with baby Sawyer Second.

Baxter detested going back to Oregon for visits, but he disliked it even more having Oregon come down to California. He likes Renee well enough, and does not particularly dislike Frankie, but he is certainly indulging his fiancée and step-son on this one.

“Don’t be sour, love. It’s going to be fun!” She said, lifting the cup to her lips, then made a face. "Ugh. This is yours."

"No, I don't…" Baxter tried the cup in his hand, sure his face was unintentionally mimicking hers. "Yeah, this is definitely yours."

"I bet Sawyer is so big by now!" The seamstress said as she took her cup from him. "I remember how big River got during his second year. It just seemed like I'd blink, and suddenly he was reaching for things he couldn't even see a week ago…"

She shook her head, smiling at the memory. Her little boy was so cute as a baby! A little head of blond hair he got from his granddaddy, those chubby little fingers reaching for the seashell mobile they made for him…

Her fiancé hummed his acknowledgement, but he elected not add anything to the conversation. He does not understand much about children that young, even if he is good with River these days.

“Every new job I took, I had to make sure I could child-proof it. He was always getting into things, always so curious…" She trailed off. "I wonder how Frankie is getting along."

"I heard that she had to stop working on a project she was making a lot of leeway on when Sawyer got sick last year." The ma said. "I know how that feels, to an extent, but I'd imagine being a single mother would complicate things."

The other mother nodded. "I'm sure she didn't mind, though. You realize pretty fast that putting your child before your career isn't a decision you have to make, it's the thing you just do. When River was born, I had to put a lot of things on the shelf."

River, while a well-loved and much-anticipated child, was not a planned one. She and Cove were not even twenty when he was born, and they both understood that they had to make sacrifices for the life that was coming to them. For him, it was pro surfing, and for her…

"Your singing?"

"Yeah. Couldn't play around with that when I had a newborn crying for me every few hours." She said, smiling softly. "There was college, too. Our disposable cash vaporized overnight, and we depended on Mr. Holden to pay our bills… I wouldn't have had that big wedding that every girl dreams of."

"You and Cove ever talk about getting married?"

Jamie shrugged. It has been so long since she thought of that, it feels almost foreign to think that she was once engaged to someone else, even if she loved, and still loves, that person dearly.

"I mean, after a certain time frame, it comes up in most relationships. We loved each other very much and, if we had the money for it, I’m sure Cove would go along with it, but, well, we never discussed it seriously. We were too young, just taking one day after the other, and then I popped out a kid! We figured we'd keep existing, keep putting River first, keep doing what we had to do. Besides, he was never one to want to agree to some big fancy party anyway." She said with a little laugh. "I don't think I was ever able to picture him at a wedding, even ours."

Her phone began to ring, or, rather, Baxter recognized it as her alarm tone.

"What's that for?" He asks.

"Ah! It’s two already? Frankie and Renée never drove in LA, so they’re a bit spooked by the heavy traffic. I proposed meeting them on a gas station off the freeway, so I’m heading over there." She explained, pushing her chair, picking up her purse and keys and walking over to the bottom of the stairs. “River! Come on, it’s time!”

“I’m coming, mom!” He called from upstairs.

“Would you like me to come with you two? I can bring your car back and you can drive Ren’s?” He offered, calmly.

She turned to him, smiling. “Ah, thanks for the offer, but I thought you’d have an appointment this afternoon, so I asked Miranda for help. I’ll pick her up on the way.”

A ten-year-old boy stumbles down the stairs and off the door. “I’m ready!”

“Say goodbye to your step-father before you go!” The woman shouted from behind.

“Bye, Baxter!” He says from the driveway.

“Bye, buddy!” The older man shouts back, laughing. "Between Renée and Miranda, how are you possibly going to entertain all those excitable kids?"

Jamie grinned at her fiancé.

"I’ve had plenty of practice, this will be a piece of cake. See you later, okay?" She said, leaning over to kiss him. "Love you."

"Yeah, love you. See you."

*_*_*_*_*

Still exhausted from the previous day's hair-raising client, all Baxter wanted was to rest for a while before his house was taken by Oregonians, preferably on the company of his lovely fiancée. Alas, no hope there.

So, he went up to his study and settled on the couch. His attempt to read a book under the cool hum of the AC turned into an unplanned nap.

When he awoke, more than an hour had passed, and he could tell from the sounds downstairs that the house was definitely up three kids under the age of thirteen. And judging by the crying that suddenly wafted up from the bottom floor, Sawyer was definitely one of them.

"Oh, oh, hold on there, little baby." He heard Jamie say from the other room. "Come here, lay down."

Baxter rose automatically, but he stopped, unsure of what he could really do to help. He was good with River. He was good with Asher. He had met Sawyer only once and was still very unsure of how to act around toddlers. Better to leave that up to the resident child expert.

He eventually wandered down the stairs anyway when his fiancée’s voice shifted out of speaking. He found her sitting on the couch with all three kids around her, smiling at them as she sang some song he did not recognize. The scene gave him pleasant domestic feelings, which he was slowly growing used to experiencing.

The event planner leaned against the wall, watching. She was smiling, her arm around River, Asher sitting on the ground in front of her, and Sawyer laying on her back, her head tipped to the side to see her as she sang.

" Close your eyes, have no fear. The monster's gone, he's on the run and your mommy’s here. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Beautiful boy.”

Asher was subtly rocking from side to side with her lyrics. River was smiling, looking at her in that quiet, contented way he always did whenever she sang. Sawyer was, for once in his life, still, as if mesmerized by Jamie's voice.

"Uh, Baxter?"

The man jumped.

"Renée." He cleared his throat. "Didn't see you there."

"You never see me coming when you’re like that, with hearts on your eyes." She said, teasing.

The man narrowed his eyes at the cheap shot. “Don’t you think it’s a bit hypocritical of you bringing that up, huh?”

“That’s what childhood acquaintances are for, love. Besides, Frankie and Tamarack turned out to be great friends to me when I needed those, so rest assured I ate my words heartily.” She smirked. "But, being perfectly honest, you did look particularly deep in thought today. What's eating you, my friend?"

Baxter looked back toward Jamie. She smiled when she sang. She made one believe that the lyrics coming from her were the most profound words in existence.

He bit his lip. "Renée?"

"Yeah?"

Baxter waited a moment, thinking, then shook his head, turning to leave. "Never mind."

*_*_*_*_*

"That was a good day!" Jamie said as they ascended the stairs. "I just hope I wore them out enough that poor Frankie isn't exhausted trying to keep them entertained before bed."

"Frankie expressed a clear interest in having them for the night." Baxter pointed out. "It isn't as if you passed them off onto her. Plus, this is good. Because I, uh, I need to talk to you. We-We need to talk."

The woman cocked her head. "Like, we need to talk? Or we need to talk?"

"I don't know what that means."

She let out a quick laugh.

"I'm sorry." She sat on the edge of the bed. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing!" He said quickly. "I mean, no, not nothing. Nothing is what I did… Mean to say, I guess. Jamie?"

She tipped her head forward. "Yes?"

"I… You, you said to me earlier that you'd given a lot up when River came along, because he came first." He frowned, uncomfortable with his staccato sentences but unable to transition into a more efficient method of speaking. "You gave up things. Singing, vacations, free time, a big wedding. All of that."

He cleared his throat, hoping it would reset his speech. It is a difficult thing he has to say, but still, he would think he got the worst part down a long time ago.

"And I know nothing… Nothing has come up with us, really, we have work, and River, and work, and I know I said work already but we work a lot." He paused for breath. "I can't give you a singing career or all those hours you worked that second job back. I can't give you… I can't bring Cove back for you. For you and for River."

"Baxter…"

"Please." He said quickly, firmly. "Please let me finish."

She nodded.

"I know our relationship is… It is different from what you may have expected when you were younger, it is different from most, and I know I can be a bit challenging sometimes with this feelings stuff, but I know how I feel about you, and I don't see that going away, and…" He paused. He really should have thought this through. He knew what he wanted to say but it is hard to get it out. "I want to marry you, Jamie."

The problem of how to say it sorted itself out, in the end.

“Not as in getting engaged. I remember that we are engaged, that we’ve been engaged for well over a year at this point.” He said, with a bit of humour in his voice. “I want us to go on to the next phase, I want to plan our wedding, I want to call you my wife.”

Jamie blinked in surprise, her mouth falling open just slightly. She is not sure where he had been going with his speech, but she had not been expecting that, he was certain, but he forged on.

"Together, you and I, we made so many beautiful weddings, we made sure many a couple had their dreams come true, and I want that for us. A big party, with everyone we love, with all the little silly details that we find so beautiful, something that we will remember and tell our great-grandchildren. No expense spared. That last job we took, well, you know what it paid, and we have no greater need for it."

He dropped to the ground, he was several paces from her, and walked on his knees to her. Her own knees were a foot or so apart, and he pushed them to their respective sides so he could scoot closer to her, simultaneously and awkwardly shifting to rest on only one of his.

"So, what do you say?" He asked, giving her a small smile. "You and me? Big party?"

Jamie smiled at Baxter, amused. Ah, her silly little man, how she loved him.

"I think I'd like that big party." She said, her voice full of emotion.

He held up a finger. "Only if you spend the rest of your life with me afterwards."

Tears escaped her eyes as Jamie grinned, giving a happy laugh and kissing his face all over. She leaned forward, whispering his name and curling her arms around his neck.

*_*_*_*_*

Our Life Masterlist

[thechembow]

Photos: Postcards from the Sierra, where they are still skiing and the water is flowing

Aug. 1, 2023 - LA Times

It was a drought-busting winter.

Mammoth Mountain and the Sierra Nevada range recorded a record amount of snow, as area reservoirs returned to full capacity.

Times photographer Luis Sinco took a drive down the Eastern Sierra's to see first hand the snowmelt that is finally giving way to summer.

Hikers follow a trail along Rainbow Falls in the Devils Postpile National Monument. The falls are fed by the middle fork of the San Joaquin River, which is running strong after last winter's record snowfall in the Sierra Nevada. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

[breakfromwork]

June 6-July 6th, Washington

We wandered downtown Port Angeles on the June 6th, where we posed with one of the dozens of sculptures around town.

On the 7th, we headed up to Deer Park to take a spectacular view of Hurricane ridge we'd been told about... gorgeous as promised.

Gae was preparing for the upcoming Port Angeles Garden Club meeting, creating a hat with a bee on it (Bee in a Bonnet theme), arriving at this colorful display:-)

My buddy Mike came out to PA for a bike ride on the Adventure Trail portion of the Discovery trail... great ride with nice views. Now we just need to cover the remaining 25 miles!

My nephew Zach, his girlfriend Iris, and their new family addition, Joey came to visit on the 16th, where we wandered the Peabody Creek trail that runs by the end of our block.

Zach's Mom and Dad joined in the visit on the 18th, where we caught up since our last visit at Christmas. Three generations!

Gae and I attended the PA Garden Club luncheon on the 19th, for a nice lunch and live entertainment (member presentations).

Gae and I rode the Discovery Trail along the waterfront to check out the areas of her responsibility in her new role at the Garden Club. Thankfully a large volunteer group will spread the load maintaining the trail and garden beds downtown.

The neighbor's girlfriend stopped by with 9 German Shepherd puppies she was selling. I gotta say, timing is everything, as Gae happened to hear them yipping, checked out the noise and added another member to the family. Meet Raina:-) Kind of hard to see between the two white pups.

I got over to Seattle for a round of golf with Andy and Mike on the 29th, followed by a Mariners game on the 30th. The team started well, but was crushed by the end of the game... fun time in spite of the score.

July 2nd I joined our visitors Debb and Kipp for a tide-pooling session out at Salt Creek Rec Area in the perfect weather.

It was a great day for seeing some amazing creatures in the pools, like this purple Sea Urchin.

Gae skipped the tide pooling to join in on a church group hike to Madison Falls, near the Elwa River.

Rob and Ben joined us for the weekend of July 3rd, and were happy to get up to Deer Park to take in the views. Behind them is Port Angeles with the Ediz Hook and the Strait of Juan De Fuca.

We made another trip to Deer Park with Kipp and Deb on the 4th, where the haze from Canadian Fires shortened viewing distances.

We took the Blackball ferry to Victoria on the 6th to visit Butchart Gardens... another flawless day:-)

The gardens were as spectacular as we remembered from our last visit over 30 years ago.

Here's Deb and Kipp in a tunnel of roses.

Gae wanted to ride the carousel, but we limited her to the bronze stationary horse... chalk up another injury free outing!

We headed for Chinatown after the gardens for some food, where we had to travel the narrowest street in Victoria. Built originally to keep the police from approaching illicit business by horse, giving owners and patrons time to hide their dirty laundry. I would HIGHLY recommend the Fan Tan Cafe, and specifically Spicy Lo Wor Won Ton, unbelievable good!

[rabbitcruiser]

Hwy 128 Colorado River Scenic Byway, UT (No. 14)

The first route through this portion of Utah was the Old Spanish Trail, a trade route between Santa Fe, New Mexico and Los Angeles, California. The trail was in common use before the Mexican–American War in 1848. Although the trail serves a different route than I-70, they were both intended to connect southern California with points further east. I-70 generally parallels the route of the Old Spanish Trail west of Crescent Junction.

The Utah State Road Commission took over US 40 from Kimball Junction to Colorado in 1910 and 1911, and assigned the SR-6 designation to this route by the mid-1920s.[26] In late 1926, the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) assigned the designation of US 40 to this cross-state route, consisting of most of SR-4 and all of SR-6. (The SR-6 designation remained until the 1977 renumbering; SR-4 became SR-2 in 1962 and was eliminated in favor of I-80 in 1977.)

The road connecting Colton on SR-8 (US 50, now US 6) with SR-6 (US 40) in Duchesne became a state highway in 1910. The southwest end was moved from Colton to Castle Gate in 1912, and in 1927 it was numbered State Route 33. Few changes were made to the roadway, and in 1981 it became part of US 191.

Access between Moab and Castle Valley was originally via a pack trail called the Heavenly Stairway. This trail, named for a dramatic descent of over 1,000 feet (300 m), was described as beautiful, but difficult to navigate. Isolated from Utah's population centers, this area depended on Grand Junction and other cities in Colorado for both everyday supplies and a market for agricultural products. Moab residents pushed for a road to be built along the riverbank. By 1902, the trail was replaced with a toll road, called King's Toll Road, after Samuel King. King was an early settler who also operated the toll ferry used prior to the construction of the Dewey Bridge. Rocks inscribed with "Kings Toll Road" can still be found along the roadway. While the road did improve travel, it was not built high enough above the river level and was often flooded.

Source: Wikipedia