What I love about Monrovia -

As I drive up and down Hillcrest on my rounds here in Monrovia, I pass this house with the lovely poinsettias growing at the side.  Finally stopped and took a picture.  I have always wanted a large poinsettia growing against my wall.  I have gotten one to grow maybe to 2 feet, but they don't bloom.  Often people I meet who have them talk about how they want to chop them down.  I suspect this woman likes them - because I see her working in yard and tending to her flowers and plants.  If she didn't want them, I'm sure she'd have cut them down.

Meanwhile, I enjoy the view!

A Morning in May

I step outside each morning, heading off to work. We live on a lovely street. If it's gray or foggy, the mountains look shrouded and mysterious. If it's cold and windy, the sky is crystal clear. If it's damp and rainy, there is a soft, damp feel to everything. And if, as it has been for the past many mornings, it is blue-sky sunny, all the colors of the leaves and flowers simply jump at you - with joy it seems!

Our yard is nothing spectacular - but it is home and it is colorful!

And I smile often when I think about all the years and activities this yard has seen and been a part of .

And my tree - let me just say that I love my tree - and it is shading the living room. And it's providing food and shelter for the little birds that come to the feeder it holds.

The vivid colors of bougainvillea - can I just say that their tissue-thin blossoms make me smile every morning as I head out.

And finally the hedge - the hedge Dad keeps threatening to dig out and eliminate - I like it. I think anything that dresses up in showy blooms deserves to stay!!

I love May mornings!!

Where Nothing is Long Ago

The title of this post comes from the title of a rather interesting memoir by Virginia Sorenson - and it deserves a post all its own. But for now, I want to focus on something that "came" to me today as I drove home from Santa Fe Middle School. I'm sure that part of this stems from the fact that it was 31 years ago this month that we came here. And the weather and sky and school and the town just brings that all back.

Our start-of-school meeting was held at Santa Fe, and as I headed out on to Duarte Road to go home, I was thinking about Ida Smith and her recent death. That thought seemed to segue into thoughts about my first forays into the neighborhoods around Santa Fe's campus.

I was a Primary teacher - back in the day when Primary was held during the week. I was pretty gung-ho and wanted to do the job right, so I took treats to my kids - especially those who were less active. This meant poring over the Thomas Guide to figure out where they lived. And then loading up into that yellow Ford truck we were driving back then. (Dad was still in Utah I think. He didn't join us permanently until September.) Bonny, Harry, Phoebe, and I squeezed into the front - I don't think seat belts were the law then - and roamed about Monrovia looking for my little lost sheep.

Ida was a good friend to me as I adjusted to a move that I had initially been very opposed to. Sometimes I think about how negative I was. I was not very kind to Harry about it either. Everything was his fault. Every bad thing that happened would not have happened if we hadn't moved. I am not proud of my behavior. Sometimes I think I'm still trying to make up for it!

(You all know the story - about how I came to know that it was not only not a bad move, it was definitely the right move! Sometimes we have to trust in something and someone and move forward. But that too is another post.)

Others in the ward were kind to us. I had great, thoughtful, caring visiting teachers who visited every month. I had Jan Holmes for an Avon Lady - how can you go wrong with that?? Polly was our piano teacher - and she didn't just teach us music. Connie Heslop was our baby sitter - kind, quiet, gentle Connie - who didn't feel better around her? Brother Holling was our home teacher - and he came each month with a message and Eskimo Pies! The high priest group leadership was there to unload when we moved in - Aulvie Bourgeous, LaMar Heslop, Ted Elwell, Tom Smith, Bishop Neeley. I was Mildred Muir's secret sister and she became our special friend. Yvonne Jorgensen shared her doll collection with Bonny. Blanche Card was the nursery baby sitter during sacrament meeting. The first Sunday we attended was the confirmation of the Dequer twins. I could go on and on and name names that would send some of you on a trip down Memory Lane. But that will be another post also.

For now, I realize the meaning of Virginia Sorenson's title. The past is always with us; it doesn't take much to call it back.

And aren't you glad for that??

And aren't we all glad Dad felt impressed to move back to California? And aren't we all glad that Grandma Helen found us a rental house in Monrovia? And aren't we all glad that we've been able to stay in Monrovia and build happy memories here??

I am!

This is to let all of you out there know that we do get inclement weather now and again. It blew like crazy yesterday. Some places it was up to 80 mph. This shot is taken in Sierra Madre.

And also to let you know that we have some mighty fierce sunsets. It can be glorious driving west on Hillcrest.

And keeping with the time-honored Terrill tradition of getting the tree up at the last possible moment - ta da - it's up and ready for festivities!!

I shopped for it, picked it out myself, got Harry F. to deliver it in his truck - and did a pretty good job. Who needs Home Depot?? (Not us apparently - they were fresh out when Dad went on Saturday. So I ended up contributing to the Youth Ministry at IC!!)

O, tannenbaum!!

My Town

I fell and hurt my knees a little over a year ago. And I had surgery a little over 6 months ago. Prior to the fall and the surgery, I had been in the habit of walking to and from school on most days. But I have not been walking to and from school for 9 or 10 months - it just got too painful.

So today I walked to and from school. And I really enjoyed it. I was thinking about how much I love this town. I love the old houses, I love the beautiful flower gardens that seem to abound, I love the many trees that flourish here, and right now I love the brilliant blue skies that weren't even diminished by the fires that hit Diamond Bar today.

(The above photo was taken a couple of years ago, but today looked just like that.)

And as I walked home, I loved browsing in the storefronts on Foothill, stopping in at the wonderful little apron store, and checking out the goods at Country Cottage. I also eyeballed the windows of a new store, Victoria's Cache - which apparently isn't open yet - it's in the spot formerly occupied by the antique store that was mostly junk - and overpriced junk too!

I am teaching a high school student at his home on lower Primrose 2 afternoons a week, so I headed there. By the time I was walking home, it was 5:30 and night was falling fast. But I love that I wasn't a bit nervous about walking up Primrose in the dusk - even if Dad was coming home at the same time and gave me a lift at Greystone!

Hannah posted about loving Monrovia too - and I was thinking that it's truly a little "Gem City of the Foothills!"

I'm looking forward to tomorrow morning's walk!!