A Perfect Bungalow

We went to Cafe Frida this morning for coffee. None of the other usual suspects were there today but the four of us enjoyed it. We drove around the neighborhood afterward and except for its proximity to the freeway we were all transported back to our respective childhoods in Southern California...narrow streets lined with small bungalows. There were roadworks and garbage trucks making driving around tricky so we moved on for a walk in the MacDonald Historical District which has a wonderful variety of big beautifully maintained houses and makes for an interesting place to walk. Rick and I were both reminded of growing up in Pasadena, an old suburb of Los Angeles with a similar variety of architecture. The posted picture is of a tiny bungalow on the edge of the MacDonald district. 

There were lots of gardeners mowing already pristine lawns. I really did feel a nice sense of security there from the fire point of view as it is well away from the hills and in the middle of town. I could see living there, in which case we would have come full circle back to a neighborhood similar to the one we left in Berkeley.

We all had a nice dinner at Willi's Wine Bar last night and our old waiter, Rafael was there. His house near the old Willi's Wine Bar burned down when it burned down. He has rebuilt his house and said he loves it. It was an old midcentury house which had never been remodeled or updated so now, he said he has a 'new house'

Rick has been smoking a pork shoulder for pulled pork all day and Dana and Jim are coming over soon to join us.