Changing Times

Our neighborhood could be described as "charming", "family-oriented", "tree-lined" and, perhaps even "old".  At least that's how I look at it and love it.  It's what drew us to this 'hood in the first place.

But all that's changing thanks to "McMansions".

I do not love it.

My favorite home in the area recently bit the dust to a developer's plan for "progress towards the future".

Here it is...  Gorgeous, beautifully maintained and in pristine condition-- literally move-in ready-- all 3,000 square feet of it.  Problem is that this beauty, although on a shallow lot, is located on a double wide lot and that made it a developers dream.

First a "Notice" of demolition was posted and then, way too shortly thereafter, this started...

After that it was hard even walk down the street anymore.

The sad ending is that two, count 'em TWO 5,000 square foot houses will be built on the lot in it's place.  Two monster houses in the place of one lovely home.

This isn't the first sad story like this in our community-- it's actually being written about in the newspapers and talked about on the television and radio news all the time.  But developers have deep pockets and it appears, at least so far, nothing "legally" can be done to minimize the overbuilding of lots.

I totally get "progress" and an owner's right to do with their home/property what they want to-- really, I get it.  But I don't get the pile of rubble that once was a perfectly good home that's now in a landfill somewhere.

Or maybe I'm just really sad that the landscape of our neighborhood is changing-- literally.

Is this happening in your neighborhood?

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com  -  Joanna Jenkins

Great Paying Job

I arranged these flowers myself.  No housekeeper required.

I am always amazed by the things that appear on our online community homeowners website.  I told you about the Great Lemon Caper.  Now we have what I can only call Housekeeper Madness.

Names have been changed (in blue) to protect the innocent and slightly crazy....

It all leaves me thinking maybe I should go back to work-- cleaning houses!

Happy weekend!
Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

There's One In Every Crowd

I belong to a neighborhood community website that lets neighbors, elected officials, and first responders keep in touch about everything from road closures and coyote sightings to requests for contractor referrals and babysitters.  (Think Facebook for your 'hood.)

Residents have been mostly respectful and keep their comments and posts about the neighborhood.  Some just give the facts or ask simple questions--  Others definitely "over share".

Case in point...

A neighbor posted that squirrels were eating all the lemons off her tree and wanted to know if anyone had an easy solution that had worked for them.  From her post question, I got the impression she was looking for safe and sane solutions.

But that's not the response she got.  Turns out, peeps in our 'hood are very passionate about their fruit trees!  And they really don't like squirrels-- Any squirrels!  Not.  At.  All.

One guy talked about the wolf urine he buys online and sprays on all his fruit to scare the squirrels away.  Another talked about having tried a hot pepper concoction that was only successful at killing her trees.  And another actually takes the time to rubber band all her fruit to the branches while it ripens making it more difficult for critters to carry off.

A prominent member of our community went on and on that all she has to do is feed the squirrels plenty of peanuts every single day and they stay away from her fruit trees.  I yiyi-- That was met with screams and pleads to stop feeding wildlife complete with links to county ordinances to prove it's against the law.

There is a long time resident (whose profile includes his photo and complete address.) who simply traps and drowns the squirrels claiming it's the very most humane thing to do.  His comment was easily 300 words long and explained-- in great detail, the ins and outs of his reasoning.  This comment was met with barely a response!

Good lord, you'd think the squirrels were carrying away small children, not lemons!

Within 24 hours there were about 30 comments to the simple question of "how to stop squirrels from eating lemons off trees" with many neighbors feeling compelled to comment for the first time ever.

But then... One comment in particular, well.... that's when things really went sour.

A middle-aged guy (I know because his comments came with his full name, photo and full address)-- let's call him Bozo, bragged that he didn't notice any "bare fruit trees" because he takes daily walks in our area and "has lunch" by picking fruit off other people's trees along the way-- several pieces in fact-- and thinks there's nothing wrong with going into people's yards scavenging because "there's enough fruit for people and the squirrels".

That made me wonder if he poached and dined on the fruit with the wolf urine sprayed on it.

To add insult to injury, Bozo went on to brag that he and a buddy drive around in a swank BMW and gather shopping bags full of a variety of fruit from people's yards... in the dark of night.

And the you know what hit the fan.

The community site blew up with comments.

Apparently, we have some crazy squirrels in these parts who not only eat lemons (and figs, oranges, avocados, apples, pears and plums), they also chew their way through cable wires, security screens and the likes.  Folks mostly just want the squirrels to go away.  But they really, really want Bozo to go away.  And by "away" I mean-- Behind bars in an orange jumpsuit (Orange--no pun intended)!

More than 100 comments later and people are still livid that Bozo sees no problem with stealing fruit from people's yards.  Great debate has gone on and he's justified his actions on the site at least 6 times with no apologizes.  Even people who don't have fruit trees are going ballistic.

Folks have politely, and not so politely, explained to Bozo that homeowners pay a high price for watering, pruning and maintaining their trees.  And the trees are on private property.  Bozo doesn't have a leg to stand on or any right to be taking people's fruit from their yards.

And the comments go on and on and on...

To be honest, I have not gotten into the great squirrel debate with my neighbors but as a result, I've changed my settings to only include police reports on our community website.  Some may say I'd be more passionate about this issue if the squirrels were a problem for me but, at least for now, they are not.

Other than thinking trapping and drowning squirrels is hateful, I just can't get on this bandwagon.  To read all the banter and drama about the fruit thief and see only a few comments about the squirrel-drowner has left me not really feeling very neighborly.

# # # # 

Summer has flown by!  I hope to be back on a more regular basis.  
Thanks for stopping by.
Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins
Photo credit: © denira - Fotolia.com

Fully Accessorized

Living in Los Angeles and being close to the entertainment industry, I've seen more than my share of rich fashionistas strutting their stuff.  They seem to be everywhere-- And not just on Rodeo Drive or at The Beverly Hills Hotel.  They're at the grocery store, the pharmacy, even the gas station-- all dressed to the hilt and fully accessorized as if they walked off the pages of a trendy fashion magazine.

Impeccable high-end designer clothing, gorgeous shoes, expensive handbags and perfectly coiffed hair and make-up, not to mention to-die-for jewelry-- are the norm for these gals-- Along with youth and beauty, of course.

Me? Most days I'm in Levi jeans, a white blouse, preferably without my lunch splattered on it, and comfortable shoes.  I carry the same blue backpack style purse regardless of what I'm wearing, and unless it's cold out, I don't even wear a scarf let alone "accessories".  No designer labels in sight and for the most part, I'm perfectly okay with that.  But I admit these totally put together ladies can be intimidating on occasion.

As if I'm not "fashion challenged" enough, I've discovered it's increasingly popular to have your house decked out in designer accessories too!
 
Case in point.  This little Fiat 500 Gucci car that is always sparkling clean and parked fashionably in front of my neighbor's house.

Seriously-- See those green and red strips-- That's signature Gucci.  On.  A.  Car!

Since I don't have a Gucci handbag it's doubtful I'll ever have a Gucci Fiat parked in my driveway but the bar in da 'hood has been raised. 

Maybe I'll plant some geraniums and call us even.  Ha!

 For more Sundays In My City stop by and see 

Unknown Mami

How's your weekend?
Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

Super Hero and a Winner!

As I've whined way too often in this space, our 'hood is under siege by several groups of no-good, dirty-rotten @#$%^! who are on a burglary spree that just won't quit.  However, after several new robberies over the past month, I think the bad guys are in for a big surprise if they try to rob again.

The neighbor kid is on the lookout...

How could I not feel better with a Super Hero on our street!?!

*****

Congratulations to Tammy of Hot Flashes In The Desert-- The lucky winner of The Wizard of Otin's totally cool and super scary book, In Blog We Trust.  Email me your address, Tammy, and Otin, aka Michael  Infinito will mail you an autographed copy!  Thanks to all who entered.  Be sure to check out In Blog We Trust and Otin's latest-- OMG it'll scare the daylights out of you-- thriller 12:19

How was your 4th of July weekend? 

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins

Potato Chips and Cheese

Saturday mornings at our house are pretty mellow except for the alarm blasting at 7:30AM so Husband can go play tennis.  It's not my favorite time of the morning and usually I try to fall back asleep, but today I pulled myself out from under the warm covers placing my feet half on and half off the rug causing my toes to curl and immediately go cold.  Then I practically cough up a lung thanks to yet another whopper of a cold I've been nursing for two weeks.

I made myself a cup of ginger tea, something I do not like but have been told repeatedly is "good" for my cold, and I grabbed a half eaten giant bag of potato chips because a cold, in my opinion, deserves "comfort food".  With laptop in hand, I made my way to the TV room with a view of the street, propped myself up on the sofa with a few blankets, and enjoyed my "breakfast" while I read blogs.

Then I heard sirens!  A police car came screeching to a halt in front of the house directly across from ours, guns at the ready, as officers rushed to the front door.

Long story short, the house which as recently purchased by a young couple, was burglarized sometime in the night.  The new owners hadn't moved in yet, but the previous owner left behind a big flat screen TV and a huge impressive looking safe bolted to the bedroom closet.  The safe was busted wide open but fortunately was empty.  Score one for the homeowner!

The robbers clearly knew what was in the house and came prepared with a dolly to lug their loot out!  What they hadn't anticipated was that they wouldn't be able to open the gate to the driveway at the back of the house which meant they had to actually carry the TV out the front door and down many steep stairs to the street!  This unexpected exit route caused them to forgot to take their dolly which police hope is covered with their fingerprints.  Score two more for the homeowner!

This all gave me pause because our house was burglarized in late October.  Although different scenarios, a robbery is a robbery no matter how you stack it up and our little neighborhood has had enough.

I sat on the sofa with a mouth full of chips thinking about what else I could possibly do to make my home safe in what is clearly a hotbed for burglars.  I have a big, loud, new alarm system with all the bells and whistles, except one-- video cameras.  But really-- do I want and need to go so far as to video record the activities in from of and in back of our home?  Apparently so.

As I pondered this thought, drinking now cold ginger tea and practically inhaling potato chips at a frantic stress-related pace, I heard a knock at the front door.  Mind you, it was about 8AM and I hadn't even combed my hair yet let alone changed out of my pajamas.   And I'm pretty sure I had potato chip grease on my face with crumbs all down the front of my robe-- Not attractive.

It was the police asking if Husband and I had seen or heard anything suspicious the night before.  My mind raced to even think where we were the night before when I remembered I was actually on the exact same sofa eating the other half of the potato chips ala the FEED-a-cold-starve-a-fever school of thought.  (At least that my excuse and I'm sticking with it.)

I heard nothing and was of no help, but considering how I looked, I doubt a middle-aged housewife covered in potato chip crumbs was a credible witness anyway.  But, knowing how the homeowner felt I promised to keep a watchful eye out.

To say I hate that yet another home was robbed is an understatement.  This was not a "smash and grab" burglary like ours and others in the neighborhood, rather it was probably somehow tied to the countless people who have been in and out of the vacant house doing repair work who mentioned a 50" flat screen tv and fancy safe to a friend who knew a guy, who knew another guy-- you get the picture.  Regardless, it's nasty and unsettling.

So in the very near future, if you ever come to visit me, be sure to look into the cameras and say "cheese".  And bring a bag of potato chips.  Please and thank you.

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com  -  Joanna Jenkins
Photo Credit: © greiss design - Fotolia.com

Lingering Cloud

There's a strange vibe in my neighborhood these days, everyone knows it, even strangers walking by our homes for the first time-- At least it seems that way.  The air is thick with something you can't quite put your finger on-- It lingers heavy like a rain cloud about to burst into a hellacious storm.

Occasionally this dark cloud of angst is separated with squeals of laughter by playing children too young to understand why people are pacing in front of homes with hushed whispers into cell phones, why so many people are arriving with trays of food, and why for some unknown reason, the two houses on either side of ours are still blazing brightly, night and day, with tens of thousands of Christmas lights.

Today is January 8, 2013.

Our neighbor, the one most of the 'hood referred to as "Super Dad", died very unexpectedly two days after Christmas.  He was only 51 years old, a fact that surprised many because he looked so much younger.

He and his family own the houses on both sides of ours.  (They live in one, the other is used for "storage".  That's a story for a different time.) They purchased the original house 18 years ago.  That house spent the first 8 years surrounded by a chain link fence with two big dumpsters in the front yard and as many as 14 barking dogs residing there during their endless construction.  It was not a pleasant time and back then, "Super Dad" was referred to as "The Crazy One" who was a pretty rotten neighbor through the entire process.

When the husband and wife finally moved in nearly nine years after they bought the house, the dogs moved out but the shenanigans with the dumpsters and contractors continued until their first child was born 2 years later.  Today she is about 8 years old.

Life seemed to calm down at the house under construction and "The Crazy One" started to mellow with fatherhood and age.  He was the stay-home dad and clearly devoted to his daughter.  His wife is an attorney who works long hours running the very large family business.

Three years ago a second baby girl arrived and again, his transformation was tremendous.  His new title of "Super Dad" was well-deserved.  It was a pretty amazing and very genuine.

When the police, fire engine and ambulance came roaring down our street the early morning of December 27th, it was pretty hard to miss.  My husband dressed and went to offer assistance.  The wife, still in her pajamas and soaking wet from the pouring rain was standing in the middle of our driveway-- the exact center point between their two houses.  At first Husband thought she was a homeless person because she was, frankly, unrecognizable and drenched to the bone.

She had never spoken a word to my husband in 18 years but today she walked straight up to him and told the shocking story...

The night before their kids had a tea party with friends in the front yard surrounded by the glow of Christmas lights.  At the end of the evening, the two kids went for a sleepover at their friend's house.  The wife had the flu and went off to bed while "Super Dad" cleaned up.  When she awoke in morning he was nowhere to be found.  Since it was early, she made a dash from one house to the other in her PJs to look for him assuming he'd slept at the other house because she was sick.

That was not the case.  "Super Dad" died during the clean up Friday night and she found him in the front yard Saturday morning.  They're still not sure if he fell and hit his head on the cement or if he had a massive heart attack.  Regardless, he was there all night, in the pouring rain, and it was simply awful.

She sobbed and sobbed in shock as my husband hugged this almost stranger in our driveway.

And so began the days-long stream of people offering their support-- Family and friends arrive daily to help the grieving wife.  From my office and from our TV room we see people pacing between houses, many crying, others on cell phones, all terribly distraught at this tragedy-- All the while the Christmas lights-- and I mean CHRISTMAS LIGHTS that light up the entire block-- are on, flashing frantically and brightly.

It's eerie--  Two large white angels with trumpets pointing to the sky light up the archway to the path leading to the front door-- where "Super Dad" was found.  The towering 6 foot high shrubs that hide the entire home from the street are covered with tens of thousands of white twinkle lights.  The house itself is also plastered with lights even though they aren't visible from the street. They're there because he was "Super Dad" and the kids wanted them for their tea party.

At the second house, the one on the other side of ours-- More lights-- thousands of them, all green and red blinking in unison to soundless music.  The glow is so powerful that I swear you could spot them from an airplane overheard.

It is odd to see the Christmas lights blazing night and day, during a time of great mourning.  Or perhaps it's not.  In the big scheme of thing, the lights are incidental and possibly unnoticed by family and friends.  Then again-- the decorations are a bright example of the kind of dad he was.  His kids loved the lights and often stood in the front yard in their "feet pajamas" at night to ohh and ahh at them.  Maybe turning the lights out would be too sad, and too final, and too dark at an already dark time.

Regardless, they continue to shine well after Christmas and I'm hoping it brings the family some peace and happy memories of their "Super Dad".

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com  -  Joanna Jenkin 
Photo Credit © Volodymyr Krasyuk - Fotolia.com

Seeing Red and GIVEAWAY!

 Like so many Sundays in the past, I made my usual mile and a half circle around the neighborhood doing errands-- dry cleaners, bank ATM, pharmacy, breakfast at the deli with my husband, then off to grocery shop.  I prefer to stay in the neighborhood and support the smaller, local business whenever I can.

But maybe not anymore.

All the people at the above mentioned stops know me by name and I know most all of the employees.  Like the guy at the dry cleaner... 

As Mario, the high school senior, sorted through my small armload of clothes, a pair of my panties fell to the floor.  I'm not sure which one of us was more embarrassed at the sight, but I know for sure that I could feel the heat on my face as it turned three shades of red.. to match the color of my panties.

We had one of those awkward moments before I reached to the floor to snatch them up and stuffed them into my purse-- Cuz let's face it, they'd been worn and well.... Ewww!  As you might imagine, I got out of there as quickly as possible, panties in my purse, and went on about my business.

For the next 90 minutes I made my rounds, opening my purse to get out my wallet to pay at each place of business.  Once at home again, after the groceries had been unpacked and put away, I went to my purse to retrieve the red panties and--

WHT?!?

They were gone, which obviously means I'd unknowingly left them behind at one of my errands when I opened my purse.

At that moment I'm not sure which I felt--  Relieved that the panties were at least the nice ones and not a gigantic pair of granny panties-- Mortified that my undies were in an unknown location for some poor soul (that I know!) to discover-- Or worse, someone knew they belonged to me but was too embarrassed to tell me to pick them up!

And this is NOT an April Fool's Day joke.  It's totally for real. 

Dare I retrace my steps and see if I can locate the missing garment so no one else has to handle them?  Perhaps they've been kicked under a counter, hung on the sign by the ATM machine, in the parking lot of the pharmacy, on the floor under a table at the deli or in the frozen food section of the market. 

Or do I call it a day and chalk it up to... to... to...  what would you call this anyway???

Big sigh.  I think I'll stay put and pray the next time I drive down the Boulevard I don't see them flapping in the wind. 

Happy Sunday everyone.
Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com  -  Joanna Jenkins

DON'T FORGET TO ENTER MY GIVEAWAY.

 WIN THIS GORGEOUS SPRING WREATH!  

CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

Photo Credit: © Yael Weiss - Fotolia.com

Sundays In My City #2 & LAST DAY FOR GIVEAWAY!

LAST CHANCE: Leave a comment on THIS POST by midnight TONIGHT, AUGUST 16th to automatically be entered in The Fifty Factor Time & Money GIVEAWAY! For full Contest details click here or on the picture of the cake in the above right corner.

Do you know Unknown Mami? She's awesome and she's started a fun Sunday theme inviting you to get out and take pictures of your city to share with the rest of us. Click here for details and her logo and here to see Unknown Mami's city.

My City is Los Angeles, California-- Home of 9,862,049 people*. Sometimes it feels like all 9.8 million of them are in their cars on the freeway; but that's mostly at rush hour, or when I need to be somewhere on time.

I've said in this space before that I'm not a big fan of Los Angeles, mainly due to earthquakes, traffic and the massive size of our fare city, but there really are so many other things to love about it, especially in the winter. You just can't beat our weather.

Saturday was a perfectly beautiful day in LA so I strapped on my pedometer and took a one mile walk around my neighborhood taking pictures to share with you today. Maybe you'll notice the same things I did.

There doesn't appear to be an economic downturn or a housing slump in my 'hood! I know I shouldn't complain about that; it's a really good thing, but, I was sadden by the changes taking place before my eyes. Here's what I mean.

The two pictures below are examples of many of the houses around my area-- Mostly single story, well maintained homes built in the 30s and 40s. They have nice deep lots, at least by this area's standards, and are situated near a terrific elementary school in walking distance. What do you think? Nice, huh?

But below is what I saw happening to A LOT in these charming houses in my neighborhood. Many of the lovely smaller houses are being torn to the ground....

....And bigger houses are being built. This one below looks nice, doesn't it?

It's nice until you see it next door to the other one story houses on the street. Then, not so nice. We call this a McMansion. Do they call great big houses like this the same thing in your neighborhood?

Below is a lovely house a few doors from mine. I'm really worried about it too. It was recently sold and permits are being pulled to tear the house down and build TWO houses in its place. I'm not looking forward to that.

But I suppose I shouldn't complain because at least it's not one gigantic house like another one going up in the neighborhood. Yes, the pic below is of ONE HOUSE, not a hotel, not a condo and not an apartment building. It's a 6500 sq. ft house on a 10,000 sq. ft. lot. I'm hoping when it's finished it looks better than.....

.....This house below built on a postage stamp size lot. We call it the @#$%^& Palace! Where's the charm? Where's the character? Where's the yard? And where in the heck are they getting the money, in this economy, to build spec houses like this? By the way, the two charming houses at the top are a few doors away from this monstrosity. How'd you like to be their neighbors?

As I finished my walk, a giant air conditioning unit was being lowered onto the roof of yet another McMansion by a giant crane on a flatbed truck. At this point, I was, frankly, a little depressed to see so much change in my neighborhood happening so fast. But then I took a closer look at the truck and laughed the rest of the way home.

I may not like change but it's hard not to like Los Angeles and the ingenuity of the 9.8 million people living here.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against big houses. I'm just sorry, in this case, it's at the expense of a charming, affordable Los Angeles neighborhood. There aren't have many of those left around here.

How's your Sunday and your neighborhood?

Welcome to The Fifty Factor - Joanna

*July, 2008 U.S. Census Bureau

Photo Credits: Mine