Rain! Hail! Mosaics...say what?

We are finally getting much needed rain in SoCal and I decided (bravely) to take my daily walk while there was a break. The sun was shining brightly and the air was so crisp, cold and clear. Beautiful. Striking out at a brisk pace (as briskly as one can with two canes), I made the dubious choice of heading farther afield than usual. Such a fine day until...yup, you guessed it. Heading home and BAM! The rain started coming down hard. But wait - there's more. Tiny little beads of white. Hail. Which started getting bigger as I motored on. Now, I just considered it an adventure, thinking back to the times in Thailand and Indonesia when a sunny day would suddenly turn into a torrent of rain. At least here I could call if I seriously needed a ride home, whereas, back in my traveling days, there were no cell phones, I was usually in the middle of nowhere, and I didn't speak the language. A story for another time.

As I'm a mere 2 blocks from home, a car stopped, a woman called out from the open window, and she asked if I wanted a ride home. I was blown away by such kindness and thoughtfulness. I declined after expressing my gratitude (didn't want to get her car seat soaked) and I really didn't mind the rain. I turned on to my street and the phone rings. My wonderful partner is calling to make sure I'm OK and if I need a ride. Nope -- I'm good, see you soon. Halfway up the block, I see him carrying an umbrella and walking toward me at a fast clip. I'm laughing and protesting I won't melt (certainly not sweet enough and apparently not wicked enough). A great way to start the day.

And now for the fun part. On a previous ramble, I noticed other houses in the neighborhood that had mosaics on steps, on planters, and one amazing place with some interesting stone/ceramic structures. The last place reminds me of Rubel Castle. If you don't know it, go to YouTube and search for it. There are a couple of tours which give you the flavor of this amazing place.

But let's start with a house I see regularly. As I was passing by one day, I even got to meet the amazing woman who pretty much mosaics everything in her yard. I didn't ask if I could take photos at the time, so when I did get around to taking pictures, unfortunately it was from a distance. Her style is very exuberant. She just uses a hammer to break up tile or other pottery and then comes up with wonderful designs. She has two claw-foot tubs she's done too, but I didn't take pictures of those (dang it).

 

After I discovered Ms. A's house, I decided to venture further afield than usual, and found two delightful surprises. One was a German Shepherd in his front yard who came over to the fence and immediately wanted his ears scratched. After a bit of that, he jumped up on the fence, leaned over, and hugged me. Yes, that's right, hugged me. I was so enchanted I didn't want to leave. But, moving on, I came across the house that reminded me of Rubel Castle in Glendora. It's clear the homeowner does the work because there were piles of the raw materials needed to make those marvelous structures. The materials are broken concrete from torn up sidewalks and driveways, rock, and broken bits of pottery stuck in here and there. I can hardly wait to see what they come up with next. Given the amount of material around the house, I speculate they also do jobs for other people (but of course I have no idea if that's true).

Click on the pictures to see them in full size so you can see more detail.