Why Can't My Sister Live Here?

My sister and I have been having more fun than should be legally allowed. As you can see, we've been out and about, spending tons of time climbing and hugging trees. Isn't she a hot tree-hugger? And despite my worries about her type A, neat freak tendencies, she's doing very well and is only threatening to reorganize the bookcases!

My solution has been to keep her out of the house pretty much all day. Since we've been running around though, I haven't been home to come over and read your blogs or write something new on mine. As much as I miss y'all, that's the way it should be. I don't get to see her too often so it's well worth it to step away from Blog Land for a hot second and have a great time with her.

We first had a grand scheme to go to Santa Barbara over the weekend but instead decided to stay local. My sister had never been over to Venice Beach so on Saturday we headed out that way and strolled the insanity that is the Boardwalk. There were the usual sage and incense sellers, drummers, henna tattoo artists and folks hawking wind chimes made out of colanders and forks. We also dodged waves and frolicked a bit in the sand. Unfortunately though, we ran into some tar that had washed up onto the beach (the surfers said it's oil from ships). I couldn't see it because it was under the sand, so I stepped all in it.

Before I knew it, the bottoms of my feet were covered with tar and it wasn't coming off! The surfers told me they frequently have the problem of getting tar on their boards. They told me to just rub cooking oil on the tar and then it would gradually wipe off. Thankfully, we soon wandered over to the Sidewalk Cafe for a late lunch. The waiter was really nice when I asked him for a cup of cooking oil so I could get the tar off my feet. It took me 20 minutes in the bathroom but thank goodness it worked! But I feel horrible thinking about all the animals that probably get some of that tar on their fins or fur and have no one to rub cooking oil on them to remove it.

What else? We go work out hardcore every morning. My sister is used to running five or six miles a day so I've been going to limp along run with her. Thankfully she gave me a bit of a break today and we only hiked four miles on Mount Hollywood.

The last time my sister was here was pre Griffith Park fire. Parts of the trail are starting to regrow, but this section still only has scorched palm trees. It's amazing that these palm trees survived and are still green on the tops despite the charred bottoms. Whew, the power of nature, you know?

Anyway, she leaves Saturday morning so I only have a couple more days with her. Sob! Trust me, I will continue to both somehow survive her tough workouts and run her all over the city. I love my sister so much. She's really a lot of fun and such a sweet and generous woman.

Gosh I wish she lived here in California. She needs to make it happen! But in the meantime, we've got another full day lined up for tomorrow.