My Trip to Californy

I am right in the middle of my trip to California, home of the cement pond.

I’m visiting Becky, my super-de-duper organized friend.  We are working on a makeover of her “shed” which, if I’m being honest, is way nicer than any shed I’ve ever had.  My sheds tend to look like they’re about to fall over and they don’t have electricity, or a roof.

I got here (California, where the temperatures are 20° cooler than Texas) on Friday.  We drove in traffic, ate In N Out Burgers then took a tour of Becky’s beautiful home before the time change started to hit me.  They were all like, “Hey it’s only 8:00; it’s still early!” but my body was telling me it was 10:00 and I was ready for bed.

The good news is that I woke up at 4:30 in the morning ready to roll.  Time changes are for the birds.  If I ever get to take my dream trip to Hawaii I will have to start the transition at home and go to bed at 4:00 in the afternoon.  I looked it up….5 hours difference.  Yikes!

On Saturday morning we got going on the shed.  Becky’s husband and I worked on some wood projects (I didn’t really work that much.  He was capable of doing it all on his own and he was doing such a great job that I did a lot more observing than working).  Becky was the runner…run to the store, run in the house, bring us this or that.  Before I got here I worried that I would have a hard time because I usually have a kid working with me that runs to get me what I need.  My worry was unnecessary.  Here I have Becky.  She has more 3x more energy than I do.

This picture is about an hour and a half after we started working.  We finally got the first board up.  These projects have a bunch of prep work and set up.  And I should add that runner-Becky did a LOT of prep work before I got here.

By 6:00 Saturday night we were pooped.  We didn’t get as much finished as we would have liked (isn’t it always that way?) but it was a good start. After dinner they drove me all around the area to show me the sights.  It is just beautiful here.  The highlight of the drive was my up close look at the Hollywood sign.

Becky’s husband, having lived here all his life, knows the backroads and best spots for viewing.  We saw the Lake Hollywood (which I’d never heard of), lots of really interesting homes (not movie star mansions, just houses on hills) and Hollywood Blvd, which looked just like any other downtown to me.

Today is our other full working day while I’m here.  We have plans to squeeze 3 days of work into one, so hopefully the favor of the Lord will be upon us, or at least some mercy.  My body is still thinking it’s time for lunch at 9:30 in the morning and my naptime comes just about when Becky’s family decides it’s time to eat.

It’s going to be a full day.  I hope I can hold up long enough to get it all done.  It’s the kind of work I love so that makes it easier.  The only downside: there’s no Sonic here.  How is that possible?  There’s an IKEA down the street and dozens of really cool restaurants.  Malls, library, Costco a couple of miles away but no Sonic.

If I ever go to Hawaii I will have to be sure to check on that first.  Time changes are hard enough.  No Sonic ice makes it doubly hard.

Have a great week!

Follow me on Facebook and Instagram (@PenningtonPoint) where I’m updating our progress on the shed!