GROWING TOGETHER AWARDS

We have a neighborhood association comprised of three neighborhoods --Poverty Ridge, named for the tent cities that sprang up here during floods in the times before the levees were built, Newton Booth, named for an early governor of California and an abandoned school that bears his name, and Alhambra Triangle, an area of wonderful bungalows across Alhambra Boulevard. We joined together to form the Newton Booth Neighborhoods Association, NBNA for short. Mostly what we do is try to hold the line against inappropriate development.

I think this looks like a ship

We are in a part of town that is almost entirely residential, but is seen by developers as a good place to put in crummy multiple unit construction, or the kinds of businesses that attract the drinking and party crowd. So we are often in the position of opposing what someone wants to spend their money on if we think it's inappropriate.

Indie cap triangle house

Cool place for Korean tacos. 

Tonight, though, we had a chance to honor two businesses who did some creative things that really improved the neighborhood.

I noticed the triangle house, which I call the boat, because the front of it looks like a boat to me, one day when I was out walking. It's on the very edge of the neighborhood, right next to the freeway, and it's on a triangle-shaped lot. The new construction fits the lot perfectly and used steel and stucco for a modern contemporary look. Better yet, it's designed to be a residential above with possible retail down below, or artist space, though I'm not too sure how many artists have an extra $600K lying around.
The other place is an addition to the trendy food scene, and rehabbed an old 40s or 50s gas station which has been an eyesore for the whole 28 years we have lived here. For close to ten years it was just a fenced off wreck at a highly visible corner, and before that it was a place that may or may not have sold retreaded tires --more likely drugs-- but had mounts of used tires stacked up around the building. Now it's a thriving local business called Tako. The food is delicious and the place is charming. Last night we had a party at Revolution wines and gave certificates honoring the developers of the two places. It was a lot of fun, and Revolution provided some wonderful food, as did the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op. We also had a delightful sunflower bouquet donated by the Big Bang.

MADE WITH LOVE BY MOM

While doing a little boutique shopping at Deseret, I found this beautiful genuine polyester skirt. So nicely made, such lovely colors. It even has a label inside saying "made with love by mom."  Before I get too snarky here, I do have to admit that I really like these colors. Of course I do.  They look like my Easter eggs.  But not in the skirt.
On the other hand, I did buy it   As you can see, it is in my possession.

I have to admit, I did have a plan when I bought it. The idea was that I wanted to make some shoe bags for travel. I have some, but they are a dark color, and since I often travel with a lot of dark things, they just confuse me when I'm rummaging through my suitcase. Not these.

. The final result is six bags, though there are only two actual pairs. The best one has a zipper, the one that was originally in the skirt. It's a little on the small size, probably will not accommodate my size 10s.