First backyard plum of 2018

23 July 2018:

In the Spring of 2017 we had to replace our venerable old Santa Rosa plum tree with a new one. This morning I discovered the young tree's first mature plum laying near the trunk Yeah!

And somehow the local squirrels did not get there first.

There are still four or five green ones on the young tree. The tree had a big growth spurt while we were in Brazil.

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2018 Manhattan Beach Grand Prix

22 July 2018:

The top shot is from the Men's 35+ race (I think, with one woman thrown in for good measure).

The next is from the Men's 50+ race.

The Colnago bicycles were part of a classic bicycle display. The model years (bottom to top) are 1970, 1972, and two from 1984.

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Photo mosaic, Sao Paulo downtown

21 July 2018:

I built a photo mosaic to put on the cover of a thank you card that will go to one of Lily's aunts and her granddaughter. The showed us around Liberdade in Sao Paulo. The top photo is the sunset view from their 20th floor apartment. The bottom image is a photo mosaic version of that image.

The straight photo is compelling all by itself. It is a variation of the July 7 posting.

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Farmers' Market July 2018

21 July 2018:

It is always fun to take a few pictures at the Torrance farmers' market.


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Martin, Jullie, Bianca, Lucas

18 July 2018:
We had visitors from Indonesia today. They are on a long trip, and were recently up in San Francisco where the two children, Bianca and Lucas, were attending summer camp. They return to Indonesia on Saturday. We brought them down to the beach after lunch.

In the bottom picture they are surrounding our family brick down by the Strand.

Jullie said that she wanted to retire here. I said that that sounded like a good idea!

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Here is one last picture, of me, taking the photo of Bianca and Lucas. It was taken by their father Martin.

Bike ride to a falls near Guararema

9 July 2018:

For my fourth and last bike ride on this trip, I joined 8 others on mountain bikes for a 5-hour, 72 km jaunt on rough back country roads to a falls near the town of Guararema (see earlier post). This Monday was a holiday in Brazil, so traffic was light everywhere. Antonio, Lily's cousin, at first advertised the ride was a 60-km one, but he as a bit off.

Lily and I headed for the airport later that evening for the long overnight flight to LA, so I was nice and tired. It was supposed to help me sleep on the plane, but that didn't work too well.

Antonio, Lily's cousin, is in the back row in the blue shirt. The person next to me in the orange shirt is the 'professor' who loaned me one of his spare bikes. Nice group!

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Avenida Paulista

8 July 2018:

We spent the afternoon in Sao Paulo before heading back to Mogi, and we visited the Museu de Arte de Sao Paulo (MASP) for a few very interesting hours. When we emerged we found the street in front of the art museum full of people. The city of Sao Paulo closes Avenida Paulista every Sunday from about mid-morning until late afternoon to car traffic, and it is open for walkers and cyclists and street entertainers and the like. It was a very nice afternoon, and the place was packed!

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Leon and Fernanda's Wedding

7 July 2018:

#1: Lucas, Lucas' girlfriend, Regina, Gabriel (Antonio's family, Antonio is a cousin to Lily)

#2: Pictures with the bride and groom

#3: The elegant table settings

#4: Beatrice, daughter of Antonio and the wife of Gabriel

#5: The lively band

#6: Marianna, Lily, Maya (Marianna and Maya traveled from Indonesia to attend)

The wedding started with the wedding ceremony at 6:00 pm in a fancy hotel in downtown Sao Paulo. It ended, we are told, at about 2:30 am the following morning. Lily and I did not last nearly that long.

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Coconut Juice

7 July 2018:

The main street in Liberdade in Sao Paulo turns into a market street on the weekends. Here Lily and her aunt are buying coconut juice for all. It was good!

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Sao Paulo Downtown Skyline

6 July 2018:

Lily's aunt lives in Liberdade in central Sao Paulo, and we are staying here for one night. This is the view from her 20th-floor apartment, just after sunset.

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Traditional pre-wedding Chinese Tea Ceremony (and dinner)

5 July 2018:

The traditional Chinese wedding tea ceremony was held on the evening of July 5 in the patio area of the groom's parent's home. We first had crepes for dinner, then the ceremony was held. About 50 people were in attendance.

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Uncle's Rancho

4 July 2018:

It is a bit of a break day before things get busy leading up to a weekend family wedding. Lily and I got a tour of the agricultural section of her Uncle's ranch. He produces some fruit from the land, including bananas. The bottom image is a picture of one of the groves of banana trees.

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Bike Ride to Guararema

3 July 2018:

Lily's cousin Antonio loves to ride his mountain bike in the hills around Mogi das Cruzes where we are staying. He has been taking me along for company, and I have enjoyed getting out in the countryside. Today was the second ride for me, and I got to use a bike that was almost the right size today. There were four of us. The route was out and back to a tourist / resort town called Guararema, a total of some 64 km. We did it in about five hours, including stops for drinks and lunch. It was difficult. Two of the climbs were very steep, probably at least 15 to 17% grades (guess). I did OK on those. However, there was a stretch of single-track that was at times above my comfort level. It ran alongside a railroad track, and you can see me walking the bike at this point (picture 5). I need more practice! We had to walk the bikes over 4 or 5 railroad bridges. It was an adventure.

I borrowed a bike from Diogo in the lower right of picture 2. He also posted it on Strava. He is a friend of Lily's cousin, and is apparently also a professor.

https://www.relive.cc/view/1678404247

That's it from here.

Photos from Antonio Ang, Lily's cousin

60th Wedding Anniversary

1 July 2018:

The 60th wedding anniversary of Lily's uncle and his wife was held today. You get a lot of pictures with this post.

#1: The venue was a plot of land out in the countryside owned by Lily's uncle.

#2: Lily's Aunt Clara practicing the anklung for her part in the ceremony.

#3: Gabriel talking with Lily. He is newly married to the daughter of Lily's cousin.

#4: Matheus, the son of Myrian, daughter of Ang Toen Jauw and Fifi. Myrian is a sister to Charlie and Leon. Leon gets married next weekend.

#5: Ang Kok Tjai (Lily's uncle) and his wife, who have been married 60 years. The party was in their honor.

#6: Julia, daughter of Leonardo (Leo) and Andreia. Leo is a cousin of Lily's. What a smile.

#7: From left to right: Lily, me, Walter Junior, Antonio, his wife Regina, their daughter Beatrice and her new husband Gabriel.