Friday, May 29, 2015
Valencia and the Santa Maria Road
before Valencia went to live in Utah
she lived in a corral at the Happy Trail house
Agatha, the first rescue dog, was her devoted companion
from time to time Valencia was invited to spend a few days at a
ranch where a musician lived with his horses
the ranch was on a dirt road, Santa Maria, that began at TCB
(Topanga Cyn Blvd) and went all the way to the western end of
Mulholland Drive
it was a handy route into town from Topanga
when Valencia was away for a few days Agatha grew restless
headed up to get her and bring her home
Valencia liked this bc most of the other horses would come too
galloping down to TCB thence to the trail that led to her corral
led by Agatha, a beagle.hound sized black dog
created a little mayhem and it was a merry band
it was fun and it was the 70's before TCB had become a major
commuter route between the Valley and the Coast
Skaterina was hiking one day up the Santa Maria road
with some of her dogs when a big jeep pulled up to ask for directions
at the wheel was Marlon Brando
next to him was a beautiful Polynesian woman
they chatted, Skaterina not blinking an eye at the star before her
after exchanging pleasantries they say Bye and went separate ways
later Skaterina was headed home when the big jeep pulled over again
Marlon smiled and said
We must stop meeting like this
what a charmer !
more on the Santa Maria Road :
Skaterina and her tiling partner had a job in Laurel Canyon
mornings they would jump on the dirt road to Mulholland
as far as Laurel Canyon, swoop down to the house they were working
sat in the hot tub
smile
they were tiling new kitchen counter tops with lovely handmade
Mexican tiles
it was a tricky job as they had to wrap the countertop edges with curved
tiles, including the corners with bull noses
they poured cement on either side of the kitchen sink
doing it "just so" it tilted enough to let water run into the sink
instead of puddling on top
while Skaterina was applying mastic to the back splash with a silver
serving fork (where the hell did that come from ?)
she touched a live electrical outlet and the wall burst into flames
they didnt know how to put out such a fire so Skaterina threw cornmeal
on it and when the partner used water to wipe the countertops the
cornmeal got cooked from the heat and filled all the grout lines
Quell' disastro
they turned off the electricity and the gas on the big gas stove
went home
well, they did get the job done with the carpenters covering for them
some months later the client called to say how much he loved the tile work
some years later Skaterina flipping through a Saveur magazine
saw on their back page which showed some special food feature
a photo of the kitchen they had tiled !
is that cool or what ?
she lived in a corral at the Happy Trail house
Agatha, the first rescue dog, was her devoted companion
from time to time Valencia was invited to spend a few days at a
ranch where a musician lived with his horses
the ranch was on a dirt road, Santa Maria, that began at TCB
(Topanga Cyn Blvd) and went all the way to the western end of
Mulholland Drive
it was a handy route into town from Topanga
when Valencia was away for a few days Agatha grew restless
headed up to get her and bring her home
Valencia liked this bc most of the other horses would come too
galloping down to TCB thence to the trail that led to her corral
led by Agatha, a beagle.hound sized black dog
created a little mayhem and it was a merry band
it was fun and it was the 70's before TCB had become a major
commuter route between the Valley and the Coast
Skaterina was hiking one day up the Santa Maria road
with some of her dogs when a big jeep pulled up to ask for directions
at the wheel was Marlon Brando
next to him was a beautiful Polynesian woman
they chatted, Skaterina not blinking an eye at the star before her
after exchanging pleasantries they say Bye and went separate ways
later Skaterina was headed home when the big jeep pulled over again
Marlon smiled and said
We must stop meeting like this
what a charmer !
more on the Santa Maria Road :
Skaterina and her tiling partner had a job in Laurel Canyon
mornings they would jump on the dirt road to Mulholland
as far as Laurel Canyon, swoop down to the house they were working
sat in the hot tub
smile
they were tiling new kitchen counter tops with lovely handmade
Mexican tiles
it was a tricky job as they had to wrap the countertop edges with curved
tiles, including the corners with bull noses
they poured cement on either side of the kitchen sink
doing it "just so" it tilted enough to let water run into the sink
instead of puddling on top
while Skaterina was applying mastic to the back splash with a silver
serving fork (where the hell did that come from ?)
she touched a live electrical outlet and the wall burst into flames
they didnt know how to put out such a fire so Skaterina threw cornmeal
on it and when the partner used water to wipe the countertops the
cornmeal got cooked from the heat and filled all the grout lines
Quell' disastro
they turned off the electricity and the gas on the big gas stove
went home
well, they did get the job done with the carpenters covering for them
some months later the client called to say how much he loved the tile work
some years later Skaterina flipping through a Saveur magazine
saw on their back page which showed some special food feature
a photo of the kitchen they had tiled !
is that cool or what ?
