On the one hand...

Continuing with our focus on hands, tonight I ended up on Firestone Blvd. in front of the Exotical Hawaiian Apparel store that has been there for as long as I can remember.

It is a great store jam-packed with anything Hawaiian you could want, but you gotta admit, these mannequin hands are just a little creepy...

A non-virtual option

I walked around Stonewood Center this weekend looking at hands (this week's DDP focus). And the first thing I noticed is the very large proportion of hands that were holding cell phones. That's why this young man stood out. Alberto was filling his waiting time with an actual toy (a Rubik's cube) rather than a virtual one.

Kitchen garden

Yesterday Steve posted about the signs of spring. I love this time of the year—it is when I start to see the tomatoes ripening and my herbs sort of exploding in their boxes.



I have a bit of a mixture of things—a dwarf potted orange tree as well as a few different flowers mixed in for color. Oh, and peppers...I really like peppers.

"Gardening is cheaper than therapy...and you get tomatoes." 
~ FOODMATTERS.TV

Spring is here

A positive sign that spring is here is the green leaves showing up on the trees after a long winter sleep. The trees on this block are coming to full foliage in different degrees, but by the end of April they all will have their leaves supplying the tree with nutrients.



Another positive sign that spring is here is the vivid colors that keep popping up in the flower beds.

Celestial orbs

Eight years of DDP has taught me to always be on the lookout as I drive around Downey. One result is that I happen to notice a lot of yard art, and this celestial sun, moon, and stars decor was no exception.

Orange Estates oranges

Orange Estates still has remnants of the orange trees that once covered much of Downey.

KCET  wrote an interesting article that tells the tale of Downey: From Orange Groves to the Apollo Space Program.

Sometimes I forget how long people have lived in the Downey area. It was in the late 1800s that John G. Downey realized the great potential of the citrus industry in southern California. He imported a number of different varieties of oranges into his settlement, and by the 1880s there were many acres of orange groves in the areas adjacent to Downey.

Fun fact: An orange tree can grow to reach 30 feet and live for over a hundred years.

Facelift

The Moravian Church of Downey closed its doors nearly a year ago, but something new appears to be going on there now. The building may be getting a facelift, but the beautiful belfry is still there in the background.

He is risen!

Resurrection Sunday, also known as Easter Sunday, is when we, as Christians, celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. This holiday is referred to by Wikipedia as a moveable feast because it doesn't always fall on the same day each year.

Since Easter falls on April 1st this year, we also share the day with April Fools Day. Known for a day to "fool" people, there are a number of stories of fooling the public. According to History, in 1996, Taco Bell, the fast-food restaurant chain, duped people when it announced it had agreed to purchase Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell and intended to rename it the Taco Liberty Bell. In 1998, after Burger King advertised a “Left-Handed Whopper,” scores of clueless customers requested the fake sandwich.