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Mountain Views News Saturday, September 14, 2024

WALKING SIERRA MADRE 
- The Social Side by Deanne Davis


Weather Wise

6-Day Forecast Sierra Madre, Ca.

“Everyone needs to have access both to grandparents 
and grandchildren in order to be a full human being.” 
Margaret Mead

“The reason grandparents and grandchildren get along so 
well is that they have one common enemy…the parents!” 
Rosalie Sorrels

Last Sunday was Grandparents Day and because my 
granddaughter, Jessie, loves banana bread with a heartfelt 
passion, I made some! Recipe later in the column. 
Fabulous related discovery:

I read an article about freezing lemons, which stated that 
you can do that. So I did. And I was delighted to find 
that, while you can’t get much lemon zest off a defrosted 
lemon, the juice is just like you picked it off the tree ten 
minutes ago.

My daughter, Crissy, just brought me a Caramel Pumpkin Brulee coffee. I am wallowing in deliciousness. She is determined 
to try every single coffee merchant’s Fall offering to see if any of them can match Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte. This was 
Dutch Bros. and was very close.

Our 9-10-24 day was a huge celebration and our town had a blast planning and executing wonderful things to take place all 
day. Tours, art projects, food, book sale, ice cream social and an opportunity for a Fly Along in the Police Helicopter. What a 
day! It will only happen this once friends and neighbors and I hope you went to everything. We live in such a splendid place. 
Yes, it’s hot and currently rather smoky but it’s still the only place to be. 

Remember my mentioning Jeff Brown’s column on the Six Second Kiss? Well, he’s continued this really nice way of improving 
relationships this past week with “20 Seconds of Hugging.” Most hugs are of the quick lean-in, two or three pats on the 
back and separate space again. But, with longer hugs, we can reduce our blood pressure, improve our mood, relieve stress, 
strengthen our immune system and alleviate pain. I’m all for it. Jeff’s column is on Page 9 of last week’s Mountain Views 
News. 

• “A hug is a handshake from the heart.” Unknown but memorable.
• “Sometimes a hug is all you need to make you feel better.” Also unknown but true.
• “Hugging is a silent way of saying…you matter to me!” Equally true.
• “A hug is two hearts wrapped in arms.” So good.


I miss John’s hugs. He was so good at hugging. People would line up for one of his hugs. 

OK, Banana Bread…everybody likes it, even small children who hate everything will eat it. We’ve all had moments when 
we bought bananas and nobody ate them. Now they are ugly, black and about to attract fruit flies. Don’t throw them away. 
They are perfect for banana bread.

 ½ cup butter, softened

 1 cup sugar

Cream those two together in your electric mixer.

 2 eggs added, one at a time.

 3-6 incredibly overripe bananas, one at a time into your mixer along with

 1 TB. Lemon, lime or orange juice

In a separate bowl, combine 

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon (generous)

¼ tsp. nutmeg

1 TB grated lemon, lime or orange zest (if you’ve got it; be ok without)

Add those ingredients to the banana mixture and pour into greased loaf pans. This amount will give you one large 
loaf and one small loaf or several small loaves, depending on how many people you want to thrill and delight. 

Bake at 350 for 55 minutes for large loaves, 30 minutes for small ones or till a toothpick comes out clean. These 
freeze beautifully and you can double this recipe with impunity. When it cools just a little, cut yourself a slice and 
enjoy the fruits of your labor. 

Here’s a great thought to start your week:

“Mountains are meant to be climbed. Wounds are meant to be healed, and problems are meant to become learning 
experiences. They all serve a purpose. They make us stronger mentally, emotionally and spiritually. The best way to escape 
your problems is to solve them.” And give somebody a long, healing hug along the way.

Are you working on your scarecrow? Picture this week is another one from a past Halloween.

The banana bread recipe, btw, is in my book, “A Tablespoon of Love, A Tablespoon of Laughter,” available on Amazon.

My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis

There are treasures there! Trust me! 

Including “Just Desserts” A Fall Fantasy of Pumpkins Gone Wrong!

 Sun Sunny Hi 90s Lows 60s 

 Mon: Sunny Hi 90s Lows 60s 

 Tues: Sunny Hi 90s Lows 60s 

 Wed: Sunny Hi 90s Lows 60s

 Thur: Sunny Hi 90s Lows 60s 

 Fri: Sunny Hi 80s Lows 60s

Forecasts courtesy of the National Weather Service

SIERRA MADRE CITY MEETINGS

SIERRA MADRE CITY 

COUNCIL MEETING

Sept. 24, 2024 5:30pm

THIS MEETING WILL BE HELD 
IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS!

As part of the City of Sierra Madre’s 

COVID-19 transparency efforts and The 
Brown Act provides the public with an opportunity 
to make public comments at any 
public meeting. Public comment may also be 
made by e-mail to PublicComment@CityofSierraMadre.
com by 3:00 p.m. on the day of 
the meeting. 

Emails will be acknowledged at the Council 
meeting and filed into public record. The 
public may also comment in person at the 
meeting.

The meetings will be streamed live on Foothills 
Media website at foothillsmedia.org/sierramadre 
and broadcast on Government 

Access Channel 3 (Spectrum)..



1630 AM EMERGENCY RADIO & 

Free on-air publicity for local events

 Sierra Madre’s EMERGENCY radio station is now accepting scripts for 
Public Service Announcements (PSAs) about community events. PSAs 
will be broadcast on the air at no charge. The station operates 24/7 and can 
be heard at 1630 on the AM dial.

 Any local non-profit or non-commercial organization can have their 
event information broadcast to the public on Sierra Madre Community 
Information Radio. The station covers the city of Sierra Madre, plus 
surrounding areas of Pasadena, Arcadia, and Monrovia. 

Your event must:

• Benefit a non-commercial or non-profit entity
• Be open to the public
• Be of general interest to local citizens


Just 
write a Public Service Announcement that describes your event and 
e-mail it to radio@cityofsierramadre.com. 


Dear Editor:

I have lived in this city many years. I have 
supported the police dept, the library, the 
rose float assoc., the redevelopment project 
of the post office, the paramedic program, 
including a yearly subscriptions to this 
newspaper.and other civic programs for 
many years as I am able. I am 100% in favor 
of supporting the measure PS.

But I probably will be voting "NO" in 
November. Connecting the yearly fee onto 
my property tax is not favorable to me. 

My property tax is sacred. If I received 
a yearly bill I would be more than glad 
to write the check tomorrow but putting 
an additional fee onto my property tax is 
unacceptable to me. Having lived here and 
owning my home for several years, my taxes 
are one thing I can count on not be raised 
substantially.

 I can imagine it is easier for bookkeeping 
purposes to have the county be in charge 
for collecting and distributing the funds 
but it is also being tied to my property with 
chance of default. 

I do not have the heart to raise my tenant's 
rent to cover for the additional parcel 
charge. I believe each household in the city 
should be given an individual billing to 
support this measure. 

To me it is the fairest and safest way to fund 
Measure PS. 

Thank you, Barbara Skousen

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

 Sponsored by the 
Sierra Madre Civic ClubGather your friends and 
paint local merchants’ 
windows in Halloween 
themes. 
The contest is open to 
youths ages 9-17. At least 
one member of the team 
must be a Sierra Madre 
resident.
Awards for 1st, 2nd, and 
3rd place winners in 
each age category.
Halloween Window PaintingDowntown SIERRA MADRE 
PAINTING Dates and timesFri, Oct 25, 2:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Sat, Oct 26, 7:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. 
Questions? info@sierramadrecivicclub.org 
Deadline to turn in your application 
to City Hall is October 11, by 4:30 p.m.
YourARTWORKHEREPut 
some Spooky 
PAINT HERE!
Window Painting is Back!!
For Applications and 
More Info:
SierraMadreCivicClub.org 
Facebook 
sierramadreca.gov 
The Library 
City Hall 
Your Local School
Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com