’21 February

Jo Ann, dressed up like the art project she is. Check it out: cool haircut, color-coordinated glasses and an amazing ring, great mask, admire that coat, you can’t tell how intricately tailored yet so comfortable those pants are, what..a blue and orange Watch, and socks and shoes to complete the ensemble.

We two, fully vaccinated as we are, went out for Ladies’ Lunch, almost like the old days. We went to Culver City, ordered food at the new Nancy Silverton place inside the old Citizen Public Market building, and ate on the roof. Ahhh, we were OUT. We went early and it wasn’t crowded at all, easy to keep distance and everyone I noticed was masked, although the guy at the craft beer place where we got our beverages said it gets pretty crazy on the weekend.

And then I got to see Muriel and Miss Maggie too! We had a quick and excellent walk, then a short visit, and then I headed home for a little Spanish with Rome and a zoom with a few of the Monday Nighters. It’s like I’m perfectly fine although I do still get daily wound care. Soon! That part will be over soon!!

I do pay more attention at the movie theater, and I miss the immersive experience, but, and isn’t life today so often ‘but’, I’m clapping hands for streaming! These are recommendable movies I’ve seen recently. It’s Oscar season which is always good for movie releases even if you do have to watch them at home.

Nomadland, Hillbilly Elegy, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, One Night in Miami, Mank, Judas and the Black Messiah.

Pretty cool, out in the backyard. She pulled a salon chair in front of the salon space and I had my cut outside with a spritz bottle for water.

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Her garden makes me need to hang things in trees. She’s also got sculptures, several seating areas, a succulent garden, it’s lovely.

It was a while ago, we were three months into my treatment, when Justin got way into Triathlons. Recently he started a new group to train with and introduce to the three disciplines of a triathlon. Swim-Bike-Run – You Go Justin! He and his wife Carol make clothes too for their various projects. This one is fun!

Here’s the story of Justin’s first Triathlon from October 2020.

And here’s a link to their instagram page for Tri Friday.

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The whole process was SO fast, thank you El Camino College. I got my second shot about 24 hours ago. I woke up slightly sore at the injection site, more sore than the first time but nothing compared to my wounds from The Incident that still ache every morning. I hear the injection side effects (Moderna btw) could still get worse but I’m optimistic.

Easy-peasy pumpkin-squeezy! FIRST in line, 20 minutes before they opened, 1 minute for check-in, 2 minutes for the shot, 1 minute trying to figure out a selfie with my foggy glasses, d.o.n.e. Done!

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In 1997 Marija hosted me at Marija and Ljubica’s home in Croatia. It was awesome. This is their brother-in-law who made this car from 4-5 other cars. He also made sljivovica from the plums growing in the garden trees.

SO delicious. Every time I entered any home, morning, noon, or night, the family would appear with a tray of these small glasses and a beautiful decanter of sljivovica.

From 1997 almost every year I would get a share of the homemade sljivovica sent over to M&L. (Ljubica saved some for me this time. Marija drank her entire bottle!) The brother-in-law passed many years ago and now his son is carrying on the tradition. Good job my boy!

BTW, it’s Sljivovica in Croatia and Sljivovic in Serbia, and the ‘c’ has a ‘z’ sound.

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I don’t know that I’ve ever done this before, tasted them side by side. Homemade is SO smooth although I totally enjoy the one from the store too and try to keep a spare bottle so I don’t run out.

Here’s a fun write-up from Wiki: “Slivovitz, slivovitza, slivovitsa, sliboviță, šljivovica, śliwowica, Schlivowitz, slivovice, slivovica or slivovka is a fruit spirit (or fruit brandy) made from damson plums, often referred to as plum spirit (or plum brandy). Slivovitz is produced in Central and Eastern Europe, both commercially and privately. Primary producers include Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. In the Balkans, slivovitz is considered a kind of rakia. In Central Europe it is considered a kind of pálinka (Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia—pálenka, or Romania-pălincă), and similar to Romanian țuică, corresponding to the distilled spirits category.”

Hilda’s mom passed away recently. She was 94 and had lived a long, amazingly full life. I love these zoom memorials because the programs and speakers feel so intimate. Of course hugs are precious and sitting side by side is important but considering where we are I’m so impressed with how much love and sharing happens here, and how much better I know the honoree after hearing everyone’s contribution. They had about 100 people from around the world attending. Good job Hilda!

Pictures screenshot from the presentation.

Happy Anniversary my friends! Took the above picture from Marsha’s facebook. I’ve had a few dinners over there recently and what a treat!

I’ve been in a lively correspondence with some old friends from my first computer job in the late 70s. I saw Yas, who lives in Japan, once or twice 20+ years ago and I haven’t seen Michael, who lives in Pennsylvania and snowbirds in Florida, for more than 40 years. This is a story told often now-a-days, people meeting up with old friends online. Yas has been patiently playing Go with Michael while Michael slowly gets better at the game.

Yesterday I got an email from Michael with the above picture and the title “I won!”. So I asked the guys for a selfie and Yas sent the three below. Michael got inspired and sent three also.

This is not so much a baby picture of me but it’s the youngest I could find. I have a few boxes in the garage, high up and heavy, too much for me to get down. Maybe I’ll have something in there?

Here’s what (80! years old in a month) Lona is going to be up to for a while. And of course TeeTee too…they are all living together happily in the Marina apartment. We’ll see what comes next.

Thanks for stopping by on the way home from the hospital!

Let’s Road Trip through the National Parks of the contiguous 48:

1. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
2. Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
3. Saguaro National Park, Arizona
4. Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas
5. Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico
6. Big Bend National Park, Texas
7. Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas
8. Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky
9. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee
10. Everglades National Park, Florida
11. Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida
12. Biscayne National Park, Florida
13. Congaree National Park, South Carolina
14. Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
15. Acadia National Park, Maine
16. Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio
17. Isle Royale National Park, Michigan
18. Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota
19. Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota
20. Badlands National Park, South Dakota
21. Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota
22. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
23. Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado
24. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado
25. Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
26. Canyonlands National Park, Utah
27. Arches National Park, Utah
28. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
29. Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
30. Zion National Park, Utah
31. Great Basin National Park, Nevada
32. Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
33. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
34. Glacier National Park, Montana
35. North Cascades National Park, Washington
36. Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
37. Olympic National Park, Washington
38. Crater Lake National Park, Oregon
39. Redwood National and State Parks, California
40. Lassen Volcanic National Park, California
41. Yosemite National Park, California
42. Kings Canyon National Park, California
43. Sequoia National Park, California
44. Pinnacles National Park, California
45. Channel Islands National Park, California
46. Joshua Tree National Park, California
47. Death Valley National Park, California

source:usparkpass.com/the-perfect-road-trip-to-see-every-national-park-in-the-u-s/

ps..I remain so delighted with Letterkenny that I use their often inappropriate expressions because I feel charmed. Hence, “boys”. Maybe you’ll watch the show and then we can say “pitter patter” to each other.