WHAT?!
Oh Getty Center, I have missed you! Lynn came with me and we had a delightful few hours enjoying all the outdoor sculpture gardens. Calder’s Jousters were gone, off for cleaning we heard. Otherwise, all is well and the landscaping was in great shape.
Sunset from the window of Darryl and Angela’s bedroom.
The kids and I got a picnic at Lazy Acres. We ate at Pollywog Park and enjoyed a stroll around and chances to take some pictures. That’s Rome.
.
Another day at the beach with Bonnie.
We like the Annenburg on an early foggy morning.
.
Yet another day at the beach with Sharon, from the bluffs at Palisades Park.
.
If my ticket to New York-Boston-Cape Cod was for tomorrow I would go. I’m set to leave September 15. FINGERS CROSSED it doesn’t get worse.
How true is this graphic? I’m not sure. Just now I tried to confirm. One source says .098% of vaccinated people will test positive, .004% will need hospitalization and .001% will die.
Marsha and I walked over to Bergamot and home through the Water Garden office complex. We arrived at the Water Garden at noon straight up. Where are the people? We certainly have evidence of their cars!
That’s my car.
Oliver (a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel) and his half-brother Dude greeting me at the door! Dude is staying with Oliver for a week or so while his family vacations in Hawaii. Oh my goodness do they have fun together.
Here’s a video from Oliver’s very own instagram page (I didn’t take it btw – if you click you won’t be sorry!):
That’s a house from a walk-about in the ‘hood.
Lill and Tony’s bathroom, almost done. There was a lot more work than just this and it looked good – moving walls, adding and subtracting closets, so much painting. Good job you guys!
.
Bill sent this picture of him and Mindy at Ride Across Iowa (…for 468 miles!).
.
.
(self-portrait)
Steve and Celina have finished the total remodel of their new home in Camarillo. Camarillo, where the weather is always delightfully cool and fresh. I didn’t fully realize how total the remodel was. They took that entire house, walls-ceilings-floors, down to the studs! It’s wonderful in there now.
Their home is in the Camarillo Leisure Village and the amenities and activities, the beautiful lawns, the community gardens, the security, etc, they are so happy and if you know Steve you know that’s saying something!
I’m so glad Celina got to continue her gardening because YUM!
.
In the world of what should we eat now, Celina reigns supreme.
I got to visit with Gideon too, twice! And his lovely girlfriend of more than a year, Sam, joined us for dinner.
Steve, Celina, Gideon, and I met up for a brunch in downtown Camarillo and had a stroll through the shops and the farmers’ market after which I made my way home, 24 hours of Good Times. After so long apart, what a pleasure!
Tessa and Rome and Lilly AND
.
today, riding in the car, these guys introduced me to Olivia Rodrigo. Olivia Rodrigo is the voice of teenage angst. They all knew all the words to all the songs and sang along with gusto. Oh my goodness.
Me in a salty window at Alex and Carol’s yacht club where we enjoyed a delightful Sunday Brunch with Rick and Jim. What fun!
There were some detours involved in getting to the parking due to a triathlon crossing our path.
Merlyn and Hilda were home too so I swung by on the way out to admire their remodeling progress. They were due to be finished around the same time as D&A. Let’s just say it’s pretty exciting in there. No need for excruciating details…but they are living in a construction zone having moved back in at the due-date, optimists that they are. They have been taking frequent trips though, and more scheduled in the future!
The shower tile and the toilet wallpaper in the master bath are in, and the toilet flushes(!) but that’s it for the water in this room.
From the condo, the most action I’ve seen out there since Covid.
(self-portrait)
At first, from the door, I thought that rock was an homage to Levitated Mass (I love Levitated Mass) but, upon approach, no.
That’s me and Jerry, reflect-o.
Here comes Art Speak and photo from their website: “The Los Angeles–born sculptor Patrick Jackson works with both discrete objects and immersive installations. Jackson’s Proposal for a Monument examines the ability of public sculpture to communicate to both present and future populations and to be, as Carl Sagan wrote in a different context, “a symbol invariant of all [the] possible changes.”
“Jackson aggregates objects around the geometric structure: a “rock,” a drinking fountain, original furniture made by his grandfather for the Culver City house where both Jackson and his mother grew up. These additional elements counter the monumental ambition of the sculpture but simultaneously present meaningful objects, ones that we touch, gather around, and remember.”
.
From the website: “While living in Paris in 1960, Nicola L. started developing her Pénétrables, a series of canvases into which viewers could introduce parts of their bodies, getting into the skin of the painting. A magnum opus of this series, La Chambre en Fourrure (1969) was conceived as a playful environment, and yet it conveyed a strong political statement addressing the individual’s social envelope. Viewers were invited to insert their legs, arms, and faces into the outer shell of the freestanding “room” and would find themselves costumed in the work. The version of La Chambre en Fourrure on view here is a reconstruction of the original based on documentation compiled by the estate.”
It’s unagi, Japanese freshwater eel on the left and anago, saltwater eel on the right. Unagi has more fat, it’s softer, it’s more expensive, and generally the default choice. Anago can be crispier if they leave it in the toaster oven long enough. (internet photo)
Ann and I always enjoy our June Happy Birthday Sushi Extravaganza and often it turns into July before we have a chance. One of Ann’s previous colleagues, Zenaida, joined us too. Ann always gets eel for last order and now we know which is which!
.
Beach Day! As well as Fun including:
The contractor was over to go through the (rather long…) checklist of what was left to be done.
Oh the excitement, oh the joy, Lilly’s soon-to-be hanging chair came! lk.
We had an excellent time from morning until night for three days, all our plans worked out tickety-boo, and then D&A got back around 8 tonight, I left shortly thereafter, got home, and took to my bed!
First thing in the morning the painter Pete came by to take off the front door, paint it, and put it back. Eight hours later the door was back up. Check it out, sooo many ridges. He sanded, primed, sanded, and painted all in that tent.
Lilly did my fingernail polish!
Sweet dreams, time for me to go to sleep too!
Back home for the night, I must be sitting in Oliver’s place because he snuggled himself right in while Lilly and I watched the Pixar movie Luca and an episode of The Office and Rome went to bed with a slight fever. Fingers crossed for a normal temperature in the morning!
Lilly took this picture.
We walked at Point Vicente Interpretive Center, strolled around Terranea, and ate a delicious lunch at the Green Temple in Riviera Village in Redondo Beach. What a good time we had!
.
(self-portrait)
The butterfly roses are making themselves known. And speaking of growing things I had another fuss about the trees. I paid plenty for an arborist to tell me things. Gardens. It’s always something.
All events that include Hilda require at least some dancing. A woman after my own heart.
SEMI-retired she wants us to know because Hilda always has a dozen activities on her plate. But she’s retired from her 9-5 and that’s huge. Hilda and Merlyn put on a totally delightful festivity at Parker’s Lighthouse in Long Beach. These are a few of mine and Merlyn’s pictures. (I took a little poetic license with Merlyn’s…his are the well-lit ones.)
.
Hilda, I’m so excited to be there and be amazed at what’s coming next for you! Merlyn, what a DEEElightful party! Debbie, CONGRATULATIONS! Mazad, lovely as always to have the pleasure of your company! Moe Shabasni, now when I hear your stories I can see your face in my mind! Karen and Jim, I look forward to our next visit when we can talk about places to go and things to do! Carol and Alex..YOU..you know who you are!
Cheers to all y’all!
Some Farmers Market, I don’t remember where.
A few of Angela’s new house pictures from Instagram:
From D&A’s prior house, all those walls are painted the same color:
One of the Wednesday lunches with the kids. We each ordered a 3-plate and all got different things. What fun, so many tastes!
.
Another one of our Wednesday activities, Lilly enjoying a photo shoot.
My first trip to the MOVIES. Oh my goodness. Marsha and I saw In The Heights. We were so excited. POPCORN was involved! Then the next day I saw a headline saying that with the new virulent spread of the delta variant we are once again advised to wear masks inside. SIGH!
The trucks come tomorrow. WOW, right?! Lilly is marking her boxes “Front Bedroom”. It’s so exciting!
And here they are from Angela’s Instagram. These rooms are going to be so great.
I’ve been pining for pancakes at Du-Par’s for months and now I’ve had them and don’t need to have pancakes again for a good long time. Thanks Nancy for coming along!
SO many dolphins! Ken put this whole day together And he drove from the valley to pick me up and then on to Newport Beach. What a treat! It was billed as a whale watching tour. Nope on the whales but WOW on the dolphins!
(self-portrait)
Ann and I share the June Birthday Extravaganza with the Ladies Who Lunch and what a good time we had! A delicious meal, rude cards, and cash. Just right!
me, Ann, Ljubica, Becky, Alicia, Maxine, Marija, Marsha
This is me and Ann from the previous week having enjoyed a refreshing swim in Ann’s pool. As summer wears on I expect to be enjoying that pool more often!
.
.
(self-portrait)
Jo Ann and Muriel brought me a wonderful Birthday Breakfast, so good and just what I wanted. I wish I had remember to take our picture, adorable as we are.
And my birthday too! Cynthia treated me and Windy to a splendid sushi dinner. They kept an empty seat between the parties so it was all very comfortable and delicious. When I tried to pay for the ‘overs’ Ken, the owner and main sushi-man, said no no don’t worry your daughter said she wanted to pay for everything…which caused everyone at the sushi bar to ask about my daughter and why I was getting such a fine treat. Many Happy Birthdays ensued.
Before sushi we went for a stroll in Fern Dell, a part of Griffith Park we both remembered from our youth. We grew up in Hollywood so all the in-town venues were closer than the Westside where we live now.
They must do daily sweeps since there were no tents or even people sleeping on benches but the creek was not in good shape and the paths were stinky where clearly folks had spent the night. It wasn’t really this nice but I’m very glad to have had the chance to check it out.
Unlike the olden days when we used to walk up to the Observatory from Fern Dell…today we drove! That’s downtown in the distance.
I also had a fantastic moment in Parallel Parking. On my seventy-fourth birthday I made it into a spot with 1-2 feet clearance in ONE turn. It was a beautiful thing.
..say Happy Birthday! (tomorrow…). Aren’t they adorable. Mehrzad, me, Victoria, Hilda, Luna. Judy didn’t make it today. These expressions say ’74?! That’s…well…old! Good for you!!’
I want to remember this exchange. Me: I remember when I wasn’t supposed to trust anyone over 30… Victoria: hey. wait!!!! if you can remember the 60’s, you weren’t there!! Me: Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself (I am large, I contain multitudes.) Walt Whitman.
(self-portrait)
Bonnie and I went to the Annenberg restaurant Back to the Beach for a late breakfast and a nice stroll.
It was something to see so many families out enjoying a day at the beach..in the middle of the day in the middle of the week on day two of the lifting of most of the mask mandates. Everyone was having so much fun it made me smile. And then we moved along down the shore where in a few minutes it was quiet. Why everyone was clumped together, I don’t know. I am expecting many many more people as the season moves along and more folks are out and about.
The Marion Davies House wasn’t open yet but there was a woman at the office who agreed to show us around since Bonnie had never been there before. A quick private tour, perfect! Here’s one of the bathrooms that’s usually unavailable to see.
We had a good walk-about along the Promenade and then Palisades Park and then a surprisingly delightful meal at The Georgian hotel.
I realllly like the dinosaurs on the Promenade, and the jacarandas were feeling particularly perky too.
Unlike the year before hers, Lilly got a ceremony at the school for her promotion from elementary to middle school. They did it outside with distancing and masks. Everyone was so happy to be out and many hugs ensued.
We enjoyed a festive lunch for Lilly and her bff Roxie with Roxie’s family including My Friend PAULI who I haven’t seen in ages.
Cute, right! There’s a picture of these four kids on every last-day-of-school since kindergarten. ak.
The school took these portraits of every graduate. I especially like Lilly’s hands here, holding her mask and her graduation certificate, an excellent summary of the 2020-2021 school year.
The timing working out amazingly well since Bill and Cheryl had a few hours in the afternoon before their flight and I got home last night, so we got to enjoy each other’s company, the first time in, no surprise, So Long! I forgot to take a picture so here’s a selfie from the airport…
A fun surprise out of reach at Palisades Park.
Below are a couple views from Tongva Park on a walk with Jerry.
Someday I might get a bigger version of this photo from Kathleen and Cheyenne’s Cinco de Mayo party. Hello neighbors!
I am so happy that we got to be together. Wow, after so long and yet we are The Same. You’re right Susie, we should have taken the picture without masks.
And here’s 12 year old Magic out with his pack for their daily happy walk. Thanks for the photo Susie.
I’ve been thinking about planting Jasmine over my arbor too, just thinking, not doing. Our plan was to walk and then enjoy a happy hour but it was too hot to walk so we enjoyed a happy two hours instead.
And her kumquat tree is what it is supposed to be unlike mine, a sad story with no point in the telling.
I’m going to wear a mask whenever I’m outdoors in a crowd or indoors with the potentially unvaccinated. That’s my plan for now. I do wish the stores etc. still required everyone to wear a mask. I just checked, the California vaccination numbers are moving in such an optimistic direction, wow.
To eat Monday Lunch Out West! Marsha took Tom’s big car and Alicia took herself because she had to leave early. We ate outside under the arbor, nice shade, good temperature, comfortable enough with the table and chairs, and I’m SO pleased to report, no flies.
I can’t believe I didn’t take any pictures of the set-up because I was happy with the outcome of it all. We were celebrating two birthdays, Marsha and Maxine, so as well as the yummy potluck, we had two desserts. FUN!
Ljubica, Maxine, Marsha, Becky, Marija, Ann
We enjoyed a picnic among our other activities. I don’t have a picture of Oliver after his delights in the mud. He was seemingly enjoying himself so entirely, and once a bath was inevitable, why not have All the fun?
Lucky dog me! I won’t list out all the fun we’ve had, cooking, walking around, stopping off for treats, we even made TIKTOKs and it was a total blast.
You can follow Rome’s @formygrandma0 (that’s a zero) to see our tiktok fun first hand. If you don’t know tiktok then you might not get the jokes, it’s a whole civilization there up in tiktok land, but what we made is pretty funny on its own! We all contributed to all of them, a real group effort!
The Getty Center is opening on the 25th! Quick, get a ticket, they’re free!! The 25th is already sold out and I’m leaving on the 26th so no Getty Center for me until I get back in early June. I’m so pleased though, it’s making me smile to think of it. Photo from the Getty website.
Merlyn and Hilda are doing their big remodel and thought they wouldn’t have a place for this rug. Say I, if you’re absolutely sure, before you sell it to someone else will you sell it to me?! Hilda dropped it by and said why don’t you live with it for a while just to be sure.
Oh yes, it’s mine now! Different light, different colors, all good.
Mostly I lust after the house in Bosch. It is a real house and google will show it to you. None of the pictures do it TV-show justice. Fortunately it’s surrounded by not so lovely houses and you can’t walk anywhere from it. So actually I don’t want that house. I lust after it, but I don’t want it.
The house in this picture is a screen shot from 9-1-1. (9-1-1 and especially 9-1-1 Lone Star are pass-the-time TV procedurals where all the characters are likeable. That’s nice.) The house is not what I thought would be to my taste and yet I like it so much.
Our first time together for a meal in How Long?! That’s right, more than a year.
Darryl, me, Angela, Lilly, Rome, Oliver, Liz, Gary
We still kept our distance for eating, DAR&L on one side and we three fully vaccinated ‘seniors’ on the other. I solicited everyone’s choice from Veggie Grill and I think it worked out well. They packaged the food so nicely and we each got what we wanted.
And Cynthia sent this super-sweet Happy Mother’s Day bouquet!
There are three big home remodeling projects in my life that I can think of now. Maybe I’ve forgotten something? I looked up about the cost of plywood and the consensus was since mills closed because of covid, and weather, and mill operators had fears of a real estate crash that didn’t materialize, demand has simply outstripped supply.
Rome took this picture of the layers of materials that make up a house.
OC=Original Characters in Lilly’s world (original content at Imgur). Look at that, it’s me. We did it together on zoom-share-screen and it was fun! It’s the crooked smile that makes it look particularly like me.
I’m not in this one but everyone else is: Becky, Maxine, Ann, Marija, Marsha, Alicia, Ljubica.
Sharon and I did this walk for the first time in more than a year to City Hall, through Tongva Park, and food at Chez Jay. There are still so many things I used to do regularly and now haven’t done in more than a year. That’s going to just keep happening for quite a while it seems.
Lona and TeeTee are doing a good job sending a few pictures every day to a large WhatsApp group of their near and dear who have expressed interest. The trip is three weeks of such good fun!
Mahzad, Merlyn, Hilda, Mohammad, Shahrzad and her daughter Rana
It was so hot we lasted about an hour!
Hilda invited everyone to join her in checking out the butterfly pavilion. The guide in the orange hair was the prettiest butterfly there. It was lovely…h.o.t. but lovely. We strolled a little, took a few pictures, and then stood around the snack cart drinking water!
Welcome! Me, Jim, Ingalill, Rick.
Oh my goodness it’s like they opened the museum just for us and maybe 10 other people. It was Glorious! Look above, you can see from the entry plaza all the way, ALL the way through to the tiled fountain.
Through the inner peristyle…to the mosaic fountain below.
from the Getty website:
“A seated man is flanked by Sirens, creatures part bird and part woman, in this nearly life-size terracotta group. In Greek mythology, the singing of the Sirens lured sailors to their deaths, and so these mythical figures are often connected with the deceased. The seated man is also a singer, as shown by his open mouth and the pick (plektron) with which he plays his now-missing lyre, once cradled in his left arm. His precise identity, however, is uncertain. He might be Orpheus, who was famous for his singing and who helped Jason and his crew safely sail past the Sirens. But in art of the fourth century BC, Orpheus is usually shown wearing an elaborately embroidered costume that is not seen here. Therefore, the seated figure may be a mortal in the guise of a poet or singer. The precise meaning of the group has been the subject of extensive speculation, but perhaps the singer should be seen as prevailing over the Sirens and triumphing over death.
“It is likely that the group was made for a tomb. Originally brightly painted, it is an exceptional example of the terracotta sculpture characteristic of the Greek colonies in South Italy. Although terracotta sculpture is also found in mainland Greece, artists in the Greek colonies in South Italy used this medium with greater frequency and on a larger scale because there were few sources of good stone suitable for sculpting.”
Statue of Hercules (Lansdowne Herakles), AD 125. They have the room and it’s wonderful floor blocked off to guests, you can only peek in through the door.
from the Getty website:
“The Greek hero Herakles carries a club over his left shoulder and holds a lionskin in his right hand. These objects help identify the figure, since Herakles was often depicted with a club and the skin of the Nemean Lion, which he killed as his first labor. As is typical for depictions of Greek heroes, the young Herakles is shown nude, since the Greeks considered male nudity to be the highest form of beauty. No other god or hero is as frequently depicted in Greek and Roman art as is Herakles.
“The Lansdowne Herakles very likely was inspired by a lost Greek statue, probably from the school of Polykleitos from the 300s B.C. Found in 1790 near the ruins of the villa of the Roman emperor Hadrian at Tivoli outside Rome, this statue was one of numerous copies of Greek sculpture commissioned by Hadrian, who loved Greek culture. One of J. Paul Getty’s most prized acquisitions, the statue gets its name from Lord Lansdowne, who once owned the Herakles and displayed it in his home in London. Areas of restoration include the statue’s lower left leg and parts of both arms.”
.
.
“Protective Spirits, Assyrian, 645–640 BC, Nineveh, North Palace, reign of Ashurbanipal, gypsum. British Museum, London, 1856,0909.27, 1856.” from the Assyria: Palace Art of Ancient Iraq exhibit.
They would put these images at the front door to ward off evil. Looks pretty effective.
Thanks Rick for the picture and here’s to Next Time!
Here we are all working away putting together the route and accommodations for their three week trip across country. They leave on Tuesday and it’s all so very exciting for them!
TeeTee, me, Windy, Lona. Trevor took the picture.
Sharon and I went to the outdoor Century City Mall recently. It was surrealistic being in a shopping mall with stores and things to buy in them. People are very soon going to be longing for the good old days of the shopping mall.
Nancy sent this, a picture with her friend in Yosemite. We love Yosemite. Lookin’ good ladies!
I had a housekeeping service come and what fun! I took this picture so I could get everything back where it was. They did an excellent job and I would use them again. What a welcome find.
I didn’t take this picture! One of Jo Ann’s friends did a series of portraits and I’m crazy for this one. She made us dinner. Going to someone’s house for dinner feels so grown up. I rarely leave the house after dark.
These aren’t my pictures but I love them. Merlyn and Hilda had a quiet twosome up in Ojai but later I got to go down to Long Beach and enjoy a delicious meal Merlyn prepared. They are in the midst of a major remodel in their condo and are living in another unit in a sister building. They’re hoping to be back home by June 1. It could happen….
Hilda found a wonderful biography of Hilma af Klint, a groundbreaking Swedish artist and great influence on one of our Persian Poetry companions. There is a charge, around $5 and I don’t know who gets the money. It might come out for free at some point.
Hilmaa af Klint, from Wikipedia: “October 26, 1862 – October 21, 1944) was a Swedish artist and mystic whose paintings were the first Western abstract art known to the current art community. A considerable body of her abstract work predates the first purely abstract compositions by Kandinsky. She belonged to a group called “The Five”, a circle of women inspired by Theosophy who shared a belief in the importance of trying to contact the so-called “High Masters“—often by way of séances. Her paintings, which sometimes resemble diagrams, were a visual representation of complex spiritual ideas.”
I used to have to leave minimum 2 hours early to make it to dinner in time – sometimes I was early and sometimes I was late. Look at THIS. Assuming no road closures, 45 minutes max! And home before dark. WOW.
What’s good and what needs help.
The Wisteria on the right has made it to an April bloom like the old ones used to do.
Santa Barbara Daisies and the Arizona Rose Sensation on the fence. Carpet White Rose in the pot surrounded by Lantana, daisies, Rosemary, and some Pink Chintz Creeping Thyme in the distance. The four lantana at the edges of the fence didn’t make it and the three lavender in the beds didn’t make it either.
Below, the kumquat tree is entirely yellow, the dwarf lemon is nothing but yellow sticks while the persimmon is nothing but brown sticks. They all look pretty dead to me, and they did suffer this past year from who-knows-what (sun-water-nutrients: too much or not enough or the wrong thing), but buds there are, so “we’re” going to give them another season, which is Phillip’s advice.
So much of the Pink Chintz Creeping Thyme is gone because the spots were taken over by weeds and much of the rest is stringy and brown. The Santa Barbara Daisies seem happy enough to take over the whole yard. I do want variety though, so I’ll want to replant some ground cover, and the thyme, when it’s working, looks really good.
Yesterday I was talking with Elizabeth (of Les and Elizabeth in Lexington) about our gardens and she went outside to send me this Spring Time picture of one of her Forsythia. Then this morning, snow. It’s not like that here.
For a few days I’m going back to my 8 1/2 months ago regime, no sitting down. Ok Ok, I can do that, but it will be harder. At first I did not sit down from pain. Now I have to not sit down from force of will, will power never being a particular strong suit…
…too much fun probably caused a small ‘fissure’ to open again. I promised my sister I’d stay put for 3-4 days and not sit down because on Monday I have two long commitments requiring a few hours of driving. Here’s hoping for the best. Standing around in my kitchen to eat or type, to do paperwork or work on my pictures, ETC. I’ve been standing for a few hours this morning already. It’ll be ok..ok ok.
(5/1/21 I’m better than before the setback so YAY for that!)
We like the bees. But sometimes…
This guy vacuumed up the bees into that Home Depot bucket for relocation, and scrapped out the wax with a putty knife. The bees built the whole thing in less than a week.
Oh Goodie! Jo Ann and I had a totally delightful afternoon. The cover photo is from our seats at Ray and Starks where, after absorbing so much tasty art we enjoyed a tasty beverage and shared a cheese board.
Jo Ann was taking pictures for her niece who loves Yoshitomo Nara.
I asked the mom if I could have this picture too, the girl was so into getting her expression just right.
.
I’m going to ask a friend to translate the above since I’m beyond curious. The exhibits were limited to the two open buildings, the Resnick Pavilion and BCAM-the Broad Contemporary Art Museum. The curators must have had a blast building all these juxtapositions that Jo Ann and I both thought were especially cool.
There’s a lot of fuss going on about the exhibits not unexpectedly because most of the collection is packed up waiting for the new buildings. I say go, even if you find only one thing you like it will have been worth it.
Below is not a picture of a picture but an actual corridor with blue light and blank white canvases.
You can look on the website for the various exhibits, but the one below, NOT I: Throwing Voices (1500 BCE–2020 CE)
I’ll tell ya, it’s a quirky thing.
I drove out to Simi today for a visit with Burt and Charlene. We went to a nearby garden and nursery, called Hartley Botanica, then we had lunch in B&C’s garden. Ahh, so nice.
We haven’t seen each other in more than a year. Oh yes, I’m singin’ that song!
We enjoyed walking down the Promenade then over to the pier and out to Marisol for my first meal at one of my favorite spots for an afternoon break. This is the parking lot for the pier now used for the lineup to get into the amusement park area of Pacific Park. It’s true, at this point in the re-opening you have to be a Californian to ride the rides.
On the way back we stopped off at Misfits.
This is an internet photo of Misfits where we enjoyed a happy hour beverage and enjoyed telling a year’s worth of stories. Interestingly the restaurant was serving outside along the entire block since so many of its neighbor businesses were closed.
Trevor and Beth will have been here in LA for a couple weeks when they leave in a few days. They are staying in a hotel instead of with Lona this trip for various reasons, the whole thing is A Story for later. For now, let’s look at the view from their balcony. It’s hard to see but there in the upper middle of the picture is a viewing station and I was super-excited to do some viewing.
We walked (tromped?) out along a slight but still obvious toe path and sat on the viewing station bench..
And caught a couple of birds here in the Wetlands Bird Sanctuary. We could hear more of them than we could see.
We’ve been The Monday Night Ladies for decades but we all enthusiastically agreed, LUNCH! Why not?! It’s a New World. No one would have to drive in the dark, we wouldn’t have to go to bed stuffed like little piggies, we could eat outside, and Hurray for ME, I wouldn’t have to drive across town in rush hour.
Alicia hosted first and a Grand Time was had by all. It’s the first time we’ve been together in over a year and oh yes we were happy.
Maxine, Ann, Alicia, Ljubica, Becky, me, Marija. Lourdes has moved to Arizona..we miss you and Marsha is out of town.
How cute are we? I think my hair got that way from running into the picture. That’s my story… Becky is the youngest at 64, then Marsha, while the rest of us are wellll into our 70s. Lourdes used to be the youngest. She’s still the youngest, she’s just not here.
Enjoying Alicia’s handsome back garden.
Whooo. In my old website system I used to use one picture all the time, one a day was an idea, but this system seems to call for a full story. The consequence is that days go by with a little of this and a little of that but not enough pictures in a day to make a story. Let’s see how this evolves.
Caleb has had quite the unexpected year and a half (and haven’t we all). He started his Masters program at Oxford and then boom Covid. He’s been on campus only a few months here and there between lock-downs. He’s spent an inordinate number of hours flying around between Oxford-LA-Honolulu. Now he has to decide what to do next.
Caleb remarked that we have the same hair. I see it! In 50 years… He made us this tea party and then we had a good visit walking to the end of the jetty. Thank you Caleb for taking the time!
All my wounds have at least one layer of skin. I made SKIN! I still have to be careful not to scratch it open, and to keep it all moisturized, but no more wound care nurse for me. I’ll miss you Justin!
Eight months minus one day. I’m ok with that, and grateful as there will be no lingering after effects except, as my doctor noted previously, butt modeling is off the table.
You can click on this link for the story from the beginning in chronological order:
https://wheretheheckismom.com/daily-life-2021/the-incident-aug-2020-may-2021/
Wow, Nancy and Sharon, it’s the first time we three have been together for a year! Is it like ‘it’ never happened? A little.
.
Here’s a picture, just fooling around, while my computer plays reruns of old police procedurals.
Descanso Gardens. Were I traveling I would be doing this every day, sometimes twice a day, so I was wondering if I was up for even half a day on the road. I did manage ok but I was indeed ready for a rest!
These are pictures from a few hours wandering around the Descanso Gardens looking for cherry trees in bloom. It’s a lovely place especially if you’re interested in quiet trails through mature California Oaks. You can hear the birds and squirrels scampering through the undergrowth.
But for the cherry blossoms, not so much. Not a lot of hanami going on here. I got myself under this tree just for old times sake. Cherry? Plum? I’m not sure. Their Japanese Garden has one dominant cherry tree but the last rain had taken out most of the flowers. This tree was peeking through the woods and I had to chase it down.
A couple of things to look at.
The lilac garden is interesting because they have trees that bloom at so many different times. Some were already empty of their blooms, some with flowers, some with buds, some not yet budded. The flowering could go on for a long time. Put your face in those blooms and it smells like you’re at the handmade soap stand in the Saturday Farmer’s Market.
I like this, even though it’s fake. In many of the water features the water was not moving and all I can think of when I look at still, goopy pond water=mosquito farm!
.
There was probably a mile of forest trails bordered by these beautiful orange plants.
And flowers! The promenade by the gift shop and on the way to the rose garden (no roses yet) offers large beds of these colorful blooms.
Cool! They stayed in their own neighborhood so the kids are not having to change schools. And it’ll be summer before they can move in because of all the refurbishments. Angela is going to keep up a journal on instagram and if you’re ever in the mood to look at a big remodeling project…I’m sure Angela would welcome you to follow along:
Sharon and I walked along Palisades Park, admired the sea and Spring, and ate at one of our old standbys, The California Pizza Kitchen where we drank really delicious Bloody Marys in honor of our post-vaccination VISIT.
The dinos on the Promenade could use some spring growth but it’s always nice to see them guarding the pedestrian walkway.
I got these Santa Barbara Daisies as ground cover. Turns out, not exactly, they’re more like ground bushes heading up to my knees. Soon the gardener is going to want to whack them down for spring growth, or so he told me some months ago.
The orange tree has 50+ oranges left and is fully in bloom for another crop. The smell of those blossoms is such a glory it fills the whole yard. And the tree has gotten so big I can hardly step back far enough to get the whole thing in but I should try.
And the roses are going nuts too. This gardener is a lot more expensive, but he does fertilize on his own initiative.
Bonnie was supposed to come too but she was not feeling well. I’m glad Ben came anyway because we had a good time. We ate at the Annenberg and walked along the beach. I took the picture of the helicopter just to see if it would work and you can see the plane in the far distance. Flights! Going somewhere! And I can never resist those little shore birds.
..”now put your hands up.”
And what a joy, Eat, drink and Be Merry.
me, Jo Ann, Muriel
Lona and her two young friends TeeTee and Jennifer walked from Marina del Rey to Hermosa Beach, 9.25 miles, on Friday and they walked another 9.25 miles back on Saturday. Lona, you’re 80, what an accomplishment!
Windy and I drove down to meet them at the Sea Sprite in Hermosa where we had a fabulous dinner, a too fun after-dinner party, a sleep-over, and breakfast on Saturday.
Cecelia’s picture from the morning with the balloons TeeTee sneaked into the house for a wake-up surprise.
.
80 candles, 80 balls and stars, 80 pieces of See’s candy, mani-pedi for 80 digits, and a selection of old photos from Lona’s youth, what I could dig up from the garage, to spark a memory for Lona to tell us stories. And all of us wearing Jennifer’s haku leis, except Lona who is wearing the lei sent by the Hawaii Browns
And there they go, off back home for their second 9.25 mile walk in two days.
We had lunch and drove through the Gaslamp area that seemed to have taken a terrible hit economically, and then came the long awaited rain. We drove through Balboa Park and very much look forward to visiting again.
.
We spent the morning hanging around the Winery, enjoying a just-right room service breakfast, and packing up for the next leg of our journey.
We got to San Diego about noon and it took us until after 1 to get checked into our hotel because the room I booked based on the picture on their website (Marriott Courtyard in Old Town San Diego) as it turns out, does not actually exist. They took the best features of several different rooms to create the look. The desk clerk of course was entirely innocent and also very new. She called upon the head of housekeeping to describe all the rooms in the category I booked and gave us four sets of keys to see which room we preferred. How there could be so many different configurations is remarkable in a Marriott Courtyard. In the end we got happy enough and they gave us a bottle of surprisingly good wine as a thank you.
Finally we could leave for lunch. We stopped at the first restaurant along the way, Cafe Coyote. The food was delicious and the venue was fun.
.
We headed out to have a stroll through Old Town but about a block after the restaurant Windy got lured into a spa dermatology treatment place. Did she buy anything? Oh yes she did.
I took a few pictures around Old Town but it was getting late and cold so we went back to the hotel because we like to hang out in hotels.
Windy and I left LA around 10am heading south. First stop, Oceanside, to visit Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, founded in 1798 and 18th of the 21 California missions.
According to the woman in the gift shop, the painting on the walls inside the church are meant to be the original design.
Next stop, Old Town Temecula for a little stroll and a lot of lunch. Thanks to google for the pictures. We weren’t there for the only-cool-cars car parade.
We went on to our overnight destination, South Coast Winery, Resort, and Spa. We walked around, tasted some wine, ate More Food, and then took an early night in our especially lovely room – fancy fireplace, comfy lounge chairs, dining table and comfy chairs, patio table and comfy chairs, and a Jacuzzi tub!
You won’t be coming here for the wine if you know what I mean, but we both agree the experience has been lovely.
.
The view around the corner from our patio, the fake fireplace that we really enjoyed, and a flower.
Hilda put on a FABulous festivity for Merlyn’s birthday much to the delight of the guests: me, Alex, Carol, and Erin.
.
We gathered at the ((duffy rental place)) to pick up a boat and glide around through the Naples canals, and feast on the picnic Hilda brought from the Cheese Addiction shop there in Long Beach. It was So Good.
Followed by a scrumptious dinner at (()).
Here we are in a focused but ultimately unsuccessful effort to read the menu on our phones.
The waiter took mercy upon us and brought paper menus. First order up – Champagne and CHEERS to MERLYN!
.
I got down to Long Beach earlier in the day and Hilda and I went for a good walk, as far as I’ve walked in one go since The Incident and then we had a quick tour of their condo remodel that is currently under way. This is (()). As well as today’s events Hilda has planned Fri: a zoom call with Merlyn’s good friends and relatives who live away followed by a super-fancy private dinner delivered by a private chef followed by cake and cocktails with friends. Sat: an outing with Raffi and dinner with some close relatives. Sun: I think there was something…what was it? SO many Happy Birthday Dear Merlyns. Oh our Hilda, you go!
I’ve spent most of two days going through a very large container of snapshots that have piled up over the decades. I have albums full of them, and Kent took most of what we had together to scan for the internet, and despite that I still had about 140 pounds to go through. Duplicates, too fuzzy-too dark-too unidentifiable-too unflattering pictures…gone. All the rest bagged up by subject.
In my last trip to the garage I uncovered more. Yikes. But I do have the time and it’ll feel good to be done.
In my very early teens I was begging for a dog. Begging as I recall. Well, really I had been begging for a horse so my parents shut me up with a dog. Oh my goodness what did I know. That dog Would Not Stop Yapping. 24/7. Most days the Constant Yapping made me cry, maybe the first evidence of my hypersensitivity to noise? at least that I can remember now. I don’t remember how the rest of the family managed. They must have been saints.
Thankfully the old lady who lived next door love love loved this dog. She would come get him and not want to give him back. They’d sit together all day in the old lady’s stinky den watching wrestling on tv while she put bows in his hair. She’d take out her hearing aids and they’d get along famously.
This reminds me a little of the old lady who lived next door to me when I moved to Santa Monica, the ex-nun WWII WASP. She lured my cat into her den and they sat together all day watching war movies.
(Margaret, Samson, self-portrait for search)
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.
.
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.
.
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!
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.
.
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.
Maybe for the first time today, and I can’t believe it’s the first time, I googled wound care for burns. Goodness, the internet was interested in showing me so so so many pictures of disgusting wounds. My butt wound was right up there with the worst of them. I thought I had a little 3rd degree but yikes, most of it was 3rd degree.
It’s interesting how wounds heal, mostly from the inside up. The outside has a process too mostly involving goo.
I’ve had four layers of dressing – first the thing that soaks up the goo, then the thing that covers that and takes up the residual goo, then the pad that extends past the whole wound area, and then tape, lots and lots of tape.
Today the first bottom layer again got cut down significantly in size. Progress!
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?
Welcome, from the Desert Garden in the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California.
.
Oh golly this was fun! One of the guards in the Japanese Garden had trained these birds to come to his palm for a peanut treat. Ohhhh may I do that? Yesss you may. Having a bird land on your hand is magic. And FAST. He is there and gone in the blink of an eye, far faster than any one of us could get off a shot.
Rick’s picture in the Desert Garden. William Hertrich began collecting for this garden in 1907. Wow, I really thought I remembered when there wasn’t the Desert Garden. Another thing about which I was wrongadidewrongwrong…
.
The lily ponds are in fine reflecto mode but rather scarce on the lilies. From here we made fond farewells and Lill drove me home (thank you Lill!). As well as the few number of people, the dining option was very good too. There were ready-made sandwiches and salads to pick up and the outdoor tables were so safely laid out, we all felt very comfortable.
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:
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.
.
| O Hope! into my darkened life Thou hast so oft’ descended; My helpless head from failure’s blows, Thou also hast defended; When circumstances hard, and mean, Which I could not control, Did make me bow my head with shame, Thou comforted my soul. When stumbling blocks lay all around, And when my steps did falter, Then did thy sacred fires burn Upon my soul’s high altar. Oft’ was my very blackest night Scarce darker than my day, But thou dispelled those clouds of doubt, And cheered my lonely way. E’en when I saw my friends forsake, And leave me for another, Then thou, O Hope, didst cling to me Still closer than a brother; Thus with thee near I groped my way Through that long, gloomy night Till now; yes, as I speak, behold, I see the light! the light! |
Alex was around for a few days fixing the floor in Olivia’s bathroom and doing a page of Thank You! for me.
He got his 18 year old truck painted. Shiny!
.
It’s Baby Time…welcome to Halayna! Lona sent this picture with the news – mother and daughter and doing well. So Sweet!!
It’s been more than one year since I got the front yard planted.
The flowers on the fence…still a delight.
I drove by DAR&L in Redondo Beach for the first time in 10 months..to drop off a gift for Angela’s birthday. The succulents were part of a big display at the Marina del Rey Garden Center.
Darryl, Rome, Lilly – We waved from the street.
You can still wander around outside. LACMA is covid-closed but also closed because it will be mostly rebuilt in the coming years. For now there are still a few things to enjoy. Lill and I took this opportunity to take the air…and a few pictures too.
My shoe basket by the door has got to overflowing and I’m wondering why.
How can a person who goes nowhere and does nothing have so many shoes?! I have no going-to-work shoes, or shoes for weddings or funerals (I keep thinking I really should get a pair of such shoes) but look at all these shoes. I do have a pair of fancy sandals and dancing flats, I just remembered! They’re not here because they’re in boxes in my closet.
So: 1-warm slippers, 2-slippers for relief of plantar fasciitis, 3-flips that are 80% worn out but I don’t want to throw them away, 4-new flips that Lona walked 12 miles in a pair just like them, 5-Birks that are so comfortable for kicking around and cured my plantar fasciitis, 6-hiking sandals (aspirational really, like I’ll be hiking anytime soon), 7-running shoes (aspirational really, like I’ll be running anytime ever), 8-garden shoes. And with the fancy sandals and dancing flats that makes 10 pairs of shoes.
Ten pairs of shoes and nothing for jury duty. And I used to go out. I used to go to work every day and to parties. I must have pitched all those shoes over the years. I must know people with SO many shoes!
I know, my Hair, omg, out of covid-control.
This is the wonderful group with whom I have been reading Attar’s Conference of the Birds for months now, and it’s been a weekly delight. Hilda is responsible for making it happen, and as always, YAY Hilda. Every week I appreciate ‘us’ more, I think because we know each other better and what we say comes with context.
The book and the discussions are quite spiritual and those who know me know I’m incapable of spiritual thought but I’ve been enjoying it anyway and today I realized why. You don’t have to believe in a supreme being, or the afterlife, or reincarnation, or the supernatural to get something out of the book. For me we live all our lives in one go, here in the life we have now and that’s it, but the principles still apply because we, (like the phoenix, the story we just read) have reinvented ourselves often and we hope we’ve learned more of life’s lessons each time.
Judy, me, Luna, Victoria, Hilda
The Tunnel! I got my first covid vaccine shot today. Wow am I happy. It’s neck and neck, and I’m hoping for an across-the-tape tie, the second shot and the two weeks wait after that for 95% immunity Or/And the last of my wounds from The Incident closing. I’m old, and I think we all need a break from all this so EYE can GO Somewhere and DO Something.
I got the Moderna. The needle is pointing to the end of the line.
Things To DO
Some thoughts, all including some places I have never seen, all about 6 weeks. Oh yes baby.
.
Wild Frontiers Tours Central Asia
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan – 2 minibuses are used, so no one will be cramped.
Tajikistan – 4WD vehicles are used but with only 2 travelers in the back seat.
Uzbekistan – A coaster bus is used (a bit smaller than standard coach bus).
Turkmenistan – A coach bus is used.
.
Will Mindy still be in Jordan
Alexandria/Cairo
Amman
Doha
Abu Dhabi/Dubai
.
Antwerp and around designed by B&K
then by train:
Luxembourg
Bern
Lucerne
Zurich
.
Italy! some places where I’ve been and others where I haven’t
a week in the Adriatic sailing along the Dalmatian Coast (Dubrovnik to Triste) or mess with ferries and fewer/longer stays
Venice
Florence
On the road between Pisa and Genoa including Cinque Terre
Amalfi/Positano
Leaving at least one week in the south
