’23 April

I went shopping and, oddly, I didn’t freak out. Sharon came along for moral support, a rather thankless task I should add. Did I buy anything? No. But I did eliminate plenty. It was exhausting.

Happy Birthday Ben and Bonnie! They have a birthday season too, born as they are one day and one year apart. We were having trouble finding a day when we were all free for a visit so they said “hey, we want to invite you to Ben’s birthday dinner at The Restaurant”!

The Restaurant at The Getty Center. What a t.r.e.a.t!

Nancy and I went to LA Louvre to see the Gajin Fujita show that was quite wonderful.

Then we ate lunch at a taco place that was fun but we probably won’t be going back. Along the way we walked past the wall below. I’ve got the pink ones – it’s fun to see all the colors together.

Check out this growing family!

Mindy’s boyfriend Chris, Mindy, Cheryl, Bill, Kim, sweet William, Ross, and marvelous Maddie in the front.

Mindy works for the State Department and in recent years has been posted first in Jordan and then in Uzbekistan but very soon she will find herself back in Kansas for a State Department supported Master’s Degree and the whole family will be together again. In 2011 I kicked around Zambia for 2+ weeks with Mindy when she had her Peace Corps position and it was AWEsome. Sadly for me I missed both Jordan and Uzbekistan. Next time!

..the internet knows.

On the way home from Morro Bay I stopped off for a hug and a walk with Nancy. A stroll along the cliffs took us to this tree packed with cormorants and their nests. You can see two nests clearly in the photo below, the chicks not quite as evident..

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Lilly and I had breakfast at the waffle place and then went on downtown to The Original Los Angeles Flower Market. There are BLOCKS of flower markets but this is the Original one and we had Fun!

Lilly was buying, with her own money, flowers for Rome’s party. Rome suggested black, white, and red to go with the Roaring ’20s theme and Lilly made four different arrangements from the three bouquets!

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And here we have LILLY’S PICTURES from The Party!

Thanks Lill!

Rome, Taylor, Mickey, Greyson, Lola, Renae, Lilly, Tedd, Leo

Lilly and I have a new project – introducing me to all the Disney Princesses! We had a slumber party at my house tonight and we watched Tangled (Rapunzel Rapunzel…). I just read she was the 10th official Disney Princess and the first to be rendered in CGI. It was fun. I do want to give kudos to the team in charge of the horse. That horse was a Force!

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But first Rome and I had a good lunch at the Thai place and then went shopping for ingredients for all the dishes Rome is going to make tomorrow for the Big Party they are having, a dress-up Roaring ’20s affair, and murder mystery, entirely conceived, designed, and built by Rome. I hope to get a picture from the party tomorrow!

This is Rome showing me their outfits, dressed all Flapper for the party, and the long dress that will be shortened is for PROM.

Unrelated, a hummingbird made it into their house. Oliver was concerned.

I want to relish the fence while I can because soon I’ll need to have it shaved down as it is once again encroaching on the sidewalk.

I got cancelled on twice(!) in three days which meant I had a chance to have some last minute meals with my sisters and that was lovely. Lunch with one on Tuesday and the other on Thursday, MNL lunch Monday, PT, and I had a session with Lona’s personal trainer, my first ever. Maybe I’ll go for it every other week?

I did go with Lona to the tailor who is going to alter her outfit for the weddings of two of her grandchildren – Charis in June and Caleb in July. Lookin’ good Lo. She’s a little concerned about it being too formal for the Hawaii wedding. After all, the father of the bride is wearing an aloha shirt as he always does to every occasion.

Ahh, wisteria above, and old lady feet below.

Rome and Lilly displaying their stash!

Darryl and Angela hosted a delightful Easter Brunch with Gary and Liz in attendance too. The food was delicious and the company, also delicious.

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On Saturday while D&A went to a wedding and Rome worked Lilly and I had a great day! I’m going to write it down to remember. Let’s see, we went to the mall for Darryl’s birthday present, had a sushi dinner (avocado roll-veggie gyoza-mango salad for Lilly!), Yogurtland Of Course in the most Spring colors ever, we watched Moana, saw some music videos, got me up on Spotify, cut fruit for the morning breakfast .. what else ..

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And what’s Easter without my favorite chocolate bunny rabbit joke:

Sharon and I shared a walk at Palisades Park, my first time this year. I didn’t make it all the way to the end, we rested at the Rose Garden and then went back to enjoy an early lunch at our favorite post-walk Bloody Mary spot. Yay!

We love our visors! I wanted to feature our visors in this photo but you know, me and selfies, not so good…

Oh my goodness. Stories and photos forthcoming!

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Alex and Carol come up from Long Beach for a quick catch-up, some tasty food, and a visit to the newly reopened Hammer Museum.

All that changed was a remodel in the lobby and they incorporated the bank next door into the museum.

In the old bank building.

I want to copy in a long section from the card on the wall for this Rembrandt work below called Painting of a Man with a Black Hat. I wouldn’t have thought of this explanation but I like it.

Simon Schama: “While he went out of his way to make the sumptuous details of the costume exquisitely tangible, Rembrandt must also have appreciated that he was still required to pay attention to an overall impression of modesty and self-control. Hence the hat. Grasped by both hands, it makes the sitter appear caught on the verge between his private and public self (as if either about to make an exit or having just made an entrance), and its simplicity is in appealing, almost homely contrast to the heroic glamour of his coat.”

Part of a very interesting collection from China.

Time for a haircut? Ya think?!

self-portrait

Ken and I met at the Microsoft Theater to enjoy Corteo, the latest Cirque to come to LA. We have seen many of these shows together and agreed that although this was not among the best, it was still fun and there were many memorable bits.

Here’s the story from their website: “Corteo, which means “cortege” in Italian, is a joyous procession, a festive parade imagined by a clown. The show brings together the passion of the actor with the grace and power of the acrobat to plunge the audience into a theatrical world of fun, comedy and spontaneity situated in a mysterious space between heaven and earth.“

And then we went into Santa Monica for dinner and a nice visit. Thanks Ken!

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Back at the New Year look what Pam got Ken for his birthday. Awwww.

Having a free day I decided to go for the win, the big TIC, drawing a line through it!