Betsy, Windy, Jeff, Lucas, Anya, Xander
Lucas, Betsy, Xander, and Anya came to Windy’s and brought the whole raclette setup and ingredients. I went to a raclette restaurant in Switzerland where they did it a little differently, but L&B got it from when they were living in Germany.
Then we did poppers, raced penguins, played games, and a grand time was had by all.
Carl’s big bash birthday party, a traditional bookend to the year I look forward to as the holiday season draws to a close. How many times does something have to happen before it becomes a tradition? Not very many I think, and this party has happened almost every year from before I can remember. I have a picture from 2006.
And I took not one photo! This is from Carl’s facebook, from a hike in November.
Carl told his Woo story and here’s his picture, for the sake of a walk down memory lane.
Carol fixed up Red Sky for the holiday season. Before retiring all those years ago to full-time sailing, they lived in and fully decorated a 4,000 sq foot house in Belmont (Heights? Park? Shore? I don’t remember). This year Carol went through all those decorations and pared down to live-aboard size.
We had a remarkably inexpensive and very tasty Japanese meal followed by a great walk along the Naples canal still all a glow-glow from the holiday.
And then the next morning we had our yummy brunch out on the shielded and heated patio. Red Sky’s second bedroom is really comfortable, A&C invite me to stay over, and I like to spend the night so I can enjoy the evening and not have to drive home late. At one point, all of a sudden, Alex and Carol, at the same moment, heard the ice maker drop ice – it had come back to life! and their reaction of joy was entirely genuine. (ok I did make them do it again for the photo..)
I went to Tony and Ingalill’s Christmas Eve Extravaganza that always includes glögg and a viewing of Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul (Donald Duck and His Friends Wish You a Merry Christmas. You can click on the link to read all about it.
Super-cool space-saving Christmas tree, and the marvelous cozy all-year dining room T&L created in their back patio.
First course = Five(!) kinds of herring (YUMM), sliced ham, sliced sausage, eggs and cucumber, gravlax, tomatoes, sour cream and dill, cheese, Swedish flat breads, bread that Tony made. Second course = Slow cooked short ribs with wine sauce, scalloped potatoes, boiled potatoes, meatballs, linked sausages, Brussels sprouts. (Lill’s photos above and below.)
I left early to continue the day’s events at D&A’s, before the evening postprandial walk and before dessert (although I helped myself to some of Jim’s cookies) and before the boys finished off the glögg and the aquavit.
It’s Christmas, the New Year, and Ken’s birthday all within 2 weeks so I always look forward to having a nice catch-up brunch so we know what the other has been up to and we can start the year fresh! This time we met at the Robin Hood British Pub in Sherman Oaks, halfway between us. Ken told me “I’m a lucky guy, the luckiest guy you know” and I think that is lovely. Happy birthday Ken, and here’s to another fabulously lucky year!
I caught one of the last seats at the last matinee of Waiting for Godot at the Geffen Theater. I was in the back row of the balcony, and although it’s a smallish theater unfortunately I couldn’t see the expressions, and that was a loss. Fortunately no one was sitting in front of me so yay for that.
It was a fantastic version of such a renowned work, all the words just the same, but somehow deeply funny. Many times the whole audience just laughed out loud. A common interpretation is “Through its absurdist and nihilistic tone, Waiting for Godot prompts audiences to question the meaning of life and their own existence” which seems a trick to make it so funny. Rainn Wilson and Aasif Mandvi starred, and they were perfect. I’m thinking a lot of the credit would go to the director Judy Hegarty Lovett. If you know the play, you know the set – a twiggy bare tree, a rock to crouch on, and that’s it.
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On Thursday Lilly and I went to see Wicked and wow, the extravagance of the staging was totally eye-poppingly remarkable and it was relentless with the songs and sound effects and action. SO different, I’m glad I saw them both.
This is basically so uninteresting. You’ll want to pass on by!
SO, I still don’t know what it really is with my hip/leg situation, if I have arthritis or not or some other condition like bursitis or IT Band issues or something else. My doctor did give me 99.9% assurance, no honey, it’s not a tumor. My plan is to finish the 10 PT appointments and then see what has changed and if I should see an orthopedic specialist.
Today the PT had the idea to do this electricity test with a buzzing glove to find places where the electricity doesn’t flow smoothly through my body. Oh, well, I told her, those massive scars from The Incident will be a big problem I’m sure. Upon first view YIKES was her reaction. So now on my weaker right side we have my lopsided chair, the scars, and my big ankle sprain. All this could have led to overusing my left side and hence the pain. And I sleep on my left side too. It’s a thought…
I think the buzzing might have helped and although I’m missing a week of PT because of their holiday schedule, I’m looking forward to doing it again. I’m going to repeat here the analysis of the xrays, the exact same on both sides: “Subchondral sclerosis of the acetabulum. Mild joint space narrowing. Few subchondral cysts. There is a tiny osteophyte involving the head of the femur. The bones of the pelvis are intact. There is a surgical clip in the pelvis.” From this I read Mild, Few, Tiny…
The Petersen is having a feature display of Best in Low: Lowrider Icons of the Street and Show and it was amazing. Here come a few pictures and notice how the most elaborate cars are sitting above mirrors so you can see the undercarriage too.
There’s a game setup there at the museum that you are welcome to play, and for free no less. We all had fun!
I’m feeling it for this sentiment stenciled on a pillar.
There were dozens of these well-known works of art ‘re-imagined’.
And here are a few more cars from the semi-permanent collection. Everyone likes to find their first car! There is also a floor of concept cars and the most elegant hand-made on-offs too.
Just up Fairfax from the Peterson we find Little Ethiopia, home to so many Ethiopian restaurants. We ate at Lalibela, B&B’s favorite.
Eating at an Ethiopian restaurant.
Nancy and I took Sharon out to lunch for her birthday. She has such lovely holiday decorations.
Sharon in the picture I’ll use to remember where we parked.
I sat at Lilly’s desk and twirled around to take a few pictures while she studiously did homework on the floor.
The faucet stopped working and I fixed it, slowly, and with much moaning and sighs.
On Tuesday my hip/leg situation was worse again. Muriel came over for dinner and showed me some aligning tricks. I went to Physical Therapy on Wednesday where the therapist said I was doing the exercises ‘perfectly’ and I should just be careful not to push it. Now I’m thinking I need a new chair.
And then in the distance from my back door the neighborhood cat was checking out Olivia’s plants…
…enjoying a snack.
It’s Lona and Hartley’s anniversary and each December 8th since Hartley past in July 2019, Lona and Windy and I have had a meal together in their honor. We go to Nichol’s, Hartley’s favorite restaurant. We ask ourselves if we should have his favorite meal, a plain hamburger on a plain bun with nothing, and decide that just remembering is enough, we don’t actually have to eat it.
I just looked, I don’t have pictures of each year.. maybe we didn’t do it each year.. but we almost missed having a picture this time except Lona remembered as we were dropping her off.
That’s Joanne at the piano. It was so nice!
I love their house too, a Glendale classic built in 1940. Below is their recently installed David Hockney inspired swimming pool.
Oh my what a feast. Joanne cooked an entire Thanksgiving meal and people brought yummy side dishes and desserts and many bottles of wine. Yes!
And some of the guests follow.
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Google’s view of the street.
Rome drove us to lunch today! It was so cool!!
Then we went to opening night of the Redondo Union High School Theatre Arts group’s The Play That Goes Wrong. Lilly was on Tech for this show and an usher/House for the performances. It was a very small cast of mostly seniors and wonderfully acted. The whole room was laughing out loud.
So my hips have been bugging for many months now, predominantly the left but also the right. Arthritis? IT Band? Favoring from my ankle injury? Excessive weight? Something else entirely? My GP sent me for xrays, gave me a PT referral, and offered many other referrals as a diagnosis develops. Here’s what the xray tech said, exactly the same words for the left and right, copy-paste, which seems odd because the symptoms are quite different in intensity.
“Subchondral sclerosis of the acetabulum. Mild joint space narrowing. Few subchondral cysts. There is a tiny osteophyte involving the head of the femur. The bones of the pelvis are intact. There is a surgical clip in the pelvis.” From this I read Mild, Few, Tiny…
The PT people did a really interesting scan indicating some points of stress where targeted exercise could help, so Step 1, underway.
The supply of gourds and weird squash is winding down.
I spent Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon with Steve and Celina where I got to enjoy Celina’s mouthwatering food as well as their always welcome company and we also went to the Camarillo Public Library which is a really wonderful spot…
…for books, so many comfortable chairs, and gorgeous tile work.
…and Gideon and Sam were over too, with the baaaby. AWWWW.
I stopped by Tom and Marsha’s on the way home to refill every available space in my body with Tom’s legendary After Thanksgiving Turkey Soup.
(a Thanksgiving internet meme)
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Darryl and Angela hosted all the relatives who were in town, and what a joy!
L&B&Z: “breads and spreads” (that didn’t make it into the picture including cheeses and dips) D: mashed potatoes and gravy, fried tofu A: quiche, salad, apple crumble C&P: parsnips L&E: sliced turkey, ham, and spiced crab apples R: potato and cheese tartlets L: pumpkin pie L&G: pear tart Me: stuffed squash, orange and fennel salad (that I forgot to put on the buffet and got passed around near the end(…))
For one performance a week, my favorite the early matinee, masks are required. It was deja vu all over again!
I joined Rick and his neighbor Jacky at the East West Players to watch a Sondheim musical Pacific Overtures. The story begins in 1853 with Commodore Perry’s arrival and the westernization of Japan, skipping over all the wars and ending on a optimistic note and the song “Next” with cast members dressed as Ohtani, Pokemon, “gyaru”, “bijinesuman” etc. The staging was super and the cast was very good too. I’m glad to have gone especially as I’d never seen this group that has been performing in LA for 60 years, and I didn’t even know about this venue.
Here’s a write-up of the theater from the EWP website:
East West Players’ current home is in the upper three levels of the Union Center for the Arts in the northwestern end of the Little Tokyo Historic District. The Union Center for the Arts was formerly the Union Church. It was completed in 1923 and served as the combined home of three Japanese American congregations.
With the onset of World War II, it was in front of this building that residents of the district joined the residents of Terminal Island, whose community had been razed 48 hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor. In 1942, residents of the district were among the 10,000 people sent to the War Relocation Center in Manzanar. Only permitted a single suitcase to last them their internment, many district residents stored their personal belongings in the Union Church until they would be able to return to their homes after the war. However, most of those transported to the internment camps lost all of their property, and were unable to return to living in their old community after the war, scattering the former resident population throughout the city.
Some murals overlooking the parking lot.
First off I went to the doctor about my achy hips. She sent me for x-rays and I have a referral for Physical Therapy. From the doctor’s office window above you can see the buildings from Westwood to Century City and below is a picture trying to highlight the Hollywood sign.
It was Rome’s idea, let’s pick up lunch at the Korean Market, H Mart, why H? We didn’t figure that out, but anyway it was a ton of fun. We got several pre-made treats and snacks in the market and then they had a small café with tables and chairs where we got fried rice and beverages.
Decor At The Door.
We met here for lunch, a cliff walk, and a lovely visit. Thanks guys for making the time!
A picture from the Terranea website. When I was there, there were workers and scaffolding all around, putting up holiday decorations.
Terranea is actually a very chic-chic resort but this little spot is available at the far end from the most casual restaurant, with a wonderful view.
The persimmon tree, deciduous in the Fall Foliage kind of way.
I took myself to a therapeutic Thai massage today, a new place about a 10 minute walk from home. I did feel very much better in the end but the overall experience hasn’t make me long for a repeat visit.
From the program: “The multitalented Joe Hisaishi has composed more than 100 film scores and is best known as the musical mind behind nearly all of famed Japanese animation director Hayao Miyazaki’s films with Studio Ghibli, earning him widespread recognition and admiration for his scores’ beloved and enduring status.”
Marsha had another commitment so she gave me her ticket to pass on, which I did, to Bonnie. We had a really good time!
Here’s the orchestra setting up for the first piece which was entirely strings. The second piece brought in some horns and woodwinds, and by the time it was Pictures at an Exhibition, the floor was full.
We had lunch at Akasha, a very nice Culver City restaurant and then we went to a museum I had never heard of(!) called Wende Museum of the Cold War. It was mostly full of gadgets including early facial recognition techniques and oddly, a theremin which the guide promised they were struggling to fix so the guests could try it.
From their website.
Judy, me, Hilda, Luna, Maniya, Marzi, Victoria, Susan
We’re finishing our current book next week and we’re not 100% sure what’s going to happen next since our fearless leader Hilda is passing the mantel to the next person brave enough to take up the roll.
This is what’s left on Ann’s persimmon tree after 10+ people got all the persimmons they wanted for the last 5 weeks. Probably another 4 weeks to go. I had 11 persimmons on my tree of which the birds and squirrels got 5 and I and my tenants got 6.
I wanted to vote in person if the line wasn’t too long, or otherwise drop off my ballot at the voting place. Rome was with me, and the line was SO long, this is just 1/20th of it, one and a half hours according to a poll worker. So yes, I just dropped it off.
The election results left me feeling despairing-despondent-downhearted sad/mad and with all that, still, numb. So here are a few things I did to pass the time.
Lunch at El Cholo.
Tehran Market has closed their street entrance and are sending people to the back door with one of those emergency drop-down metal gates. I wonder why.
Grocery stores getting ready for The eating day.
Killer dinner and a so-fun old-fashioned Vacation Slideshow Party.
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Remember Meriellen from Chicago? She’s here visiting Jo Ann and I got to join them all for dinner at Forma on Montana, our favorite Happy Hour.
Dia De Los Muertos And The LA Philharmonic and the LA Master Chorale. I was dreaming of this enormous spectacular joy-filled concert for days (right up until the election knocked the joy right outta me).
Before the show they had a cocktail party up in the garden.
The exhibits at The Skirball Cultural Center are particularly good right now. I went with Sharon and we enjoyed everything on offer and then had a Ladies Lunch in their café.
In the last few days I also got measured for my last set of Invisalign, had my teeth cleaned, got the car serviced, had a Persian Poetry zoom, had dinner with Muriel, went to Samy’s with Ingalill, and I don’t remember what else.
At my teeth cleaning the hygienist wanted to use the water gun cleaner but I’ve tried that process three times over the years and each time I got through it in total misery constantly choking and gasping for breath. So I asked her to please do it by hand. She told me emphatically how I’d just be doing myself a disservice. Please, I said again, will you do it by hand. Her answer: “Do you use a rotary phone?” I wish I had a picture of my silent face that I used in reply.
Lillly was working on her make-up skills. She did me up in bloody tears and the next day the guy at the car service place was looking at me with sad eyes, I wasn’t sure why, until he asked me in a choked voice if I was ok. Oh sorry sorry! I forgot to wash off Halloween!!
First Rome, Lilly, and I went out for lunch at a taco place. Then Lilly and her friend Halo dressed up for trick ‘r treating as Elmo and Cookie Monster.
Isn’t it crazy how these giant skeletons have appeared everywhere. I do remember they existed before but now it is definitely A Thing.
No problems, this truck and three firefighters were hanging around encouraging selfies, and adorable they were.
Totally fun, right?! Nothing like lunch at Back to the Beach.
Too bad the wind covered Windy’s Bat-Clip.
It’s not Halloween until Maxine has her party!
My sisters Lona and Windy stopped by for a Welcome Home.
I didn’t talk about the pain in my hip because I think I did it to myself by doing a bunch of exercises for hip-health before the trip to Chicago, exercises that I got off TikTok. Then, in Chicago we walked 10s of 1000s of steps. It only bothered me on stairs and getting up and down on chairs..stairs and chairs. So when I got home I did nothing for days and then I felt better. I’m going to keep my doctor’s appointment and ask for a referral to physical therapy where I can get exercises from a professional instead of making my own plan from off TikTok!
My favorite seat, feet up, fresh breezes from the open door, watching the neighbors pass by.
This guy was way up on the ceiling. EEK?! Rome caught him with a glass and a postcard and delivered him to the front yard.
A view out my backdoor window.
I missed Lilly’s performance! Too bad for me!!
Another joy from Luna.
I want this on my parkway! And here’s an architecture postcard that is too interesting to lose.
Susan (Thank You Susan!) sent me more scrubbies that she made, and this adorable Halloween duck, which of course made me think of Lilly and her recent duck collection.
Baby Dean Alexander Shutman, 8 lbs 1 oz, 21 inches, Friday, 10/25/2024 12:07 PM
AWWWW,
Hey lookie Liz, that plant you gave me Lives ON!
My Persian Poetry group has been reading a new book, The Rumi Prescription by Melody Moezzi. We’ve all been enjoying it very much finding a whole hour and sometimes two hours of interesting conversation in every chapter. Luna is an amazing artist, she made a huge gorgeous mural when we were reading The Conference of the Birds, and created this picture from one of the Rumi Prescription quotes “You went out in search of gold far and wide, But all along you were gold on the inside”.
I’ve been doing a whole lot of I don’t know what these last many days but that doesn’t keep me from having lunch with friends and relatives… Unrelated, WOW, persimmons on the persimmon tree! The birds and the squirrels got two already but I’m hopeful for at least a few to savor.
I found myself at a LensCrafters and now the second I’m back from Chicago I’m going to get new glasses.
I prebooked a few of our tours in Chicago and had to deal with those extortionists at TicketMaster.
You can’t see all the details but my next door neighbors are wayyy Into it!
We Made These using wonton wrappers! (Rome’s food pictures.)
Here come a few more pictures from my week with the kids.
We made this too, a Pasta Sampler with Salad, and they were all delicious (some more delicious than others.. but still, delicious and FUN!). On day 1 we all together wrote a meal plan with all our dinners figured out so we could go shopping and know just what to get and every afternoon we knew what we needed to do to get the dinner together. It was so easy, and, need I add, FUN!.
Lilly, at the dining room table.
Lilly and Rome, doing HOMEWORK, doing what we do.
I went home one day for a few hours while the kids were in school and I moved a bathroom rug around to the sunny spots for Oliver.
Speaking of Oliver, SQUIRREL!
I met up with Susie for lunch and a walk at Dockweiler.
We were entertained by the kite riders. They got up maybe 10 feet in the air and stayed aloft for a few seconds, but they reported having a fantastic time.
I hope sometime soon we can walk there again and eat at this place, Oceans Café & Grill. It looks like without the fog the view should be great.
I took Rome out a couple times for some Driver’s Ed at the Del Amo Mall, early, up on the roof, before they opened. It was fun!
Rome and Frankie.
Lilly, Rome, and Frankie spent an afternoon at the mall especially enjoying Dave & Buster’s. If you’ve ever experienced Dave & Buster’s you’ll totally understand why I just dropped them off. Lilly was a champion with the hatchet…
We had one of our lunches at the Redondo Farmer’s Market, my favorite because of the tables, out on the lawn, facing the sea.
Lilly’s friend Halo spent the night with us and she’s lovely. And we had Oliver’s brother Dude too, for a couple nights.
Rome fixed my broken Blue Bird of Happiness who had fallen from the string. YAY!
Parked down the street, taken while ambling along on Oliver’s daily walk.
With Rome and Lilly for a week while The Parents celebrate their 20th anniversary. Oh boy are we having some fun. I’ll put in more from the whole week in the next entry. I have surprisingly few pictures for an entire week. But then again, we were busy.
Lilly is in this play at Redondo Union High School and the amount of time the kids put into the production is amazing. They have rehearsals until 6:30 most nights and a full day’s commitment on Saturday. Impressively it’s not just the cast but the crew too are amazing. They do everything. They sew the costumes, build the sets, power tools and all, they do hair and makeup, lights and sound, the whole ball of wax. It’s going to be great!
And Lil again, a shadow on the dining room wall.
Rome’s shoes, fancy new laces, and lizard socks.
Wandering around.
Isn’t it annoying when this happens?!
And another annoying thing. I played Fortune Cookie Lotto with Richard and Emilia a few weeks ago. Our three tickets hit a $10 winner so we decided to ‘re-invest’ in 10 more tickets. Too bad, surprise surprise, a big fat nothing.
City wildlife. Auto-focus went to his tail. Auto-focus should get better on noticing eyes.
Our favorite exhibition was called Groove: Artists and Intaglio Prints, 1500 to Now. It’s one of those awesome shows that makes you stand in the middle of the room all slack-jawed and delighted.
They also had a huge contribution to PST: Art & Science Collide called Breath(e): Toward Climate and Social Justice. For me it was just too noisy, too many screens, too many sounds, including a tour guide moving through the space with a loudspeaker(!).
One thing I did like in the Breath(e) exhibit was the bees. This guy, Garnett Puett builds sculptures out of wax then puts the sculpture with a bunch of bees in a glass box and we watch the bees build a hive. Where do the bees get what they need to build the hive? I forgot to ask!
We ate lunch at Lulu, the on-site celebrity-chef café established by Alice Waters and David Tanis. We were both very happy with our meal.
The building in the distance always catches my eye and at the same time a nice part of the second floor is this garden. If you stand around long enough you can smell the growing things.
Ann, Becky, Maxine, me, Alicia, Marija, Marsha, Ljubica
Everyone’s at Becky’s and since I’ve got stuff for the next four Mondays, let’s have a photo! Thanks Jack for the click.
This is LACMA’s current PST contribution Josiah McElheny: Island Universe. The reflection is me, Lynn, and one of the security guards. The guards were especially vigilant because it was so easy to just walk into the art.
We also enjoyed a large retrospective of the works of Ed Ruscha called Now Then.
Notice below, the one written “I DONT WANT — NO RETRO — SPECTIVE,
A classic.
I don’t think I’ve seen this one before.
Panels made by dipping papers in chocolate.
Ken and I went to a matinee at the Ahmanson, to see 7 Fingers, this group of French Canadian acrobats, much like the French Canadians of Cirque du Soleil. It was a delight, and then we walked a few miles around downtown looking for a suitable Happy Hour since the place I had identified, once we got there, we discovered that it no longer exists. Oh the internet, but it’s not even the internet’s fault. I should have checked!
Remember the Pacific Standard Time art exhibitions? In 2011-12 the theme was Art in L.A., 1945–1980 and it was The BEST. Then in 2017-18 the theme was LA/LA celebrating Latin American art. Now for 2024-25 we have Art & Science Collide.
Click here for the website with all the participants in PST: Art & Science Collide. You can read through the catalogue and press more more more. It goes on for many pages.
I wanted to walk and thought let me walk to Bergamot Station where several of the galleries are participating. I wasn’t so taken by many of the shows but this guy was a highlight – James Griffith and Small Paintings of Infinity below. My favorite though was the Raven with Tool, above.
Some pictures around Bergamot Station.
It looks like it’s all cement but once there it feels nicer I think.
We ate some nice Chinese food, wandered around, did some shopping. That’s Lilly, so patient and willing, I got to choose from 30 jumps!
Rome and I, toying with the idea, I could make a spot on the back porch…maybe…
Looks like some kumquat jam is in my future!
Windmills from the car window.
Rome and Lilly’s birthdays are in September (19! and 15!), a week and four years apart. I drove out with DAR&L to Liz and Gary’s home in Yucca Valley to celebrate. It was a lovely afternoon and the traffic wasn’t even bad. Bad Granny on the photos, no gifts, no lunch, no dessert, but we did go for a walk and here are some pictures from around the ‘hood.
I learned a new word, pinnipeds, the group of marine mammals including seals, sea lions, and walruses, all enemies of the marinas where they loll on the docks pooping everywhere, and where they colonize the swimming platforms and back decks of the boats at anchor.
Alex and Carol are heading out from Long Beach to spend a few weeks in the Channel Islands. They stopped in Marina del Rey on the way and we had a most pleasant afternoon on Red Sky and Happy Hour at Tony P’s.
I was here with my sisters for Windy’s birthday and look who we found, Jo Ann and Alan.
We all enjoyed the show very much and especially because although the text had a Shakespearean quality to give it an oldies Greek tragedy flare (the play was recently written by Will Power.) We could understand every word and follow the story, so yay for that.
Tuesday and Wednesday at the Hollywood Bowl, photo from 1953.
The sound system has been updated many times over the years, and the fountain was filled in for boxes.
Tuesday Marsha and I saw the last of our concert series and it was a spectacular highlight. Dudamel conducted the LA Philharmonic and the LA Master Chorale in Beethoven’s 9th and it was a dream.
You’ll always get to know your neighbors when you’ve got a box.
The second picture is Marsha on the shuttle running into a friend who sings with the LA Master Chorale.
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On Wednesday I joined Richard, Emilia, and Mick for their season closer, Jazz on Tap at the Bowl. None of us were too taken with the show but it was good as always to be there and to enjoy each other’s company.
But it was Too Hot so Ingalill invited me over for a Swedish Smorgasbord. Oh YUM!
shrimp, smoked salmon, sausage, two kinds of herring, eggs, tomatoes, black bread, rye crackers, cheese, various sauces
The Flapjax Diner, just a few blocks down Wilshire, a breakfast/brunch/lunch place opened in 2022 and with Sharon I’m just now giving it a try. It was fun, the menu is extensive, and I’d go again.
It was noisy inside from being full and from the soundtrack but the back patio was lovely.
Lona is back from North Carolina where she has been with TeeTee and Halayna for the last couple months. Look at us, Lona and Windy ate NO chips. I ate A Few chips. We were all quite pleased with ourselves and happy to be together.
And here’s a bon voyage picture from TeeTee, sending Lona back to LA.
It was Hot in so many ways. The show was a real charmer, yes, and then also we were sitting in a Bowl of hot. Every now and then a whiff of hot desert air would pass through and the crowd would sigh (notice the fluttering California flag). Jo Ann and Alan invited me and Muriel. Jo Ann brought spray bottles and we spritzed each other and ourselves often. And it was worth it, for the company and for the memorable show.
Carmen and Carnival with Dudamel at the Hollywood Bowl: “Experience .. pure whimsy as Gustavo Dudamel leads Carnival of the Animals. Brother-sister piano duo Sergio Tiempo and Karin Lechner march with lions and waltz with elephants in the playful and imaginative suites by Saint-Saëns. In between two enchanting showcases of symphonic Spanish dances by Roberto Sierra, Operalia prize-winner Rihab Chaieb transports us to Seville’s sensuous town square, singing “with a razor-sharp presence that really suits the larger-than-life persona [of] Carmen” (Broadway World).”
The piano duo was a total delight and Rihab Chaieb sang several songs from Carmen, she IS Carmen btw, was so fabulous I would see her again in anything.
A new covid vaccine? Sign me up!
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I watched the first 8 episodes of the new Shōgun a while ago, but having read the book (FABulous) and seen the 1980 mini-series with Toshiro Mifune and Richard Chamberlain (fanTAStic), I knew what was going to happen and didn’t feel the need to blubber out tears for a couple hours. But then I did it anyway, I watched the last two episodes. And because it was mostly in Japanese I had to actually watch the show with my eyes. And although I think I liked the book and the 1980 series better, that was long ago, hard to remember exactly, and this version is quite good too.
After a beautiful breakfast with Steve and Celina and a nice walk down to their community garden, I left, stopping off at Burt and Char’s for a visit and a yummy late lunch. Here are the three of us:
And how fun is this, selfies with me and the grandkids, first John then Bradley, now so dang grown.
Then, since I was going to drive out to the valley the next day for Monday lunch I, instead of going home, saved myself the extra round-trip by going to Tom and Marsha’s for the night. They invited John and family over and how fun to visit with those kids too. What a soulful weekend!
And Chauncey the CAT.
Baby Shower = Baby Shower Games and a grand time was had by all.
The party was great fun delightfully hosted by Sam’s mom and aunt, and then after the party I went to Steve and Celina’s to visit, eat dinner with SCG&S prepared by our magic-chef Celina, and spend the night. Another treat, not having to drive home in the dark.
When Becky hosts Monday Lunch she makes everyone a Fuzzy Navel.
Rome and Lilly and I ate lunch at the place where you get two burritos for the price of one and we all ate both (they’re not pillow burritos btw), then we had ice cream and walked out on the Hermosa Pier.
Windy and I had a nice walk to Tiato for lunch and enjoyed it all entirely.
A mural along the way.
Jo Ann and Alan and I had a tasty early dinner at Maru Sushi and Ramen, a new-ish Japanese place at 3rd and Wilshire that I’d never been to before. Once they turned the music down to waaaay down we all had a lovely time and agreed we’d happily go again.
We strolled along Palisades Park at sunset enjoying the perfect weather and views of the setting sun. The woman below stood in this position for minimum 10 minutes which was an impressive feat.
Thanks for coming out you guys! (Yes yes I ran the Soft Skin filter… but I forgot to put on my photoshop-lipstick.)
I went with Ben and Bonnie to the historic Farmers Market on Fairfax, in operation since 1934. We ate at the fancy French restaurant where the tables have white clothes and wine glasses and servers take your order. I’d never been there before and it was delightful.
Here’s the restaurant from their website.
And here’s the pickle guy too, and my last visit to The Original Farmers Market with interesting historical pictures.
Richard and Emilia found this festival and it was an excellent choice for our outing. This was the first year and although modest in size, I thought very well organized, plenty of activities for kids, and an all-around fun event. The members of the East Wind Foundation for Youth did a wonderful job hosting.
We happened to be standing at the perfect spot when the events kicked off. Here comes the dragon!
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And then came the lions with the drummers and cymbals.
The kids were coloring in these fans. There was a place for tattoos, painting, spin-the-wheel, a jumpy house, etc.
There was entertainment around the park and a small stage for a puppet show, dance performances, music, etc.
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We had a delicious early dinner at Yang Chow, a spot well know by Richard and Emilia, and good thing we went in early because by the time we left the line was out the door and half-way down the block. And we got to play Fortune Cookie Lotto and hit for 10 bucks. Yes, yes we will, we will ‘re-invest’.
Here’s the LA skyline heading east on the 10 to the 110N transition.
The LA skyline looks so different from every angle and since old buildings are constantly coming down and new buildings going up there doesn’t seem to be any particularly iconic view, where you see the picture and you know where you are. Maybe this one, from the internet where the profile of City Hall stands out.
That’s Lilly and Oliver on this, Oliver’s birthday. Happy Birthday!
Lil was in school (High School!) while Rome and I went to the Redondo Beach Thursday Farmers Market for lunch. This farmers market has mostly prepared food so it’s fun to pick up some things and eat at the great picnic tables that overlook the beach at the Redondo pier.
We got a couple of very tasty onigiri/omisubi (as in spam misubi, the great gas station delight in Hawaii), a delicious beet salad, and this personal pizza. It was another great lunch at the Redondo Beach Thursday Farmers Market. Then we did my chores. Tick Tick.
Nancy and I went for a stroll around the Lake Shrine today. You can’t just stop by like before, you have to make a reservation. They release reservations for the next week on Saturday morning and by Saturday night all the next weekend slots are gone. But we’re retired, so the middle of the day in the middle of the week can work just fine.
Sharon and I had a good day today=chores, lunch, a visit. Just a regular good day, the way we like it.
We got there early when it was not so hot and not so crowded as it was by the time we left. First stop was a visit to several of the presentations – calligraphy, dolls, masks, swords, bonsai. The retail and dining booths were setting up.
Many cranes and lanterns were flying about.
A view from the plaza.
Neko Stop! (neko=cat in Japanese)
We ate here, at Chinchikurin where the specialty is a Hiroshima dish called okonomiyaki and well worth a try. (photo from their website)
Banners for the festival sponsored by a retail store called Japangeles and I’ve included their logo. This is Japan in Japanese 日本 (ni-hon) and they overlaid an LA. Clever, right?
We saw some taiko before lunch and then went back to catch Betsy’s newly discovered group, and then stayed for the group that followed. We all liked Betsy’s group best even though they said most of their front-line performers were in Seattle so they were giving the students a chance to play.
From the parking garage.
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Nooo, I didn’t take a picture of ‘us’ so here’s one from another event. They’re all photophoto folks and really good at coming up with things to do.
It just turned out that way, and it’s been wonderful. (internet picture)
Here’s this week’s program, all Rachmaninoff all night long.
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What we usually eat at the Hollywood Bowl: the snacks for appetizers and then two surprisingly good green salads with the egg in it, and the wine of course, and Chocolate. Easy, not too expensive, and deeelicious!
Me and Kathleen
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Becky, Marija, Marsha, me, Ljubica for a Monday Valley Girls lunch. Alan, Muriel, Jo Ann, for a Sunday Happy Birthday Muriel!
We really liked this guy – flash, dash, and a ton of panache.
Below is the program.
There’s a cool little nature center and then a 43 acre protected marsh right behind the Del Amo Mall. It was all dried out when we visited, but still fun to tromp through the trees, bushes, and weeds.
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Rome’s pictures below!
I’ve been wanting to have a Happy Hour at L’Opera in Long Beach for ages but timing has never worked out when I’m down there. Tonight was the night and it was just as delightful as everyone has always said. Thanks guys!
Merlyn and I walked over to the restaurant and enjoyed some murals along the way.
A couple morning pictures from Merlyn and Hilda’s balcony.
I enjoyed their morning walk too. It’s a beautiful thing to be steps from many great walks.
Maxine, Alicia, Ann, Marija, Marsha
When Max hosts we know we will be treated to a competition-worthy table. And yes there is, competitive table setting, it’s a Thing.
After the show we went to Miceli’s in the valley, not the original, but with better food.
The Pantages Theater, what a delight.
Go to the 1pm matinee and enjoy the afternoon.
Above is the backyard at Liz and Gary’s place. It’s huge! Below is the neighbor’s cat that has adopted Dev and is Dev’s cat now. That’s how cats work.
Liz and I drove into the park to look at the stars. It was a moonless night, a good chance if the clouds cooperated.
Inside the circle you can barely see a picnic table which is where we set up camp to wait.
Failure! I even brought a tripod but I was struggling with it and went to handholding for nice blurry stars. At least I know what was wrong with the tripod so I’ll be shopping soon.
Here we are at the second Hollywood Bowl performance of our season. Marsha and I share a subscription both here at the Bowl and at the Disney Concert Hall. The seasons don’t overlap so it’s music music all year long.
I was NUTS for the first piece in tonight’s performance, Aram Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 46. You can hear it on youtube but it won’t be the same without the visuals. Khachaturian was Armenian born in 1903, raised in Tbilisi, Georgia, and died in Moscow in 1978.
We also heard another Khachaturian piece and Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite. This Hollywood Bowl video of Dudamel rehearsing the orchestra for Firebird is SO awesome.
And here’s Marsha because it’s a cute picture.
For these first two shows we’ve had the box to ourselves. WOW lucky dogs is right, not to count on, just to appreciate when it happens.
Check out all that fruit and there was a nice container of samples in front of every one of the 30 different kinds. We had a really good time enjoying samples and checking out the ‘sights ‘n sounds’. It’s a smallish farmers market in Manhattan Beach, still a lot of fun.
And then we got food at the stands – watermelon lemonade, vegetable gyoza (at a Thai place-I don’t remember what they called them), chilies and cheese tamale, and for a last course we had a very tasty plate of mango sticky rice.
Here’s a selfie from Lilly because I forgot two weeks in a row to take a picture of her fabulous new haircut. Bangs!
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And here are some pictures Rome sent from Camp. The last session is starting now!
Here’s a brief recap of the 2028 Olympic Legacy Street Improvements Plan. There’s a lot of commotion going on around the airport too. It’s not going to be easy but fingers crossed for a successful outcome.
The 2028 Summer Olympics Wikipedia article is good too and as usual with Wikipedia I suppose it will be updated as time goes on.
That’s Olivia on the left and Candice on the right. Candice has finished her 1 year internship completing her PhD program and she’s moving on into a bigger place. It’s been great Candice, we’ll miss you!
We went to the Japanese place around the corner. Look how they do cold sake, with an ice holder built in the the serving bottle.
I saw Marsha three days in a row. We went to the movies and for a walk on Sunday, Monday Ladies Lunch, and Tuesday we had a beautiful evening at the Hollywood Bowl. The most wonderful part of the Hollywood Bowl performance was a chance to enjoy the 88 year old Zubin Mehta, an LA Philharmonic mainstay since 1961.
A couple pictures from the early days of Zubin Mehta at the Hollywood Bowl.
I still see him from last night smiling with the orchestra, and the cheer and dignity with which he so slowly crossed the stage, his less is enough conducting, and the crowd and the orchestra with him every step of the way. It was a really memorable show. Here he is now enjoying the orchestra and they him.. The violin soloist is Pinchas Zukerman.
..and here he is now, slowly and carefully making his way across the stage.
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Walking up from my parking place at the church nearly a mile away. I enjoy the walk, and I enjoy not having to sit in traffic.
This place in Pasadena is pretty dang cool. Check out these tiles!
Here’s Oliver and his half-brother Dude and Lilly looking on. Those dogs crack me up.
Rome and their camp friend Frankie. I dropped them off at Descanso Gardens for a nice afternoon outing.
We walked up to Forma for Happy Hour and then we walked back! Turns out it’s not far. Walking and eating and visiting, very cool.
Steven, Celina, Ronald, me
Thanks you guys for coming out here and for the FOOD. Deeelightful and Deeelishious.
I went up with Ingalill for a little photophoto, some lunch, and a nice visit. We are in thrall to the Getty Center.
Lucky Dog Me I’ve been to the Getty Center too many times to count and like Robert Irwin said about the Central Garden he designed, Ever present Never twice the same. He also said Ever changing Never less than whole.
I’ve identified all these places previously and will do so again.. ..later.. right now the pictures are in the familiar walk-about order.
Jo Ann and Allen treated me to the delights of Happy Hour at Forma on Montana. Not a bargain, No, it’s not, because there are wonderful selections and everything is quite delicious so we order dish after dish to share. Thanks you guys!
I walked up to Forma and of course took some pictures along the way.
Not satisfyingly sharp but better than my camera.
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Rome’s camp is in the Glendale foothills, 20 minutes walk to this adorable street, Honolulu Ave., in Montrose. If you’re ever in the area I can recommend this street without reservation. It’s so dang cute, cute like US!
Here’s one of the bookstores on Honolulu Ave. After lunch and a stroll we had a swing-by to Lucas and Betsy’s place in South Pasadena for cookies and tea, and a fun game, Point Salad. Xander joined us, nice, but Anya was visiting friends out of town. Thanks you guys! Then I took Rome back to camp, and then returned to do some unpacking with L&B. You know how it is, it take time to move your whole life!
self-portrait
What we did, and some pictures! We ate lunch at Good Stuff, walked down to beach, got my car washed, enjoyed some YogurtLand, and then went roller skating at the mall. We were on our way for a nice stroll on the green belt but ran out of time. Thanks guys, it was fun!
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These are Lil’s pictures. It’s ‘a thing’ these days it seems, the girls like to put make-up on their boyfriends. What good sport!
My ‘traveling nurse’ tenant in the smaller of the two rentals, after a year has finished her internship and is moving on. I’ve got another tenant who will start the next day (help Cecilia!). It was a quick turnover (say I with thanks) since the new tenant was the first and best applicant. She’s a just-graduated veterinarian doing a six month internship at an emergency hospital five blocks from my house. I’m very glad to have it settled! Above is the view out the back door of the rental.
Below me and Ann are leaving our Happy Birthday to US sushi meal. I was out in Northridge at 6 pm and 107 degrees. Look at that sun, sooooo Hot, too hot to even swim in Ann’s pool!
Me and Lilly and Thomas at Dave and Buster’s having some fun. Lil did that leg art herself!
Here we are out to Ladies Lunch with the cousins, me and Nancy and Sharon. Ah, lovely.
My nextdoor neighbor, and it’s the same in front. They did a termite extermination, without tenting, in 8 hours!
Pictures from their website so you can see how the ship looks at anchor and under sail. Also from their website: The Italian Navy’s historic and iconic Training Ship, Ambassador of UNESCO, UNICEF and Italy is once again sailing around the world, visiting over 30 ports, 28 countries, 5 continents. On its incredible voyage, for the first time, it will combine the traditional training activities of Officer Cadets with the promotion of Made in Italy excellence.
Would’ja look at that thing. (They really were doing that, and then I had to make them do it again…)
She stands by the gangway, to welcome you aboard.
From the ship, looking at the last bit of the entrance line that streams behind the buildings and down past the vip parking lot. Thankfully we got there early since by the time we left the line was three times as long as when we arrived. I enjoy me some band music!
Italiano, no?! and what a technical and physical feat it must be to get all those sails out, and then back in.
Let’s ask youtube how this works. And of course youtube obliges with a detailed explanation:
How to Sail a Full-Rigged Ship.
A polished brass fun-house mirror (with Statler and Waldorf).
Rick took this picture where we look more “normal”.
This is a training vessel and I think these guys are getting their turn to climb the masts. The crew on the right look like they’ve done it a few times before and were posing for some professional photographers on the dock.
There were a few pavilions promoting all things Italy including tourism and various products. Tony found a spot between shows.
I took this in the morning walking from the parking lot (lovin’ that cool June gloom in July)…
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…and then after the ship we went on to lunch at the 22nd Street Landing.
Next stop, a buzz up to Palos Verdes to check on the construction of Daniel and Eivor’s complete remodel…
…and to spend a little while admiring their block party, more than enough America for me right now.
Between Friday and Saturday we probably did 8-10 different activities, so many I’ve lost track but here are some pictures.
Alex took me for a Whaler boat ride around the marina and out to the Queen Mary. The picture above is me just goofing around in post, and below, us.
We went over to the Long Beach Art Museum and ate at the café, Claire’s. The sculpture below is called Structure and Flow created by Claire Falkenstein. The water wasn’t flowing in the structure so unfortunately you can’t get the real feel of the piece.
The food was very good, and we met up with a couple of A&C’s friends. As you can see I was having trouble with the edge of a pano.
The museum was having a Keith Haring show, not entirely comprehensive it seemed but the museum is small.
Some small-scale cutouts showing Haring’s contribution to Luna Luna. You could have seen all of the works of the amusement park that had been restored, in LA for several months, but they packed it all up getting ready for the next city. Here is my visit to Luna Luna!
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Long Beach has a few neighborhoods full of these awesome Craftsman houses.
Next we went to Naples Island where we would spend the night at Kevin’s house while A&C watch the dog in Kevin’s absence. That’s Kevin there on the left and Tim on the right from a picture off the internet. Tim passed away just a few months ago and it’s been a sorrowful time for Kevin and their legion of friends and relatives.
One of my favorite features of the Naples house.
Out for a walk in the morning and then home sweet home (and a nap!).
Under the table.
Michi was in Santa Barbara, visiting from her home in Mexico, so I drove up to have lunch with her and Nancy. It was great to be together again, to share some stories, and to be amazed. Michi just had her 80th birthday, Nancy was 80 in December, and then me, the kid at 77. GO US!
After lunch I went with Michi to Teddy’s house, where Michi is staying. Here is Teddy’s cat. Teddy’s cat is not so sure about this.
Our Monday lunch, when everyone is available we are eight. Four is comfy, six is normal, eight is ‘wow, everyone’s here’.
I just noticed the “new” El Pollo Loco logo, released in March 2018(!)! Have I been missing it all these years, or was there a mighty slow roll out?
Marsha and I had a nice Happy Hour dinner at Misfits.
But first we went to see the charming and delightful Thelma.
Thanks to Ken and Susie, I got to take Windy to the latest play at the Geffen. I enjoyed it, a little dramatic, a serious theme, with a touch of humor. And check out those fabulous seats.
We got to the theater early, early enough to get a nice spot on the handsome and comfortable people-watching patio available at the Geffen.
It’s Summer! We went to lunch and then saw Fall Guy which was delightful, and then of course, our favorite, Yogurtland.
I didn’t take any pictures this visit but here’s one from 2008!
L&E recently took a river cruise that they couldn’t recommend more highly. There are a lot of interesting features – all inclusive, a French dining room with only fixed menus, good opportunities in port, and at a surprisingly reasonable price. Here’s the Croisi website.
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Cynthia sent me a huge box full of my favorite deli treats, breakfast, lunch, and dinner including the very best chocolate custard eclair EVER.
And these gorgeous flowers too!
Windy and I enjoyed a long afternoon at one of the great luxuries, a Korean Spa. We tried a new one with some + and -. They didn’t have as many pools as others but the rooms were amazing. I loved their clay balls, and the ice room, they also had the basic steam room, salt room, magnet room, oxygen room, and we got the scrub and massage. It was great!
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My spirit guide, Pepita, the Alebrije from Coco.
Thanks you guys! Muriel gave me one of her special art cards and Jo and Alan made the card with the faces drawn by a grandchild and wrote a poem so sweet it made me blush.
République is one of those LA icons that remains a joy all these years later. Pictures and quote from their website: “originally erected in 1929 by Charlie Chaplin, and later transformed into the iconic La Brea Bakery and Campanile Restaurant. République builds on this storied past, offering a gastronomic environment imbued with history and grandeur.” The breakfast/brunch/lunch/bakery is still getting rave reviews although some have said that dinner is slipping. I don’t know, never having had dinner there.
I’m going to keep trying to improve selfie-world!
Picture above is in one of the three handsomely tiled bathrooms at the Marion Davis house at the Annenberg Community Beach Center. The whole complex is lovely. The gorgeous pool is open to the public, the kids’ playground is a favorite as is the beach in front of the complex, and you can tour the house for free.
Below is a picture of the house that I got off the internet.
A cool decorated alcove in the house.
We ate at the cafe there, Back on the Beach, toes in the sand, and then had a walk at the shore. Unfortunately the tar globs were coming in strong so we cut our walk short. I looked up about the tar, is there a way to predict when it’s better and when it’s worse and the answer is no, there is not. Of course if there’s been an oil spill it will be worse, but it is also a natural phenomenon, there is oil here that often seeps up into the ocean, which is why there is so much interest in drilling off-shore.
Reception at Back on the Beach. It’s good to make a reservation especially any weekend and anytime in the summer. We got to enjoy June gloom, my personal favorite time at the beach.
And then we stopped by Huckleberry for a Happy Birthday Sweet Treat (thank you Susie for the Whole Day!). We got a blueberry-cornmeal cake that was so delicious. I have simply got to figure out why my pictures of food never look that appetizing, interesting maybe, but they’re missing that unctuous Eat Me quality. I’ll ask google, and then I’ll ask ChatGPT, and I’ll report back!
This was the last show of the run so we stuck around to catch the cast photo.
Welcome to Duran DurAn-thony and Cleopatra. From their website: “PLEASE, PLEASE TELL ME NOW! Are you feeling HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF for one of Shakespeare’s most NOTORIOUS tragedies, Antony & Cleopatra — combined with the music of 80’s WILD BOYS, Duran Duran? Watch the Troubies COME UNDONE as they tell the twisted tale of love, lust, and sharp objects where the RIO GRANDE becomes the Nile in Troubadour Theater Company’s Duran DurAntony & Cleopatra!”
I’ll just say that this cast, every character and every lyric, is a Laugh Riot. They’ve done many shows like this, each a Laugh Riot. Really, you can’t miss. Here’s the website for troubie.com. You can click around in there, see if there’s anything coming up.
Rick and Jim had extra tickets from a drop-out and said I could invite anyone at all. So I asked Kelly and Chris because, unlike people ..my.. age, they know the songs and grew up with the band. Oh they were So Happy and l.o.v.e.d the show.
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Ingalill’s photo below – we had some dinner before the show. I made it from Descanso to The Colony Theater in perfect time. It’s so cool when the magic works.
