Lilly, Liz, Darryl, Angela, Gary, me (Rome was working)
We gathered for a yummy lunch and then made our way over to Desconso Gardens to enjoy a few hours of visiting and big trees!, steep paths!, and water features!.
Big Trees!
Steep Paths!
Water Features!
Lil had fun making these “.5 pictures”.
Lil taught me how to make “.5 pictures”, not as obvious as it would seem. I still need some practice!
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Liz took this gorgeous shot. Thanks!
From Lilly: left to right; bottom to top
roxie, audrey, arya, lilja, allison, sophie, me, amandine, olivia, violet, stella
Lilly and friends gather at the beach, twice already, on the first few days of summer. There they are, freshmen in high school, enjoying a beach party without a parent in sight. Don’t we all remember when we first went to the beach without any adults? Oh yes, a red letter day.
A few things I’ve done in recent days.
More plants from Ann’s yard that I’ve always liked.
This time of year and in the late afternoon, when I walk up to Wilshire, which I do often, this plant winks at me.
I took Lilly skating again, first lunch of course, then boba, then skating, and I joined in for like 5 minutes at the end. All the little kids had left and the woman at the counter gave me the skates (I think she knew I wasn’t going to last long!). Lilly took a really cute video of me but I couldn’t get any stills out of it. I had Fun and I would do it again. Maybe I’d last twice as long.. BUT.. you know, NO FALLING!
When I walk with Kathleen, my neighbor who is still recovering from a fall, we go around the various paths at the hospital at the end of the street. I think you can smell those jasmine just by looking.
Mystery solved. What has gone wrong with my water bill? Ah, this, a drip in one of the water heaters. It’s probably cost me a hundred dollars already. So Lona and Trevor’s new contractor came over and I showed him my whole property to-do list. Please cross your fingers for me that he proves to be My Guy. “Talkin’ ’bout my guyyy.”
I went with Jo Ann on my favorite walk at Palisades Park. My dino, in her full-dress. Then we went to a new Happy Hour, at Forma on Montana, and we ate so well, it was a total treat. Not a bargain mind you, but very satisfying.
Rome is a sleep-away camp counselor for the next two months at Camp Bob Waldorf located in the foothills of Glendale. From what I know now they’ll have twelve 7-8-9 year olds with two more counselors in the cabin. There’s a ton of activities, a gorgeous pool, a dining hall, archery, crafts, a climbing tower, etc etc, if you’ve ever been to sleep-away camp then you know.
Look at all these amazing trees. It seems I got stuck on the trees and didn’t take much of any other pictures.
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Covering the dining hall, each session gets an arrowhead with the campers names etched in. It’s impressive.
“Come on, come up here.” But nope, we declined.
Lovely spot for a rest, just up from the pond and the brook.
This was the Monday in June when all the Monday Ladies were available to celebrate the June birthdays – mine and Ann’s. It was a delightful time for US, rude cards and cold cash, just the way we do.
Thank you ladies, and special thanks to Becky for hosting and for making my favorite of her always delicious desserts!
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When I went to pick up Marija she had three of her five grandboys there. How Adorable!
I wasn’t going to get to go because each student got 3 tickets (mom-dad-sibling) but Lil was able to score an extra ticket from one of her friends so lucky me! I was going to be out there anyway for a celebratory lunch and getting to go to the ceremony was the cherry on top of the whipped cream on top of the sundae.
350 students were promoted, they called every name, the student came forward, received a scroll (that would later be exchanged for a diploma), shook hands with an administrator, turned for their photo, and then went back to their place. And they did this in less than one hour. One hour. First, they had all practiced. Second, they asked the guests to please hold their applause until the end so all the names could be heard. Third, there were two lines and every student was ready when their name was called.
These students were promoted into Redondo Union High School, where the ceremony took place. Redondo was having their graduation the next day out on the football field. How many graduates? Closer to 750. I don’t know how long that took.
Darryl’s picture, so perfect.
The picture from the pro.
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A few families went out together for dinner at this cool place, Hudson House, it was Fun!
Celebratory nails! conceived and executed by Lil herself.
Wow, right?!
Angela had these tattoos made with Rome’s image and CONGRATS ROME!! We were all so pleased and happy to wear them!
Setting the scene. They had cookies made with the school’s logo which was cool.
Each graduate chose a teacher to speak about them and then some of the graduates also spoke. Here’s Annie extolling Rome’s virtues of which there are so many, and then Rome spoke with clarity and affection. It was delightful.
Outside the ballroom of the Portofino Hotel.
Gary had his hair died purple because he wanted to make Rome laugh. Mission Accomplished.
Rome is graduating high school and Lilly is getting promoted out of middle school. Rome’s school had organized a get-together at a skating rink so we all went! But first, lunch, and then a little while at the arcade.
Check it OUT! 2016 – 2024. As totally adorable as Ever!!
And now, skating.
Lilly’s upcoming outfits – a shiny dress for the dance, and an outfit for ‘frat boy day’.
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APRIL 27 – MAY 8 (arriving May 1)
Pictures from Yerevan, the capital of Armenia including days from the tour.
https://wheretheheckismom.com/baltic_and_n_e_europe/24-yerevan-armenia
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MAY 6 – MAY 16 (notice there will be overlap when the tour is in Yerevan and Tbilisi)
The tour, which includes some days in Yerevan and some days in Tbilisi as well as days in the countryside.
https://wheretheheckismom.com/baltic_and_n_e_europe/24-intrepid-armenia-and-georgia
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MAY 10-11 plus MAY 16-21
Pictures from Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia including days from the tour.
https://whmeretheheckismom.com/baltic_and_n_e_europe/24-tbilisi-georgia
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MAY 23 – MAY 28
Pictures from The Ranch, Barbara and Jerry’s place in the Central Valley.
https://wheretheheckismom.com/ca-li-for-ni-a_its_a_nation_state_/the-ranch/the-ranch-2024/
Is this the sweetest thing or What?! Lona ordered up the flags of Armenia and Georgia and those handsome napkins and treated me and Windy to a Bon Voyage lunch. I’m still smiling! And I know I know, I look like I just rolled out of bed. It seems to be ‘my look’ these days
Lilly was sick this day and spent many hours painting. I hope she’ll send me a photo of her pictures!
Cheyenne threw a birthday party for the dog, fun! She made yummy chicken taquitos for the people.
Steak for Cosmo, Cosmo photos by Cheyenne.
The cat has opinions.
All this walking has given me a renewed appreciation for Spring even in the deserts of LA.
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Awww, mom and dad and cutie-pie little poop-machines to inhabit the lakes at the park.
And Ann’s roses from Monday lunch.
The three-legged cat watching over the bags and jackets.
There’s a kitchen full of Fiestaware and an awesome curated selection of the most colorful decor.
A hammered tin mirror from Guanajuato, and stained glass in the front window made by Sandy herself. There were many other handsome stained glass pieces around, and a stained glass studio in the back.
Like the stained glass pieces where I’m not showing them all, here are just a few of the many delightful tableau to enjoy.
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I took a little walk around the ‘hood – nice, and colorful too!
WOW! Mazel Tov to the Whole Family!! Steve, Gideon, Sam, Celina
And Celina cooked, she made all of this from groceries. (These are Steve’s food pictures btw.) As always, the best of everything you ever ate.
It was a go-go day, and here’s Rome, Lilly, and Mila taking a break with fancy-pants selections of boba beverages.
I’ve passed this place one million times since it is .6 miles from my house so I decided today would be the day, and I walked over there. It opens at 5, I got there around 5:30, and it was already hoppin’. There’s a pizza place next door you can order from and they also cook up all the pub food you’d expect. As it gets later the crowd gets louder but at 5:30 I was very pleased with the vibe, everyone seemed happy to be there. And at 5:30 the music wasn’t too loud!
There’s seating inside too, some interesting wall decor, and banks of beer on tap.
Wisteria from down the street, way more blooms than mine.
Windy and I walked to Bergamot Station for some gallery time.
Those little blue flowers made me stop. They were just a spot of color from the path.
Muriel and I enjoyed a walk and then Really enjoyed an early dinner at Uovo on 2nd Street. It’s a chain but we like it here.
Cousins Sharon and Nancy, and I too, enjoyed a tasty lunch at Sharon’s. Her back garden looks so lovely. I’m not at all sorry for all the rain! And since my front porch Budai (“The Laughing Buddha”) broke I’ve been in need of another one. Maybe I’ll get one like hers since I can’t find the exact Budai that will fit in the spot.
When we want a slightly fancier lunch, we like this place. Then we went to a thrift store to shop for outfits for the Renansance Pleasure Faire.
Lilly had her friend Maya over for dinner and for an evening of self-care and Brooklyn 99. Fun, right!
Darryl, Rome, and Lilly wearing their outfits to the Renaissance Pleasure Faire on Saturday.
Marsha and I took a nice stroll along the banks of the LA River near Atwater Village. It’s a nice section with the river bed broken up for the plants to grow back, sheltering birds and wildlife of various sorts. There are sections of the river even more grown in, and sections that are still a concrete channel.
This is a good link for a map showing all the access points to the walks along the river with descriptions of many walks and other interesting information.
Below is the Water with Rocks Gate at the northwest corner of Fletcher Drive and the LA River.
We walked up one side on a path bordering the residential area, crossed over on a bike bridge, and walked back on the bike path.
I grabbed this shot of The Great Heron Gate from across the street, not such a flattering angle – entrance to Rattlesnake Park.
And then we had a lovely lunch at Tam O’Shanter, an LA favorite for more than 100 years, ancient by LA standards.
Thanks to Maxine who always prepares us an entire Saint Patrick’s Day feast even if it takes 3 weeks to find a Monday when everyone will be available. And the decorations, well, Maxine is the queen of decorations!
And this is Shirley, Maxine’s daughter who always lends a hand and who took our picture.
Ingalill and I took a long-awaited visit to The Broad Museum downtown, neither of us having been there since before pandemic times. There were a few of my favorites missing, a few cool new things, a room full of Basquiat, and lucky dog us, it was the last day for a huge exhibit of LA artists, all the work belonging to Broad’s permanent collection. The title of the show “Desire, Knowledge, and Hope (with Smog)” refers to Baldessari’s piece shown below: Buildings=Guns=People: Desire, Knowledge, and Hope (with Smog) (1985). I’m not sure about choosing the apple here, maybe referring to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?
We got there just a little after opening and although all the tickets for the Infinity Room were gone when we made our reservations, the line was short and the attendant let us go in anyway, always a treat. It’s been on exhibit for more than 6 years and still every ticket is taken weeks in advance. (Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room—The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away (2013).)
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We Cannot Resist the Shiny Things
An oldie but goodie, touching nothing.
Here’s the entrance to the LA show and a few other pictures too.
Time to go get some lunch but first Lill, patiently waiting for the moment..
At Le Petite Paris, and it was ooo la la delightful.
No, not made by a kindergartener, made by me, photo and reference image by Rome. Rome and I were fooling around after lunch et voilá. Then we decided to pick a recipe for dinner, go to some stores, and we made these vegan potato tarts. It was fun, and tasty too.
But first, while we were out, Cats in the Window!
Representative of my walks in an effort to build stamina, only four weeks left before bon voyage, and my days, walking goal wise, were like this: yes-no-yes-no-yes. Not enough yes, too much no… The picture is from sitting on a bench at Palisades Park catching my breath.
Xander, Lucas, Betsy, Windy, Travis
Travis came in from Houston for a few days to visit Windy for his birthday. Awww. And then Lucas and Betsy had us over for Sunday lunch, so the brothers got to spend some time together too. Thanks for letting me join in the festivity.
As we remember, it’s been raining often recently and every time it rains I have a carpet of oranges under the tree.
Marsha and I traded in one of our Disney Concert Hall tickets because it was going to be in May, while I’m gone, so we ended up with an evening performance instead of the Sunday afternoons we prefer. I got home well past my bedtime, but the show was wonderful and we even found a new place for a pre-show meal, Happy Hour at the Omni Hotel.
And the pre-show talk was particularly good, Russell Steinberg, charming and informative. The performance included Stravinsky’s Petrushka, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony no. 4, Michael Tilson Thomas conducting.
From The New Yorker, one of my favorite ways to pass the time.
And btw, it’s raining. I hope it stops because I have plans to walk this afternoon,
and I hope the forecast for rain Sunday changes,
as it most likely will, so the egg hunters can enjoy as planned
although it is lovely to cozy-up on a rainy day and imagine how the garden is so happy.
And how ’bout them Dodgers.
Three or four months ago the gardener cut everything back to total brown and now with the rain and April about to hit. Ok, WordPress is mostly working…
It’s been a while. We used to get together for dinner every 4 weeks or so and then Things Change. It’s been a while indeed but we had a wonderful time catching up – brunch at Casa del Mar, a very short walk in a sandstorm at the beach, Happy Hour at The Georgian, a sunset stroll, and Yak Yak Yak.
Jo Ann’s tableau (we went for a walk with Alan).
Last week I decided I needed to improve my endurance now since at the time there were six weeks until I leave for Armenia and Georgia. After three consecutive days of walking, and not walking all that very much, my once-sprained ankle started hurting so I decided I needed new shoes. I got these, they’re Merrell’s and my goodness these babies are serious, not as heavy as they look but the feeling of stability is really quite remarkable. I’ve walked in them for three days and I’m optimistic.
The thing about building endurance, it takes A Lot of time. Walk walk walk. I was walking around my neighborhood and came across an office complex I’d never seen before. It’s like a mini-Water Garden. (I’m going to go to the real Water Garden next.) Here are a few pics from walking around.
Spring. I wish this was a better picture but you know, walking walking after lunch with Angela.
In search of a MetroLink stop, I must have turned the wrong way and ended up on a bike path.
On Monday Rome, Lilly, and I enjoyed dinner out, and then a fancy ice cream and a stroll down to the Manhattan Beach Pier.
And then on Tuesday I joined the family for lunch on the Malibu Pier. Seems I’m hitting the piers this week.
It was Lona’s birthday concert at the Disney Concert Hall and since Trevor and Beth were in town, they came too. Thomas Wilkins conducted the LA Philharmonic and included in the program was a Coleridge-Taylor piece, Ballade in A minor, and the very cool Victor Wooten La Lección Tres for electric base and symphony orchestra.
After the show we walked around a little and them ate a traditional after-DCH dim sum dinner at the Palace.
This is Ann’s family from when she was leaving Hawaii in December. Ann is my Sushi at Musashi friend and she gave me a Secret Santa Gift Certificate at our Valley Girls Christmas Party which I cashed in today. YUM as always! And a good thing we were both free since she’s leaving in a day to watch over the youngest two grandchildren for a couple weeks.
Before sushi though, I picked up some boxes from Windy’s and delivered them to Lucas at their new place in South Pasadena. It’s coming along in there. Guests will be arriving even before Betsy makes it out!
Rome and I ate burritos for lunch and then had a nice walk. I’m trying to walk more, to bring up my stamina for the trip but I’ll tell ya, it’s dang time consuming. Anyway, at one point a crazy Crazy sand storm kicked in pounding everywhere we could see, which wasn’t too far considering the screaming-thick sand. It even knocked a biker on to the ground. And then the whirlwind was gone, as suddenly as it came.
And then Lilly and I made a tofu and veggie pie with vegan sausage for dinner, a pie for PI day! Yum!!
Sevak, Merlyn, Hilda, Ida
Hilda, born of Armenian parents, raised in Iran, has friends Ida and Sevak, also born of Armenian parents and also raised in Iran. Ida and Sevak spend many months a year in Yerevan and they will be there when we are. FUN, right?! We met for lunch to talk over our itinerary and options for our time in Armenia. Thanks guys!
And here are maps that Merlyn is keep for our trip. First an overview and then a close-up of the Yerevan area.
Windy’s got a walk right out her front door, 6 blocks to a great park with a long, cool, path circling the area for a little less than one mile. I can hardly believe that in all these years it’s the first time we’ve done this walk together.
Yard art.
I’ve always been a big fan of this tree, called a Naked Coral (Erythrina coralloides) it grows park-sized though, too big for a city back yard (blooming inset from the internet).
I think it was a commendable year for movies and the Academy Awards show was charming with plenty of extra-fun highlights you can catch on youtube if you missed the show. Or re-watch if you want. Also I was pleased with 95% of the awards, so nice job Academy People!
Emilia, Richard, Tony, Yolie, Mick, Sandy
I thought we were going to have some Happy Hour snacks, Richard would make some fancy cocktail, and then we’d go home. But NO. We had a big delicious Meal. Everyone (else) brought pots and platters and Emilia was cooking up enchiladas. Oh Boy. And then we went outside for dessert. Rock ‘n roll!
When Cynthia and I were in Mexico, at the cenote near Mérida, and you might remember it was HOT, we were hanging around on a patio where a group of gorgeous women from Mexico City were also hoping for some breeze. They made me think of Emilia. One or two of them had this fan that I simply HAD to have, so Cynthia ordered a couple sent to LA, one for me and one for Emilia. It was perfect. All the Spanish speakers at the party Cracked Up.
The Cheevers are in town and Lona treated us all to a festive brunch at 26 Beach in Venice.
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And previously Sharon and I went to the Library Alehouse on Main in Santa Monica. Chandeliers seem to be a restaurant thing these days.
When the low sun shines against a dark sky outside the Whole Foods.
Rome and I went to the Redondo Beach farmer’s market, one of my favorites, for lunch today. Check out the site pushed right up against the cliff, then there’s the beach, then the ocean waves. They have great picnic tables there too so we buy a nice selection of treats and Yum! The birds are fond of the picnickers too.
Then we picked up some groceries and later picked up Lilly and a couple of her friends, took them home, and when we got back a tasty dinner was ready. Nice!
Here’s Lucas, Betsy, Xander, and Anya in 2011. The kids are both in college now!
Windy and I went over to their new apartment in South Pasadena to look around. We watched Lucas measure the windows. He carried these stools from room to room so we could watch in comfort. I’m writing out the numbers…
See you at the dinos!
(WordPress was acting up and I couldn’t add a title photo. Computers. Grrrr. Six hours later it has come to its senses. Sigh.)
Then if someone has to wait there are places to sit and things to look at, just what you need in a meet-up spot.
Above, one of Kathleen’s three cats, and she has a dog. Another cat is living there now too, Cheyenne’s cat. Kathleen’s is a neighborhood hub because she’s always so welcoming but now everyone is stopping by constantly, including me, since she Fell Off a Ladder and broke her arm and wrenched out her elbow. Kathleen is my age. Noooo, no ladders! No Falling!
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More cats, this one the cat that is now Marija’s cat. Marija says, I don’t have a cat, I just feed her! Marija, I think you have a cat.
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The Persian Poetry group. We’re still meeting almost every week.
Speaking of which, Persian Poetry and Stoicism while we’re at it, here’s one of those quotable quotes from imgur.com:
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The moon from Marsha’s driveway. We’ve seen all the Oscar shorts now, and most of the movies we want to see before the Oscars. I don’t remember now what’s left (and I’m not going to see Killers of the Flower Moon because I don’t want to).
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Rome and I went for a nice walk after lunch and check this out, attach the legs to the bodies. It’s funny!
Lilja, Capri, Arya, Lilly, Sophie, Coco, Audrey, Amandine
These are all Lil’s pictures. I’ll get the names soon! 8th graders btw, heading into high school…
Everyone made a frame – you can see them laid out on the table. That Thursday I went with Rome and Lilly to buy supplies for the party, all Lil’s ideas. We don’t even have all the decorations in these pictures. What an excellent event!
It’s a cross between Chuck E. Cheese and Vegas baby.
So many shoot ’em ups.
Lilly made us a selfie – Rome me, Lil
And I made a selfie too.
Just by looking you can hear the sounds, loud bass-beating music and a slots parlor in Vegas ringing out the wins. There are no tickets and no coins, you use a prepaid card and your winnings are recorded on the card too. We had fun picking out trinkets and one of the floor managers gave us a very interesting walk-about run-down on how to choose the machines where “you can win every time”.
My current plan for the first three weeks in May! Five nights in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, 10 nights tour from Yerevan to Tblisi, the capital of Georgia, and then 5 nights in Tblisi, and 2 nights taken up with getting there and back. Merlyn and Hilda are going to join me in Yerevan and for the tour.
Yes. Armenia and Georgia. Everyone asks… “WHY?” I especially love visiting capital cities. Hilda is Armenian although born and raised in Iran. Georgia has a raging reputation for food and wine. The scenery is gorgeous. The architecture is notable. And at the moment they are not a war zone.
The tour is operated by Intrepid with a maximum 12 participants. We also have some tours and activities planned in and around Yerevan. Everyone is contributing ideas and it’s going to be great!
Anybody know anybody in Armenia or Georgia?!
I enjoyed a rain-free couple of days with Alex and Carol settled into the Long Beach harbor. Alex had recently sewn up these winter-time isinglass shades for the ‘back patio’ and they work great to create a delightful cozy room for lounging, for morning coffee, and afternoon lunch, and Happy Hour.
We had an interesting tequila tasting whereby I discovered I like cheap tequila. The first one on the left had a noticeable vanilla aftertaste, the middle one was very sweet, and the last one was sharp and tasted like tequila. You can get that last one at Ralphs.
I brought some grocery store cookie dough because I wanted to try their new 4-way microwave-convection oven-broiler-air fryer. It made cookies! And while we are at it, here’s a picture of the newly furnished living room. So Cozy!
We strolled, ate at a lovely Thai place, and came back for sweet dreams. There was a gigantic music festival going on IN the marina, you could see the fencing from the boat, but they pulled the plug at 9:58pm on the nose and all was quiet by 10. The next day we had a lazy morning, went to the movies, ate a late lunch, and I was home before dark. Nice!
There were two cars interupting this picture, it is a parking lot, and I got them out in less than 60 seconds with the new photoshop AI. It used to take me forever and look not-that-great to get a car out of a picture and now, boom, done. What a world.
So then I thought let me try the “Magic Eraser” feature on my phone, and omg it did it almost as well. Yes, anybody, generative AI, have some fun, believe nothing you see.
That’s JoAnn and Muriel. We are ladies who lunch!
Rome and I had a plan to meet Lola and Pauli for a late lunch in Palos Verdes so we looked on the map and found some trails nearby the restaurant and decided to take a little walk before the meet-up. It was so fun!
We came to many forks in the road.
Aww, city wildlife.
Some things we ran across, top two are mine, bottom two are Rome’s. My Clicking Companion!
Rome took this one too. It’s a legless lizard! We ran across a herpetologist from India who was showing his daughter. You never know what’s going to happen when you take a walk in the woods.
And then it was time to meet up with Lola and Pauli for a delightful lunch at the Yellow Vase Bakery, Cafe, and Flowers.
Downtown city view big telephoto from The Grove’s parking garage. (All real, just a sandwich, nothing too fancy…)
Sharon and I had an outing, to eat some food and wander around the Farmers Market and The Grove. It was a gorgeous day and coincidentally it was time for Mardi Gras season and Lunar New Year followed a few days later by Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, and Valentines Day. Holidays Galore.
The Farmers Market has been around since 1934 while The Grove wasn’t built until 2002. There are cool pictures here in this History of the Farmers Market.
A flash from the past, the same as ever it was, from well before I was born. This is now, and it looks just like then.
A little hit of Mardi Gras in front of the ‘Foods of New Orleans’ stand.
And welcoming Lunar New Year.
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Let’s have some internet history from near the beginning.
Jeremie, Amy, Nick, Callie, Keira, Brad, Chantel
Sooo Windy and I have the same mother and father. Lona is our mother’s daughter from a previous marriage and Phyllis, much older, is our father’s daughter from a previous marriage. When we were living in San Francisco, when I was born, all of us lived together, me, my parents, Lona, and Phyllis, and her husband Don.
At the time Phyllis was pregnant with her first child, Tim, and my mother was pregnant with me. We, Tim and I, were born within a month or two of each other and auntie-Penny and nephew-Tim had our first baths together. There’s a picture! but I don’t know where it is now.
Phyllis had four children, Tim who has passed, Jenny who has lived in a group care home all her adult life, then later came the next two, Erika (my mother named her Riki Tik), and James Michael. These pictures are all from Riki and show us her family. I’m going to ask James for some pictures to fill out the story.
Erika and her husband Mike have three children, Amy, Nicholas, and Bradley, and two grandchildren, Keira and Calllie.
James, Carolynne, Amy, husband-Jeremie, Erika, Mike
Amy, Jeremie, Brynn (Jeremie’s daughter) and Noah (Brynn’s sweetie)
Nicholas and Chantel
Keira and Callie
Callie, Mike, Keira, Erika
So much music has passed me by. For a while I played all the videos nominated for best song at the Grammys which was good fun, and I was pleased with myself, and I remembered most of them at least until the show. All gone now.
For years, when I drive Rome or Lilly around we play music but I never remember what I’ve heard so here are three from the last couple weeks including one Darryl brought forward. Maybe I won’t forget these guys… I guess it’s no coincidence that the kids would pick artists they think I would like, and then I do. You can tell just by looking that there is a similarity and their ages are 33-32-33.
Photos all from the internet obvi. You can find the music on youtube or spotify. Maybe you’ll like them too?
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Our phones are buzzing often with these alerts only changing the time.
What the storm’s Atmospheric River is doing to the usually quiet, usually just a bit moist, Los Angeles River. (Internet photos)
I’ve been following the Jackie and Shadow webcam for a couple years now and it is a delight. So many people are so into it, it makes me smile. You can click on this “Jackie and Shadow Facebook Page” to join in.
And here’s the “Jackie and Shadow Youtube Webcam“. The eggs are in the nest and now we watch and wait! So much fun😊
Sprinkles Cupcakes
(Picture from their website.) You might want to check the calories before you, like I did, eat Two of them.
After lunch we opened gifts and then played a few rounds of Bananagrams and another game too whose name escapes me. Lilly’s boyfriend Cameron came by as I was getting ready to leave. He’s wearing his sweatshirt, often borrowed by Lilly, with the logo for The Parras Middle School Panthers. I like it. Cameron is a cutie too.
Gary’s health has improved so much it’s Wonderful, he got around the whole day with only a cane!
That’s Ann and Marija. We went for a walk with the dogs after a Monday potluck lunch.
Ann’s garden always has some groceries to offer. The fig tree is pruned way back this year so Ann can get the net over the top. More figs for us instead of the squirrels. The other trees are grapefruit and tangelos. The two different kinds of lemons were also delivering.
Hi cutie!
The Salton Sea is located in the Imperial Valley near Indio, Indio being famous for its groves of date palms. Bonnie took these pictures from the car while we were on the road.
Here come some more scenes.
Below is Bonnie’s close-up of the above peaks.
Above, the last picture of this delightful day.
And below, the first.
I’ve had a pretty negative impression of the Salton Sea from a few visits decades ago, that it was all ramshackle lodgings, random farm animals, and stinky, so one of the best parts of today was to have that impression overturned, at least here at the Salton Sea State Recreation Area.
We arrived around 4pm, ready for some of that sweet Golden Hour photophoto but little did we expect such serenity.
Our attraction was the bird migrations that pass though here, and the year-round residents as well. We didn’t get the flocks we had hoped for but anyway I got plenty of fuzzy (rather pathetic) pictures that were fun to take. Walking to the shore was problematic since the ground was both slippery and squishy so we couldn’t get very close. Still what birds that were there were very enjoyable to watch.
I enjoy the sound of a passing train and this sound went on for a very long time. Here’s Bonnie catching a shot.
How long IS this train!
You can see a picnic bench in the upper right.
There were other covered picnic spots with wonderful views and also some camping spots set nearer the road.
Notice what looks like sand in this picture above and you’ll find that basically the entire ‘ground’ that surrounds this part of the lake is made up of barnacles, major big ouchies on your feet! Here is a link with sooo-much-information but you can search for barnacles in the article and learn what’s the what.
It’s Us.
Getting to the end of the day.
Gotta do shadows.
And then we were off for a yummy dinner. I super-liked this place, full of families, young couples on dates, old people enjoying a night out. It was another surprise since it felt like they were all local people and mostly Spanish speakers. And then we had a good sleep at a Fairfield Hotel in Indio so we could have a morning visit too. What a great day, and more tomorrow!
Every day for the last 10 days I’ve enjoyed lunch with friends and family, including a few walks up to the tile house. It’s been a great run!
A couple things about this performance of Wagner’s Das Rheingold. 1-There were 105 pieces in the orchestra including six harps and a mess of anvils. 2-Frank Gehry’s staging of the opera, turning a world-class concert hall into a world-class opera house, was magical BUT it messed with our perfect seats! The stage hid some of the players, mostly the low strings, but at least it didn’t hide Dudamel.
See the white arrow above, that’s Dudamel’s empty seat where he likes to hang out while the orchestra is getting ready, and during the long run of ovations. And there he is in the next two pictures.
I was thinking during this two and a half hour piece performed without an intermission, that I wouldn’t want to stand for two and half hours let along bring the constant passion and urgency that was evident here. I was, however, utterly amazed for two and a half hours which was effort enough for me. If I don’t get to see Dudamel ever again I will be happy in the memory of this performance. What a master, guiding the orchestra and singers with perfection, and playing every part in the opera with his body, all participants tuned into every nuance of his face and hands.
Not my picture. It comes from an article in bachtrack.com. You can click the link for a good review of the music and Frank Gehry’s staging in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Disney Concert Hall. It’s worth it to read the article and look at the pictures!
Hellooo KITTY and Merry Christmas from Rome! YES! Rome took me to the Hello Kitty Cafe at the Irvine mall. Wow, right!
When you arrive at the Hello Kitty Cafe, there is an entry space with a counter to buy food and a few souvenirs to-go, and a line to wait to be seated, reservations encouraged since it’s quite the deal inside there, oh man, HELLO KITTY! During this whole hellllo kitty kitty experience I said Hello Kitty 150 times in about 150 different ways because I could not stop.
I’ve left the overall pink tint in these pictures because it was indeed PINK. These are both Rome’s and my pictures.
Here comes the first course, a chocolate pudding and strawberries decorated with Hello Kitty. Note the cups with Hello Kitty handles and multiple decorations, and the plate, wow, the plate. Also, the pink bit on the cup is sugar in the shape of, you can guess, Hello Kitty. Rome is not a fan of chocolate so the server said ‘let me figure out something’ and came back with the strawberries and cream and, yes, a Hello Kitty cookie.
The adorable sugars in two different forms and a view of our seats.
The menu: Croissant with cream cheese and salmon (I ate Rome’s salmon!), open-faced cream cheese and cucumber, a little tartlet with a touch of pesto, tomato, and mozzarella, a small cone with egg salad. Next level: a scone with jam and butter with a Hello Kitty stamp, and a spinach quiche. Top level: Apple pie tart, raspberry macaron with a bow, and two sweetly decorated cakes (which of course we cut in half in case they were different).
Rome’s doll and one of the cakes are Keroppi, a character in Hello Kitty World.
My favorite picture. Rome is displaying my phone, the case design and execution by Rome’s long-time good friend Lola.
Hello Kitty sitting on Buddha’s lap. Too Good.
The café was pretty full with each group having one clearly delighted person and another person taking their picture. So Many Pictures. It was like people just couldn’t get enough pictures. Me too!
One of our cutie-pie neighbors wearing the Hello Kitty crocs charmed up with other favorites I’m sure, even Keroppi. And Rome’s shirt and necklace were a favorite too including Keroppi and Cinnamoroll.
The inset is how I came to be so taken with Hello Kitty Sitting on Buddha’s Lap. Sharon brought one back from Japan, in pink, and I wanted it BAD so she gave it to me. I had that pink charm on my bag for ages but then it broke and I was Hello Kitty Sad. Then I found this blue one on eBay and I was happy. Then I was worried that it too would break so I stopped carrying it and it sits on a shelf. Now I have this gorgeous phone case and I’m Hello Kitty Happy again.
After our Hello Kitty extravaganza we strolled around the enormous mall and then went home. Oh yes, a day to remember.
That Susie’s birthday is in early October doesn’t stop us from celebrating in January. So many events interfered with us being able to celebrate sooner. But we don’t care as long as it happens Sometime!
Susie is a librarian and worked in the Palos Verdes Library District for many (many!) years. We took a swing by the Malaga Cove Library, a small and wonderfully cozy local branch library that was Susie’s favorite.
Wikipedia’s picture.
One of the librarians was a delightful tour guide taking us every which where with keys in his pocket even before he knew that Susie had run the place so many years before.
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We had a lovely Mediterranean vegetarian lunch at Turquoise in the Riviera section of Redondo Beach. I was so happy because Susie really liked her lunch. Then we came back to have another look at the newly installed garden. It’s wonderful! Note the inset that says “Magic’s Garden”, there because they couldn’t have a garden until the big dog Magic passed.
And Then we went for a walk around the neighborhood. What a nice day!
Steven’s oncologist is around the corner so Steve and Celina stopped by for brunch after his appointment. Seems I’m into brunch these days. Steve is doing so much better they won’t have to come back for two months so I’ll miss the visits but YAY for the reason!
I still go, most Mondays, out to the SF Valley to have lunch with my old pals, the Monday gang. Most weeks I don’t take a photo. We used to have dinner but since the pandemic and with everyone retired we switched to lunch. I was the biggest winner with the change of timing – SO much better for the traffic, no one had to drive at night, and we don’t go home to bed all gorged on goodies.
Marsha and I went to the Pantages today for the 6:30 Sunday performance of MJ The Musical. The timing was perfect because we also got to have an early dinner at Sky Terrace on the 12th floor of the W Hotel just across from the theater.
The food was delicious, the view was great, and the show had a lot to say for itself. Although uneven, we enjoyed it overall, the staging was particularly remarkable, and the last 5 minutes and the curtain call drove the crowd wild. However… the last song was (It doesn’t matter if you’re) Black or White which I think nearly half the audience, the white people, loved and the other nearly half, the Black people, weren’t so sure about.
View out the window including Hollywood Presbyterian Church and the Griffith Observatory.
Time to leave the restaurant, and here’s another view out a different window.
The Pantages is a gorgeous theater. Every time I go in here I tell whoever I’m with, oh, I used to work here when I was a teenager, in the snack bar because I’d been a cashier at Orbach’s, so I made 10 cents an hour more than the ushers.
Lynn and I went for a nice walk at the Ballona Lagoon off Via Dulce and Marqueses Way. Lynn showed me how to get here!
From the left telephoto-fuzzy, cormorants, an egret, and a pelican. Nice sharing, birds.
Rome and I played one of the new games I learned at Ken’s on New Year’s Eve. We had to play two hands each to make it work.
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Here’s another picture, from two days later when Beth and I went for a big walk (big for me, not for Beth) then we picked up dinner for us including Trevor back at Lona’s apartment. Trevor and Lona are having a So Sick Competition. Who’s sicker, who will get better first? I hope they are both well tomorrow!
We parked on the street for Luna Luna and you’ll remember it was in a huge warehouse beside the 6th Street Bridge in the DTLA Arts District. Below are two pictures of the bridge from the internet so you can get a feel for how big it is, and the surrounding landscape.
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Take a look at the pylons that hold up the bridge, on tippy-toes!
Ingalill having a photo of Jim and Rick.
Toward the east end of the bridge, the LA River/Aqueduct. The city has broken up the concrete in many sections of the ‘river’ bringing back plants, trees, and birds. It’s pretty cool, but not here.
The industrial Arts District, a view from the bridge.
It was a gorgeous day.
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And then for lunch we headed into Little Tokyo to enjoy four different kinds of Okinawa pancakes, called okonomiyaki. Four different kinds. Right up my alley, I got to taste them all!
Welcome! If you google Luna Luna Los Angeles you will find dozens of articles telling the history and current status of this amazing installation. Amazing, heartfelt, challenging, but is it art? Yes it is!
Half, or maybe less than half of the original pieces are here. You can see them all and more at the lunaluna.com website, with a lot of clicking around.
To keep you entertained in line.
It is expensive though, very expensive especially on the weekend. I didn’t mind paying because I had read so much about what it took to mount this show, but expensive enough that I hope once the production team has cleared their expenses they will make enjoying this place available more widely and significantly lower the cost.
Roy Lichtenstein’s Luna Luna Pavilion and Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Painted Ferris wheel.
Sections from Basquiat’s Ferris wheel because everywhere you look is awesome.
André Heller’s Wedding Chapel where anybody can marry anything.
Here she is, waiting to marry anybody to anything.
The inside of Roy Lichtenstein’s Luna Luna Pavilion with the wedding chapel reflected.
The entry panel to Salvador Dali’s Dalidom.
Arik Brauer’s Carousel.
Daniel Spoerri’s Crap Chancellery.
Salvador Dali’s Dalidom.
Keith Haring’s carousel.
A clip from one of the eight very large panels created by Keith Haring.
Some promotional materials from the original installation.
Manfred Deix’s Palace of the Winds. Get it get it…
Sonia Delaunay’s welcome gate.
Kenny Scharf’s painted chair swing ride and freestanding sculptures with Keith Haring in the background.
Kenny Scharf’s chair swings with David Hockney’s Enchanted Tree behind.
There are several videos available, all of them interesting although we didn’t sit through everything. They start the rides every now and then just so you can see them go and hear the music. In the videos you can see the installation in full swing with kids on all the rides.
The Timeline: I loved this “part mood board, part cultural history” mounted across two walls. It’s so great I’d buy it if it were in a book.
We got there so early most of the entertainers weren’t out yet but this Luna Luna was a hit with the kids.
Down the ramp, Exit Through the Gift Shop.
Me and My Big Head. Jim, Ingalill, Rick
(self-portrait)
First Celina’s birthday for which Celina cooked one of the best dinners Ever. She made swoon-worthy Salvadoran tamales and to-die-for Mexican tamales too. They spoil you for other tamales. I slept over and then in the morning we went out for breakfast and Celina and I went to a theater to see The Boy and the Heron which was great.
Check this out. I only took one picture, couldn’t see the result because of the sun, and it turned out Steven’s eyes were closed. Photoshop has a built-in AI now and I selected Steven’s eyes and said “open the eyes” and look what the AI did. o.m.g.
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After the movie with Celina I stopped in Northridge on the way home to enjoy a delicious sushi dinner (thanks Steve!) with Kat and her new husband Steve, Ann’s friends passing through LA on the way to Thailand. I’ve had a couple of adventures with Kat including a stay at her plantation home in So Carolina, now sold, and a few days in Bangkok with Kat and her friend Tina.
Ann, Kat, and me, all of us 75+ years old. I call them My Southern Belles
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And then the next day I spent with Sharon. We had a fancy brunch at the Casa del Mar with a particularly delicious Bloody Mary and then did some shopping at the Century City Mall. These sculptures at the mall I’m sure were made by the same person who did the sculptures in the Café at the Honolulu Museum of Art and I like them there too. I looked it up, yes the same guy, Jun Kaneko.
(self-portrait)
Marsha and I watched the Rose Parade together. I like the Rose Parade in my jammies, feet up, from the comfort of a couch, in a warm house with coffee, and breakfast with champagne!
This year it was all about Lourdes and her granddaughter Julie. Julie marched with the Pasadena City College Rose Parade Honor Band. She was the end trombone in the front row – easy to spot!
All these pictures are from someone else or the internet.
