I was away for Mother’s Day which I celebrated today when the kids came by to do chores! What a gift!! Climbing ladders, getting heavy boxes down from high shelves, putting together patio furniture, hosing so many things, and MORE. And I got things too, which I’ll take a picture of later.
Thank you thank you🥰
At the conclusion of the previous post, May 2, I remarked upon my beginning of an antibiotic for a UTI. Here’s what happened after that.
By May 10 I wasn’t better and worse yet had experienced a few episodes of bladder spasms which is dang detestable. My oncologist and the PA have been telling me over and over, let us know if there is anything wrong, anything at all, especially potential infections. So I reached out to the PA and the advice was to go to an Urgent Care and get another test. We (Windy and I were on our road trip) went to an Urgent Care at the Moab Regional Hospital in Moab.
I’ll skip the details except to say that the whole in-and-out experience was MAGIC. It was Saturday, I was in Moab Utah, population 5,000-ish, and within two hours they had done the test, the Urgent Care doctor had talked to my on-call oncologist, reviewed my whole history, and together they decided what to do. It was AWESOME. And my sister the nurse was a great encouragement. Now let’s see how it turns out. These were my thoughts at the time.
I am quite obsessed with finding out the cause of whatever is wrong with me, for every little thing, because, you know, cancer!
So I got home and Still was not cured of this blasted UTI. I went to a urologist who specializes in cancer patients and did another urine test plus she took history, did an ultrasound of my bladder, and prescribed a third and yet again different antibiotic.
Here it is June 9th, a month and a week after all this started and I am both clear of infection and the doctor assures me the trace amount of blood found in my urine, only visible under a microscope, is not enough to worry about. (Blood in the urine is a primary indicator of bladder cancer.) So that would be that on the UTI front Except that one of the cancer meds I take makes a person especially vulnerable to UTIs and I now have new medication to increase protection.
So all in all – It Could Be Worse! If you’re wondering “What the heck?” you can click here for more of the story in Reverse Chronological Order.
2025 UTI April-May-June antibiotics to remember:
..with Ingalill, playing with our cameras as we are wont to do. Welcome to Pride Month.
The Getty Center closes at 8pm on Saturdays so we had a lot of young people and families hanging out on the lawns.
One of my favorites, Calder’s Jousters were lookin’ good in the long shadows.
And Léger’s Walking Flower hangs out nearby.
You go Lill!
Check out these classic cameras.
I got this new lens for my a6500 in hopes of being able to get some sharp pictures although I was giving up a lot on both the wide angle and the reach from my old blurry lens. The next couple pictures illustrate (at least under these conditions) how I could blow up photos on the new lens and get better results than from my old lens. I’ve been using my phone exclusively (a Pixel 8) for the last four months.
I could barely see these guys with my eyes, so far away were they – Lill had to point them out.
The peeking hand from Seated Cardinal by Manzù that reminds everyone of the pope.
Lill is the master of shadow-chairs at The Getty, I just surf in her wake.
I don’t know what show this is from but I’d love to have the banner for my garage!
Some running water by the tram station.
I took a short stroll through the park down the street to try out my new lens.
Sophie is Rome’s friend from school – they have a class together and a nice group from that class have bonded, first over their mutual displeasure with the teacher and then because they like each other. I think everyone who has ever been to school knows how that feels!
We had a good bagel breakfast together and then it was off to class.
But because of missing parts two of the chairs could not be assembled. Oh well, soon.
Steve and Celina came over for a visit and dinner, and it turns out a few days before was their Thirtieth Anniversary! Happy Anniversary you guys and thanks for making the long trek out.
We had a big birthday To-Do for Marsha and Maxine at Alicia’s. Everyone gets so excited when we’re at Alicia’s and she makes dessert. Her pavlova is beloved by all. Here’s an internet picture because mine doesn’t do it justice.
Another day I went with Sharon to lunch at El Cholo. We liked it.
I also went to the doctor’s, saw the kids on Thursday, had a Persian Poetry zoom, Jo Ann and Alan had me and Muriel over for dinner .. all this without a single picture! I’m about ready to get back in the swing, I think…
It worked out that we could leave Estes Park on the early side and make it into Denver in time for a FABulous visit with Judy, woman of hearts and joy, and her husband Patrick, before flying home. Judy is one of The Birds and we’ve been meeting regularly on zoom since pandemic times. YAY!
The sweet baby girl
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ACCOMMODATION REVIEWS
Capitol Reef Resort (Capitol Reef)
PROS: Location was good for the park, good for the town, gorgeous setting, restaurant ok, two toilets
CONS: Second bedroom was a closet without a closet
Red Cliffs Lodge Moab (Cannyonlands/Arches)
PROS: Loved the setting by the river, fabulous medical services in town, lovely staff, the drive to the parks was 25-35 minutes but so beautiful
CONS: Main building of amenities was closed
Historic Rathbone Montrose (Black Canyon of the Gunnison)
PROS: Everything was new, you could get flat white at the café from 7am, we had one room with two queen beds and yet it felt spacious
CONS: Food was not readily available all day
Windsor Hotel Del Norte (Great Sand Dunes)
PROS: It was fun to get the tour of all the old things,
CONS: The room was dated, the drapes didn’t work, the restaurant was so-so
Condo on Grand Lake (RMNP Grand Lake)
PROS: The View oh my, two decent bedrooms, two toilets
CONS: So very dirty, we couldn’t use the living room because the carpet was folded into a tripping hazard with dust on every surface, the shower was unusable
Streamside Resort (RMNP Estes Park)
PROS: Very nice creek-side setting in a complex of resorts, private hot tub on the patio overlooking the creek, not new but very clean (did they replace the rusted fittings, they are so new?), despite no front desk and that weird kiosk guy, the staff on the grounds have been kind and helpful
CONS: The bedrooms are wall-to-wall bed.
I got back from Washington DC on Sunday night, slept into Monday, and on Tuesday got my first bone strengthening infusion. I was fine until Wednesday morning when I became quite unwell, like all my ‘regular’ symptoms were amplified.
I cancelled everything for Wednesday then Thursday and finally Friday too. But then when I woke up to pee at 2am Thursday night/Friday morning, I was so much better, still weaker than I was before the infusion but doubtless better. The information booklet warned of side-effects of the infusion (columns of them!) so I wasn’t freaking out, especially in retrospect now that I know it was just a couple days. What a relief, oh my goodness, per the booklet side effects can last from a few days to a few weeks.
Piling on, I’m also taking an antibiotic for a UTI! On Tuesday I told the doctor something was wrong in my world of peeing. He told me it was a side-effect of the pills. I thought .. maybe .. but I asked him, please, do a urine test. Et voilá, UTI.
Windy and I are leaving on our two-week road trip on Monday and I’m so extra happy to be feeling up for it!
Lilly, Daelen, Oliver
This week has been a mad blur I tell you. I can’t keep one day from the next. Getting home, getting the computer fixed, 3-4 doctor’s appointments, unpacking from one trip and packing for the next. This is going to be it though, next entry will be from Washington DC, you know, the place where we have all that winning.
Angela brought over a chair for the new yard set I was considering and everyone likes it a lot, even Merlyn, the tallest person I know. So hurray, chosen, the hard part is done, and now it’s just a matter of getting it.
We played this game, Qwixx, which I first met in Sweden, or was it Corsica, traveling with the same folks I’ll be meeting in DC. These guys play games! Two of them were so fun I bought them for the kids when I got home. Let’s see what this trip will bring.
Jo Ann and Alan treated me to lunch at Milo and Olive where I ordered a “Garlic Knot” that I thought was a $5 bread roll but no, it was a $16 package of joy. Inside a nice double-fisted ball of dough, sitting in a pool of olive oil, were 50 cloves of meltingly delicious garlic. We all were delighted!
An update on the story of me and my hips after the first appointment with my new best friend, the oncologist, on April 10th. If this doesn’t sound familiar and you’re interested in how did we get here, click on the link for the previous summary of me and my hips, in reverse chronological order: https://wheretheheckismom.com/a-collection-of-updates/
Now, finally, an answer to the question, what the heck is wrong with my hips = Cancer. Yikes!! A PET scan revealed likely cancer in my bones and a small mass in one breast. A biopsy confirmed cancer.
The cancer started in a breast which they didn’t find with a normal mammogram view due to “The breasts are heterogeneously dense, which may obscure small masses and the far posterior location”, although of course I could have done a mammogram sooner and they might have then recommended an ultrasound, but who knows. Before I left for Mexico they used ultrasound to confirm the PET scan and do the biopsy. Once the biopsy results were in the doctor ordered ‘targeted therapy’ cancer meds that I got when I saw him on April 10 and I started the morning of April 11.
I’ll be taking two pills in the morning is all, and a bone-strengthening infusion once every three months, and if my bones don’t feel better in 6 months, they might do some radiation. It’s not that I’ll be cured but long-term remission is the goal.
When I first heard “Cancer!” I said to myself well, I’m flying first class from now on! But after two visits with the doctor and his crew, I’ll tell you that oncology group at St John’s seems totally optimistic that I have many more strong and happy years ahead. It seems I have a good chance to last well into my 80s, and even longer if I tolerate the current treatment plan, so maybe I’ll stick to Economy Plus for a while.
So yes, It’s not great, but I’m ok, it happens, it could be worse!
Mom is doing well but is offline at the moment thanks to a faulty computer fan.
She’s on her way home and will update again soon.
Safe travels Mom!
-D
Lona, me, Windy
It’s a Bon Voyage to ME!
Muriel came straight from her Gospel Choir and music was in the air.
Rome came over between classes and helped me with a list of chores. Lucky dog me! Here’s emptying some boxes from the garage…
And then, much to Rome’s chagrin, I made a mass extermination of an army of ants living under the front mat and constantly invading the house.
Jo Ann and Alan and I went out for ‘our’ Happy Hour dinner at Forma which was delicious as always and I got to enjoy two of Jo Ann’s mother’s watches. Jo Ann, she be stylin’❤️
And here’s what the front yard fence is up to. It’s cool when the vines wrap around the fence but soon enough it’ll be another big thick hedge and I’ll have to have it cut down.
Darryl, Windy, me, Lilly, Aubrie, Rome, Angela
Windy drove us down to Redondo Beach to see Lilly’s excellent high school theater group perform the teen version of the multi-Tony award winning musical Hadestown, and then we all ate good food! (Pictures below from their instagram.)
I had lunch with Sharon and then a very fun outing to Hashimoto Nursery where Sharon was able to find so many house plants that appealed, she had to choose among them. It’s not a discount place for sure, but the quality and quantity of plants was excellent.
Here’s what my front yard is doing now.
You know what’s crazy, so far the only thing that brings tears to my eyes is when people are nice to me. Crazy, right?!
I walk around, eat well, and sleep enough although my hips do ache and recently the ache can run into my lower back. The only thing other than that is I have ouchy trouble with chairs and stairs but once the activity of sitting-standing-stepping is over I’m ok again. I’m ok in spirits too. I’ll keep on top of what needs doing and do my best.. me and the Stoics..
No doubt things will change any number of times before it’s over. I’ve already lost track of who I told what and some people have a higher desire for, or tolerance of, detail. I’m going to have a special ‘click’ in the upper left of the computer version of http://www.WhereTheHeckIsMom.com for a collection of updates.
The Oncologyst, Dr Kristedja, said go ahead on your trip, there’s nothing you can do to make it worse, so I’m going, leaving on the 27th, back on April 9. Pictures from Mexico forthcoming!
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Timeline (depending on your desire for detail):
2024
Sep 01-ish…….Started hip-specific TikTok exercises to strengthen myself for the trip to Chicago and went on a flurry of ‘standing on one leg’.
Oct 14 I was a little limpy in Chicago although I averaged 13,000 steps per day.
Nov 21 I decided something needed diagnosing and saw Dr Jacobsen, my Primary Care, got xrays which revealed minor osteoarthritis, she referred me to PT and offered other referrals if I wanted.
Dec 03 Started PT and continued to get worse but kept at it.
Feb 26 Finally giving up on PT, I saw Dr Horacek, Orthopedic specialist, who took xrays and ordered a LT side MRI to determine if it was bursal inflammation or gluteal tendon disease or both, neither particularly urgent. His MRI appointment was for the 19th but after a week of waiting I decided to see if I could get it done sooner, which I could, on the 13th.
Mar 14 Saw PA Adege, who ordered the RT side MRI and was able to schedule for that day since the LT side MRI was worrying.
Mar 19 Saw Dr Gerhardt, another Orthopedic specialist, who, after reviewing both MRIs referred me to Oncology, I walked across the street and made an appointment with Dr Kristedja for the next day.
Mar 20 Saw Dr Kristedja, the Oncologist, who took blood and ordered a PET scan ‘stat’. I walked up to the imaging place to make sure I could get an appointment for the next day.
Mar 21 Had the PET scan but I’m not expecting results until I get back April 9
I got the PET scan, easy-peasy, and when it was over they told me to stay away from children and pregnant women for 24 hours because for that long I would be radioactive. There’s something.
And I might as well mention the Massage Therapist I saw in early March who said my problem was a tight psoas muscle and what I needed was more massage.
(website photo)
The LACMA new build is coming along. There’s controversy around calling it an expansion since the total gallery space will be less the it was before, but here’s hoping it will be wonderful.
The Building LACMA website has many good pictures and information. Starting in June they’re going to have some ‘sneak peek previews’ for members, press, donors, etc. to tour the space before they start hanging art. I’m going to join soon, to get myself in line for that opportunity.
Thanks to Angela, Rome, and Lilly who came out today in the rain to drive me around, to save my collapsing hips. We dropped off and picked up the car from getting its service, went to the doctor’s, and then went to get a second MRI.
The doctor’s appointment with a PA worked out even though I still don’t know what exactly is wrong with me. She was able to get the second MRI that very day, and finally an appointment for Wednesday with The Guy, the hip specialist at Cedars-Sinai who seems to have few and random office hours. I prefer St John’s but my GP recommended this Orthopedic practice. My hand is getting frozen from all this finger crossing!
(From the 15th: I’ve spent the day propped up in bed with a pillow under my knees and a pillow on my lap holding up my computer, in complete comfort! I don’t know if it’s a healing maneuver (getting up for various reasons is still a struggle) but I’m thinking being comfortable can’t be bad.)
These two pictures below are from Lilly. What a sweetie, she kept me company all day. Rome, Lilly, and I had brunch (mighty Yum except for the too thick French toast that no one liked) while Angela and Oliver did a chore.
Lilly made a picture in the mirror.
Christa, Windy, Zack, Me, Lona
Happy Birthday dear sister, Happy Birthday to YOUUUU. (Although we did have our Sister Birthday Celebration earlier in the month at the Disney Concert Hall and Palace Chinese Restaurant.)
I’ve cancelled everything for the last several days trying to get my hip situation under control with r.e.s.t. I’ve had all the xrays and the left hip MRI. The right hip MRI is happening now (the 14th). More later when at Some point I’ll know what’s wrong with me!
Rome and Aubrie brought me these flowers and how welcome they were, Rome and Aubrie And the flowers and some food to share. On Friday I’ll go back to the doctors and will write a status report on my aches and pains. Let’s just say on the better/worse/the same scale, sadly, I’m worse.
Jo Ann and Alan had me and Mavis for a most tasty homemade dinner and a fine visit. In her mid-90s, Mavis is a living inspiration, physically and mentally so full of life.
Marsha and I took the train downtown to join this year’s Women’s March mostly just to do Something even though it was, by 2017 standards, a pretty modest affair. Here we go!
Princess Leia “We Are The Resistance” if only…
Can’t miss which one is Marsha!
The saga of my hips continues and oh how happy I was when Marsha spotted a seat in the shade.
US Courthouse
City Hall
Pershing Square
The back entrance to Union Station.
Phewww, quite a day – I drove out to Sylmar with the dawn, then Marsha and I took the train into Union Station, enjoyed a breakfast there in the comfy seats that are now patrolled for ticketed passengers only. From Union Station it was one subway ride to Pershing Square where the crowds were gathering. The march/stroll took the group to City Hall. We took another subway returning to Union Station, a late lunch at Traxx, then back to Marsha’s where we watched a charming Japanese move, Shoplifters, and then Tom made us tacos. Phewww is Right!
There was a mural along the way, the height of a tunnel.
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Here are some pictures from Marsha.
Lunch! Windy was supposed to be here too but she had a sprinklers emergency so anyway it was me, Lona, and Rome who all got to enjoy the lovely lunch at 26 Beach in Venice and the most delightful pleasure of our company.
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Now you can pass this by, it’s just for me, for the record, as I’ve been at this for nearly a year.
Here’s the YouTube address so you can follow along too: https://www.youtube.com/@FOBBVCAM A little while ago they were getting fed! The birds can’t see the night lighting btw, everyone is always concerned and the operators always assure “The eagle nest cameras use infrared light for night photography, which is invisible to both humans and eagles, allowing for clear nighttime views without disturbing the birds.”
And for 90 minutes I was happy.
Gustavo Dudamel conducts the LA Philharmonic in Mahler’s 7th. Photo and text from their website: “Gustavo Dudamel describes Mahler’s Seventh as “a symphony of everything: from chaos to glory, sarcasm to tenderness, from a funeral march to a seductive tango. It is a cosmic symphony of perfect construction and galactic emotional scope.” At the core of this monumental and expansive opus are two movements built on the tradition of Nachtmusik or “Night Music” whose moodiness and introspection have earned the symphony the nickname “Song of the Night.”
I was writing with Nancy about the Academy Award winning short The Only Girl in the Orchestra: I did enjoy that short very much and Saturday when I saw Dudamel and the LA Phil doing Mahler’s 7th, and all those women in the orchestra, I thought of her. The concert was one of those unforgettables, every instrument was present, every section was full including the back row entirely chock-o-block with percussion, Dudamel exuded infectious joy, and for 90 minutes I was entirely happy, without another thought.
We were celebrating Lona’s birthday at the Disney Concert Hall as we have for the previous two years, always stopping off for an early dinner at The Palace.
We, Rome and Lilly and I, shared a yummy lunch at Thai Phuket and then had a stroll down the couple blocks of murals from the restaurant to the beach. We picked our favorites, told a little story about why we liked it, and took a picture. What a great afternoon!
We all liked this one.
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From google, an idea of the scene.
I was driving along and the thought came to mind, when do I need to get another appointment for an oil change? so I switched to the total mileage display and BAM, 79,998. Really! So I moved along slowly and as it rolled to 80,000 I pulled over for this picture. I got the car new, a 2014 Mazda 3, in mid-spring 2015 and it has been perfect all these10 years and 80,000 miles.
I’ve been juicing up a combo of the oranges and grapefruits from the backyard trees and it comes out just the way I like, tangy and refreshing. I can’t keep up with them though, and every breeze brings a fallen crop under the trees. It’s something I think, how city wildlife can clean out an orange.
‘Tis the season!
I used to miss the wisteria blooming in the garden every year when I spent the month of March in Kauai. I did that for maybe 10-12 years as Sharon’s guest and it was quite the treat.
I went to an othro specialist today where they took another set of x-rays of my hips and got quite a different impression from the first set. I’m just going to copy it all in here:
X-rays: AP of the pelvis and lateral of both hips reveals minimal degenerative changes appropriate for age. Joint space appears to be well-maintained no major cystic changes and minimal spurring is noted.
Impression: Left greater trochanteric pain probably secondary to gluteal tendonness disease and probably secondary left greater trochanteric bursitis, doubt referred pain from the hip or from the back.
Recommendations: Try to help differentiate whether this is tendon or bursa or both I am suggesting she have an MRI scan done of the left hip and then have her return to see Dr. Michael Gerhardt to consider more aggressive treatment on treating either the bursal inflammation or the gluteal tendon disease.
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So I still don’t know the exact problem or the appropriate treatment but it feels like we’re moving in the direction of a diagnosis. Gluteal Tendinopathy is one possibility. The PT recommendation for Gluteal Tendinopathy is strengthening, not stretching. I do like the stretching exercises and I do not like the strengthening ones, but if that’s the outcome, I’ll do better.
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From the Cleavland Clinic: How is gluteal tendinopathy treated?
Marsha and Nancy and I saw the Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts at the Laemmle on 2nd, which we all thought were all very good, and then we went over to Ye Olde Kings Head for a snack and a Black and Tan. Thanks guys for making the drive out west!
Black and Tan is a Bass pale ale on the bottom and a Guinness stout on the top. You can click on the link for an interesting article about the history of this tasty and exciting beverage.
Who knew, there’s a dark side to the Black and Tan, and we’re advised that when in an Irish bar one should order a Half and Half. “Because the Irish beer sits atop the English one, people often mistakenly believe that the Black and Tan was invented by the Irish as a gag about Ireland’s superiority over England. But in fact, this drink is not commonly consumed in Ireland; it has image problems there because of its association with the Royal Irish Constabulary Reserve Force, which operated in Ireland in the early 1920s. Nicknamed the Black and Tans because of the black and khaki uniforms worn by its members, this military unit was charged with suppressing revolution in Ireland and is notorious for its violent attacks on Irish civilians.”
Rome and I drove down to Huntington Beach to have lunch and a hang with Aubrie. Above and below, this place is in a complex called Pacific City, in a gallery of large works by Tavi whose motto, Color Is Freedom, is evident in everything he does.
We had a yummy lunch at a Greek place and a sweet treat here at Popbar in Pacific City.
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Aubrie and her pets!
Toby, Riley, Izzy
And pictures from our walk to the Huntington Beach Pier.
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Then Rome stayed on to spend the night with Aubrie and I stopped off in Long Beach to visit with Merlyn and Hilda and eat a dinner Merlyn made, the best tuna steak Ever.
The always irresistible view from their 29th floor balcony.
The island-front reflected around the living room.
I’ve gone through all the Invisalign trays and next appointment they’ll take the tabs off my teeth and I’ll be on maintenance, wearing a retainer at night should keep my teeth straight. Next I have to think about filling the holes created by the two missing teeth with implants, but I’m definitely going to put that off.
This ‘before’ below is from after the first set of corrections and the ‘after’ is today.
Unrelated, but I ran across this picture from intermission at The Brutalist.
I have yet to see Dune 2, I’m Still Here, and Nickle Boys. I can gladly say that the rest of them are very good indeed except for The Substance which I cannot recommend and caution you to check out the ick factor before you see it.
The ones I was glad to see: Anora, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Emilia Perez, Wicked. My favorites so far are Anora, The Brutalist, and Conclave. The Brutalist, Conclave, and Wicked were particularly big on visuals so consider going to the movies, like you used to do, in the olden days.
Let’s go out to Yucca Valley and celebrate birthdays – Happy Birthday to Gary, Dev, and Angela!
These are some snaps out the car window.
Every time I walk by, which is often, it yells at me, Take My Picture, as it reflects the colors of the sky and those classy palms that have so much shape and color and personality.
Below, Windy and I bought a 3-class package at a Pilates just around the corner from my house. We went to the first class on Wednesday and I pooped out 10 minutes before the end but Windy didn’t stop, so maybe next time I’ll finish? It wasn’t a beginner class, they don’t have beginner classes at this place and it was hard. Anyway, I will soldier on!
I had the front yard vines cut entirely back to the stub because they had grown into a giant hedge and now instead of growing back like a vine it’s again going to be a hedge in no time, but the flowers are fresh which is lovely.
I’m two days in, giving up TikTok cold turkey. I’m not actually convinced it’s a good idea to forbid myself TikTok since 1) it’s so fun and 2) I learn stuff, the problem being that once I click in, and I click in every day sometimes more than once, goodbye an hour or two easy. Too easy. Let’s see how I feel about it at the end of the month.
Marsha, Ljubicia, Marija, Maxine, Becky, Alicia, Ann
It’s been years and years since we’ve had a duplicate birthday card, I don’t even remember the last time, it defies all odds. Everyone gives everyone a rude card and 20 bucks for their birthday and even when there are three birthdays to celebrate, we do not duplicate cards. It’s so weird and we never fail to comment upon it.
I went to a story-telling event at Socalo tonight and The Moth it was not. Nevertheless I enjoyed having done it.
One thing though, they kept ragging on LA such that by the 4th speaker someone in the audiance called out “give it a rest with LA already”, which reminded me of this YouTube that is funnier than any of the stories. Click on he picture and Enjoy!
Driving in LA, oh no, The Westside.
I went to Samy’s today in hopes of finding just the telephoto lens of my dreams for a price I was willing to pay. Sorry, no. Oh well, I’m happy enough.
And then I met Alan and Jo Ann for dinner in Culver City. Goodness it was delicious and so fun. We each got a whole branzino baked in the most delicious herbs, and then we sucked the meat off all the bones. Oh yeah.
The name of the restaurant is Bianca, super good, even the eggplant appetizer was delish, but no surprise, expect a ka-ching.
Here’s Rome and Aubrie, pictured from a distance since Rome just had four wisdom teeth out and you can just imagine.
Lilly and I had a fun lunch at Mitsuwa including Matcha Madness, a treat with matcha powder, matcha cake, matcha cream, and matcha jelly.
Lilly was h.a.p.p.y Happy.
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Look at what else is happening over there, a New Roof, and the contractor got it done in 3-4 days, between the rains.
Sharon and Nancy and I had a quick buzz through the David Kordansky Gallery and a nice ladies-lunch at Angelini Osteria, a lovely LA afternoon. Above is detail from the scene below, a part of the gallery’s courtyard.
The spaces here are especially large and I learned that they change artists every five or six weeks which can make occasionally stopping by an entertaining option even if one particular exhibit is not to your particular taste.
..where I’ve never stayed the night.
In early May Windy and I are going to do a road trip for a couple weeks from Salt Lake City to Denver staying in six pretty obscure National Parks. The National Parks have always been a highlight for me, they’re a gift that I never fail to appreciate. The Park Rangers are so adorable, the Visitors’ Centers so interesting, the landscapes so amazing, and everyone who is there is happy.
Capital Reef, Canyonlands, Arches, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Great Sand Dunes, Rocky Mountain
Here’s a link to their story, A Love Story if the internet has anything to say about it.
And here’s the live video-cam. You can click on the picture to start the view and then click on the speaker to quiet the wind.
Me and Ingalill having the best time.
How is it that the Getty Villa and the Getty Center were safe from the fires. Money Honey. It’s fascinating to hear and read about the safety measures implemented to protect these two irreplaceable institutions. Below is the first turn on the tram ride that takes you out of this world and into a better one. Do you remember from The Good Place? Where was The Good Place? Here. It was here.
Hip Girl, in her spot to welcome you to the Magnificent Getty Center. I’ve been collecting photos for some time now and you can click on the link if you have time for a buzz-through, or not, there are a million of ’em.
Gathering spots for the Architecture Tour and the Garden Tour. You’ll want to do them both.
On the way to the Research Institute Galleries to see Sensing the Future: This immersive exhibition tells the story of a unique mid-20th-century collaboration between artists and engineers. It explores the beginnings of the organization Experiments in Art and Technology, or E.A.T., as well as two of its most pivotal projects: 9 Evenings: Theatre and Engineering and the iconic Pepsi-Cola Pavilion at the 1970 World Exposition in Osaka, Japan, both of which pursued groundbreaking integrations of theater, dance, technology, and interactive, multimedia art.
This line of trees “down the garden path” is one of the few places in LA where deciduous trees are evident in numbers. I have sighed over these trees in every season, budding out, fully green, brilliant red, it’s a joy. The water feature was really rollin’ today, the sound of joy.
Not much color there in the gardens this week in early February. Even the bougainvillea rebar trees are feeling it for brown.
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One of the PST Art exhibits focuses on Van Gogh’s Irises painting, a highlight of the Getty collection.
They have the one that hangs in the gallery on the left and you can sense that the violets are much bluer, less purple, than the one on the right which, after extensive examination, is the Getty’s idea of the original colors. The two pieces are now hanging in a room dedicated to this investigation, on different walls though, with information and visuals showing the science behind the color choices. Is the room lighting the same for the two pictures since they are on different walls? So much goes into our perception of color.
Here’s a small side-by-side off the internet.
Lunch! YUM!!
The kids are set for some winter fun. Rome is going to Chicago with their girlfriend Aubrie for a few nights to enjoy a winter wonderland and Lilly is going to her high school’s Winter Formal Dance held in a spiffy venue that is not the high school gym. That I get to keep up with these fabulous kids every week is 100% amazing.
My Persian Poetry group is back after the holiday break and it was so sweet to see everyone again, a delight really.
The women I’ve been having a meal with every Monday for decades is still going strong. Every time I drive out there to the SF Valley I recognize how much I appreciate the routine, and that we’re doing lunch instead of dinner now that we’re all retired, and I don’t have to drive in traffic, and I don’t have to drive in the dark.
It’s Academy Awards season and all the good movies are available, some of the new ones in the theaters and almost all of them are streaming. I’m excited to participate in all that come with The Season, watching movies, talking about movies, thinking about movies. Ahhh.
Both my sisters are still living within shouting distance of me and we get together fairly often. How lucky is that?!
For many weeks I’ve been going to Physical Therapy for the aches that ail me. I just love going to PT, it makes exercise almost tolerable.
I’m going to the Getty Center on Sunday and planning to get back into the swing of catching the PST Art programs. I’ve talked about it before and you can click around on the link to see what’s available. It’s such a wonderful opportunity, I don’t want to let it slip by.
How fortunate I am to never feel lonely, I don’t know why, it’s just a thing, and when I get tired of myself and I don’t have upcoming plans I can always call up family and friends who will listen to me, who will join me for a meal or a walk, or keep me company while I’m driving in the car. And I started with a therapist too, like the cool kids, I can say “my therapist thinks…”.
For the time being I’m going to try to spend more time living in the Good Things and leaving the rest of it for later.
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Maybe we escaped the mudslides and toxic ash runoff that would have been our fate had the rain been worse but it looks like just a few more hours and it’s over for now.
But I’ve been a little sick. You know that hacking cough with no other symptoms, the cough that makes your ribs hurt. It started Thursday when Cecilia was here to get the nurse’s rental turned over, but not so bad so I went out with Sharon on Friday. I cancelled my plans for Saturday and Sunday and just lazed around. Today, Sunday, was a good day to laze around and enjoy the rain.
First thing in the morning I went to PT and did exercises for 50 minutes straight. It went well and I was feeling >this< much better so ok for that. Then Susie and I went to a charming little one-room museum, PieAM Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum. We particularly enjoyed the enthusiasm of our guide.
After the museum we walked to a vegan-friendly Korean restaurant which was a fun change of pace. And since I was in Redondo Beach anyway, I had a quick visit with the kids before heading home.
The oranges on the tree are now to my exact taste for making juice, and the ancient grapefruit tree has put out more grapefruits this year than it did in the last few years combined. I don’t know when these tress were planted but the house was built in 1922. How long can fruit trees keep this up?! The internet seems to think more than 100 years is certainly possible.
These grapefruits look like oranges but irl they are quite yellow.
There’s nothing like a visit to the Disney Concert Hall to lift one’s spirits. Marsha and I saw a program of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 (“Emperor”) and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 (“Pathétique”), conducted by Philippe Jordan with Yefim Bronfman, pianist for the Beethoven.
They were both fantastic performances but I was particularly moved by the Tchaikovsky. I hadn’t looked at the liner notes first, and this is AI’s quick read of the piece: “Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony, also known as Pathétique, is a deeply personal work that expresses a range of emotions, including anguish, longing, despair, and isolation. The symphony is about the struggle between life and oblivion, and its final image is of emotional and physical collapse.”
Yes, you know, I’ve been feeling pretty punk myself!
So why did this strong expression of anguish and despair lift my spirits? Because they did it so well, so much better than I, and because I got to share those emotions with the audience, everyone feeling the weight of loss, and with the extraordinary artistry of LA Phil.
Alan, Jo Ann, me
Goodness I should not be the one to take after-dinner selfies, how many times do I have to tell myself, and Alan would be an excellent choice because he has such nice long arms. Next time!
Another fire victim. Alan’s daughter and her two teenage daughters live in the Palisades. For an as yet unknown reason her home was spared, surrounded by total loss. Their neighbors, the kid’s friends, their schools, so much loss. Fortunately they have a very nice place to stay but what will come next? Even though their home still stands there are no utilities, no services, smoke and probably water damage. It’s bad, even when it could be worse.
You can see a very small section of the Palisades fire below, in this Still Incomplete inspection map (the inspection map has pictures of all the buildings inspected) how that happened, the red is destroyed, green is affected, and black is no damage.
Dumplings at Din Tai Fung, Lilly’s favorite lunch, and then we had a little wander through the mall.
Marija and Ljubica’s sister Vinca who lives in Germany but goes home to Croatia every year, sends homemade šljivovica (slivovitz) and I always get some, lucky dog me. This time there were two different kinds, one the traditional plum version and another made with pears. The fun thing – Vinca found the pear version in the back of a cupboard dated 2006! (It’s stored in glass btw and she transfers to these bottles for shipping.)
I got a smallest possible microwave oven(!) for Christmas, my first microwave in 25+ years, and I had an idea of where to put it on the service porch that involved getting a plank of wood. But would it work? I wanted to try it before committing so I went to a lumber yard and the first guy was not helpful At All so I just hung around, looking, until a different guy asked me if I needed help. Oh yes please! And he fixed me right up including finding a scrap and cutting it to size for $3. $3! What can you buy for $3? And it did work so now I’m in the market for a nicer piece.
I was on the Promenade for some reason, I forget, and noticed this place, the Pickle Pop which, according to the guy inside has been here for over a year. Inside this huge space are three pickle ball courts. I guess there are so many empty storefronts, why not play pickle ball?
Here are the cats and Cheyenne taking care of Kathleen’s face after her treatment. (Take our picture they said!)
My life in physical therapy. It’s been quite a while it seems and I am often better and sometimes not better at all.
The big tree is Ann’s figs that we all love so much and behind it is the persimmon we love just as well.
Ann took in two families (her housekeeper’s and her tango teacher’s) evacuated from the Hurst fire in the San Fernando Valley. No structures were lost and the evacuation lasted only 2 nights. I think there were five folks in total. And two cats, a dog, and a tortoise.
And Ann and I finally got to our Happy New Year sushi!
(internet photo)
Last week today the fires started and at this moment things are pretty calm with more high winds predicted, but not the hurricane winds of last Tue-Wed and the air is not quite as bad but still “Poor”. The big fires are not even 50% contained but it seems no structures are threatened.
Yesterday Santa Monica retracted both warning and mandatory evacuation orders. I’ve been four blocks from a Warning zone for most of the first five days and a mile from a Mandatory Evacuation zone until yesterday. I’m watching local news, listening to the radio, reading articles, googling constantly during every free moment, which has led me to a thought – re-traumatizing or inuring?
I’m actually feeling pretty numb over it all. It is as bad as or worse than everything you’ve been seeing on tv and we all have family and friends who have lost everything, a lifetime of things. It reminds me of a volcanic eruption, with almost no notice, destroying everything in its wake, and not a chance of stopping it.
Maybe I’m not so hot on America these days but I’ve always been such a fan of LA, family and friends, places to go and things to do, cultural icons, gardens-museums-sporting activities, fine educational institutions, livable weather, and more and more. Want to do something? Yes, you can do it here.
But I fear (oh I do so hope I’m wrong!) it could be this for the rest of my life. It’s going to rain one of these days creating more misery, mud-lakes-rivers-falls, oh my goodness. And Trump hates California, as he has so often threatened retribution, punishment for speaking against him. All he’s managed to say about the fires is to blame his enemies and all his surrogates have done is talk about ‘strings attached’. The blaming is going to be incessant, and the lies. Already with the lies, so many lies, and the more relentlessly you repeat lies, well, you know having read history.
When I drove home at 8pm all the ash had blown off and this is how it looked at 8am the next morning. We’re breathing this.
On Wednesday morning I woke up to find the garden table blown to bits. It was still so windy I turned around and walked away. The glass they use for these tables break into little pellets that are not like the shards of a broken drinking glass or vase for example, but there are a million of them. Today, Saturday, I took the picture below after already working two hours (but probably more like 30 minutes…) picking up what I could before wearing out. It’s going to take some time to get it all done.
On Thursday I got to have a nice lunch with the kids at a Vietnamese place, and then we ended our lunch at my personal favorite, Yogurtland!
On Friday Windy and I had lunch at Lona’s place where, after eating, Lona put us to work getting her started on a jigsaw puzzle. I think she doesn’t want to do this puzzle but feels obliged to because it was a gift with the intention of improving her mind, the intersection of desire and duty.
And in the evening Friday I took my tenants Olivia and Kristin out to dinner for a Bon Voyage to Kristin who has finished her internship and is moving on to her next placement. She’s leaving on the 16th and the new tenant will start on the 25th. I forgot to take a picture so here’s Kristin from her instagram.
(more pictures from the internet)
Yesterday’s air quality, mostly very unhealthy.
What’s burning this morning.
A small section of Pacific Palisades.
(internet photo – I didn’t go out there, all these fire photos are the best ones I can find from the internet)
I’m 2 miles from the scene above. This morning I thought I was heating my house with a campfire and when I opened the front door it was even worse. Now it’s around 11am and I’m going to Redondo Beach for an outing with the kids and some fresh air.
The Santa Monica evacuation orders got worse yesterday afternoon but I was still ok, and then this morning the orders were back to yesterday morning, like the picture I showed on the 8th. Most of the tv channels were running Carter’s funeral but one local station stuck with the fires and I stuck with them. I’ve been channel-surfing the fires, doing nothing else, since Tuesday afternoon when I got home.
You’d think it would get repetitive watching the fires all day, but no, it’s a constantly evolving disaster, like just now I saw that Mount Wilson is on fire and the communication towers up there are threatened. Too much, just too much. My current favorite channels are local NBC and KCAL.
I should probably pack a bag. (So far I have my passport and my grandmother’s ring.) That’s me, in the pink circle. Below shows where the three fires rage on. Update 3pm on the 8th, now there are four fires: Palisades, Eaton, Hurst, and Woodley.
Update 6pm on the 8th, now we have to add the Sunset fire. With another terrible wind event (not predicted) the Warning zone for the Sunset fire could hook up with the Palisades Evacuation zone making its way THROUGH Beverly Hills and UCLA.
The air quality at my house is terrible btw. I could make smoked turkey in the back yard.
(internet photo)
The wind is so fierce it is kicking up storms of embers that whirlwind around lighting trees and homes on fire making more ember whirlwinds and so on.
Right now at midnight the fire has been raging for 13 hours virtually consuming Pacific Palisades and now there’s an evacuation order from Santa Monica starting about a mile from my house. The fire is still more than 2 miles away but the wind is not abating. I wish I could find an update on the Getty Villa since I’ve been seeing conflicting reports. Update: 10am on the 8th, tv news is reporting except for some landscaping, the Villa is ok.
(internet photos)
My plan was to pick up Sharon for lunch today at 11 and on the way up, to my amazement, I could clearly see a swath of fire running down the mountains behind her house. The fire had started around 10:30 and didn’t seem That bad. “Look Sharon, look what’s happening in your neighborhood!” She hadn’t had a chance to even notice yet. We decided to head out toward lunch but within a few minutes we got a ‘prepare for evacuation’ message on our phones, so we turned back planning to collect some things and then go to Sharon’s son’s house in Brentwood, and soon thereafter one of the neighbors knocked on the door saying ‘time to GO’.
Sharon’s house is very near the Palisades Village and I was pretty confident ‘they’ were not going to let the Vi$$age burn down. Goodness, I was so very wrong. The ferocity of the wind created a perfect storm that doubled the size of the fire area and doubled it again every hour.
As of this minute (7:30pm), the Village is ok as is Sharon’s street and surrounding streets, but the fire is very Very close. And the wind is so strong and so unpredictable the firefighters are often not using hoses because the wind makes them ineffective. (Update 3pm on the 8th the wind is down some but now there is not enough water in the storage tanks to generate the necessary pressure.) Fortunately the wind is blowing away from Sharon’s house, but a slight turn in direction and her neighborhood could be very much under threat.
I just heard that containment is at 0% and the weather forecast is predicting even worse wind for the next 24 hours. What will the morning bring?!
Above is the fountain in Ben and Bonnie’s garden that I’ve been lusting after for ages.
B&B took me out to lunch today at their neighborhood Uzbek restaurant because I’m totally into going to Uzbekistan in late October. We went to this restaurant and the waiter below was wonderful in chatting to me about my ideas, so confirming about the whole plan. The food was great, the company was great, and now I’m just wondering if I will be able to contain myself to Uzbekistan…
Tea and honeycake.
Where Uzbekistan is in the world. Politically, it’s quiet there right now and the main cities of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan are a reasonable plane ride from Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.
My first idea is to fly into Tashkent and take the very fine rail system along the route below, stopping now and then. The guy at the restaurant said yes, absolutely, easy, safe, gorgeous, and then fly back to Tashkent for the return home. Or?! check out Bishkek and/or Almaty?!
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I got the nice lunch because I helped Bonnie get her new e-frame going. She loves it, as would you!
Rome, Aubrie, Lilly
We had a fun lunch at The Point, a table full of sharing dishes at True Food Kitchen, and at Van Leeuwen Ice Cream we all dug into a double ice cream in my favorite, a waffle-cone-basket.
That’s Lil’s selfie below.
Then Lilly went to a friend’s birthday slumber party while Rome and Aubrie made clay objects on Aubrie’s mini-wheel. I was going to make something too but I got distracted visiting with Angela and Darryl..so Next Time. I’m not usually there on the weekend so this was a fun change of pace.
While I was waiting there were a couple of kids, brother and sister, waiting too while their grandma paid. It took her a very long time to pay. I asked the kids about the charms on their shoes and got an excited and extended story on each and every one. It was ‘charming’.
Tony and Ingalill had a major fete on New Year’s Eve in celebration of 1) New Year’s Eve 2) Lill’s exact birthday and 3) Tony’s last day of work. WOW.
And from Tony’s facebook, this looks like some of the crowd who made it until midnight. I, as always, celebrate a New York New Year’s Eve.
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And then in the morning I drove out to Tom and Marsha’s to enjoy our traditional New Year’s Morning of watching the Rose Parade
and eating ham sandwiches.
