It’s always super-festive when Maxine hosts Monday Lunch.
For decades I’ve been having Monday Lunch with the Valley Girls at 12:30 (dinner at 6:30 for the first 20+ years), then starting during the pandemic I’ve been enjoying Persian Poetry with zoom friends at 9:30, and recently I also get to do Tai Chi with Betsy at 7. Oh boy, what FUN!
From the top: Bill, Jordan, John, Marsha, Mindy, Virginia (Ginny), me, Kris, Tom, Cathy, Jenn, Kelly
In celebration of 🎉EIGHTY🎂 years.
Alan, Jo Ann, me, Nancy, Elizabeth, Muriel
Nancy is visiting from Santa Barbara, Elizabeth is visiting from North Carolina, and Muriel, Jo Ann, and Alan all gathered at El Cholo to wish me a Happy Birthday. Happy Birthday to Me😊 It was, in at least one thousand ways, fabulous to be all together.
If you know me you know I’m a pathetic shopper. Pathetic. So I decided to take Rome and Lilly to see Flamenco dancers as a souvenir from Spain and we had a good time! AI tells us about El Cid: “Built in 1905, the iconic Sunset Boulevard property was originally a movie studio and screen room for pioneering director D.W. Griffith. It later transformed into the 1920s prison-themed speakeasy, “Jail Cafe,” and the Gateway Theatre. In 1962, the space was remodeled into its present-day incarnation as a 16th-century Spanish tavern, quickly becoming Los Angeles’ premiere hub for live flamenco dancing, tapas, and supper club entertainment.”
Lilly and Rome made collages.
Leaving, we went up the stairs with this lovely woman and her mom. The outfit was gifted to her by her grandmother, and it was a knockout.
The mission for these two days was to attend Rome’s Sonoma State Orientation and have a job interview at Art Play Café/Sip. Play. Stay. Mission Accomplished – Orientation completed, Job acquired.
We flew in to Santa Rosa’s charming little airport where we first encountered the omnipresent references to the Peanuts characters. Turns out “The Sonoma County Airport (STS) was renamed to honor the Peanuts comic strip cartoonist Charles M. Schulz in March 2000. The tribute celebrates Schulz as a beloved Sonoma County resident who lived and worked in the Santa Rosa area for more than 40 years” and his foundation built the library at Sonoma State.
Entrance to one of the bathrooms at the airport.
I rented a car that was supposed to be mid-sized and instead they wanted to give us a super-sized Dodge Durango. Sure, why not. And it drove surprisingly well.
Here we are at Art Play Café/Sip. Play. Stay. Rome’s new employer!
We had all of the afternoon left and started with lunch in Graton, at the Willow Wood Market Café, with Marsha’s sister Nancy.
(from Nancy)
We looked at a shop or two in Graton and stopped in another couple towns, our destination being Occidental (population 1,100-1,200) and then a walk through the redwoods.
Occidental is where Uncle Ed and Auntie Flo built the house where I, Lona, and Mom stayed for 6 months? a year? two years? Mom was pregnant with Windy so I must have been 3, and the year would have been 1950. Here are some pictures from cousin Spud (my age, son of Uncle Ed and Auntie Flo), photos of photos (I should introduce these photos to photoshop!).
And what does the area look like now (at dusk so it was pretty dark in them thar woods?
Rome’s below.
Rome’s below.
We checked into our local hotel and ordered a delicious Indian dinner for delivery. We were both happy with every dish.
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In the morning we got to orientation right on time for the coffee, fruit, and pastry on offer and then went to the start of the program. Plus Ones were able to sit in on this portion of the proceedings but then only the students went to the breakout groups for making up the final programs for the fall term.
Rome was first to finish all the orientation meetings, get all the classes arranged, and come find me so we could be first in line for ‘the best pizza ever anywhere’ according to everyone at Sonoma State, and I can heartily agree. That pizza was something else.
We went back to Art Play Café/Sip. Play. Stay. to meet the whole management team then hung around in Santa Rosa for a while, and then went to the airport for the fight home. What a memorable couple of days!
They had a lot of their Rothkos out and since we’re both fans it seemed a happy thing to do.
Jackson Pollock’s Number 1, 1949,
Jasper Johns’s Map (1962),
Robert Rauschenberg’s Untitled around1952.
Thank you for the festive day and doing all the driving.
Susie got parking with SpotHero at the B of A building which worked out perfectly.
Gary, Liz, Lilly, Angela, Darryl, Rome
We all enjoyed a really delicious lunch at Nelson’s in Terranea and then we had some treats and opened presents at Sea Beans. Look at all those presents!
And then the next day, after my Monday lunch in the Valley I got to meet up with Ken at our favorite valley Happy Hour, and Happy it was.
Check it out, the youth life guard training has started already.
We stopped off at the kid’s favorite consignment store, packed to the rafters with odds and ends.
Lilly drove us! Her test for a license is coming up soon and she did very well including a tricky parking effort.
The Japanese Head Spa and a couple birthday lunches.
I didn’t go to the Korean Spa this year because I wasn’t feeling up to it, it’s glorious and exhausting, all that soaking and scrubbing and pummeling. The Japanese Head Spa is quite the opposite experience. It’s not quite as fabulous as I was hoping, but nevertheless, fabulous.
The waiting room.
The Head Spa. Do pay the extra for a shoulder and neck massage.
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Lona, Trevor, Beth, yummy food from Mendocino Farms.
Lona, me, Beth
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Three more dishes coming!
At Forma with Alan and Jo Ann.
Lilly’s selfie: Gary, Liz, Lilly, Angela, Darryl, me, Lona, Windy
Lilly and Rome and what’s next for Rome = Sonoma State University! (thanks Angela)
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We all then went to get some favorite food of the DAR&L Kanouse family, Planta, a handsome vegan restaurant in Marina del Rey.
(from the internet)
DAR&L got home to the waiting dogs, Oliver, and Dude who’s staying over for a couple weeks. (Angela’s picture)
It’s me and Ann for June and Yet AGAIN we have no duplicates in the birthday cards. We had two birthdays in May too, no picture to prove it, but no duplicates then either!
I didn’t actually make it to the parade in time due to my flip-flopping – shall I shall I not shall I shall I not.. but I did get there in time for a yummy brunch with the fam.
Here’s an internet picture.
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This was another occasion including the cover of the story Lilly wrote for school and Lill’s new phone gifted by her parents in honor of her excellent year at school. You go Lilly!
Every chance we get Lill and I have a buzz up to the Getty. And now that we know it’ll be closing in March 2027 to Spring 2028 for renovations in advance of the 2028 Olympics we’ll likely go even more often.
Here she is, Hip Girl. Sadly Frog Boy has been gone for many years now but I still see him whenever I look at his spot on the stairs.
There’s a new eating venue outside on the main plaza level. We’d definitely go there again. Today they had two big screens playing a World Cup game and the crowds went wild.
We spent more time than usual in the garden this trip.
Rebar trees.
We spent a lot of time messing around with our camera settings.
All the garden bits were well grown in.
The cutie-pie guys who gave us their seats.
Bonnie and I both take every chance to enjoy a meal and a nice visit at Back on the Beach, breathing the sea air, feet in the sand. Then we go for a little walk to admire the adorable children and the occasional dog.
This dog was a real treat – you throw the ball, he brings the ball back and puts it in your hand, all the time staring into your eyes until you throw the ball again, he brings the ball back, puts it in your hand, and the cycle begins again. According to the owner he will do this until you stop. He never stops.
Mavis, Jo Ann, Alan, Sasha
Mavis hosted a lovely dinner party, like grown-ups! Jo Ann and Alan brought a gigantic and nourishing salad and the rest of us contributed some of this and that and we sat around for a few hours visiting. Like they say, community, it’s what makes life worth living.
What you can see in the picture below is about 1/4 of the building. There were five Mexican restaurants, including the Michelin starred Holbox, and Komal, “an artisanal craft molino specializing in fresh, heirloom masa and traditional, corn-focused Oaxaca-influenced Mexican dishes”. The food was indeed spectacular and worth the drive, if you can drive when it’s not rush hour and if you want to eat at Holbox, prepare to Wait In Line.
Holbox. We also had a fanTAStic taco, and something else.. what was it..
Komal. The best tamale I ever ate.
They have shops too with handmade and imported goods.
All the types of corn used at Komal.
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We ate our fill and then had a walk over to the Exposition Park Rose Garden. It was both beautiful and fun.
Rome is graduating from Santa Monica College this month, heading for Sonoma State University in the fall. Rome was honored for their participation in a service organization and for academic excellence. The graduation ceremony isn’t until later in the month.
Rome wrote this for the family and I’m sharing it here!
For anyone who may not be all the way caught up, I want to share a little bit about my next steps: I am committed to transferring to Sonoma State University in the fall, where I will continue to study education. Go Seawolves!
I will be working towards earning a Bachelor of the Arts in Liberal Studies. My concentration will be in Elementary Education Pre-Credential, meaning I will continue schooling after graduating from Sonoma to earn my teaching credential. My school at Sonoma is called Hutchins School of Liberal Studies. All classes in this school are seminar based and have no tests (YAY). If you are interested in learning more about Hutchins, their website is here. Before moving north for school in the fall, I will move back in with the Kanouse House for the Summer. Move in day at Sonoma is August 19th, so I will be heading up north around then!
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We have lunch together pretty regularly and that makes me happy, happy like this fruit salad is happy.
It’s the last couple weeks for our Gustavo at the Disney Concert Hall.
The first show, our usual Sunday matinee, was so emotional, it shook me up (the first time I’ve gone with my hearing aids in and I have to wonder), I had wet eyes many times!
Sierra, Strauss, Dudamel
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Here’s the LA Phil write-up of the Thursday show. You can click here to read the program.
For 17 years, the musicians of the Los Angeles Philharmonic have been close collaborators with Gustavo Dudamel in countless performances. To celebrate Gustavo’s tenure as Music & Artistic Director, principal musicians of the LA Phil take center stage for an evening of symphonic favorites.
The first half of the evening presents a range of “classic” showpieces for bassoon, oboe, horn, flute, violin, piano, cello, and harp. After intermission, all eyes and ears are on percussion, clarinet, trombone, bass, and trumpet during a showcase of contemporary music.
The program is bookended by world-premiere pieces by two dear friends of the LA Phil, John Williams and Gabriela Ortiz. Williams’ Bravo Gustavo! takes its name from the commemoration of Dudamel’s first 10 years with the LA Phil, highlighting the valiant energy of the trumpet section, while Ortiz’s Mujer Arena celebrates the entire ensemble.