’26 May

Nakissa! From my Monday morning book group!! Lucky dog me to get to meet Nakissa in person!!!

Shira, Chad, and Bodhi were there too. What a fabulous home they have created over the years, and when you think it can’t get better, it gets better!

Thanks to Desda for cooking us a delicious and beautiful lunch, producing yummy food being one of her many gifts.

Chad had to leave before we started taking pictures.

Below. Bob said this is Desda’s Wishing Tree.

Christa had the day off and Zack had some free time too so we had a delightful breakfast together. Later in the afternoon I went over to Christa’s place and hung out there while she and Zack got ready for the ENGAGEMENT photos! And then we had a very fun CONGRATULATIONS dinner at a nice place whose name I can’t recall right now.

The two pictures below are from the professional’s album.

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The dinner spot was fun and look at all the treats they brought in honor of the occasion including a beverage for a fancy sparkling toast.

I’m already a week behind in pictures and it has been a fantastic picture-o-rama. I’ve visited Susan and Fred in Paso Robles and then gone on to The Ranch with so very much fun, food, and festivities galore. Pictures forthcoming!

Regarding a question I’ve been asking myself: what the HECK is wrong with my back? I got a CT scan just before I left and a few days later the results were in. Two of the doctors here at The Ranch and my oncologist all agreed, what you have is a manifestation of old age and everyone who lives long enough will, to some extent, have it: Multilevel degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine and it definitely has nothing to do with cancer. You can take ibuprofen, muscle relaxers, appropriate PT, lifestyle modifications, and if none of that works you can get a shot. FINE!

above: me, Angela, Liz

below: Rome made a cool container in their pottery class for all the moms. (Rome’s picture)

below: Gary, Liz, Lilly, Rome

ooops, no picture of Darryl. I got such cool gifts! Liz, Gary, and Dev gave me a big box of chocolates and 2 beautiful rose bushes. DAR&L got an oh-so-cool Rattlesnake potted plant and this fabulous collapsible stool that I can imagine using often.

I was tempted to run out and buy cat food! But then I remembered I was leaving town in a few days, my house is so small, someone else must be feeding this sleek huntress of the ‘hood, and the first thing she does is head to the couch to claw at the upholstery.

From Olivia:

It was a busy and mighty tasty day – Cecilia come by to finish cleaning the rental after the bathroom construction, Windy came by with homemade brownies, and Hilda came by with Nazook, a to-die-for pastry from Armenia.

This is from another day, a walk to the park with Windy.

I couldn’t make it to the festivities, I got the above picture from the streaming ceremony, and Lucas took the pictures below live at the events.

USC conferred 18,982 degrees, 583 degrees in Xander’s School of Cinematic Arts. Xander has connections through his family and family friends with a good chance of getting a job in his field, but Cinematic Arts feels like a tough one.

Think of it, one school, USC, loosed almost 19,000 college graduates into the job market. UCLA will graduate about 15,000 students, and that’s just two schools in one city. Good luck you guys!

Below, graduates from the whole university at the Coliseum. They didn’t read the names! Dudamel gave the Commencement speech and I’m looking forward to finding a copy on youtube.

And this is the Commencement Ceremony for the School of Cinematic Arts at the Shrine, where the students walked across the stage and were conferred their diplomas.

From Lona, below find Betsy, Xander, and Lucas.

I had a nice window of opportunity to get the bathroom floor in the nurse’s rental fixed. KaCHING!

..a delightful piano recital performed by Alan, a master of the Great American Songbook. And this handsome piano is now happily settled in Jo Ann’s recently reorganized living room.

Rome came over on Wednesday for some lunch and to help me get Meriellen’s leopard to the framers. Below are examples of the different kinds of acrylic and glass you can get. I really want to know what glass LACMA used in the new building, what with all that annoying glare.

On Thursday I went out to Redondo Beach to have a nice walk with Angela and a sweet treat with Lilly.

(above photo from the internet (mostly))

I thought I would never live to see the day but this guy was so fabulous, he compared favorably with our Gustavo. Yes, for my first time ever. He is 48 from Columbia and Dudamel is 45 from Venezuela. We’re not going to get Orozco-Estrada because it looks like he is fully committed for years but if you ever see him around your town do take advantage of the opportunity.

This program was made ages ago, so it was a coincidence that Michael Tilson Thomas died April 22, 2026. They dedicated the program to Tilson Thomas and wrote a lovely obituary that they slipped into the program. The conductor and the orchestra were giving it 110%.

Marsha and I had seen/heard the Korngold piece at the Hollywood Bowl last year and I was interested to hear a comparison. Remarkably, and maybe I just don’t remember right, but the Hollywood Bowl experience was thrilling.

I attended the Sunset Sip, a charity banquet hosted by The Guidance Center in Long Beach. You can click on the link to learn about everything they do for the community.

It’s set in a lovely venue at the Maya Hotel.

It seems all charity banquets have a silent auction and this one was big.

Hilda took a nice selfie – Hilda, Merlyn, Jim, Karen, me.

The band for the early reception was very good.

This is the auctioneer for the after dinner entertainment selling off the most desirable items and generating action for donations.

Before the auction they played a game called Heads Or Tails. You pay $25 for a necklace, and you can wear a maximum of two. Then you stand up and put your hands on your head or your tail. If you get it right you keep on playing. If you get it wrong you remove one necklace until you lose bare necked, and then you’re out.

I lasted the longest at my table and was two away from winning. People did get a kick out of it. Since I was a first-timer people at the table gave me theirs so it would have been a nice group win, but no. Hilda took this picture.

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The show was called “Several Eternities in a Day: Form in the Age of Living Materials features twenty-two artists from North, Central, and South America who embrace the unpredictable nature of living materials.” We found a lot to look at here, some examples below:

Every inch of the very large mural below was packed with detail.

Avocado skins are involved in those two large figures.

The restaurant was closed for a private event. I always enjoy this view from the second floor of the museum.