’05 October

October 11

This is me from April 29, one sick puppy. Then I had another episode in China around June 1 and here we are in October and it’s back. The last few days this has been me again.

Is it time to worry? The doctor said ok too bad for you you have allergies, which is what it feels like, it’s always the same, and then it goes away. Moooan… siiigh.

Interestingly, in the old days I used to just buck up and go to work. I would go years without a sick day. But now I lounge around moaning and sighing and waiting for relief. I pity my colleagues, me going to work like this.

October 31

Halloween. Burton. Hummm. And his office-mate Joy. She’s a sound editor too and wears earphones almost all the time hence being mostly relieved of the outpourings of our punmeister, the artist formally known as Burtsy.

Those are his photos on the wall and having received in the mail just this very day his new digital slr we can be expecting many plenty-good contributions to this site.

I punked out and didn’t take any pictures at Louise’s. The kids were mighty cute this year. My favorite wore the traditional hand made ‘I am a washing machine’ costume with bloody clothes visible through the bubble in the middle of his chest.

October 29

Here’s another one. MeMeMe.

October 28

Here I am again, this at Lotusland, from Nancy.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring. My mother has been wheezing and stumbling and quivering so sadly the last several days. I’m thinking it got worse the day after I said she was the same. She refuses to take a step unless absolutely required. She isn’t even that keen on reaching for her own Kleenex and the move disoriented her (although she is some better on that now).

Her pleasure is watching romantic comedies on dvd and eating. Sitting in her chair getting bigger and bigger and less and less able to take a comfortable step.

nd.

October 27

I thrust my camera into Angela’s hand. Take my picture! (Then I cropped out my washed-but-forgot-to-comb hair, cleaned up my chins and smooshed my squinting eye. I didn’t fix that goofy tooth thing though.)

AAHhhh. What a sweetheart. What a spectacular baby. I know, your grandbabies are spectacular too but in this case…

a.

My little sister Windy’s bird Gus. He’s something all right. She has three spectacular grandbabies and this bird. You could put the three spectauclar grandbabies in a room, each really Really mad about something, and the bird would SKWAAAAK and drown out the sounds of all three.

But he’s a total snuggle bomb. He likes to nuzzle your neck and hide his head behind your ear and he’d purr like a cat if he could figure out how.

October 25

Catching up on a few days, yesterday being a No Pic Day. We moved my sick-like-a-dog poor little sister to an empty apartment and then moved my mother to my sister’s old apartment. A-lott-a boxes involved with yesterday.

On Sunday on the way back from Santa Barbara Nancy and I stopped off here at the Pumpkin Patch. The highlight of the place was the joy and enthusiasm you could feel from the tons of kids running around.

Check out the orange blimp.

These kids were hip to the orange blimp too.

This cute as pie guy was driving the kids around in wagons piled up with hay bales. Cool, a hay ride. Who says you need a horse.

What’s another Monday Night at Maxine’s without a phantasmagoria of fun.

It was Ruth’s and Maryanne’s birthday. I won’t even Tell you how old they are.

October 21

Oh Goodie! Goodie! The new library is about to open. Very soon it seems as the shelves are becoming full of books. I’m so excited! It’s an easy 1.6 mile walk or an even easier 6 minute bus ride down Santa Monica Blvd.

Speaking of which, I had Bill’s Convertible Car for several weeks and then my mother’s car for a few days. That was good for putting on a couple of pounds. When you have a car it is just so darn obvious to use it. I’m back to walking for a while anyway until it starts raining again.

Now I’m curious about that 10,000 Step Plan to Physical Fitness. I’ve been walking several miles almost every day for nine months not including normal ‘steps’ and I am not so oh-so physically fit. And then a few weeks with a car and a few months of weight loss are right back!!

A chandelier?

October 19

Here comes a bunch of baby Lucas – part of my birthday present for Sandy.

You just can’t snuggle your grandbaby too much.

He’s doing that little smilley thing. The books say it’s sleep-smiles or gas-smiles but the Grandmas say ‘Oh look! He’s smiling at me!’.

China (pronounced Chee-na), watching her beautiful son.

Baby Lucas, one month old tomorrow.

October 18

It’s a skew-y picture of the Great Grandmother and Nelma, one of the women who stay with her.

Mom must not have had a new tia recently because her condition is still the same as the last time I reported and that’s good. It’s not that she’s good but just that she’s not worse. Which is good.

October 16

Sweet Rome, all so cute and tender and perfect. I know all your grandbabies are perfect too, but really, in this case, you know it’s true.

More.

1) Liz and Gary. They’ve been together one year yesterday! Wow!!

2) This copy of the pic is 232k…

3) I should have had her face closer, like sitting on his lap.

1) Mazel tov! (ps Here’s a living recommendation for e-harmony – try it if you’ve ever wondered how it works!)

2) and this one is 71k. Now I want to go back to saving everything at m-a-x. Bummer. Maybe there’s something between 232 and 71?

3) That would make for a lively change of pace! Next time.

October 15

From the artist formally know as Burtsy.

bw.

October 14

Happy Birthday Sandy!

We took about one hundred of these and don’t we all just look great? How did that happen? All these people and all of them looking great… Roger, me, Nancy, Dory, Nancy, Charlie and Sandy.

I should point out that four of us are in our Sixties, two are in our veeery late Fifties, and then there’s Charlie. Getting up there I’d say. And taking a line from Omar Wasow I’d also say, livin’ large my friend, livin’ large.

Nancy’s got a new digital slr and is she ever one happy camper. Plus she has so got that color thing Down.

n.

Beautiful Sandy and Beautiful Charlie.

n.

Men at work.

Unloading pumpkins because ’tis the season. And from here on into the new year it’s all just buy-buy-buy.

This time I actually bothered to blend the good features of the two pix and it feels like Magic!

October 13

I was well enough to get out today and what a lovely day it was. Check out this SF Valley! You could see the mountains on all sides and feel the heat and the desert wind.

As a change of pace from Golden Hunan we went to Odyssey to fully appreciate the day. Consequently we stayed too late and ate too much. Now I’m exhausted and stuffed. Serves me right.

Just some snarky telephotoed-photoshop messing about, up that evil Sepulveda Pass that tortured me for so many years.

October 10

From Saturday night, the 8th, when, in the throes of another allergy attack from the 6th, I drugged myself up good with Claritin and Robitussin-DM and had a most delightful dinner at Spago with Ken and his cousins Chuck and Joan, their daughter Carol and her husband Bill.

This is the crew that never fail in a major celebrity sighting and this year’s top catch so far is Michael Douglas.

Speaking of celebrity, Chuck and Joan are soon celebrating their 49th wedding anniversary. For their Fiftieth they are going on a cruise with a bunch of pals from the olden days who are Also celebrating their Fiftieth…

…which should bode well for the Carol-and-Bill alliance!

October 9

Lourdes is a Grandma. Lourdes is a Grandma. Lourdes is a Grandma.

Happy HAPPY Lourdes!

(Lourdes, who took this picture?)

October 7

Here are all the Brown Boys working on a construction project at their new property In Inglewood. It’s the first time they have branched out from Venice and they are in the process of Brown-i-fying the place.

I stopped off on my way down south for a few days of fun.

Caleb told me recently how lucky he was that he was a boy because he got to do all the cool stuff like work on the roof and build fences and while the girls went to get their nails done he got to go to the amusement park at the pier.

He did get to go to the amusement park at the pier while the girls got their nails done so there is no disputing that.

It has been ten thousand degrees out here the last few days and Lona reports that Caleb has been amazing. He hasn’t complained or broke down even once – he is in fact having fun and keeping up good spirits under difficult conditions which is a lot to say for a kid. Good job Caleb.

I went to Lucas and Betsy’s for Thursday/Thursday night and we spent many a happy hour working on getting them ready for their move to Germany.

Then, oh boy, lucky me, I’m spending Friday/Friday night at Cynthia’s. I’ll ask her tomorrow to take a picture of me tootling around the beach resorts of Southern California in Bill’s Convertible Car. Waaay fun.

This place is two and a half very short blocks from her work. Mighty dang cool.

Here are Cynthia’s roommate Courtney’s cats, both of whom are a crack-up. This one makes the Funniest meowing slurp slurp sounds as she speaks her joy and rockets her tongue in and out of her mouth.

And here’s the other one who spends half his life in this position waiting for a nice tummy rub.

Notice how since I can’t bear to flash the flash I seem willing to give up all hope of a picture that isn’t blurry.

October 5

From the ceiling at Border Grill, a real favorite on 4th Street.

One of those Two Hot Tamales, I don’t know which is which, was working the room and noticing I was snapping pix of the murals gave me a long educational on who/why/when etc. of which I cannot now remember one single detail.

One thing I do remember however, the tortilla soup was faaabulous as always.

A clip from the wall behind the bar. It’s mightly lively in there, well worth a look if you’ve never been.

Today I hung out with Rosie and participated in her most welcome move. She is very happy with her new place and very very happy with her movers.

Before… he was a bouncer.

October 2

Oh yeah, life is good. Oooow oooow look at those amazing hands with all their little perfect fingers and those feet and those adorable tootsy-toes. Oooow oooow…

What a jewel. Time for a change and a sleep.

But wait, she just does not think so. She thinks there is something going on around here that is awfully worng. Wrong I tell you.

Hum, well, ok, but still…

(And wow look at that man holding his baby. Check out his amazing hands and those beautiful fingers!)

…ok, phew, good, happy now!

This is Sandy’s grandbaby Lucas. He’s older than Rome – by a day. And bigger by a couple of pounds at birth! And they, Lucas and Rome, live about a mile apart. What fun for the Grannys! I know I know, he’s cute too.

Sandy and her sweet baby boy.

Just waaay too much fun.

Hi sweetie!