’06 February

February 27

AW, it’s Lizzie and her sweet guy Gary, engaged! Check out that ring.

Aunt Jean was visiting too. Liz made a yummy dinner and we had a chatty visit, distracting I hope for Gary who would, the next day, go under the knife for back surgery. It turned are to be the very best possible outcome and everyone is anxiously awaiting Gary’s return to good health so we can get him to lift that barge and tote that bale.

Go out my door, take one small step, hang the camera over the fence and this is what you see, from the day after the storm. You know those deafening high-powered air-powered monster tools that run from a screaming compressor? That’s it, everyday.

I haven’t been documenting the construction much because it is all a big fat drag and who wants to look at my big fat drag. Not me, that’s for sure.

On the bright side, the wisteria is happening again. Like magic I think. From the last week in February until the last week in March some part of these vines will be blooming and it is gorgeous. The scent is fabulous too. It’s past dusk already so I hope to try again later with a little more light on the scene…

February 24

Midori, a Lovely woman, wife of Yas, mother of Eiko. I’m moving the picture of Yas and Eiko under here. This is fun – getting pictures from people I haven’t seen in years!!

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Wow, Yas! he sent this picture with his daughter and his nephew. Yas was one of my many bosses back at my first computer job neigh these 30 years ago. Michael and I were the hippy-kids then and recently Michael has generated a lively three-way e-conversation with Yas.

Michael and I used to t*rt*re poor Yas by standing in his office and speaking pig-latin like he should understand (in retaliation for all the Japanese guys speaking Japanese to each other) or I would make little mincing steps and hand-waving gestures like I was a kimono-clad traditional Japanese woman. There was more – I forget… Yas has forgiven me I think. He said ‘You have become a nice lady compared with CMS days.’

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February 22

Paul just sent this picture from Red Rock Canyon when we were in Las Vegas around Thanksgiving time. The tour bus stopped for a donkey photo-op. Yoo-hoo Mr Donkey, look here, look here.

pb.

Another ‘hello’ from India! Meghan, the beautiful bride.

February 21

OH NOOOOooo. I just noticed that for ages my ‘save for web’ settings were hosed. Files that should have been 100-130k were actually coming in around 30k. Bummer. How many should I redo? This has happened before. Will it happen again? Probably.

Hawaii is just around the corner so once again for the ump-teenth time I’m trying to find a sun hat. After about 4 minutes in the store my temples were pounding and my body was howling from the heat generated under that hat. It’s cute though. If I bought things for cute I’d buy that hat.

Jake the dog and his two mommys and his two daddys. He had an interesting day. ‘Jake, do this’, ‘Jake, no’, ‘Jake, come here’, ‘Jake, do that’, ‘Jake, go there’. Jake held up very well since he is after all an A-Number-One dog happily settled in at Merlyn and Hilda’s. Alex and Carol came through for their last and final farewell as they are now officially house free, the boat is in Mexico, and they fly out March 1 not to return for 6-9 months. Bon Voyage!

Rome and her new pig toy. I love that pig toy. The grabbing and gnawing opportunities are vast and entertaining. Is this child not just too cute. Cute cute cute.

All physical objects must be tasted. Ummm Yummy…

XO, wanna taste too?

Nancy’s Josh and Kelly’s Charlieeee. Look what happens when you grow up. Nancy says put a cup at his feet and they’d rake in the dough.

Here’s a link to last year when Nancy and I made a trip to visit Josh and Kelly and Charlieeee.

j/k.

February 17

Remember a few years ago when I went to India and stayed some time with my old friends Anil and Rupa. This month their eldest daughter got married! Mazel Tov! Here are a couple of pictures from one of the pre-wedding events. This is a Mendhi Party where the bride’s hands, arms, and feet are covered with these henna designs as are the hands of the close female family and friends. Wow, those women have amazing amazing hair and check out those saris.

a/r.

This is the bride, Meghan, and her decorations go all the way around her arms including elaborate patterns on her palms and on her feet. The henna designs last for a nice long time but it isn’t permanent. It’s so dramatic – to my eyes anyway.

I hope they’ll send more photos since these Indian weddings go on and on. Did you see Monsoon Wedding? I loved it and you can rent it and love it too. (I don’t know who actually took these pictures.)

a/r.

February 16

Meet Shiho, a cousin of a friend of Bob and Carol’s daughter, here in LA from Japan as part of a Grand Tour of the western states.

Shiho had spent the last several days getting around on the bus (the Getty, Beverly Hills, downtown, Westwood-she got around alright!) and on Wednesday I drove her to a few out-of-the-way places. What did she want to eat for dinner? A big fat American hamburger!

Tai was so happy. He got to have that very cool tree branch still abloom with leaves and flowers after the dwp truck broke it off…

Looking out my back door to the for-rent cottage I’ve been working on recently. And that I’ve been fussing over and that will continue to absorb any available brain-cycles until I find the perfect tenant.

Note the kitchen is under the grapes, waiting to get de-rust-ified and put back onto the fabulous new floor next to the fabulous new paintjob.

February 13

Rome. Awww.

Here’s one I snagged from Angela’s site.

Rome loves that elephant toy. The ears make a crackle sound when you touch them and you can pull on the hanging ring and the whole thing will vibrate.

She loves her keys too. She grabs those babies so eagerly and watches her hand with her eyes as she directly hawls the whole jangly mess straight into her open mouth, fingers and all.

There are many more toys to discuss in great detail but I will spare you (for the moment.)

a/d

February 11

Sandy has an art show running at a gallery on Robertson Blvd (1147 S Robertson to be exact – you can go now!) and she had an opening party on Saturday night. It was a perfect event – the pictures are handsomely hung, the food was delicious, the guests lively. Hurray Sandy!

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At the reception desk, baby Lucas of course. Thanks to Nancy for the pix.

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February 10

It’s so cool being free during the week! The Japanese garden at UCLA is open for visitors 10-3 on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. It’s free! Reservations are required however and parking is very limited.

My camera was really buggin’ during this outing because as the conditions changed I’d have to reset iso, wb, etc. and no surprise I’d forget and then have to go back and try again. Why am I so convinced that I Need that d200 and that if I just had that new body with the better controls I wouldn’t forget anymore?

Even without a close-up lens I can’t stop trying. It was pretty pink out there today!

A unique window treatment in the tea house.

February 9

We got to have dinner with Amit again as his business is bringing him to LA from time to time. And of course we celebrated Grandma’s birthday again. 88 and Still Great! She cared for Amit and his mother during the first months of his life. And I remember him when…

That’s the button all the staff at the Queen Mary wore for Mom’s birthday night out birthday night out. The picture is from her Sweet Sixteen. 88 and Still Great.

I rented this movie, Crash, last week and it has been playing in my head ever since. I had heard that it was violent and mean and I wasn’t going to see it but Roger Ebert’s top rating convinced me to just keep my finger on that FFwd key and give it a try.

It is violent and mean and extraordinary. On a technical note, how they made me care about a dozen characters is magic (manipulation?) in itself.

Here’s Roger Ebert’s conclusion: ‘Not many films have the possibility of making their audiences better people. I don’t expect “Crash” to work any miracles, but I believe anyone seeing it is likely to be moved to have a little more sympathy for people not like themselves. The movie contains hurt, coldness and cruelty, but is it without hope?

Not at all. Stand back and consider. All of these people, superficially so different, share the city and learn that they share similar fears and hopes… You may have to look hard to see it, but “Crash” is a film about progress.’

This is Lourdes’s yummy grandbaby Julie, 3 months old… aaahhhh.

Including the formidable Rome, we’re having our own little population explosion with the Monday night potluck crowd (not to forget Charlieee and Baby Lucas.) Becky’s got one on the way too. These new ones might not have time to pay our social security but that’s ok because they are so D*RN CUTE.

Alicia, Maryanne, and Maxine have between then dozens of grandbabies already. I can’t even keep track! And they’re older. Maybe they’ll pay our social security.

l.

February 8

It’s now more than a week into this vacancy project and it sure doesn’t look like a weeks worth of work but that’s easily because I’ve been doing the work myself and we all know what that means.

This picture cannot possibly do justice to the color of the kitchen. That yellow is the most intensely uncompromising yellow yellow of any I have ever seen. The painter says we’re looking at two, probably three coats of primer and another two coats of a covering color. There is also this amazing yellow splattered around the window frames and glass, the cabinets, the sink.

The paint job was such that if a surface was not exposed at the moment the painter passed through that surface just didn’t get painted.

Not to mention the thick gooey glops that need to get sanded off all the wood.

The living room colors are slightly more subdued than the kitchen. Slightly. But sloppier and gloppier. More, many more coats of primer and finish coat.

Now I’m spending beaucoup-du-bucks to clean up the walls, put a new floor in the whole place, upgrade the electrical, and there’s so much more. It’ll take a minimum of three years to make back this investment.

I’m not going for that tenant who can ‘do anything you want just don’t make it worse’ deal again!

February 7

What’s with this indeed! I’ve spent the last week going back and forth with the Google people about the failure of their ad system. I’m so dis-com-motivated.

Go look at the stories in China or Vietnam or Las Vegas even and you’ll see. P*ss*orts-p*ssp*rts-p*ssp*rts and a few sl*desh*ws thrown in. That’s it. You’ve got your p*ssp*rt by now I should hope. How many times could you possibly want to click on an ad about p*ssp*rts? It’s crazy.

I can’t write the magic key words of course or they’ll show up again and Google will have another chance to tell me it’s my fault.

Hi sweet Cali-May! This is Rome’s Texas cousin (seconded and/or removed somehow) being my little sister’s youngest son’s daughter.

I can’t wait to hear her talk! She’s a Texas down-home country girl born and bred and I’ll bet she sounds so sweet and soft and Teeexas.

Now my little sister has grandchildren in Texas and grandchildren in Germany (where her older son has moved with his family.) We all miss them! I am looking forward to visiting in Texas and Germany but it’s not so nice for her because she misses her babies baaad!

February 5

Our very own Glamour Girls on the occasion of their fifty-eighth birthday. Happy Birthday girls!

February 2

Rome is sooo adorable, chewing and clapping and investigating her perfect little hands.

Here are a few events from recent days. Maybe I’m back in the swing? That would be nice.

Happy Birthday Marija and Ljubica!

I went with Hana to the Self-Realization Center in Pacific Palisades. We enjoyed the walk-about. You remember Paramahansa Yogananda and his Autobiography of a Yogi. Flash from the past, that.

From the brochure we learn that one of the shrines ‘…is dedicated to all religions that all may feel the unity of a common faith in the Fatherhood of God… that while dogmas may differ, the goal of every religion is the same – direct experience of God.

…And in that universal experience one beholds the underlying harmony of all religious faiths and understands the divine kinship that unites all people as God’s children.’

‘Self-Realization Fellowship is an international nonprofit society founded by Parmahannsa Yogananda in 1920 to introduce to truth-seekers of all races, cultures, and creeds scientific techniques of meditation for attaining direct personal experience of God.’

On another day Nancy and I went walking with occasional stops for photo photo.

Those spiky things are not nearly enough to keep the pigeons off.

It was a bird day.

Another one of the hundreds of these which I can’t resist even once.

Boardwalks everywhere have that funky-place vibe.