’07 June

June 19

Today, in the parking lot at the Visitor’s Center in Grant’s Grove, King’s Canyon/Sequoia National Park, there was a vw bus exactly like the one on this album cover, all the windows and doors open, Dylan’s Masters of War pouring out.

The bus was a total rusted wreck, the bumper pieces held together by a relatively pristine sticker announcing Kerry for President. The whole scene put an idiot grin on my face…but that doesn’t make me a bad person.

My new idea is 3 nights in Sequoia makes for a good trip, and you have to stay in different places or you’ll be on the road more than on the trail and not have time to finesse the weather.

June 14

Look what I did (almost) all by myself! Click on this link to Halfmoon Cottage in New Zealand. It’s one of the Backpackers where I stayed for several nights.

They are even going to send me some money! But not that much, and I did it for fun, so I’m still retired…

June 30

I met Jeanne at The Grove today and she treated to a lovely lunch. Thanks Jeanne! it was fun (even though I forgot to take a picture.)

From the parking lot, that panel in the middle is how it really looked, how it looked before PhotoShop. Practically Blank! I felt bad for all the tourists gathered around up there taking pictures and pointing. My eyes didn’t hurt like back in the olden days, but still…

June 28

I’m reusing this picture here because June 28th is Roger’s birthday. We had a great dinner out and here is a link to Roger’s Project! Click on this and read some of it. You can play too!

(from June 22

Roger made one of his signature Trader Joe dinners and I got Gifts and a warm welcome to the 60s Club. Thanks again for Everything – food and drink and art and entertainment. Ahh, the good life!)

June 27

Cynthia had a chore to do in town so she was able to make it to Darryl and Angela’s for lunch. Lucky me! Rome was having a grand ‘ol time with her auntie too.

Then we went over to a nearby hospital to see the New Baaaby. Hello sweet baby Kylie! Kylie is the daughter of Angela’s cousin David and Holly. Awww.

Rome has a new cousin! Rome was lovely with the baby and she really Really liked her feet.

Doesn’t Angela look just so at home with that baby in her arms…?!

June 26

Dale’s and my birthday are one day apart and for years and years we saved the office the trouble of buying two cakes by having a joint party. This is my third Office Free birthday and Dale’s first.

On Tuesday our pals from Long Island were out here for work at the office (without Either of us there) and in keeping with tradition, took us both out to dinner…

…to celebrate our birthdays. YUM. On the patio at Michael’s in Santa Monica.

June 25

Thank You Ladies! It’s not my Monday Night Potluck birthday yet because I like to invite the gang Out West but everyone brought flowers and made two fabulous bouquets, one for me and one for Ann whose birthday was yesterday.

There were so many gorgeous bits I had to take a picture from all sides. I remember you carrying in these flowers, quite certain they were for Ann and then I got some too! From the recipient’s side I can assure one and all that this is a Great idea!

June 24

First Sharon and I went to Tai’s concert with the LA Men’s Glee Club. We met Brigitte and Knut there. It was cool! The Glee Club sang in several languages, mostly Japanese of course, and Tai, being the President(!) gave a speech at the end. We all enjoyed it very much.

Then Sharon and I met Nancy for dinner at Broadway Deli and they treated! (At some point (but not yet!) I’m going to have to give up on this thing about it being ‘my birthday’. Now that I’m 60 maybe I’ll stop completely for a few years…)

I wish I had included the card Nancy made, and the netsuke she gave me from LACMA. Dang. They would have looked so good there in the middle of the table.

June 23

Look what Darryl and Angela did! (To get the full effect you’ll have to see my photo-album Gift that Angela made (with help from Darryl, she is quick to add)…which I’ll be carrying around for a year or so…until you beg for mercy.)

Darryl blew up 60 balloons and made the 60 balloon sign, and cooked dinner. He didn’t need to go to the gym today!

After dinner and before dessert we opened the gate and the joy and abundance of 60 balloons fell upon us. We had so dang much fun.

(Angela took these with my camera.)

Yummy Yummy!

Windy and Jeff came too. Awww. Then after they left we watched The Matrix, which I had never seen. What FUN! Happy Lucky Me!

June 21

I did the pictures today but the event is from the 19th when I got home late from Sequoia and…WHAAA?!! Flowers!!

And MORE!! I open the door and It’s A PARTY! 60 Things We Just Love About You (how cool is THAT?!!) and 60 Ways to Say Happy Birthday, and 60s napkins, and Sixty (count ’em) dates with nuts inside (my favorite!) and Happy Birthday balloons and little healthy cakes, and a card that says ‘Life is either a daring adventure or it is nothing at all…Wishing you adventure with the sun soft on your face and the wind at your back’.

It’s almost bigger than a 60 year old woman can embrace. But wait, there’s More! What?! Gift certificates!! ‘Every 60 days for 6 months Have a massage with Love from Us’.

AWESOME!

From my little sister Windy, and my big sister Lona and her husband Hartley, and all the Hawaii Browns (Trevor, Beth, Christa, Caleb, Charis – known to this website as TB&CCC).

AWESOME!!

June 20

The Kings! in Germany. Lucas, Betsy, Xander, and Anya. What Betsy wrote:

“Here’s a shot of our trip this weekend to Burg Eltz, a castle about 2 hours south of us. It is 800 years old and still owned by the family Eltz. Xander was thrilled to see the armory and we came home with a dagger, which he cherishes. Anya got some butterfly pins that she likes also. They are all girl and boy at this point!”

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June 15

I went out to lunch today with Nancy D and in keeping with our tradition, we ate stupendous Japanese food and she paid. Nothing like a birthday to bring on the treats!

And as we all know, Japaneses Food made by Japanese People is one of God’s Gifts to the rest of us.

This place is called Kiriko and the celebrity chef’s name is Ken. I’m not sure we saw Ken since we sat at a table and had a couple of cooked dishes as well as sushi. Every single bite was really really mouth-wateringly delicious. My mouth is watering now.

YumYumYumYum. (I took all the bits for the picture off the internet.)

Dinner with our freshly graduated Rosamina Lowi, PhD! And she’s not the daughter, no, she’s the Mother, on the far left. You Go Rosie! We are soo impressed.

Rosie, Rosie’s daughter Fay visiting from UK, Marsha, me.

June 13

After naptime we went to a children’s art studio in Sherman Oaks called Tinker. Angela and Rome had been there before and had a wonderful time. This time however, it was quiet for a few minutes and then…

…there were BOYS. Waaay too many BOYS. Take these three boys, add nine more exactly like them, and then just Imagine the commotion.

But still, we painted, we colored, we glued, and mostly we enjoyed washing our hands at the big sink where you could stand on a stool and splash around and pretty much get yourself soaked. Now that was fun.

June 12

Wow, Katy! Hi Katy! I haven’t seen Katy in Ages. While I was at Crystal (and Princess too? I don’t remember) Katy was a vp with our satellite services provider. We bonded. Technology, Women at Work, It’s a Man’s World, and all that.

She invited me to visit them in DC, and you know how I feel about DC. Watch out, don’t ask twice…

Katy’s daughter has one more year of college and is doing a summer internship out here with Disney. That little girl? College already? Whooo!

June 10

Oh Goodie! I get to see Dan Flavin again!

Meetin’ the kids. Here they come…Hi kids!

Rome is doing one of the Sunday Projects for Children offered at LACMA. She is a member now too!

I was pretty far away at the other side of the pavilion and when she caught sight of me with the camera her cutie-pie little finger automatically formed that requisite position for pointing.

‘Look! It’s Granny! Hi Granny!’

It’s so bright out here at first I didn’t notice all the colors and surfaces. Cool.

These next three are Darryl’s. He called this one ‘Bravin’ Flavin’. Cute! This is the same crowd from last weekend’s Farmer’s Market outing. Katie’s mom Anna is going home on Tuesday so that’ll be it for a while. Bye Anna, it was fun!

Angela, Rome, Anna, Nora, Katie, Jed.

dj.

Another one of Darryl’s. He can sure get the shot with his really old really small (small for the time anyway…) guard-invisible digi. Lucky me!

dj.

More. I hope Everyone will go to the show. You can read along in the brochure – just for sure don’t miss the red room!

dj.

Anna on Nora-patrol. Man-o-man do those kids love to run around. GoGoGo.

Ring around the rosy
Pocket full of posies
Ashes ashes

We all fall Down!

ak.

June 9

What have I been up to for the last 30 hours or so? This:

Eat lunch with Robert at Olvera Street.
Pick up Cynthia at Union Station for our Mother’s Day-Birthday fete.
Go to LACMA and enjoy the Dan Flavin exhibit again.
Eat a deelicious dinner at violet. It’s at the old Sabor location and we were both delilghted with the taste of our food.
Go up to McCabe’s to hear a folk-ie singer-songwriter-entertainer – Kristina Olsen. We both thought her songs were wonderful.
Next morning, we get up and walk/run down to 2nd in less than 30 minutes to go to Ceregem.
Walk to lunch on the pier at Marisol.
Stroll around awhile and then catch the next show of ‘Once’ which I liked even Better the second time.
Bus back.

Drive down to OC…and now I’m home. I’ll have to do some extended resting-up from all this fun!

June 7

Cali May! Travis and Lainee sent these pictures (I ‘collaged’ them) of Cali and the tree they planted in Mom’s honor. Isn’t that Great?! It’s a Granny Smith(!!). How dang cool is That?!

tb.

June 6

What an adorable grown-up-girl smile.

‘Hey Granny, check it out, I am pretty busy right now, I have a lot of work to do here…’

June 4

At dinner tonight Alicia made the signature dessert from Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, and what a lot of work! First, you bake the bread… It was fab – and took me into a reverie of New Orleans.

I stayed one time for a week or so with Les Perelman when he was teaching at Tulane, and also I went to a few computer conferences there over the years. It’s time to go again!

These pictures are off the internet. The big one is of Commander’s Palace closed after Katrina, and the inset is the back patio, which was the best place to eat if it wasn’t too hot (and oh lordy does it get Hot!).

Here are a couple more from yesterday. Darryl and Rome, Rome organizing the sweetener bowl…

…and Katie and Nora, Nora demonstrating a serious and important principle with her fingers.

June 3

Up at the Pacific Palisades Sunday Farmer’s Market DA&K met up with Rome’s friend Nora and Nora’s family – Mommy Katie, Daddy Jed, and Grandma Anna.

I made then stand there because that wall of the restaurant we were waaaiting in demanded a photo be taken in front of it.

Sandy was having an art show too, in the Palisades Plaza…

…and it was wonderful as always. Way to go Sandy!

***
Earlier, Nancy, Marsha, and I went to see ‘Once’ and it was lovely but you better like the music because it was music music music all the way through with many performances of entire songs. Lovely though – romantic and tender and poignant.

Here is something I copied from Wikipedia: ”Once’ is a 2006 Irish film written and directed by John Carney, who has referred to it as a “video album.” This drama stars Irish musician Glen Hansard of the popular Irish rock band The Frames, along with Czech musician Markéta Irglová. ‘Once’ has received awards and enthusiastic reviews, and has been described as a musical for the modern age.

‘Hansard and Irglová were musical collaborators prior to making the film and released an album entitled The Swell Season in 2006. All the original songs in the movie were written by the two performers. The soundtrack album was released in Ireland on May 26 and it reached #20 in the Album Charts.’

June 2

Rome with a snack and xo waiting for his turn. You can hear his little brain churning: DropIt-DropIt-DropIt…

Watcha got there cutie? It’s Dora!

June 1

Back from Kansas City I was just reading and napping and reading.

I read in National Geographic that each year sharks bite fewer people than New Yorkers do. I’ll take the New Yorker.

(Nat Geo pic)