Welcome to the wisteria and my last month at home.
April 1
Since I’m going to be in Hawaii for April Rome and I have been working an hour or so every Tuesday for several weeks on putting together a joint Birthday Party for Darryl and Easter Party for Fun.
We had SO many great plans we decided we needed…
…some Guests!
Our schedule: yummmy Lunch; dyeing and decorating eggs; a Hot and Cold Birthday Treasure Game; Pin the Tail on the Bunny; birthday cake and singing; Easter Egg Hunt.
We all had such a good time followed by…
…a flat tire ON the FOUR-OHHHMG-FIVE.
I was on the phone with roadside assistance from my American Express card when the city Highway Department rolled up and the guy said he’d do it right now for free, and he did, and I was off.
Cool. Now I just have to add ‘get a new tire’ to my list for tomorrow since I’m leaving the following morning at dawn for The Land of Aloha.
…Happy Birthday Louise! who, this very day, is eighty years old.
Louise was my next door neighbor when I lived in Northridge and here she is as delightful and charming and dear as ever.
March 30
Other people’s Grandboys. Grandgirls are all sweet and pink and American Girl Doll, not like grandboys at all.
Ollie and Max; Alex and Ben; Charlie, Henry, and Milton
(from the Grandmas)
And while we’re at it, here’s Bill and Cheryl and their god-grandgirl. Sweet and pink and a real American Girl Doll.
(??)
March 29
Another view of Levitated Mass…coming along. In a couple of months or so we’ll get to stand under that baby. Way cool.
I had a chance to visit with Brigitte today for a few hours before she and Knut are off back to Europe probably not to come LA way again for a while, so I’ll just have to visit them there!
At LACMA we went through the Pacific Standard Time exhibit, as entertaining as ever, and we saw a preview of the new ‘Children of the Plumed Serpent: The Legacy of Quetzalcoatl in Ancient Mexico’ which was a well-curated selection of artifacts from the Nahua-, Mixtec-, and Zapotec era.
Lastly we enjoyed the ‘In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States’ show. It was quite interesting and I was especially glad to see many things I liked a lot from artists I’d never heard of.
Yay, Brigitte took a couple of pictures of me that I can actually stand. (One from far away, one from high above, both wearning my glasses to hide my droopy eye. Both eyes are droopy but one is virtually closed now. Yikes.)
bb.
March 28
Bill noticed that I had a sad face on my calendar for the last time we went out. He was utterly totally 100% innocent of the sad face. It was me all by myself who ate two baskets of chips…and at Cirque du Soleil, an entire (YUM!) large package of (oooow) caramel corn…
So tonight when we went out for dinner we Walked 1.5 miles there and 1.5 miles back, and shared modestly, and had a completely Happy Face Calendar STAR time.
March 27
Rome and Lilly had friends over today – Nora, Lila, and Anya. Hi cuties!
You can, for example, take this picture and then walk downstairs and then turn around and walk back upstairs and in that time these five girls can have every toy and all their 10,000 pieces off every shelf and scattered to the wind.
But not once did any of them get in a twist with another. They just played happily. Worth the mess! say I who just pushed it all into a big pile and left it for Angela to sort out.
March 25
At LACMA today with Sharon, Nancy, and Nancy’s friend Brenda, we watched 2 hours of the 24 hour extravaganza by Christian Marclay called ‘The Clock’. It was quite splendid. Thanks to Nancy for arranging the outing.
Playing at the Bing Theater from noon on the 24th to noon on the 25th, it’s a montage of movie and tv clips with clocks in them following along exacty with the time of the day/night when you are watching. A clock appears in the scene every minute or so set to the time that it is where you are.
Hmm, that was not a very appealing explanation but it is very clever and fun. What makes it an art project I think is the way he brought drama to the whole thing as individual stories evolve from the clips. Also the sound track overlaying the scenes was fantastic. When LACMA plays it again, as they certainly will, I’ll go back at a different time and watch another 2 hours.
(internet pic)
March 24
Windy stopped by this morning and we did my two exercise routines. Or, as Lilly would say, ‘Granny, let’s do eX-er-sigh-ses’.
I can see this paper from every seat in my house and when I look at it I am inspired to do my food journal and do my exercises because I want a *star* on my chore chart. When I see the two sad faces I’m not sad, I’m pleased that I didn’t give up!
Then I went with Anya to see the movie Jiro Dreams of Sushi about this Japanese National Treasure and Three Star Michelin chef who’s been serving sushi at a 10 seat counter in a Tokyo train station for 75 years. It was a documentary and it was delightful. Anyone with any affection for sushi will looove this movie.
Then we went out to eat sushi!
(internet pic)
March 23
On March 15th, barely one week ago, Gary had a complete knee replacement and just look at him now, toddling around the house taking care of himself. Gary! you go!!
Liz and Dev too, thanks for the YUMmy dinner and champagne to toast Gary’s good health.
March 22
Livin’ in the land of Show Biz. We need this work; it’s good for our town. In the parking lot behind where I’m standing there must have been 50 trucks loaded with gear, craft services, talent trailers, portable generators, and on and on.
They couldn’t have scheduled that this very morning would be foggy so I’m curious how they handled what must be a change in the plan, where now you can’t begin to see the sun or the sea. But no worries, that’s why they call it magic.
March 21
Oh NOOoooo.
There is a 25% chance that if I leave my house Mon-Fri any time between 4pm and 7pm it will take me an hour or More to get onto the 405, some less to pass by, 2 1/2 miles away…like what happened TODAY. There is another 25% chance that it will take 45 minutes, and half the time I can make the journey in a half hour.
It’s madness I tell you. Every east-bound street is in gridlock with cars nose to tail and drivers on the verge. There is still construction at the on-ramps so I’m just hope hope hoping that we’ll be feeling some relief soon.
(internet pic)
March 19
Blimey, another massive festivity compliments of Maxine. YUM! Gifts! eating! drinking! making merry! and then a delightful premiere for season 14 of Dancing With The Stars enjoyed with buckets of fresh hot popcorn.
Erin go bragh! Maxine go bragh!
March 17
Brigitte and Knut are back in town for a couple of weeks to finish up the formalities with the IRS, US Immigration, Portuguese Customs, doctors appointments, and etc. so Ingalill and Tony had a neighborhood party…Party Hearty!
The guy who bought Brigitte and Knut’s house asked me if I lived on the street and I said yeah, whenever there’s a party.
Inga-Lill Gaimari, Knut, Stephen Cope, Tony Gaimari, Ernie Kwok new owner, Adolfo Argueta, Sharon, Rana Alshihabi, Miriam Argueta, Brigitte
March 16
Since I didn’t have to go to jury duty and hadn’t made any other plans and since it was raining I just sat around all day listening to the radio, messing about with my new photoshop, and snacking hourly for a yummy 2,000 calories. What a great day.
(Just practicing…)
March 14
Me and Bill and Ken, out for dinner at the end of the pier followed by a stroll down to the parking lot and the Big Top to enjoy…
All the Cirques make you gasp, and then make you want to see if you can jump even one little foot into the air.
March 13
Soccer! Six and seven year old girls playing soccer. Gotta love it. Rome’s back there behind the coach giving that ball a good kick.
…and here she is! In LACMA’s back yard, waiting for her final positioning and grand opening coming-soon.
I have developed a deep affection for all the ‘but is it art’ on offer these days especially when it involves a spectacle. I am excited to stand under that ledge of Levitated Mass and see what it’s like.
After this quick view of Levitated Mass I and the cousins went into Hollywood. First we ate, and long-time Angelinos can guess where this is, yes, at Miceli’s.
Then we went to Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions on Hollywood Blvd near Highland where I had never been before and where it was oh so contemporary.
I liked it.
March 10
We’re celebrating Lona’s birthday today with a very long list of too much fun. First we spent more than an hour perusing Liz’s Antique Hardware on La Brea.
Next stop Pepperdine U, and at Pepperdine, first stop, LUNCH in their gorgeous cafeteria. I was standing in the pay line with a tray while Lona and Windy finished collecting our food. Across from me at the cash register was this lovely woman who said “may I please buy your lunch for you. I have tons of food points that I need to use.”
Oh no no was my first reaction. My second reaction was YES, how fun, you’ll treat my sister to lunch for her birthday. .she’ll LOVE it. And indeed she did. They chatted away and we learned a bit of her story. Sweet college kids being kind to old ladies – COOL!
What Pepperdine looks like from the Internet. 18k of your 68k tuition goes for the view.
(internet pix)
So we did all the requirements – see the chapel, enjoy the Weisman, eat at the cafeteria (good food, sunny patio, aMAzing view), and walk the track.
And then we went back to Venice Circle for The Massage. Oh yeah, Happy Birthday to YOU!
March 9
Welcome to the Los Angeles River walk #25, the Whittier Narrows Dam, part of the Rio Hondo tributary. These metal-worked gates are so cool.
Click here for MORE Los Angeles River and cool gates.
There’s a large park here, the Grant Rea Memorial Park with ball fields, picnic spots, and a little zoo of domesticated animals, fun for the children.
On this part of the river they have not yet broken up the concrete bottom, but on another front they are controlling the graffiti.
Hi Sharon. No shade here, still some small birds would swoop down for a bath.
The little ones migrate to each other without regard to gender but once older, the girls gather on one end of the long bench and the boys are waay over there at the other end.
Except all the girls were attentive..focused even..on waiting for Freddy, and sad and concerned when he didn’t show up. I’m looking forward to meeting Freddy one day..
March 5
Marija took me to lunch today at our favorite Valley Girl spot, the Golden Hunan.
When I left Northridge in 1998 the first Korean family had just moved in across the street. Now look at this. Golden Hunan has a Chinese sign but the Tae Kwan Do, Hair Focus, Morning Glory, and the United West Mortgage signs are all in Korean.
Speaking of which, our travelers Maryanne, Alicia, and Becky returned from their trip to Cambodia and Vietnam bearing Gifts.
Look at us, each kimono individually selected, each scarf in a matching hue. Thank you ladies!
Becky took this picture with a tripod. Becky, Maxine, Marija, Ann, Lourdes, Ljubica, Alicia, Marsha, Maryanne, me.
March 4
Helping Muriel move into her new studio. It’s so exciting to await the work that will emerge from this bright and welcoming space.
Then I went over to D&A’s to load up some software on my (yesss) new computer, and to admire my FABulous grandgirls.
March 3, evening
Yikes…from Junior High…Yikes! Thanks to Gayle for making this happen – some of these folks I haven’t seen in More Than Fifty Years.
Bruce Benjamin, Robin Steinberg (Arnie Steinberg’s wife), Peter Rashkin, Laurie Greenstadt, Art Angel, Cathy Rauch Insert: Gayle Peitzer Hilbert, David Meyer, Lew Leader, Andy Gach, Carl Lieberman, Andrea Graham
Top: Camille Carter (Peter’s partner), Mickie Peitzer (my mom), Bonnie Pastor (Ben’s wife), Rita Leader (Lew’s mom), Rosalie Wayne, Sandy Leader (Lew’s wife) Bottom: Michael Hittleman, Gina Blumenfeld, Ben Pomerantz, Art Angel, Laurie Greenstadt.
March 3
The cousins and I went to LA Louver to see a fantastic Kienholz exhibit “Kienholz Before LACMA”, closing today. (I don’t know who did this piece. It was on the upstairs outside balcony.)
Nancy, Sharon
I was NUTS for this one. CRAZY I tell you. See the deer head upside down and the arrow pointing ‘up’. What WHAT…that’s just so wrong.
I came back to look at it 20 times. I’m so agitated! And so delighted! And so thrilled that a silly thing like this can make me so agitated and delighted all at the same time.
Then we walked on the boardwalk from Venice Blvd to Washington Blvd and then to lunch, YUM.
March 2
Hartley got these plants around Valentine’s Day, one for me and one for Windy. That was very sweet, and this is what it looks like today – perfect.
These guys often perform outside the stopping point for The Long Walk and they are so good and I like every single song they play. I give them money and that’s saying a lot.
March 1
Check it out! A couple of weeks ago these vines were all spread out on the grass for the painters and here they are today, back in place and blooming as if to say Thank You for the pretty, clean house.
