December 16, late arrival
Taking advantage of my window seat to watch the amazing expanse of Southern California. Arriving from the south flying north along the coast this is the view for about an hour, nonstop. I love the mystery…who Are all these people?
December 17-19
I still had some Mexico pictures to put in but I got so busy with holiday events and with watching every episode of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel that I didn’t finish the pictures, and I want to get ready to go to Cynthia’s tomorrow…as soon as this last episode is over.
My two choices this year, dry and sweet, were the most popular yet, so yay for that.
December 8
I’m off tomorrow to spend a week with Michi in Mexico. She’s thinking of relocating to Mexico and is in Chapala for two months to see how it feels.
The pin points to Chapala, one of the many towns along the coast of the largest lake in Mexico, Lake Chapala. I’ve put squares around places you might know, to get a feel for the location.
December 7
Muriel and I had lunch and it was yummy. This picture is from 2011 and I put it here because I like it.
Then I got a haircut.
December 6
Sharon fixed me a lovely year end bon voyage early dinner that I also ate for breakfast. And TOFFEE. OMG that TOFFEE. I had a huge square of it to take home and to no one’s surprise, least of all mine, it is entirely gone not 24 hours after its arrival in my house.
December 5
Nancy and I enjoyed a morning out at the Farmers Market. We hadn’t seen each other in so long we had a Lot to talk about.
December 4
This was FUN. There are more too of course and I just could not choose. So…
Angela took this picture of Gary and Liz and Lilly. Awww. It’s true, I cut my huge looming huge-headed body out of the picture.
ak.
December 2
I didn’t step one foot outside the house for three days. Fortunately by Sunday morning I was well enough to venture forth and enjoy Lilly’s performance in Peter Pan.
Lilly played two parts, here a Mermaid…
December 3
I’m better!
I even did things today, including having breakfast with Kathleen and her new kitten that she got shipped in from Canada because she wanted a Very specific and particular breed of cat.
ko.
November 28
I’m afraid I was a little too full of myself, how I managed a two month trip schlepping around South America and not getting sick at all.
Now I’m sick. Sneezing, running nose, dry cough. Bummer.
…and strolled down the Promenade where all the holiday decorations are up and lookin’ good.
November 22-24
A few pictures from the last few days.
Rome took these photos of their new puppy OLIVER, a perfect little King Charles Spaniel.
Rome.
The girls and the Elinoffs with Oliver and the neighbor’s dog Dude they’ve been dog watching for the week who is possibly Oliver’s sibling. Oliver is certainly Dude’s mini-me.
How adorable, my only picture from Thanksgiving. It was delicious and delightful and fun!
Oliver, Dude
The dessert Celina made for our after Thanksgiving Thanksgiving dinner that was so delicious and Celina cooked it all. You go Celina!
On Saturday I had a nice visit with Ingalill, she’s leaving for Chile on Wednesday. We walked to breakfast and passed this. Holiday decorations are taking a turn.
November 21
Oh yes, The Four-Oh-Five on the busiest traffic day of the year…
internet.
November 20
Lilly does the Secret Santa names for the Monday Potluck crowd as she and Rome have for several years. Thanks Lill!
November 19
I got back on Friday the 17th after nearly two months in South America, then Saturday was the 40th birthday party for our friends-since-school-days daughters (unfortunately Cynthia couldn’t make it out from Saint Paul), then Sunday Alex and Carol were over to finish some projects Alex was working on and to visit and eat, and then I went to the valley to visit with Marsha and have Monday dinner with the gang.
Life…and the Holiday Season…kicks right in!
November 17
It was Ljubica’s idea and Marsha’s implementation to have a party for the longtime school friends from the valley who had all turned 40 this year. Unfortunately Cynthia couldn’t make it, but it was still a grand event.
Everyone brought pictures of their girls and since I got home from South America just the day before the party I snapped some black and white pictures out of old albums, pulled a few shots off my website, and displayed them on an electronic frame.
Despite being a little fuzzy and not so well exposed, still, I loved watching these pictures roll by.
Rome’s Birthday Weekend!
Friday morning with gifts and a special breakfast, a fun lunch with friends, and more and more fun.
ak.
The gal at the carwash who manages to be so pretty despite that horse shoe in her nose.
Lilly’s unicorns…just the ones I could corral real quick for this photo. There are also two walls full of them, a picture for another day.
Rome’s last day of being 12, on the bed painting. Her room tells her story too. I love it!
It’s KAI! Awwww. He’s waiting oh oh so patiently until he is given permission to gobble up that piece of fallen steak. What a Good dog.
cc.
Marsha and I went over to John and Jenn’s so I could see their new house and just kick around for a while.
Hey Jordon, what’cha got?
Saturday the gang gathers for a Beach Day. I’m CRAZY for this picture.
ak.
Sunday, dinner and dessert with the fam.
Happy Birthday my precious TEENAGER.
I missed this picture when putting together Lilly’s Birthday Weekend. Such sweetness. I’ve used adorbs a few times so just so you know, you’d better stop because it is now an expression of old ladies.
ak.
September 18
To do lists are being shortened. See that circle in South America, I get to go there!
I love big world-class cities and capital cities even when they’re not so world-class. I’m getting to visit four of them on this trip, Rio, Asuncion, Montevideo, and Buenos Aires.
And amazingly, I get to see Iguazu Falls. I’ve visited Niagara and Victoria and both experiences were so awesome I’ve been dreaming of visiting Iguazu for years, and now I get to go.
September 17
Burt and Charlene came over for lunch and a stroll. It was lovely…
…like this amazing hibiscus. Burt and I stood in front of it taking pictures through an entire signal cycle.
“The Greystone Mansion, also known as the Doheny Mansion, is a Tudor Revival mansion on a landscaped estate with distinctive formal English gardens, located in Beverly Hills, California. Architect Gordon Kaufmann designed the residence and ancillary structures, and construction was completed in 1928.”
September 16 plus
Ingalill took me to the Greystone Mansion today, a first for me and a multiple visit for Lill. Here’s a view of my past life, where I spent a good part of thirty years.
The building itself is not open to the public and there are ‘no photography’ signs at the entrance to the garden but…
After our stroll around the Greystone Mansion we went out in search of a park to eat our picnic, and here we are at the Will Rogers park in Beverly Hills not the big one out on Sunset. It was a Sunday afternoon and I was so fantastically amazed that we found this quiet and beautiful spot that was made for a Sunday afternoon picnic.
…everyone was taking pictures. Probably they would care if you brought in a wedding party for example.
From another day this is Nancy’s picture from Jo Ann’s art show opening.
I missed both Nancy and Muriel who were there before me, at Rose Gallery in Bergamot Station. Jo Ann’s show is going to up until November so stop on by!
nd.
While I was in Saint Paul I got my tdap booster and took the prescribed dose of typhoid vaccine. Since I’m not going to the jungle this time I don’t have to take the malaria.
I always note to myself that insurance will not cover typhoid or malaria vaccines but they’d have to take care of me if I get typhoid or malaria which would be Much more expensive. I guess the insurance industry thinks it’s worth the risk so I have to think, actuarially-wise, I’m not going to get typhoid or malaria.
September 13-15
Home from Saint Paul, thanks Cynth, it was great to visit! And right in to the grandgirls’ Birthday Season.
Following are several of Angela’s pictures. I was there and we had so much fun doing everything for the Last Time of Being Eight. Last homework, last dinner, last bath etc. I wanted to take a Last Picture of Being Eight, but, are we surprised? I forgot.
Here she is ‘taking a quiz to find out if Dawson is a vampire boyfriend’ on her last day of being eight.
On the right, on her first day of being nine, Dawson gave her flowers and Calvin gave her the awesome unicorn balloon.
ak.
Birthday Dinner at Lilly’s favorite PF Chang’s. Looks like she got All the desserts!
ak.
Hartley’s back in the hospital. Fortunately it was not another stroke although it seemed so at first. The current thinking is that it’s seizures and he’ll be in the hospital for awhile while they work out more appropriate medications and get him up again.
Bonnie and I went to the Annenberg Beach House for a very good lunch and on the way in we saw these girls. Hey girls! Bonnie was so pleased because this was the car she drove when she was that age. Daddy’s T-Bird. Gotta love it!
The restaurant ticket: “Immigrants make America great. They also cooked your food and served you today.”
August 28
It’s the last day of summer vacation and we did our last summer lunch and then our last summer trip to the beach and then…
…and our last summer visit to Lona and Hartley’s place for our last summer snack of fruit and popcorn.
Goodbye summer, hello s.c.h.o.o.l!
We were walking along chatting and looking around and BAM what the heck is that? It looks like a new playground is about to open.
August 21
Just back from Saint Paul and Austin, it’s girls day out!
First we went to the Farmers Market for lunch and the vast buffet of samples available there. Here we are featuring a dozen types of pluots, hybrids of plums and apricots.
