Hesperia, the high desert….
Hesperia, the high desert. That’s our plot and that’s our view of a snow-capped peak.
Zowie, From Before
I got riled up…
I got riled up over that big shed in the background, on our neighbor’s property that wasn’t there two years ago when we visited last. There oughta be a law..
The actual size isn’t evident by these pictures because of the upward slope and then the downward slope to the fence, but it’s a tick over an acre.
And our cool tree….
And our cool tree. We’re going to be selling this place – we’ve been holding on to it for sentimental reasons, a legacy from our parents, but it’s been a pretty sad investment sitting there as it has for sixty years.
After leaving the park…
After leaving the park we went on to Riverside and The Mission Inn. It’s a big historic property added on to for thirty years all the new wings in different styles.
internet.
We took a tour…
We took a tour of the Mission Inn that was informative, and long. Here’s a stained glass window at one of our stops.
Rome and I went…
June 11
Rome and I went to the pier while Lilly was in her dance class. I’ve had my new camera for exactly one year now and I just today realized that if I touch the screen in a certain mode it changes the focus to the place I touched, which is why all the pictures in this series are out of focus.
I could see the little square in the wrong place. What? Why? ok, well, now I know. A problem explained. That’s good even if it is a year late.
The kids got a…
The kids got a new bubble machine because Oliver likes bubbles. But as it turns out he’s not up for this tornado of bubbles. We all loved it.
Rome likes this picture!
Rome does not like…
Rome does not like this one as much and after she looks at it I might have to take it out. Let’s see.
That’s my house. …
June 10
That’s my house. The yellow flowers next door were announcing themselves so nicely when I got back from Monday night potluck In The Dark.
Happy Birthday David! …
June 9
Happy Birthday David! Jo Ann put together a fine festivity and everyone was so happy to be there.
Carol, Judith, Stephen, Jo Ann, David, Peter, Nancy.
Cynthia! As well…
June 8
Cynthia! As well as her Accountant job that she likes a lot, Cynthia is running a wonderful Airbnb from her condo in St Paul. All her guests really really love the place and rate her a super-super-excellent host.
You can click here and see Cynthia’s Airbnb.
She made it all possible with her remodel including moving walls and doors and creating a kitchen that makes her guests sigh with pleasure. WOW is right!
Marsha and Becky’s Angeles…
Marsha and Becky’s Angeles Chorale had a great performance here tonight. Big music, live and close-up, it was a very fine evening indeed.
Kathleen is going to…
Kathleen is going to Cuba on Wednesday! She isn’t traveling on a cruise and got in under the wire. I’m so glad for her.
These hula girls have nothing to do with Cuba of course, but they’re great and part of Kathleen’s many-faceted collections.
Today’s excitement revolved around…
June 7
Today’s excitement revolved around landlording, excitement that rises up from time to time to snag my breath and my attention and remind me of Work.
This is the little stand-alone cottage. All done, the faucet doesn’t drip and the bathroom sink is snaked. I could show you the nest of hair the plumber pulled from the drain but then this website would lose its ‘G’ rating.
I was over at…
I was over at Marsha’s yesterday where we cleared out two carloads of stuff from Tom’s office, then we ate a delicious dinner and went walking. All good for me!
The donation center however would not take so many of the things we brought. They would only take things they felt confident they could sell easily. No one wants to throw things in the trash that have some life left in them. What to do what to do?
Look what Cynthia sent…
June 6
Look what Cynthia sent “Kai Loves Grass!”. And Wow, these two guys, Kai and Oliver have such similar coloring. What fun!
I didn’t take any…
June 4-5
I didn’t take any pictures with the girls on Tuesday so here’s Oliver from his very own instagram page.
On Wednesday I went to the dentist for a cleaning and I can say without equivocation that the surgery area is feeling better. I had wondered if I’d ever say that.
Then I had an early dinner with Muriel who is leaving in a few days for a trip to the UK. Bon Voyage Muriel, ENJOY!
Sharon and I went…
June 3
Sharon and I went walking at the Pepperdine track and it was like walking through a cloud and we came out damp but not dripping. Then we ate happily at The Reel Inn and all was well. We were rather pleased with ourselves for not punking out.
This was on Saturday I think. Today was Monday Potluck and I ate a very healthy serving of so many dishes. YUM. Thanks ladies. Notice the theme of eating tasty food?
Ooow, I’m going to write here.. I’ve developed a serious case of dropsy and I can’t do the dishes at other people’s houses for a while. Twice now, in a row, I’ve broken someone else’s dish/glass/etc. and I feel so bad and sad and mad at myself. Much as I like to tidy up I’m going to have to give dishes a pass.
internet.
Pictures from the Hawaii…
June 1
Pictures from the Hawaii Browns, Lona and Hartley’s son and daughter-in-law Trevor and Beth, and the grandkids Christa-Caleb-Charis.
Big Doings this weekend. Charis graduated, as did her siblings earlier, from Brown Family Academy (congratulations BETH who home schooled them all the way through high school).
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This is how they…
This is how they do it in Hawaii! A few more guests and Charis wouldn’t be able to see!! YAY Charis who is moving on to Liberty University, the same school attended by her siblings. You go girl!
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And speaking of the…
And speaking of the siblings, Caleb graduated last month of this very year from Liberty however I failed to urge the sharing of photos.
BUT he’s going on to Oxford for a two year graduate program. He’s going to LONDON and I’m at least as excited as any of these Browns. I’ll have a sweet young man to visit in London who already extended a welcome invitation. OH lucky ME.
Getting the wardrobe together. He has been living in Virginia for four years so it’s not all board shorts and aloha shirts.
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Here’s the oldest sibling,…
Here’s the oldest sibling, Christa, entering her fourth year of medical school in Hawaii. What Fun! For me, maybe not every day for her, but she’s hanging in there.
Big year for the Browns indeed. Now let’s see what Beth is going to do!
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Lilly and I took…
Lilly and I took Oliver to the dog park. He was the smallest dog in the small dog area but he held his own.
There are six choices…
There are six choices of fabric glue here and Lilly is pointing at the best one.
Michi spent the night…
Michi spent the night when she was passing through LA from Mexico. A friend of hers came to pick her up and together they drove back to Santa Barbara.
I also had the stitches out of my mouth and it is feeling finally significantly better. What a relief.
There are three different…
May 23 2019
There are three different trips here already so watch for the dates if you’re interested.
I drove up with Ben and Bonnie again this year and we had a lovely journey and took our time. I drove on all the curvy bits so that was great for me.
After the drive, fond greetings, a walk, and a feast we all slowly made our way to our separate accommodations. I haven’t let go yet of my obsession with taking pictures in the dark. Here you def could not see the sky. Bonnie shined the flashlight from her phone onto the sculpture and this is what happened.
SETTLED! My case…
May 21
SETTLED! My case that was supposed to go on until the end of the month is Done. I want to remember the names of the main guys: James E Curry attorney for the plaintiff and Howard Weitzman attorney for the defendant. They were countersuing each other so I’m not sure how that goes naming-wise.
The case settled in a closed agreement so here’s hoping at some time all will be revealed. I’m hoping for a review of the proceedings in some formal way and I’ll keep an eye out for that.
Randy Phillips was quite a character…let’s see if I can remember any other names. We only saw Tohme and 3-4 other witnesses. Mentioned often: Tom Barrick, Phil Anschuz..
The Santa Monica Courthouse…
May 18
The Santa Monica Courthouse that now has too many fenced off areas to make a nice picture so I got this one off the internet. All day every day, that’s me.
The oral surgeon kindly met me this morning, Saturday, to check my mouth because I was worried there was a problem. She assured me there was not a problem and prescribed a different antibiotic. So ten more days, and here’s hoping.
internet.
Meet Juror Number 12,…
May 13
Meet Juror Number 12, and that would be me, tied up for the next 2-3 weeks. I have to Set My Alarm, and get up, and Get Dressed. This has not been my life for more than 15 years. YIKES! I’m already fighting blisters because I have to wear SHOES and I ask you, when was the last time I did that?
Happy Mother’s Day, from…
May 12
Happy Mother’s Day, from DAKL and LGD. Nice! And thanks to Darryl, Angela, Rome, and Lilly for hosting a yummy Happy Mother’s Day brunch, a game, visiting, and we watched Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse which was a ton of fun.
Kai! Cynthia sent…
Kai! Cynthia sent these pictures from one of the many dog parks around Saint Paul. Dog parks in Saint Paul really are parks, so big and beautifully natural, like you’re out in the woods and down by the river with free-ranging dogs having the best time.
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A few normal days…walking,…
May 8
A few normal days…walking, Monday potluck, Tuesday with the girls, final touches on the rental but then it was Bone Graft Day.
I had the surgery…
May 11
I had the surgery on the 9th and here’s what I look like this morning, on the 11th. Oh lordy, what will tomorrow bring.
They told me that next I could expect that blackeye beat-up-in-the-school-yard look.
Lilly as Little Fiona…
May 5
Lilly as Little Fiona in the Family Theatre, Inc performance of Shrek the Musical JR at the Hermosa Beach Community Theatre.
She had her first singing solo and she was GREAT!
ak…I think Angela did these, I got them off Instagram.
Me, Lilly, Liz, and…
Me, Lilly, Liz, and Gary. YAY LILLY.
kk. Rome did this one, I know because I was there!
Since I got back…
May 4
Since I got back from Kauai on the 1st I’ve been sleeping late and going to bed early and tossing around for hours in the middle of the night. I also got to see the grandgirls and go out for a welcome home dinner, and Alex and Carol came by to visit and finish up some work in the vacant rental…a job that I’ll be fussing with for who knows how long.
Then today I met Marsha at the Underground Museum for a day around town.
This picture is from google maps and it’s the front of the The Underground Museum on Washington Blvd.
The place was totally…
The place was totally surprising. The main exhibit was photographs by Roy DeCarava. I’d never heard of him, no big surprise. Check him out on google images for a thought-provoking experience.
The venue itself was originally four small storefronts subsequently purchased by Noah Davis as a work space and a home to raise his family. The huge back garden is a delight, and I want this display in MY back garden, just like this, all beautiful and sensuous aromatics.
I copied this from…
I copied this from the MOCA website: “In 2015 MOCA and The Underground Museum launched a multiyear collaboration that realizes exhibitions developed by the late artist Noah Davis that use works from MOCA’s esteemed collection of contemporary art. Davis, along with his wife and fellow artist Karon Davis, conceived of The Underground Museum as a space for exhibitions, events, dialogue, and artist collaborations.
“Located in the working class neighborhood of Arlington Heights, The Underground Museum is a cultural outpost complete with a garden and film screenings, dedicated to ensuring access to contemporary art and ideas for all of LA’s residents.”
Then for a change…
Then for a change of pace we went by Marciano to check out the haps. They had just repainted the stairwell.
Reflected is a bit…
Reflected is a bit of the exhibit “Yayoi Kusama, With All My Love For The Tulips, I Pray Forever, 2011”.
And here’s what it…
And here’s what it looks like when you go inside.
Big fat bummer, the large installation space on the first floor was being readied for a new project to open at the end of June.
Lastly we ate at Guelaguetza, to finish off our artsy afternoon.
This is from an…
This is from an exhibit called The Bauhaus at 100: Modern Legacies.
I want that picture. I just found it on Amazon. All Right,
Oskar Schlemmer, Germany, 1888-1943
Bauhaus years: 1921-1929
Grosse Brucken Review (Great Bridges Review), 1926
Color offset lithography on postcard
Angela was taking a…
Angela was taking a break from this eye-spinning exhibit that will close in two days. Eye-spinning brain-twisting 3D. They had four different kinds of glasses to look through for the various technologies. I think I’m too old to really enjoy 3D but I’m glad to have see this exhibit.
“3D: Double Vision
“The quest for perfect 3D representation drives innovation, stimulates creative expression, and sparks wonder in generation after generation. 3D: Double Vision is the first American exhibition to survey a full range of artworks, dating from 1838 to the present, that produce the illusion of three dimensions. These artworks function by activating binocular vision—the process by which our brains synthesize the information received by our two eyes into a single, volumetric image.
The history of 3D begins in the 1830s …”
Charles White, we loved…
Charles White, we loved the show, painted this picture in 1969 the very year of Darryl’s birth. The fifty year old man with the fifty year old picture. And what does that say about ME, the mother of a fifty year old man!
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Installed in 2012 “Chris…
Installed in 2012 “Chris Burden’s Metropolis II is an intense kinetic sculpture, modeled after a fast paced, frenetic modern city. Steel beams form an eclectic grid interwoven with an elaborate system of 18 roadways, including one six lane freeway, and HO scale train tracks. Miniature cars speed through the city at 240 scale miles per hour; every hour, the equivalent of approximately 100,000 cars circulate through the dense network of buildings.
“According to Burden, “The noise, the continuous flow of the trains, and the speeding toy cars produce in the viewer the stress of living in a dynamic, active and bustling 21st century city.”
Outside Metropolis II is…
Outside Metropolis II is a wall of neon tubs that really want you to take their picture.
That’s the fifty year old man.
Oh goodie goodie, Boston…
March 28
Oh goodie goodie, Boston Legal is back on tv, free for Amazon Prime subscribers. I really enjoy this show, so easy to just run in the background. Let’s see, 100+ episodes, 40+ minutes each, no bad, I’ll be done in a week.
The tenant in my…
March 27
The tenant in my old place moved out today. Here she is in process, just to get a view of another configuration for that space. She had a small table and a couple of stools in the kitchen to make up for not having a table or chairs in the main room.
I’ll have no time to get it rented before I leave but fortunately I take potential vacancies into account when I make a budget and I’ll be ok. I will want to step on it though when I get home in May!
I went with Nancy…
March 25
I went with Nancy to LACMA today, her home-away-from-home. Here is one of the Park La Brea Towers where Nancy lives and it’s a five minute stroll to the museum.
I’m merging the pictures…
March 25 and March 30 TWO visits to LACMA in One Week!
I’m merging the pictures from Monday with Nancy and Saturday with the fam celebrating Darryl’s FIFTIETH birthday. Happy HAPPY Birthday Big d!
Three Quintains (Hello Girls)
Alexander Calder (United States, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1898-1976)
United States, 1964
Sculpture
This fountain was built along with the museum and has been an iconic site ever since. I love this thing, right up there with Levitated Mass and Urban Light, I’ve just loved this one for longer.
During the upcoming rebuilding of the museum they are going to move this piece across the street to a new home.
Urban Light…
Urban Light
Chris Burden (United States, Massachusetts, Boston, 1946-2015)
United States, California, Los Angeles County, 2008
Sculpture
(Two-hundred and two) restored cast iron antique LA street lamps
I saw a plan of the new construction that keeps Urban Light and Levitated Mass in their current locations.
Rauschenberg: The 1/4 Mile,…
Rauschenberg: The 1/4 Mile, it was fun to wander down the aisles of this work packed with images of various locations.
Me and Nancy, Art inside Art?!
Cool thing, this! …
Cool thing, this! “Zhu Jinshi’s mixed-media sculpture “Wave of Materials” will be on display as part of “The Allure of Matter: Material Art from China””
This is the train…
March 24
This is the train station in Glendale, built in 1923 it’s small and sweet and charming as can be.
Joanne and her string…
Joanne and her string ensemble played an hour of Bach and it was delightful. The sound was amazing, and standing room only.
After the concert I…
After the concert I fooled around at home for a while and then had an early dinner with Windy and Jeff at Guido’s, an all around nice day.
It was LA Marathon day too and I didn’t know it until this morning. Why didn’t I know? I felt bugged…how could I miss that? I don’t know!
This is a picture…
March 23
This is a picture I took with Xander’s phone and I couldn’t see a thing. I’m sorry about all the off bits but I’m putting it here anyway to remember our fine outing. We ate, visited, played word games, and saw Captain Marvel at the ArcLight. Fun fun fun.
Windy, Xander, Rome, Oliver, Angela, Lucas, Darryl, Lilly
I did a bit…
March 21
I did a bit of the Brown’s yearly landlord project with Lona and her assistant Cindi today, rent increases, interest payments, etc. Mostly Cindi does it all these days. We used to try to get it finished in one go but now Cindi can do it in parts over several days and we’re all so much more relaxed.
Kathleen made a great…
March 20
Kathleen made a great dinner and her friend Carolynn was there too. Kathleen has another close friend, Katherine, so Kathleen, Carolynn, and Katherine…it took me a while…
A few pictures around Kathleen’s house.
…Awww. There’s another…
…Awww. There’s another cat and an adorable dog who live here too. I’ll know I’m old when I do finally get myself that cat.
Three of the Browns…
March 19
Three of the Browns were in town from Hawaii to have college tours for Charis, that was nice, and in a few days the Kings will be in town to tour colleges for Xander. We all hope they both choose HERE.
Then during our Monday Night potluck the hostess took a spill on an ice cube, a total accident that could happen to anyone. The flurry of the 911 response not to mention the hip surgery that followed is a reminder, accidents happen and it’s worse when you’re old.
Here’s Trevor and his four pairs of glasses all for different purposes. He thinks he might have the right number now.
Not my pictures! But finally…
March 15
Not my pictures!
But finally down at the beach this morning I got to marvel at a super-nice wave of the migrating Painted Lady butterflies passing through So Cal for the last few days on their way north. A wave, a swarm, so many.
internet.
We three sisters had…
March 13
We three sisters had a fine day in honor of Lona, my much older sister and family matriarch’s birthday. I won’t tell you how old she is but the initials are Seventy EIGHT. Eighty, just around the corner, isn’t what it used to be, right?!
Our itinerary: wander around the Ojai Valley Inn and have a delicious lunch. Have a tour and a tasting at Ojai Olive Oil. Stroll through gardens at Meditation Mount. Check out the pottery at Firestick. Have an appetizer dinner and Lona’s favorite free dessert, Hula Pie at Duke’s.
Ojai Olive Oil, the…
Ojai Olive Oil, the best olive oil that ever there was, according to our very enthusiastic guide.
This tasting room was…
This tasting room was packed at the beginning and we just hung around trying every combination. You’re seeing just a small corner of the expanse of possibilities.
At the pottery place…
At the pottery place this was my favorite piece, and not even pottery.
Bummer, the road was closed leading up to Meditation Mount so we went for a little walk around town instead.
Hilda is reading The…
March 10
Hilda is reading The Autobiography of a Yogi for the first time and had never been to the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine, so we went, and her friend Mahzad came too.
Across the lake from the chapel.