’20 February

February 28

Nancy came over, we went shopping, cooked some food, saw the Ansel Adams photos at Bergamot Station, and generally enjoyed the beautiful summery day.

Here she is with her New Car!

February 26

I cleared out my closet and added more hysteria to..

..my garage! Shuffling things around. There is room for this space to be tidy. The garage. It’s a seemingly permanent entry on my To Do list.

February 25

Lona had to get her toe fixed and look what happened to her foot! Have you ever seen such a foot. All went well and she is super-excited that pain relief is in sight.

February 24

Becky put on a festive Fat Tuesday Monday Potluck with decorations and masks and a King Cake and everything.

We celebrated three birthdays: Alicia, Marija, and Ljubica. And it was FUN!

Ann, Becky, Marsha
me, Alicia, Ljubica, Lourdes, Marija
Maxine was out of town

February 22

Pods from amazon.com. They gladly replaced the entire order and I didn’t have to return any, so I ended up with many more good ones than I paid for, which has made me feel ok about the whole transaction.

February 21

This is one of the concept drawings from the LAX design team way back then. I like it A Lot and wish I could get a bigger version.

internet.

February 20

A few days before I had told Cynthia how Oliver never seemed to bark much. A woof woof every now and then but not extended barking.

I went over early to take Oliver out for a walk and found him sitting exactly in front of the tv barking and barking at Animal Planet. He moved when he heard me before I could get the shot – I laughed out loud.

Pauli and I had lunch at the Hermosa Pier and then strolled around the shops stopping here to see some lights from Turkey.

After dinner I took Lilly and Tessa for ice cream and some play time at the beach.

And these kids are still in the Take My Picture phase so I got to play with Night Sight. I see the feature is rolling out to other flagship phones too, not just the Pixel.

So fun..

..striking a pose.

It does work better when the subject of the picture is stock still.

Good night!

February 19

Windy found Lona a place to get her hair trimmed up and all the sisters were together to cheer her on.

Then I went downtown to meet Robert for lunch. Wow! I’ve know him for SO long…since he was a kid. It was great to hear about his projects, and his children who are now young adults, and life.

rl.

We ate at Pitchoun, a French bakery across from Pershing Square. This is their bathroom wall.

After lunch we walked over to the LA Central Library which was so cool, Robert had never been inside, and the first time I’ve been there since finishing Susan Orlean’s The Library Book which I recommend highly especially if you grew up in LA. If you grew up in LA you’ll definitely love it.

A classic.

Cynthia sent these. Oh Kai, what a guy!

February 18

I had lunch with Nancy today. She had stopped off at the Bloomberg campaign center an the way. She’s wearing an I Like Mike button!

na.

February 17

Alex and Carol were over on their way to somewhere else so Alex would mount my tv (although we still need to hide the cords) and put up the new dining room light (twice as much light as before!). Done and done!

February 16

Rome and I went to the Getty Center today and I hauled her around to look at my favorite statuary.

On the way through the garden path leading to..

..the garden itself.

We liked it.

Now we’re at my favorite corner, Walking Flower to the right, Jousters to the left, Rome in the middle!

I really like this guy too.

Gandydancer’s Dream
Mark di Suvero (American, born China, 1933)
Created 1987–1988

I never had much feeling for this piece so Rome went around to read the plaque so we could maybe learn something about it and then like it better. We did learn something about it and I do like it better!

“”Gandy dancer” is a slang term for a railroad maintenance worker originating in the late 1800s. Gandy dancer crews were known for accompanying their laborious, repetitive work with singing and dancing. Although the connection between this abstract work and its title is elusive, the jagged steel of di Suvero’s sculpture and its kinetic elements can be related to the rhythmic labor on the railroad.”

And then the guard reminded us that it was the Chinese who built much of the railroad (although a gandy dancer was more likely African-American), and the artist was born in China – so ok ok!

A little-bit-hidden fountain from outside the Children’s Pavilion.

If you recognize this face you’ll know the rest of it.

What is that barrel-shaped object? I don’t know! I hope to make a point to walk up there next time.

AH, another favorite, Ellsworth Kelly’s sculpture which he unfortunately calls ‘Untitled’. Untitled is a very unsatisfying name.

What the Getty says: “This thin, slightly curving bronze rises to a height of more than twelve feet. At its tip and bottom, the piece is flat. A matte-black patina provides a smooth and neutral surface that emphasizes the form’s sharp silhouette. In sunlight, the sculpture casts its own double–a dramatic and attenuated shadow.

“In the early 1970s, Ellsworth Kelly began creating totem-like sculptures in a variety of materials including wood, aluminum, and weathering steel. This work is one of a handful of “totems” Kelly executed in bronze. The artist used a source from antiquity–the rigid, upright statues of young men known as kouroi.”

After the Getty we joined the family at the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Dog Park Meet-up. There were as many or more behind me as there were in front.

Oliver is in the foreground pack.

February 15

Muriel and Elizabeth, Muriel’s friend from North Carolina, came over for an easy brunch and then we walked up to Montana for a little shopping tour. Elizabeth thought it was amusing, the outfits that I and Muriel chose for our walk.

em.

February 14

I’ve seen Les and Elizabeth a couple times now on their short stop-off in LA, coming from Hawaii and heading back to Boston. It’s been so nice having them here!

February 13

Redondo schools are having a four day weekend – from Valentine’s Day to Presidents’ Day so it’s Slumber Party time.

The two big ones were watching the original 1951 Alice in Wonderland on a computer. What a great show. Disney made it 55 years before they were born(!) and they love it.

February 12

Finally, a mouth full of teeth! Finished, after 14 months, mostly healing time between procedures, and now that it’s over I already hardly remember all those months with a gaping hole in my smile.

February 11

Muriel put on such a welcome party, a Ladies Who Lunch so some of her LA friends could meet her good friend of 40 years, visiting here from North Carolina.

Muriel’s friend Elizabeth is responsible for these flowers and for so much more.

Elizabeth, Nancy, JoAnn, Muriel…are they too cute or WHAT?!

February 10

Marsha hosted Monday Night Potluck. She has been threatening to get another cat and I expect it will show up soon.

Nathan Pyle.

February 9

Merlyn and Hilda hosted a delightful Oscar Party. We sat around and watched the show and enjoyed a five course feast – 4pm veggies, chips and dips; 5pm pita, cheeses, and herbs; 6pm soup and tarte; 7pm seafood salad; 8pm dessert and champagne. As festive and fun as the Oscars show itself. (I liked the show and I was perfectly ok with all the awards…that’s something.)

Merlyn, Carol, Hilda, Erin, Alex

February 8

Snagged off Travel and Leisure, a handsome view of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.

internet.

Heading up on the tram, through the spotted window and into the lens flare..

..and walking down from the station on a loong steeep path..

..to some patchy snow and good times ahead.

Gary, Liz, me, Angela, Darryl, Rome, Lilly

On your mark, get set..

..GO!

Angela and Darryl have some good pictures that I’m hoping to add to this story too. We had fun! Happy Birthday Angela!!

February 7

A walk with Sharon took me to the Promenade and my dinos, looking good with the Chinese New Year lanterns still waving in the breeze.

Then I picked up Nancy and took her home to the Park La Brea Towers, a complex built between 1944 and 1948. From wiki ‘the largest housing development west of the Mississippi’, I have admired the towers from my first visit so many decades ago.

February 6

At the dentist! They must have 10-20 rooms in this amazing office, all done up with different animals. Rome while Lilly gets a teeth cleaning.

How fun is this! And here’s Lilly. Those are Rome’s shoes that are so apropos to the scene.

Yesterday I went with Nancy to see 1917. More later on my movie round-up…

February 4

This is one of the hang-out areas at the Korean Spa where Windy and I got the full treatment, the soaks-steams-saunas, the scrub and massage, the Korean lunch. We got there for the first appointment so it was peaceful and quiet and empty. SO good!

Oh yeah, grass and weeds. Looks like my no-maintenance landscape has another idea.

February 3

Here’s Bill, a full on fan of the KC Chiefs. I can’t remember if he’s always been a KC fan but he does live there now and puts on his Chiefs gear to watch the game, here hoping for some Super Bowl magic (which did in fact come his way!).

He passed through LA for a quick stop and we did the fast walk to Fig, ate and drank like royalty at the half-price happy hour, and walked back. It was fab.

February 2

Look at the date – 02/02/2020, a palindrome!

Cynthia sent these, Kai having a grand ol’ time at the dog park.

cc.

It was Jim and Rick’s idea, they live in Long Beach, to go to the Photo LA show in Santa Monica and they asked me if I wanted to join them. So (not being able to leave well enough alone?) I asked it if was ok to invite my other Long Beach friends so they could all know each other.

We met at Spitfire Grill at the Santa Monica Airport, an airport hanger being the venue for the photo show. We also had a wander through the Aviation Museum and it was altogether delightful.

Carol, Alex, Rick, Jim, me, Hilda, Merlyn

Kate Breakly. She does cool still-life photos painted over with gold leaf. They really caught my eye.

Pancho Luna did these, the photo part reflected in the books that you can see differently from various angles. They are made from an acrylic material and for me the double one is particularly awesome, different from wherever you look and different based on the light source.

February 1

I had a morning visit with Lona, TeeTee, and Trevor and Beth over at Lona’s place. We hadn’t had a chance to just hang out in a while. We were going to walk but we didn’t. It’s hard for four people to walk in a busy public place and have a coherent conversation with everyone.

Then in the afternoon I met up with Marsha and we saw Ford vs Ferrari, which we both enjoyed more than we thought we would, had a snack and a beer, and came home to pick oranges in the dark. We were going to walk but we didn’t. The movie was, in all with previews, three hours!