The Monday Potluck turned out in good numbers for tonight’s call. We check in for just an hour on Mondays and Thursdays and it’s cool to keep in touch. No way to set the colors on this one.
Becky, Alicia, Marija, Lourdes, Marsha, Ann, me (missing Maxine, Ljubica)
Windy’s son Travis’s daughter Cali is here from Texas for a few weeks staying with her Grandma and Jeff and having a grand ol’ time. I look forward to having her around in my back yard for many a socially distanced lunch! She’s making some money digging up weeds in my back lawn. Good for her, good for me.
On the way out the door, hey, quick, let’s catch a shot.
It’s an on the one hand this and on the other hand that kind of situation.
And oh goodie, more things to put on my to-do list. My gardener retired last week. He was old and it was time although I would have kept him as long as he wanted to stay since he was here at my house before I was. So now I have to get someone new, and it’s a chance to get someone who will be more proactive with this crazy landscape. Please cross your fingers for me!
Click on the small pictures for a Bigger Slide Show view.
Sharon and I used to walk at least once a week and some weeks, twice. This is our first time at Palisades Park in months. I felt grateful for the opportunity.
I’ve been in an emotional slump since I got back from the Seven Magic Mountains. I need to turn that ship around! I have too many big projects spinning around inside my little head and making it too hard to focus. Make a better list! That’s my solution. Don’t think ‘I need to get that studio ready’ but instead think about doable chunks, put the chunks on a list, and do them one at a time. Same with my garden, my website, my taxes (I know I know), my health, obsessing as I am on every time I clear my throat, and keeping in touch with family and friends.
Not to mention All The Rest of It. Oh Goodness Gracious bless our hearts. When I let myself, I can wallow in bad news with the best of ’em.
We had an early lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen because it is convenient, has choices we both enjoy, is open, and it’s having a very Slo-Go approach to seating. Nothing is 100%, for example we did sit inside, but it seems like they were making a good effort to be safe. The kitchen was buzzing even at 11am so that’s good.
Ikea Burbank, the biggest Ikea in all of the United States of America. And as we know, America likes its things Big.
There was 100% compliance with masks and distancing, the first time I can report such a response and although it took us 25 minutes to get through the line, once inside the store it was calm and so easy to get around. There were even approachable staff members, stationed behind plexiglass, available for questions although not so much out on the floor.
It was GIGANTIC inside. I think they’ve bulked-up the lettering a little to make it look SO BIG. We shuffled along for hours!
And even without lettering there is no doubt when you are at an Ikea.
This was all about my project to rent the smallest studio furnished to traveling nurses. My neighborhood is in a vortex of medical services which I believe would be a good choice for traveling nurses whose contracts run 3-6 months. I’m hoping this idea will give me more flexibility with using the studio for other purposes and I won’t have to worry so much about a tenant losing their job or just refusing to leave. It happens in trying times and that’s where we are for sure, trying times.
Muriel cooked us up a Happy Birthday Me ladies luncheon extravaGANza. That savory tart was omg DeLish, with a perfect salad, crusty bread and a pot of butter. And for dessert? Chocolate custard eclair just like I like it, and we shared a Cheese Danish. Wow, right?!
Between lunch and dessert we took a quick turn around the neighborhood and for me it was like Being somewhere because the views were different, with different landscaping and different houses, which is most enjoyable. And there’s take-away treats too including a quarter of that amazing tart that I thought I would save for tomorrow. Right. Not happening.
When I think of work this meme usually floats up into my brain and makes me smile.
Alex and Carol came by today and Alex knocked out my Alex-To-Do list in several hours and the rest of the afternoon and early evening we just hung out, me being happy that so much heavy lifting was done and not by me. Not that I ever could have. So YAY! Thank you!!
I was gone for 3 days and 2 nights and it’s taking 2 days to rest up. Well, I am a year older…
Just kickin’ it around the yard.
Windy and I are off tomorrow for a tour east on the I-15, Road of Roadside Attractions, destination The Seven Magic Mountains, an installation created by Ugo Rondinone in 2016. ‘They’ are always threatening to move it, it’s now set to leave in 2021. I took the photo from their website.
You can Click Here to see
My Story of The Seven Magic Mountains!
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And I took this gif directly from imgur.com just to see if I could. I can!
Need a smile? Watch this once and you’ll watch it 100 times.
gif-birdcat
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Mostly everyone is leaving the Land of Aloha…or maybe they are mostly staying. Lona is coming back to LA in July to attend to business and keep some company with her sisters. Christa has already left for Sacramento to begin her Residency. Caleb might or might not be going back to Oxford, depending, will they or won’t they open, or when will they open. Charis might or might not be going back to Virginia for college too, depending…
Both schools are offering distance learning but Charis is thinking of taking a semester off if she has to stay in Hawaii. Her comment: “I’ve home-schooled all my life, I don’t really want to home-school college too.”
Here they all are, all together at The Beach House, together for the last time for a while and taking advantage of every moment. You’ve got to love all that hair!
Caleb, Beth, Christa, Trevor, Lona, Charis.
cb.
The new cat Chauncey, settled at Casa Van Valkenburg, and quite the charmer, the friendliest sweetest cat I’ve run across in some time.
Tom cooked! We ate, we drank, and made merry, and then we walked around the ‘hood. Almost like the old days but not quite with no hugs or kisses, and masks and distance. Still, very much FUN! The restaurants are open now and so is Casa Van Valkenburg!
..restaurants open! And Lill and Tony immediately enjoy a fine meal at Tony P’s in the Marina. Lill and Tony, Happy People!
il.
Selfies are a mystery to me, but I wanted a picture of my hair a few months in because it will be short again soon. This is day 2 after a wash just left to its own way of being. I went early this morning to old people’s hour at Trader Joe’s and had no problem at all getting in.
Happy HAPPY Birthday David! The pictures in the collage = David made me a birthday card a few years ago, a picture of David in 2006 around the time I first met him with his harem in tow, the birthday party from 2018, two pictures that include some of his work.
All the below thanks to JoAnn including the photo. I’m so glad for all this identifying information! You know my memory exists only here on this website.
“Madeline Callis, granddaughter…Jaydon Levitt, Maddie’s live in boyfriend…Wendy Callis, daughter in law…Olivia Callis, granddaughter…Gay Block, long term dearest friend and wonderful photographer…Stephen Callis, oldest son and Judith Hopkins, daughter-in-law, living in Thousand Oaks…Muriel
“David and Jo…Deanne Belinoff, long time friend and artist living in Seattle…John Jannetty, David’s long time friend and hairdresser living on an island off Seattle…Tom Kalaris, David’s long time friend he met on the Pier and is now living in Missoula Montana and was an engineer
“Karol Heinecken Mora, David’s long time friend and daughter of Robert Heinecken…Joanne Jaffe and her husband Jon Wexler…Penny, dear dear dear darling friend…Richard Brown and his mate, Patricia
Meriellen Johnson, my beloved niece in Chicago. Very unflattering photo of her but she was fried having just come home from work…Michael Callis, younger son driving in his car coming home from work, living in Orcutt CA.”
I know, so beautiful! From 1,200 students our Rome is Student of the YEAR. An honor well deserved. (all the photos from Angela)
Totally true, every word, from the school district’s announcement.
And while we’re at it let’s celebrate Lilly too! She missed the Father-Daughter Dance, Rome missed some school events also, so two months into lock-down Lilly created a fantastic evening for the family. Angela reports that Lilly was in charge of Everything – decorations, menu, playlist, activities, everything, and it was a magical festivity for one and all!
Zooming .. regular weekly plans with friends and family, Event Zooms for birthdays etc., and a few weekly events such as an exercise class for old ladies, a Persian poetry discussion group, and for a couple of weeks I participated in one of Roger’s gatherings that is finished now. It’s made a huge difference in my calendar, peppering the squares with some socializing. At the beginning it was disquieting waking up in the morning to an empty calendar. Although my to-do list was never empty so there’s that.
I can see the technology evolving and I can see how all the people working at home might find themselves thinking, yikes, so many meetings that go on so long, as time-consuming and potentially uneventful as meetings in the office. I would like to hear that office meetings are being re-imagined and working well.
Ben and Bonnie’s banana turned yellow overnight. I got these two weeks ago. Green green green green eat me NOW.
A selection of the pictures I took for the arborist at the garden center who was a lovely woman and after our 20 minute conversation discussing my ailing trees, she said “be sure to let me know how it turns out” to which I replied “you can count on it!”.
The kumquat. Planted wrong, excavate to the edge of the leaves, water only once a week more deeply, don’t let the sprinklers hit the tree, add more iron in 6 weeks. The yellow leaves are doomed but the new growth should be nice and green.
The persimmon. Planted wrong, excavate to the edge of the leaves, water only once a week more deeply, don’t let the sprinklers hit the tree, fertilize at the end of summer, don’t worry about the falling fruit.
We didn’t overcome did we. We did not overcome, yet? Maybe someday? I hope the new people do better than we did.
Now I sit around and then the day is over. I’ve enjoyed myself but the world is no better off, although I do try to be thrifty and not waste. I had four video calls (more than usual!), did 1/4 of a Spanish textbook chapter, fooled around with this website, cooked and ate and cleaned up food, pulled some weeds, and ran a load of laundry. And I watched three episodes of Murdoch Mysteries.
We greet June in so much turmoil over the events of the day. I pretty much try not to talk about anything too controversial here, appealing I hope to a general G-rated audience, even to those of my relatives whose views tend toward the exact opposite of mine, except of course for the regularly scheduled Trump Rage that cannot be avoided by me, and in keeping with that mission, you know what’s happening, you don’t need me to tell you.
So let’s talk about my front yard! Goal for June: get rid of the things I don’t like and put in things I do. And figure out about the water, this plant is getting too much, that plant is getting too little, fertilize with this or that or the other. omg. And do my absolute best by the trees, for them to be Happy. Happy Trees!
None of these Santa Monica pictures are mine and I’m not going out any time soon either. Probably. As of today it’s Ten Weeks Shelter-In-Place. I was counting pretty regularly for a while and then every day just rolled into the next and I stopped noticing.
internet.
I am getting anxious now about finding a solution to my front yard situation of so many things that bug. So I asked Lill if she wanted to come with me to the garden center. Her garden is picture perfect. She specializes in succulents and cactus and is capable of spending The Entire Day working on garden projects. So…that could be my problem. I’m too lazy to have a nice garden.
Honestly, I paid Plenty so as not to be the victim of a concept to which I do not subscribe, the concept of ‘you get what you pay for’. Not necessarily. This picture is from the garden center. Lill’s displays are more wonderful.
I’m still having folks for lunch and I love it but apparently I haven’t been taking pictures…
Just right for a safe and happy corona luncheon. Thank you Sharon! These tete-a-tetes, both in my yard and in other people’s have been a gentle reminder that we do still have friends!
Thank you thank you Susie for finding this map on the Santa Monica City website! All those tree streets I’ve been taking pictures of are named here, except MY street is missing an identification! Here’s the link: Santa Monica Tree Map.
…I being their second garden guest and they being my second garden hosts. We enjoyed ourselves entirely!
They have bananas, figs, and plenty of geraniums to admire. And the jasmine flavors the entire space.
Merlyn, Hilda, and Raffi met me at Tehran Market so Hilda could be my guide through the store that re-opened a month ago, doubled in size and jam-packed with all foods Persian.
The full deli section isn’t going yet but still Hilda gave it a Big Thumbs Up. She bought a ton of stuff as well as lunch from the guy cooking up kebobs in the parking lot. Raffi is having fun watching the process. Everything was deeelish.
Here’s Raffi, Hilda, and Merlyn from Hilda’s facebook.
Wow, right, check out that PPE. I think he made it himself!
Temporary cover on my tooth, impression for a permanent crown on the way to lab. He did have to shoot me up three times to get my tooth numb enough to drill on it. Just a reminder that this is a different problem, not my recently completed implant.
I feel like it was trouble and expense that might have been avoided. I keep chocolate in the freeze so I’ll break off a little square for when a taste of chocolate is just the thing. BUT I forgot that what I had had nuts and caramel in it. So I chomped down hard on the chocolate that turned out to be right in the wrong part of a rock-like frozen nut.
You know how it is, you know instantly, that feels expensive! The view from the dentist’s office to the west, and the mold of my new crown.
Walking home down Wilshire (seems like all my places are on Wilshire) I noticed another one of those street-with-one-tree. I think they are ficus trees.
Here are a few pictures from a walk around the block. I’ve taken photos of all these places before, always looking different.
Last time I showed some neighborhood pictures I talked about the different trees featured on the various streets. Here we’ve got our jacarandas. Next, the red door house, and after that, Sweet Peas, the flowers of my youth.
As you walk west on Wilshire, you can look north or south and each block has its own row of different trees. Of course the palms are easier for a picture. The shorter trees get muddled up with the houses and the cars but it’s lovely to look at anyway.
I’m always hot for a reflect-o.
Out at 5:30 this morning, I was greeted by these cawing crows who followed me, caw caw cawing, from lamp post to lamp post for three blocks.
For the first block it was just these three and then as time went on more and more gathered, but they never settled down for a picture. It was fun though, and this picture will remind me. What a racket!
Wow, I have four days of not-much to report. I study Spanish from an old textbook for maybe an hour (yo no recuerdo NADA!), I fuss with building this new website for two-three-four hours, I’ve been lax with the garden because I’m planning to take some things out and put other things in which is Super-Duper-Intimidating, folks eat with me in my backyard one at a time, I’ve done two trips to the garden center for supplies…etc…cooking and eating, that’s a big one.
And speaking of the garden center, a rose thorn broke off in my finger and it was so deep I couldn’t decide if I should dig it out or not. So I left it and it disappeared into my finger.
That’s that I thought. But No. It is now working its way to the surface which I look at 100 times per day because it reminds me of Alien, straining as it is to break free. Only it’s in my finger, and it’s a thorn.
Beautiful Mother’s Day Flowers from Cynthia – I’ll be enjoying this display for many weeks to come!
I’ve been distracted from pictures the last few days because Darryl is working on a refresh of my very old website, making it so I can take care of it myself, so I’ve been fiddling with the process. It’s exciting!
I‘ve also done a lot of e-chatting. In one day I talked to Marija-Marsha-Ann on Houseparty to get Marija set up. I talked to Beth and Lona on Duo, or was it Hangouts, I forget.
On that same day I had two zoom calls, one in celebration of Marsha’s birthday…...and the other was with some folks I rarely see and other’s I haven’t seen in 60 years. We all went to the same Junior High!
In my daily ‘discussion’ with the garden-monster, today I had to hack away some of the lavender that had overwhelmed the rosemary, and I salvaged these.
May 7
I can’t believe how big a part of my life grocery stores have become. Pleasant as it is to stroll over to Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, and although I don’t need a thing in the world, still I had an itch to go to Ralphs and get a few items from the old-school brands not carried by WF or TJ.
And then while I was there, and since I had the car, and since it’s been more than two months..
..I bought bags full. It is very cool to have a practically empty shopping list.
What else…also today was 4+ hours of e-visits so that’s cool and another most unexpectedly big part of my life.
Tomorrow many kinds of stores are opening for curbside delivery which doesn’t help too much for the great desire to Go Somewhere, but hiking trails, some beaches, and golf courses will open on Saturday. Maybe I could hook up with a golfing pal and just go for a walk?
May 6
I had lunch with Sharon out in her garden today, and brought home another crop of kumquats for marmalade. This is exciting. Someday my new tree will make kumquats. That’s the plan.
Oliver hanging out in Lilly’s cardboard house, made by the whole family from a big box, it is awesome. I mean really, look at that fireplace. There are many more so-cool features including a flower box for heaven’s sake.
lk.
May 5
Merlyn and I have been messing around with facial recognition software. He’s pretty happy with Google Photos and it does look ok (we did a zoom call with screen sharing, long retired though we are). He has many fewer pictures to index since he’s always kept a directory of ‘best of’ whereas I tried to index my whole terabyte of data.
I tried Lightroom too, but it’s not fair to judge them since I lost patience once the system recognized 10s of 1000s of faces. I do have an idea how to lessen the load, but I probably won’t bother.
No real numbers here, it’s a concept piece from my favorite meme site, imgur.com. As people who know me can well imagine, soooo much of what ‘people’ say gives me the shivers. Good thing for me knock on wood inshallah I’m healthy and can take it in small-enough slices from sources that don’t bellow and preen.
May 4
A decision was made..by me. I’m not going to try to rent this place until new layoffs are over and re-hiring begins. I think I’ll have a bigger pool of qualified potential applicants if I wait. It’s less risky too. And I’ve got my travel budget to cover the loss.
Remember about the last tenant who moved back home to North Carolina. He and his dad did a surprisingly good job cleaning but it’s not New Tenant clean. For example the shower doors were opaque with soap scum and the right side picture is after three different efforts to clean them. I confirmed to myself that it can get clean, so that’s good.
May 3
From one of my weeding efforts. I lasted 12 minutes this time. Let’s see what tomorrow brings!
May 2
We have had some expansion of ‘here’ since I and the tenants have been using the yard more and more as the weather warms and one or two at a time, people come around to sit, far-apart.
We keep the chairs at a distance and just visit. No dancing. It’ll be so so good when dancing is back!
May 1 SIX WEEKS and SIX DAYS…of HERE.
I got on the e-mailing list for these guys, for the Poem-A-Day, and it’s been great, something I look forward to finding in my email every morning.
As part of Caleb’s Cambridge experience, I’m also following along with this guy who posts Dalai Lama quotes from his book about happiness, chooses a popular song to go with the sentiment, and then tells about the philosophical underpinnings of his choice.
https://www.maximoco.com/happiness
I was also following a daily art exercise from Lilly’s elementary school which was Great, but it’s over now.
April 30
Ben’s birthday is on the 29th and Bonnie’s is on the 30th so HAPPY BIRTHDAY BenBonnie.
Ben made that birthday card for Bonnie and Bonnie sent her ‘Bonnie on her Birthday’ photo to add to the fun. 73. How can this BE?! Lookin’ good Bon!
b&b.
April 27
Windy came around and we saw each other (from a totally safe distance..) for the first time in about 8 weeks. Yikes!
We masked up for a walk to the drug store, passing by we ordered some take-out from the Thai place and picked it up on the way back from..
..the drug store where Windy got what she needed and I finally got Easter Chocolate! Ten cents each. I’m going to pop them in the freezer and be happy just knowing that they are there.
It’s certainly not that they are good, oh no! It’s just a ‘thing’.
April 28
The garden designer came over today and I won’t go into my litany of issues again, let’s just say her replies, of course and who would expect otherwise, were to tell me what I must be doing wrong.
My no-maintenance, run-the-automatic-irrigation-and-go-travelling landscape turns out to be not that at all. Too much water, too little water, spray this, fertilize that, cut back this, that will grow, you have to wait for those, etc. ETC.
At least I know now she’s not going to do anything more than replant the trees. So I’m going to have to pay my gardener more to deal with all this, and I’m going to have to learn what needs to be done..and go shopping for product, and for replacement plants. My gardener is happy to do whatever I ask but he has never once made a maintenance suggestion.
Ok, onward!
Saint Johns Hospital, down the street, at 11pm. Staff was out here demonstrating a few days ago due to lack of protective gear.
I like to walk at 6am or 11pm when it’s quieter out there in the world.
April 26
This was the last Sunday for the zoom Conference of the Birds reading group, written by Attar and led by the translator of this work, Sholeh Wolpé, and organized by Hilda. There were 16 participants calling in from at least 4-5-6 different countries, I’m not sure exactly, but it was quite the international crowd. And although it didn’t turn me into a spiritual person, still I enjoyed myself entirely.
I also had another Sunday skype visit with Lill, Knut, and Brigitte. Everyone is fine. Homes full of light. Washing our hands. Not touching our face.
April 25
Alex and Carol from another day, but they came over today, the first time anyone has been in my house or yard for almost seven weeks.
Alex helped me (I made a list and he did the work..) for so many things getting ready to rent the studio, and also ‘we’ did a few chores around my house too.
Thank you, it was MAGIC! Wash your hands don’t touch your face…
Neither Whole Foods nor Trader Joe’s carries these two name-brand items, and I’ve tried so many others, to find a substitute, but no. A trip to Ralphs might be in my future.
April 24
My tenant Olivia made us cocktails tonight. I sat on my back porch and she sat in the Adirondack chair 6+ feet away. The evening was cool and refreshing, the cocktail was delicious, and I’m putting it here so I don’t forget.
The Negroni!
Stir equal parts Campari, gin, and sweet or semi-sweet vermouth in crushed ice. Strain the cocktail from the shaker into chilled highball glasses with ice in the glass. Garnish with a nice twist of orange peel. The double ice treatment keeps it nice and cold for sipping. Maybe they make all iced cocktails this way?
April 23
This is me talking to me, so when it’s over I can remember, remember a little anyway. You can skip it!
What Do I do all day? How is this ok? Since between brief episode of fury and despair, I am quite ok. And I’m not so much consumed with ‘am I ever going to make it to Uzbekistan’, or even ‘back to New York’. I seem to be quite ok just sitting here for now. Maybe because I am so grateful for my circumstances and for the well-being of my family.
What I do every day:
Listen to the radio, read the newspapers, do the daily puzzles
Correspondence (phone, email, conferences..)
Mess around with photos and my website
Prepare food, eat, and clean up
Update my to-do list and do what has to be done that day
Oh yes, there’s plenty of tv/movies in my life
What I do most days:
Pull some weeds
Go for a neighborhood walk (6am or 11pm) and/or do exercises in the house
Work on one of my self-improvement projects (read, study, cull possessions..)
What I do from time to time:
A little housekeeping, laundry, paperwork (bookkeeping, bills, organization..)
Walk to the grocery stores or to take-away restaurants
Manage tenant/property situations and now I have a vacancy
April 22
Here’s another thing I’m giving up on. Getting this picture. I’ve been wanting to walk down to the pier at night since Day One and here we are at Day FORTY-FOUR.
I’m not going to be walking down there because from here, there, and back, it’s three+ miles and there are no rest rooms open along the way. I could drive, but look at this perfect picture. The world doesn’t need another one!
latimes.
Oh how delightful, the Hawaii family sent me a care package! You guys are too sweet!
April 21
Ok Ok, finally, some twisting growth on the fence! The lantana is still a lost cause but at least this is something!
Olivia’s new job: farmer! It’s true, she’s working for a company that installs urban gardens and she stages her plantings here, outside my back door, on their way to her clients.
You too can have food fresh from your garden and someone else will do all the work! How first world is This?!
April 20
Here they are, my ex-tenant John and his sweet dad John who will spend two and a half days pedal to the medal, driving from Santa Monica to Davidson, North Carolina, straight through on I-40 for 2400 miles.
John decided to leave his twelve pack of TP for anyone around here who needed it. Nice!
April 19
From when I used to live here, an awesome 280 square feet. The most recent tenant left today, he’s going back home to North Carolina, home to his near and dear where he can hang with the fam and have a more normal life.
I wish him well!
Of course my To Do list just doubled.
April 17
Finally, finally, I got myself out of the house before 6am, a necessary timing because by 7:30-8 the narrow sidewalks are buzzing with dog walkers, stroller pushers, joggers, and folks out just to take the air.
It was lovely!
So I just clicked away because it was So Much FUN. This house is on my street and the closest to mine in design. Three more years and we can have a 100th birthday party for the houses.
There must be plenty of kids on this block with chalk drawings all down the sidewalk.
April 16
Big Day Today! I went out in the car!! I realized much later that I should have put some miles on the highway since I’ve driven 5-6 miles total in the last 6 weeks.
One of my neighbors sent me an email about a place that was giving away masks so I hopped right in the car to get some – they had made up little baggies of five to hand out at the door. Now I can use the scarf that I was using for a mask as a scarf again.
April 15
I wish I could be more cheerful about this. I am going to complain now.
They planted the trees wrong (a kumquat and a persimmon), too deep according to the arborist I hired, because all the leaves are yellowing, and he said this would impede fruiting too.
The fence looks so pathetic and ridiculous. It’s supposed to have a vine winding through the top and lantana peeking through the bottom. Nothing!
The roses in the pots are not happy either, and there’s more…but these are the big things that I can’t get out of my eye.
Deep Breaths! All things in good time! Say I to me.
April 15
This is a picture of our mother’s last birthday party and today is the 13th anniversary of her passing. She was quite a gal as everyone who knew her would attest.
April 14
This is a picture from last year, Kauai in April. I would have been in Kauai except for Sharon’s detached retina, after which I would have been in NYNY except for the corona.
And instead of Kauai or NYNY, I’m In My House.
April 13
I didn’t go to the store today so no Easter brunch for me, and no chocolate, and no crafts. Maybe tomorrow.
I did run across this book and decided why not try again, start from the beginning again, as I have so many times before. The videos are online and I think the farthest I ever got before was chapter 10.
Day 1 of Week FIVE!
I’m letting go of the study of Japanese. If I ever find that I’m going back to Japan I’ll do my best to reignite my sushi bar language skills.
I’m letting go of my efforts to memorize songs on the ukulele. I can play ok but I can NOT sing not even one single note, not now, not ever. I sound so terrible I make myself shiver and it’s not good, not good at all.
I am redirecting myself to achievable goals and that feels great!
Christa and Charis sent a sweet Duo video with a chicken filter. I added the peeps.
April 12
I got this from Lona in Hawaii. That’s Beth and Charis. The family made an Easter Lamb Cake ‘free hand’ and it’s adorable. It must be acknowledged that if you thought ‘oh that’s so cute, a poodle’ no one would blame you.
So it’s Easter in the time of coronavirus. I failed to realize that I would want the two essentials: Brunch and Chocolate.
Tomorrow I’m going to Old People’s Hour at Trader Joe’s and acquire the necessaries for Brunch and Chocolate. I’m pretty flexible when it comes to the timing of any celebration.
And crafts, I forgot about that. I do like making things around Easter.
April 11
Ann sent these pictures of her garden roses. You can imagine what that rose garden looks like – fabulous!
ad.
And here is some lantana from around the corner. Bright, light, and cheery. And check out those Easter egg colors. Almost like a party.
April 10
This makes me happy. All I have to do is do it and it’s a highlight of the day. There are of course days when I succumb to inertia. Usually on those days I can crouch out in the yard pulling weeds.
Also I modify 4 of the 12 exercises. I modify the last two by not doing them, I just stretch. I modify the two chair routines with a similar idea but not messing around with a chair.
The 7 Minute Workout from the NY Times. You can download the routine with guided timing which is super-helpful.
The unemployment line, and I’ve been so uneasy .. so many more people than ever who don’t have any money. One of the most stressful places to be I think, without money.
Tomorrow it’s back to finding at least one cheerful thing!
internet.
April 9
It’s been raining all day, here where I’m inside the house on Day 25. Twenty-Five!
internet.
April 8
Oh goodie, another video call and this time using Skype Meet Now. What fun! Ingalill and I made a date with Brigitte and Knut in Belgium and after a silly amount of time getting connected we did enjoy ourselves entirely.
Here’s a picture Knut took a week or so ago of Brigitte getting ready to go to the store.
ka.
And speaking of the store, today I took an inventory of my supplies on hand and cooked a few dishes too.
I was so cheered by how the food turned out, I’m looking forward to eating again tomorrow. Well, I look forward to eating again any dang time.
I’ll certainly be able to avoid the store for another week, more if it has to be.
This is ‘the pantry’ containing all the rest of my supplies – cans, dried goods, paper supplies.
This was a choice when I remodeled the kitchen, not to have any upper cabinets and to have a pantry here. After three years it’s still pretty make-shift, but it works so I don’t have a lot of motivation to re-do it.
April 7
I’m writing this on the 8th and I don’t entirely (at all?) remember what else happened on the 7th but I did have some fun with Roger and his Project, going on 50+ years now. WOW!
He had a zoom meeting and one of the participants opened the meeting with 5 minutes of guided breathing – that ball moves along the wave for breathing in and out. It was good! You can check it out here: Breathe!
Here’s Roger’s Project. You can join in too! Voice of Humanity.
Sandy drew the picture. She has been making her way for so so many years with Parkinson’s and yet she continues to create art. You go Sandy!
April 6
Day 1 of Week 4. Yikes!
I e-visited with a colleague from my old cruise ship days who had moved to Florida. Miami/Ft. Lauderdale is feeling it particularly as the home base for so many cruise ships. She said there are usually 7 out there that she can see from her balcony.
Cruise ships: vacation paradise or petri dish of infections?
lb.
Another Monday Night Cocktail Hour. We’ve done it a few times and it’s good fun, this is the first time I remembered to take a screen shot. We are nine in total and here are the six who made it to the Houseparty.
Lourdes, Becky, Alicia, Marsha, Ann, me
April 5
Happy HAPPY Birthday! I got to call in with the fam on Houseparty, it was FUN, like a party! ‘Blowing out the birthday candles’ in the time of coronavirus. Thanks for the photos Angela.
ak.
A few hours later I was on another call, Zoom this time, with a group Hilda organized to hear Sholeh Wolpé talk about her translation of The Conference of the Birds, a classical Persian poem by the Sufi poet Attar.
It was very interesting to hear her vision and for her to take questions, and it all went very smoothly. Good job Hilda!
Then I talked to Rupa and Anil in India on WhatsApp and they sent this picture of their handsome dog Sheru. They are hoping to re-open their factory on April 15th and I’ll hope along with them.
am.
I’ve been writing some back and forth with Yas in Japan and Michael in Sarasota, colleagues from the Really way back days at my first computer job.
Since I was bemoaning my cancelled trip to New York and that I wouldn’t get to do Hanami again this year, Yas sent several pictures from a spot near his home.
ys.
April 4
I know this doesn’t look cheerful on the face of it but for me it is Fabulous. This represents hours and hours over days and weeks of shuffling things around.
In order to keep my house neat everything not in use ends up out here. So miscellaneous everything gets piled up without a real home.
And my method of tidying – pick it up put it away – only works when there is an ‘away’ to put it. This is a vast improvement from January BUT…
…there’s still this.
I have three weeks to muddle along before the first chance to get back to real life, so Fingers Crossed for me.
A place for everything and everything in its place! Which doesn’t mean just chucking ‘things’ in the garage or the studio…
April 3
When I opened the front door this morning at 5am the moist, fresh, and sea-foam-fragrant pre-dawn air swirled around me and I thought, oh wow this is so great, what a delicious smell, so I don’t have the corona.
Later in the morning I went to the garage and passing the orange tree, a soft breeze brought that intoxicating aroma of an orange blossom cloud.
So I decided while strolling around the block this afternoon I’d take some pictures of the smells.
There are three different kinds of lavender on the block, and my next door neighbor grows a spectacular wall of jasmine on the fence between our front yards.
Everyone’s got rosemary because it grows like a weed and geraniums of many types.
April 2
Old People’s Hour at Trader Joe’s. There was a line, it took only a few minutes to get in to the store, mostly empty of people and entirely stocked with food. So much food.
Everything I usually get was there with the exception of whole wheat fusilli pasta. There was tons of pasta, just not that particular flavor. Dried food, frozen food, fresh food, it was all there. I saw people going out with paper goods but they were gone by the time I got in at 8:45, not that I need anything.
