The Broad Art Museum is in downtown LA and is named for Eli and Edythe Broad, philanthropists who personally financed the building of the $140 million museum designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with Gensler. The museum holds the Broads’ personal contemporary art collection of over 2,000 pieces and features works by over…

Here are photos of the 4th of July parade in Ojai, which we attended today with Liz, Ron, Ethan, Ray, my nephew Jim and his wife Karri. This is a wonderful down-home parade where townspeople put their chairs out up and down the main parade route a week before. There were lots of floats today…

Ron, Ethan, Liz, Ray, Len, Karri, and Jim Today, we went to Carpinteria, a coastline town above Ventura, where we spent the afternoon. We ate a good lunch at a seafood restaurant, walked down to the beach, then strolled through the shopping district of this quaint seaside community. My nephew, Jim (sister Leslie’s son), and…

Ray, Jim, and Karri deep in conversation

I have been working on a piece to submit to Story Circle Network’s annual anthology, Real Women Write with the theme this year on Mothers and Mentoring: The Art of Nurturing. The original deadline was July 1 and I have been hurrying to get an essay ready. However, today, I received the good news that…

At the end of July, I’ll be teaching a 5-week online class for Story Circle Network entitled “Food and Memoir, A Delectable Combination.” I’ve taught this class before and it’s one of my favorites since food is such a great catalyst for memoir writing. After all, many memories are tied to food, such as my…

I have always liked crossword puzzles. Unless, of course, they’re too hard and then they’re no fun at all. But a moderately difficult crossword is right up my alley. A couple of months ago I discovered the Crossword Puzzle Club, which features short puzzles that vary in difficulty from pretty easy to slightly harder. I…

Today, I read the sad news that a body recently discovered on Mount Baldy by hikers has been positively identified as that of actor and St. Thomas the Apostle, Hollywood member, Julian Sands. When Julian disappeared in January after hiking on Mount Baldy on a day when there was a break in winter storms, I…

As Leonard Cohen writes in his song, Anthem: Ring the bells that still can ringForget your perfect offeringThere’s a crack – a crack – in everythingThat’s how the light gets in. I just read a fellow blogger’s heartfelt account of the bumps on her road to recovery from alcohol abuse. She spoke of her sister…

I didn’t expect to love you I thought instead you’d be a friend Someone I’d enjoy when I saw you And think little about when I didn’t. But that’s not what happened. Instead, you slipped right past all the roadblocks Made me laugh and feel seen Surpassed my expectations Pulled me close And have never…