Ray is arriving in just a few minutes after driving all the way from Texas so, needless to say, this will be short. I will be glad when he is home safely. These cross-country trips with only one driver are a bit worrisome since I know that on our cross-countries, I am usually the primary…
Category: Home
My First Uber Experience
I tried Uber for the first time yesterday. I had to go pick up a U-Haul truck in far east Hollywood and since Ray was out of town, I realized I had to figure out a way to get there. I hitched a ride with a friend with whom I was having coffee to Santa…
Handling Estates, the Unexpected Pleasures
We are handling an estate in the Wilshire District of Westwood for a very nice woman who has recently lost her husband. Her condo is in one of the prettiest buildings on the Wilshire corridor and has a view at night that is hard to beat. Today we worked with her, deciding which pieces of…
Shared Birthday Weekend Celebration
I have spent the last two days at our orange grove in Ojai with my family celebrating daughter Liz’s 29th birthday and my upcoming (next Wednesday) 62nd birthday. Ray and I arrived on Friday afternoon and returned today (Sunday) late afternoon. Our time with family, first at Surfers’ Beach in Ventura for several hours on…
To Elizabeth, On the Eve of Her Birthday
Tomorrow is the birthday of my beloved daughter, Elizabeth Beaty, who will be moving right up the line with the magic number 29. I happen to know that Elizabeth reads my blog, so this is the perfect spot to express my feelings without dissolving into a blubbering mess, which I would most certainly do if…
Day in Austin
Ray and I are in Austin visiting our extended family here. We had dinner tonight with lots of nieces, nephews, cousins, and sister-in-laws. We also saw our new great-niece, who is a contemporary of our grandchild, Luna. Lots of love, laughter, good food and positive energy. Hard to beat all of that. Thank you, Lee…
Results from Ancestry DNA Test – A Christmas Gift from My Kids
My kids wanted to give us information on our ancestry (and theirs) for Christmas and I just received the results. Turns out that I am 96.6% Northern European, with relatives primarily from the British Isles, a few from Germany and France and then the big surprise – I am 3.2% Sub – Saharan African, more…
Church, Catfish and Books
Today, we went to church at St. Stephen’s Episcopal church where we saw old friends and met the new priest. This was the church where we went with my mother when we lived in Sherman, and it holds many memories for our family. Ray and I had our wedding blessing there, our nieces were baptised…
Christmas Eve
It is 2:21 am so this will be short. Returned from Midnight Mass just a bit ago. It was beautiful! We spent the afternoon and early evening at Sarah’s and celebrated our Christmas. Here are a few pictures. A lovely day filled with lovely people. Merry Christmas to all.
Flash Memoir: Christmas Traditions at My House Growing Up
When I was growing up, our family tradition for Christmas was to go to Midnight Mass at Holy Trinity Episcopal church in my hometown of Bonham, Texas, then return to our house with all the church people for a big party. This meant the party started around 12:30 or 1 in the morning on Christmas…
20 Minutes a Day 