We had the pleasure of visiting some collector friends of ours today here in LA. Their names are Nick and Lynn and the pictures below are from their converted garage and upstairs apartment. Collectors are a wild and wonderful bunch of folks. They take pleasure in the buying and displaying of their favorite collections, and…
Category: Memories
An Unexpected Request Today
Of the 1367 posts that I have written for this blog, the one entitled, “My Sister’s Eulogy Complete with a Few Jokes,” consistently gets the most hits. And today, I had a first. A woman wrote in the comment section of my blog that she had stumbled upon the eulogy for my sister in a…
Highly Recommended: M.E. Neidhardt’s Fantasy Novel: Abysmal Canyon
My old friend, M.E Neidhardt, has written and published a highly entertaining young adult fantasy novel entitled, Abysmal Canyon. I can highly recommend this book to any fantasy lover. There is intrigue, romance and a plot that will keep you guessing. You can buy is for a trifle on Amazon ebooks at http://www.amazon.com/Abysmal-Canyon-Crossworlds-Science-Fantasy-ebook/dp/B014C2UTP2. Learn more…
Art Sign-Ups Early This Morning
I was up bright and early to stand in line at the Barnsdall Art Center so that I could sign up for a ceramics class. Liz and Ron were there, too. Liz, because we’re taking the class to together, and Ron as a stand-in for Ray who needed to go work at the homeless breakfast….
A Memory of 9/11
Fourteen years ago on 9/11: 1) Ray and I didn’t allow our kids to go to school out of fear that there might be a Los Angeles attack. 2) Our whole family sat in bed and watched the news coverage that morning. 3) We were all stunned and horrified. 4) I kept expecting attacks in…
Work, Heat, A Visit and Air Conditioning
Today we were up bright and early – beating the heat – to work on items related to our estate business. We were able to be efficient and busy in the cool before the sun rose above the 14 story building across the street. This is so far the only real advantage of having that…
Last Day with Our Texas Friends
Our friends are leaving early tomorrow morning. We headed back from Ojai this afternoon and spent the late afternoon and evening visiting first at Liz and Ron’s house and then at Sarah and Gregorio’s. These are old family friends so they know our kids well and vice versa. It was important to spend time together…
Flash Memoir: “Seeing” As A Child
We had dark red linoleum in our kitchen at 902 East 9th Street where I grew up. The pattern had little bricks with gray jagged mortar lines and the bricks were slightly raised, as they would have been if they had been real bricks. The color was almost burgundy, and my parents had that linoleum…
Lost Art: In Defense of Hardbound Books
I stand firmly in the camp advocating the importance of hardbound books. I realize we can save trees if we go entirely to a digital format for all books, but all I can say to that is, “Bah, humbug.” While I understand the value of reading on a digital device, I do not especially enjoy…
The St. Thomas the Apostle “Breakfast Club”
First thing this morning – 6 am – Ray and I headed over to St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal church in Hollywood to help cook for the Breakfast Club, our homeless feeding program there. We joined other volunteers to make and serve homemade bread pudding, scrambled eggs, roasted potatoes, grilled leeks and onions, and sliced…
20 Minutes a Day 