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…
Category: Writing
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…
Heat, Heat and More Heat
Lordy. We are melting over here. Even in our air-conditioned bedroom, it feels warm. And it’s 9 o’clock at night! Today, I had a whole series of students – college essays – in my den. One fan for my student; one fan for me. Curtains pulled tight. Ceiling fan on. Sweating, nonetheless. We couldn’t even…
Heat Wave
First day back to work after the Labor Day holiday. The temperature soared today, hitting a high of 97 degrees in Los Angeles. I saw students downstairs in the part of the house where there is no air conditioning. In the morning, I met with students in the den with the curtains pulled tight and…
Happiness is camping in Ojai with family and old friends. Campfires, a trip to Ventura beach, good food and a drive up Maricopa Highway. Here are the pictures: I hope everyone is having a good Labor Day weekend. Hugs to all.
Texans on Their Way to Visit!
We have our close friends, Darrah Dunn, Shann Schubert and three of their kids arriving early tomorrow morning for the Labor Day weekend. We have been up in Ojai preparing for a busy weekend there with them plus most of our family. Liz, Ron and Rachael will be there plus Luna, but Sarah has to…
Ojai This Evening In Photos
These are photos I took walking the orange grove this evening. ‘Nuf said.
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…
My Day with Little Luna
Grandma is tired. We picked 2 1/2 year old Luna up at 7:30 am at the parking lot of the Barnsdall Art Center (Sarah is working at Children’s Hospital on a rotation for the next ten days and the hospital is a block away), then returned Luna to that same parking lot this evening around 6:30…
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…
20 Minutes a Day 