Today the very sad news was released that the ArcLight Theater in Hollywood has closed permanently. This seems completely inconceivable since it is a huge theater complex with the iconic Cinerama Dome as its crown jewel. It is also unbelievable since the ArcLight has been the go-to place for entertainment for Ray and me and…
A Ramble This Evening
I am sitting up in Ojai. We drove up today so we can work up here tomorrow and a half-day Tuesday. It’s 8:40 pm and slightly chilly. I’ve got a blanket draped over my lap and am wearing my jacket to stay warm. It’s not cold enough to turn on the heat. Just a bit…
An Evening Watching PBS’s “Atlantic Crossing”
It’s 7:05 pm and I’ve been working this afternoon. I am ready to crawl in bed and watch the rest of Atlantic Crossing, a PBS Masterpiece series about Frankin D. Roosevelt’s friendship with the Crown Princess of Norway and how that relationship influenced his decisions related to World War II. It is based on true…
A Special Visitor Today, the First in a Year
Today I had a visitor. The first one in a year. A real live person – fully vaccinated, of course – sat in my den and actually chatted with me. I hardly knew how to act. Before he arrived, I spent a full hour vacuuming, mopping and dusting the room since I thought it might…
Returning to My Memoir Once Again
9:11 pm. Just finished my Zoom writing group. Happy to spend time with my fellow writers, reading our pieces and receiving critique. I read a chapter of my revised memoir – the story of us coming from Texas to California to help my brother Jim as he faced the last year and a half of…
Small Victories
As I get older, I have come to appreciate the small victories in life. These may range from discovering a pair of jeans that I thought I’d lost to feeling extremely proud that I scoured my bathroom to a sparkling shine to hooking up the wifi from our new router to our printer so we…
Back Home and Happy to See a Book by Oliver Sacks Has Arrived
We are back in LA, arriving about thirty minutes ago. It’s 9:25 pm. I had students until 6:45 pm and we left about a half an hour later. But we had to stop for gas and then navigate the traffic, which is getting thicker everyday as more people get back on the roads. All restrictions…
Spring in Ojai
We are still up in Ojai at the orange grove. Currently, I am listening to Mozart’s Oboe Concerto KB 3 while sitting in one of our vintage Spartan trailers, which serves as a spacious living room and is filled with comfortable mid-century furniture. This Spartan is situated directly across a graveled courtyard from our Airstream,…
Granddaughter Luna’s 8th Birthday
Today, my first grandchild, Luna Isabella Pacheco Beaty, turned 8-years-old. She is such a lovely child – smart, funny and kind – and, of course, she occupies a special spot in my heart. I was fortunate to have been present for Luna’s birth and I always tell her that I was the very first person…
Ray’s Hair
A friend wrote to me recently and commented on a Facebook posting I made on Ray’s birthday which included the following sentence: Love of family, dogs, and a headful of hair are key components to your happiness as you navigate through life with eyes wide open. That friend said that she was surprised that I…
20 Minutes a Day 