Field Trip to San Gabriel - Wednesday 5/27/2009

Oh, the things I do in service of my writing. I mean, really, it takes a lot of commitment and research to write a blog. This is part of the wonderful Vietnamese meal Braveheart, Antipasta and I shared today. We wrapped these meats and veggies in rice paper and dipped them in various dips. Yummy!

Wish I knew what the name of the restaurant was. It was on Valley Boulevard in San Gabriel and "pho" was part of it. If you've been to San Gabriel, you'll know that this doesn't help much.

Before this, Braveheart and Antipasta introduced me to Chinese-Style Herbal Foot Soak! I'd never even heard of this, but Valley Boulevard in San Gabriel is packed with foot soak/massage places... and noodle houses. A little bit of heaven!

We went to a place called China Tibet Foot Soak, where we sat in big reclyners. The attendents brought out big wooden buckets filled with very hot water laced with fragrent herbs. I put my feet on a little platform in the bucket, the massuesse put a towel over my legs and the bucket, and I steamed for a while. Really hot!

Then cold water was poured into the hot water until it was tolerable to soak in and I soaked a while. Although Antipasta said last time she was there, the television was on, it was nice and quiet today.

I had my first professional reflexology foot massage. (I think my brother, Texaco, tried to give me one a long time ago after he came home to Indiana from Vietnam or California, but I'm pretty sure it tickled too much to be effective.)

When my massuesse started pounding on my legs but Antipasta and Braveheart's weren't doing it yet, I almost laughed out loud. It just seemed too funny that one person could get really rough treatment and the others not. But sure enough, they both got a drubbing too!

It was really really intense, but I decided to let her do it as vigorously as she wanted to, to see what the experience would be like, and to let the reflexology work if it works. It wasn't very relaxing because it was pretty much painful. Next time I'll forgo the intensity and just get a nice wimpy foot rub.

Next was the neck and back rub, which was terrific. A person can really whale on my back and I love it.

All this took about an hour and 45 minutes and cost only $35.

Braveheart pointed out a place where you can get the same treatment for $15!



This one's for you Boise. Even though it's blurry, it's the best shot I could get of an L.A. kook on the move. Can you see this?

It's a guy riding his motorcycle on the transition from the 5 to the 14 at sundown, wearing a leather top hat and carrying a big white German shepherd on his lap.

Yeah, that's right, a big white dog. Who didn't look very comfortable, and who kept shifting back and forth, making the bike wobble beneath them both.

I was about to call the police on them when they exited the freeway. It's really not fair to the dog or to the people that might have the terrible experience of running over either of these fellows.

Tomasina Gets a Name Change - 4/6/2009

The writing group met at Tomasina's house again this week. Isn't this a lovely little table?

From now on, she'll be known as Antipasta. I think it's more appropriate, really. I think it may have been an original moniker a looong time ago on this blog.


This hangs on the outside wall of the house overlooking the deck.

I love this!

Afternoon in the Arroyo Seco - Wednesday 3/25/2009

We'll get there. But first, have a look at these bronze baby shoes that Braveheart gave Tomasina this afternoon.

Braveheart's getting rid of a lot of the lovely things that have been a part of her home, because she's planning to move with The Doc to New York City in a few months. We're having a special writing group meeting tonight complete with a walk, hamburgers, fries, and mango mousse cakes from Porto's in celebration of Braveheart finishing up her coursework on the path to becoming a therapist.

She's going to be great at it.

But we're going to miss her terribly.

I think she should seriously weigh the psychic damage she's going to do to Tomasina and I against the helping a load of stressed out New Yorkers.


We started our walk at a different place from the last time I came here with Tomasina. Isn't this a cool table? It has a chess board inlayed on the top.

There was a fierce woman nearby practicing archery. I would have taken her picture but, as I say...she was fierce.

Big trail, little dog.

Once again, Bisquit sets a example. She's losing her sight, but she trots right along.




Braveheart and Tomasina wait for me while I snap some photos of this Ireland-worthy wall. There are no better friends than those who will say, as Tomasina did tonight, "Don't forget your camera!" when you're headed out for a hike.

Except maybe those who say, "Don't forget your notebook."


This is the portion of the Arroyo Seco where Tory the rescued chocolate lab was frolicking a few minutes ago. He doesn't like cameras, though, so he skedaddled out of the shot.


Tomasina points out the place where she saw the aftermath of a successful suicide a few weeks ago. She speculates that they can get around the barriers by climbing around the lamp post. Very sobering.



On the way back, Bisquit at lasts condescends to allow Braveheart to carry her for a while.

Just to make Braveheart feel useful, mind you.


If you invite me to your house enough times, I will eventually feel comfortable enough to start taking pictures. I love the things people treasure or find interesting.

The champagne top is from the bottle I just opened on the deck, because I'd left it in the fridge and there was some concern about a possible explosion. I must tell you, that I eased the cork out with utmost calm. All that spilled over the lip was a faint trail of champagne-scented mist.

If there's one thing Sundry is good at, it's opening champagne.

But that's another story.

Prelude to a Bliss - Monday 12/22/2008

I went to Tomasina's house before our writing group's Christmas celebration and walked with her and her dogs in Arroyo Seco near her house. She tells me that California plein-air artists have been painting here for years.

And they still are! Check out the work of Paul Chamberlain and others here.


This is Biscuit the wire-haired Dachshund. She toddles along behind while Tory the rescued chocolate lab surges forward. But when tomasina offers to pick her up, the fifteen-year-old scampers along like a pup.

"Uh-uh. You're not carrying me. I can do it!"


The hillside is insanely green after the recent rains.



Tory would like to be immortalized in a plein air painting, but all I have with me is this Nikon D80.


Biscuit finally allows Tomasina the pleasure of escorting her along part of the trail. I got to carry her a little, too. She's a sweet dog, even if she is a little opinionated.

We met up with Braveheart at Tomasina's nearby home, and then went to Burke-Williams where Tomasina treated us to relaxation massages! We enjoyed the steam room and whirlpool prior to the massages. I was barely able to walk after my rub down. It really gets me out of my head.

We picked up Thai food from the fabulous Saladang on the way home. Chili beef, yellow curry chicken, green curry eggplant, pad Thai and Thai BBQ chicken. Yum. We know how to order a mean meal.

Back at T's place, we enjoyed the meal, exchanged gifts, I read a little of something I'm working on, and we made commitments for 2009.

Lucky us!

Me Too, Lulu - Monday 11/24/2008

Lulu relaxes on the couch after monitoring the writing group--she's a herder by nature and she keeps us in line--and a late night toddle around the block.

Whew. It was a good night and I'm glad to stay the night in Braveheart's artsy home, but I feel like I've been on the road for a month at this point.

Labor Day - Monday 9/1/2008

My fabulous writing group came up to Acton for the day!

No, I didn't kill and inter them.

But when you ask "What's there to do in Acton?" the first two things that come to mind (okay other than happy hour at Don Cuco's or hiking at Vasquez Rocks or touring the Agua Dulce Vineyards) are looking through the fence at Shambala Preserve and a stroll around Acton Cemetery.

Since my last visit, Shambala has put up tarps to keep people from viewing and probably pestering the lions, but the writers were very nice about seeing some way off in the distance.


Tomasina and Braveheart got tired of the cemetery before MH and I did. Braveheart was talking to the horses in the barn across the road as we approached.

It was a verrry good day. We wrote, we potlucked, we saw a little of what there is to see in Acton other than special events like organization-sponsored spaghetti dinners and monthly gymkhana competitions.

Oh, and Tomasina... to answer your question: the oldest legible grave marker in Acton Cemetery is in memory of Nellie Robbins Stanfield, who arrived there on October 18, 1898.

Food Pix - Monday 8/18/2008

The more I take photos of food, the more I respect people who do it well. It's so easy to make things look just gross.

These are pickled eggplants I found in an Indian grocery. They were good, actually.



All the pictures I took of our little writers' group feast on Monday turned out blurry. Blame it on hunger!



Nice colors, though.

Another good meeting.

How to Read in Bed - Monday 8/4/2008

I had a rough day at work on Monday. Eleven hours straight--except for walking to El Torito to pick up a salad--with clients questioning all kinds of things and me having to explain to them how and why I do my job the way I do. Aaagh.

Tomasina had kindly offered to pick up Thai food and a banana meringue pie for Braveheart's writing group birthday dinner, so when I got there, I just enjoyed myself. We dished up curry and egglpant and beef and pad thai and checked in. We wrote a little from a prompt. I read them some of my current project. We had pie. Braveheart opened presents.

Where was my camera in all of this? Mostly in my back pack.

After calling Hydra from Braveheart's lovely front patio, I was happy to roll into bed with a book that's destined to be a favorite (So Brave, Young and Handsome by Leif Enger.)

Do you like my book light?

If you get one like this, you can play War of the Worlds with your sweetie.

Writing Group - Monday 7/7/2008

Writing group meeting last night was as perfect as this vase of flowers on Braveheart's dining room table. It was so good to be in Tomasina and Braveheart's company again after a three-week hiatus.

We each read for about 20 minutes. We like each other's work, and we agree that we all have good taste. Their respect helps me take myself more seriously.

I'm so lucky!

I stepped barefoot onto the wide steps leading from the dining room to the patio. Cool air moved across the the yard to me, but the stone beneath my feet retained the sun's heat. It was the perfect Mediterranean moment.



Jimmy agreed, wriggling seductively in front of me till I stooped and scratched his belly. Braveheart only suspects the depths of our affection for one another...

Bounty! - Monday 6/2/2008

I love the Los Angeles Public Library. I put a bunch of books on hold, some of them recommended by friends. And I found a few on the shelves when I got there.

So I walked out with seven books-- for free!

I do buy books. I like to buy books. They make me happy.

If people like you and I don't buy books, really, who will?

But I've had a run of bad luck with the books I've bought, so I'm dropping back to the library for a little while.



Bountiful food at the writing group. We eat really well... and pretty healthfully, too. Cherries, grapes, smoked eggplant dip, hard goat cheese and bread provided by Braveheart. Mixed greens salad and jalapeño cheese crunchies brought by Tomasina.




I picked up two ceviche tostadas from Lucy's on La Brea. So delicious and such a good deal!




I also brought a spicy broccoli/mushroom soup that I made up. That's Braveheart's nice cookware and stovetop.



Wow! Tomasina brought treats from a bakery! Lightly banana-flavored cupcake and...do you know what the swirly one is? A home made moon pie! (The filling inside that was the best.)

Oh, yeah. Between the library and the writing group, I went to the gym.

And between dinner/check-in and the end of the evening, there was reading of our writing and discussion. We're doing good work.

Some days life seems a little charmed.

Monday, Monday - 5/20/2008

On my way to the gym before going to Braveheart's for our writing group meeting. I just liked the look of this construction in Hollywood.

This is heading south on Vine.



Who knew it would be so easy to find?

Especially in Hollywood.


After going to the gym, I wandered around a little. You can't really see it, but there is water falling like rain from the facade to the right.

It smells very fresh and clean.



One of the really lovely aspects of our writing group meetings is that we have dinner together. For birthdays, we often order in Thai or Indian food. But usually it's made up of food we all contribute.

I haven't been contributing much for the past couple of weeks. Tonight we had macaroni & cheese made by Braveheart, salad brought by Tomasina and my lowfat ground turkey & vegetable soup and fresh cherries.

We had a great meeting. Anyway, it helped me a lot. I mean a lot. We talked, they read, they gave me good advice.

Wow. Lucky, lucky me.

The L.A. Experience - Monday 3/24/2008

Trust me, I wasn't endangering anyone's life by snapping this and the next couple of photos as I crawled through the 101 to 110 to 10 in downtown Los Angeles yesterday afternoon. (How does anyone from out of town keep those numbers and directions in their head when they go through here for the first time?)



There was plenty of time to sight see!



Including the (apparently) Leaning Tower of L.A.

I was going from meeting an amazing fellow blogger (who can identify herself if she's comfortable with that), who turned out to be even more interesting and beautiful in person. We've emailed privately some, and have read each other's blogs, and it was a pretty good bet that neither of us were going to cause the other harm.

We were right! We win!

Oh, and she introduced me to the amazing Casbah Cafe, where they had stacks of tomatoes on the counter, and big bowls of dates and apricots you could order along with the usual coffee house fare. Wow, I could go back again and again!




I was thrilled that Braveheart's local gang of parrots flew overhead as I parked my car in front of her house. Luckily, there were engaged enough with the yummy stuff in this tree that I could get close enough to snap a shot with my little Canon point-and-shoot.


Here's what they were eating. It does look tempting!

Inside, we critiqued and celebrated Tomasina's amazing rewrite of her current novel-in-progress, which I predict will be published soon (by publishing industry standards!) So fun to read!

No Pix of Pasadena, Redux - Thursday 12/27/2007

I seem to have some sort of mental block about taking my camera with me to Pasadena. This happened last time I was there, too. In lieu of shots of Vroman's and Tomasina's house, here are some photos taken at my house after I got home.

This is my current writing notebook--in which I write fiction, creative nonfiction and your basic self-involved journal entries--against a backdrop of the breathtakingly lovely vintage hand-stitched tablecloth (and matching napkins) that Braveheart gave me for Christmas (along with other treats.)

Since we were all off work, my writing group (now just Braveheart, Tomasina and I) met at Tomasina's house in Pasadena. The day was planned to last from 10-3, but we ended up being there till six! It was nice to just move from one thing to another and do all the things we wanted to do.

We talked about our writing since the last time we met; lunched on Tomasina's delish turkey chili (I WANT that recipe, T!) and lots of leftovers, cookies and candies; read to each other from our current projects; opened presents; took Tomasina's dogs for a walk; wrote together for 40 minutes; read that to each other, and then set the date for our next meeting and made commitments for the work we'll do by then.




I am known for having the fastest jammies in the West. I can get into my pajamas within mere seconds of coming through the front door.

Hence the pantlegs in this shot of the amazing bottle of olive oil Tomasina gave me for Christmas (along with other treats.) It will remain to be seen if we can hold off till we have guests to share this with before we crack this open and try it.

Great day.

Somebody please remind me to ask Tomasina how to get to the 210 West from her house next time. I lucked out with the inter-holiday light traffic, but I don't expect that'll always hold true.

Early Evening at the Farmer's Market - Wednesday 11/28/2007

My writing group is meeting in a different part of town now, which means the city has kind of opened up to me again! Instead of busying myself in my work neighborhood, I can do many things with the hours between 3:30 and 7:00 pm.

Tonight's choice: The Farmer's Market at Third & Fairfax. The one that's been here since 1934. I love these unusual shopping carts.


I noticed some fancy new plastic chairs and tables. These are not those. These are the old style ones. There's something lovable about them.



I like this mural. I haven't ever eaten here, but perhaps I will.

There are only two or three produce vendors left at the Farmer's Market. Now it's mostly eateries. But I bought the fixings for a simple salad (red lettuce, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and avocado) to share with the writing group, and I stopped by Mr. Marcel for a baguette.




On my way out, through The Grove, I enjoyed the Christmas lights. That's a spouting fountain on the right of the shot.

In Other News... - Wednesday 11/14/2007

News round-up time.

First, on the personal front:

I've had another of those short seasons of discontent with my novel, but I'm feeling really good about it again, thanks to last night's writing group meeting. Braveheart and Tomasina listened to my whole plot, which includes subplots and secondary characters, and wow! I do have a story, and I don't really need the flashy upping-the-stakes idea I had and worked on for a few weeks.

It was very affirming and helpful. It feels good to be back on the original track, and okay that I spent time exploring what turned out to be a blind alley. All writing is good practice and I did learn something important about one of my main characters that I'll use in a toned-down way.

Something else I'm concerned about these days is an impending new commercial development in Acton, my little high desert town. Here' s a Daily News article, which kind of tells what's going on. What I don't get is where they get their statistics on the size of Acton. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there were 2,390 residents of Acton, which means that--even given the expansion of the town in the past few years--with 1,000 signatures, at least 1/3 of households are opposed to the high density of the development. When they say there are over 9,000 residents, I believe they are using statistics that describe the entire Acton/Agua Dulce area, which is more than 80 square miles!

The local group that has sprung up to fight the developers, who have not been up front with the town council, is SORTIE (Save Our Rural Towns from Inappropriate Expansion.) What we are saying is not that we don't want any development at all--sadly, it's impossible to close the doors on paradise right after you arrive--but that it should be appropriate to the community's needs. There are also drainage issues that aren't reasonably addressed, which is a BIG deal in a dry climate like ours.

I've written a personal essay about development issues that's supposed to be published in the fall issue of Weber Studies. Sigh. I feel the fall slipping away between my fingers and no fall issue has been issued. Sigh again.

Turning to the ongoing WGA strike:

Check out this Not the Daily Show video from the writer's strike front lines. I love writers. Funny and smart.

And if you have just endless amounts of time to devote to this subject, this letter from creative producers to Variety explains that they are not opposed to the writers. This is why I've referred to the AMPTP opposition as executives rather than producers here.

Becky - Wednesday 10/10/2007

Stopped by to sit with Becky the Cat for about 20 minutes. When I brushed her, she got up and arched into it, and flipped her tail back and forth.

Her owner, Gia, had to leave quickly. She'd received the news that her mother was passing away and called to let me know before she flew north to be with her. (Her mother has had Alzheimer's for years.)

Sad times.

Swimming After Sunset - Friday 9/14/2007

Tomasina's great-niece's hand and foot. This is the kind of skin the fancy potion makers would like me to believe they can deliver.



Tomasina, from my writing group, invited me to attend the memorial for her father. I couldn't be more grateful for being able to participate. I took off work early and drove down to Salt Creek Beach in Dana Point. It was an amazing afternoon.


I was privileged to meet Ed a few years ago, along with the rest of my writing group. In spite of his Alzheimer's he was a sweet man who interacted with his daughter with great tenderness. Yesterday afternoon, there were wonderful stories of Ed's life as a dive instructor, boater, party-host, thinker, writer and friend.

Then Ed's ashes, mixed with the ashes of his wife Virginia, were sent up into the sky in a helium balloon! It was an amazing and satisfying send off. We watched the balloon rise into the sky until it disappeared.


On it's way.


Sunset at Salt Creek Beach.



After sunset, Tomasina, her nephew, a family friend and I went in for the first annual Ed T. memorial swim. It was soooo cold! We all dove into a few waves.

I tried to body surf one, and was reminded about the ocean. It doesn't care if you're in it's way. I stayed on top for a bit, then was tumbled and pummeled and felt like just keeping my chin off the floor was a pretty good accomplishment. Sand in the ears, nose and mouth.

It was one of the most invigorating things I've experienced in a long time. We showered off the salt and I took off for the long drive home (oh my god, 2 1/2 hours for about 100 miles).

My little lone adventure came when I missed the turnoff to Crown Valley Parkway and ended up taking the Pacific Coast Highway right through the town of Laguna Beach. Remembered vaguely from a couple of years ago that the 133 should take me in the correct direction, but then zipped past the turn onto El Toro Road.

It took me about 5 miles to find a place to turn around. All I had on was my wet bathing suit and a long shirt. I ran around to the trunk of the car to get my pants and pull them on--I was going to have to stop and get gasoline before getting home--in this dark and creepy spot between the north and south going lanes. Thinking that the last two phone calls on my cell were to my mother and husband, wondering what they'd remember of my last words. Really, it was all too horror-movie stupid.

But I got back on track, and listened to various NPR stations play amazing music and regained some of the sense that I had upon walking up the green slope away from the water and toward my car. That I love my life, and my friends, and the wide vibrant world we've been given to explore.

I am grateful.