You might wonder what keeps me from writing, since, ostensibly, I have nothing to do. Who knows?
Well, since we spoke last, I was invited to join another casual bridge group, this time playing at the club house at Seven Lakes, a nearby resort.
Nice enough venue, and close to my digs. I went on Wednesday, the 28th, but think I will pass for now on more games. Nice folks, but I felt too much like the odd man out.
One thing that has been great fun is having friend Mariah here for the past month. Since her sweetie is still working in Seattle, she doesn't usually come down for great chunks of time, so this is a treat. We get to just hang out, like having lunch at Smokin' Burger, below.
They really do have the best burgers! (Really, it is a good thing that Mariah is such a good friend; the woman never met a camera that didn't like her!!)
So, this is the kind of thing that makes it so wonderful to live here. The statue below was sitting in my garden, and had been bleached to white by the sun. It just appeared on my patio one day, totally repainted, and none of my neighbors or friends will cop to having done it so I can thank them!
On Saturday, January 31, Mariah and I went to the Metropolitan Opera in HD, to see The Tales of Hoffmann, by Offenbach. It is one of my new favourites, and Hoffman was played by Vittorio Grigolo, an Italian heartthrob. I won't bore you with the details - if you are interested, you probably saw it, or you can look it up - but it was glorious. Even though Bart Sher directed (he did the most recent Gatsby), the staging was a little dark for my taste, but the music and singing and costumes and chorus were all superb. If you get a chance to see it, do.
The first week in February, I did my annual "wellness" test, part of the proactive stuff that is now a part of American medicine, at least for seniors. You will all be pleased to know that I will be around to annoy you for a little while longer! Well, that's done for another year!!
More bridge during the week, of course, and then on Friday,February 6, friend Arlene flew in from Seattle for a visit.
Friday was also the anniversary of Davie's death. It is hard to believe it is nine years; it some ways it feels like yesterday, in others it feels like another lifetime. I usually have dinner just with Davie that night, but I let Arlene share his company this time. We went to Spencer's, as I had for his birthday this year.
I am sure Davie forgives me for having a veal chop (see above) instead of the traditional prime rib; the important thing was that a glass of bourbon was raised in his honour, and his memory lives on.
On Monday, the first of a series of hikes, which we started in Indian Canyon.
Arlene brought a walking stick for me, and I must say, it helped!
Having worked up an appetite, we had a late lunch at Las Tablitas (previously reviewed in these pages, and one of Arlene's favourites......)
....and we finished the day (as we would all subsequent days of her visit) with some quality pool time (and no, there will be no pictures at the pool).
Monday, we continued the outdoor program with nearby Tahquitz Canyon, this time joined by Mariah (who also knows Arlene from Seattle).
And, finally, on Monday, we went up to the top of the tram. The road starts at 1000 feet altitude, the parking lot is at 2600 feet, and the top of the tram is 8500+ feet, a pretty dramatic change in the matter of 15 minutes!
We met my neighbor and her sisters at the start of the trail....
...and yes, we are wearing coats. It is generally at least 30 degrees cooler up at the top of the tram than down in the valley - that is snow you are looking at below...
I think that it is now fair to say that, after giving it the old college try, I loathe hiking. I am not that enamoured of the outdoors, and if god had meant me to behave like a mountain goat, he would have given me hooves. What we won't do for friends!!!
We followed up on Tuesday with a day of my kind of walking, city walking. We went to the Galen Museum and the Faye Sarkowsky Culture Garden in Palm Desert, followed by the Palm Springs Art Gallery.
Now I could do that kind of walking all day!!!
We ended the day on Tuesday at Jake's, another high-end Palm Springs dinner place (Arlene wanted to say thank you by taking me to a nice dinner.) Review? The food was quite good, as was the service. Negative? The atmosphere. I think they were trying for Industrial Chic, but only managed to achieve "diner". However, the wine was good and it was a generous pour, so the end result was that it was a lovely evening. And, amazingly enough, Arlene and I hadn't run out of things to talk about!!!
Wednesday was Arlene's last day, so we (together with Mariah again) went to El Paseo, Palm Springs answer to Rodeo Drive. They do have some lovely stores, but, more to our liking, some very interesting galleries. Ah, these are the times I wish I had someone to support me in the style to which I would like to become accustomed!
We left enough time for a goodbye to the pool and the sun, and got Arlene to the plane on time! It seemed as though she had a good time, which is always a nice thing for the hostess to feel!
And yesterday, I was back to bridge. (A good thing too - it had been a week, and I was starting to go through withdrawal!) Art, my usual Thursday partner, was sick, so I found a partner on the website. It turned out to be a good match. I don't know how we did (the computers were down, so it might be next month before we get out scores!) but we had a good time. Turns out he's from Vancouver too, so we are already scheming about playing there after the PS season.
And today was just a Dottie Domestic day, the gym, the bills, putting the house together after a visitor has left, and, of course, the pool. Mariah and I went to Las Gallitas yet another favourite Mexican joint, for a quick bite, but both of us were tired - too much sun, I think - and so we passed on the movies.
What else can I tell you? I read a Doris Lessing book I hadn't read, called "love, again" in my off moments this week. It is about a 65 year old woman feeling the pain of love again. It was so good that she managed to get me to envy the heroine's pain! I think I will have to read The Golden Notebook again - it has been a long time! I've now started reading a biography of Benjamin Britten, the composer. I have been meaning to do this for a long time, and I am enjoying it so far, and I haven't even gotten to the juicy bits. It was an interesting time - Britten, W.H. Auden, Christopher Isherwood - shame they had to ruin it with all that nasty fighting the killing and destroying!
So tomorrow is the Sweetheart Tournament at the bridge club, and I will be playing all day with Robin. And Sunday, I am heading off to rainy, cold Vancouver, where I will be for two weeks. Don't even ask; I'll fill you in when I get up there. Meanwhile, give your respective sweeties a hug tomorrow, and say "I love you". And if, like me, you don't have a sweetie, well, be nice to yourself!
