I am getting better at this computer thing. Or, scary thought, I am just beginning to think like a programmer. In short, on this first day of the new year, I managed to download the missing pictures from the last two posts - check them out! I also managed to figure out how to download and file pictures so I can use my laptop (as opposed to the ole, tired notebook that I have been using) for these posts. Not quite there on editing the pictures - luckily, there was only one. Maybe I will have it down by the next time.
In any event, as a token of my resolve to stay in better touch with everyone, here we are.
Friend Peter came to visit from San Francisco on December 22. He is an easy guest, and, in fact, we lazed about most of the time. Contrary to my resolve (the 74 cent Canadian is now 70 cents), we did go out to eat a lot, some old friends (Sherman's Deli, Las Tablitas, The Parker), and one new one, 849.
It is the newest hot (and expensive) restaurant, but this time the reputation is well deserved. Food, atmosphere and service were all excellent. And it is fun to share those kinds of outings with Peter, who knows - and likes - his food.
Christmas was a quiet affair. Neighbor Michael brought me bunches and bunches of flowers, neighbors circulated with cards and gifts, and my (limited) Christmas decorations - some greenery and candles, cards (yes, live cards, that came in the mail - or were at the very least, delivered to my mailbox) - made the place look festive. Peter cooked the very (un) traditional osso bucco and risotto, and we toasted the season with a nice bottle of wine. Perfect.
Otherwise, our outings were to Costco (a place where Peter, generally speaking, never goes), Jenson''s (a more upscale grocery store where I don't usually shop, but which is a lovely shopping experience), a self-guided tour of the modernism houses for which Palm Springs is so famous), and a walk on El Paseo, Palm Springs' answer to Rodeo Drive, where, surprisingly enough, I had never taken Peter before.
We left the Annenberg Estate (couldn't get reservations), the guided Modernism Tour (ditto), and the tram (Peter was willing to overcome his height issues, but only if there was snow on the ground, and there wasn't) for next year.
Otherwise, it has been quiet. Peter left on the 28th, and I am back to bridge three or four times a week. Only two books to report: Jonathan Franzen's Purity (thumbs down - I know I don't like his stuff, and I don't know why I keep reading it), and an Ian Ranking mystery I hadn't yet read. I am a fan of Rankin's, but this is the second book in recent memory based on random violence, mayhem and murder by young men, and I don't mean Arab men either. It is too depressing. Oh, and Peter brought me an armful of old New Yorkers, which I am enjoying plowing through.
Some things to look forward to - Bruce Springsteen concert in March, with Hank; opera in Houston (part of the ongoing Ring cycle) with Peter; a new Ring with Peter in Washington, D.C. in May; and Adele (yes, we scored tickets, but I would have had to mortgage my first born, if I had a first born, to get them) in Vancouver in July, with Hank. Not to mention all that National Theater Live and Metropolitan Opera Live in HD. No classes in the winter (I am going back to Vancouver to work in late January for three weeks, so the timing was off), but I will be back to learning stuff in the spring.
Some people clean their houses in anticipation of the new year. Those of you who know me know that would not be my style. I do do a few things, though. All outstanding bills get paid, old "systems" (phone, internet, etc.) reviewed and changed (to save money if possible), and, generally, the organization of my life set so there are no unhappy surprises, at least to the extent that I am in control of same. I feel that is the least I can do in honour of Davie, that is, take care of myself.
And one resolution this year. I am trying to develop the milk of human kindness. It doesn't run naturally in my veins, so I will try to remind myself that everyone has a back story, that it is not all about me, and that all I have to offer is the ability, on occasion, to make life a little nicer for people whose lives touch mine. So that is what I will try to do.
For you all, I wish a healthy, happy and prosperous new year, and may all your drama be on the stage.
Talk to you again soon.
In any event, as a token of my resolve to stay in better touch with everyone, here we are.
Friend Peter came to visit from San Francisco on December 22. He is an easy guest, and, in fact, we lazed about most of the time. Contrary to my resolve (the 74 cent Canadian is now 70 cents), we did go out to eat a lot, some old friends (Sherman's Deli, Las Tablitas, The Parker), and one new one, 849.
It is the newest hot (and expensive) restaurant, but this time the reputation is well deserved. Food, atmosphere and service were all excellent. And it is fun to share those kinds of outings with Peter, who knows - and likes - his food.
Christmas was a quiet affair. Neighbor Michael brought me bunches and bunches of flowers, neighbors circulated with cards and gifts, and my (limited) Christmas decorations - some greenery and candles, cards (yes, live cards, that came in the mail - or were at the very least, delivered to my mailbox) - made the place look festive. Peter cooked the very (un) traditional osso bucco and risotto, and we toasted the season with a nice bottle of wine. Perfect.
Otherwise, our outings were to Costco (a place where Peter, generally speaking, never goes), Jenson''s (a more upscale grocery store where I don't usually shop, but which is a lovely shopping experience), a self-guided tour of the modernism houses for which Palm Springs is so famous), and a walk on El Paseo, Palm Springs' answer to Rodeo Drive, where, surprisingly enough, I had never taken Peter before.
We left the Annenberg Estate (couldn't get reservations), the guided Modernism Tour (ditto), and the tram (Peter was willing to overcome his height issues, but only if there was snow on the ground, and there wasn't) for next year.
Otherwise, it has been quiet. Peter left on the 28th, and I am back to bridge three or four times a week. Only two books to report: Jonathan Franzen's Purity (thumbs down - I know I don't like his stuff, and I don't know why I keep reading it), and an Ian Ranking mystery I hadn't yet read. I am a fan of Rankin's, but this is the second book in recent memory based on random violence, mayhem and murder by young men, and I don't mean Arab men either. It is too depressing. Oh, and Peter brought me an armful of old New Yorkers, which I am enjoying plowing through.
Some things to look forward to - Bruce Springsteen concert in March, with Hank; opera in Houston (part of the ongoing Ring cycle) with Peter; a new Ring with Peter in Washington, D.C. in May; and Adele (yes, we scored tickets, but I would have had to mortgage my first born, if I had a first born, to get them) in Vancouver in July, with Hank. Not to mention all that National Theater Live and Metropolitan Opera Live in HD. No classes in the winter (I am going back to Vancouver to work in late January for three weeks, so the timing was off), but I will be back to learning stuff in the spring.
Some people clean their houses in anticipation of the new year. Those of you who know me know that would not be my style. I do do a few things, though. All outstanding bills get paid, old "systems" (phone, internet, etc.) reviewed and changed (to save money if possible), and, generally, the organization of my life set so there are no unhappy surprises, at least to the extent that I am in control of same. I feel that is the least I can do in honour of Davie, that is, take care of myself.
And one resolution this year. I am trying to develop the milk of human kindness. It doesn't run naturally in my veins, so I will try to remind myself that everyone has a back story, that it is not all about me, and that all I have to offer is the ability, on occasion, to make life a little nicer for people whose lives touch mine. So that is what I will try to do.
For you all, I wish a healthy, happy and prosperous new year, and may all your drama be on the stage.
Talk to you again soon.
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