My friend from Seattle, Arlene, came for her annual visit to Palm Springs this week, and we had a lovely visit.
Tuesday was the anniversary of David's death (yahrzeit, for those in the tribe)...
.....and, as I did on his birthday, I went to Bernie's (this time with Arlene) ...
...to indulge yet again in Davie's two favourite food groups, bourbon and prime rib. It was nice to go with Arlene, who knew and admired David, and happily raised a glass with me in his honour.
She joined me for several of my classes as well, and left a convert for OLLIE (Osher Life Long Learning Institute), determined to see if it was available in Seattle.
We did not do too much in the way of touristy things - she has, of course, been here many times before, but I did take her to see the gardens at Sunnylands, which is the estate of Walter and Lee Annennberg, and known as the Camp David of the West. In watching the explanatory video, and listening to words like civility and discourse, and collegiality, etc. - I have to say, it was as if they were talking about a different era. Which, indeed, it was. The Annennbergs bought 200 acres of desert scrub in the 50's and turned it into something magnificent....
......which now includes the visitor center and a very civilized cafe....
We couldn't see the house, as reservations are required months in advance. (I saw it with Peter in December; it is well worth the trouble to get tickets, so if you are visiting, let me know....)
The other touristy bit we did was a visit to the Palm Springs Art Museum in Palm Desert, fondly known as the Galen, after the donors who made it happen. It is a lovely little space (it is small), with the current exhibit showing Bob Ban Breda's works made with found objects (called, appropriately, Lost and Found).
I find that I often don't like these sorts of things, but found these surprisingly appealing, especially as the exhibit had been curated by the artist, with notes as to where he found the items, and what they meant to him.
There is also a lovely sculpture garden, so peaceful that it is hard to imagine that the grand El Paseo is nearby......
We did finish the day on El Paseo, to do some shopping (at Arlene's request, I might add - I myself am not much of a shopper), and finished with a Mexican dinner at Las Tablitas, a previously visited favourite.
We topped the week with a visit from friend Robin, who has met Arlene on previous occasions, for a wonderful chat on my equally wonderful patio...
.....the bunnies, as usual, joined us...
I put Arlene on a plane yesterday, and am missing our conversations already. In that vein, she forwarded this to me...
https:/www.nytimes.com/2018/02/09/opinion/smearing-of-woody-allen.
in furtherance of our conversation about the #me too movement, and our agreement that assuming that accusations are facts sends us down a dark path (think The Crucible and witches....)
Also, in furtherance of my discussion of The Phantom Thread, one of my devoted readers sent a January 9 review from the Washington Post...https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingout guide/movies/phantom-thread
which pretty much nails why, beautiful and well acted as it was, the movie just didn't speak to me.
(okay, I give up, I can't copy links. Will someone help me out here? Both articles are well worth sharing.....)
Next week is - again - a busy one, with L'Elisir d'Amour at the Metropolitan Opera in the Movies, more Scrabble, and even a local bridge tournament. I will try to catch up with you next weekend....
Tuesday was the anniversary of David's death (yahrzeit, for those in the tribe)...
.....and, as I did on his birthday, I went to Bernie's (this time with Arlene) ...
...to indulge yet again in Davie's two favourite food groups, bourbon and prime rib. It was nice to go with Arlene, who knew and admired David, and happily raised a glass with me in his honour.
She joined me for several of my classes as well, and left a convert for OLLIE (Osher Life Long Learning Institute), determined to see if it was available in Seattle.
We did not do too much in the way of touristy things - she has, of course, been here many times before, but I did take her to see the gardens at Sunnylands, which is the estate of Walter and Lee Annennberg, and known as the Camp David of the West. In watching the explanatory video, and listening to words like civility and discourse, and collegiality, etc. - I have to say, it was as if they were talking about a different era. Which, indeed, it was. The Annennbergs bought 200 acres of desert scrub in the 50's and turned it into something magnificent....
......which now includes the visitor center and a very civilized cafe....
We couldn't see the house, as reservations are required months in advance. (I saw it with Peter in December; it is well worth the trouble to get tickets, so if you are visiting, let me know....)
The other touristy bit we did was a visit to the Palm Springs Art Museum in Palm Desert, fondly known as the Galen, after the donors who made it happen. It is a lovely little space (it is small), with the current exhibit showing Bob Ban Breda's works made with found objects (called, appropriately, Lost and Found).
I find that I often don't like these sorts of things, but found these surprisingly appealing, especially as the exhibit had been curated by the artist, with notes as to where he found the items, and what they meant to him.
There is also a lovely sculpture garden, so peaceful that it is hard to imagine that the grand El Paseo is nearby......
We did finish the day on El Paseo, to do some shopping (at Arlene's request, I might add - I myself am not much of a shopper), and finished with a Mexican dinner at Las Tablitas, a previously visited favourite.
We topped the week with a visit from friend Robin, who has met Arlene on previous occasions, for a wonderful chat on my equally wonderful patio...
.....the bunnies, as usual, joined us...
I put Arlene on a plane yesterday, and am missing our conversations already. In that vein, she forwarded this to me...
https:/www.nytimes.com/2018/02/09/opinion/smearing-of-woody-allen.
in furtherance of our conversation about the #me too movement, and our agreement that assuming that accusations are facts sends us down a dark path (think The Crucible and witches....)
Also, in furtherance of my discussion of The Phantom Thread, one of my devoted readers sent a January 9 review from the Washington Post...https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingout guide/movies/phantom-thread
which pretty much nails why, beautiful and well acted as it was, the movie just didn't speak to me.
(okay, I give up, I can't copy links. Will someone help me out here? Both articles are well worth sharing.....)
Next week is - again - a busy one, with L'Elisir d'Amour at the Metropolitan Opera in the Movies, more Scrabble, and even a local bridge tournament. I will try to catch up with you next weekend....
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