Why am I alw ays in such a rush?

More about that later.  (First the activity, then the philosophy.....)

Where did I leave off?  I think I had just taken friend Dee to the airport on Monday, after her whirlwind visit (or at least it seemed that way to me...)

Tuesday, I went on a long anticipated excursion of desert discovery.  Those of you who know me know that I am not really an outdoor kind of a person, nor am I a hiker, really.  (It is my firm belief that if god had meant us to hike, he would have given us hooves, like a mountain goat.)  However, I am fascinated by all the flora and fauna in the desert, and take every opportunity to explore them.  This particular excursion was sponsored by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (hereinafter referred to as Olli), where I take my classes.
Our first stop was the Coachella Nature Reserve, quite close, actually, but a resource I didn't even know about.

 

Our guides.....

This ridge was actually created by an elidement (I think that is the right word) of the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate (I am sure you all know that we are living on the San Andreas Fault....)

 There is actually water (hence the name, Palm Springs...)

Then off to Desert Hot Springs (still with the spring theme....)

In spite of the fact that we have not had one bit of rain in 2018, there were still some desert blooms to be seen....

In addition to the aforesaid springs (open to the public, including one called, fittingly, Two Bunch Palms), there are at least a few of the original homesteads which can be visited.  The one we saw was called the Cabot Pueblo, all built from scraps from the railroads, nearby mines, etc.

I keep on talking about the desert, singular.  The experts actually consider this to be the confluence of four deserts, the Sonora, Mohavi, Chihuahua and Grand.

Those of you who have been in the neighborhood know that we have wind farms at the approach to Palm Springs.  We headed there next, and learned about renewable energy.  (....including the fact that by 2020, 33% of California's energy requirements will be met by renewable energy, including wind, sun and hydrothermal.  I was impressed...)

Then off to the Whitewater River (no, not that Whitewater, for those of you of a certain age...), one of two major sources of our water supply (the other being The Colorado River).

And then back to civilization...  We were all intrigued enough to want to learn more.  Which was the point, I imagine..

And when I say civilization, I mean civilization.  I had been invited for drinks and dinner that evening, by Louise and Charles, acquaintances from bridge.  I forgot about the camera - you'll have to trust me when I tell you that their place is very very civilized.  As are they.  Theirs is an interesting story, and they don't mind if I share it.  She is 90, he is a bit younger.  They were both widowed, having lost their respective partners to illness.  They met on the Internet, 20 years ago, in the early days of Internet dating.  She confided to me that her only regret is that she is deteriorating (cancer, macular degeneration, etc.), and she did not want him to have to be a nurse, again.  He does it happily, though, as he is devoted to her, and she is amazingly active, in spite of her ailments - playing bridge three times a week (and no, she doesn't drive) and baking and cooking. Really, they are both an inspiration.

After more zumba and training and bridge (I will spare you the details), friend Chaya and I went to see an encore of National Theater Live 's production of Hamlet, with Benedict Cumberbach.  God, it was even better the second time around.  Written 400 years ago, and, with the right staging and acting, it still resonates!  I highly recommend it.  (We're off to Julius Caesar in a few weeks...)

Friday night's excursion, on the other hand, did not resonate at all.  It was a benefit for Olli, a play written by one of its instructors, Frank Torino, called Marylin, Madness and Me.

.....hypothesizing a meeting - in the last months of her life - between a low-life mechanic and Marylin (and yes, this is how they spelled it, explained in the play but not worth repeating.)   I could barely stand that breathy voice in real life.  A bad imitation?  Yuk.  In any event, I had already done my part - i.e., donated my money.

Generally speaking, I hate intermissions anyway, especially at functions like these, where it is doubly hard to be alone.  Anyway, I have long since discovered that plays rarely get better in the second act, which are inevitably too long.    The best part of the evening was driving home in the balmy desert night with the top down....

Saturday, Geoff and Marvin came by for dinner and Scrabble.

I really do enjoy entertaining, and should do it more often, and they are great guests.

And today Sunday, I did - well, absolutely nothing.  I went out to get the Sunday New York Times with a jacket over my pajamas (they were Calvin Kleins, all right, no one could tell), got home, made a fresh cup of coffee and some toast, and sat around in the sunshine all day reading the paper and daydreaming....

I did have some company....

(actually, there was a veritable bunny convention on the lawn, but this guy will have to be representative, as he posed so nicely...)

There was an outing tonight, to Woody's, a Palm Springs favourite that has music on Sunday evenings.  Howard, the leader of our gym group, arranges these outings from time to time, and it is always a shock how good these people look when they are wearing real clothes...

The music tonight was MoTown. at least part of the soundtrack of our youth...

....and we got pretty wild....

.....at least for folks in our 70's.

Once again, a good time was had by all.

I can't drink like I used to though, so I am off to bed (didn't stay for the second set...).  I leave you with this final thought from our Behavioural Economics instructor:  Each of you is entitled to your own opinion.  However, noone is en titled to his own facts...

Oh, and I guess I should explain the title.  David used to complain that I was always in a rush.  He was right. One of my  goals this year is to slow down and smell the proverbial roses (that is really a terrible metaphor for me, as I actually hate roses, but that is another story, and, as mentioned, I'm tired...

Women and Cars

Grr .  Really, it is so frustrating.  No matter how smart or together I am in life, dealing with a mechanic sends me into a tailspin.  It goes on.  The car needs work, but the truth of the matter is that its blue book value is only $2,000.  What to do? Luckily, friend Alex has come to the rescue.  (The fact that I need rescuing, by a man or otherwise, is - well, frustrating.)  He has both a good and trustworthy mechanic, and an extra car.  He has offered to a) take my car to his mechanic, and get another estimate and an opinion as to whether the work is worth doing; and b) lend me his extra car (god bless him, it is a red Chrysler Seabring convertible) until we have a solution.  The sense of relief is palpable.

But that was today.  Let's rewind.  This past week was the last of the winter courses (I can't take spring courses, as I won't be in Palm Springs to finish them), so recaps all around.  Disturbers of the Peace was disappointing, although the instructor  did - belatedly - manage to come up with a few women disturbers of the peace.  (Normally, I am not conscious of this sort of stuff, but this was really blatant.)  Behavioural Economics was a wonderful finish, with the prospect of a smaller, seminar like class for those interested in civil discourse on a number of agreed on subjects.  (I'm in, and am willing to put in the required work.)  And the prize for most fun was the last class on Marie Antoinette (otherwise known as "The Austrian Woman"), where instructor (and neighbor) Vinnie brought in a model of Marie and her children so we could take selfies!

There is a certain sub-set of people who take these classes, and we are starting to be much more lively and social with one another, part of the reason, after all, for doing this.  I am already looking forward to next season.

There was also a lovely dinner with bridge friends John and Jim, who took me out to The Outback, the Aussie steak chain.

We enjoy each other's company a lot, and, as always, had a great time.

Colleague and friend Dee arrived from Victoria on Thursday night, for a long weekend in the sun.  I had lots on offer to amuse her....

.....to start with, breakfast on Friday morning with The Canadian Club, of which I am a new member.  It is just a group of snowbirds who get together monthly for breakfast and an informational talk, and sporadically on other occasions for eating, drinking, and otherwise having fun.  The speaker this time was clearly knowledgeable, but not a very good speaker.  However, the locale was beautiful (yet another golf club, called The Lakes)...

....the breakfast was good, and the people were...Canadian, that is, nice.

Since we were already up, we just kept on going, out to The La Quinta Art Fair.  Since I have already bored you with endless pictures of the fair in other years, I limited myself to one...

.....just to remind you of yet another beautiful locale....

After a brief recharge at home (otherwise known as a nap), we headed out for something that Dee can't readily get at home, that is, good Mexican food, at my local cantina, Las Tablitas....

.....where the guacamole and the margaritas are both divine.

Saturday was a good day for a trip out to the market at the College of the Desert (sunny, but not too hot), but my annual visit to the hat lady....

....and, as I do every year, I added one (no, two) to my collection....

Sunday, I had to show off Sunnylands, previously pictured in another post, but I couldn't resist a few more...

They apparently have free concerts every Sunday morning, so not only a lovely place to explore (especially for a great gardener like Dee) but good (retro) music as well.

Since we were in the neighborhood, we went to the Living Desert in the afternoon.  I don't go there often - too many small children, don't you know - but I will make an exception for company, and it is a civilized way to explore the desert flora and fauna (and my civilized I mean groomed paths and water fountains...)

.....it is so much easier to take pictures of the statues than of the live animals...

....aren't the zebras beautiful?....

...but my favourites (in the desert, at least) are the giraffes...

Too much sun and fresh air.  We could barely stay awake for the (as always) lovely Italian dinner at Sammy G's Tuscan Grill (my new favourite).

Which brings us to today.

...breakfast at Sherman's Deli, without which a trip to Palm Springs would not be complete (note my new chapeau...)


A  walk downtown (note Dee's new chapeau...)

...and, to top off the visit, a trip to the Palm Springs Art Museum.

Now I go to the museum at least three or four times a season.  I know these guys are sculptures.  But I do a double take every time I see them at the top of the stairs.

We saw the new Andy Warhol exhibit, I have never been much of a fan, but you have to admire his energy, and how he captured the zeitgeist.

On the literary front, I finished Stephen Greenblatt's study of Adam and Eve, where he studies the pre-biblical creation myths, Genesis, Augustine, Milton, and many many more, effectively drawing the line between the Myth and the misogyny of Harvey Weinstein, all without sounding at all shrill.  Highly recommend it.

...and, finally, have now started The Collected Novels of Stefan Zweig.  Reading all these middle-European authors from the early /mid 20th century is like going back to a time and place now lost....