Desi Comes to Visit!

Today Desi (Tatiana's dog) came to visit Fuego and us. Well, Fuego was a bit upset about the unexpected guest, but soon adjusted to his new found "friend." It seemed though that he did not want to have his rear facing Desi. Desi is three months old and as a puppy, was very excited and wanted to play.

The top picture shows Desi as he took over the cat's bed. He really liked the bed and made himself right at home. It doesn't hurt that there is a heating pad underneath the cushion. I liked his red sweater. It had a sparkly outline of a bone on the back. Very elegant!

You can see from the pictures that Fuego eventually made peace with Desi and they enjoyed sitting on Audrey's lap (Fuego does look a bit wary in that picture though). Of course, there was a little food sharing and some growling because of the food (nothing serious though).

The third picture is Audrey as she was leaving with Desi in his carrier. He apparently loves his carrier and will just sit in it without getting out. That's alot better than Fuego....he would be out in a flash! He would much rather be on one of his human's laps.

The cats' reactions were mixed. As usual, Mr. Mellow Milo didn't have much reaction. He is quite a bit bigger than a chihuahua and Desi didn't seem to get it that even though he's a cat, there were no hisses coming out of this one. He did alot of sniffing and dodging (no doubt expecting some hissing) of Milo, but just nose-to-nose style. Now Cleo on the other hand was a different story. One look at him and she started MAJOR hissing. Desi was smart enough to give her a very wide berth. The first opportunity that she had, she ran upstairs to the safety of our bedroom

It was a good experience for Fuego and they were lots of fun to watch.

Jennifer's Graduation

Today Jennifer Braden Gardner graduated from Saddleback College with her AA in Nursing. Its been 10 years she has been thinking about and working on this degree and now she has accomplished it!

Jennifer is the daughter of our dear friends Jon and Bev Braden. Dan has been friends with Jon since second grade and we have shared so many wonderful memories over the years with their family. We've known Jennifer and her sister Christina literally since the day each one was born.

I was sorry that I couldn't be there to congratulate and celebrate with Jennifer (or JAB as we call her - for Jennifer Ann Braden). I was working - just a few more days to go until I retire.

Jennifer is going on to get her Bachelor's and her R.N. degrees. In the meantime, congratulations on a job well done Jennifer!

The picture above is everyone at the celebratory luncheon after the graduation. From left to right: Dan, my husband, Jennifer's good friend, Jennifer's husband Jason, Bev, Jennifer, Jon and his brother Mark.

Mother's Day at Owens' Bistro

Just got home from the most wonderful Mother's Day dinner ever! Here is the menu from Owen's Bistro in Chino:

The first course was a special tasting prepared by the chef:

A risotto with spinach, chicken and vegetables.
The second course was a delicious salad with sourdough bread brushed with olive oil and toasted.

The main course - incredible steak with lobster with a side of mashed potatoes and asparagus:

And the dessert. An incredible balsamic vinegar ice cream with a scrumptious chocolate cupcake topped with strawberry whipped cream:

An incredible dinner from beginning to end. Audrey and I had a wine flight with a Chardonnay for the first course, a red wine blend for the second course and an Asti sparking wine for the third course. And, oh yes, we started out with champagne to begin the meal. Dan had a Steelhead beer.
Finally, we had our picture taken with Chef James Kelly. We congratulated him on a fantastic meal from beginning to end!

The most important thing was I was able to share it with Audrey and Dan. Audrey gave me such a special card. I cried my way through reading it! Thank you to my special family for a more than special day! I love you!

Happy Mother's Day!

 

Happy Mother's Day everyone. We came home from a wonderful 50th birthday party for a fireman friend of ours and these beautiful roses were on the front porch from Mark and Katie. They are sitting right now on our coffee table and I am really enjoying them. Dan gave me some beautiful flowers yesterday too. I am enjoying all of them!

Tonight I am being feted at one of my favorite restaurants - Owen's Bistro in Chino. This tiny restaurant is one of the best ones around. A wonderful chef (James Kelly - Chef of the Year 2008 from the Los Angeles Restaurant Writers), very beautiful ambiance and of course wonderful, very creative and delicious food. They are having a special menu tonight for Mother's Day. Here is their website. They come HIGHLY recommended!

I saw on television this morning what the typical mother's "services" are worth (at the rate of $9.95 per hour) and it came out to about $65.000.00 a year. This does not take into account all those "services" that are not quantifiable, like being there for your kids 24/7. And who can quantify love? Well, needless to say every Mom is worth every cent and more. And all that Moms do is given so selflessly and with such love. Moms are truly amazing!

I am so blessed to have such wonderful children (adults now). They are both wonderful, loving people who I am so very proud of! And of course my wonderful husband who makes every day happier and happier. Again, to all Moms out there - a very well deserved Happy Mother's Day!

Dan's Honor from the Los Angeles City Council

Tonight Dan finally received his Los Angeles City Council resolution for his 35 years of service as a Los Angeles City firefighter. It is signed by all the council members, the mayor and the city clerk. Even though he retired almost three years ago, it took almost that long to get his well deserved resolution. We had dinner with Dan's friend and fellow firefighter (who is actually now a Batallion Chief) Craig Yoder and his wife Frances. Craig was the MC for Dan's retirement dinner and helped usher through the resolution. That's Craig in the photo with Dan.

To get this we had to contact Councilman Tom LaBonge who graciously brought the resolution before the City Council where it was passed on March 25th 2011. I worked with two members of his staff who were so helpful. If it hadn't been for them and Craig, we still would not have gotten it. Thanks to them!

The most beautiful thing about this resolution is that all the artwork is done entirely by hand. All the gold leaf and the calligraphy are done by hand. It is truly a work of art! I have heard that the City employs a calligrapher who does these special pieces. That person is a very gifted artist and well worth keeping even in these days of dwindling budgets.

Finally, I am so proud of Dan and have always been so proud of his career and his bravery throughout all his professional life. I think about the many lives that he has touched and influenced and I am so immensely moved. This is true for all firefighters.

Even though its been almost 10 years since September 11th, I was still very emotional when I heard that Osama Bin Laden had finally been eliminated. Justice has indeed been served and I thank President Obama for his determination to bring this murderer to justice. I told a friend at the time that I would NEVER be resolved to this horrible tragedy and I never will as long as I live. Now that Bin Laden is gone those who lost their lives that day may now finally rest in peace.

My thanks to Dan for being a great firefighter, but more important than that, for being an even greater husband and father. My life has been blessed beyond measure by him and I'm grateful for his presence in my life every day!

Mark and Katie

 
Yesterday I attended the bridal shower for my future daughter-in-law Katie Winter. The picture above is Katie and our son Mark. They are such a beautiful couple and we are really so happy for them!

I brought Mark's baby book and everyone enjoyed looking at it. I had not opened that book in probably 15 years or more and I had about as much fun as everyone else, looking at everything. I certainly logged and recorded just about everything that he did as a baby and toddler. I even amazed myself. But the births of Mark and Audrey were so very special to both of us and we enjoyed every moment that we had with them as they grew up.

But now it's on to other adventures as Mark is married and he and Katie start their lives together. God bless them both and we are all looking forward to much happiness for all of us in the years ahead!

Spring Break is Over

Just back from Los Osos and Morro Bay having spent a wonderful, incredible week enjoying the Central Coast. Farmer's Markets (Morro Bay and Los Osos), crocheting (finished an afghan and started another one), reading (I finished a Victorian mystery by Anne Perry (Bedford Square) and finished "Just Kids" by Patti Smith), gardening, cooking (love to make special meals while we are there). Salads every night, seafood, fish and chips at Giovanni's in Morro Bay, hamburgers at Sylvester's in Los Osos, sleeping until 9:00 (a real luxury), walks in the evening, a trip to Montana de Oro where we walked the dunes and saw some beautiful surf and just enjoying everything about it. The weather this time was heavenly - most days it was actually sunny and only one day of some rain in the morning. We did hit a hailstorm in San Luis Obispo though - I was worried about the baby Corvette, but it came through just fine.

Bummer though! I went to download my pictures and I thought that it was taking too much time on one photo, so I cancelled the operation. Well, not only did it cancel the operation, it wiped my memory card clean! So all I have left are a few pictures of our day in Morro Bay - sea otters and some very aggressive seagulls. My beautiful pictures of the raging surf at Spooner's Cove in Montana de Oro State Park have gone to computer heaven. Oh well - nothing I can do about it now. So here is one of the best pictures - the Rock at Morro Bay. This picture was taken from the Morro Bay State Campground. There is a beautiful little inlet there where I have taken some great pictures.

Back to work tomorrow...just 80 days left. I can do this!!!!!

I Love Historic Costume!

Well, here we go - one of my great loves and weaknesses! Historic costume - we call it "costume" but the people who wore these clothes looked at them just like we regard our clothes today - something that they wore everyday.

The LA County Museum of Art on Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles just closed an absolutely wonderful exhibition of historical dress ranging from 1715 to 1911, called "Fashioning Fashion." Apart from the gorgeous clothes, the purpose of the exhibit was to show the evolution of various types of clothes construction, tailoring, cut and development of fashion. The most amazing thing about this exhibit is that this collection is just part of a 1000 piece collection purchased as a lot from a collector in Europe. The items were in pristine condition and it was utterly amazing to me HOW these clothes were preserved in such a perfect state. (Before the advent of archival preservation methods - surviving wars, revolutions, insects, mold and just the ravages of time to contend with). Absolutely amazing.

Of course, I discovered this exhibit very late and Dan and I attended it on its final day. I would heartily recommend it but it has closed. The only way that you can get a glimpse of these treasures is to purchase the exhibition catalog - available from Amazon here

I dragged Dan along and he was very patient and did find many of the items interesting in spite of the subject. The Baroque period panierres absolutely astonished him. He kept saying that he could not believe how anyone could manage to walk in those things.

I've posted a few of my favorites. The 1860 day dress in pale blue was a printed fabric - first the flowers were printed on the blue almost water-color base fabric and then there was a roller print applied with the butterfly motifs. Perfectly positioned to give the three dimensional illusion of the butterflies alighting on the flowers. Exquisite.

My second favorite was the 1820 pale beige evening gown with the silk corded appliques around the hem of the dress. The same satin cording also extended over the hands. What a dress!

Another of my favorites - the 1780 bright crewel dress all hand embroidered with the series of perky hunter green bows descending down the bodice front.

Without comment - the thigh-high lace-up black boots. Not too much new under the sun.....Enough said - from the turn of the last century. Look at that heel - could be on a boot today!

Don't want to leave out the men. My favorite - the 1810 "Jane Austen" gentleman's short coat with crepe de chine pants, walking stick and of course, the beaver top hat. Elegant beyond belief - a young man in this outfit would have cut quite a figure!

And of course the hand-made lace, the hand beading, the hand embroidering with gold and silver thread. One look at all this opulence and its easy to see why there was a revolution in France. A lace-maker's days were numbered - many went blind as young women, having made this intricate lace and embroidery from the time they were children.

I could go on and on and on...suffice it to say it was an incredible afternoon, topped off with a visit to the Petersen Automotive Museum across the street (Dan's museum) and dinner and the mariachi show at La Fonda down the street. It was a great afternoon!

Les Fleurs Spring Tea

Just got home from our annual fundraiser - the Les Fleurs Spring Tea. We are an auxiliary of the Assistance League of Pomona Valley. This is our annual major fundraiser to raise money for our philanthropies (Cubs for Kids and Assault Survivor Kits for Project Sister) and the funding support that we give to the League's Dental Center.

I always make an afghan which goes into the Silent Auction. I was so thrilled because this year the afghan made more money than ever! $90.00!!!! The highest that my afghans have ever made was $70.00. So I am more than thrilled. Above is a picture of the lovely lady who got the afghan. She said that she is going to give it to a friend of hers. Luck lady! Thank you SO much for your most generous donation!

It was fun to have Audrey join me for the tea. We sat with a friend of ours and her two granddaughters. They were so cute - one of them was our waitress and they also sold some very cute pens for the Susan Komen Foundation. I think that they raised quite a nice bit of money!

The food was delicious - four different kinds of sandwiches, fruit compote, scones with lemon curd, jam and cream. And a dessert tray of mints, pecan tassies and and lemon squares. And several different varieties of tea - of course!

Our bake sale made over $500.00! This too was better than we have ever done. I made lemon squares and half of them were gone before the tea - the ladies bought them. At the end, nothing was left. I bought some scones, biscotti and jam. That was enough - trying to cut back a bit. It was fun working with my friends, Audrey, Sue and Claudia on the bake sale.

The other picture above is the opportunity basket that several ladies and I put together for the tea. One of our Les Fleurs ladies won the basket. I loved helping find the items for the basket (with Claudia). I enjoy combing the stores for the goodies to put into it. We had the theme of "Scrapbooking Happiness."

All in all, a very successful day - with a great turnout - 75 people in spite of the rain (first day of Spring?).

 
Lovin' this picture of Dan and his friend Kenny Rickett. It was sent to us by Dan's childhood friend (and Kenny's sister) Teresa. She is going through some old photo albums and sent us some really great pictues. It was taken in 1967 or 1968 at Ensenada, Mexico. They were diving for abalone and lobsters. These were the days when you could get huge lobsters and abalone. Dan and I used to dive off Catalina and we would bring home 10-inch abalone and lots of them too. Dan would slice the abalone, dip it in a scrambled egg and saltine crumbs and fry it up. Wow - did that taste good! That and a salad and a glass of wine and you are set.

We were in Pismo Beach in January celebrating our wedding anniversary and went to dinner at a wonderful restaurant there- the Cracked Crab. I saw abalone on the appetizer menu and being very excited to see it, ordered it. What came was about a 3-4 inch shell with a tiny bit of abalone. It cost $14.00! Wow - was I disappointed - I guess that the huge abalones are long gone - we won't see those again.

There is an abalone farm further up the coast and the waitress said that their abalone comes from them. I guess it takes a very long time for the abalone to grow---maybe those we enjoyed in the 60's were decades old!

I love this picture of Dan and Kenny. They look so cute and YOUNG!

Our Kitties

Just enjoying our beautiful Southern California weather on a lazy Sunday afternoon. I did some house cleaning this afternoon--took 10 bags of clothes to Goodwill! (And more to come...). Trying to clean out and downsize a little bit in preparation for retirement.

Took our really old kitty Milo (the white one on the left) to the vet last week. The doctor thinks that he has some sort of upper respiratory infection, so we have to give him meds every day for 10 days. The really fun part are the drops up the nose. In reality, he is a very mellow cat and doesn't protest that too much. Kind of surprising...I don't enjoy nose drops...can't imagine a cat would!

Our other kitty Cleo (the tabby on the right) is quite a unique animal. She is about a year younger than Milo and they have lived together since they were kittens. You would think that by now they would get along. But no...they don't. Milo is very laid back but Cleo will hiss and spit at him if he gets anywhere near her. Usually Milo just takes it, but sometimes he gets sick of it and puts her in her place. Occasionally we'll come home and there will be cat hair on the carpet - telling me that there has been some sort of disagreement while we have been away.

Milo was a feral kitten and was rescued by a good friend of mine. We adopted him in 1995 when he was about 10 months old. My friend had hand-tamed him and he has been a very sweet kitty ever since. Mark found Cleo on thestreet - I guess someone had just dumped her. He brought her home and she has been with us ever since. That was in 1996. All in all, we do enjoy them. I call them my "elderly cats."

Anniversary Dinner

On our anniversary - February 16th we had dinner at Charlie's Italian Bistro in La Verne, CA, which is owned and operated by Tatiana Leiva and her family. It is such a warm and inviting place and I must say that I am a bit prejudiced because our beautiful daughter Audrey works there too! But really - the food is quite good - we have been going here for many years even before Tatiana bought the place.

Anyway, we walked in and there was a booth reserved for us with greetings from our beautiful Audrey. We settled in and I had the Chicken Marsala and Dan had the Clam Fettucini. We shared a bottle of delicious light Italian Pinot Gris and also a house salad. The dinner was topped off with a real treat - Charlie's tirimasu - complete with chocolate hearts.

Dinner by candlelight - served by our gorgeous daughter and celebrating 37 years of "marital bliss" as Dan would say and 40 years of our first meeting (on a blind date no less!). The evening was very special for all those reasons and many more.

And must include a picture of the "love of my life" my special husband Dan. (GOT to get him to smile more!!!!). He doesn't look too happy here, but trust me - he is!

More Celebrating - our 37th Wedding Anniversary!

The celebrating goes on and on. A quick trip to Pismo Beach - staying at the oceanside at Sea Crest Lodge for two nights - wine tasting on Saturday night, breakfast on the seaside patio and dinner at the Cracked Crab, walks around town, lunch with clam chowder at the Splash Cafe, exploring the town, watching surfers "shoot the pier" and looking at surf shops and anything else that took our fancy.

I adore the Central Coast and spend as much time there as I can with Dan. We love the ocean, all the things to see and do and just enjoying a place that is SO different from our day to day lives. Anyway here are some pictures of our weekend.

The top one is the view from our hotel room up the coast towards the Pismo Beach Pier. The middle photo is our wine tasting and the bottom photo is more beauty from the edge of the hotel property. You can just see the Sea Crest Lodge on the right hand side of the photo. Great hotel - lots of couples and even rooms for people with their dogs.

Our "Engagement Table"

Our Corvette Club had a Valentine dinner at the Magic Lamp, which is located in Upland, CA. Magic Lamp happens to be the very place where Dan and I got engaged 38 years ago in June of 1973.

Interestingly, Dan has not been back to the Magic Lamp since that night. I have been there once since then, when I attended an installation dinner. So it was a real milestone when Dan stepped through those doors.

As we were going to our room for the dinner, we passed the table where Dan asked me to marry him. There was an elderly couple there and I couldn't resist telling them that this was the table where we had gotten engaged so many years ago. They were so nice and thrilled to know that about us - complete straners to them...they told us that they have been married almost 60 years - so I guess it is indeed a lucky table.

Our dinner was alot of fun--after a delicious meal we went around the table and each couple talked about how they had met. There were LOTS of laughs and good natured ribbing.

Anyway, that's a picture up there of Dan and I at THE table!

Its Been a Long Time!

Today I started another blog to chronicle my journey towards retirement this year. I discovered that I also had this blog which I must say, I've totally neglected! Just one entry and from July 2009! Where does the time go?

Since I last wrote this entry, much has happened. I am in the final year of my working professional career and our son Mark and his beautiful Katie are getting married this summer. As a surprise, Dan and I flew out to New York for an extended weekend to surprise them for their East coast engagement party. They were REALLY surprised. That was alot of fun and we were so happy that we could surprise them like that.

The picture above is of Katie and her mother and me at the party. Katie's mother is a nurse and she lives in Southern California. I am so thrilled that Katie is part of our family. We love her very much.