August Words of Wisdom

 My life will be a continual voyage on an uncertain sea. (Nicolas de Stael)

 

At the beach - time you enjoyed wasting, is not wasted. (T.S. Eliot)

 

For me the novel is character creation. Style is nice, plot is nice, structure is OK, social significance is OK, symbolism worms its way in, timeliness is OK too, but unless the characters convince and live, the book's got no chance. (Larry McMurtry)

 

A book is a gift you can open again and again. (Garrison Keillor) 

 

Find out who you are and do it on purpose. (Dolly Parton) 

 

 

Joy to the soul

The ocean stirs the heart, inspires the imagination 

and brings eternal joy to the soul.

(Robert Wyland) 

And just like that...

The storms that plagued Southern California's Christmas and New Year's have finally departed and today, the sun is back out and the skies are blue again.

 

You'd never know it was pouring rain less than 24 hours ago. Amazeballs.

 

Here comes 2026!!!

I know I probably say this every year, but 2026...sooooo futuristic!

 

Here's a wild thought: we're now closer to 2030 than 2020.  SOOOOO FUTURISTIC!

 

Hope everyone has a wonderful new year!

 

 

A beautiful day in the neighborhood

A gorgeous December day on the channel!

 

 

The last pirate standing at the pirate house. There used to be multiple pirates (including one on a rope rappelling down the house) and a cannon. Now there's just one lonely pirate remaining. Looks like the captain is going to go down with his ship.

Happy 4th of July America!!!

Have a great fireworks day!

 

 

Remember this little gem?

 

Images snicked from around the internets.

MUST...POSSESS...

So many of the Hallmark Christmas ornaments are just absolute works of art. Not to mention the ideas they come up with for ornaments is really clever. 

I have this Jaws ornament from years ago. In fact, it's on my fireplace mantel year round since I live by the beach. And now today, I stumbled across this absolutely awesome upcoming Jaws ornament:

 

 

When you tilt the ornament it changes from the original billboard to the vandalized billboard. SQUEEEE!!!!

I can't find it on Hallmark's website yet, but I will be there ready to give them my money the minute this thing becomes available.

Apocalyptic Now

The view from my balcony late yesterday afternoon. I'm about 9-10 miles south of the Pacific Palisades fire, where this smoke is coming from:

 

 This morning:

About what I was expecting. Our air is brown. If I have to go out, I'll be digging out a mask from the COVID days. Also, the wind is kicking up again, which is bad.

I'm fortunate to not be in any of the fire areas, but it was terrifying and depressing to watch one fire after another crop up and explode yesterday and into the evening. One started in Eaton Canyon above Arcadia and wreaked havoc on Pasadena and surrounding areas. The Palisades fire has wiped out almost the entire town then headed into Malibu and apparently has destroyed blocks of homes on Pacific Coast Highway right on the beach as well as a number of venerable businesses including the Reel Inn and Malibu Feed Bin. It's also caused evacuations in north Santa Monica.

I've also heard there have been two fatalities, but considering how fast these fires spread, I won't be surprised if there are many more.

There's already been discussions online about how our state and local governments have handled water resources, forestry management, and budget cuts to local fire departments, but there will be plenty of time to examine that later. I'm sure there's plenty of blame to go around, and even with the catastrophic winds, I'm guessing that better management and funding of resources may not have prevented the fires themselves from spreading, but I'm thinking it didn't have to be this absolute carnage. I can't even bring myself to pull pictures and video for this post. When all is said and done, this is going to be destruction of historic proportions, and I feel so awful when I think of the thousands of people who have lost their homes and businesses. I don't know how much more people can take.

 

Updated 1/10/25: Just found out a friend lost her house in Altadena because of the Eaton Fire. This is just so brutal and awful.

Slouching toward Christmas

It's been a pretty quiet month so far and I haven't been posting the usual Christmas stuff this year. No particular reason. Maybe next year. One thing that has been great around here is the weather. The past couple of years spring and even summer has been frequently overcast, but this month it's been bright and sunny around here. The kind of weather you'd expect during spring and summer but noooooo...

 

Although it looks like that's about to change. Maybe even some rain on Christmas Eve!

 

 

Anyhoo, Merry Christmas from the beautiful beach!

 

Words of Wisdom: Homebody Edition

For the homebodies out there:

Collect things you love, that are authentic to you and your house. --Erin Flett

There's just a connection you have with your home. For me, it's a soul connection. --Brownie Evans

I live by the ocean. I find that whenever I need something more than what I have inside, that the ocean gives it to me. I walk to the stairs that lead down to the beach. I don’t even have to put my toes in the sand…I can just stand on the cliff….watch the waves lapping at the shore…the sunlight hitting the top of the crests…and there is something very energizing about it, something very calming….It renews my sense of wonder and renews my sense of spirit, and my sense of myself. (Jill Alman-Bernstein)

 

The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned. (Maya Angelou)

 

Someday I want to live by the ocean in an old cottage with a person I love. We can wake to the sound of waves and drift off to the sound of our laughter. (Thomas Ardavany)

 

Home is the kingdom in which we have the daily choice and power to make our tiny domain one of light or darkness. (Sally Clarkson)

 

This is how I feel about my home: A place you don’t ever want to leave. It’s something forever, a home for keeps. (Nancy Zoleta)

 

Our forecast sucks

You'd never know it was summer around here. After a second consecutive year of dreary weather through May, we had a couple weeks of sunshine in June, and it was lovely. Then it was back to overcast nearly all day. If the sun does break through, it's not for long. Right now it looks like a storm is imminent, although nothing of the sort is coming. It's just overcast, and it's depressing. It doesn't feel like summer at the beach at all. In what alternate universe is this Southern California summer weather?

This blows:

Look at this fucking forecast. Look. At. It.

If this forecast holds, Saturday the 20th is going to be the only bright spot to a dreary month.

Never forget

Gone but not forgotten.

The Days of Christmas: Merry Christmas from the beach!

Santa Claus, the day after Christmas.

I don't remember where I got these, so if they're yours please let me know so I can give credit where credit is due!

And just like that, it's October

This whole year has flown by, but September especially seemed to go so fast. It was supposed to start so well with the long-awaited San Diego Bouchercon, but that didn't exactly pan out the way I'd hoped. Then there was the fire that seriously scared the living daylights out of me. I'm still so grateful to have my home to come home to. 

 

But finally, September did end on a higher note than the rest of the month: I got to see what my apartment will look like after the upcoming renovations and holy moly, is it going to be gorgeous! The renovations have been in the works for almost ten years, and previous plans were not well received by residents, so we've been dreading it for ages. But the plans have been revised to make a lot more sense, and after a Zoom call and an open house of an already renovated unit, most of our fears have been eased. A few residents still have concerns, but for me personally pretty much all my issues have been resolved. Not only will the move-out/move-in be less disruptive than anticipated, I'm actually looking forward to getting it done while I had previously dreaded it. 

 

This is a huge complex and my building isn't in the first wave of renovations, but they'll get to me eventually. I think that possibly a year from now my apartment could be updated. Improvements include all wood floors, snazzy new cabinets and countertops, A/C and my favorite part, a washer and dryer in the unit. We're also losing our apartment-sized appliances and getting big stainless steel gas stoves (we currently have electric) and a huge, double-sided stainless steel fridge. I'm finally going to have the kitchen of my dreams that I've wanted since culinary school. 

Most importantly, it eases the dread of having to figure out where I would move next. I figured I'd either be priced out at some point (costs of apartments in the L.A. area continue to soar) but during the period I lived away from the beach this complex went under some kind of rent control and part of the agreement for the renovations includes not raising the rents for current tenants when our apartments are upgraded, and subsequent annual increases are limited. I got my first increase since moving back here earlier this year and it was much less than I was expecting. God knows what they'll charge new tenants for the fancy new apartments, but that won't affect me. I can probably count on living here indefinitely if not forever, which despite the downward trajectory Los Angeles has been on is still comforting for me. It's just easier for me than having to wonder where I'll go. I'm still dragging a bit on the writing thing, but I'm a huge homebody so knowing my home will be mine pretty much as long as I want is making me feel more positive than I've felt in a while.

Look! Up in the sky!

I headed over to Trader Joe's last night (pumpkin cheesecake is back, I'm doomed) and was struck how beautiful the sky was going in, and even more so after I got out of the store and was headed home. We got a few minutes of light rain, which apparently somehow entitled us to a pretty sweet rainbow. Pics from inside the car were taken while at stoplights.

Prayers for Maui

The beautiful island of Maui has been hammered by wildfires. Three, to be exact:

The West Maui wildfire tore through the historic town of Lahaina last week. Historic Front Street was decimated. The pictures I've seen online make the place look like a war zone. The body count is up to 100 as of today, making it the most lethal fire in the U.S. in a century. Many people were caught with little to no warning to evacuate, and many in Lahaina have lost both their homes and places of employment.

My Mom and Dad lived in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island for years, and would take trips to other parts of Hawaii. Their favorite destination was Hilo, on the other side of the island, but they also went to Kauai, Pearl Harbor, and in October 2009 they visited Maui. Here are some pictures from that trip:

Lahaina:

Mom in Lahaina Town.

One of three boats they saw on their trip that were sunk or run aground.

Haleakala Volcano:

Elevation 10,000' per my Dad's note on the back.

Makawao:

 

"Great shops!" according to Mom.

My Mom never met a fake cow she didn't like.

Note the cowboy boots.

 

Kahului Harbor:

 

Beautiful boat run aground in Kahului Harbor. Dad's note: "OOOPS again!"

Maui Ocean Center:

No note about where in Maui this was taken, but my Mom did note that it was the "Third ship we saw in trouble."

 

 Mom at what is described only as "a viewpoint":

There are not words to describe the devastation to this paradise. To make things worse, being an island, they're cut off from communications and assistance that people on the mainland could count on. I believe they did fly tourists off the island within the past couple of days. Right now we can donate and pray, and hope for the best for so many people who have lost everything through no fault of their own. And even if that's all you can do, it shows more care than some people have for this tragedy.

Here's hoping we all have a wonderful new year!

 

Blue skies, smiling at me...

At the channel, late Thursday afternoon:

 

You so pretty, Marina del Rey 😍

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

...at the beach!