Aug. 12 après nap

Much revived, we organized ourselves for dinner and a "stitch and bitch" meeting. Yes, there is a group of international knitters who meet every Monday in a local cafe.

I had looked them up and posted that we would be coming. It was fun to meet them and see what they were making.






The woman sitting next to me is another knitting cruiser. She is traveling with her husband.


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August 12 Amsterdam day 1

A, J, B & C took me to the airport. It was a last minute decision, but really lovely. We had sandwich hugs at my house before we left.

Ana and I flew separately, but had no trouble meeting up in the baggage area. The hotel shuttle worked great, but our room wasn't ready so we went out for a walk.

Why would there be Russian souvenirs in Amsterdam.



Everywhere I look there are great buildings.


This is the back of the floating flower market. The front of the stalls are open so you can walk right in to buy your tulip bulbs, cannabis seeds, etc.


We went back to our hotel and took a nap.

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August 30 My first house guests

My friend Gabi, from Geneva, and her family came for a short visit. Gabi and Bernd christened the wall bed. Carolin and Tim used folding mats.

I met them about 19 years ago when Carolin was a toddler. She was the first to call me "Oma Joan ".

The first day we went to Venice Beach.


Day 2 we went to Hollywood, lunch in Thai Town, the observatory, drove down Sunset to the beach and then dinner at Duke's on the water in Malibu.



Day 3 we went to the La Brea Tar Pits, the Santa Monica Pier, walked along the palisade, then walked the 3rd street promenade and through the mall. We went to Alec and Jef's for a barbecue.




I said that this was getting me in shape for my trip.

Day 4 Jef and I took them to the airport. They were going to Hawaii.

Short but fun.

Mon. Feb. 25, 2013. I'M HOME part 3

I have new hardwood floors in the kitchen and bedroom. All of the other floors have been refinished to a lighter shade.





My new front door is a pretty blue and has a large mail slot. This means that when I go on trips, everything can just be shoved into the house.



It leads into a foyer created by installing a closet with shelves on the end to hold Indian pottery.



Some other views





The living room now has display boxes for more pottery.



The main bathroom is now a "guest" bath.






Notice that both toilets come out from the wall. This takes much less space in small areas.

My guest room now has a wall bed.



Knitting books and hedgehogs were in the first boxes available. Notice the desk on the wall bed. When it opens, the desk stays parallel to the floor, so nothing needs to be moved


I have lots of new gates.


A new hearth.


And, maybe best of all, I now have HEAT and air conditioning.


That's all for now, folks.

I am doing jury duty and they are staring to call a panel.

I'm Home Part 2

I have started to put things into my new kitchen.  This

Has turned into this glorious space:

This is really cool. I have an ironing board built into a drawer.

Monday, 2/25/2013 I'M HOME part 1

Hip Hip Hooray.  Friday night I slept in my own bed.
This:

Is now this:

I used my new bathroom.  This:

Is now this:

I started to hang up my clothes.

I read on my new couch.  This:

 Is now this:

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

It has been two years since Chuck passed away. I've been a little weepy thinking about him and all of the things that he has missed. The grandchildren are growing well and are becoming more interesting every day. Alec's architecture firm has had it's second anniversary and they are still busy. The new Pauley Pavilion is great and we all know how happy he would have been with the victory over USC.
He would have loved the changes to the house. He wouldn't have been as happy with the process. We would have had to go away and not return until it was finished with the furniture back in place. (He didn't deal well with upset to his life.).
You may have noticed that we didn't make Thanksgiving! We are so close, but the cabinets are holding us up. Once they are in, the counter tops and appliances arrive, the floors get the final coat and I can move back in. Now, Alec is saying by Christmas.
My housing situation is nothing short of miraculous. Since October, I have slept in beds #17 and 18, with a short sojourn with Alec and Jef. Today, I move back in with them until the 14th and then I can go back to bed # 11. I can stay there until the 28th - or moving in day, whichever comes first. Branwen and Calder keep reminding me that I NEED to sleep there on Christmas Eve so we can wear our matching jammies. (The three of us may have outgrown our jammies.)
My words of wisdom are: Cherish each day
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Sunday, Oct 7, the house cont.

My house is still moving along.  They keep saying that I will be in by Thanksgiving.  I was a little worried when I ordered the bathroom tiles and instead of being a 5-6 week turn around time, it was 10-12 weeks.  But luck was with me and the tiles came in 5 weeks so now they are being laid.  They started with the original bathroom.

   

Alec and Brooks put up their sign

Sunday Oct 7, Beds # 16 & 1

September was a busy month.  The birthday celebrations continued.  A bridge group that I substitute with had a group birthday party for 5 of us that turned/will turn 70 this year.  We went to a house in Big Bear that a relative of one of the group owns.  This was a really big house.  It slept 10 of us really comfortably.  This was bed #16

 This was the view from our window of Big Bear Lake

We all signed up to be responsible for a meal.  Susan O. and I collaborated on a Mexican themed Saturday lunch.  We had tostados and margaritas.  To make it more fun we wore costumes while we served.

We hiked, talked, laughed, drank and ate.

The day after our weekend, I moved back to bed #1.  This is my friend Marie and she and her husband are in Paris for a month, so I can really relax and enjoy being in one place for awhile.

Ursula makes friends with the animals that come for food in her backyard.

Big excitement at Alec's house. The house next door is finally finished and now is being used as the exterior of the main character's house in Ben and Kate. They filmed the Halloween episode and decorated several houses on the street.  This is the stuff on Alec's lawn.

 The best part is that they hired the neighborhood kids to be extras and Trick or Treat in their own Halloween costumes.  They were hired for a one day shoot from 3 pm until 10 pm.  Everyone was fed by Craft Services and then did their work.  Branwen squeezed herself into her Princess Cobra costume and Calder was a crypt keeper.  Calder said that it was "good, boring and they paid me $150!"  They had a good time and now want to watch the program whenever it is on.  (Tuesday nights at 8:30 on channel 11 Fox.)   I don't think it is very good, but we want it to continue because every time they film, they pay Alec for running a cable through his yard.

I went to the L. A. County Fair with some of the Aerobics group. We went on Free Senior Wednesday and also had a free Ferris wheel ride.  Here is Margie at the top.

We saw all of our favorite things and also ate "Fair Food" which this year consisted of:  Funnel Cake, home made potato chips, deep fried zucchini, and baked potatoes with the works.  We wanted bacon dipped in chocolate, but were too stuffed to eat it, so bought some to bring home for the next day when we exercised in the pool. (Really we have reduced it to talking while moving gently through the water. But the weather has been sooooooo hot that the pool feels great.)

Brandi and I went on a Historical Cemetery tour at a really old cemetery in the West Adams district.  The tour goes around to about 8 grave-sites where the deceased tell their stories.  This year's theme was that they were all related to the entertainment field.  This guy was an escape artist who mentored Houdini.  He also was a spy for the Union army during the Civil War.