Such a satisfying driving lesson on Saturday. The day was off-and-on rain showers with spectacular clouds and thunder. As soon as I harnessed Lady, the rain started, so we waited for about 8 minutes till it stopped. Then we had a perfect partnership of a lesson, and as I finished a little pleasure drive around the property, the rain started up again. So exhilarating. It's my last lesson there by Lamy, only 15 minutes from our house. My instructor and all the animals are moving to a new ranch, north of Abiquiu, so my drive to the ranch will now take 1 1/2 hours. Yikes. But if I go maybe twice a month and make a day of it, it should work out OK. And in winter, there'll be a new sleigh to drive! I think I'm actually gaining some real expertise.
Now it's Monday. The gang next door at the restaurant is gearing up for the evening's production with their usual accompaniment of head-banger music. Since all our doors are now open because of the warmth, I get to participate. It's a lively little compound here.
Off to San Francisco in a few days. It's been a while, for me at least. Now, let's see what I need to stock up on there to take back to the hinterland....
This will be the weekend we moved last year. I remember it well. Oppressed with fog, we loaded the car and headed for the Bay Bridge, hoping for one last Whiz Burger for the road. Not to be — Carnival was going strong in the Mission, and try as we might, there was just no way we were getting to 18th Street and So. Van Ness that day. Bitter disappointment. I'm determined to redress that wrong a full year later.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Santa Fe Moments
Finally, my first celebrity sighting. Well, not counting Timothy Spall last fall in Rooftop Pizza (Harry Potter fans, take note), but I don't think he lives here. Today's highlight was — Ali MacGraw at the ATM where I go to pick up the mail! And isn't it curious that Steve McQueen has also been a topic on this blog(adept readers will find the citation without my hints)??
Everyone else in town sees the Jakes, Vals, Harrisons, Renées, etc. here at the gym, strolling around, exiting stores, you name it. My best up until now was hearing Judge Reinhold on the radio. And he actually lives here. Don't get me wrong — I'm a big fan of his: imagine having both Fast Times at Ridgemont High AND Beverly Hills Cop under your belt? Doesn't get better than that.
That's it for now. Oh, except here's the daily trivia from our mailbox place: who was the most popular box office couple in 1942? Don't say Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland because I did, and my pal there said "not that romantic". So I'm going back to collect the mail later, and my two final guesses are:
1. Charlie McCarthy and Edgar Bergen
2. Abbott and Costello
And never, never do I research these things on the internet.
Bye.
Everyone else in town sees the Jakes, Vals, Harrisons, Renées, etc. here at the gym, strolling around, exiting stores, you name it. My best up until now was hearing Judge Reinhold on the radio. And he actually lives here. Don't get me wrong — I'm a big fan of his: imagine having both Fast Times at Ridgemont High AND Beverly Hills Cop under your belt? Doesn't get better than that.
That's it for now. Oh, except here's the daily trivia from our mailbox place: who was the most popular box office couple in 1942? Don't say Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland because I did, and my pal there said "not that romantic". So I'm going back to collect the mail later, and my two final guesses are:
1. Charlie McCarthy and Edgar Bergen
2. Abbott and Costello
And never, never do I research these things on the internet.
Bye.
Friday, May 9, 2008
VE Day
Today is VE Day. Victory in Europe. We would have a very different world without both VE and VJ days. Most likely quite worse than the sorry mess we have in many places today. Ah, the bright side. In homage to those who died in WW2, in whatever capacity and on whatever side, and to those who survived and carry the burden of memories I dedicate this day's entry. War is ultimately about individuals, as any soldier will tell you.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Blogs From Long Ago
Many famous diarists there are. Let's have a look at their inspiration and consistency. This will be out of chronology, based purely on flashes from history.
Anne Frank: a very good diarist. She had reason to be: cooped up, full of emotion, driven by circumstance, brimming with intelligence and curiosity.
Madame de Stael: 18th-c. French aristocrats had little else to do but document their days in the most excruciating detail. This ended only in 1789.
Samuel Pepys: persnickety, a bit; living in an interesting post-revolutionary, neo-royalist time.
James Lees-Milne: perhaps one of my favorite authors. He was an early and instrumental administrative member of Great Britain's National Trust. His diaries of war-time London are riveting and exquisitely written in both personal and historical terms. I treasure all the volumes of his diary that I have.
My grandfather: kept a diary in very small script from his days on the Western Front, July 1918-Dec. 1919, under fire, in places he termed "most unhealthy". I still have the original.
Anne Frank: a very good diarist. She had reason to be: cooped up, full of emotion, driven by circumstance, brimming with intelligence and curiosity.
Madame de Stael: 18th-c. French aristocrats had little else to do but document their days in the most excruciating detail. This ended only in 1789.
Samuel Pepys: persnickety, a bit; living in an interesting post-revolutionary, neo-royalist time.
James Lees-Milne: perhaps one of my favorite authors. He was an early and instrumental administrative member of Great Britain's National Trust. His diaries of war-time London are riveting and exquisitely written in both personal and historical terms. I treasure all the volumes of his diary that I have.
My grandfather: kept a diary in very small script from his days on the Western Front, July 1918-Dec. 1919, under fire, in places he termed "most unhealthy". I still have the original.
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