Yosemite, Charlie Brown and Thanksgiving

I start out by typing the title of this piece in hopes that I will talk about the things I put there.  I can never be sure that I will because my mind often wanders down another path as I type.  That's how I write these.  I just put my fingers on the keys and ... GO

This weekend Chris and I celebrated our 6th anniversary by going to Yosemite.  Admittedly it was too long a drive for the turn-around  one night stay that we did and I would have liked to go for a longer period,  We are talking about going again in the Spring.  Maybe renting a cabin mid-week and staying a few days.  I have to look into the cost.  Whenever I am on vacation, I wonder what it would be like to live in the place we are visiting.  I think I am gearing up for retirement in my head.  Where will I want to live when I do- and WHAT can I afford?  I will probably have to leave the LA area, as it is far too expensive to continue to live here.  I need to be near water and probably trees.  I used to think I could not bear to be away from the ocean, but I haven't been to the beach in years.  I find when I am in the forest that I feel most peaceful.  I don't know about living in snow, however.  Given my medical challenges, I am not sure cold weather would be a whole lot of fun.  I don't ski, I am about as coordinated as a three-legged elephant.  But Yosemite was everything I had heard it was.  We were blessed with my favorite weather, cold crisp and clear.  It was perfect for walking around, even if my arthritis flare prohibited me from doing too much.  Chris is still having trouble walking but I want to go back in the spring and take the open tram tour.  The buses were wonderful, if packed and we were able to hop ( relatively) on and off to see a lot of the valley.  Next time we will see more, but I got some wonderful shots of Bridal Veil Falls ( I hiked up to the falls) and Half Dome ( I DIDN'T hike there!)

A few weeks ago, our next-door neighbor invited us to join him at the premiere of the Peanuts Movie.  It was wonderful.  I had never been to a premier and I think this was a-typical as it was geared toward children and family fun.  I got a cute little Peanuts lunch box and we had our picture taken on the green carpet, complete with a green screen!   The movie  was shown in one of the large theaters in Westwood that has been refurbished, to reflect the grandness of old time movie palaces with modern touches ( the seats are more comfortable!)  The movie was very sweet and really hearkened back to the original feel of Charlie Brown.  It's funny, my husband's family calls him "Charlie"  after one cousin dubbed him "Charlie Brown" as a baby.  I am "the Little red-haired girl" albeit "suicide red" as I dye it myself!  I enjoyed it immensely.  We had great seats in the first row of tha balcony, which is always my favorite place to sit in any venue.

Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday, is just a few days away and I am gearing up for the work that I usually do to prepare a meal for my "other family" my friends who come every year to share a meal with us.  It is admittedly a LOT of work, but it is my gift to the people who join us and I love doing it.   It's almost like a military campaign.  I have my plan as to what I am going to do and usually it works out ok.  The great thing is my friends don't mind if I say diner at 3:30 turns into dinner at 4:30.  It's wonderful to have a house full of laughter and good conversation-  and pie.  There has to be pie.

Thinking about McGroarty Arts Center. Again.

It's been a while since I wrote anything.  It's hard to get back into the swing of things and I am often distracted by mindless games on Facebook.  It's bad and I know I need to write more and play less.  Writing has always been my solace and my sanity.  Putting pen to paper, or in this case fingers to keyboards, has always been my joy.  I have been stressed and busy and not making time for the one thing that helps.   So often in this world we get bogged down by the day to day and forget to pursue art that will help us to relax and become whole again.  Schools in particular are forgetting to give our children the time they need to create.  It's all about test taking and qualifying.  So much of the creative arts have been removed from daily life.  When we create, we connect.   I suppose that is why I am fighting so hard to "Save" McGroarty Arts Center.   It needs saving.  for one reason or another- and it's many things that happened, not just one incident or one person- the Center is floundering.  We are trying to reach three thousand people who will donate at least ten dollars each.   It's a simple idea.  I feel bad about constantly asking my friends to donate and they do when I ask but I think that I am ALWAYS asking.  I wish I could do more, but my time and my funds are limited.  It weighs on me, that we see a decline in teaching children that art and science or art and math are partners in creating balance in our lives.

McGroarty is having their annual Holiday Boutique and Chili Bowl sale the weekend of December 5-6.  I will be baking up a storm and making chili.  On Sunday the 6th I will be hosting a cookie decorating booth- my good friend Willow and I are personally baking the cookies for decorating,  Edible art!

I hope we can save the Center.  I try not to think about a Tujunga without it.  It is a real possibility however,but if it happens it won't be for lack of trying on my part,

"war on Christmas"? I don't think so.

In response to a friends' copied post about how Christians are being "persecuted" and not allowed to celebrate their holiday I offered this:

No one is asking that Christians celebrate 'mas" 　 The "politically correct" folks who chide us for saying Merry Christmas are wrong,but so are the Christians who think that ONLY "Jesus is the reason for the season" The holidays encompass many different traditions,not JUST Christmas. Sometimes we forget that. There is Hanukkah and Solstice and Kwanzaa during December. People on both sides of the coin are quick to take offense these days. If someone wishes me "happy ... whatever holiday they celebrate" I thank them, because they consider me a friend enough to include me in their traditions. I do try to remember to wish friends who don't celebrate Christmas a happy ( whatever they celebrate) It's only kindness, I am not buying into the whole "war on Christmas" thing. Christmas has become a commercial enterprise, not a religious celebration of the birth of Christ. During December, take a moment to reflect ( as the Winter Holidays are meant for you to do) on the blessings in your life. Celebrate in your tradition and stop worrying that Christians are getting a bad deal. Look in ANY store after the 4th of July and you will see them gearing up for Christmas! The people who take "Christ" out of Christmas, in my opinion are THOSE people who have turned it into a nonstop guilt fest of gift giving and finding "the perfect gift". It's not Thanksgiving yet. I don't wish ANYONE "Merry Christmas until December.


As a Christian, I am getting sick of the extreme idiots getting out there in the press as if what they believe represents us all. The whole Starbucks cup thing is monumentally stupid. Bill O'Reilly felt his fame slipping away so he created this whole "There is a War on Christmas" maelstrom. that is getting his angry face all over the television again. Jesus must be so pleased. For me, Christmas is about remembering the year. I reflect on the blessings of my life, take time to thank my friends for being in my life. It's that simple. Christmas has become this commercial thing that strays from the religious aspect of it. I hate seeing all the Christmas things BEFORE HALLOWEEN. sheesh.

so, with that in mind, I wish you.. Happy Thanksgiving!

Tito

This is a blog I don't want to write.  I had intended to write a light frothy piece about the new Peanuts Movie, and I still will do that, probably tomorrow.  But last night I got a text from a friend that broke my heart.

My friend, Evita, is more than a friend; she's really like a sister.  After all, it was her sweet voice that brought me to my husband Chris.  They were in a band together.  They had been childhood friends and were playing together.  I discovered them via the old My Space site, back when it was a way for bands to get their music out there.  I loved her powerful voice and went to see the band.  The rest, as they say, is history.

Evita has two children, the beautiful, smart, fierce Glo and Tito, who is blind and severely autistic.  I think Tito is 18 but  I would put his emotional age around one, maybe two.  He was always full of giggles and hugs when I used to see him on a regular basis.  As he grew into a teenager he became more difficult and the decision was made to place him in a home where he could get the care he needed that she could no longer provide for him.  It was an emotional decision, but the right one for Tito  and he adapted and seemed happy.  Evita visited him as much as she could.

Yesterday, Evita texted me that Tito has a large tumor on his leg and the cancer has spread. It is terminal.  It is hard to know what to say in that instance and anything I said seemed trite and hollow.  She said something that hit me in the stomach like a physical blow. She said "I need to start setting money aside for a funeral."  She is a single mother and Tito's father is not anywhere in the picture anymore  ( for good reason and she has done a fine job raising here children without him)  Chris and I have offered what help we can give.

Over the next few days, we will be creating a Go-Fund me to help her with whatever expenses come her way as she faces what no parent should have to face.  We always knew Tito's time here would be brief, but knowing it in your head and facing it are two different things.  I have been asking my friends to donate money a lot these days and I hate doing that .  My hope is that we can create a go-fund me that will go viral and she will be able to raise the funds she will need in this horrible time.

Send up a prayer or some love and light to my Sister-from-another Mister.   I cannot begin to imagine what she and here family are going through right now.

Samhain, Halloween and other autumnal musings

It's finally getting chilly here.  There's a definite snap in the air, quite a relief from the soaring temperatures of an unusual "Indian Summer" that we have around here.   I wonder if someone will take exception to that term.  People are so sensitive these days, as if everything is offensive.  I am waiting for the people who will post about "Black Friday" being an insult to Black people.  I have already seen one moronic post about not shopping until after January 1.  Hello???   doesn't that impact ALL businesses?  It won't be "Sticking it to the Man" if you don't patronize any business during the Holiday season.  Sheesh.  Last year I saw someone post that "Black Friday" was the day the slave-owners sold off their slaves because the harvest was over and they didn't need them so the DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING was a sale day and we need to protest Black Friday.  Ok.. Historically speaking, Thanksgiving was put into effect by ABRAHAM LINCOLN.  Remember him?  So, since this was during the Civil War, I don't think there was a huge sale going on.  Black Friday is the date that Businesses are "in the Black" which means that they have TURNED A PROFIT, but people are so quick to take offense about everything, they forget to focus on what is truly offensive, making their protests weaker by the sheer number of rants.


My office had a Halloween Party, well lunch really.  A lot of us dressed up and I heard one of my co-workers say to another "oh , you're a witch?  You're too nice to be a witch"  HUH?  It made me think of the lines from the Wizard of Oz "Witches are old and ugly!  Only bad witches are ugly" I have a number of friends who identify as witches and they are not evil.  It got me to wondering about how our collective idea about witches and witchcraft got to be how it is. Sad to say, I blame Christianity.  In the early days, either you converted or were killed.  People who practiced Wicca, or a form of Paganism, were whispered about, how they were in league with Satan and needed to be exterminated because they were plotting to take over and they were the reason the crops or livestock were dying off ( blah blah blah)  Pagans don't even believe in the devil, those are Satanists and a different group altogether .  Those among us who are sensitive to the earth and who understand the original magic that the world possessed were and are feared by those who do not understand them.  I thought about Samhain, but did not celebrate in anyway this year.  I barely did Halloween which is really a children's holiday anyway.


I am glad for the chill in the air, a chance to toss another blanket on the bed. I sleep better when I am warm and snuggled down in the blankets. I love Summer, but not the unrelenting heat.  I love the clean crisp air of Autumn, which as an adult has become my favorite season. I can cook and bake and not have the kitchen be a sweatbox!  I am looking forward to Thanksgiving!