Home made soup from the turkey carcass

Jim has come down with a bad cold so I decided to make soup from the Christmas turkey carcass….I had frozen it.   I was going to wait for a cooler day but not sure that will be coming….in the mid to high 70's this week.  I didn't have my usual recipe so chose one online that had canned tomatoes and cabbage…both ingredients that aren't in my recipe.  The result is excellent!

Another Palm Springs Filmfest success ….Cycling with Moliere

We saw this film yesterday and really enjoyed it….a very intelligent and engaging film and nice scenery of around La Rochelle.  And as always,  people you meet while waiting in line are always interesting.

A new P.D. James…at least for us!

We thought we had read all of P.D James but when Jim was looking for my Christmas books this year he came across this one and it didn't sound familiar.  It didn't sound familiar to me either and it wasn't.   What a treat to think you've read everything a favourite author has written and then find one you haven't read!  And it's definitely one of her best even if Adam D. isn't in it.

"Renoir" the film

Monday,  we saw the film "Renoir" as part of the filmfest here.  It was really quite good and of course we loved the scenes of France.  It was beautifully shot on location.  As usual,  you meet interesting people while standing in line.  A fun buzz always.  Before I saw this film,  I didn't know Jean Renoir,  the great film maker,  was Renoir's son.

Landscape, Flowers and Little Girl

 - 

Pierre Auguste Renoir

Renoir, Pierre-Auguste (French 1841-1919) Impressionist artist.

Downton Abbey….yawn.

We missed a lot of episodes last year since we were so busy with so many things and didn't particularly care as I remain surprised why this sentimental treacle which is really just a soap opera is so popular amongst young and old it would seem.   It's now become something we might watch for lack of anything better to do.   But,  I am happy that the BBC is making piles of money out of it as that means more great BBC stuff at some point.

Perhaps there will be some new wonderful television like Breaking Bad sometime soon.

New neighbours!

Our friends from Vancouver,  Dick and Susan,  who rented a place in Canyon Sands for 5 weeks this winter have bought a place in Canyon Sands about a half a block away.  We're really thrilled and it's going to be great to have them as neighbours!

http://www.listingpointrealty.com/realtor/index.php?main=listing&MLS_NUM=13721023PS&id_from=0edae86d76f22cb46a3821160f378b5a&num_list=5

Welcome to our neighbourhood,  Dick and Susan!

Raising a glass to Don and Elaine

We had lunch downtown today at Zin American Bistro and both took advantage of the "endless champagne" for $5 a pop.  We thought very fondly of our Sunday buffet at the San Francisco Hilton many years ago where the four of us enjoyed many glasses of champagne (included with the meal) and an amazing and fabulous array of food.  Remember that?  Could we forget?

We had their two course prix fixe for $15.95.  I began with the wild mushroom soup with truffle oil which was excellent and Jim had a Caesar.  Then I had a wonderful sea bass in lemon caper sauce and Jim the pork loin.

Nice buzz around downtown with all the filmfest visitors.

 Our rockers were playing in Las Casuelas and the regulars were there on the dance floor….the guy in the red hat and the old time dancing couple.  Always great to see them having so much fun and enjoying the music.

 My soup….yum!

Palm Springs will have to keep "Marilyn"….

Palm Springs Film Festival

PSFF is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year and it's become quite an amazing event with 191 films and 200+ stars and studio representatives out for the gala including the likes of Meryl Streep,  Tom Hanks,  Matthew McConaughey,  Julia Roberts,  Sandra Bullock, Jane Fonda….and on and on.  While at the pool yesterday we heard lots of extra planes coming in.

We went to our first film yesterday and saw "Broken Circle Breakdown" a Belgian film getting a lot of buzz.  We thought it was very good but pretty hard to watch most of the time…a brutal exploration of grief but it was leavened by lots of great bluegrass music.  We saw Tom and Claire there.  They were heading off to another film so didn't have time to discuss it but will meet later this week for a bite and talk.  Claire said the only thing Tom and she agreed on was the music was great so should be an interesting discussion….usually is with Tom and Claire!

Meryl Streep at the Gala accepting the Icon Award.

It seems like this gala was a refreshing change.  From the Desert Sun today:

With votes due Wednesday for Oscar nominations, an unprecedented group of A-list stars put aside politics and delivered impassioned speeches at the Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala Saturday about inspiration.

Eloquence replaced tired awards show rhetoric. Presenters exalted honorees and honorees showed genuine gratitude, reminding industry and non-industry people alike that this gala was primarily about the art of cinema.

The result was standing ovation after standing ovation — in stark contrast to last year’s gala when Rancho Mirage resident Jack Jones had to stand alone to lead the first standing ovation late in the evening.

This three-hour event in the rose-hued Palm Springs Convention Center climaxed with an Icon Award presented to a performer festival chairman Harold Matzner has been trying to honor for years: three-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep, up for a Golden Globe for her performance in “August: Osage County.”

And when they presented Streep’s highlight reel, presenter Margo Martindale, who plays Streep’s sister in “Osage County,” could only say, “Wow! That’s incredible!”

Martindale noted Streep has received 113 other awards and 167 nominations, according to IMDb.com, but this was her first Icon Award.

“Frankly, I’m skeptical that the Icon Award existed before tonight,” she said. “I think they might have just created it to get Meryl to come to Palm Springs.”

Streep, with humility that was common throughout the night, reacted, “Oh my God, sit down.” Then she explained why she was honored to be at the gala.

“I feel lucky to have had so many chances, over and over again,” she said. “I feel like I’m more of an example moving into my dotage. ‘You just can’t put those old gals out to pasture.’ We still have a lot more stuff to say.”
….

The gala grossed $2.4 million for the non profit Palm Springs International Film Society, which will be used to fund festival programming and educational programs.

Cardenas

Cardenas is a large grocery store catering to Hispanics and has great prices on produce.  Almost every sign is in Spanish and I was pretty much the only non Hispanic person in the store so felt a little strange but it's a very cool place to shop and I'll certainly go back for the produce.

Amazing cakes and pastries…even saw a pineapple pie.  May buy that for company sometime.

There's great music playing (probably Mexican musicians) and I love the murals and the way it's like being in an outdoor market with their various designs and props.

Lot of interesting food items.

Ian,  this one's for you!  (Ian has a collection of M & M stuff)

First time at Elmer's

We didn't realize Elmer's has some outdoor seating so had a great view of the mountains….best fish and chips so far in the desert.

Dogs are welcome in most patios, stores, etc.  Elmer's provides water bowls and treats.

Then off to the Palm Springs Pavillion where Jim bought a $30 resident card which gives a big discount on 18 holes of golf.  It's an amazing facility with baseball diamonds,  soccer pitch, skateboard park,  pool,  auditorium,  etc. etc.  Had no idea there were all these facilities there.

I see you get a free lesson before the event with a paid admission….maybe we'll give it a try or just go to watch the live band and the dancers.

Those pesky mountains….

Well,  I haven't really captured these mountains but I rather like the colours I ended up with….surprisingly like the colours in the cushions I like so much.  Wasn't really planned that way.  I'm going to put in some palm trees…like the ones we see when we're swimming.

Will be taking a break from the mountains.  Working on something for my "Provence" room.

Polar Bear Swim…Palm Springs style

From John yesterday:

Throw an ice cube in the pool for me when you have your new year swim.
John 

I would have thought they didn't go in for Polar Bear swims here but in this morning's newspaper (yes,  a newspaper even on Christmas day…seems they publish 365 days a year)  there was a story on the Polar Bear swim yesterday at the Palm Desert Aquatic Centre.  Well,  given the temp was in the 70's,  the only thing "Polar"  was the guy in the Polar Bear suit!

Happy New Year everyone!

The Desert Sun had an article on New Year's celebrations around the world this year.  London was my favourite…how cool!

 "London welcomed 2014 with a mixture of futuristic fireworks and torch-lit tradition. The city's mayor said this year's explosive display came packed with peach-flavored snow, edible banana confetti and orange-scented bubbles. The evening also included scratch-and-sniff programs, LED wristbands and fruit-flavored sweets."

And some other ones were pretty dismal…read all about it:
http://www.mydesert.com/usatoday/article/4259925

Happy New Year to all my blog readers!

Susan and Alan sent us this e- card today…take a look…it's great!

All the best to everyone in 2014!

http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=4602877063334&source=jl999&utm_medium=internal_email&utm_source=pickup&utm_campaign=receivercontent

I had problems uploading these little videos Richard took….seem to be working now.  The slow motion feature on his iPhone is kind of cool.

San Jacinto Mountains

I've been trying to capture these for quite a while.  Susan did some for me yesterday as part of her 29 Cactus project.  So,  now it was my turn.  I want mine to be purplish…they do look purplish in the morning and at night sometimes.

This is a "first coat"…too dark but will work with it tomorrow and maybe I'll even try to do the light and shadow in the right place….but then,  maybe not.

Susan's mountains

Richard's photos of the desert

From Bombay Beach….

From Richard's day out mini triathlon

1. 
   

Vancouver, mon amour...

Richard arrived home and sent this photo with the message…

What I came home to.  Guess Vancouver's ok after all!

Thanks for a wonderful visit.

Love,

Richard

Taken from the balcony.

Our home in the desert is wonderful but we are also blessed with a wonderful home in my favourite city in the world.

A fascinating day at Bombay Beach on the Salton Sea

Richard wanted to go to the Salton Sea so we decided to go to Bombay Beach which is on the other side of the Sea to where Satlton City is which Jim and I had already visited.  You see a lot more of the sea going this way.  The Sea was created by a flood in 1905, in which water from the Colorado River flowed into the area.

It was initially seen as a good thing to have this inland sea in a desert area and became a recreational area with yacht clubs and beaches that rivalled Palm Springs.  Fish were introduced and the fishing was apparently fabulous.   With agricultural run off created salinity it has now become a "dead" area and has massive fish and bird die offs.

Most people have abandoned Bombay Beach….leaving a rather odd assortment of people and very few businesses.  No gas station so people tend to get around on golf carts,   two small corner stores,  and a restaurant and bar called "Ski Inn"….water skiing was big at one time.  Now,  all boats are banned from the Sea because of further pollution concerns.

We had lunch (Cheeseburgers…very homemade like) there and Jim and Richard had a couple of games of pool on the warped table.  The whole place is a a time warp so that made sense!   The customers were a combination of the locals and the curious like ourselves.

 We sat at the bar beside the woman with the red hat.  She was quite talkative and seemed to have a steady supply of drinks bought by locals and visitors.

 There's a tradition of writing something on a dollar bill and taping it to the walls or ceiling…we made a contribution.

 An old time music playing machine.

 Menu was in a ripped duo-tang.

 The owner and barman.  Interesting the way the drinks were created.  A glass full of ice,  then liquor filled to almost the top,  then about an ounce of mixer.   $3 a drink.

 Richard photographing Dad,  the pool shark.

 Our dollar contribution….a line from a favourite play of ours,  "Juno and the Paycock"  by Sean O'Casy.

 Richard's contribution.

The "Ski Inn"  exterior….notice the golf cart.

Photos from "the Hood" of Bombay Beach.  There is a dyke that keeps the Sea from flooding it….the cyclists are on the dyke.

When we came home,  Richard made up jalapeño Margaritas as a prelude to a Mexican meal at Las Casuelas.  Then we watched this documentary (available on iTunes")…worth a watch for sure!

Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea
Directed by	Chris Metzler Jeff Springer
Narrated by	John Waters
Music by	Friends of Dean Martinez
Distributed by	Tilapia Film New Video/Docurama
Release dates	January 12, 2004(Slamdance Film Festival) February 24, 2006(United States)
Running time	73 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea is a documentary film by Chris Metzler and Jeff Springer, with narration by John Waters and music by Friends of Dean Martinez.^[1]

This offbeat and often humorous documentary tells the story of the accidental lake and environmental catastrophe known as the Salton Sea, located in the desert of Southern California, USA.

Once known as the “California Riviera”, the Salton Sea is now called one of America’s worst ecological disasters: a fetid, stagnant, salty lake, that coughs up dead fish and birds by the thousands in frequent die-offs that occur. However, amongst the ruins of this man-made mistake, a few remaining eccentrics (a roadside nudist, a religious folk artist, a Hungarian revolutionary, and real estate speculators) struggle to keep a remodeled version of the original Salton Sea dream alive.

The film shares these people's stories and their difficulties in keeping their unique community alive, as the nearby cities of Los Angeles and San Diego attempt to take the agricultural water run-off that barely sustains the Salton Sea.

The film ultimately explores the historical, economic, political, and environmental issues that face the Salton Sea, while taking a closer look at the people who have chosen to live in what they see as a surreal paradise.

Just dropped Richard off at the airport…a great visit!