A great day...

Richard got more tech stuff done for us and cleaned up Jim's computer that was a real mess…he's now on "the cloud" which is so much better for him since he uses his iPad a lot.  Then off to Lulu's for dinner…always excellent.  Then to see the launch of "The Buzz"….the free shuttle in PS.  We didn't stay since sounded like lots of civic figures were going to bore everyone with speeches although they brought out some famous oldies who live in the desert for the launch like Suzanne Somers,  Lily Tomlin, and Carol Channing and others.  Channing is 93 and was going to sing a special song written for the launch.

On the way Bill's Pizza was giving out samples and Jim and Richard managed to actually eat something more!

 "The Buzz"

Richard and Jim enjoying Bill's pizza.

Bountiful fruit

We picked the rest of our own oranges today….total of 16 in total but there are hundreds on the tree outside our front door.  And of course loads of meyer lemons and grapefruit…so much goes to waste unfortunately but we're using all we can.

Makes a nice still life, doesn't it…especially with the cookbook Elaine gave us in the background!

Richard is loving the fresh juice….keeps him fortified while working on our computer to-do list for him…

Best Christmas video I've ever seen

This is really funny and be sure to watch the "behind the scenes" as well.  Shelter cats and dogs eat Christmas dinner…well,  in the end only one cat.  I'm surprised they managed to get even one cat participating!  Film makers said it was the hardest shoot they ever did.  All animals in the video are up for adoption and their adoption fees will be paid for.

http://www.mostwatchedtoday.com/freshpet-holiday-feast/

Richard arrived to sunny blue skies...

So glad it was great weather for Richard's first day of holiday today.  We had lunch outside in the patio listening to the fountain burbling and watching the hummingbirds.  Then off for a swim and hot tub.   He's now off for a nap.

Richard,  just before heading off for a nap.  He is wearing the socks I brought him back from Palm Springs.

And great news!   Grace is flying down Christmas Day to join us!

Itty Bitty Book Review: "The Red House"

 "The Red House" by Mark Haddon

I enjoyed the "Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" very much by Haddon so when I saw this in a used bookstore here I bought it.  I've enjoyed it very much.  A story about a brother and sister who have been estranged for many years and the death of their mother brings them together.  The brother,  a well off doctor,  rents a house in Wales for both families to stay for a week together.  It's really quite wonderful done….excellent character development and great development of everyone's point of view.

southwest 29th arts FESTIVAL INDIO 2015 poster

I loved the painting chosen for this year's poster
desert falls by dennis nagatani

And then I realized why….it's rather like my Mondrian cushion "poured out"

I see this painting is from what he calls his "poured paint" series….no wonder I thought it looked like my pillow poured!  I may try this myself.  Some other examples.

In his signature series, Nagatani pours the paint directly on the canvas.  It is a brushless technique he calls “controlled paint pouring”.

Washes of acrylic paint are poured one into another, or as a single gesture.  Each layer of color is allowed to thoroughly dry before the next is poured.  During the pouring process the colors simultaneously flow together and overlay each other, capturing the movement and energy of each pour.  It is a time consuming process but with patience, transparent veils and  subtle color blends are revealed.  Last, calligraphic accent strokes are applied.

The results are beautiful and uniquely one of a kind.

Rainstorm this afternoon then some sun just before dusk

I liked the way the light was reflecting so went out the back door and took some photos.

Good on Australia

I loved this story.

http://mic.com/articles/106442/australians-show-the-world-exactly-how-to-respond-to-terrorism-with-ill-ride-with-you

Editor: A Desert Sun Newsroom for a New Age

We do love our print newspapers and it is interesting to see how newspapers are trying to stay alive and adapt.  It looks like the Desert Sun has taken rather drastic action in terms of staffing….no word about buyouts.   I wonder if there is a strong union…probably not.  Although money can't completely compensate for losing a job you trained for,  worked hard at,  and perhaps loved,  it helps.  I do hope staffers got some compensation.

That shift allows The Desert Sun to convert a traditional print-focused copy desk into a more nimble digital/print team of producers. Some of the jobs shifted to Phoenix and, overall, we eliminated a handful of positions tied to specific print sections.

To ease this transition, we organized months of training in Palm Springs, reinforcing digital tools and preaching direct interaction with the community during events like Coffee + News, Tachevah, Lift Your Spirits and our Water Symposium.

We're stressing a philosophy of news reporting that's old school in practice — think Mike Royko and David Halberstam — and futuristic in delivery.

Three of the best local practitioners of this art form, military writer Denise Goolsby, golf writer Larry Bohannan and culture writer Bruce Fessier, established the standard for The Desert Sun.

They are shining examples for us during this transition.

Last month, after weeks of training, we asked staffers to reapply for positions more attuned to our future.

Not everyone chose to participate and we are currently recruiting for a number of jobs. When we finish the reorganization, our reporting teams will still dig into the issues we prioritized three years ago when I arrived — environment, politics, energy, tourism, health, education, real estate, arts and culture, golf, prep sports, style, food and entertainment.

The full story is here:

http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/2014/12/12/executive-editor-greg-burton-column/20329435/

Another related article:
http://ajrarchive.org/Article.asp?id=4679

A Christmas Village from the dollar store….

I couldn't believe I got these for a dollar apiece…wow!  I may still put the cardboard one together one of these days but this will certainly be just perfect for this year.

A tiny bit of snow on the local mountains

This latest round of rain was pretty minimal in PS but lots elsewhere and also built up the snowpack where it's needed.

Took this photo from Von's parking lot today.

Christmas Village

Since I don't have my Christmas Village in PS I got the idea of looking for cardboard Christmas villages.  This is nostalgic for me as growing up we had cardboard houses with tissue type paper for windows and would you believe we put those hot Christmas lights in the houses!  We never left the Christmas lights on of course unless we were there.

So I found this paper Christmas Village kit on Amazon for $8.97 so couldn't resist.  Now I  must enlist the help of someone to put it together….I think Erna will be the perfect helper….what do you say,  Erna?

Henri, Le Chat Noir

Henri now has a book on his existential musings!

Hear about it in his latest video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELtzZ5lJnBk&feature=em-subs_digest-vrecs

Lucked out in our golf today...

Great weather and we got to be on our own with no one behind or ahead of us….what a treat!

This from Vancouver….I don't think I've ever seen sandbags in this area before!

Sandbags are placed along the shores of Locarno Beach in Vancouver, Wednesday Dec. 10, 2014. Severe rains along with a rare king tide are threatening homes in low-lying area

John and Carol will be glad to be in "Mt. Dunbar"…this area of Vancouver usually gets more snow because of the elevation but it certainly won't be flooded!

Big storm coming to California…fiercest in 5 years.

Lots of rain and flooding back home I hear and it looks like the "pineapple express" is headed this way too.  I hope this rain will make a difference to the drought.   Still not much in this region…rain tomorrow but then back to sun and a combination of sun and clouds.  After today it will be mid sixties for a week.  It's been 10 degrees above normal these past couple of weeks so can't complain!

Hoping it will be back to great weather for Richard's arrival on Dec. 18!

http://www.desertsun.com/story/weather/2014/12/10/california-storm/20187287/

All About Books...

We had the second meeting of our Canyon Sands interest group of "All About Books".  We now number 12 people and it's just great to know these ladies who love books!  It really is a great format to have people just talk about what they're reading rather than a discussion of a book.  I highly recommend this format to book groups.  Kathy,  our fearless coordinator, brought books by P.D. James to talk about…one "Time to be in Earnest…A Fragment of Autobiography".  I recounted my letter and email from P.D. and the group really enjoyed hearing about it.  And Deb suggested an "air toast" to P.D. James.   Great stuff.

 I have created a  "Canadian Writers" section in our lending library.  I donated 8 books and put Canadian flag stickers on them.  Three people took books so I have customers already!  They took the Alice Munro,  Carol Shields,  and Louise Penny….great choices.

Sunset at Canyon Sands

Not the greatest….missed the light really but realized I hadn't done a sunset photo since Vancouver.

Monday at Bill's Pizza

We took Erna to Bill's today (Marvin is in Baltimore this week) and had wonderful pizza and a great chat…lots of laughs.

And Erna made this lovely wreath for me…now,  definitely a tradition!

And more great bargains yesterday….

Michael's was having a 60% off sale on canvases I like and then there was a coupon in the paper for an additional 20% off everything from 4-9pm last night so I got them for 80% off.  I asked for my 10% senior's discount but didn't get that…they'd soon be paying me!

While we were there I noticed Jensen's was having a lobster bar-b-q so picked up a lobster dinner which we split and we just happened to have a great bottle of rosé de Provence on ice.

 Jim amusing himself in the lineup.

 Dinner last night.

Now I just have to get painting.  I think I'll try to do some still lifes with these oranges and lemons.

A taste of home….from John's blog today

Taken from the Seawall around False Creek,  not far from where we live in Vancouver. http://miscellaneousphotographs.com

 December 7th, 2014 — Skateboarders jump over and then go under a man lying in a hammock hung from a construction barrier on the False Creek seawall. It’s all very surreal except that it was being videoed by a friend of the boarders so will probably appear on YouTube and with luck garner millions of views.

And I thought Vancouver had problems with monster houses…a crazy world we live in...

From the Globe and Mail:

Vancouver’s soaring real estate market is only part of a West Coast phenomenon. The wealthy elite is going bonkers in its demand for new and bigger houses. Los Angeles is seeing its luxury housing market go into a supersize mode never seen before. Always an enclave for the rich, the neighbourhood of Bel-Air is seeing good houses that are 15,000 to 20,000 square feet in area torn down and replaced with houses that are a whopping 60,000 to 70,000 square feet.

L.A. Councilman Paul Koretz’s district includes Bel-Air and Hollywood. He says in all his years on council, it never would have occurred to him that people would need homes three times bigger than the original.

“It’s being driven by a lot of international wealth,” he says. “A lot of different economies are coming up, and they all think they should have a home in the U.S., and if they can have one, it’s going to be Bel-Air.

Oranges and lemons say the bells of Palm Springs….

Just loads of these oranges and the lemons seem ready now too.

Now…this is a bargain

We went  out to Harbour Freight (mainly tools,  hardware stuff)  today.  It's only about 10 minutes away.  Jim saw a cordless drill being advertised for $15.95 and then he got 20% off that with a coupon and a "free gift" because he made a purchase.  The free gift he chose was one of these flashlights you can wear on your head…we were planning on buying one anyway and they retail for $10.  So,  we figured we got the drill for four bucks!

Palm Springs Christmas Parade

We're not big on standing around watching parades but it does look like it was quite a spectacle.   The desert does get very Christmassy!

A perfect solution…a Christmas tree of books!

Now I have the perfect solution for a Christmas tree if we are in Vancouver for Christmas and our Christmas tree and decorations are in Palm Springs…what a brilliant idea!

Loved these!

Susan sent me this link and I think I will start following this blog.  These are landscape painting using watercolour straight out of the tube.  I have some watercolour tubes at home and just might give it a try.  This is from Colette Copeland's blog at:

http://a-bird-in-the-hand.blogspot.com

Oh…didn't I mention the rain?

Paradise has got quite a bit of rain these last few days (now back to the sunshine) and everyone is grateful because of the drought.  I didn't think I'd ever welcome rain but there is a first for everything….

 There was quite a bit of flooding on local roads and some closures.  It's been a time for lots of reading!

A mystery answered...

In the Desert Sun newspaper there is a column called "Question at Will" written by Will Toren.  He takes all questions and comes up with answers.  I've enjoyed reading his column and sad to hear today's was his last column.  He didn't give any reason but he did answer a number of questions that had been sent to him and one was mine.

This was my email to him:

Dear Will,

My husband and I usually just play nine holes at the Resort Course at Tahquitz.  When we ride back to the clubhouse we notice a couple of spots that are about 5 degrees colder for a few seconds then it warms up again.  Any ideas why this is?

Thanks.

Janice

His answer:

To:  Janice Sexton

The undulating terrain of many golf courses can create microclimates when the bountiful irrigation evaporates at different rates for different elevations and surfaces, so that might explain the cold spots you experience at Tahquitz.  But I wouldn't rule out ghosts entirely.

Makes sense to me….the ghosts,  that is…!

Christmas decorations in a flash...

I got my 5 second tree up and put up a few other odds and sods we have down here.  I do miss my village but that will be nice to have in Vancouver if we end up for Christmas there at some time in the future..

 Our little tree with decorations we picked up on our travels.

 Our stockings we got in Scotland.

 Richard's stocking we got on a Whistler ski trip.

 Fern's lovely wreath.

 Advent calendars have always been a tradition….Richard's job but we'll have to pinch hit until the he arrives on Dec 18th.

And Fern's handiwork again with the little quilt.

And a package arrived in the mail yesterday with 10 presents from Elaine!   With strict instructions not to open them until Christmas Day….