That was screwy...

Okay, I am back. Did you click on that condo1 download thing? I did and up came a HUGE shot of one of the bedrooms at Villa Alejo.

I'll try again to get normal pictures inserted in here.  If it doesn't work..  what can I say?  This will be a shot of part of the living room so you can see the gray 80's carpet ,the built ins that were so all the rage in the 80's, too... and then a shot of the deck where I spent 99% of my time.

Ready?  Okay it worked. Click on the photo for a bigger image..

Aha the deck. Lori and I spent a lot of time out there -- she in the sun, me in the shade.  I also went out there in the evening.. just stared at stars ( the kind in the sky) and enjoyed the cooler nighttime air.

This is me, in the pink , with my friend Allene Arthur who is a society writer in the desert. We met at a pancake house, where no one would ever expect us to be.. had a fun lunch and she surprised me with a birthday gift - a Tony Bennett CD.  We gossiped for almost 2 hours and I loved it.

This is the highlight of my time in the desert -- getting to be with my son Tod Goldberg and his wife, Wendy.  It was nostalgic for Tod to be at Villa Alejo, too, since he learned to swim there as a little boy and then when he was in junior high often went there after school , spending time with his grandparents waiting for me to get off work.

What else did I do?  I went to a movie. That might not seem like a big deal to you, but I hadn't been to a movie since I moved from Palm Springs to Ventura... and I went to the Spa Casino and played the penny machines with pal Lori.  I won a total of nine bucks, which I promptly fed back in to the machine waiting for Lori to finish trying to win 10 bucks.

All in all, it was a super time away and I did harbor thoughts of moving back, back to where it costs a helluva lot less to live, and where I have so many pals. But, I'm no idiot and I know unless I had a summer getaway house somewhere on the coast I could never tolerate that heat in the desert. Hey, it was only about 100, yet I was sweltering -- what would I feel when it jumped up to 120?

The drive back was okay. Son Tod urged me to leave a bit earlier in the day than I planned since there was a huge musical festival out in Indio and I would be fighting for space on the freeway with 40,000 other travelers.  Tod also did a sweet thing, came and loaded my car for me.. too much for a little old lady maybe??  But, it gave me more time with him, and I will grab all I can.

So, there you have it , aside from my telling you what books I read -- think I knocked off a book a day and then Tod and Wendy brought me a tote bag full of new hardcovers to get me reading more when I got home, too!

I'm here in Ventura now -- it is foggy and chilly and I have on long pants and long sleeves -- a far cry from the shorts and skimpy tees I tended to live in while back in PS.  You know what? This cool weather feels just fine, thank you !

I'm going to head out again this coming Sunday but only as far as Calabasas and son Lee's where he will host the family for what has become our traditional Mother's Day -- BBQ, swim, and then everyone sit around taking photographs and reading all the trashy tabloids.

I'll try and take some photos then , too.. and if I can't will steal what ever daughter Linda ( visual chronicles.com) takes.

~ Jan

Comments

[David Zarkin]

Give my best to Lee and his family in Calabadass. I love that area and Palm Springs sounds great except for the heat. It's still cool here for almost mid-May.