Only in L.A

I live in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles, California, is one of the best known  cities in the world, one of the most recognized worldwide for many different reasons...the movies, the movie stars, the weather, the beaches, the glamour, earthquakes...etc.

There's a lot of things I like about Los Angeles, Number one would be the weather, much like the Mediterranean weather of my home town, Barcelona. Mild Winter, beautiful Spring, beachy Summer (a bit too hot sometimes), cool Fall. My favorite season now is Spring.  I like the casual live style, I like the proximity to many beautiful beaches.

I don't like that there's too many people, I won't talk about politics , suffice to say I dislike the majority of politicians in LA from the Mayor on down. And of course I don't like earthquakes.

But I want to talk about something the can only happen in LA:

POLICE SPEED CAR CHASES

Of course I know there are car chases all over the US and abroad, but not  in the same frequency as here. And most of them are televised live. In Facebook, chanel 7 among others broadcast the chases which are viewed all over the world, they have thousands of viewers in FB alone.

I have to admit is somewhat entertaining at times, but unfortunately some of them result on injuries to innocent motorists and or bystanders. There's overhead police and news helicopters in HD giving close ups of the chases, the cars pursued are generally stolen cars, or  DUI drivers, or driving erratically ,etc. and 99% of the time they are apprehended after chases that may last a couple of hours or more. Usually  they have a couple car chases a week. One time one of the car chases went by La Mirada Blvd from Imperial to Rosecrans, ending in Bellflower.

Today I think LA had a record of not 1, or 2 but 5 high speed chases both during the day and the night time. In one of them there was a crash and an innocent woman's car was hit broadside by the pick up truck the police was chasing. She's in the hospital critical but stable. The driver of the truck had some minor injuries and was arrested.

Those people that are chased by the police, after they are arrested, and if there have not been injuries to pedestrians or other cars, usually only get a night in jail and a $1000.00 fine thanks to the very liberal laws in Los Angeles. I think that won't discourage them or others from continuing this type of  behavior. The penalties should be much more severe to discourage this kind of behavior.

March Recap

I have been very bad about writing in my blog, just laziness and not having much to write about. But here's March recap.

The month didn't start in a good note.

T  has a job and is out of probation. That's good news.
T turned 21 on March 19! WOW

March 19 was also my Saint Day. It was a big family day back in Barcelona, as both my mother and me shared the same name. Thanks for the strawberries Lizzie and for the nice card Sandy. Also my friend Norbert brought me a nice  red flower plant and took me out to dinner. My sister Nuri called me and we had a nice one sided face to face chat.

Lizzie came over the weekend of the 15th. We had a nice time. We went to Verizon and we both got a new iPhoneXR. I love the memojis :)

Got my hair cut and colored at a new salon "Papillon" the owner is Lebanon, he's super nice. In the old salon, I was the older client, it was very expensive and all the other clients were like in their 20's. I like the owner a lot and they had wine :) but he hurt his should and is not able to work for a while and I didn't care for the other people working there. At Papillon I am the youngest customer lol. And no wine.

Some of the restaurants I went to this month are:  Rubio's, El Cholo, Capriottis, Sol Inka, Olive Garden, Taconazo, New Moon, Porto's and Curry Hut.

I look forward to Monday's talks with my girls :)

My friend N did some gardening and fertilized my lawn both front and back, and today he came and took the couch (it'll go to his place in Mt Charleston by Las Vegas) and the 4 drawers file cabinet. That was some work!!! and I almost got my foot smashed!!! I think his back will be hurting tomorrow.

Lulu had a haircut. She's very trim now.  She's very active.

MOVIES I'VE WATCHED THIS MONTH

BOOKS I'VE READ THIS MONTH

I think April will be an interesting month :)

February Recap

I didn't write in February much, but here's a recap of the month.
In no particular order...

It's been a very rainy and colder than usual month.

I remembered Marvin on our Anniversary.

My friend J stayed over a night. Big saga going on.

Sandy and Marty went on a big vacation to Cambodia and Thailand.

I had a root canal and a crown. I don't like to go to the dentist at all!!!!!

Lizzie was here the 3rd weekend of the month. Always nice to have her here :)

Went to a few Restaurants: Geezers and Ricardo's with Lizzie. Market Broiler and Pho45 with Norbert. Some on my own.

Had a nice rainy Valentine's Day with Norbert. He bought me a lovely red plant and a cake and took me to lunch at Sol Inka.

Went to Jersey School to read for Share a Story Day.

MOVIES I WATCHED IN FEBRUARY

BOOKS I READ IN FEBRUARY

January Recap

January 3rd  was a year since Marvin's death. I didn't want to be alone on that day so I called Jennifer and we went to Porto's for some goodies, and to find out what is going on with her.

The month of January was very rainy, for Southern California, so I stayed home a lot and cleaned and organized. I also did some clothes shopping.

I had a mammography -no results yet- and went to my doctor for a check up.

Lizzie went back to SD on the first and came back for a long weekend on the 19th.  Had a nice dinner at Cha Cha's. Sandy has been busy getting ready for her big vacation to Asia next month.

I went to HB a couple of times and Norbert has been up to LM a couple times as well, we have gone to some nice restaurants.

I gave up my landline phone and use the iPhone now. No more telemarketers for now! I talk to my daughters on Mondays and that's always fun, and Norbert calls all the time.

                 Because of the rain, I have watched a lot of movies this month.

And read a few books as well

My Birthday in Savannah, evening time

After spending a lovely  time in Tybee Island, we drove back to our  home  (Wakefield House) to rest a little and change to nice clothes, and get ready for my birthday dinner.

The girls made a reservation for 7:30PM to The Olde Pink House (formerly known as the James Habersham House) a Georgian mansion built in 1771. It is one of the best Restaurants in Savannah.

 Some trivia.....Patrons of this restaurant and tavern claim to have found themselves in conversation with James Habersham Jr., who supposedly hanged himself in the basement in 1799. It is said that his restless spirit frequently wanders around his old home on quiet nights.

We walked the short way from the house to the Restaurant, It is located right by Reynolds Square. The fanlight by the front door is one of the oldest in Georgia.

We were shown to a very elegant dining room in the second floor. It's called the purple room. 
We ordered appetizers of crispy fried calamari and cocktails, Cava for me, and looked over the menu. Our waiter was a very nice young man called Ben I think, 

My 75th birthday!

I ordered grilled pork tenderloin  with bourbon molasses, sweet potato with pecan vanilla butter, and collars. It was delicious! Of course I had more Cava too.

Sandy had Filet Mignon with green peppercon demi glace, twice baked potato and asparagus.  Lizzie had pan seared Salmon with horseradish whipped potatoes and asparagus too I think. They loved it.

For dessert we all had  chocolate pecan pie with cinnamon pecan crust with warm vanilla bean ice cream,  berries and whipped cream. My plate had Happy Birthday written in chocolate. I loved it but the girls thought it had too much chocolate.

The waiter took our picture. A night to remember.

Thanks to my daughters 

for my unforgettable birthday in Savannah

Love you both so much!

My 75th Birthday in Savannah -The morning-

My daughters asked me if I would like to go to Savannah for my birthday. YES!  they went there a couple of years ago and I wanted so much to go then but it was noit possible. Savannah  was always a place I wanted to see.  I was not disappointed.

We were there for 4 days, but  today I'll only write about my birthday.

We decided the day before that we would like to go visit Tybee Island. We drove around and went to the beach because I wanted to get my feet wet in the Atlantic Ocean.

 

The beach was quite different from the Southern California beaches. I liked it a lot:

                                        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tybee_Island,_Georgia

After the beach we went to have a light lunch at the Sundae Cafe. Then we drove around and it was decided we would go to the lighthouse. That was a good idea because it was  a lot of fun. Sandy and Lizzie wanted to go all the way up, I  just went up to the 4th floor. So many steps! the view from the top was great!

     

This is the house of the lighthouse caretakers

After looking around and visiting the Museum, we walked to the North Beach. I loved that they had swings on the beach!

It was a great day trip to Tybee Island on my birthday!

Next Post: A great birthday dinner!

Sad Anniversary

It's been a year since Marvin died. Sandy and Lizzie took such good care of him, they were such a help to me. I don't think I could have done it without them. Lizzie wrote a powerful book about his final days. And we all miss him. Sometimes it seems much longer than a year, and sometimes it feels like yesterday.

We all know he's in a better place and he had a good life and he died the way he wanted surrounded by his loved ones and at peace.

I lighted a candle by his ashes and got a rose from the garden. I went with my friend Jennifer to Porto's for lunch and to get a few treats, she distracted me from thinking too much.

Life goes on, and we will still miss him  and will remember all the good memories. Rest in Peace.