PlatterPuss I’m not certain, but I think one of my neighbors just zinged me. This was from a French woman who lives nearby on our hilltop. From what I can piece together, she and her French husband own and operate a successful online translation company with a catchy name that is a contraction of their French last name. That means she is probably pretty literate and meant exactly what she said in her note to…
The Kabuki of Kabuki I have spent a fair bit of time in Japan (mostly “Blade Runner” Tokyo and a little bit of Kyoto) and I am very fond of the visual imagery of Kabuki theater, but I have never seen a live Kabuki performance, only a short depiction on TV. When I think of Kabuki, I think of guys stomping around for effect in elaborate robes and with dramatic, exaggerated make-up. Kabuki does not…
Hey, Neighbor When I started writing about selling yesterday, I did so to lead into a story about canvassing my neighborhood selling the idea of a gathering we are planning. When I write, I have a general direction I head off towards, but I purposefully allow myself the flexibility to wander wherever my thoughts take me. In the case of yesterday’s story about selling, I got to my daily word limit before I had had…
Trailer Travails Today I am getting ready for our one-year-postponed 25th Anniversary gathering of my motorcycle club. The plan is that on Friday we will drive with our friends Chris and Ann (and, of course, Betty) to Las Vegas with our motorcycles (actually, both of the bikes are mine since Chris will ride my Kawasaki and I will ride my BMW) in my motorcycle trailer. We will unload the bikes in Las Vegas and then…
Super Powers At some point in all of our lives I think its fair to assume everyone wished for one sort of super power or another. The classic one that has found its way into many dreams is the ability to fly like Superman. Many super powers are hard to imitate or pretend in any credible manner. Spider-Man’s ability to eject web string from his wrists has been reasonably imitated by various toy and costume…
The Beverly Hillbillies While son Thomas is here this week we want him to have the opportunity to see everyone he can. Therefore, we planned a day up in L.A. even though I am always intimidated to drive up into L.A. traffic. Intimidation isn’t really the right word, but I definitely don’t like L.A. traffic. And L.A. sits like a massive lump in the middle of the state. It extends east/west from the beach at…
Grey Gardens That name always rang a bell, but I don’t recall ever really knowing to what it referred. Then, today I got a typical mailer from Esquire magazine, one of my vestigial subscriptions which I am forever threatening myself to allow to expire, but am never quite ready to allow to lapse. That email was recommending to me 38 great documentaries to watch. Many of the suggestions like March of the Penguins, Free Solo,…
How Much is Too Much Now that I have done my “Year in Provence” year on this hilltop, I am faced with the ongoing issue of where to stop and enjoy versus keep improving. It is a very personal decision. Have you seen those quirky houses that someone invariable does a segment on. The sea shell house that has sea shells imbedded in concrete, stone walls and stucco walls is one I recall. The Who…
Moonlight Madness In my new life on this hilltop, I am acutely aware of moonlight for some reason. That strikes me as particularly funny because when I bought the house in 2012 and was searching for just the right name for it (something I had done for my other vacation homes that I cared most about), I came up with the name Casa Moonstruck. That name was intended to bring the Hispanic nature of the…
The Mulch of Life I’ve gotten through my life very nicely without mulch up until now. You may recall that last year I made the logical, but ill-conceived decision to hire a horticulturalist for an advisory session. The cost of the advice was about the same as two days worth of hard garden work by Joventino or his father Benito. It turned out to be worth considerably less, 30% because of the extremely hard-working nature…