A friend of mine who is into music, got me some info that I had not yet seen on Steely Dan boards.
Peter Jones is publishing a full book about the life of Donald Fagen.
Being I have heard nothing about it, I hesitate to recommend it, but I will be watching what happens around September 13th.
Is it the same things we hear about all the time, or is there something new that is worth the large investment.
You can make up your own mind by checking it out on Amazon, HERE.
My Dad's side of the family were truly 1st Generation Americans.
Only the oldest had been born in Italy. The other 7 were Americans.
As many 1st Generation Americans, they did what they could, and sometimes that entailed becoming a seamstress. Especially the unmarried women of the family.
Before the United States outsourced everything to foreign countries, we did it here and our uneducated 1st Generation American's took on the task.
My Aunt was a seamstress and when she retired she was allowed to take home the Singer Sewing Machine that she had used.
It looked just like this one.
I don't know if she used it, but I distinctly remember seeing it in the kitchen area of the second floor.
They had finished their basement with a dining table and full kitchen, so the original kitchen was not used as a kitchen much.
I found it interesting that of all places, this was part of the immigrant Jewish experience.
My Water Post For Today.
Lake Ontario always surprises.
This is a point of land, just to the West of the Stands.
We were taking photos at the picnic tables by Rudy's and I caught this one.
Someone has a boat sitting on the edge of the water, but hey, it's their land.
I hope you enjoy.
When we went to the Skirball, we then made a stop at Brett's Deli in Northridge.
Instead of a cup of Matzo Ball Soup, I motioned a cup, but said the word bowl. Opps!
As you can see, it was the biggest Matzo Ball I have ever seen.
I ate about half the ball and then took the rest home for lunch another day.
I had a bagel and lox along with the soup, so that is why I ate so little.
It was great, by the way.
Joey DeFranscesco of the Joey DeFranscesco Trio died on Thursday. He was only 51.
My Husband and I saw him perform twice in 2008. Once at the Nokia and once at the Honda Center, as the opening act before Steely Dan.
Thank you for your music.
While my Son was in town, we decided to get new cell phones.
They came on Wednesday and this is the first photo I have taken with the new camera.
Take it for what it is. Me and Makenna.
She is never happy posing for a photo.
Enjoy.
I was doing some genealogy the other day and I found in my notebook of notes, this photo of my Husband and his Father.
I have very little in the way of pictures of my Son's grandfather, so I was happy to see it.
The photo was taken sometime in the mid 40's, when my Husband was maybe 2 or 3 years old.
I love the difference in what people wore in those days.
Very cute photo.
On the walkway to the Skirball, they have a bench and a sign.
I stopped to check it out.
What is said is that when going to a cemetery, you leave a small stone to remember your deceased loved one.
I have learned to do this, over the years of our marriage.
I have never seen it explained to me before and next time we visit the Skirball, I will have to bring a stone to throw in the bottom of the rock stream.
For those who have passed during this Pandemic.
On the second to last day of my Son's visit, I offered to bring the family down to the Skirball Center, for an exhibit on Jewish Deli's in America.
It's called "I'll Have What She's Having" The Jewish Deli.
As people who have eaten much deli food over the years, I thought it would be an interesting thing to see.
My Husband and I have been to the Skirball before and so it was a very easy trip down the 405.
The exhibit was smaller than I expected, but it was fun to walk through.
It felt like LA was not represented, except for Canter's and Langer's.
Oh well...
We then walked through the permanent exhibit of Jewish history in America.
That is where this photo was taken.
Afterwards, we went to Brett's Deli in Northridge for lunch.
A good end to a Jewish Deli experience.
My Water Post For Today.
We didn't get anywhere near water, so here is another look at one of my favorite places: Glacier Bay.
I appreciate the fact that on this image, there are not many people hanging over the side.
Not like it ever gets very warm there, but this was taken early in the morning.
You can just feel the cold.
I hope you enjoy.
So what did the workshop do regarding the fact that we were indoors during this Pandemic?
Basically the spacing of the tables and the fact that we only had 1 or 2 people to a table, seemed to be the only thing that we did, to remain "safe"
By the way, the 1st photo is of the organizer of the workshop, Kevin.
A wonderful man.
I wore my mask for the first day and a half and then, when we started to add the Gold Leaf to the Icon, I had to take it off and that just got too weird.
So after that, I had it with me, but left it off.
I did (for the most part) social distance, as best I could from others.
I ate outside in the shade, at some tables they have for people to eat lunch at.
It was actually a chance for me to switch gears and give my eyes a rest.
The others ate at tables in the other side of the hall. I felt, for the most part, it was too much togetherness. Though I made an exception on the final day and ate with the others.
If I get COVID-19, so be it.
My Icon is not yet totally done, but we took a group photo about Noon on Friday.
It was a fun week, but I could not finish the Icon, because it got too late. My eyes can't deal with fine detail after 4PM.
I will finish the little details in class next month.
The roses did come out stunning, by the way.
I will show it off, another day.
First off, I have NO IDEA why I have all that blue on her outfit.
I hope a later veil will help this.
Otherwise, I will be fixing it on Friday.
I got a lot done on her on Thursday, so I am happy.
We finish her up today. Yay!
To say I am totally exhausted, is a lie. I am wiped out.
Maybe we will spend a little time with my Son this weekend, as a change of pace.
Boy, what an exhausting day 3.
I left early on Tuesday, to work on my Thesis and so I was behind, starting the day.
The lines took all morning to draw in. 3 hours.
When I got to the beginning of painting her, it went much quicker.
I got First Light and First Veil done on her and I LOVE the color of the roses.
Obviously, there will be more to come.
2 days to go.
In icon painting, paint is laid down from dark to light, from coarse grain to fine.
Here is the base color, roshkrish, over the entire icon. The flesh is painted with a mixture called sankir which is a greenish brown.
I did not stay around to redraw the lines in black, but I will do that tomorrow.
I was glad to add the bright colors to the Icon.
St. Therese is going to be stunning, with her bouquet of roses.
I am taking another iconography class. This time with St. Therese of Lisieux.
The photo is toward the middle of day 1. I was waiting for my bole to dry, so I could sand it and then burnish it with an agate.
I actually began the process of adding the gold leaf to the halo (known as the nimbus in Icon speak).
It is nice to be back in class, and seeing people who I have done this process with in other years. We have made it almost past the Pandemic.
I was one of three people who wore a mask all day.
Still not totally back to normal, but better.
My Water Post For Today.
I always try to find a different view of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Not only do I have a chance to revisit my whole collection from my 2020 cruise, but it brings back memories of going under the bridge and hearing the horn blow.
So much fun and the last thing I did before the Pandemic hit.
I love you, Golden Gate Bridge.
My Son has arrived and he got kidnapped by the Simi Valley crowd for the weekend.
I was quite happy that they managed to make that happen.
He has realized that with the two of them so far away, the Santa Clarita Valley is just not the same.
Minus that he gets to see us a bit, but we are only his parents.
I hope they enjoy each other and send him back on a train on Monday.
About 2 weeks ago, I saw these toys in my local Vons market.
I was appalled at the sight of a chew toy Lamb Chop.
Who would buy this for their dog or cat?
I know I would not.
How sad that Shari Lewis' descents or whoever licenses her property, have allowed her beautiful Lamb Chop to be used this way.
I still have my Lamb Chop from 20 years ago. Back when Shari worked with KCET on Charlie Horse Music Pizza.
I have Good memories of her, by the way.
On Monday, (an off day for laundry), we stripped the bed in our guest room.
I think the cat figured out that something was going on because since that day, she has camped out in her bed under our love seat in the master bedroom.
She hasn't used that bed in years!
Well, today is the day. We pick him up and he moves in for almost 2 weeks.
Hopefully, the cat will get over it.
Back in June, a Southwest Chief train hit a heavy truck and totally derailed, in Missouri. I wrote about it, HERE. The image I screen grabbed at the time, was the last train cam that it had passed by, before the crash.
The engines have been staying in the Missouri area for almost 2 months, because of the ongoing investigation.
You never know what is going to be discussed in the chat rooms and on Fort Madison's chat, they mentioned that the 2 engines were being moved somewhere.
They had been seen in La Plata, so my Husband found out what time that was and I got a screen grab of the lead engine of the train set.
Look at that nose! Quite a mess. In comparison, the second engine looks fine.
We think it is probably going to the repair shop, to see if they can be fixed. Otherwise, I would think they would be used for spare parts.
Good luck to them.
I just read (for the second time) Rough Draft, by Katy Tur.
This is actually her second book and I just purchased her first one, about her coverage of the Trump Campaign called, "Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History".
I have no idea if I will like this first book, but I decided that it would be better if I refreshed my memory of her style of writing, by rereading her second one.
I never wrote about it, but I really enjoyed the book. Her growing up years in Los Angeles, coincides with my life in LA. One of her first mentions is of an Eyewitness News Anchor being shot one evening. I knew that event and remember it well, because I drove by the exact house it happened at, just a few hours before. The Anchor was Jerry Dunphy and he was coming back to the ABC Studio on Prospect, after his dinner break. Katy was born either later on that evening, or the next day. What a way to come into the world.
Obviously, I lived through the LA Riots and OJ Simpson chase, Northridge Earthquake, any of the major events in the mid 80's to mid 90's. If it was going on, Bob and Marika Tur were there, flying in their helicopter, reporting on it.
There is a great interview with Katy Tur on CBS Sunday Morning. You can view it HERE.
I highly recommend this book.
I was sorry to hear yesterday that Olivia Newton John died.
She had been fighting cancer for years, so it was not a total surprise.
I just want to mention that the carnival scene of Grease was shot at Marshall High School, a few miles from where I used to work. I posted about it, with links HERE, if you are interested.
Recently, I had seen an article in LA Magazine about Melrose Avenue back in the 80's and they mentioned Koala Blue, which was Olivia Newton John's business.
In the back of my mind, the logo on the store reminded me that I think I had something with Koala Blue on it.
When she died and I was reminded about her store again, I walked to my closet and found that I have a better memory than I thought. Yes, it was a Koala Blue Bag sitting on a hanger in my closet.
So I told Militant Angelino on his Twitter account, that I have a bag of hers from the 80's and he asked me to take a photo and post it.
So I did and that is what you see at the top of the post.
Rest in peace, Olivia. You will be missed.
My Water Post For Today.
Butchart Gardens is back again.
I felt like something beautiful and the gardens are always top notch.
I particularly love the little snail fountain.
It makes the photo, IMHO.
I hope you enjoy it.
I kept hoping to get some real photos of the 1st Birthday Party for Isaac.
Two videos were all that I got and so I did a screen capture of the three children playing in the jump house.
It looks like a good time was had by all.
As I mentioned before, I am sorry I missed the party, but I think it was the right decision (for me).
Much love to all three children.
Today is the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.
We saw this display back in May, when we visited the Museum of the Air Force.
Yes, I guess airplanes were involved in this horrid event and so there was an entire area in the museum dedicated to the bombing.
Always sorry to see, a reminder of what we did to end a war.
It never should be forgotten.
Back in the day, when I was originally a student at Oswego, we were part of the creation of a TV show called Oswego Weather.
I have no idea who came up with the music for the show, but it was the very end of an Elton John song called Holiday Inn. You can listen it it HERE.
At to 2:57 Into the song and you can hear what obviously attracted the person to suggest this song. It sounds just like rain falling.
I can't tell you how hard it was doing the recue between the open to the show, and the end of the show. Back in those days, we were using 33 1/3 records.
Since Elton is on his final tour, I thought I would highlight this song.
Holiday Inn
Boston at last, and the plane's touching down
Our hostess is handing the hot towels around
From a terminal gate to a black limousine
It's a ten minute ride to the Holiday Inn
Boredom's a pastime that one soon acquired
Where you get to the stage, where you're not even tired
Kicking your heels 'til the time comes around
To pick up your bags and head out of town
Slow down, Joe, I'm a rock-and-roll man
I've twiddled my thumbs in a dozen odd bands
And you ain't seen nothing 'til you've been
In a motel, baby, like the Holiday Inn
Slow down, Joe, I'm a rock-and-roll man
I've twiddled my thumbs in a dozen odd bands
Oh and you ain't seen nothing 'til you've been
In a motel, baby, like the Holiday Inn
I went looking for an image of the song and I found THIS BBC performance in 1971. Worth a listen, though missing all non-vocal parts.
Then I made a major find!
I found THIS one. Elton John's 60th Birthday show. with an orchestra, children's chorus and (of course) Elton.
Check it out and enjoy.
I keep my eyes open for memes that make me smile or laugh.
If the stars align correctly, I submit them to Meme Monday on one of the Facebook boards I hang out at.
We get a dozen doughnuts if our meme is chosen.
Unfortunately, this meme did not win the doughnuts, but I liked it enough to show it off.
God, I hate Rotarys/Traffic Circles.
As we walked around the Port Huron area, we passed a sign.
It mentioned that we were exactly on the 43rd Parallel.
OK, fine. What does that mean?
Well, after reading the different pieces of information, I learned a lot. It actually has a website with larger images, HERE.
It places my Son's area of Michigan in the Oswego New York area, on the 43rd Parallel. He tried to tell me this several years ago, but who knew he was right?
By the way, the precise location of the sign is: 43 0' 0" N, 82 25' 28.6" W.
Very cool information and it opens up some stories about how we split our states (I'm talking to you, Nebraska and South Dakota).
The other day, I saw my cat sitting like this.
My first thought was that she was missing a paw.
She looked quite content, so I did not think that she had actually lost it, but I thought it was quite funny.
I love how cats change how they sit.
If you look at her, the tail is all tucked in, too.
Love you, Makenna.
Welcome to August.
My Water Post For Today.
Another view of beautiful Whitefish Point, on Lake Superior.
I was there last year and totally enjoyed seeing the part of the lake where the Edmund Fitzgerald was trying to get to, on the day it sunk.
By the way, in the worst days of winter, you can see on a boat tracker, how many freighters are taking cover at Whitefish Point.
Glad they have somewhere to go.
