She found inner peace--in the fridge

I have a quirky friend name of Pam. Most of my friends are quirky but she's on the top of the list. If you are thinking I'm "putting her business out on the street" you're wrong, she'd be the first to admit to her quirkyness.

Ms Pam floats in and out of our lives from time to time and when we vacation we always ask Pam to Buddy-sit. Aren't too many we let stay with our dog. She sent me the following and though I don't believe Pam wrote this I thank her for passing it on and I need to share this with my other quirky friends because some of them could use a good dose of inner peace.

I am passing this on to you because it definitely worked for me, and we all could use more calm in our lives.

By following the simple advice I heard on a Dr. Phil show, I have finally found inner peace. Dr. Phil proclaimed the way to achieve inner peace was to finish all the things you have started. So I looked around my house to see things I started and hadn't finished; and before leaving the house this morning I finished a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of White Zinfandel, a bottle of Baileys, a bottle of Kahlua, a package of Oreos, the remainder of the Valium prescriptions, the rest of the cheesecake, Doritos and a box of chocolates.

You have no idea how freaking good I feel.

If you didn't hate it already

There was a woman, who in her youth, gave her baby son up for adoption. Difficult choice, I'm sure, but gave the boy a better life--what a sacrifice.

This boy, now a man, is in the military and before he goes to Iraq he wants to meet his birth mother and he finds this woman so that he can put that final piece of the puzzle together.

This man found his mother; this woman found her boy.

He was killed this month in Iraq. Twenty years old.

Now if you think this sounds like an urban legend, it isn't, this did happen to a fine women I know and I am truly happy she had the guts to give him up and also to meet him. She never would have forgiven herself if she didn't.

Life is a lesson. Don't forget to tell someone how much they mean to you, today.

What wouldn't Jesus do?

Headline in the Sunday Los Angeles Times:
War's Iraqi Death Toll Tops 50,000

The administration has underestimated the number of Iraqi deaths; by about 20,000.

They underestimated the number of "weapons of mass destruction" three years ago; none.

Did they underestimate the cost of this war, over 250 BILLION dollars so far? Think of the education and health issues we could have spent that money on. Hell, we could pay tribute to Halliburton and still have 249 billion bucks to build schools and roads and, heck, take care of some medication for the elderly. We could have even incouraged education in other countries with aid.

Guess how many American service people won't be coming back to teach school, drive trucks, or raise families. Over 2,500.

And, there's no telling how many more will die before this is over. To quote my friend Sandy, "Is there no fucking end to this room?"

A moving experience

I got a call from Donatello Friday night and he was in what he calls, "panic mode." His number one daughter needed to be moved from her condo, NOW. The Now was to take place the next day because of an escalating somewhat messy divorce and would darling husband and I help? Sure.

With the help of a few more friends and family we packed her stuff, taking a small pizza break, in about five hours, not an easy task but we did stay somewhat to schedule. A good friend helped me pack up a small office that also housed her collections of almost everything and that job took us the entire day. We thought we were finished but when brought to our attention there was stuff lurking in the window seat friend, whom I never heard swear, said, " Is there no end to this fucking room?" It was the laughing break we all needed and she said she'd probably never live it down. She's right.

A bit of a wrinkle in the plan sent darling husband driving the Don's truck and trailer while I, for the first time, drove the '51 truck. I don't mind driving other cars but husband's cars usually have some quirky little thing you have to learn about and this one was no exception. The mirrors are pretty much for show so if you want to look out the left you'll need to stick your head out. The rear view mirror shows most of that blind spot but I'd hate to be carrying anything large in the back.

I made it with no problem and back home we divided her wordly goods between two garages and then collapsed. She bought us takeout dinner from a tasty little local joint, hmmmm garlic fries, then we drug our sorry asses home.

She was truly grateful for all the help and thanked us all so many times. Hey, it's what friends do but I will say if she entertains the thought of marriage again, the prospective must be interviewed by all that helped her move.

Where I'd like to be

Once we thought we'd like to move to Oregon then we had this side trip to Bakersfield and moved back to Southern California. I still have a yearning for these beaches. I felt I could take a photo everyday and not make the same image twice. Maybe someday we can go back to visit.

I'm posting this for my good friend and frequently flyer here on French Benefits, Donnatelo. He's given me crap about not posting but once a week so I'm going to try. Docent duties and food blogging keeps be busy, plus I've got a workman to feed and keep happy. Because if I keep my plumber-electrician-drywall-mechanic-tilesetting husband happy, he takes me to the beach.

Don't expect miracles but appreciate them when they happen.

Walk like an Egyptian

I had the extreme pleasure of attending a lecture by Dr. Zahi Hawass Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt. If you've ever watched any program about ancient Egypt you've seen this man. He is charming and disarming. He speaks like he's being chased by a mummy and thinks himself a pharaoh. Don't let his boyish grin fool you, this guy can be tough but I enjoyed every one of the fifty-five minutes of his lecture.

The lecture was about new discoveries in the Valley of the Kings, most of them his. He's not a shy person at all and takes credit for knowing where to dig for treasure. Why he even found the lost penis of King Tut. Bet he was happy.

It is always great to be with someone who has a true love for what he does, it's infectious. If I were a young student I'd be signing up for a dig.

Are you sure you want white?

My new master bath is white. White tile floor, counter, shower; everything is white. Oh, except the walls they are a dark blue-gray. It's a striking combination. I gave all my attention to picking out the color and none to the upkeep of this bathroom.

It's not that it's difficult to clean. The problem is it shows everything. I never thought we were particularly hairy people but I can mop the floor every day and every morning it looks as if someone's shaved a dog in there. Where does it come from? Are there hairy little gnomes sneaking in at night? If so, I wish they'd clean up after themselves. Maybe we are going bald. Hope it happens soon. I'm tired of mopping this floor.

A Master at the Getty

The long awaited (by me) Eliot Porter exhibition is finally here at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. I only had time to do a "power walk" through the gallery yesterday but will give it proper time next week. If not the father of color landscapes he was certainly the godfather and most responsible for me loving landscapes as art.

I think every photographer starts in black and white, hey, it's cheap and easy to work with, then after seeing Porter's landscapes knows the beauty of color. I drift back to b&w ever so often, Bruce Barnbaum being another hero but I can't turn away from Porter's work. If you live in the area do get up the hill to see it.

Here's a big ole steaming pile for you

Karl Rove won't be charged in the CIA leak case.

Howard Dean made a statement I like and it brings up a point. I don't think this administration really cares about the American people, not at all.

Quote from Dean, the Democratic Party chairman "He doesn't belong in the White House. If the president valued America more than he valued his connection to Karl Rove, Karl Rove would have been fired a long time ago. So I think this is probably good news for the White House, but it's not very good news for America."

Rove irritates me. Monday in New Hampshire he says John Kerry and John Murtha are soft in the fight on terrorism because they voted for the war and now they are "cutting and running." But wait, what about the fact we were lied to about the reasons for this war?

Rove's perfectly comfortable with sending Americans to war though he never served himself. Bastard. Nor did Cheney or Wolfowitz. Sort of like Nuns teaching sex education classes.

What becomes of aging rock stars?

Evidently they make Blue Grass covers of their songs. Well, that's what David Lee Roth has done. Saw this last week on the Late Late show with TV's Craig Ferguson and I've had trouble sleeping ever since. Diamond Dave has re-recorded his biggest hits with a Blue Grass group and it's called Strummin' With the Devil: The Southern Side of Van Halen. This is no joke, well, not an intended one. I couldn't watch, I had to turn it off. Sad, so pathetically sad.

Jus a lagniappe for ya

These are two snaps from the beach camping trip. I am intrigued by found objects on the beach and usually find some beach glass but didn't this trip. Are plastic soda bottles replacing the beach glass? God I hope not. At least we still have wine bottles. Since we are never getting rid of the trash it should, at the very least, be interesting to look at.

She's a nasty woman that June Gloom

Well, she's not actually a woman but what we Southern Californios call this time of year. You get up in the morning to fog, it hangs around until two or three in the afternoon, then you get about 45 minutes of sun, and then the fog comes back until ... well, you get the picture. This never ending weather pattern is called June Gloom and it just about spoiled our first-ever teardrop camping experience.


If you're wondering what a teardrop is, it's the tiny little trailer behind darling husband's Chevy truck. It's our version of a RV. The shape gives it the unusual name but it could be from what is shed from sleeping in a 4' high, 4' wide, 5' long bed. Turn away if you have claustrophobia. I don't so it suits me fine.

Here is the "bedroom" and yes, that's the California bear flag we are using as a bedspread. Heads fit under a bank of cabinets with feet under another. Don't set up too fast or you'll get splinters. The back has the "galley" and if it had been warmer, I'd have rustled up some camping grub. As it was, the only thing I cooked on this shake-down cruise was tea and toast.

June Gloom. We love the beach in the summer. Sometimes it would be so gray you couldn't tell where the sky ended and the sea began. Does this look cold? Too bad you can't see how windy it was, too.


Buddy can attest to the fact it was cold. This was the city-dog's first every camping trip and I'm sure he kept thinking, "We're going home soon, I just know it."

Even with the cold, the wind and the fact the toilet was fifty yards away this adventure had it's up side. At four in the morning, on a trip to the bathroom and before the fog rolled in, it was so clear you could see the milkyway and I don't mean the candybar. I forgot how beautiful the night sky can be without the light pollution of the city. And with the moonlight reflecting off the water you could hardly tell where the sky stopped and the ocean began.

Hairblow for the terrier

We had the Mustang out on Saturday to scout out a camping site at the beach. Dan has had his Tear Drop trailer for more than a year now and it has only made it to car shows we thought it was time to actually sleep in it.

This is Buddy in the back of the convertible. He wears a special harness to keep him in the car and when you get it out he goes nuts. He sure does love that Mustang.

Did we go camping? I'll have a post up soon with our adventures.

I show it all

Sweetnicks put out a call for pix of what's in your fridge. See my fridge and post on Peanut Butter Etouffee. My fridge

And as a side-bar, the title of this post should send a bunch of hits my way. I was almost overrun when I published "more bathroom photos" ha, bet those pervs were suprised to see our remodel.

Clean up your room

Little bird has an interesting post, If you aren't part of the solution … It has to do with Al Gore's flic on global warming, something we should all be concerned because, hey, we do live on this globe and need to leave it a little bit better than we found it.