Sizzling

It's hot. After a summer of fog and gloom, the heat is here. Yesterday it was 104 degrees at our house - and the power went out. This morning, at six-thirty, the sky was bright and almost vibrating with heat.

Here, the setting moon hangs in a cloudless sky over the baked mountains and a dead pine tree.

What's amazing to me is how different it is at the beach. Here it's still warm, but it's about 70 degrees instead of 97 at my home, just 6 miles inland.

The sun is still relentless. They say it's going to break tomorrow. How's the weather where you are?

Two beers and the chute

By now, everyone knows the story of the Jetblue flight attendant who got fed up after 20 years of working with the public, tendered his resignation over the plane's PA system, grabbed 2 beers from the galley and popped the escape chute onto the tarmac at JFK.

Recently, a friend of mine received a job offer from another employer. Her current job was something she enjoyed doing, represented a promising career track, but was marred by some pretty nasty workplace politics and a less-than-effective management. She tried hard to stay above the fray, but because she was the target of some internal backbiting, it was difficult.

She carefully weighed her choices. Her current job paid well, and held potential, but it had little security and no benefits. The new offer paid a little less, and was somewhat of a step backward, career-wise, but had great benefits. What to do?

One day she was called to a meeting. It was presented as a "cross-training" opportunity for all staff, but it soon became obvious that it was a chance for her co-workers to beat up on her, courtesy of an ineffective and misguided supervisor.

She took all she could take, and then she opened her mouth and told them what she thought of them. And then she gave her notice.

People are complex. I had been listening to my friend's side of the story for a while. I had also heard from some of the other workers, too. Miscommunication, scapegoating, failure to give the other person the benefit of the doubt lay on both sides. But, overall, my friend was the one who tried to reach across the chasm, tried to keep it professional, tried to see the other side. The others were less giving and, in some cases denying there was a problem at all.

Well, now it's over. Her company is really going to miss her, because she did a great job. Her detractors are going to be impacted by losing her, though they don't realize it now.

Me - I'm gonna buy her a couple of cans of beer and an inflatable chute. She deserves it! Best of luck, my friend.

Have you ever had a "grab two beers and pop the chute" moment?

Blog roll update

It's been a while since I've updated the blog roll, and as life goes on, changes occur. I meet new bloggers; friends start blogs; other folks decide to stop blogging. I need to update my blogroll to keep up.

Goodbye to those who've moved on:

Trannyhead - I loved you, your Green Beans rant was awesome. Congratulations on your new baby and I hope you will blog again.

Woman in a Window - what an incredible writer! You can still find her at The Tiny Leaf.

Stoopid Stuff - Mikey has moved on to Here.

Keeping the porch light on for these guys:

I am a Tornado - Proven Fact - she hasn't posted since December. I want to put her on a list of "comebacks," because she's a damn good read.

Blognut at More Mindless Rambling - where are you, girl? You're on vacation, right? I'll keep your link around a little while.

Enchanted Revelry - Same thing, Tristan, where are you?

Big Orange Landmark - Floyd's fans plead for his return. And even if his blog is inactive, his archives are a priceless resource for L.A. historians.

New friends:

Smalltown Mom - Heidi blogs from one of the most beautiful towns in California!

If the Thunder Don't Get Ya - blogging from Ohio, it's photos, it's politics, it's whimsy, it's worth a click!

One Perfect Bite - visit Mary's blog for some delicious recipes, and some great stories. You always learn something wonderful about food at One Perfect Bite.

Une Femme d'un Certain Age - she writes about living a stylish, adventurous, delicious life after 50.

I Need Mom! - Sue is the mom of two grownup children. She blogs about food, tablescapes and much more from the Midwest

Written, Inc. - a brief journal of all things Carmi - a journalist who observes the world. Join in his Thematic Photographic challenge, once a week on Thursdays.

Skinny Girls & Mayonnaise - my neighbor's food blog. Check it out. The man can cook.

MAYBELLINE's Garden - MAYBELLINE has an amazing garden in Bakersfield, CA.

Big Bad Bald Bastard - blogging from the Bronx. Or maybe Brooklyn. Or maybe....well, one of those boroughs.

Jenn at Juggling Life - a teacher, a mom, and a wise, wise woman.

Ch-ch-changes:

The Women's Colony is no more, but Derfwad Manor still stands. Go say Hi to the amazing Mrs. G.

A Pie a Week - French apple custard

By now, pie dough is a breeze for me, using the all-butter recipe I found. Now I'm concentrating on thinking up creative fillings for pies.

I had some granny smith apples. I also had some eggs from our neighbor's chickens. In a book of recipes I bought when we visited Burgundy, France, I learned that a very common type of French pie is to bake fruit in a sweetened egg custard in an open-faced tart.

So I lined my small tart pan with pastry, and then sliced the peeled apples into crescents. I tossed the apple slices with brown sugar, and then sprinkled a bit of ground ginger into the bowl. I grated the peel of an orange, and added that to the bowl, too.

While I let the fruit take on the sugar, I spread a thin layer of red currant jelly on the bottom of the tart shell. Then I laid the apple slices in a decorative pattern into the shell.


I made a custard with two eggs, some half and half, and about a half-cup of sugar - I didn't want it too sweet. I sprinkled in some grated nutmeg and a little bit more of the grated orange peel. Then I poured it over the fruit in the shell.

I've seen French tarts with a decorative lattice pastry top, and I had enough confidence in my new favorite pie crust to think I could work with it. So I rolled out an oblong bit of dough and used a pinked pastry wheel to cut strips about 1/2" wide. I laid these across the top of the tart in one direction, spaced about 1 inch apart.

Then I wove the rest cross-wise, under and over the others. When finished, I pressed the ends into the sides of the pie, and sprinkled it with granulated sugar before putting it in the oven.


Here it is after 50 minutes of baking. Pretty nice, huh? And pretty tasty, too! We had it for dinner, and it held up nicely enough to go to work with me on Monday for lunch!

Bucket List

"The Bucket List" is a 2007 movie staring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. It's about two terminally ill men, who become friends and decide to devote their remaining time to complete their wish-list of things they want to do before dying - or "kicking the bucket."

We shouldn't have to face death to start thinking about a Bucket List. Here - in no particular order - are some things I'd like to do before I kick the bucket:

1) Learn to surf

2) Visit the South of France

3) Learn to make real puff pastry

4) Learn how to paint with watercolors

5) Tour Sissinghurst Garden in England

What are the top five things on your Bucket List?

Palm Springs

We decided not to take a big vacation this summer. My beach assignment doesn't give me much free time, plus we're trying to keep the bank account healthy. But that doesn't mean we can't make a little getaway.

Palm Springs is about a hundred miles east of L.A. in the high desert in the shadow of the San Jacinto Mountains. The climate is hot and dry, with an average of 354 days of sunshine each year, and just over 5 inches of rain annually. Winters are warm and clear.

This weather made it a perfect winter resort, attracting tourists and retirees ranging from pennypinchers in trailer parks to the wealthy and glamorous folks who commissioned fantastic, homes from architects like Richard Neutra and others. Palm Springs is a treasure trove of Mid-Century Modern architecture, and of antiques and artifacts sold in stores and galleries along Palm Canyon Drive.


As a summer resort - well, you have to wonder about us. It's in the 70s' at the beach, and finally the weather was clear. What did we do? We drove out to a place where the temperature is 108!

The drive out to Palm Springs take you through fields of turning white windmills, generating electricity.

We checked into the Ace Hotel around 6:00 pm. This hipster haven is built on the site of an old Howard Johnson's Motor Inn. A series of stucco-faced buildings with rooms opening onto balconied walkways circle a courtyard planted with drought-tolerant native trees and shrubs, and a swimming pool. Its restaurant, the King's Highway, is a refurbished Denny's, white globe light fixtures hanging like moons above circular booths ranged beneath rustic stone walls.

While we sat at breakfast, I counted the number of diners gazing fixedly at their hand-held devices. Seven (including, for a little while, me).

Our suite had a living room with a sectional sofa, a walk-in shower, and a bedroom with a queen-size futon. On the wall, photos of '70s celebrities were affixed to a wall of slats with binder clips and hooks. Our coffee table was made of salvage steel, with giant casters and protruding hooks, and it was set upon a calf-skin rug.

There were two flat-screen TVs and a real turntable for lps, with a stack of pop albums like Fleetwood Mac's "Rumors." The mini-bar was geared towards guests who like to party - mid-sized bottles of tequila and Jack Daniels were on offer, along with tubs of candy corn, organic energy bars, flavored iced herbal tea, and "Intimacy Kits" - little tin boxes with condoms, lubricant, and flavored gel.


There's a dark cave-like bar, with tattooed bartenders sporting lip-studs. The drinks menu offers artisan cocktails with all-natural organic and herbal ingredients for "muddling" - but, honestly, the reviews on Yelp say the quality is a little spotty and the service is a bit lackadasical.

My cocktail was so weak, I asked the bartender if perhaps I'd been given the wrong menu item. He nonchalantly tipped the gin bottle and glug-glugged another shot into my glass. It was appalling customer service, but he did it with such good nature that I shrugged and cheerfully accepted it.

There were two swimming pools on the property - you could order cocktails and food to be delivered poolside, including adult Sno-Cones (made with alcohol), or even a whole barbecue dinner prepared for you at one of the outdoor fire-pits. The larger swimming pool was the place everyone went to see and be seen. I wandered out there briefly and it reminded me of one of those scenes in a travelogue where the crocodiles lay still in the shallow water, sipping margaritas and awaiting the gazelles who come down to the shore to drink.


The smaller pool was just outside our room, and although a stand-up comedian was working on a monologue in the pavilion next door, the scene was was quieter. We took an evening dip. The water was as warm as a bath.

We toweled off, refreshed, and our skin dried quickly in the hot dry night air. Then we headed to the bar to catch a set played by the band.

My endurance isn't what it was - I had to pack it in around midnight. But when I woke up the next morning at dawn, I got to catch the light show:

6:00 am

6:30 am

7:30 am

The hipsters - and [The Man I Love] - were all still snug in their beds, while I took a walk around and watched the rising sun paint the mountains with color.

If you have a longer stay, you can rent scooters or ride free bikes around town. There's a spa, a bingo night, and DJs on the weekend. Palm Springs is embarking on another century of resort culture - with a new, younger feel.

Road trip!

We're taking a little road trip! A quick adventure out of town, but we'll be back again tomorrow.

Thematic Photographic - Blue

"Thematic Photographic" - Carmi at the blog Written, Inc. presents a weekly themed photographic challenge. This week's theme is BLUE. Check in and see who else contributes photos based on this idea.

Click to "embiggen"

Blue surfboard in a blue ocean beneath a blue sky.

Dancing on the sand

Remember what pure joy feels like.

This little girl is dancing with her reflection on the wet sand. Grandparents and little sister are just beyond the frame.