Blog
Hug some trees, have some fun: Arbor Day events at LA Valley College
Come Celebrate Arbor Day at the LAVC Arbor Day Festival on April 26 at Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC). Did you know LAVC was awarded Tree Campus status by the Arbor Day Foundation last year? It is the only community college in California and the only college in LA with that honor. The LAVC Associated […]
Mama’s gotta brand new bag
Do not underestimate the power of shame. I have none, but one of my friends (RK) was so appalled when I pulled out my Ziploc bag wallet at a coffee shop that she took it upon herself to rectify the problem. (Turns out, even Daily Candy was on to me.) When she couldn’t buy the ideal […]
Put your art where your heart is
As a direct result of information disseminated by the National Marfan Foundation, I was able to diagnose myself with the condition. This information saved my life. Marfan Syndrome is a genetic disorder of the connective tissue. People with Marfan Syndrome tend to be unusually tall, with long limbs and long, thin fingers. Because connective tissue is found throughout the body, Marfan Syndrome […]
Sealed with a kiss
A kind assessment of my gardening style is “Desert meets Country Cottage.” Others might call it chaos. This speaks to a complete lack of restraint on the part of the gardener. No time is this more evident than in April when California poppies, tall pink Clarkia, Blue Flax, and Lavender “Spanish Dancer” all but obliterate […]
Joel Linares in his studio: Learning from the master
Most of the time, artists admire the sources of inspiration from a distance. Many are already dead. Lucky are we who have a chance to work, even briefly, with the master. Yesterday I was able to spend a couple of hours with the artist who has carried on a family tradition of celebrating the Day […]
Forget Burning Man…
The event of the year is Tomatomania!–at least in this household. For the past month, Mark has been anxiously waiting for tomato planting season. (No matter that when we lived in Massachusetts that was after Memorial Day…not St. Patrick’s Day) The anticipation has been killing us. We’ve argued long and hard about which heirloom tomatoes […]
Sometimes a piece of string…
…is just a piece of string. My husband, without a hint of sarcasm, asked, “Is it OK if I throw away this piece of string?” Baffled, I looked up from my coffee and saw him holding a piece of string that I had left on the kitchen counter after opening a bag of birdseed. When […]
Uneasy being green
OK, in the vein of full disclosure, I am uneasy being green or labeled as politically correct. The risk of hypocrisy is just too great. I can picture myself at the end of my life standing in front of Ed Begley Jr. guarding the Green Gates of Heaven. He’ll pull at his long white beard […]
Cultivating my garden
At the end of Candide, after being buffeted by the trials and tribulations of life, the title character concludes that all he can do is cultivate his garden. As with Candide, it is clear to me that we do not live in “the best of all possible worlds.” While there is nothing I can do to […]