Ann Patchett

I am not a big short story fan. I prefer to read something that will last a long time, otherwise I might forget what happened. It's like watching a movie over a tv series. If the movie (or short story) is particularly memorable, that's great, but if I've had my nose in it for a period of time (even if we binge on a tv series and watch a whole season in one week or so), it tends to stick in my aging brain.

So, when I saw that Ann Patchett had a new book out, I quickly got in the queue at the library for it. Imagine my (slight) disappointment in finding out that it is a collection of essays. I'm always on the hunt for fiction, and essays are the short stories of nonfiction.

However, this IS Ann Patchett writing, and I was drawn into the essays with ease. Although the subjects are wide-ranging, I found that there was a sort of flow to their order. The funny thing was that the final essay was my least favorite, and many people, self included, don't particularly like her novels' endings (even if we loved the book).

One of the most interesting essays I found was her introduction to the Best American Short Stories 2006 for which she was the editor. She made such a strong case for the short story that I actually went on to paperbackswap.com and ordered that 2006 collection. So, we'll see if she makes a convert out of me….

Comba Art Studio

After all the fun at the Book Lovers Sale at the library, we headed over in the rain to our friend, Steve Comba's, art studio open house. (He doesn't have a website, but you can google him and see other photos.) I particularly like Steve's large landscapes. He uses quite a bit of detail. It would be great to have one of his works in my house, but we don't have any large walls - anywhere. In typical bungalow fashion, we have lots of doors and windows to help decorate the walls…. He does do smaller works, too, though. Perhaps we will end up with one or two one of these days...

Here are some of photos of yesterday's visit.

Book Lovers Sale

Today I told H, "It seems that even though I always try to get rid of things, it seems as though I can always buy more books." He answered, "That's one transgression I will grant you." So, yeah. (And truthfully, there are plenty of books which go through the revolving door of my house. In and then out to a friend, or a donation, or to paperbackswap.com.) 

It's December, and that means too many fun things to do, even on a rainy Saturday. First thing on my list yesterday was to get to the Claremont Library Book Lovers Sale. This is not to be confused with the  bi-annual sale where you can get a book for a buck. This one caters to discerning reader with better quality/more "expensive" type of books. 

I particularly enjoyed this section in the corner of the library - the Plain Brown Wrapper Collection. Just click on the photo for a closer view of the scandalous titles. 

Here are books for the young and young-at-heart.

Coffee table books for the art lover.

Travel, anyone?

But here, this was my treasure of the day. Now I don't have to ask you to give me your copy, Dad! It was a deal for only $8 (after using my $2 off credit for being a member of the Friends of the Claremont Library). (I had seen a copy in Vancouver, BC over a year ago for $15, and I passed it up then.)

Christmas Tree Lot

In the 27 years we've lived in Claremont, I don't think I've seen anything on the lot of the northeast corner of Indian Hill and Arrow Hwy. Well, I have seen the Pilgrims from Pilgrim Place on Friday afternoons with their signs promoting world peace, but nothing else. Just before Thanksgiving I noticed that a Christmas Tree Lot had appeared. Meaning, the fence and signs were up, but it wasn't until after Thanksgiving that the trees appeared. 

Disclaimer: Daughter C took the first photo on the day we were out shopping for groceries for Thanksgiving. I took the second photo while stopped at the red light after the trees arrived. 

Die Zauberflote

Last night I was trying to remember how many operas I have seen staged. I think it was about 6. Un Ballo en Maschera in San Francisco as a teenager, one opera in Vienna as a college student, two in Chicago on our last sabbatical (Dr. Atomic and La Traviata), and two LA Opera productions - Grendl and Marriage of Figaro. Maybe there are more, but I can't remember them.

Last night makes 7, then. We went to the LA Opera to see this amazing production of Mozart's The Magic Flute. I can hardly begin to describe it, so here is a link to the trailer so you can get a taste of it. This particular interpretation of the opera comes from the Komische Oper in Berlin, and it looks like a silent film from the 1920s. The wall on stage is white, and all the "scenery" is projected animations. The Queen of the Night is a large spider (creepy). Truly, this is a production for the whole family. Very kid-friendly.

We also attended the pre-opera talk given by the conductor which was very helpful and enjoyable, although I think we were about the youngest people there. It's unusual for us to go into LA on a weeknight, but it was so worth it, and I will probably always remember it. Also, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is all gussied up for Christmas, so it was especially lovely.

Children's Room at the Library

I wish I had thought to take photos of the Children's Room at the Claremont Library before the remodel, but I didn't. However, here are some photos I snapped yesterday when I went in. I did not take photos of the computers since kids were working on them (including one Vista student working on her science fair project), but there seems to plenty of them for homework. 

The grand opening will officially be January 18, 2014. You can read about it here.

New Agave

One of H's colleagues is expecting her first child and decided that all the potentially hazardous poke-your-eye-out plants have to leave their yard. They offered us some agave, and we took them up on just one. It's a pretty good size, and now our yard is protected from any attack babies. Now, if only it would reach out and get some of our squirrels….

Apple Nachos

During the party season, you might want to consider taking these delicious treats to an event. They are called Apple Nachos, and there isn't really any prescribed recipe, but I found the idea here. I'm sure you could substitute caramel topping for the peanut butter if calories are not an issue, but these have just the right amount of  sweet in the chocolate chips for me. I took them to a party on Sunday and left some with the hostess who put the leftovers on her oatmeal the next morning. She said, "Outstanding! Setting me right."

Calder at LACMA

Somehow I got it into my head that it would be fun to take a swing by LACMA after our afternoon in Westlake Village. I had seen the ads for a new exhibit of Calder mobiles, and I just love his work. Now that I have a membership to LACMA, it makes sense to drop in, even for just 45 minutes, since we can get into the exhibits for free.

Of course, the 35-minute drive from the edge of Ventura County took over an hour, and by that time we were starting to feel the effects of that 8-mile hike. Nonetheless, I am glad that we stopped in to see the art. The exhibit was not huge, so we could take our time in enjoying each of the pieces. I wish I could have taken photos because the shadows cast were pretty cool as well as the art itself.

However, here are some images for the blog anyway. The first one is one of the permanent Calder sculptures that sits outside at LACMA. I took this photo back in June.

I had never seen Urban Light at night, so I snapped this shot. They need to replace one of the lights….

This is the cover of an invitation for new members to attend a reception for the Calder which is this Wednesday - not a great time to get into LA for us.

Hiking and Peru Friends

We call them our Peruvian friends, but only because we met them in Peru. Yesterday was our second reunion since our August trip, and we met out in Westlake Village for hiking and a meal. The hills just south of the 101 offer great trails for a good workout and some nice views. When T asked if we wanted to go on the 1 or 2-hour hike, I volunteered for us all for the 2-hour version. I probably should have asked him how many miles, because I might have chosen the shorter hike. The 2-hour hike turned into 3 hours because it was nearly 8 miles, and I know that I cannot walk 8 miles in 2 hours when part of it is hiking uphill.

However, it was a great post-Thanksgiving workout, and we not only enjoyed the exercise and fresh air and friendship, but the meal afterwords was delicious (and so delicious that I forgot to take any photos). T made pisco sours that were just how we remembered them in Cusco, and HK cooked up a few Peruvian dishes. TO brought a quinoa salad and we brought that most Peruvian of desserts, Portugese bread pudding from Euro Cafe. 

View of Anacapa Island and another Channel Island