Dodger Stadium

We are thinking that the last time we went to Dodger Stadium was before Magic Johnson and his crew took over. Our friends have a season ticket mini plan, and when they can't go to a game, they have given us their seats. The last time they did this, there were so few people in the crowd that we walked to our car and were eating at Phillipe's in about 10 minutes after the game ended.

Last night we enjoyed, once again, tickets from our friends who were camping on the beach. They texted us after Puig's home run and said they were glad we got to see it. 

So, thoughts about the game (besides the fact that the Dodgers swept the Braves and Kershaw pitched his second complete game in a row): 1) even when camping, you can follow a game with the way technology works these days. 2) This is such an American thing, going to a baseball game. I was trying to imagine how un-Swiss this form of entertainment is. First of all, even though the game starts  on time, people arrive at all different times during the game. The joke about Dodger Stadium is that people come in the 3rd inning and leave after the 7th Inning Stretch. I was lucky to sit on an aisle seat, but that also meant that the constant traffic of people going up and down the stairs next to me blocked my view. The people in our row who kept needing to leave their seats and make us stand up to let them pass. 

Oh, well, that was really okay with me. I had fun, and we stayed through the last out.

Elvira's Grill

Gotta eat as much Mexican food as we can before we head to Zürich! Yesterday found us trying out a new (to us) restaurant in Upland called Elvira's Grill. It's on the north side of Foothill just east of Euclid. Most of the Mexican restaurants I like lack a pleasing ambiance, but I never mind that. Elvira's is quite pleasant with waitstaff very professionally dressed with good service.

I like to try mole whenever it's on the menu, and Elvira's had it with their chicken enchiladas. This is the most chocolatey flavored mole I've had - almost as sweet as a candy bar, but not quite. The chips were hot and fresh and kept coming, and the salsa had lots of flavor. Both H and C had the enchilada and chile relleno plate. We took home enough leftovers to have dinner.

The Junction

Just because we are going on sabbatical doesn't mean we can't try out new restaurants in Claremont before we go. In fact, in the weeks before our last sabbatical the new Village West was just opening up and we went to the Laemmle and Casablanca before we headed to Chicago.

Yesterday, on the advice of two different friends, we tried The Junction on Indian Hill just north of the tracks. The location is not ideal, but if you park on the east side of the parking garage, it's easy to enter through the back. 

We thought we might get take-out, but the interior was enticing, so we opted to eat in. We had the spicy pork Korean tacos, the Kimchi Quesadilla Wrap and the Potstickers. I did not try the Kimchi, but H liked it and brought half of it home. The tacos were delicious and devoured. The potstickers are unlike any I've ever had, and were fabulous. You can see pictures of the food on the yelp site.

I hope this place is still here when we get back......

Major Purge

It's one thing to go through your house and purge your own items. It seems more than doubly helpful when your spouse goes through his stuff and gets rid of things that you wanted gone and were hoping that he would think so, too. Yesterday was a big cleanse day, but today is the day we are going to actually take these items outside of the house. We are heading to our own recycle and trash bins, the recycle bin at Vista and Goodwill.

Duolingo

Zwischen Verpackung und Reinigung, bin ich Deutsch üben. (Between packing and cleaning, I am practicing German.) I am using Duolingo which is free. You can download the app or do it online. I am finding it helpful, and I like the fact that I have German running in my head every day.

Moonwalking with Einstein

Upon the hearty recommendation of my dear husband, I blew through this book in a few days. The subtitle is hard to read here. It is: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything. The parts on how "mental athletes" memorize large amounts of information held my attention, while Foer's more personal story of how he prepared for the US Memory Championship felt a little over-indulgent. Therefore those parts were a little easier to skim.

This section on page 203 hammered home an interesting way of thinking about memorization. "In our gross misunderstanding of the function of memory, we thought that memory was operated primarily by rote. In other words, you rammed it in until your head was stuffed with facts. What was not realized is that memory is primarily an imaginative process. In fact, learning, memory, and creativity are the same fundamental process directed with different focus," says Buzan. "The art and science of memory is about developing the capacity to quickly create images that link disparate images and to create something new and hurl it into the future so it becomes a poem, or a building, or a dance, or a novel. Creativity is, in a sense, future memory."

The question I came away with for myself is, "how can I get my music students to memorize the note names?" I have some ideas that I am going to work on....

The To-Do List

Today was a day for checking off some items from our "to do before sabbatical" list. Change addresses with credit cards. Talk with the insurance agent about changing homeowners to rental insurance as well as removing the car insurance when we sell our car. Cancel the newspaper. Change of address with the post office.

Tomorrow I should probably go back to cleaning and storing.....

Counting Down

The calendar says only 23 days until we leave for sabbatical. My heart knows it's true as we are starting to do things "one last time." On Saturday we met our friends from Carlsbad "one last time" at Capital Seafood in the Irvine Spectrum. 

Last night we had "one last book club" at our house where almost everyone showed up. We know that in a year we will be back with our friends, but it is still a little sad knowing that we will miss some great discussions and good company in our year away.

Full Disclosure?

Saw this on a telephone pole in Claremont. Thought it might be about dependence on fossil fuels, or something, but after looking for the book listed on the little tear-off tabs, I find that it is about the full disclosure of UFOs, extra-terrestrials, etc. and the cover-up....

Benefit Music

I often play recorders with the Village Pipers in the summer, but with all the packing and getting ready for sabbatical, as well as focusing on fiddle music, I have not had the time this summer. I was happy to hear that they would be performing in Larkin Park last evening, so I hopped on my bike to go hear them.

What I did not fully realize is that they were playing at a benefit for Real Connections, "a member-driven resource network offering trusted information, valued services and enriching relationships that enable individuals to live and age well in their homes and communities. I felt a little like an interloper, but I did not help myself to dinner, and I clapped for all the people who were recognized for their contributions to this endeavor, and no one asked me to leave. So it was all good.

The Pipers played a few of my favorite pieces and made me wonder if I should sneak in my soprano recorder into my luggage next month....