IT WAS STANDING ROOM ONLY……

…..at The Arroyo del Rey ‘Salon on the Spiritually Creative life’. Satinder Dhiman, author of ‘Seven Habits of Highly Fulfilled People’ spoke of the seven gifts ‘as habits of mind geared toward attaining lasting fulfillment – gifts of pure motivation, gratitude, generosity, selfless service, harmlessness, acceptance, and presence’. Over 75 people listened in rapt silence. 

Carol, our hostess, introduced Satinder with a long list of his accomplishments.  He is probably the most well read person I know, with an amazing frame of reference, but the salient quality of Satinder is his gentle, humble spirit.  He definitely ‘walks the walk’!(Carol is standing in front of the painting.)

I think I was just too far away to get a good photo ……

The same for Satinder….maybe I should bring my camera instead of the iPhone.

Edward Lee Goldstein, author of ‘Faith-A Lion’s Healing Journey Back to Innocence…Lessons on Forgiveness’ is standing closest to me.

Afterwards we all held hands and said Richard’s wonderful native American prayer. And, as always, Carol had the most wonderful assortment of refreshments for everyone.

So many beautiful flowers….

Hi Ken….great to see you!

Valerie, thanks sooooo much for reminding me about this!

Carol & Duchess bid everyone a fond farewell!

If you don’t already have it, be sure to order ‘Under the Bridges at Arroyo del Rey’ from www.amazon.com …..and not just because there’s a chapter on my Salon talk ‘May You Always be Free’ using ‘Suma the Elephant’ as the wonderful metaphor it is…..but because it’s an inspiring book!

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION WITH TOMIKO at MUSSO & FRANK’S…….

Since 1919 Musso & Frank’s has been an icon of Hollywood’s golden era….It’s a time capsule as nothing inside has changed including the worn red leather booths.

Gentlemen’s Quarterly has called their martini perfect, the standard against which all others must be judged.

Tomiko agrees and said it really is the best martini ever!  Even the olives are fabulous!!

I had my ‘usual’…Campari & soda with lime & lots of ice.

I am really over the top crazy for onion soup but it’s usually a disappointment as the gold standard was Bellini’s in Chicago on Rush Street going back more years than I care to remember.  We decided to be chicken and split an order.  What a mistake….I could have had a gallon of it…’roll your eyes back in your head’ delicious!

Who in the world likes liver & onions?  I do!!!  But they have to be cooked perfectly and I figured Musso & Frank’s would know how to do it as they’ve been practicing for almost a hundred years.  They were sensational! And they were topped with the most delicious bacon ever…..perfection multiplied!!!

Tomiko had the duck & it too was perfect!

Now it’s time for presents……

…..and cake….

We barely made it to the Pantages for Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Great cast………

All your favorite music…………

Terrific staging……………

Fantastic costumes………

Try not to miss this…it’s a hoot!

Heartfelt thanks Tomiko for a most memorable evening!!!

A MEMORABLE & MAGICAL EVENING at AMANDA’s….

…………began the moment the fragrance of Gardenia’s enveloped me as I walked up the garden path to her front door.  You know I turn into a pumpkin at 9:00 so I arrived right on time which was probably early but that gave me a chance to take some pictures before the crowd settled in.  The party was for the Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology’s Seizure Disorder Center which is to say I was surrounded by a bunch of brainiacs.

There were so many charming spots in two garden areas…

So very charming…..

Here’s a spot in what Miss Judith has named ‘The Magical Garden’.  Do I ever agree!!!

Gorgeous flowers were everywhere……

……being beautifully arranged by Patty.

Oh my, where is that one going Amanda?

More……I told you they were everywhere!!!

Back in the Magical Garden.

People were milling about in each area but as I got involved in conversations I neglected to take photos.

Yummyness abounded but I didn’t get a photo of the most delicious sushi EVER…..trays of it on a very long table ….heavenly….oh my! Probably busy stuffing my mouth.

Now there’s a story behind these Cherry Cheesecake’s. (I had to leave before dessert time.) These perfect creations were made by Dr. Marc Nuwer….a #1 Brainiac who was so delightful to talk with and probably the most humble man in the universe considering his background.  I think Dr. Marc loves to cook and bake as a stress reliever ……just saying.

How cute are Dr. Vivian Hoang and her precious daughter Claire!

O.K., When this handsome couple walked in someone said to me, “I think that’s Richard Gere.”  I made a beeline and decided Barry Sattels is way more handsome than R.G. and combined with Lisa London, his beautiful wife, make quite a stunning couple. I bet you want to know more…..Barry is an actor/director (surprised?) with so many credits to his name you’ll just have to GOOGLE him.  The latest is ‘Divorce Texas Style’ now in post production.  Lisa is an accomplished actress and singer and I would have loved  spending more time talking about being directed by Clint Eastwood in ‘Sudden Impact’. These two are awesome and soooo nice but you can see that by their picture.

Gosh….the niceness continues….Elena and Lee Danielson.  Elena is also an artist and intrigued  by Asian art. I wish I had more time to talk with them.

Here’s Dr. Christine Baca with Jonathan, a twin, with hubby Mike holding his brother Zach who besides being adorable won the biggest baby contest of the evening.  The Baca’s also have a 4 year old, Seraphio who had decided to pull a Garbo.

Amanda, our lovely hostess with son Aiden who is quite possibly the nicest young man you’ll ever meet!

And now my favorite peeps…Miss Judith & Eileen! The young man in the background did his residency in Chicago & is now a Fellow at UCLA…..loved our Chi Town talk.

 

I wish I didn’t have to leave just when the party was getting started but how I do thank you Amanda for including me in an evening I won’t soon forget!!!

PEONIES… PEONIES… PEONIES…

…….were the wondrous subject in class at the Huntington & in the studio this month!  This was inspired by my seeing them at Trader Joe’s.  They are here for such a short time & I so hope you are able to get some.

Diana Jeong was experimenting in one of the studio classes and about to throw this away.  Well, you know how I feel about that!!!  She posted it on Facebook with this comment…”All blobs until Nan Rae helped me with her magic.”  Actually we just combined our Ch’i and here’s the lovely result. 

I loved Kathy Wong’s amazing work!

Here it is close up….exquisite!

Monday mom came over for Memorial Day & I made grilled cheese sandwiches.

And here they are.  Oh boy………………….

We got coleslaw from Kentucky Fried & also a chocolate cake (with ice cream) just in case we didn’t consume enough calories.

Nikka has taught Kita to do a high five.

Mom & Kita have a special thing going on!

She’s such a good girl……

Tuesday Laurie & I went to see Star Wars (I loved it) and then dinner at Katsuya.

Wednesday I was in Beverly Hills hoping to finally get my Mont Blanc fountain pen……it had gone to Texas twice for cleaning and adjustments.  This time, the sales girl was kind enough to tell me it was the nib that needed to be exchanged because I’m a lefty…..so back to Texas it went  & now I have to wait some more.  I miss my pen!

Then it was time to see beautiful Mary and meet Danny.  We had a great lunch at 208 Rodeo and talked forever.  I mentioned how I loved the new Star Wars so off they went to see it!

Mary is the International Development Officer for Cross International/Cross Catholic Outreach a non-profit serving the “poorest of the poor” all over the world with just a 5% overhead. www.crossinternational.org  Mary just returned from a trip to Haiti where she visited over 100 mission locations and found it to be a life changing experience!.