Living in Long Beach

This picture from my 365 Project sums it all up: So, as I was saying in my last post before I got all caught up with Neely, Ann, and Jennifer (the dolls!!), this year Thanksgiving was celebrated at my little place in Long Beach. We ended up having 14 people, although one didn’t eat at the table with us because he is only 4 month old! I borrowed a table and many chairs from two different neighbors. One neighbor emptied out most of her refrigerator and freezer for me to use for the week. I also used a different neighbor’s oven for several dishes when we figured out that the turkey was sitting in an oven that had been turned off an hour earlier! Nothing like a little Thanksgiving turkey drama. I made several copies of the dinner menu for guests to peruse before dinner. My mother got many compliments from Tinu’s cousins about her cheese ball. We’ve all been making her recipe for years. It’s a family favorite. She also got raves for a new recipe that she created – Blue Cheese Slaw. ...

In a birthday card to me, Ruth included a post card that I sent to Grandma from Savannah in 1975. It appears that Ruth wrote the address for me. Ah, a trip to Savannah with no seating charts to write out! Pure bliss. Even though I was only 5 (almost 6 - as back then it was great to be OLDER!!), I can still remember it as one of my favorite vacations ever. It took me a while to decipher my handwriting on the back of the post card. It says: Dear Grandma I caught many sand dollars Jim got a sunburn on his legs Celine The drawing appears to be me looking through a window in a brick house. It is a little disturbing as it appears that I am trapped in the house with a steel door (no knob or handle to get in) and only one window. But I appear happy. Maybe it is an artistic interpretation of the house/museum on the front of the post card. Thanks Ruth for sending this to me!

Saturday, I dropped the Parents off at the Port of LA World Cruise Center, Berth 93 in San Pedro. They are currently on the Golden Princess going to foreign destinations (I think they are going to the Mexican Riviera). I took a peek at the official website and their room is sooo much nicer than the cruise that Michael and I took many years ago. I can't wait to pick them up and see all their pictures. Mother called me from the ship and I think their room is either the oceanview double with balcony or the suite with balcony. I do know that they are on the emerald deck. I'll post some pictures of their trip when they get back.

Tonight, Father and I went to the beach to see Ed Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space . It was soooo funny. I would highly recommend it (and seeing it on the beach is a bonus!) I've added the link to imdb if you want to read about it but again, I would highly recommend watching it first. I would definitely watch it again. Afterward, we ended the even ing by eating at In-n-Out Burger (sorry Tinu!)

Sunday evening Father and I went to Inglewood (crazy, huh?) and saw the Cirque Du Soleil - Corteo. Corteo means cortege in Italian, which means a joyous procession. In this instance, the procession was actually celebrating the death of a clown while he watched from above with angels. Father's favorite act was a naked girl on a trapeze. Just checking if you were paying attention, it was not that kind of show. Father's real favorite act was "the acrobats". Now, I know what you are thinking...wow, he is so specific. Once I pressed him, he said he especially liked the high bar routines with 8 - 12 men swinging at the same time. (Note from Celine: it was so frightening that I could barely keep my eyes open. I kept waiting for them to hit each other as their bodies would swing into each other and miss by a few inches. It was amazing.) My favorite was either the see-saw or the ladies hanging from chandeliers. They would hang by one foot and then go up that way over 100 ft in...

And it went into overtime. Truly fascinating. Plus, at every time out, we got to watch the dancin' dolls who had marvelously intricate moves! Besides watching the basketball game in Venice Beach, Father and I also went to the Sidewalk cafe and each had our own Farmer's Almanac with fries (sorry Mother). What is a Farmer's Almanac, you ask? Only the best tuna fish sandwich in Venice Beach. We saw several performances (a strange knife juggler/comedian on a ladder, a bronze man and his bronze dog, and synchronized roller skating) and walked by interesting landmarks...see all the pictures here . (Again, taken with my camera phone so I apologize for the quality. I also resized these so they would be smaller so if you want any of the originals to print, email me please.)

Okay, not really. In Venice Beach today, there was this huge gospel gathering. I took a 7 second video and warn you to listen at your own risk. I felt like I was taping for 2 or 3 minutes because it was so bad interesting. When I got home and found out it was only 7 seconds, I was shocked. People were singing, waving their hands and arms in the air (while swaying back and forth) and of course, there were lots of screaming of "amen" and "hallelujah". They were sponsored by some Venice church and also Addicts For Christ . So I guess that is good, right?

was fantastic. It far exceeded our expectations. We also drove by Father's old stomping grounds, where he used to live off of Hollywood Blvd at Carlton Way. We couldn't find his old apartment so we assume that it was taken down (though there were some old buildings still there.) We did see the Hollywood sign on the hills. I remember the first time I saw it, that it took my breath away. This time I just barely noticed it. As for the Pantages, Father said he used to watch movies there. It is beautiful and ornate inside. I tried to take a picture but no cameras were allowed and before I could click, I was admonished by an usher. I did take a picture inside the ladies' restrooms though. If you ever get an opportunity to see Wicked, you MUST go see it. It is so clever. I wouldn't be surprised if they make a movie of it soon. Carol Kane was in it and also John Rubinstein. Plus there was a guy in it who used to be in Buffy, so that thrilled me!

Stay tuned...tonight we are going to see Wicked at the Pantages theater in Hollywood. Full recap coming tomorrow...In the meantime, if you want to know more about it, clicking the witch will get you to the Wicked LA website.

I am officially on vacation!! I will be picking Father up from John Wayne Airport in Orange County in a few hours and then the fun begins. Stay tuned for lots of posts this week as we go to shows and sites - Wicked at the Pantages, Cirque du Soleil, Venice Beach, etc, etc...

Jessica and Tinu took tons of great pictures while in Florida. The first set that I've downloaded is the bridge from the earlier post. Jessica just had to take Tinu over it! Click on the picture to see all the photos. These pictures are the best I've seen of the bridge. You really get a feel for how high it is and the drastic incline. Way to go J&T! Note: I fixed the broken link!

As usual, I barely took any photos during this vacation. If Mother and Tinu share their photos with me, I will try to add some better ones.

Jessica and I went to the most fabulous outlet mall in Tampa. We went in pouring rain and had to go over the tallest bridge I've been over yet (including all the CA and Miami ones!) I almost peed in my pants, I was laughing so hard as we went over. Jessica was TERRIFIED! We took a picture while going up the bridge with my camera phone but it was raining and dusk so it didn't come out that well. I've attached a stock photo next to it so you can really see it. Also, in case you are interested, here is an article about the disaster that happened in 1980 when part of the previous bridge was knocked down and many people died. It really was horrific. Mother said she remembers seeing it on the news. *Note: Jessica took Tinu back over the bridge before they went to the airport. She said that it was much less scary with him. I'll see if I can get a quote from her to add here...*

We had lots of good eats while in Tampa. I took a few pictures with my camera phone but unfortunately, all the pics were taken after I had my frozen cocktails (so yes, they are a little blurry - sorry.) Tinu, Jessica and I went to Crabby Bill's. It was awesome. Jessica had a Crab Trap and an Ultimate Sunburn. I can't remember what I had...though I did have my first ever conch fritters *yummy . There was a gift shop and Jess & I bought cute, crabby stuff. (Shocking, I know...) Then ALL of us, yes Langston too, went to PJ's Seafood Restaurant. Again, great food and ambiance. Langston entertained us all with his scary eating of the honeycomb things. Again, these pictures were taken by me with my phone after a banana daquari and a pina colada (I think those were the drinks I had...).

Well, by real food, I mean food with utensils and not a bottle. I was so mesmerized with his "feeding" that I just kept clicking my camera as he ate. I've downloaded them all into another Flickr album. Click the picture for the link... (How soon until he can eat Peeps?)

One of the really cool things that we did while we were on vacation in Tampa was to visit a place called the Big Cats Rescue. It was amazing. I think I may have to go everytime I am in Tampa. I would highly recommend it. You get so close to the cats! And to hear the stories of how they came to be rescued is just heartbreaking. (Yes, I teared up many times.) The pictures that I got are not so great but if you click on the lion picture above it will take you to the album. Hopefully, I can get pictures that Tinu and Father took and add to the album. I bought a few things in the gift shop as everything goes to their non-profit organization. I bought the two cutest key chains pictures below. One is a snow leopard (for my snow leopard, Miska) and one is a lion (for my lion-cut Caj). I also bought a little goodie for my cat-sitter's cats to play with. I would highly recommend visiting there if you are ever in the area. If you click on the key chain picture, it will take you the their web...