Living in Long Beach

At my mother's request, I just published a guest post on her blog here . Check it out!

Since Halloween is right around the corner, I thought I'd share more of the owls that I have collected  since my last owl post . Let's start with the most recent owl acquisition ~  this really cute owl sketch that I bought at a little art shop in Bar Harbour, ME . No matter which of my front doors you chose to enter, there will be owls waiting for you... And then once you come inside, you can enjoy the fire and see all "whoo" is on the mantle...how may owls can you find? And then if you go to the kitchen or dining room, guess what? More owls!! I think I even forgot to capture a few...like the bag clip from my nephews that actually hoots... And then of course, there are personal owl accouterments... So that's all the owls for now. But there will more be later! I have owl latch hook, cross stitch, embroidery, needle point, long stitch, weaving, pillows, etc all yet to be completed... And lest you think I've gone owl crazy (which I ...

I am sooooo behind in blog posts. I have quite a few to write up and promise to write some more soon… I went to the Memphis Farmer’s Market today and went a little crazy buying vegetables. The weird thing is that there was hardly any selection of fruit. I did get a lot of yummy peaches – the white kind. I decided to make a recipe in one of the cookbooks I had in college that my parents brought back to me on my last visit…Light Desserts. These cook books are all from the late 80’s. There are good light recipe ideas but it is amazing how much more selection of low-cal food there now is to use that there wasn’t then. Oddly enough, while my parents were here we visited Burke’s Books and saw one of the exact issues they brought me. And it was selling for $10! So here is my altered version of Oxmoor House’s 1989 Light Desserts “Peach-Almond Crisp” on page 113: Peach-Almond Crisp Ingredients 3 medium-size ripe peaches, peeled and sliced (about 3/4 lbs) 1/4C of Splenda granulated 1...

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. ...

I just got this post card from my parents whose flight was delayed overnight in Philadelphia. Besides the year or so that I lived there (when Jessica was born), I've never been there...

For Christmas, I gave to my parents and to the Ohio Thomases each a super expensive* calendar of Long Beach that is mostly pictures taken around my part (ahem, the good part) of Long Beach. This way every month they can reminisce about me and places we've been together in the LBC. When Scott was here, we mimicked the January picture. While my parents were here, we were able to capture March and April. Any volunteers for future months? JANUARY (In front of the Bayshore library - 2nd Steet - Belmont Shores) (The day we took Scott's picture it wasn't as clear as the calendar. If you look really closely, you can see the mountains in the background.) MARCH (Rancho Los Cerritos) Looks like we had much better sun than the calendar photographer!! APRIL (Hilltop Park - Signal Hill overlooking Long Beach) Obviously, we didn't take these pictures with the calendar in mind, so the shots aren't exactly the same. Can you find the oops?? *Okay, the calendars were actually free f...

My parents have been visiting with me this past week. My mother's birthday is in March and my father's birthday is in February, so we celebrated them both while they were here. I let them each request a special cupcake...Father requested a groundhog and Mother a frog (big surprise, right?) I also made a "G" cupcake in honor of Greg's birthday which was Saturday. (I ate it for him too!!) I had a lot of fun making these cupcakes. And since they were double chocolate Kahlua cupcakes filled with a Starbucks liquor cream center, we had lots of fun eating them.

My parents sent me these cute teddy bear peeps (plus, some heart peeps but I ate those before I could turn my camera on.) They are always doing the nicest, most generous things for me. This past month I was reminded how important it is to tell the people important to you that you love them and are thinking about them. Obviously, we should do this as often as we can but sometimes life gets in the way and we put it off until later. (Not all of us - my friend Sherri and my aunt Ruth are the BEST at keeping in touch with me whether I deserve it or not.) Let's use Valentine's Day this year as a reminder to tell the people who we haven't spoken to in a while that we love them. I ♥ U!

Here is the last postcard from my parents' trip from Dildo Newfoundland. My Mother writes that the name of the town may have come from the Basques from Bilbao Spain & was somehow changed by the native Indians. I tired to do some online research and found that the name may have come from: Spain or Portugal, or an algonquin tree, or the shape of the headland that forms the harbour. So, there you go. I have no idea. Nice postcard though and supposedly, Dildo is a great place for whale watching. Here's some more info on Wikipedia:

Okay. I'll admit that before my parents told me about their trip I had no idea where this was. Of course, I do now! View Larger Map Here is the postcard that they sent me from there. It says "ARCHIPEL DE SAINT PIERRE ET MIQUELON - Plongeon sur la rue Abbe Pierre Gervain" My parents wrote on the postcard that it is the Long Beach of the far North! That it is the same in many way except for the people, language, architecture, money & weather. Guess I'll have to check it out soon! Lastly, even though I stopped stamp collecting when I was around nine years old, I couldn't help but notice the great stamp on the postcard so I scanned it too...

I just got this postcard today from my parents. Looks like they sent it on the 26 of August. They said they didn't see any icebergs this trip but may go back next year in April when there may be some. Although icebergs appear gigantic from shore, 7/8 of them remain below the water. Formed of pure ice, their white appearance is due to many tiny air bubbles reflecting white light.

As usual, I am so behind in posts...However, the good news is that I now have a job! I still have lots of pictures from when Mother and Father were here. Of course, I miss them already even though I talked to them each on the phone today. Please bear with me as I create some past posts out of order for a while. Here is a picture of father relaxing (at my urging) the night before they left Long Beach. As you can see, he is taking a lovely bubbly, vibrating foot bath and looking through my newest cookbook Hungry Girl . (BTW, he approved this picture.)

Mother and Father are back. I went to San Pedro to pick them up but them thought better of it... Just kidding! They took over 300 pictures on their digital camera and another 150 on their 36 mm camera. Once I wade through all their pictures, I'll put together a short slide show and post it for everyone.

I got an email from the Parents this morning. Here's what they are up to: We just debarked in Mazatlan - weather is perfect and we are heading towards the old town. Yesterday we strolled along the boardwalk the "malecon" and it was very pleasant. Tomorrow it's Cabo San Lucas and since the ship only stays until 2:00, we are taking a tour. Having a great time - and too much to eat - Wish I was there. Don't you?

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.

We helped LA's homeless with HIV/AIDs by eating out at the Whale & Ale for Dine Out LA . I chose the Whale & Ale because it is supposedly an authentic English pub but in San Pedro (the next town over from me). Plus, many of my friends gave it high reviews. What should of taken us 20 minutes to get there took over 90 minutes as the Vincent St Thomas Bridge was CLOSED! We ended up going way, way northeast and then back south to get to San Pedro without going over the bridge. I LOVE that bridge now. After the excruciating drive, just ask Mother if you don't believe me, the restaurant was only okay. I took some pictures (and you know that I put it into a slide show, right??) in the "pub" and also of the store fronts on the walk back to our car. Exciting times, eh? Click on the picture of parents for slide show.

I found this cool Google app that lets you track exactly how far you walk. Instead of just tracking the mileage of streets, you can maneuver this Google map app to figure out how far you have been even if you walk across a park, etc. So I figured out a 1.5 mile scenic walk from my condo for Mother and Father last week. I put together a short slide show of the pictures I took during our walk. If anyone can identify this tree, please either put it in the comments or email me! (Don't forget to hit the "i" to see the comments!)

I went to pick up Mother and Father last night at the Long Beach airport. I had no idea that this little airport has two terminals so it took me a while to find them. When I found them, they were with the Dalai Lama!!! http://www.dalailama.com/

Now that Mother has become such an awesome cell phone photographer, I am going to teach her how to have her own blog so she can send her cell phone pics there. Give me time though... Here are the pictures she sent me today... (Okay, maybe I should let her practice the pictures some more.)