Chuck Woolery & Me

Nov 25

On Saturday, Nov. 23, game show host and really gracious man, Chuck Woolery, passed away. In 1987, I was a contestant on his show SCRABBLE. While my nerves got the best of me, I loved the experience and won $500 which was worth the trip to LA. Thank you, Mr. Woolery for hours of TV entertainment.

Chuck Woolery was actually Wheel of Fortune's first host when it debuted in 1975. After he left Wheel he eventually became the host of SCRABBLE. Based on my favorite board game, the show ran on and off from 1984 to 1993. Mr. Woolery was its host and Charlie Tuna was the announcer. Oh man, what a memory!

"Life is just like a game,
first you have to learn the rules of the game,
and then play it better than anyone else".
-Albert Einstein

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One Magical Night in Lindsay

Nov 23

Once known as the Olive Capital of the World, Lindsay, for us, has become the home of James Garner and his Johnny Cash Tribute Show.

In addition, Lindsay has a rich history that includes its role in the citrus boom, the development of modern irrigation, and the invention of the first tractor-drawn grain harvester.

After our normal 5 PM dinner, we had some time to kill. We found ourselves at the Orange Bar. We had the most unique bar experience ever. This was so small town, we wanted to move here. People were incredibly welcoming, the beer was cold and inexpensive, and the atmosphere iconic. One patron, José gave us his phone number and told us to call him next time we were near as he's from neighboring Exeter and would like to show us around. So truly amazing.
The story of meeting the gal next to me is a special one that just added to the crazy coolness of this bar. I was coming out of a bathroom stall and she was heading in. She greeted me warmly and before doing what she came in to do, reach out her hand and said, "Before I use the bathroom, I have to meet you. I've never seen you here and I come here a lot!" She asked why I was there and also what was my name. When I told her she said, that she was also Denise but she spelled her name with a Y. Denyse is part of the foundation that brought the neon back to the Lindsay Theater's marquee which is awesome because last time we were here is was dark and not nearly as magical.
Back to why we were in Lindsay in the first place, James Garner's Tribute to Johnny Cash.
"For the past 17 years, Garner and his band have faithfully recreated Cash’s biggest hits with stunning accuracy in this not-to-be-missed musical event. From special concert airings on PBS stations to shows at Folsom and San Quentin Prisons, it’s easy to see why this is the premier tribute to the “Man in Black.” The show is a fun, toe-tapping trip down memory lane honoring Johnny Cash's life and music, and the boom-chicka-boom sound of his longtime backing band, the Tennessee Three. Enjoy the hits of the Man in Black all over again: Folsom Prison Blues, Ring of Fire, I Walk the Line, A Boy Named Sue and more!"
Lindsay Community Theatre (1933) was the ideal venue. It is quaint and historic.

This video is the opening song. With the first note, we knew it was going to be fabulous!


Several attendees had never been to one of these concerts. All were aptly impressed when the show concluded.




After every show, James comes out and greets his fans. He remembers their names and makes each feel special. I can't recommend his show enough. Find him!
This is the comment I left on James' Facebook page: "Oh my gosh, just when you think life could not possibly get any better you find yourself in the town of Lindsay, in the company of musical magic! This is our second emersion into the wonderful world of Johnny Cash in Lindsay and our fourth being mesmerized by James Garner and his talented band. James, you are such a gracious host and a truly a gifted performer. Your music and storytelling continues to delight. Even Steve has a crush on you! We can't wait to stalk, I mean see, you somewhere else soon!"

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We Have Our Australia Visa

Nov 19

Our next big adventure is to the Land Down Under. We knew we needed a Visa but no previous travelers to Australia could tell us the details for attaining one.

I was concerned that the process would be lengthy so we applied four months prior to leaving. Our "GRANTED" status was instantaneous. We are now one step closer to our first Australian adventure. Bonzer!

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror –
The wide brown land for me!
-Dorothea Mackellar, 1908

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Sunday in Palm Springs!

Nov 17

One of our favorite day escapes is to Palm Springs. Combine it with a friend's birthday and it becomes even more enchanting!

Our first stop tends to be koffi. There are several of these coffee shops in town but only the North koffi, in the Uptown Design District, offers a lush oasis in which to savor one's beverage while in the desert sunshine! From our door to its welcoming store front is only 63 miles. It is so worth the drive.
Our destination was the Riviera and meeting up with Brady and family for her actual birthday. This was our third visit to this iconic hotel. Original architect and visionary, Irwin Schuman, fashioned the resort after major Vegas hotels like The Sands, The Flamingo, and The Stardust. Opening in 1959, this resort immediately became the go-to hot spot for celebrities and sophisticates like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, who would lounge by the pool and in the Presidential Suite.
Elvis Presley was a frequent visitor at here and sought both refuge and rehearsal space in the Mediterranean Room for his band before leaving for tours and shows in Las Vegas. It was the only hotel in the United States, at the time, to be built in a spoke wheel layout, a unique design which would fit into the psychedelic culture of the 60s because of its communal shape. Groovy, indeed.
We began our celebrating at the pool.



A must stop was the home made most famous by one of its guests. The House of Tomorrow is a mid-century modern home by architect William Krisel. It was originally designed as a family home for Robert and Helene Alexander, but became famous after Elvis and Priscilla Presley honeymooned there in 1967. It features four circular pods, a boomerang-shaped roof, and state-of-the-art electronics.
My goal is to one day tour the interior... one day!
After lunch at Elmer's, another MUST, we headed to the Palm Springs Art Museum for their free and quite fabulous FAMILY+. "Presented as part of our Public Programming offerings, every third Sunday of the month artists, creatives, makers, and musicians will produce activities and workshops throughout the museum. Families, friends, and all are welcome."


We were offered numerous opportunities in which to create and all were very unique.
Some of those opportunities were nostalgic! Who didn't make sun prints as kids? By placing objects on special paper and exposing the paper to sunlight, early photographers created blue images, called cyanotypes or sun prints. We were given a table full of things in which to craft our own masterpieces.

With a spirited six year old in tow, the Yoga, Breathing, and Movement was the place for Brady.

Another creativity opportunity involved the moiré effect, an optical illusion that occurs when two repetitive patterns overlap or are misaligned, creating an unwanted (or is it artistic?) visual pattern. It can appear as wavy lines, stripes, or rainbow patterns that aren't part of the original image. We were asked to watch the effect that was on a video screen and create a work of art from it. I couldn't quite grasp it but this artist/quantum physicist could. I loved how organic his piece was. Very cool.

We only did a cursory explore of the exhibits because Steve and I will be back next month with more time to ogle it all. We did hit on some highlights, however. 
I wrote of the artist, Viola Frey, in January after seeing a lecture about her. I like her stuff!

It is always an amazing day when one has the chance to gaze at a wall of Henri Matisse. I look forward to being able to appreciate all his works with more time.

I think Brady will remember her birthday fondly. I'm so happy we were able to help her celebrate with such diverse delights! I 💚 Palm Springs.

"Good art is art that allows you to enter it from a variety of angles
and to emerge with a variety of views."
-Mary Schmich

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Art & Treasures...

Nov 16

Julie and I met in Orange for a day of ogling artwork and searching for treasures. It was absolutely perfect!

We began at the Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University. Opened in 2016, it is the home of one of the world’s largest collections of California narrative art. Founded through the ongoing generosity of art patrons and philanthropists Mark and Janet Hilbert, it represents the only museum in the world committed to tracing the rich, iconic history of the Golden State from the late 19th century to the present day through works by leading California Scene artists and Hollywood studio artists and animators.
The Hilbert Collection is comprised of more than 5,000 pieces from the 1900s through present day. It features oils, watercolors, and drawings of California life, including acclaimed works by Millard Sheets, Emil Kosa, Jr., Mary Blair, Phil Dike, Milford Zornes, and Rex Brandt. The Collection also features one of the largest private collections of Disney and other animation art, works by American illustrators, Native American arts, and American design. We only had time to visit the North Wing but we were not disappointed.
To our delight, we were introduced to our new favorite artist with the Merry and Bright: Christmas Card Designs by Ralph Hulett exhibit.
Sparkling with Midcentury Modern style and pizzazz, the Christmas card designs of California Scene painter and Disney artist Ralph Hulett (1915-1974) are classics. Hulett studied at Chouinard – where his instructors included Millard Sheets, Phil Dike and Phil Paradise – and started work for Walt Disney Studios’ first animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, while still a student. He worked for Walt Disney Studios for 37 years as a background artist, and his brilliant watercolor backgrounds appear in almost every Disney animated feature from Pinocchio to Robin Hood.
He also was a prolific fine-art watercolorist and oil painter, focusing on cityscapes and landscapes of Los Angeles and Southern California. One of his most successful revenue streams, however, came from his card designs. From the 1940s to the 1970s, he created hundreds of lively, colorful Christmas card designs for companies such as Designers Showcase and California Artists.
This one reminds me of me when I head out to the post office to mail my Christmas cards. I love it!

In the Cinema Arts Galleries we took a nostalgic trip via the Disney Classics of the 1950s and ’60s. Selected from the deep archives of the Hilbert Museum’s animation collection, this exhibition spotlights original art by Disney artists from such films as Peter Pan, Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book and more.





In the exhibit 21st Century Realism by California Artists, the museum showcases artists who have developed a very personal and identifiable style, even though all are working in the genres of realism, photorealism or hyper-realism. In fact, several of these realist genres were pioneered by California artists.


Julie and I probably have this same photo at the actual Palm Springs house captured so realistically by painter David Heller. Wow.

Laguna Cove (1941) by Paul Landacre blew me away. The intricate details are impressive but once I learned they were accomplished via wood engraving- so amazing. The patience it must have taken...

There was just something about Alfred Chadbourn's Kitchen Still Life.
Phil Dike has captured many images from my youth. I think I've stood at this spot, depicted in Corona del Mar Jetty (1955).
With the exhibit constantly changing, Art of the Airwaves: Novelty Radios from the 1930s – 1970s. This exhibition features novelty radios that depict Disney favorites, beloved cowboy heroes, holiday characters, sports icons and more. There are even some shaped like world globes, tropical huts, a piano and a Coca-Cola cooler.
Turns out, Mr. Hilbert's dad owned an appliance store where young Mark developed a love of radios. So dang cool!



Ending our visit with Hopalong Cassidy allows for a poignant quote, “A life without complications isn't really a life, you know. In life things go wrong, nothing stays the same and there's nothing you can do about it." It's a more verbose version of my favorite mantra, "It is what it is!"
After fueling up at lunch, we hit Orange Circle, an area of this historic town full of antique shops. We spent hours looking at treasures.
They say, "One man's junk is another man's treasure". That has to be true of all the taxidermy was saw. Wild.

So much of what we saw brought back memories of our childhoods. Oh man, Jell-O molds!
CorningWare always does it for me. I actually wrote about the coffee pot pictured in this advertisement.

We had this exact nut set. It always came out this time of year. Oh man, flashback time!
I think I own this Disney plate. I bought it in 1998 for $3 at a thrift store in Winterset, Iowa. Winterset is a special town for me as it was my Dad's birthplace along with John Wayne's and the setting for The Bridges of Madison County. What an incredible memory evoker!
Okay, a half full bottle of perfume. What a weird find in an antique store. For me, it stopped me in my tracks. Scents are a powerful thing. This one is the olfactory delight Steve fell in love with when he fell in love with me. Calvin Klein released Obsession in 1985, and it became a huge success. He said he wanted Obsession to be "direct, sensuous, provocative" and to represent his feelings about women. The advertising tagline line was "There are many loves but there is only one Obsession!" No, I didn't buy it and actually, I couldn't even get it to spray to see if it held its same power but oh my, what a memory. It was the ideal conclusion to our day.

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