Then, we had a big wind storm on New Year's Eve. We have a pine tree out front that is probably 100 feet tall, and this blew out of it :
So now for the stuff that I have doing around Casa de Holtzman. In the last post, I promised to show the pictures of all the odd jobs. First, we had out TV wall mounted, so I could get a big new black bookcase for Doc. We had two old ones that were way past their prime, and the new one holds all the books that were in them.
Doc found a matching set of Agatha Christie books - the set is called the hardcover series, and he found 19 volumes. They are unused, bound in black leather and have gold gilt lettering. They now occupy a place of honor on the top of the new bookcase.
Mounting the TV on the wall opened up about 1/4 of the living room.We have a very small house, so every inch counts. The TV used to sit on this black bench. It has now been moved under the pass through bar between the kitchen and dining room.
I also got a new light for the guest bathroom. The old one was shiny gold and it was installed with the bells upward, which I didn't like. The new one is bronze, with bells down. Today, I touched up the nicked paint. The paint master at Lowe's was able to match the color perfectly. It looked lighter in the can, but he assured me that it would dry darker, and it did.
I had been struggling with keeping the oil rubbed bronze bathroom fixtures clean - our water is really hard and the deposits were crazy. So I had all the fixtures spray painted antique gold.
This shot gives a better idea of the wall color and the way the antique gold looks with the paint and tile.
Here is Doc's childhood desk.
And our pirate style dining room set. Everything is all nice and shiny now!!
We got another gift - Doc's sister gave us an amaryllis bulb. She usually gives us one every year. I usually always planted them outside, but this one specified indoors, so I planted it and put it on the small bookcase under a front window.
The only outfit picture I have is from January 2nd. I will explain in a bit. Here is what I wore:
This striped dolman sleeve top had no label. Sometimes I cut them out if they are scratchy. It is a mesh type fabric. I wore it with red twill slacks from Liz Claiborne.
Once again, I wore three necklaces - two were garnet and one was a
On top, I wore my white boucle blazer from Graff. It has black stitching trim.
I only have one outfit picture because I was off for New Year's on Monday and Tuesday and then I was also off on Thursday. Doc got a new job and he had to go to corporate training in San Diego. I drove him down and spent the day there. First, I visited the cemetery where my parents are buried:
They are buried at Holy Cross Roman Catholic Cemetery near downtown San Diego.
As you can see, the place is pretty packed with graves. As you can also see, it was a beautiful day out.
Then I went up to Balboa Park. This is a huge park right near the zoo and downtown. When I lived in San Diego, I often went running there. My first stop was the rose garden, across the street near the Naval Hospital. This is a newer feature, but I haven't lived in San Diego for nearly 30 years, so it's surprising how much has remained the same.
Next to the rose garden is a nature walk, filled with cacti. This curly one was really unusual.
I walked around a little bit, then headed back over the street to the main part of the park.
The first attraction is the fountain that lies between the Museum of Natural History and the Reuben H Fleet Space Theater and Science Center.
I remember kids splashing in it when I was living there, but now there are big signs prohibiting that.
The main street that goes through the center of the park is called the Prado. This view is looking west.
This view is looking east, back toward the Space Theater.
The main fancy building is also called the Prado - they hold events there. The building is covered in elaborate Spanish carvings.
This is a look at the Natural History Museum from the front steps.
This botanical garden is called the Covered Garden. It's very pretty inside, but it was closed. I don't know if that was due to the government shutdown, since all the museums were open, or if that was because it is staffed by volunteers.
There is a huge lily pad pond out front. There are generally buskers out front. This day, it was a flamenco guitarist.
In front of the lily pad pond is a smaller garden of native California plants and flowers.
This is the San Diego Museum of Art. My mom and I went to many exhibitions there over the years.
This is the famous Old Globe Theater. It started with Shakespearean plays. Now it shows contemporary musicals. "Life After " will be running for a few months in 2019.
This is the Museum of Man. They always have very interesting exhibits.
The two current exhibits are "Living With Animals" and "Could You Be a Cannibal".
This statue didn't photograph well because of the glare, but it is Kate Sessions. She was an avid horticulturalist and brought many species to San Diego at the turn of the last century.
There is a beautiful park named after her. It is up in Pacific Beach, about 15 minutes away, but I didn't have time to go there. It's one of my favorite spots - the view of the beach and Mission Bay is spectacular.
This open air venue is the Spreckels Theater - I have gone to many musicals such as Oklahoma and Seven Brides with my mom over the years. It is named after the sugar magnates. There was a very controversial murder at their Coronado Island mansion a few years ago.
This is a view of the side of the Railroad Museum and a few smaller rotating exhibits. Today, one was photographic arts.
At the west end of the park you cross the 163 freeway on the Cabrillo Bridge, built for the 1915 Panama- California Exhibition. It has a breathtaking view of downtown San Diego.
The park is adjacent to the zoo. As a teenager, we used to crawl through the paths - you could see the lions and other wild animals in their nighttime enclosures. One of my friends was married to a zookeeper.
Then I went east for a few minutes to the community called North Park. It had become quite decrepit as the suburbs grew, but has recently been revitalized. There are many refurbished Craftsman bungalows. My godmother lived in one of them. When I was in San Diego in 2015, I tried to find it, but it was too decrepit for me to recognize. But this time, I found it !!! It has been restored and repainted.
The hallmark of the house was the giant palm tree out front. In my childhood, it had a bench that encircled it. They also had a goldfish pond. I was glad to see it is still standing.
It looks great !! My godparents always kept a basket of toys, and I would zero in on that as soon as I got through the door. Now I always keep a basket for my grandkids, and they zoom right to it. I just bought some more toys for it this week.
Then I went down to San Diego Harbor and took a walk along the Embarcadero. It was absolutely beautiful - the recent winds have made the sky clear and bright. Actually, it is not nearly as smoggy as it was in the 70s. Now there is virtually no smog in California most days.
After that, Doc was finished with his training. I picked him up and drove him to his hotel. He needed to do his clinical training the next day. He will be working on Thursdays and Fridays for a local medical clinic. He took the train home on Friday night, which is why there is no Friday outfit picture. I will have to figure out the logistics of that going forward.
When I got home, Pandi was overjoyed, She is used to having one of us home most days. After receiving many kisses, I gave her a rawhide chew as the consolation prize. She enjoyed it.
Well, that was my week. This week, I am on a clear liquid diet on Monday, because I have a colonoscopy on Tuesday. I am dreading both days, but mostly I am terrified of the anesthesia. From Wednesday on, it will be a more normal week for me. I just hope that everything is okay. I have had quite the time lately, what with my rental condo getting flooded and the holidays, and all these medical appointments. Time for some peace and quiet, as far as I am concerned. So let's have good thoughts that this procedure will be the end. I will tell you all about the condo flood in the future - right now, it is not resolved until later this week.
See you all later!!!
