Monday, 23 June 2014
Sunday, 22 June 2014
Mirrors on the ceiling, the pink champagne on ice ...
The last time that Julia and I were on an airplane together was fourteen years ago. 9-11 had not yet occurred, so air travel was very different; Julia was 7 and obeyed me more often than not; and the excitement level was high - we were moving home and family from one continent to another ... to be home again and with family again.
Things were a little different this time around. Airport security dictates that we allocate more time and effort to be screened, and Julia is now almost 21 and definitely has a mind of her own. The excitement level, however, was still high - this was a trip that she had been anticipating for quite some time now. The flight to LAX was fun - we watched a movie on the laptop, her cellphone got a workout from the pics and videos that she poured into Snapchat non-stop, and things must have gone well since we were still speaking to each other by the time we landed, both our sanities intact!
K met us at the airport and we headed to the new digs. Despite having shopped for condos online and having K sending me pics of the place, it was way nicer than what I had imagined. It's a gated community (something that was very important to both K and me), is walking distance to many things like the supermarket, the drugstore, the mall ... and (most importantly to K) Starbucks. A garage for my car, a parking stall for K, and a pool and hot tub for Julia. Two bedrooms (with lots of closet space), two washrooms, and a circular staircase that you take to go up to the loft. The condo also has three balconies: the front balcony (also accessible form the kitchen), the back balcony (accessible from both the living room and our bedroom), and one off of the loft (for those romantic evenings spent sipping wine and gazing at the stars). It immediately felt like home and having K stock the pantry with some of my favourites like Jif (only the best peanut butter inthe US North America the world!) and oyster crackers from Trader Joe's (they should just call them oyster crack and be done with it!) didn't hurt. K even bought bed sheets in my favourite colour! The furniture that we had picked out was delivered and set up and while there are still things to get and personal touches to make, the place was just perfect. K cooked dinner for us that first night and we all had such a lovely evening. Julia really seemed to like the place and her new room; I don't think settling will be a problem for her. The cherry on the sundae? This gated community borders on Summit Park, a beautifully maintained enclosed park with tennis courts, a walking/jogging track, loads of space for Jack to explore ... and it opens to several trails to hike. BONUS!
I had a chance to meet one of our neighbours while I was there. Kate came by with her daughter in search of their cat. She welcomed us to the neighbourhood and we promised that we would keep an eye out for her stray. That night, while taking a walk after dinner, we came upon a cat who fit the description that we had been given. While K and Julia stayed there to keep an eye on the cat, I headed back to the condo to get Kate. On my way there, I ran into another cat who could just as easily have been the lost kitty. He seemed friendly so I coaxed him toward me and scooped him up, then raced back to the condo. Opening the door, Kate took a look at the cat in my arms, laughed and said, "Oh no, that's Bentley (or some other strange, non-catlike name). We found our cat!" I turned and went to place Bentley (or whoever he was) back where I'd found him, all the while feeling like the world's biggest cat napper!
Julia had a couple of goals that she wanted to fulfill on this trip - to work on her tan and to hit the beach. She managed to do both - she tanned every day and one afternoon, we drove down to Zuma Beach ... where she tanned some more. Another goal of the trip was to visit College of the Canyons, where Julia is planning to apply for the fall session. I had booked a tour before she and I left for the trip; the woman who took us around was gracious enough to spend a full two hours with us, walking us around the campus and explaining a plethora of things as she went along. Julia really enjoyed the visit; the campus is really beautiful, the college has a lot to offer its students, and it's extremely close to the condo. Julia and I hit the mall another afternoon, and she got to spend loads of time at the pool back at the condo. Then there was the day that we went to The Cheesecake Factory and were seated in a booth behind the booth where Brandy was having lunch. Yeah, all in all, it was a really gruelling trip for her!
We celebrated our last night in California with an outing to the Salt Creek Grille. This place has THE best bruschetta EVER. We all gorged ourselves on steak (I've never seen my daughter inhale meat like that ... she is definitely her father's daughter!) and we barely had time for dessert. It was a lovely evening and we all had a wonderful time.
The next afternoon, it was time to leave out home-away-from-home and head back north. And now, the wait begins ... waiting to hear back from the college and waiting for out next trip back. In the meantime, I'll be sending K links and following the ones that he sends me ... who knew that long-distance furniture shopping could be this much fun?!?
"Best way to live in California is to be from somewheres else."
- Cormac McCarthy, No Place for Old Men
Things were a little different this time around. Airport security dictates that we allocate more time and effort to be screened, and Julia is now almost 21 and definitely has a mind of her own. The excitement level, however, was still high - this was a trip that she had been anticipating for quite some time now. The flight to LAX was fun - we watched a movie on the laptop, her cellphone got a workout from the pics and videos that she poured into Snapchat non-stop, and things must have gone well since we were still speaking to each other by the time we landed, both our sanities intact!
K met us at the airport and we headed to the new digs. Despite having shopped for condos online and having K sending me pics of the place, it was way nicer than what I had imagined. It's a gated community (something that was very important to both K and me), is walking distance to many things like the supermarket, the drugstore, the mall ... and (most importantly to K) Starbucks. A garage for my car, a parking stall for K, and a pool and hot tub for Julia. Two bedrooms (with lots of closet space), two washrooms, and a circular staircase that you take to go up to the loft. The condo also has three balconies: the front balcony (also accessible form the kitchen), the back balcony (accessible from both the living room and our bedroom), and one off of the loft (for those romantic evenings spent sipping wine and gazing at the stars). It immediately felt like home and having K stock the pantry with some of my favourites like Jif (only the best peanut butter in
I had a chance to meet one of our neighbours while I was there. Kate came by with her daughter in search of their cat. She welcomed us to the neighbourhood and we promised that we would keep an eye out for her stray. That night, while taking a walk after dinner, we came upon a cat who fit the description that we had been given. While K and Julia stayed there to keep an eye on the cat, I headed back to the condo to get Kate. On my way there, I ran into another cat who could just as easily have been the lost kitty. He seemed friendly so I coaxed him toward me and scooped him up, then raced back to the condo. Opening the door, Kate took a look at the cat in my arms, laughed and said, "Oh no, that's Bentley (or some other strange, non-catlike name). We found our cat!" I turned and went to place Bentley (or whoever he was) back where I'd found him, all the while feeling like the world's biggest cat napper!
Julia had a couple of goals that she wanted to fulfill on this trip - to work on her tan and to hit the beach. She managed to do both - she tanned every day and one afternoon, we drove down to Zuma Beach ... where she tanned some more. Another goal of the trip was to visit College of the Canyons, where Julia is planning to apply for the fall session. I had booked a tour before she and I left for the trip; the woman who took us around was gracious enough to spend a full two hours with us, walking us around the campus and explaining a plethora of things as she went along. Julia really enjoyed the visit; the campus is really beautiful, the college has a lot to offer its students, and it's extremely close to the condo. Julia and I hit the mall another afternoon, and she got to spend loads of time at the pool back at the condo. Then there was the day that we went to The Cheesecake Factory and were seated in a booth behind the booth where Brandy was having lunch. Yeah, all in all, it was a really gruelling trip for her!
Julia's first meeting with the Pacific - Zuma Beach
It wouldn't be a visit to Cali without a visit to In-N-Out
Caramel Apple Cheesecake. Trust me, it looked more appetizing on the plate!
"Best way to live in California is to be from somewheres else."
- Cormac McCarthy, No Place for Old Men
∞ ∞ ∞ ¡ ! ¡ * * * UPDATE * * * ¡ ! ¡ ∞ ∞ ∞
Julia has been accepted at COC for the fall semester! We are Cali bound, baby!!!
Friday, 20 June 2014
Wednesday, 18 June 2014
Saturday, 14 June 2014
Great loves ...
"What it felt like to be so wanted, so adored! No one had ever felt like that about me. It was all so dramatic, too. Always in the wee, small hours when it seemed to Bogie and me that the world was ours - that we were the world. At those times, we were."
Lauren Bacall on Humphrey Bogart
"Our love was deep and true, even though the fact that we couldn't live with each other any more than we couldn't live without each other sometimes made it hard for outsiders to understand. All I know is that if Frank had lost me or I'd lost him during those month, our worlds would have shattered."
Ava Gardner on Frank Sinatra
"Yes I've been known to like ladies ... and I do. But with her, it's different. Everything about her is different than with any other gal."
Clark Gable on Carole Lombard
"Sexiness wears thin after a while and beauty fades, but to be married to a man who makes you laugh every day, ah, now that's a real treat."
Joanne Woodward on Paul Newman
"She's like the tide, she comes, she goes, she runs to me ... In my poor and tormented youth, I had always dreamed of this woman, and now, when this dream occasionally returns, I extend an arm and she is here, by my side. If you have not met or known her, you have lost much in life."
Richard Burton on Elizabeth Taylor
"Realize that the memories I cherish most are not the first night successes, but of simple, everyday things: walking through our garden in the country after rain; sitting outside a cafe in Provence, drinking vin de pays; staying at a little hotel in an English market town with Larry; in the early days after our marriage, when he was serving in the Fleet Air Army, and I was touring Scotland, so that we had to make long treks to spend weekends together."
Vivian Leigh on Laurence Olivier
"We are going to be together forever, my E. It is our destiny, the path that was always meant to be."
K on Elaine
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)