Oct
02
I just discovered this amazing website, 8tracks, where you can create and share your own mix of songs online. I’m loving it. I’ve been having fun listening to all sorts of people’s mixes. I created my first mix yesterday inspired by my love of fall and the Santa Ana winds.
The only problem is that the mixes are streamed, radio-style because of the way they license the music, so you can’t just look through the tracks and you are limited to how many tracks you can skip at a time.
I still love it! It reminds me of making mixtapes for friends in high school. So much fun!
Nov
17
I know that most people hate them because they set fire to Southern California every fall. Despite this unfortunate effect, I love the Santa Anas.
“Those hot dry winds that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands’ necks. Anything can happen.”
— Raymond Chandler, “Red Wind”
“Los Angeles weather is the weather of catastrophe, of apocalypse, and, just as the reliably long and bitter winters of New England determine the way life is lived there, so the violence and the unpredictability of the Santa Ana affect the entire quality of life in Los Angeles, accentuate its impermanence, its unreliability. The wind shows us how close to the edge we are.”
— Joan Didion, “Los Angeles Notebook”
Oct
05
To celebrate the new season we all went to see our friend Stacy to get some fantastic fall hair on Saturday. I needed new fall colors and Eleanor’s hair had grown so long it was constantly in her eyes, as you can see in recent posts and the latest header.
“Ummm..okay but don’t take off too much. I’m trying to grow it out.”
“I love it!”
“Thanks Stacy! You’re the best!”
Afterwards we had a quick lunch with Grandpa Gross and Grandma Raisa and then headed to Lombardi Ranch to get our Halloween pumpkins. Despite the vast variety of pumpkins that have been put in front of her over all of these years, Eleanor was pretty decisive when she made her selection.
She even helped Daddy pick out his pumpkin.
She and Mommy had fun looking at all of the different squash.
“I like your new hair mommy. It looks just like caramel brownies. Thanks again Stacy!”
But it had been such an exciting day that Eleanor just wanted to go to sleep.
“Lets go home Mommy. I’m sick of this place!”
