For dinner tonight I met my friend Chris and her new rescue dog Maggie (who Chris has dubbed a chihuahua-poo) on the sidewalk in front of La Playita Mexican Restaurant in the Redondo Beach Riviera Village. The weather is idyllic,...

This past week has just sped by with tasks, appointments, catching up, reading and my high continuing learning curve on the art journal. I am reading a book by Mindy Friddle, author of the Garden Angel, which I loved, "Secret...

For many years, Barbara, Mary Lou and I, have celebrated our summer birthdays with a luncheon and exchange of simple gifts. Our birthdays are within a six-week span although I’m a little older than the two of them. For the...

Gratitude comes in many forms, but almost always it is about the little things we simply take for granted. For instance, who would think that watching an 85-year-old woman playing a slot machine in a casino would seem so sacred?...

Firetrucks, flatbed trucks, tractors, lumber trucks, tractors and all kinds of vehicles were filled with local groups doing their thing. Every child received a flag and every group who marched in the parade threw candy, so each kid came home...

Today was a laid-back Sunday for the whole family, except for Laura. She was on-call and not only had clinic Saturday, but had to visit the hospital each morning--and during the night on emergency all of the three weekend nights....

OK, you gardeners out there? Which hydrangeas grow best in a shady yard? I live in Southern California near the ocean in Redondo Beach, but my patio garden faces east and is largely shaded except for dappled sun on the...

Needless to say, all of us here in Los Angeles are happy campers. The L.A. Lakers won the NBA Championship against the Orlando Magic. For weeks many cars have flown the double gold and purple flags as they drive around...

Cookie was back on her Cushings meds at half dose for a month and last week she began to get sick again and she had been doing so well. The vet stopped the meds and now Cookie has her appetite...

If you live in the South Bay area of Los Angeles, you have probably heard the surname Vanderlip. Financier Frank A. Vanderlip bought 16,000 acres of undeveloped land on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in 1913 with the dream of creating...