an Amara Sunday morning

Our friends at Amara are safe and fine and serving up breakfast.  It was a delight to grab a Sunday morning there (instead of the usual Saturday) and have our favourites.  Make mine an arepa! 

And a decaf latte, of course.

And my, doesn't Conrad look cute?

Little Beast

The air quality in Pasadena is much improved today, happily.  Even yesterday, it was better than it had been.  That said, the smell of smoke was still in the air.  The three of us were of a mind to go out for dinner, and we decided it would be a treat to get out of our fair city and get out of the field of the worst air pollution.  West we went, over to Eagle Rock.  Destination:  Little Beast.

Little Beast is a nice little place housed in what looks like was once someone's home on Colorado Boulevard.  Van had been there in the past, and recalled that the burgers were good.  Conrad and I had never been, so we were up for trying some place new.

The first thing we liked was that we could hear each other.  I don't comment (much) on this, but Conrad has had some hearing loss over the years and finally started wearing hearing aids.  The good thing about hearing aids is that they amplify for him the sounds he wants to hear (conversation, television or movies).  The bad thing is that they amplify other sounds as well.  In many restaurants now, there is quick negotiation when we are shown to our table as to where to seat him so that he isn't suffering from whatever music is blasting and the nearby conversations that are necessarily loud to be heard over the music.  It makes me wish that reservation sites had a "look for quiet dining" option, and I will sometimes add a note to reservations that we have a person with hearing loss so could we please have a quiet part of the dining room if such a thing exists.  So, kudos to Little Beast, which had music playing in the enclosed outdoor space at a level where we could all talk normally and easily.

The second thing I liked was my mocktail.  Y

es, dry January continues for me (and Van, but not for Conrad).  I had an elderflower drink that was pretty tasty.  One was enough.  Man, am I drinking a lot of water these days!

The third thing I liked was my burger. 

Excellent burger - good patty and bun and toppings.  The fries were terrific as well - hot out of the fryer, crisp and lightly salty on the outside, fluffy inside.

I thought the biscuits and ham were fine but only just fine. 

I have had better biscuits, and I've certainly had bigger ones!  Not much biscuit for the amount of stuff to go with the biscuits.  I also thought the little gems wedge salad was fine - tasty but a little over dressed.

We skipped dessert - what we had was enough - and came back to Pasadena.  When we got out of the car, the smell of smoke hit us again.  Ah well.  It was nice to get away from it for one evening!  And it has been much better today - we could see the mountains this morning!

reunited: addendum

I was so excited about the three of us being able to be back together (and yes, I know it was JUST FOUR DAYS) that I neglected to post the dinner picture, thereby satisfying the "Food" part of this blog's name.  Pork chops slow cooked with onions and thyme.  Not a bad Friday evening dinner!

clean up begins

Oh, how I wish it could be clean up for the thousands of people now homeless in Altadena, Pasadena, Los Angeles, Malibu, and more.  How awful for them.  So much destruction.  We really did get off lightly here.

I've been catching up on some work today now that my wifi is running smoothly, staying inside, tending to laundry as well.  Conrad, bless him, ran errands and picked up things needed for clean up.  He's out in the back courtyard now, sweeping up the debris and ashes for disposal. 

Our poor plants so badly need a good watering as well.

Clean up around the metro will not come for days.  A long process ahead.  We will go see the damage when we are allowed up there, but I won't share photos of other people's devastating circumstances.  Just see Conrad sweeping up our little mess here and imagine how extraordinarily worse it is for so many.

reunited

The threat of fire is finishing, and we are back together.  Yay!!

Let there be dinner and television and the company of each other.

still safe

We’ve been indoors at home for two days now.  The fire appears to have stopped growing, or at least it is growing away from us.  We did not have to evacuate, but we remain ready to do so.  Air quality is abysmal and dangerous:  a reading of 321 this morning!!  When we finally get outside, we will need to clean up the dirt blown into our courtyard and the ash fallen.

But we are still safe.  Happily.  Van is safe at his house as well, and we wish we were all together.

safe, so far

The fires in Pasadena are raging north of west, stretching both west and east.  So far we are not on alert to evacuate, but we are ready.  The air is thick with smoke.  It will be a long, stressful day of watching.  We got this shot last night, about eleven hours ago.

I will post here if things change dramatically.

the blustery day

The winds kicked up while we were sleeping, that much is clear from the debris blown along curbs,

into alleys,

and even littering our front and back courtyard at home.  In the park

there were numerous palm fronds down. 

We kept our heads down and soldiered through some blowing grit early in our walk, and then it calmed down.

For a little while, at least.  My drive to work was wobbly in the heavy winds, and I have read reports of some power outages in Altadena.

A blustery day, indeed!

January online happy hour

Last night we did our monthly online happy hour with the gang.  Much fun was had reviewing the Golden Globes fashion together, but we talked about a great range of other topics, too.  And there were drinks, of course.

My dry start to January continues, so I made mocktails and hearkened back to childhood days.  Memories of special occasion dinners at the Bavarian Inn bubbled up, fond memories of schnitzel and crepes Copacabana and dancing and the drinks that we were permitted as kids:  the Shirley Temple and the Roy Rogers.  So that was what I made us tonight.

Friends, wow, those are some mighty sugary drinks.  And I say that even though I was using zero-calorie pop for each!  Still, it was kind of fun to resurrect them for one night.

Cheers!

and so it begins again

Three weeks away.  I had almost forgotten what this place looked like.  Wow.

I guess I have to take down the tree.  Christmas is well and truly over now.

Sigh.

our easy weekend

Happy Sunday!  It's mid-afternoonish as I start writing this, I have a chicken roasting in the oven, and I'm not planing to do much else.  We did get some housework done this weekend, for sure, but it's hardly been a difficult weekend.  Nice and easy, that's our style.

Conrad and I started Saturday with a short walk that ended at Amara for breakfast as usual. 

An arepa for me and a decaf latte. 

Conrad enjoyed his as well. 

We came home, and I brewed more decaf to enjoy while I sat and read.  The afternoon featured a bit of laundry, but mostly I watch movies and television on the iPad while ironing napkins.  So, yes, I got stuff done, but so very low key.

Last night we were at Van's for dinner and the first episode of the latest season of Drag Race.  It wasn't a late night.  Conrad had a martini, Van and I abstained.  I made us some rock fish with a Veracruzana style sauce for dinner. 

Nice and simple.

This morning I headed out on foot, enjoying an hour of chat with Theo in Scotland while walking.  Also, seeing a peahen roaming about on Euclid. 

I haven't see peafowl in Pasadena in ages.  I eventually met up with Conrad and Olive, and we made it back to the house together.  When Van got up, Conrad and I drove up to Starbucks to grab coffees and breakfast, the three of us enjoying that together.  Groceries after that, then home.  And, like I said, an easy time of it.  Conrad cleaned the bathrooms, I put away groceries and have dinner on the go.  Some television (Ghosts) and our chicken for dinner,

and that will be Sunday for us.

Back to campus tomorrow.  Sigh.  It will be a quiet handful of weeks there, I am sure.  Ah well.  It will be nice to see colleagues again.

our customary Friday

First Friday of the year, and last night found us at Maestro, holding up the usual end of the bar when it's just me and Conrad and no Van with us.  Guacamole to start with, of course,

and then the grilled octopus dish

followed by the cochinita pibil. 

Three things we enjoy greatly.

Where it was different than usual was in the drinks.  Conrad had a glass of wine and one only.  I stuck to water.  I tracked my drinking in 2024 - you may have seen posts about cocktails and wine tasting and such, right?  Honestly?  Not good.  So I'm off to a dry start to the year, and after I do finally break that streak, whenever that will be, I need to do better than in 2024.  We shall see!

In any case, a welcome return to Friday nights the way we like them after all the holiday cheer and such is done with.

all gone for ten or so months

Sigh.

Loud sigh of sadness.

Sigh.

It's all gone, all put away.  The tree and other decor we'd had up in the condo are boxed and in storage.  See you in November, my friends.  December at the latest!  And now a fresh start for at home in the new year.  Or something like that.

Sigh.

I really do love Christmas, you know.

birds of paradise

It's the official flower of the city of Los Angeles, you know, but you can see plenty of them in gardens around Pasadena.  Birds of paradise are such cool looking plants/flowers.  We spotted these beauties yesterday morning on our walk.  Have a little orange and purple joy to brighten your January.

first swim of 2025

No, no swimsuit glam shots of me, sorry.  Instead, I present... Conrad!

And The Claw!

Poor Conrad.  I have been trying to get him to work on that arm and hand for years, but no luck.  Ah well.  He's in the pool, and he enjoys that.

Me?  I may enjoy it one day.  Not today.  Good gosh, that was awful.

NYE 2024/New Year's Day 2025

January 2?  Wow!  Christmas will be upon us soon.  Or so I always hope.

Ah, just kidding.  A little.  A long year stretches out before us, and Conrad, Van, and I are already filling it with trips and other plans big and small.  I'm excited for the year ahead.  Now then, let's look back a little.

Conrad and I got out of the neighbourhood by the end of the afternoon on New Year's Eve.  The crowds swarming around and camping out for the parade and the football game mean that either we stay inside at the condo on one side of the parade route or break free and be elsewhere for an overnight and beyond.  So we headed to Van's.  We had plans for grilling burgers and watching a movie, and that's what we did.

It was a leisurely, mellow evening.  Van made mai tais for us for before and during dinner,

and then Conrad made us chocolate martinis for after dinner and during the movie. 

The movie (Wicked Little Letters) was ok, not the comedy we had expected or wanted.  Ah well.  We saw midnight and went to bed not long after.

I was up before the others yesterday and went for a walk alone.  Conrad and Olive then joined me for another walk, and later in the day, all four of us

got over to Lacy Park for an afternoon stroll.  You can be sure Olive loved that - new places to sniff, new doggies and people to meet!  Van made us flapjacks with bacon and scrambled eggs while Conrad and I trekked to Starbucks for us all.  After the walks and while the football game was underway, Conrad and I came home.  A simple dinner of pasta, some television, and that was New Year's Day wrapped up, more or less.

And so 2025 rolls forward.  Here's looking forward to good and fun things about which to blog!

first walkies of 2025

Happy in the little girl who gets a morning walk with Conrad to start off her year!

happy Mai Tai new year!

We have full bellies after dinner here and a few hours to go until 2025.  So far, a lovely night to wind down the year, thanks in no small part to this delightful, handsome man making us cocktails.

A happy Mai Tai new year, one and all.  See you tomorrow/next year!