Woodman to Ventura Boulevard Chin Chin Blues: Wednesday, January 3rd!

Not all those who wander are lost. -J.R.R. Tolkien, novelist and philologist (3 Jan 1892-1973)

Hello Kids! Trust nobody has lost fingers or toes to the cold! Gorgeous day here, yesterday, perfect for sightseeing. [Sorry to report, Chloë, that we rode on the "2 ft 6 in narrow gauge funicular railway in the Bunker Hill district of Downtown Los Angeles! When we had parked and walked onto the street it was just a half block away!] Must away as we are off to have pedicures, a short walk up to Victory. When back home my friend Woke will come over and we'll drive to Sunset Blvd, via Laurel Canyon, to eat at Chin Chin. All the best from Lady Dar. Cheers, Patrizzio! Pics: Tinsel Town Tour!

Hi Bev! Trust you are well. Thanks for a peacock in a fir tree! Have had a lovely time here in LA ever since we arrived this past Saturday. Drove down from Penticton, leaving day after Boxing Day. Yesterday our youngest grandson, Pierre, was our tour guide and we had a fabulous time in both downtown LA and then at the Getty Villa. We leave for Costa Rica this coming Saturday, for a month, and then three or so weeks between Palm Desert, Sun City and Sedona before returning home by the end of February. As well, have been for some wonderful bike rides since hitting town as I know the area and its routes fairly well. All the best for 2018. Must away as we are off to Studio City to meet a friend for lunch a spot called Chin Chin on Ventura Blvd. Cheers, Patrizzio! 

Pics: Getty Villa! Just a tiny sampling! Your life sounds pretty darn nice. What a variety of good stuff! Well planned. Enjoy, Bev Hi again, Bev! Hardly need to remind you of the vagaries and fragility of life so we are trying to travel and see family when we can and are still able. Thought we were leaving for restaurant but Lady Dar reminded me that she had to take Winston, Ayn's "senior" Jack Russell for a walk beforehand. She is at work so this way she needn't pop back home. Again, all the best. Cheers, Patrizzio!Wow, you really know LA. I particularly appreciated learning more about your experiences since I might end up in LA for a couple of days this year. Hi Bev! Just a quick note before I head to bed to finish off Michael Connelly's The Late Show. I'm enjoying it immensely. Cheers, Patrizzio!

Hi Lynn! Trust you are well. Thanks for the wonderful card. I assume, one of your marvellous photographs. Where was it taken? Must away as we are off to have pedicures, a short walk up to Victory. When back home we'll take our car to meet my riding friend, Wole, in Studio City, at Chin Chin on Ventura Blvd, not all that far from where Ayn works at Crown Media. If you have ever watched a schmaltzy, feel-good Hallmark Movie she is the Vice-President of Programming & Acquisition for the Hallmark Movie Channel. Too, too saccharine for my liking but big, big business for the cable companies! All the best from Lady Dar. Cheers, Patrizzio!

Dusty Happy New Year Greg. I saw Dusty's name mentioned in this article in a community newspaper this morning and thought you and Pam might like to see it. Best regards to you both! Al Al sent this e-mail this morning show article that mentions Dusty. Nice of them to give Dusty a mention. Greg Check out this local paper and dad’s mention. Al Gray noticed it and sent it our way. Pam Thanks for sending it on to us all. Corinne Hello Frozen Water Pipes Folk! Terribly sorry to hear about all you sub-zero temperature woes! What a complete and utter drag! I cannot even begin to imagine the sheer frustration of it all. Sincerely hope no damage was done. Times like this it would be great to call The Dusty Hot Line and let the expert do at the dirty work!  
 

Enjoyed the brief mention in the paper so thanks for forwarding the article. Had a grand time yesterday. Not trying to rub salt into your raw, chaffed and bleeding hands but it was a simply gorgeous day, blue skies, sandals and shorts! All the best from Lady Dar to one and all. Cheers, Patrizzio!

Hi Al! Trust you are well in spite of the sub-zero temperatures! Pam sent along the article about Dusty, et al, so thanks for forwarding the it. On another matter, will be in touch once we are back in Penticton about ordering vacuum for Chloë's new town house. Until then, all the best from Lady Dar. Cheers, Patrizzio!

Hello Xavier, Chauffeur Extraordinaire, et al! Thanks so much, Pierre, for showing us such a wonderful, wonderful time yesterday. It was more than a pleasure to be with you and spend time exploring this exceptional city in the hands of someone who makes getting around this spaghetti freeway metropolis seem like a walk in the park! Had a lovely time with Wole at Chin Chin. Your GPS like driving must have rubbed off on me, Pierre, as we had no difficulty finding the restaurant although it was a pretty simple route, down Woodman to Ventura and then just straight ahead to address Wole had texted earlier. Quite an extensive menu and the food was very, very tasty, service helpful and attentive without being overly solicitous. Wole delivers for a food service called Doordash and, using his iPhone, he gave us a basic run-through of how system works. We chatted amicably throughout lunch and close to 4:00 pm we paid the bill. Wole was going to clock back into Doordash as he had logged out after his last delivery around 2:00 pm. Thanking him for the restaurant suggestion we made plans to cycle on Saturday and waved goodbye.

Quick trip home, stopping at Ross to buy Ayn some Rubbermaid containers and a lovely 3 qt saucepan to match her Martha Stewart casserole dishes. Exhausted by the strain of shopping with Lady dar I had a delirious hour nap and then made a large salad for dinner. Lady Dar prepared overleft chicken to put on top and Ayn was home around 7:30 pm, busy trying to ready her desk for next week's busy schedule as she is off until Monday. 

Must away to watch a DVD of I, Tanya, from her Deep Cove neighbour, Jacquie, part of the SAG Mafia system, in return for The Post which Ayn acquired from her Hallmark connections. Who needs the stinking' Golden Globes or Oscars! Fondestos from The Sisterhood! Cheers, Patrizzio! Pics: Exhausted Winston and Chauffeur unwinding! Chin Chin with Wole! 

 

Fur sibs Early to bed, we’ve been napping since 7:30......it’s to cold to do anything else although I’m sure Duke will be up at 4!!!!! So jealous you did the venicular. Hi Chloë! Pleased to see that the kittens are keeping you company! Have they been helping shovel? Ayn mentioned that Etta was trying to email us. Can you send me that snap so that I can give her my password! Must away as I've brushed and flossed and want to finish off The Late Show. I'm enjoying it immensely. Really enjoyed I, Tonya. See it if you possibly can. Love, Dad!

PS: Don't be jealous of the "venicular" as we rode the funicular! Pics: Winston says hello! More Getty Villa images!!! Urns are from Cyprus!

Patrick and Corinne, Happy New Year! Los Angeles looks fabulously sunny in your photos. Thank you for sharing. The weather here has been decidedly overcast for most of the Christmas season. A/C cancelled my mother’s flight out of Penticton yesterday. Funny thing though…despite no change in the cloud cover Westjet arrived and took off yesterday afternoon. I drove Mom to Kelowna to catch a flight home. That is the beauty of being retired, isn’t it? Whatever you have planned for one day you can push over to the next!

[Skopelos!] NYE was a simple affair at our house. All but one of our children were here to celebrate with us…and the two that were home had their significant others with them so we had a sizeable crowd. We celebrated with a nice dinner and a fire on the point. I did see midnight this year. Safe travels. Pamela

Hi I am not sure if any of you ever looked at the Winnipeg Free Press online Obituaries- the one for Dad (Dusty) has a few comments that were made.
Rebekah brought it to my attention.

https://passages.winnipegfreepress.com/passage-details/id-245712/DURSTON_N.G.%20

there was a message on John Ziemanski's as well

https://passages.winnipegfreepress.com/passage-details/id-245910/ZIEMANSKI_JOHN

Patti Thanks Patty, it was so nice to read those messages ❤️😢 It’s been great to read the comments about Dad and John. And also to see the mention of Dad in the article about Hall of Famers lost last year.Thanks to all for sending them. Made me weepy thinking of dad. Corinne 

Murmuration

This is absolutely stunning!  Truly an incredible sight.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/88UVJpQGi88