Written on New Year's Eve: highlights of 2008
Remembering 2008: not in any particular order ...My big 60th birthday bash at Bechelli's restaurant...dining and dancing, a reunion of old friends, incredible gifts...thanks to everyone and especially Nancy!...visiting Nancy in Palm Springs 3 times...1) for the Pacific Life Tennis Tournament and seeing all the greats,
2), Girls' Weekend with Grace in the spring...always plenty of pool play and martinis, and the 3), for a special Christmas visit in Nancy & Jim's beautifully decorated home, which is a museum of mid-century modern design;
watching Grace learn to knit; living upstairs/downstairs for 2 years as of Dec 1; relaxing in my hot tub with a view of Mt. Tamalpais; Mom's 87th birthday in Oxnard...she's still hanging in there, with food superbly done by Eddie and Natalya Hunt; visiting the Kassoffs in November...hiking, eating lobster, and hanging out in their wonderful home; seeing both Rachael and Penn Garvin after a long spell; Grace turning 11 and in the 5th grade; watching Grace learn how to ride a horse at Mar Vista Stables summer camp...and following up with several weekend lessons; Duc & Lance's wedding; the 10th annual China adoption group reunion in Carmel...an absolutely perfect day at one of the most beautiful beaches in the world;
another great beach vacation with the Baskers in San Diego: Moonlight Beach rules for boogie boarding and being in the ocean;
my favorite movies of the year turned out to be 'lite': Mamma Mia, Sex and the City, and Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona...I did see Milk, which was extremely good, and quite moving...but there were no women in it! The character of Anne Kronenberg was OK, but she was never on the screen with another woman! I'm sorry, that just took so much away from it for me, because I WAS THERE! I also saw Get Smart, Baby Mama, Chronicles of Narnia, Horton Hears a Who...all OK... and The Changeling (terrible...sorry Angelina); I read more books in 2008 than ever before...and for the most part, checked them all out of the San Francisco Main Library: ...see photo of rotunda above:
Highly recommended reading: Run, by Ann Patchett, Conversations with Woody Allen by Eric Lax, The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle (best to listen to the cd), The 8th Promise by William Poy Lee, Two Lives: Gertrude and Alice by Janet Malcolm, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, by David Sedaris, Society's Child by Janis Ian, Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson, and Goldengrove by Francine Prose;
watching Grace become a tweener, notably marked by ordering her own music via iTunes and talking on the phone in a locked bathroom; Grace's clarinet playing: she made it into the all-city band, clarinet section!;
the tv shows Madmen, Damages, 30 Rock, all of Tina Fey's Sarah Palin shows on Saturday Night live, the L Word...did it even show in 2008?...and most of all, the Showtime series In Treatment...5 nights a week of therapy...not to be renewed...you had to be there; Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah still rule, Simply Ming cooking show, Ugly Betty, Boston Legal...love that James Spader and William Shatner got married on the final show; watching reruns of Will & Grace and I Love Lucy: G & I have see every episode twice now (of both W & G and ILL); I also enjoyed Holly Hunter in Saving Grace, and Kyra Sedgwick in The Closer...two female cop shows.
getting my new laptop; drinking martinis (gin is preferred, vodka is OK...4 olives)...second favorite drink of 2008: made at home: the Mojito: you 'muddle' limes and fresh mint, add rum, club soda, bitters and sugar syrup...over ice...then you have a tropical summer feeling all year long; going to Limon Rotisserie restaurant on South Van Ness; seeing the pandas at the San Diego Zoo; going to Yosemite with Nancy and Grace...seeing Yosemite Falls and El Capitan...as well as a baby cub bear as soon as we entered...what a thrill! training our siberian husky, Luna...has been a challenge, but by about October 1, after having her in our home for about 1 year, she is becoming civilized...she obeys most commands and loves being part of our pack family;
the Obama victory...hoping early on for Hillary, then thrilled on election night, only to be devastated about the passage of Proposition 8, denying the right of same-sex marriage; acquiring an original Mik Kitagawa sculpture; playing great doubles tennis...mostly teaming up with Marta (thank you Carl Mendoza, tennis coach extraordinaire)...but injuring my hamstring in December...recovering right now; a blue heron coming to our backyard...several times; growing tomatoes...and eating them; watching Grace and Hannah ski at Lake Tahoe; Passover at Ricki's: I made a new hagaddah, the first time it has changed in over 30 years; Easter Egg Hunt at our house, it might be the last for an 11 year old; loving the garden; making this blog, now over 3 years old; making Good Tunes 2008...and resting in the calm Calistoga mineral pools to wrap up the year.
posted by Phern @ 4:19 PM
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