Great Journaling Spots

Nothing more fun than grabbing your journal, 

ordering a latte and settling down for an afternoon 

of sketching, writing, sipping, sight-seeing and dreaming.

 Whether it's down the block at the local quay,

 a small restaurant in Italy,

 or the Latin Quarter of Paris,

  

or even a late breakfast near the Eiffel Tower. 

 No better way to spend the day!

Grab your journals and sketch bags and  let's go!

Birthday Road Trip

When Margot asked what I wanted for my birthday this year - I said "A road trip to Santa Barbara!"
So last week we went.  Our friend Dawn from Port Townsend was down visiting and volunteered to do the driving which was a big treat.  We started with breakfast at Tupolo Junction.  Cheese/Jalepeno grits in a shrimp and lobster gumbo along with a creamy latte and fresh squeezed orange juice.  My-my!

Then a look around Anhropologie, no big fancy displays

 this time around, but always fun to peruse

A view up State Street towards the Granada Theatre.

Then the shopping began -  Tienda Ho,

Paper Source,

The Random Store and boy is it ever!

The truly amazing Art From Scrap.

A stop by the beach to rest, where we saw a Peregrine Falcon having lunch.

The ever fascinating Antique Alley,

And a late lunch at El Bajio (La Super Rica was closed, but found this to be a great substitute).  In the next blog I'll  show you my scores from the various shops!

Small World!

My good friend and writing coach extraordinaire Judy Reeves  recently taught a workshop in La Mansanilla, a tiny fishing village on the Pacific coast about 90 minutes south of Puerta Vallarte.
Margot and I spent a couple of weeks there in 2005 and had a wonderful time - fresh caught shrimp, Mexican beer and lots of relaxation. Judy posted the above picture on faceBook and I realized we'd been there for breakfast.

In fact I'd done a quick sketch of it while waiting for

 our food to arrive. Pequeño mundo.

Ciao to Venice - for Now

Well - Murphy's Law, the best laid plans, etc., etc.  The last couple of weeks I've not been feeling great which culminated in a trip to the emergency room on Friday.  Had to have the billiary drain put back in, so instead of flying off to Venice in two days, will spend a few weeks recovering and getting my strength back.  If I could  just have cancer without all the side dishes, it would be so much easier!
We plan to reschedule, hopefully soon after the new year. I am so blessed to be married to the most wonderful woman in the world.  Margot is getting us through this latest setback with grace and aplomb and so much love.

Our Venice Apartment!

This is where we'll be living for 10 days in Venice next month.  The cream coloured building to the left of the bridge, on the third floor - the one with the arched windows and a lovely view of the canal and the bridge.   Renewed passports have arrived, ditto electric converters and the shoe repair guy gave my classy walking boots (that I used in Venice 9 years ago) an overhaul and they look brand new.  Three weeks to go!

Buongiorno Venezia!

The big news here is that next month Margot and I will be visiting Venice for 10 days!
My chemo will be over for awhile and the doctor has given us the OK to travel. As you can imagine, we are both very excited.  Plane tickets have been purchased, we have  reserved a delightful little apartment on a small canal, and I'm busy gathering supplies for my travel journal.

Good Omens!

 Stew's Milk Mart

As most of you know I've been going down to USC Medical Center once a week for chemo since the end of March. We go down the night before, stay in a nice little motel in Alhambra and then get to the hospital early in the morning.

 Pet Pet Dog Wash

On the drive between the motel and the clinic we pass three things that became "Good Omens" for me.

 Each trip I would make sure to catch a glance of each of these places and then
 I'd know the day would go well.

 Beautifully maintained palms at the entrance to USC 

The reason?  Well, how can you not love a teeny-tiny store called Stew's Milk Mart?  And Pet Pet Dog Wash - I mean really!  And the palms?  I love palm trees, yet so often they are not kept up.  But when they are and look this good - that's gotta be a good sign!

Here's a page in my current daily journal where I paid tribute to my "Good Omens"  And hey it's working - the chemo is going very well and I'm doing great!

Retro Fun!

To celebrate Margot's birthday we spend a night in a 

vintage aluminum travel trailer at the 

Flying Flags RV Resort in Buellton

 The interior was an interesting amalgamation 

of '50's bombshells and vintage Paris.

Circa 1959 - the El Dorado model made in Burbank.

Look at all that shiny aluminum!

We were surrounded with other vintage
trailers from the'40's and '50's.

 Our lovely outside lounging area!

Loved this very cool light fixture and the

 "oh, so '50's" colour scheme of pink and grey.

We had a great time - a blast from the past!

Beautiful Santa Fe

My friend Leanne, whose studio we visited awhile back,

spent Christmas in Santa Fe!

 She's an excellent photographer

and shared these wonderful shots with Margot and me.

 I'm drooling over the sunset colours,

and putting a Santa Fe trip on my bucket list.

Hooray for Hollywood!

A quick 2 day trip to LA this week for some

 tests at USC Medical Center.

Margot found us this delightful hotel in Hollywood.

Established in 1927, a block long and beautifully maintained.

The Hollywood Historic Hotel!

 The red carpet treatment and gilded front doors.

Here's a shot from the '30's looking 

much the same as it does today. We had the

corner room on the second floor.

A corner of the lobby.

The view from our second story window.

Very cool art at their breakfast cafe.

 And a couple of infamous landmarks

we saw on our way out of town.

Fun in the Snow!

Here are a few interesting shots we came

 across while visiting Sun Valley.

Huge  chair, with it's own pair of boots!

 Margot made us the leading story on the newsstands!

And the local Starbuck's had fantastic outer walls

 that looked like massive stacks of cordwood.

Want to use this as a page background for journaling!