Fire

I hate fire..Well not all fire. I mean the fire that allows us to have hot meals, stay warm in the winter, gaze upon in the fireplace on a cold winter night or happily gather around when camping, those are all great. But I hate wildfires. They always frighten me and make me nervous. Even the ones very far away in another country upset me. Wednesday August 26 a fire started along Angeles Crest Highway..my neck of the woods. It started out small, 25 acres. There were no structures threatened and no winds to push it along. The weather has been very hot and the mountains are overgrown and very dry but there was a fire in Azuza to tend to and it was bigger. I am not saying the fire was not attended to..it was. Fixed wing aircraft was all over it right away. But this fire has a mind all its own. I really feel fire takes on a personality. This one, now named the Station Fire, is evil and wicked and crazy and confused. It cannot make a decision as to what direction it should travel. It is going three different directions. It burns uphill and downhill...it re burns over itself. I shoots flames ups 100 feet and sends ashes everywhere. Many of my friends have had to evacuated their homes. The little fire is now a monster...as of today 85,000 acres. It spread from La Canada to Sunland Tujunga to Acton to Altadena and points beyond. Right now it threatens Mount Wilson. Two fire fighters have perished is it wake and no containment is in sight.
I can stand on my front porch and see flames dancing and laughing...almost saying you cannot control me. We have extraordinary fire teams working on this monster(the press calls it a monster, not me) and I pray they stay safe.
For me..I am on pins and needles. The reverse 911 call kind of set that into motion. So In my stress I painted the bathroom..go figure.
After this is all over (and I pray that is soon) I will again have to clean my drapes, wash everything, scrub furniture and shampoo rugs. The smoke and ash have engulfed our neighborhood. I am just so grateful I still have all these things to clean.
One of the prices we pay for living so close to nature is that we stand the chance of having it all blow up on any given day. Fifty years of no fire and now....well lets hope all those prediction of a El Nino fail to appear and we have a normal rainy season...otherwise my next blog might be about mudslides.
BTW..the picture was taken last night not too far from where I live.....

Man how they grow up

So, last Sunday Amanda, Teresa and I danced at a private birthday celebration for my dear friend Susie. It was actaully her grandson Kevin's birthday..he turned 22. We had danced last year, giving Kevin his own private bellly dance show and he enjoyed it so much he asked us that we dance again this year. Kevin comes out from Pennsylvania to spend time with Susie each August. This year the party was much bigger. And our "show" was pretty well organized. We had a stage, lights, costumes and choreography. The crowd was sort of quiet, something we belly dancers are not used to. We failed to let them know that the more noise they made, the better. So it was hard to tell if the group enjoyed the show...with the exception of one young fellow..He is twelve (he is the less tall young man in the picture). He was very enthusiatic. He was so enthustiastic that while taking photos with his cell phone he fell off his chair...His mortified mother apologized but we were very flattered. Gosh I am no spring chicken so that made me feel pretty darned good.

Thoughts of summer

I have not blogged in a while..been too busy trying to keep my life together. Working three jobs, making hula hoops and sewing sure takes up a lot of time. This June seemed more hectic than others. LSJ performed at Cairo Caravan (formerly Cairo Carnivale) It was held at the Queen Mary in Long Beach on June 6 and 7. This years dance production was "Beyond the Sea". It was a wild fantasy with dancing sailor girls, happy, hooping mermaids and fierce Thai goddeses...Indiana Leela and dispicable Lara Croft character who tumbled to her death with loud cheers from the audience. The costumes and props were a challenge but we managed to get them all completed before the show. We managed to turn a giant lazy susan, wood and canvas into a magical mermaid rock and mystical idol shrine. It was fun. Unfortunatley there are no preformance pictures BUT there are after prefromance pics. Some of us decided to stay aboard the Queen Mary for the night. We had a lovely time. I think I looked pretty not bad for an old broad.
Cairo Carnavan now seems to signal to me that summer is one it's way. It is always near the beginning of June just as the weather starts to get wierd..June gloom here, sunny and warm there...So after Cairo I prepare myself by taking on my summer attitidue...longer days, warm nights all make me restless. I feel the need to accomplish something on a greater, more meaningful scale. So I welcome the opportunity to help Leela with Arabia Summer. A new production scheduled for August 23..I get to dance in several numbers and help with the production. I cannot wait.
Other things are churning in my head...only time will tell how they manifest themselves but for now I am content. But just for now!!

Happy New Year to ALL

Wow, hardly seems possible that 2009 is here but I have to tell you..I am so glad to see 2008 gone..bye bye!! we lost a lot of things in 2008...jobs, friends, cars and money!! But I gained so much more than I could have possible lost. I gained a wonderful son-in-law. I gained new job opportunities. I gained many new and wonderful freinds. I gained a few unwanted pounds too...those will come off with a little work (I hope).
Our New Years Eve was a fun filled night at Wine Styles (1007 Mission South Pasadena..great place..come and visit) I work there three or four nights a week and we hosted a Murder Mystery Party. What fun that was. I was truely amazed at the level of "play" people were willing to commit to. All our guests came in costume and took tho thier character roles like fish to water. The setting was a 1920's speak easy with all the characters..Al Capone, the Ravioli Family, congressman, inspectors and the like. Amanda and Jesus were there and Amanda (as Cassandra) was a murderess, off the big boss himself (Don Wannabee. Amanda won a prize for best costume and I solved the first crime (Amandas was the second murder of the evening) and I also won for ending up with the most money. Extortion, bribery, cheating, stealing, tell tales..all got me that rpize..yeah for me.
So as we welcomed 2009 in with a great party it made me feel as if things were changing...for the better. I always try to keep a bright perscptive and this years is no different. Leela and I have a ne motto Fine in '09......

Thanksgiving

My friend from Hong Kong, Fung Yee, emailed me last night asking about my Thanksgiving. She said she should have checked by blog first but had she, she would not have found anything..I have been remiss.
Thanksgiving just seemed to arrive so quickly. I have been working a lot and the thought of doing all that work, cooking, cleaning..etc..seemed so alien to me. It was funny, when I finally got around to doing it all it was such a pleasure. I like to clean (well I like the end results) and I love to cook..I enjoy having all my family together even if they are moderatly disfunctional. So I put on my itunes and started the work..Wednesday night mind you. I cleaned and cooked until 1:00 in the morning. I got up early Thursday to escort Frederico (the turkey) into the oven, peeled potatos and just generally puttered..It was by far one of the more relaxing days I have had in a long time.
Amanda's wedding on Halloween was the best thing ever but it left me disconnected from the holidays...Thanksgiving and all the wonderful tastes and smells that joined it helped bruing them all home...Now off to Christmas...just around the corner..

My baby's Married.....

My first blog was about my daughters engagement and now...she is married. The wedding was perfection. Things could not have been more perfect and she was magnificently beautiful and from what I can tell, blissfully happy. Now this does not mean that the preperation for the wedding was not without it bumps but almost..I cannot recommend Almansor Court in Alhambra enough..they were efficient, helpful and downright tenacious in some cases. They fulfilled all of our expectations. The food was good, the service was great and they even averted what could have been a disaster when the cake order disappeared the afternoon before the wedding. Michaelene, the manager, took the issue to hand and we had the lovely cake the kids had ordered (very fresh by the way)delivered on time.
Thank you to all our guests, especially those who took the Halloween spirit to hand and dressed in costume. What fun it was to have Wonder Woman, Greek Goddesses,Pirates (including the infamous Jack Sparrow)Roman soldiers, witches, rhinestone cowboys and cowgirls among our honored guests.
I thought I did a nice job with the flowers and loved my early morning visit to the LA Flower Mart. I shall have to go again...just for fun and maybe not at 5:00 in the morning.
I thought for sure I would cry when I saw my baby being escorted down the aisle b her daddy...who looked pretty spiffy himself but I did not. I was so taken with her beauty and poise that I was almost frozen..not wanting to miss a single minute or word. She looked so amazing and I guess I was blinded by the white...She never once faultered. She was composed and you could tell, she knew she was the centerpiece. Sure Jesus looked great and he was much calmer than I thought he would be but Amanda left me breathless.. I am so proud of the young woman that we raised...a vision in white...
Now I get to pick her up in San Pedro tomorrow, as they come home from their honeymoon..I know she has so much to tell me and I will be all ears........my baby is married.....now I cry for joy...

So much to do!!!

My lovely daughter is getting married in less than three weeks. There is so much to do. I remember my first blog was about the proposal and now the day is drawing near. I still have bridesmaid dresses to sew but all in all..things are pretty much handled (I think). Last weekend we had our big show..Arabia Exotica. Wow, it was pretty amazing. For that event I made another 18 costumes for a drum solo number. Then there were the 32 other costumes I made..and I a have orders for Jane Austin costumes and more belly dance costumes....All of which I am grateful to do in this challenging economy..but after November 22..the sewing machine and all my stuff gets tucked away so that I can use my dining room again ....as a dining room. The holidays are also fast approaching. Amanda and Jesus should be in their new house before the wedding and I can barely wait to help them make it a home. So much to do....so little money :)