How I broke my humerus

It was a normal day. Up at 6:00AM, breakfast and then off to the Beehive for an hour on the Treadmill. Next on my TO DO LIST was a quick Target trip for household paper goods.

Made it home and started unloading the car. Our indoor ladder is barely 3 feet high, but I needed to be on the top rung to stack the 2 large 18 rolls of toilet paper in the garage. One down and holding onto the 2nd packet and as I tried to place it atop the first it slipped and instinctively, I tried to catch it. Missed.

It felt as if I was falling in slow motion, but it only took a few seconds for me to land on the hard concrete floor. 

Screams. Blood. Tears. 911.

 

 

Follow Your Heart - I did!

I have a long history with the Follow Your Heart Cafe. I first heard about it in the 1970’s and although I didn’t live in the San Fernando Valley, I drove the distance to sit at their counter and dine on one of their vegetarian delights.

My first date with Tony was at FYH. What I remember about the night wasn’t the food or conversation, but that in the parking lot he gave me a rose from his garden. Our visits to FYH continued throughout our relationship. So much so, that we chose to have FYH bake our wedding cake.

Twenty-four years may have passed and we still love FYH. And Tony still picks me flowers from our garden. Yesterday it was a gardenia.

On Saturday to celebrate my first outing since my accident we had brunch at FYH. Some things never change - lots of love and laughter. 

 

 

Elderly Young at Heart Perfume

My all-time favorite perfume is Shalimar by Guerlain. I wore it for so many years, that it became my trademark. After my divorce I switched to a vanilla perfume. It was expensive but it was worth it to smell like a cookie. I say that because I once attended a play where the lady in the seat directly in front of me, turned to her companion and said, “I am craving a chocolate chip cookie!” In retrospect, I think I might have used just a tad too much perfume that night.

Over the years I went from $$$ perfume to $ Bath & Body Works Calypso Clementine Perfume Spray. I love the scent of orange blossoms, and it fitted my “retired elderly” lifestyle. But then everything changed last August when I went to NY and discovered Desert Kush by Dilo. I know zilch about the psychology of perfume, but it made me feel young again. 

I then started thinking about the power of something as simple as a scent and wondered if there was such a thing as a school for budding perfumers. Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather! There are actual schools in France and throughout the US where you can learn the art of perfumery.   

I now have a new respect for the complexity of perfume. I used to only wear perfume when I went to work or someplace special. Not anymore. Someone worked damn hard to create Desert Kush and I will proudly wear it every single day.

 

Why Did I Buy It?

When I go shopping with my daughter Cassandra, I seem to lose the rational part of my mind. I’ll try on something, she’ll say it looks great you need to buy it, and I do. More than once I have regretted my purchase, but the one item I can barely look at is the infamous Kelly green top.

I literally don’t know what came over me. First off, it’s a color that I never wear. Secondly, it’s huge. Thirdly, it’s not my style. And fourthly, it cost $350!!!!!

Hurts to admit, but I have NEVER worn it. Once I tried to sell it on Poshmart, without success. Every now and then I take it out of the storage bin and sneak a peek. Nope, still hate it.

So, to sum up this sad blog post, what would I do with the $350 if I could take back time? What else, but go on another shopping adventure with Cassandra.

 

Why Did I Sell It?

Years ago, while in NYC, I happened upon a wonderful little shop called Bettie Paige. Bettie, the quintessential pin-up star from the 50’s, was a playboy model and winner of the prestigious Pin-up Girl of the World contest. Her style was the essence of sexy, and her clothing represented her naughty girl style.

It was a fun shop filled with retro clothes, and I ended up purchasing a retro, light-weight leopard cardigan sweater with ¾ sleeves. Perfect for Los Angeles.

I loved the sweater, but I didn’t wear it much. Actually, “much” is an exaggeration. I only remember wearing it once. Several years later, during a closet declutter, I decided to bid farewell to my Bettie sweater and listed it on eBay where it sold in a matter of days.

A few more years passed and while looking for a new purse on Amazon, saw this darling yellow purse (see photo above). Click. Love the purse and immediately went to look for my leopard sweater. And then I remembered. I sold it.

It would have made such a cute outfit. Picture it: black boots, jeans, leopard sweater and my yellow purse with leopard trim. Cause that is what it will always be – just a picture in my head.

Next up – Why Did I Buy It?

 

This is a Story

We love The Broad Museum. It’s been around since 2015 and is dedicated exclusively to postwar and contemporary art, emphasizing works created primarily from the 1950’s onward.

It offers free general admission with a small fee for special exhibits. A few years ago, we saw a wonderful exhibit of Keith Haring and last week we went to the Robert Therrien exhibit that featured 120 pieces of his art from simple drawings to super large pieces.

One thing I love about his work is that he chose to leave most of his works untitled. His reasoning was that the viewer was supposed to figure that out for themself. Okay Robert, I christen this exhibit Alice EllenBee in Wonderland Wonderful!

 

"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives."

Last week I suffered a bad fall. Diagnosis: Closed nondisplaced fracture of greater tuberosity of left humerus. Despite my depressingly painful condition, I am going to a baseball game today, well, sort of. Hot dogs, fries and watching 42 from the comfort of my bed.

42 is the story of Jackie Robinson, starring Chadwick Boseman, and one of my all-time favorite films. Once a year, on April 15th, the MLB honors Jackie Robinson on the anniversary he made his major league debut. The year was 1947 and it ended approximately 80 years of baseball segregation.

Thank you Jackie for making a major impact on all our lives. 

 

Kennedy #3
Jackie and Me

Many years ago, when Jacqueline Kennedy was in the White House, I read an article about her iconic fashion style. She admitted to the writer that whenever she found a clothing item she loved, she would buy it in several colors.

I don’t know why that sounded like a brilliant idea, but from that moment forward, her clothing philosophy became a part of my life. Case in point shoes. I love Naot shoes and bought 3 identical shoes in different colors. T- shirts – I have the same one in 5 colors. But I don’t stop at clothes. Placemats – I have the identical set in grey, yellow, black and blue. I could go on and on but think you get the idea.

As I often do, I checked with Google to see what this peculiar trait might mean and found out it runs the gambit. It could be as simple as a way to express my style, or OCD, where individuals feel compelled to acquire multiples of the same item, even if unnecessary.

Well, that’s a relief. I know it’s not OCD, because I definitely needed 3 pairs of identical shoes, 5 identical t-shirts and 4 identical sets of placemats!

 

Kennedy #2

My mother loved JFK. She not only kept up with the daily news, she also kept up with the state of their marriage. I recall the day my mother told me that Jackie and JFK had had a fight. I asked how she knew and she smiled and said, because during an outing together neither JFK nor Jacqueline looked at each other. Not once. My mother knew because she and my father fought. A lot.

The day he was shot my mother was heartbroken. I remember my parents having a long conversation about whether we should all go to Washington DC for the funeral. They eventually decided not to go because of the crowds, but our family mourned together in my father’s den watching the news. No smiles that day.

Three horrific events. The assignation of JFK, the Northridge earthquake and 9/11. All three have left a scar on my heart.

 

Ring-a-Ling

It was rather windy the other day and our windchime was singing a song that brought to mind a sweet memory. The sound of the Good Humor truck calling out to all the kiddos on the block that dessert was now being served.

The Good Humor man knew not only our names but also our favorite icy delights. We were also friends with the Fruitman and the Milkman, who both made weekly deliveries to our house.

My favorite delivery truck however was the Dugan’s Bakery man, who delivered my all-time favorite cupcakes. Each box contained six vanilla cupcakes, which meant that my two sisters and I each got to devour two. No cupcake I have ever tasted since, as ever been as good as Dugan’s. The secret was the frosting. It was one inch thick and tasted like a chocolate candy bar. Nirvana.

Tonight we had TJ’s Red Velvet Chocolate cupcakes for dessert. Yes, they were decadently delicious, but not as good as Dugan’s.

 

Kennedy #1 

I was in 9th grade when JFK ran for President. It was an exciting time, and life was filled with endless possibilities.

My boyfriend at the time – and all through high school – was Mark S. He was not only dreamy looking, but also smart as a whip. Truly, my first love.

Anyway, back to the story. Mark and I went to the JFK headquarters in Elizabeth and managed to score a stack of free bumper stickers. We then spent the afternoon going up and down our neighborhood sticking bumper stickers on every car parked on the street. To our relief no one caught us in our act of criminal mischief. 

I remember the night JFK won the election. One of my school friends was a gal named Julia. She had long brown hair and she told me that if Kennedy won, she was going to dye her hair red. On November 9th she walked into class with bright red hair. It was temporary dye so eventually her brown hair returned.

We may have been too young to vote, but together our voices mattered.

 

Treasure Hunting

The other morning, I needed to pick up a few things at the mall. First stop was Sprouts, and as I walked there, I was surprised to see a line forming at the store FIVE BELOW. It was not even 9AM and FIVE BELOW doesn’t open until 10.

When I left Sprouts, the line had grown and curious as to why this was happening, I asked one of the gals who was in line. She shared that everyone was there early to buy a popular viral stuffed animal. I just laughed, shocked that anyone would arrive one hour early for a bit of fluff. And then I remembered.

The year was 1985 and the must have toy of the moment was the Cabbage Patch doll. The only place to find one was at Toy-R-Us and I, along with every other mom in the neighborhood, would stand outside the store before they opened in our quest to find this chubby cheeked doll. By the end of 1983, nearly 3 million dolls had been adopted, making it the most successful new doll in toy history.

Unfortunately, I was one of the unlucky moms because I never managed to adopt a doll for Cassandra. I don't think it scarred Cassandra for life, but me? That's another story.