Hooray for Hollywood and Hospice

On Saturday night, San Diego Hospice and Palliative Care held their annual Staff and Volunteer Appreciation Night at the Marriot in Mission Valley in the grand ballroom. The theme was “hooray for hollywood” with a big band, classic movies on big screens, and tables named for various films and stars. This is my second year attending and also the second year that they combined the staff and volunteer events. The evening began with cocktails by the pool side. I chatted with “Patti” and her husband, also a volunteer, and they shared their experiences over the six years that they have been volunteering with Home visits and with the Foundation Art program. That sounds like something I’d like to pursue. You can visit San Diego Hospice and Palliative Care’s website and under the section for Volunteers, download a list of Organizational Volunteer Opportunities.

It is astounding how this organization has grown in thirty years. I estimate that there were over 500 staff, volunteers, and guests in attendance. They honored the milestones of 3-, 5-, 10-, 15-, and 20-year volunteerers and staff. I was really humbled by the presenation and stories shared by Dr. Doris Howell, a 30-year honoree. She was approached by Joan Kroc and together, to over-simplify her efforts and commitment, they started the county’s first hospice program. She is the embodiment of their mission: To prevent and relieve suffering and promote quality of life, at every stage of life, through patient and family care, education, research and advocacy.

I visited my hospice patient and family this past Tuesday. I always come away feeling so relaxed and peaceful. It must be my meditation to be able to sit quietly with a person and just be. I’m glad that SDHPC is there for the community.

In the birthday zone

On Monday morning, I woke up picturing the Ramona landscape and wanting to take a hike in the area. Using the San Diego Reader website, I was intrigued by their picture of Cobbleback Peak, better known as Mount Woodson. You can read Jerry Schad’s description of the area in the San Diego Reader column, Roam-O-Rama. The lower half of this steep 1.5-mile hike was more picturesque. The landscape was more interesting from that vantage point, not just because the top was home to many communication towers. An old co-worker lived in this area. I can’t wait to learn of his favorite hikes.

On Wednesday, Joy, the owner of All Vegan store, surprised me with a trip to Stephanie’s Bakery for lunch. She has added pizza to the menu and it is outstanding! We each ordered a pizza to try both the red sauce and the pesto topping. For the red sauce, Joy chose veggie sausage and artichoke hearts. For the pesto, I chose sundried tomatoes and mushrooms.

The real surprise came when the pizzas arrived. There was melted vegan cheese on top! I make pizza at home and drizzle it with olive oil. The Follow-your-heart vegan cheese was melted (the secret is a hot oven) and so flavorful. Both pizzas were delicious; with twelve or so toppings to choose from, I have so many combinations to try in the future.

No, the real surprise came when Maria walked out with an inscribed chocolate birthday cake. They even lit a candle and had me make a wish. The chocolate cake was so moist and rich. Combine that with a nice raspberry sauce between layers and any wish will come true.

We’re having a Santa Ana winter which means many warm, dry days. Near the ocean, it was 10 degrees cooler, a very pleasant 75 degrees. So today we chose to eat in the back patio area. Snuggled in a corner was a sweet little neighborhood cat. He was very friendly and welcomed us, but then did what all cats do best, found a nice sun spot for a cat nap.

VW BOP! Bird Of Paradise in the bud vase

It’s good energy, good chi, just a good feeling to have something in your Volkswagon New Beetle bud vase. Doubly so if you create it yourself. No store bought artificial flowers for me. Today, I got the inspiration to sculpt my rendition of the bird of paradise flower out of fimo modeling clay. Earlier, we took a walk around the neighborhoods. Just one block away, on our way home, I had to stop and remark at some perfect blooms. That inspired me to sculpt this unusual plant for my bud vase. I made seven birds, but three look sweet here.