I brake for . . .

My diesel VW New Beetle is running just fine. There’s probably a funny bumper sticker out there for the contemporary model. “New and improved clown capacity!” For my green beetle and vegan lifestyle: “Give peas a chance!”

This was a pretty nice looking old beetle in our neighborhood. Still, the bumper sticker is a knee-slapper. “I brake for . . . Oh shit, no brakes!”

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.

Bon Voyage, Eric

We sadly say good-bye to Eric with a party in the courtyard. Whoo-hoo, Eric’s leaving, let’s have a party! It’s only fitting as Eric is such a social and gregarious person. Here he is getting all social with Reba. She cozied up his coctail with fluffy cocktail coasters that slip over the base of the glass. We wish Eric all the best as he relocates to Las Vegas. Yeah, baby!

Resolutions and intentions

Happy New Year! I like the tradition of making a new year’s resolution, but it seldom resolves itself past the first month. This year I’ve spent more time thinking about what is lacking in my life. One word has profound reach: CONNECT. Connect with the earth when walking. Feel grounded, supported, and in touch with the moment. Connect with the breath. This is another way to bring yourself back to the moment. Feeling your breath expand the ribcage and fill the belly is very relaxing and calming. Connect with people. Make eye contact. Ask for help. Share experiences. Connect the dots, la la lala.

Snow in San Diego

It was chilly last week in San Diego. We turned on the three lava lamps to heat up the back room. That, four cats, and fleece blankets got us through the worst. Of course it wasn’t as bad as it could be. I didn’t see anyone having to scrape their car windshield with a credit card. We just had the illusion of snow.

In December, the jade plant decorates itself with small white star-shaped flowers. The jade plant is originally from South Africa, from an area with a climate very similar to that of Southern California. There, it can also flower in the spring or summer. Here, it just blankets itself in December.

Christmas morning

Merry Christmas everyone. Our neighbors gave us a stocking full of cat toys for the boys. We opened it up on Christmas eve. Balls that jingle, catnip mice that tingle the nose, but their favorite toy of all is the chenille and tails on an elastic string. Make it sail through the air and they’re all mesmerized by it. Cappuccino is perched, patiently waiting his turn.



On Christmas morning, we were awoken quite early to the sound of jingle bells. Honey, did you hear the cats playing with new toy last night? That was fine, kids are always excited on Christmas. We wanted to get up early to go to the San Diego Zoo to wish the animals a Merry Christmas. The new panda cub, Su Lin, is almost 5 months old. She comes out of her den by herself now and was out at 7:30am this morning, the volunteer said. Mom, Bai Yun, enjoys her bamboo while Su Lin is climbing all over the place. At one point she tumbled off the log and we all chuckled and then covered our mouths, because you really have to speak in hushed tones so as not to startle the pandas. The panda pup looks to be a little bigger than Cappuccino and just as fluffy. One, two, three, awwww.

Ocean Beach Christmas tree

We went down to OB to walk on the beach. We parked in the lot near dog beach to check out the excitement. There’s always something to bark about and that day was a french bulldog meetup. It’s just a riot to see more than ten of the same breed frolicing together. Scratch the little pug-nosed fellas and they grunt like a happy pot-bellied pig.

We walked south down the beach to the pier. I thought I was just connecting the soles of my feet with the sand, but we got a nice holiday surprise.

Each year, Ocean Beach decorates their giant tree on the ocean front near the pier. Perfectly harmless ornaments of inflatable toys decorate the branches. Of course a giant crane is needed, no bumble snow monster here to help out.

Rockin' out in Mission Gorge

We wanted to go for a hike, but saw that the tides were high, so we nixed a walk on the beach. Larry suggested Mission Trails Regional Park. We parked near the visitor’s center and walked visitor’s center loop trail. This is where you can see a portion of the San Diego river in this area where it’s not protected and preserved for area wildlife. We then took the path to the 1-mile-long “Rock Climber’s Loop Trail”.


This is a challenging trail which climbs some 400 feet by way of many switchbacks. At the “top” of the trail nicknamed “middle earth”, climbers may test their skills on giant columns of granite. With a fear of “splat”, I will not be challenging myself on this extreme sport. Rather, I turned around and paused, taking in the beautiful views of South Fortuna Mountain and the San Diego river basin.