In the Hot Seat

I'd take a poll, but not sure how many would participate ... so I'll just wax poetic about a topic near & dear to my, er, heart. Sort of.

AUTOMOBILE SEATS that WARM UP.

Best used after a physical therapy appointment, on a chilly morning {I'll be honest - it doesn't get truly COLD here in So Cal; not really}, when your back hurts, when you just need some COZY.

Do you have seats that warm up?

If so, how often do you use them?

Do you love them?

Will you ever again lease or purchase a car without them?!

As for me and my sweetie, he, who is always warm, HATES 'EM. Says it's ridiculous to have them when one lives in San Diego. I hasten to point out, though, that when I had to drive his frozen butt home from Borrego {actually, Ranchita} last January, along with 2 of his frozen cyclist friends -- Mark kinda ENJOYED THE HECK out of the hot seat he sat on all the way home. His friends in the back seat? JEALOUS.

Outside of that random "need" he had for the hot seat, though, Mark says NO. I say YES. Thank God my used Volvo cross-country had them - I'm crazy for them.

-- Davielle

what does HAPPY look like? or WE LOVE OUR ART CLASS

They {those ANONYMOUS they, that is} say that ...

"A mother's children are portraits of herself."

-- Anonymous

If that's true - and I believe that it is - there must be some very pleased & proud mothers out in the world, because the people I've spent the last six weeks in art class with -- are remarkable portraits of humanity. I love these folks ...

I was struck this week with just how HAPPY everyone in our class is -- take a look:

Jane, with Lauren in the background, having a whole lotta fun !!!

and the things we've learned ... for instance, did you know that sitting and standing with your feet in a pigeon-toed position OPENS UP one's sacrum? WHO KNEW?! {or as Jane quipped, "I've heard the word sacrum used in yoga class, but never in art class!"}

and WHO KNEW that bunnies & dangling things could make one so happy? but just look at Liz here ... she's so pleased ... she had FUN !!!

and Kenneth, who loves SHINY THINGS -- had a lot of fun making his own rubber stamps, and digitally altering his work, changing the colors, mixing the patterns up

and then there's Kenneth's charming bride, Rachel, who had fun with TREE BARK:

Calista shared part of the morning with us ... just having FUN watching all the sharing of projects & progress

and then there's the FRONT TABLE LADIES - boy, do they have a lot of fun in class !!!

Here's NOEL smiling it up for us all ...

see what I mean? Linda and Noel doing one of the things they do best {right up there with their artwork ...} -- SMILING !!!

And as if all THAT wasn't enough happiness, here's JANE showing off her snazzy red Converse, with the sketch pages from Danny Gregory's AN ILLUSTRATED LIFE, in which Jane has a whole chapter:
and she even autographed my copy of the book !!!




So THAT's what "HAPPY" looks like !!!!

-- Davielle

Edyth's Passing - 5 years ago tomorrow

My mother, born Edith Yerkes Dickinson {and through the years, known as Edith Meinhardt; Edith Antelline; Edith Russell - among other surnames - but mostly known by the last name Antelline} left us on February 28, 2004. Five years can seem like forever; it can also seem like a flicker of a heartbeat in time.

this page, a tribute to Edith, was photographed out of the MEMORY SCRAPBOOK I created for my father, Frank Antelline, September 2008, on the occasion of his 88th birthday.

and the next page was a continuation of the tribute to Frank & Edith's relationship ...

and this next page showed Mom as she got older, enjoying time spent with her children and grandchildren ...

Along with my brother Jay and my sister Francia, and our children and our grandchildren, we ALL remember {with a mixture of horror & delight} HOLIDAYS spent with mom ... because she was notorious for visiting Neiman Marcus as she got older, EACH CHRISTMAS SEASON, just to get a handful of their glossy red bags -- emblazoned with the NM logo in gold -- into which she poured all manner of goodies & surprises for everyone in the family. We each got our own bag, and this is likely where my passion for BAGS began ... be they gift bags, handbags, or grocery gabs {okay, so I'm kidding about the grocery bags}.

So where, you ask, did the horror come in? Mom was a prolific writer of poetry, and a holiday just wasn't a holiday, to her way of seeing things, unless she had Center Stage for a moment, during which she would regale us with her latest prose. THE FAMILY'S ALL TIME FAVORITE had to be her "Badges of Maturity", for the sheer shock value alone -- several of us, I clearly recall, snorted a beverage out our nose that Christmas afternoon when she ripped into this one:

"Ye Gods,

there are crinkles in my cleavage

a creping here

a sagging there

When did all this happen

It must have been while I was nappin'

or too caught up with doing

I certainly wasn't inspecting my anatomy

as carefully as I should have

while I was pursuing

life's demands and pleasures

else I really would have

noted

these badges of maturity

that come with Social Security

Crinkles creping sagging there may be

but still in my heart is a dance

a romance

a spirit that is free."

-- Edyth Antelline, 1989

Niece Barbara had a friend or two over that day, and needless to say, it was a Christmas they'll never forget !!!

Mom was quite a character, and was ALWAYS a free spirit. She sure was.

We miss you, Mom. RIP.

-- Davielle, your youngest

CCI in the newspaper today

Visit this link for a great story about a cause near & dear to my heart ...

CANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE { http://www.cci.org/ }

photo, left ... me, with two ready-for-their-volunteer-puppy-raiser PUPS back in 2005

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/feb/27/1mc27puppy22319-volunteers-train-pups-service-disa/?uniontrib

Towards the end of the article, they mention my friend Willie Crawford, whose current pup GARDEN has been featured on this blog in the recent past.

-- D.

The Engaged

Remember what it was like, being engaged to the love of your life?

A few weeks ago, we missed our friend Andy White's Engagement Dinner at his parent's home, and were sorely sorry to have done so.

But every time I look at this photo of Andy and his bride-to-be Michelle, I get happy. {Thank you to Ashley White - or was it Angela? for posting the pics on her Facebook page :-) !!!}

Mark and I wish Andy & Michelle every kind of happiness, along with good health, prosperity, and plenty of children ... we can't wait for their wedding day!

Rock Star Reigns

Whether he's hunting lizards,

or taking a snooze, our Rock Star reigns as Dog Supreme over our household.

yesterday in the Tour of California

It was a rough day in the Tour of California. But things are all okay with friends Horner and Landis, so there you go. We wish them both a most excellent result in the race.

This update from team OUCH presented by Maxxis came in this morning via e-mail:

February 18, 2009
Floyd is fine after hitting the deck during AToC Stage 4.

Clovis, CA – With five rated climbs taking the Amgen Tour of California peloton through snow-lined roads in the Sierra Nevada range for the first time, Stage 4 of the Amgen Tour of California was expected to shake up the peloton a bit. But not in the way people expected. The stage ended with Mark Cavendish (Columbia-Highroad) winning in a bunch sprint, but several crashes in the peloton took a toll on a number of riders, including Floyd Landis of the OUCH Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis.

Landis was able to escape with some bumps and scrapes, however the same crash sent 2008 Tour de France yellow jersey wearer Kim Kirchen (Columbia-Highroad) to the hospital, along with multiple world champion Oscar Friere (Rabobank).

“I feel fine,” Landis said. “I saw the wreck happening, and I was able to react in time and got lucky.”

Landis, as well as the rest of the team, continued the team’s aggressive racing again today (Wednesday). At one point, he and teammate Karl Menzies bridged up to an early break. But, noted team directeur sportif Mike Tamayo, “it was apparent that Astana wasn’t letting him go anywhere, so he sat up and came back to the bunch. But all the guys were trying today. McCarty had a go today. Rory tried to get in a move. It just didn’t work out today. But it was nice to get a break in the weather today. The guys are all doing well, and getting better every day.”