Wruth's Writings and Art

[Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness]

Haven't felt a decent rock 'n roll for sveral years....best one ever was when I was in hospital in the late 70's.....both legs out of action after knee surgery, so confined to bed.....I had to just lie there and watch my vases of flowers hop off the end of the trolley one by one!!!

[Ruth]

Oh my, Debbie. What a predicament. Your story reminds me of my mother's story of the 1933 Long Beach quake, which was quite a shaker. My mother was getting a perm, the kind they used to have, where each curler was attached to an electric wire.

[Carol]

Ruth I had a customer who was in the 1933 quake with those things attached to her head. Everyone ran out and left her attached. She said she would not have perms for years after that.

[Ken, Moderator]

That device looks like it was used for lobotomies (or something wicked which this way came once upon a time).

[Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness]

Eeeeeek!!!

[Carol]

Aw just vintage perm machine. It was a heat wave, then cold waves were invented and these things became extinct like the dinosaurs. A cold snap did them in.

[Ken, Moderator]

A Dalek??? Qu'est-ce que c'est Dalek?

[Ken, Moderator]

Sorry. The Guess Who I liked, but that's another song (and a damned good one!)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLMF5G...

[Carol]

Battle of the bands I like The WHO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=594WLz...

[Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness]

I had nightmares about the daleks when I watched Dr Who ("Ex-term-in-ate....ex-term-in-ate") so my mum wouldn't let me watch it any more (I was about 8).

[Ruth]

We had visiting relatives to lunch yesterday. It was a lovely warm sunny day so we ate outside. I made a spicy shrimp and mango salad which I got from Epicurious.com. I modified it by serving it with greens. The dressing was made with lime juice, brown sugar, hot red pepper and shallots. I changed it by adding more brown sugar because I thought it needed it and adding some oil so it would stick to the greens. It was superdelicious.

[Ken, Moderator]

Sounds (and looks) great. And you had to look at, but not drink, that cold-beaded bottle of wine.

[Ruth]

Pinot Grigio by Mezzacarona. Delicious. I had a few swallows. As long as I don't drink enough to set off the wonky heart, I'm okay. Problem is in defining "enough."

[Ruth]

I'd say it's not strongly acid, dry or sweet, but balanced between. It's a light wine, with a distinctly fruity taste.

[Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness]

That looks lovely Ruth.....is the wine anything like a Pinot Gris?

[Ruth]

Yes. Gris is French, Grigio is Italian.

[Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness]

Yum!!

[Ruth]

Leif's birthday/Father's Day Lunch on my daughter Beth's ocean-view patio. Leif's son Tom, me and Leif.
Mango/kiwi salad with cilantro/mint/hot pepper dressing & Santa Maria Tri Tip & crusty french bread. Birthday dessert was pomegranate/blueberry sherbet topped with raspberries, blue berries and a chocolate chip cookie.

[image error]

[Carol]

Happy Birthday and Father's Day to Leif. Lunch sounded scrumptious. You all look so good.

[Jonathan]

Look's like you had a beautiful day and a delicious lunch, Ruth.

Here in New York, we had lots of sunshine too, but it was about 90 degrees in the shade (or around 33 for those living in metric world), so that cool bottle of wine seems especially enticing...

[Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness]

Is there a picture?

[Jonathan]

I should have taken some photos of my dog, Charley, fooling around in the wading pool at the dog run today. At least he had an easy way to cool off on a hot day. Maybe tomorrow I'll bring the camera along...

[Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness]

No Gabi....couldn't see Ruth's picture....must have been a site blocked by the school watchdog....I can see it now at home. Lovely pic Ruth....wish it was that sunny and warm here!

[Carol]

Gabi I want to play on your back patio. It looks lovely.

[Carol]

I am sending you a gardener. Will this guy do?

[Carol]

I thought he could do some clearing away. LOL

[Ruth]

Think he could chop down my tree with that axe?

[Carol]

Probably! Isn't he hunky? I would say he is the man for the job. Even if it to look at him.

[Ken, Moderator]

I was gonna say -- more of a woodsman than a gardener (at least I've never seen anyone "garden" with an axe).

And no real woodsman works with his shirt off. Sorry. Clearly a model, is all.

[Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness]

Got Tats of the Maori kind....must be a Kiwi!

[Ken, Moderator]

What be a "Tat"?

[Jonathan]

Tat=tattoo

I agree with NE about this woodsman being a probable fashion model or actor. The video looks like a trailer for a D. H. Lawrence dramatization.

[Ken, Moderator]

Does that mean he'll be wrestling any minute? I read the book, but never saw the movie (where the scene was a big deal, but perhaps by today's standards, not such a big deal after all).

[Scout]

If Lady Chatterly had seen this coming, I hope she would have had the sense to run!

[Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness]

....towards him!!

[Carol]

LOL. I didn't realize he would be fodder for the family.

[Carol]

Yes I thought that . Sorry Ruth to abscond with your thread. Over and Out.

[Ruth]

Yesterday I went with a friend to see the Alice Neel exhibit at LA Louver Gallery in the Venice area of Los Angeles. For those of you who haven’t been there, Venice is a kick. Even in the late morning on a weekday, the beachside walk was alive. Want to buy a sequin bikini, an elaborate bong, 857 pairs of sunglasses, 587 kinds of fast food? Want to see sidewalk musicians, tall young men handing out free rap CDs, guys working out on Muscle Beach, families with kids and sand shovels? Venice is the place.



Oh yes, the Alice Neel paintings. They were wonderful. And you can see them too. All of them. With this link to LA Louver. Scroll to the right and you can see the individual paintings, and views of the installation.

http://www.lalouver.com/html/alice_ne...

I love Alice Neel’s work. Her people are so alive they want to jump off the canvas. I love how her distortions seem just exactly right. I love her use of line.

My favorites in the show were:

Richard Gibbs, 1968
oil on canvas
64 x 50 in. (162.6 x 127 cm

Look how he juts forward with such authority, look at the angles formed by his arms and legs. Look at the intense gaze and the brilliant light. Look how every element in the painting is in exactly the right place.


Peggy, c. 1960
oil on canvas
18 x 36 in. (45.7 x 91.4 cm)

Look at the unhealthy pallor, the unhappy face, the awkward angles of the skinny arms which seem to balance and reinforce each other. A truly telling portrait.

[Carol]

Peggy looks how I feel. Exhausted lately.

[Ruth]

37 years!

[Debbie, sardonic princess of cheerfulness]

Happy Anniversary!!!!

[Carol]

Happy anniversary Ruth

Have a piece of cake

[Ruth]

Thanks Debbie and Carol. Now how did you know it's my anniversary and not my birthday?

[Carol]

ok did you turn your age around.

[Ken, Moderator]

Wow. Great marriage there!

[Ruth]

It has been great, NE. And it's a second marriage for us both, so we feel truly lucky.

[Ken, Moderator]

So much for the sophomore jinx! Here's to the next 37....

[Ruth]

We did everything wrong. We'd only known each other 6 months. We sold our houses, put together 5 kids (they all lived with us) who hardly knew each other, not to mention the dogs and cats.

Lucked out big time.

[Ken, Moderator]

With Five You Get Eggroll. I saw the movie.

[Carol]

I too Gabi no longer get anniversary presents other than the joy of each others company. That in itself is worth it to me. Next year will be 37 for us.