Did you know there are people who are afraid of bananas? That’s totally bananas! Is there any other phobias with such irony? Being afraid of bananas is bananas!
Bananaphobia. Real word. Honest. Look it up.
Anyway – this is totally silly. But I’m allowed, right? I was about to take a bite of my cereal with sliced banana when I noticed this particular slice looked quite scared. Worried. Fretful. Stressed. Don’t you agree? Hee hee. Who’s the crazy banana now?
Joe was a Sergeant in the Army, for those of you who didn’t already know. Infantry. Now he works as an actor, but with his background, he often books military type roles. So the military thing is very much alive in our home.
The last time he was at the Army Surplus store to pick up a new pair of boots, he decided to have dog tags made for me. Awe. Some. I love it. I don’t know why, but I do like to wear the military gear. Must be my inner macho man.
Like in my role as Sergeant Haley for USAF, I wear the full gear, ride around in Humvee and play with the boys. Can I say Awe. Some. again? No? Two times too many?
I’m not going to get into the whole debate over war and politics. It’s not that kind of blog. Not yet, anyway.
Can you believe that in the Civil War era, before dog tags were around, soldiers would pin a paper note with their name and address ot the back of their jacket? Yikes, not much for longevity or durability. Now, 150 years later, they’re moving towards having all soldier’s microchipped.
You know how women are. They silently fight each other all day, trying to win dominance over one another. Then, out of nowhere, one of them takes a pee on the other one.
Oh wait, I meant women DOGS. Bitches, I guess, to be exact. Stella and Pixie to be precise.
I thought having small girl dogs, would mean they’d be… you know, more girlie gentle and less boy belligerent. But these two, thanks to trouble maker Pixie, wrestle and chase each other around the house. The worst part, or best, depending on how you see it, is that they dry hump each other. Or as boys like to call it, fake rape. Whichever, I thought this was something only boy dogs would do. Really.
And I’m pretty sure Stella peeing on Pixie was a mistake the other night. Just too much excitement as they wrestled around and she just couldn’t hold it in anymore. But, was it? You know how women are. They pounce, bite, snarl, yip, and hold each other down.
I was talking about the dogs, who did you think I meant?
With Joe’s parents in town, we headed out to a few ‘must see’ spots of Los Angeles. Well, must see spots to me anyway. I love taking people to The Observatory and The Getty when they come to town. Both are up high so you can see some of the beautiful views LA has to offer. Except of course on smoggy or foggy days. Which it was the day we went to The Getty. Usually you can see to the ocean, but on that day we could barely see the nearest hillside. Thankfully, our Observatory trip had offered some sun and decent views.
And we saw the first signs of autumn. We don’t get many trees that turn here, but the ones that do last for months before they lose their leaves so it’s a mini-autumn, but it seems to last forever!
Art. What is art? Everyone has an answer. I love it best when someone sees an art piece and says “Hmph, I could have made THAT!” But, you didn’t. And that, is the biggest difference between you being you… and you being an (say it with a French accent) Artist!
With art as an expression of one’s inner thoughts and feelings, you find many variations of art and it’s why an artist’s work changes over time.
And, you don’t have to be crazy like Van Gogh, cutting off your ear to be deemed an artist. Anyone can do it.
Heck, even I’ve made art, had some pieces in galleries and sold them too. I was inspired while living at The Brewery, a live/work artists colony. I’ve been told it’s one of the largest in the world and it’s right near downtown Los Angeles. It’s called The Brewery because… wait for it… it used to be a Brewery. This corkboard is one of the few remnants from that period.
Twice a year, The Brewery has their Art Walk. I went last weekend to reminisce and see what’s new. Everyone living there opens their doors for a weekend so you can come carouse around (yes, they sell beer and food) and view their art.
Plus, you get to see how they’ve decorated and designed their creative, open spaces. I loved this kitchen with the free hanging windows as a room divider.
All the living spaces are big loft style with high ceilings, big rooms and most of them, lots of natural light. This is my old building. I went there to visit my old neighbor, but he’d moved out.
Downtown isn’t for everyone. I remember when friends would come to visit, they were a little reluctant to get out of their cars. They were used to their high security building in West LA. Here, I didn’t even so much as shut the door half the time, let alone lock it. Fear and false security are tough habits to break.
Living here was fun with eclectic personalities and something interesting happening all the time and being so close to the trains. Love hearing the train whistles blow. And these trees. Can you explain how these trees possibly survive here? Amazingly they do. They must be feeding off the creative energy.
