Had a full, fun, last day of 2010. Ellen came early, we all took kids to park, then did some shopping in town. After, Mike, Ellen, children, and I went to niece Carolyn's new house, and what a terrific it one it is. Besides a great layout, it has a wonderful backyard. After visiting there awhile (and eating several tiny, but good tangerines right off their tree), we invited them all to celebrate the New Year (east coast time), then went back, stopping to get shrimp and so on for dinner. El and I went to get ingredients for Margaritas. The G.'s got here about 6:00 and we all had great cheeses and salsa for appetizers--along with Ellen's Margarita's for those of us who indulge--followed by a delicious shrimp and pasta dinner, courtesy of Vickie and Paula, topped off with Ellen's brownies--yum!
At 9:00 here, midnight in NYC, we toasted 2011, Betty and the G's left, and we fell into bed (I did, anyway). Ellen is staying in the guest house and is still asleep. Soon, we'll all pack up and I'll go back to her place, the others to San Francisco, then back to Singapore.
What a terrific vacation!

Yesterday, we had a wonderful final day in Ojai. We went to Bart's Books, which bills itself as the largest used book store in--California? The World? Not sure which--and has book-filled shelves both inside and out. Ellen bought several books, but regretfully, I didn't, as I'm already overloaded for my trip home.
After browsing for an hour or so at Bart's, we went to a small cafe for lunch. We sat outside* in the back courtyard and I had one of the best hamburgers ever,** along with an ice cold Coors. After strolling down Main Street and stopping in several little shops (think New Hope, PA, Carmel, CA, and for all I know, Upper Japip, AR), we went to the Ojai Museum, a rather sparse, peculiar one, but interesting.
Home for dinner, we had leftovers, then indulged in some goodies and watched a documentary on "The Kidnapping Of Patty Hearst," topical for us, considering our recent excursions to San Simeon.
Now it's a bit after 6:00 am and this is my last day at Ellen's and in California. We'll be leaving in an hour or so for my 11:05 flight from LAX. What a wonderful vacation I've had, thanks to my children--all of them. P. and N. kept in close touch from Tokyo; A. ferried me to Philly and will pick me up today; Mike so generously treated me to a fabulous vacation-within-a-vacation up in the mountains....
And Ellen, my darling daughter, my friend, my traveling companion, my hostess, my partner in crime (oranges, avocados!)--how can I ever thank her enough for all she's done? I can't, but I can appreciate how lucky I am to have her. This has been the best excursion of my life and has allowed me to forget the events of the past, disregard contemplation of the future, and just enjoy the present.
Thank you, my dear girl.
*One of the many, many great things about California is that you can be outside--even eat out--without swarms of bugs gathering, as they do, I'm afraid, in Jersey. Of course, in January in Jersey, you wouldn't be eating outside anyway.
**When I ask for my hamburger very rare, I've so often gotten the canned response that "the health department doesn't allow us to cook it rare." I've received this malarky in three states and it's hogwash. The truth is, these places get their hamburger already shaped and formed into flat pieces of cardboard that CAN'T be cooked rare. Okay, okay, I suppose there's some health reason to be careful about hamburger, but IF it's properly stored, refrigerated, and handled, it shouldn't be a problem--and I like my hamburger rare!