Winter is here?

Pretty, if you’re inside.

Well, it is for the rest of the USA if not the world (above the equator, naturally.) Were I still in NY or the Midwest this would entail pulling out winter clothes and winter scents, and on holidays like Thanksgiving had me offering thanks that I am lazy and unpopular enough not to have to travel across country or even across town in a storm to eat turkey.

Maybe it’s the events of the past few weeks, but I don’t have a lot of extra energy. My job has not been stressful, and it’s been no bad thing to hear around bonus time the big boss asking the other people if they could do things just as I do. 

So I did go to the memorials last week and because I do nothing if not bore you people by spewing almost every facet of my life on there (and I still have nothing to say really) I will of course share.

First was the memorial for my friends husband. It was held at the Hillcrest Country Club here in Los Angeles (I am not sure that she is a member, her late father was.

Hillcrest CC from the air.

Hillcrest is the Jewish Country Club, founded years ago because those meanies at the LA and Wilshire Country Clubs were restricting (they still might be) their clubs, so the Jewish moguls decided they would create their own that would be larger and nicer that either of those starchy bastions of WASP power. Hillcrest is on a large, lush lot south of Pico is West Los Angeles. The vista from our room for the memorial had a view over the greens, unlike Wilshire and LACC, not bisected by major thoroughfares. It wasn’t a huge gathering- it was just immediate family and friends and it was lovely.

My other friends memorial’s venue could not have been more different, yet still had the same feeling. It was held at the Museum of Jurassic Technology in the Palms area of LA (just south of the Hillcrest as a matter of fact. It’s a perfect Sue place. Not quite a museum, not quite a piece of performance art; if you’ve read “Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder” you get the idea.

It is also in the tiniest place on Venice Blvd. A warren of little rooms in the sort of building you don’t really see outside of LA (that I am aware of): built in the 20’s apparently by an architect even more iconoclastic (and shorter) than the great Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright was about 5’8″ which was his idea of the perfect sized human, so he was known for designing for people that sized and teasing taller people at Taliesin that they were throwing off the proportions by being so needlessly tall. This place’s carefully arched doors I have to duck through. Rather than try to explain it further I’ll just put it out there that it’s worth a trip if you’re in LA. Sue being about 5’2″ loved places like these.

Cute, huh?

Thanksgiving itself was spent with my now-widowed friend. She was doing actual Thanksgiving the day after with all family who were coming in for the service at a restaurant in Beverly Hills (I sat with the god-dog, who doesn’t like being alone). Thanksgiving day was hanging out with Bristol Farms Comfort Bar and movies and chatting, and of course my god-dog.

We were comforted.

But back to Winter. I don’t miss it- I joke every year that the snow being visible on the mountains in the distance is about as I’d like to get. Winter is when I turn to the Serge’s and for Sue’s memorial I wore Chene, which was one of first ones I moved mountains to get and she paid me the compliment that it smelled better on me than her (it didn’t.)

The very silly lamp I bought on Temu for Xmas

I did notice that Mandarine Mandarin seems to be no longer at the Lutens website. I hope it’s just a trip to the vault and will re-appear without formulation. At least it’s still (as I type this) Cyber Monday and you can get a large refill bottle of either Ambre Sultan or Fleurs d’Oranger for almost $100 off. So there’s some holiday spirit right there. You can find samples at Surrender to Chance.

What did you do for the holiday? Are you looking forward to Xmas/Channukah/et al? Share your plans in the comments.

Images: my iPhone and Wikimedia Commons.