Category Archives: Neighborhood

Beautiful Palm Springs

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This is a photo of the beautiful backdrop of Palm Springs, Mt. San Jacinto, from Ruth Hardy Park, which was a few blocks from our old home.

Why am I writing and posting photos of Palm Springs again?

Because I was there Friday through Sunday. It’s beyond gorgeous looking out the airport windows to the mountain. I forgot how much I missed that!

The night before we left, one of my best friends called and asked if she could pick me up at the airport. She’s the friend who helped us move five years ago. True friends. I wrote about that move HERE.

I was going to take a Lyft to my dad’s skilled nursing facility, but my dear friend drove me and came inside to surprise Dad. He was thrilled to see her. My dad was hospitalized several weeks ago and sent to skilled nursing to rehab. He realized at age 93 and 11 months that he can no longer live alone. It was a relief that he came to this conclusion on his own.

Friday accomplishments: Dad signed power of attorney to me. Dad listed his home with realtors we met in his home Friday. It was a long day for both of us!

The next door neighbors helped all weekend, too, popping in and out. They’ve looked out for Dad for three years.

Saturday was another long day meeting movers and getting them scheduled for Tuesday. Dad will be discharged from skilled nursing and needs a place to sleep by Wednesday night! I tagged what Dad wants moved including artwork, lamps, bed, dresser, dishes, clothing, etc. with yellow stickies.

I taught my dad how to use Lyft, in the event he decides to sell his car 🙏. Also, assisted living will drive residents wherever they want to go — at anytime without charge.

The realtors will schedule Angel View Thrift Shop to pick up everything left behind and prep the house for photos and to show. I don’t have to be there!

I’m exhausted. But Saturday morning I started the day with a walk and coffee with another Palm Springs good friend. We swam masters together, plus our daughters were friends from pre K through high school and beyond. My daughter was a bridesmaid in Kira’s wedding this past summer.

Here’s a crazy coincidence:

My daughter told me yesterday that she visited Kira on Saturday. On the way, my daughter got off on the wrong BART stop (Bay Area Rapid Transit). My daughter was frustrated with her mistake and was looking down at her phone to figure out what to do next. She looked up and saw Kira’s younger sister standing in front of her! The two got back on BART and went to Kira’s house together.

At the same time I was walking and having coffee with my friend, my daughter was with Kira and her sister (my friend’s daughters!)

What could have been a really tough weekend turned out to be special and possible — thanks to friends.

This was our home of 28 years downtown Palm Springs. Our backyard and French doors face Mt. San Jacinto, so we had great views.

This is Tahquitz Canyon Way. We had great views of Mt. San Jacinto on our morning walks.

Also, a great view Sunday morning of the Tahquitz Witch.

What is the Tahquitz Witch?

Cahuilla shaman named Tquits (or Tahquitz), is a malevolent figure from Southern California Native American lore, often appearing as a fiery ball or shadow in Tahquitz Canyon near Palm Springs, said to steal souls and cause strange phenomena like rumbling or earthquakes, with the legend popularized by stories and books, including a local horror tale about a witch-shadow that scares children. 

The Legend Explained

  • The Shaman’s Fall: Tahquitz was a powerful shaman who used his abilities for evil, angering his people, who eventually banished him to a cave in the San Jacinto Mountains, near Tahquitz Canyon.
  • His Spirit: After his defeat by a chief, Tahquitz’s spirit was bound to the canyon and mountains, becoming a source of fear and mystery, notes the YouTube video and the Los Angeles Times.
  • Manifestations: Believers say he appears as:
    • A large, green fireball or shooting star in the night sky.
    • A shadow or silhouette cast on the canyon rocks at certain times.
    • Causes strange ground shaking, rumbling, or animal sounds in the canyon. 
    • The “Witch” Aspect
  • While Tahquitz is a male shaman, the “Witch of Tahquitz” is a common local nickname, especially in children’s tales, describing a witch-like shadow figure that snatches misbehaving children. –AI OVERVIEW

Links to Tahquitz Witch articles:

Beware of the Tahquitz Witch

The Witch of Tahquitz Canyon: October 2020

When have friends helped you out with something significant or simple?

What local legends do you have for your area?

The Hawks are Back!

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This Harris’s Hawk made an appearance yesterday, which is my second or third sighting since I began my beginning photography class.

Harris’s Hawks

You might notice the difference in photos? The first one, I took yesterday. The hawk was on the next door neighbor’s roof after I shooed him out of our yard. The photo with two hawks was taken in December before my class began.

I used to love it when the hawks came to visit. But now I’m a mother hen looking out for Red, the Mrs. and their nest. When the hawk decided a good place to hang out was next to the Reds’ nest, I got in his face with my camera. He didn’t like that and landed on the roof next door.

This Mr. Harris Hawk right next door to Red and Mrs.’ nest. It looks like he could be staring into their nest — which could bring a new meaning to “empty nest.”

I got these photos of Red and the Mrs. after the Harris’s Hawk flew away.

Before my photography class and getting to know my beautiful cardinals, I believed nature should take its course. Now I have one eye nervously glancing out the window whenever I see a large bird fly by. I’m right out there with my telephoto lens to snap pictures, which also scares away the predator birds.

My next adventure is to learn some of Adobe Photoshop. I’m beginning today, and am thankful for a professional photographer friend of more than 30 years who has offered to help!

What are your thoughts on my wanting to interfere in nature and being protective of Red and his wife?

Smart Cooking

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Baby back ribs my husband cooked with our Chef IQ Smart Cooker.

A few months ago, we went to a neighbor’s house for dinner. They told us they had perfected barbecued ribs and wanted us to try them. The best ribs ever. My husband asked for their recipe and it included a rub, but the big thing was a Chef IQ Smart Cooker.

I don’t like having kitchen gadgets that take up space. I have a crockpot that I’ve used once in the last ten years for a party — for meatballs. Before that, the crockpot showed up on the pool deck for swim meets for our snack bar, for soups or whatever was needed.

I’m also a fan of cooking the old fashioned way with pots and pans. Mostly I cook without recipes — unless it’s baking.

My husband asked me to order the Chef IQ. I was skeptical at best, but I bought it anyway. At first it was very confusing to use. It has an app on the phone and has step-by-step cooking instructions. I couldn’t figure it out, called our neighbors and they said they use the manual cooking method and press the button on the cooker itself.

We’ve done ribs a few times, and my husband’s are just as good as our our neighbor’s — fall-off-the-bone tender and juicy. The Chef IQ pressure cooks the ribs and then hubby throws them on the grill with BBQ sauce for a finishing touch. Yum!

I decided to get adventurous and tried seared chicken thighs this week which is a recipe on the phone app. The app talked to the cooker and gave me step-by-step instructions, complete with a timer!

Above is a screen shot of the the app my phone. Each step had a video, and the “Next” on the bottom was the timer. Once the white went across the bar, it was time for the next step.

Chicken thighs searing. FYI, they were delicious! Tender, juicy and done perfectly.

Now that I know the Chef IQ can sear and pressure cook, I’m curious to try more. It even weighs whatever you’re cooking and adjusts the cooking time.

I’ll try oxtails and soups in a few weeks. (I wrote about my oxtail recipe HERE. It originated in one of my great-grandmother’s Nellie’s cookbooks.)

The app on my phone for the Smart Cooker has tons of recipes including chicken, fish, beef, pork, Mexican food, Chinese, pasta — even desserts.

My husband wanted to hand out ribs to our neighbors. He said, “I’m going to be known as the Rib King of our neigborhood.” I reminded him that he was following our neighbor’s recipe…

Do you use recipes or cook without them?

What kitchen gadgets do you find invaluable?

Eclipse playlist? It’s a thing

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view from the front door

Looking out our front door. Everything is so green after rainy days.

Today is the day of the total eclipse of the sun. It will be a partial eclipse in the Phoenix area. I found this nifty chart so I know when to look outside. I don’t have the “special” sun glasses, so I won’t look up at the sun. I’m just curious if it’s going to get dark outside. We had house guests in October during the last eclipse and we all noticed it got dark for a few minutes. Very eery feeling.

I have neighbors who traveled to Katy, Texas for the eclipse. The husband is an astronomer, has worked for NASA and gives lectures around the country on things astronomical. Unfortunately, it’s going to be cloudy in Katy with a chance of rain. I hope they get to see the eclipse.

I keep hearing words run through my head from Pink Floyd song “Eclipse.” Did you know that the Dark Side of the Moon came out 51 years ago? Yikes.

Did you know that there are playlists for today? You can google it and playlists are posted everywhere from NPR to USA Today. Some of the popular songs include Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” Bill Withers “Aint’s No Sunshine,” Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon,” and Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.” Elton John’s “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” and the Beatles “Here Comes the Sun” also made the lists.

Apparently, music helps set the mood and eclipse experience. But there’s so many songs and the eclipse doesn’t last long, so you need to make a choice on your soundtrack.

What song would you select for the eclipse?

Are you in an area to see it?

Karl to the rescue

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old spanish style house
My dream home of 28 years in Palm Springs, built in 1937.

I was home caring for my dad, who had shoulder surgery. My daughter and husband were in Los Angeles at a swim meet for the weekend (son in college). I had to pick up my dad’s meds at the pharmacy and I told him not to leave the recliner we had rented for his recovery — placed in front of the TV.

When I returned, he was on the floor. Of course, he didn’t listen to me and didn’t stay put.

“I can’t get my dad off the floor!” I called my husband on his cell. After numerous attempts with Dad, neither one of us made an inch of progress.

In the background, I heard my daughter say “Call Mr. Siffleet!”

Of course, why hadn’t I thought of that? Karl was married to one of my close friends who lived less than a mile away. They had a daughter who went to kindergarten through high school with my daughter. Karl and my husband swam 5:30 a.m. Masters together.

Within minutes, Karl came over, picked my dad up as though he was a bag of potatoes and placed him comfortably in his chair. Thank you, Karl!

I can’t remember all the things Karl did for us during the decades we lived in that home. But what I do remember is going to a post-op appointment after knee surgery about thirty minutes away. I realized I left the stove on for vegetable soup I was cooking.

Yikes! I called Karl and he came over to the house, turned off the stove — and put the burnt pot outside.

Yes, this family had a key to our house. They even took care of Olive the cat while we were on vacation.

Another time, our swim team was hosting a meet at the city pool. We had an extensive set up of pop-up tents constructed from poles and tarps, tables, electronic timing equipment, scoreboard, snack bar, grills, timing chairs, etc. We’d have more than 1,000 people to host at swim meets for a three-day weekend — including swimmers and family members.

One morning, my husband (who was Mr. Meet Manager) arrived at the pool at dawn to find tons of equipment in the pool. We blamed the skaters from the next-door skate park. But it could have been any gang of hoodlums. My husband called (I was comfortably asleep in bed) and asked me to drive our daughter to the pool. Karl also showed up — probably to help with set up — and they dove in and retrieved equipment from the bottom of the deep end, hours before the meet began.

I miss living near Karl and his family. I’m glad we are still in touch, but I really miss a neighbor like Karl who always came to the rescue! He was our local superman.

What have your neighbors done for you when you needed help? Do you play that role with any neighbors?

We’re in trouble now!

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The wall to the right is where we hide the trash bins.

We got a letter from the Homeowner’s Association. It was puzzling to say the least.

Make that damn irritating — not puzzling.

This letter is being written on behalf of the Community Association. In a continuing effort to maintain community enjoyment and high property values, it is the responsibility of the Board of Directors to ensure the governing documents are enforced.

It was noted that you are storing your trash bin, visible from neighboring property. All trash bins should be stored as to not be visible from neighboring property, with the exception of placement for collection.

Yes. That was written in BOLD!

We have a block walled-off area where our storage bins are stored (see the photo above). I don’t think the neighbors can see through the block wall.

I looked at the date of the violation. It was the day we left for Mexico — Thursday. Trash pick up is on Friday. According to the rules, you can take your trash out the evening before. I took the trash bin to the curb before we left. It was several hours before evening. I asked a neighbor to drag the trash can back up the driveway Friday afternoon so we wouldn’t break any rules.

Little did I know that taking the trash out a few hours too early would result in a sternly worded letter! And a warning that if we didn’t fix the problem we’d be fined! I was only trying to save my neighbor the task of taking my trash out in the first place down our long driveway.

UGH!

So, who turned me in? This is the first time I’ve felt uncomfortable in my new digs.

Do you have HOA rules where you live? What are your thoughts about the warning letter? Do you think they should have waited before issuing a warning to see that the trash can was put away out of sight?

The ups and downs of blogging

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sunrise in the desert
Sunrise from the back yard.

I have never posted about stats before. I’m talking WordPress numbers. But after I posted Party time! something weird happened. It’s only happened once before.

My stats boomed. I was up 1,427% !!

The question is why? Wouldn’t I like to know that secret.

The other time my stats skyrocketed was when I wrote about a Darlene Love concert I attended with my husband, dad and son. We had a venue in Palm Springs called The Follies. She was the headliner for their last few shows that included dancers in their 60s and 70s who look amazing!

I figured out why those stats boomed. I shared my blog post with Darlene Love through social media and she posted it!

But Monday’s post? Maybe it’s because our son’s sister-in-law Alexandra Simpson has a following or Chuck Prophet, the musician she’s playing with in the Youtube video for newly released song “Meet Me at the Roundabout.”

If you don’t know who Darlene Love is, I highly recommend the Oscar-award winning movie “20 Feet from Stardom.” Heck, I recommend that movie because the stories of the backup singers are so powerful and it includes many big stars like Sting, David Bowie and the Rolling Stones.

What are your thoughts about stats? Do you think spikes happen because of key words, SEO, tags? Or just luck?