Yesterday I did something that I have always wanted to do - took a day off from work and went to a ball game - the Angels playing the Detroit Tigers! My neighbor Christina was game, and we headed out to Angels stadium. Fortunately, our tickets were in the shade - when we got back to my car about 4 pm, it was still 104 degrees in Anaheim. The hot dog was yummy, and the beer was cold. I even bought a souvenir - a Torii Hunter t-shirt, which will now limit my ability to make fun of grown men wearing jerseys. It was a GREAT way to spend an afternoon, and the Angels won 4-2.

I've been trying to organize and de-clutter my home, one little nook or cranny at a time. One benefit of this is finding books I bought a while ago, and forgot about. One of these is Queen of Babble.

First, let me acknowledge that chick lit (besides Bridget Jones' Diary and Waiting to Exhale), is not generally my genre of choice, but so far, at least, Queen of Babble is well written and entertaining.

To offset this estrogen rush, on my iPod I'm listening to Double Indemnity, classic noir. It's impossible to listen to the book without picturing the film version with Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson. In fact, I recently saw that movie on the Turner Classic Movies station. It's a short and sweet listen, and I'm enjoying it alot.

TCM is currently my favorite TV station. All summer they are devoting each day to a certain actor or actess. Last Sunday was a day devoted to Angela Lansbury. I loved getting to see Gaslight, Death on the Nile and The Picture of Dorian Gray.

How is your week going?

Took advantage of the nice weather yesterday evening by spending some quality time with Samantha. We had a rousing game of squeaky toy fetch.

Then we wrassled. ( I won).

Then had a lovely five mile walk along Bolsa Chica at Sunset.

Oh, and another book I've recently read, that I totally recommend, is When Skateboards Will Be Free - A Memoir of a Political Childhood by Said Sayrafiezadeh.

While images of athletic and Hollywood celebrity decorated the rooms of his classmates, the walls of Said's youth were adorned with fierce glares from heavily-bearded revolutionaries. As the son of an Iranian father and Jewish-American mother--two souls united by a commitment to an impending socialist revolution--young Said spent his childhood working to make the comrades proud. He hawked the movement's rag, embraced a moniker of "the little revolutionary," and even embarked on a confusing trip to Cuba to spark his political awareness. (He was appalled by the lack of sanitary bathrooms).

When Skateboards Will Be Free describes a politically-charged childhood with an innocence that forces smiles in unexpected places and reveals the heartache of a home soaked in idealism. They weren't poor because they had to be poor, they were poor by choice. Said's father deserted the family when he was young, but his mother continued to carry a torch for this man she never divorced. He, of course, enjoyed a string of idealistic young babes, while she awaited his rare communications. She was an educated woman, (her brother, Mark Harris, wrote Bang the Drum Slowly), who chose to live in dilapidated apartments with her son in Pittsburgh and NYC, while they waited for the revolution.

The arrival of a socialist state not only promised to bring skateboards in bubblegum-bright colors to the masses; it also pledged to repair the rifts within Said's own home.

It's a memoir worth reading, even though I found it on an Oprah book list.

Today's lunch? A yummy Caprese sandwich.

I've been very bad about blogging lately. Partly because I've become a bit addicted to twitter and facebook. And even more so since I found out I can play Scrabble on facebook and on my iPhone. I am currently getting my rear end kicked hard by a couple friends.

I also took some time and knit a few hats to be donated to a shelter in NYC that serves homeless teens.

Oh, and I bought a ukelele this past Saturday. I played in the 4th grade. Well, we all did. And then gave a concert that I'm confident was fantastic. So, i bought a ukelele and a song and chord book and I may take some lessons.

The other big news is that with the passing of the late, great, Freddy the parrotlet, I decided to adopt a couple baby boy parrotlets. Thanks to LA, they have been given the names Calvin and Hobbes, and they should be home with me soon.

Reading wise, I just finished listening to all six Harry Potter books on my iPod - thoroughly enjoyed re-reading the series, this time audibly.

How are you doing????