Lunch on a Banana Leaf at The Farmer's Market today

With friend E.

Reminds me of the Columbus North Market, only much bigger. 

California Dreaming

I have been pretty quiet on the blog front. Very busy right now, working 9-10-11-hour days Monday through Thursday, some on Friday, amd studying for four technical (Epic) certifications I need to complete by end of July. 

But LA is going fine for me, I have a nice apartment very near work and the folks are all as nice as ever. My friend E and I are enjoying catching up, and it turns out Mr. B has been with me here a lot, too.

This house is behind the apartment building. Love the flowers. That's my apartment building in the background. 

Pics of a weekend drive to Santa Barbara. 

People have elevated begging/ fund raising/entertainment to an art form there on the beach. 

The sign on this one below says, "Why lie? Need beer."

Come see me!

New Place in LA

Here's a shot of my new apartment building in LA, Park LaBrea, very near work and the LA Museum of Art. I am subletting a partially furnished one bedroom apartment there on the 9th floor. It's a long walk or very short ride to work.

At Work Today With the Cedars Sinai Hospital Epic Reporting Team

This building has no heat, so you see many of us are bundled up on this 55 degree day in West Hollywood.  It's an amazing team.  And only 6 of the 18 of us have English as a first language!  Matt, the guy in the beanie, received a peer-nominated technologist award today.  He has 9 Epic certifications, more than anyone in the entire IS group.

Snowing at My House!!

Unbelievable!!

Had a Little Cry Yesterday

When I cleaned the pantry yesterday I found a jar of blackberries dated 2008 that Mom brought out to me in May 2011 when she and Dad drove out. I had known it was there, but it still broke my heart and I still couldn't throw it out.

And, for the first time in my life I bought a store-bought quilt yesterday, this one to go in my red room.

http://www.countrydoor.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=65249&categoryId=993&pCategoryId=6653&gpCategoryId=2105&productVariantId=205557&prefixCode=NI

When I saw it in the catalog, my automatic first thought was to show it to Mom and talk about making a similar one.

I had just realized that the quilt Mother made that I have been using is wearing out and I don't want it to. I remembered how on my last trip home before she was sick, over July 4th 2011 (I had flown from Sacramento, suddenly feeling so homesick I couldn't stand it), she and I had talked about making a replacement for it similar to one I spotted in one of her quilting magazines.

I have been so spoiled, haven't I?

One of my dreams after I got back from Christmas this year was a sobbing one, where I had become completely overwhelmed and awed, talking to and clinging to Dad, by all of the wonderful things Mom had made for me over the years, all of the gifts, doll clothes, doll beds and blankets, pajamas, sweaters, school clothes, scarves, hats, mittens, and yes, many whole quilts for me, Drew and all of the Jolleys, and in my dream I just couldn't get my head around the hugeness of it, and was just bawling, bowled over by how big it was, how much it meant, and how I could never live up to that much love if I dedicated the rest of my life to it. That's the miracle of a mother's love. I have been blanketed with it.

Cool, eh?

Interesting news - I received a notice from LinkedIn congratulating me that my profile was in the top 10% nationwide in activity level over the last year. Cool, eh?