Author Archives: Natalie Gelman

Ambivalence

It is raining today. It rained yesterday. It will be raining for three more days. We are in a drought. Rain is a very good thing. The rain was too intense for me to go for my morning mile walk.

Regretful.

Ongoing Themes

I went to see the play Rent and the movie West Side Story on the same day. It served as a reminder of how some things fail to change with time. I have always chosen to remain more optimistic about people.

Disappointing.

Thanksgiving Again

Since I moved to California ten years ago, the whole family has come to my home for Thanksgiving. We did not do so last year because of the pandemic. And so, once again I am in my obsessive planning mode of when to get the turkey, the green beans, and the apple pies. Timing and storage are issues.

Costco had better have all three the Monday before the holiday.

Missing Them

My friends Robin and Scott live in Napa. We were getting together with other friends for dinner monthly until the pandemic. I went to Napa once for lunch and saw them. It had been too long for me. I spontaneously called and asked them to come for dinner. They did.

It was worth it.

Dispute

I had not received my order for a month. I tried to file a dispute online. I was given a number to call. I did. I spoke to four people over the course of one hour. I was eventually told they were pursuing it and the woman read me the plan which took two minutes. It may go through without controversy.

Not convenient.

Ambivalence

We have been experiencing a drought in California. We have had innumerable wildfires. Lots of property lost. Last weekend we had a plethora of rain. Great news? One would hope. The good news was water and snow. The bad news was mudslides, flooding, and closed roads.

Tough times.

Finally!

I awakened during the night and heard it. It was raining. We so desperately need rain in California. I checked the weather and discovered there are four more days this week with the possibility of rain.

Much appreciated.

Too Much

The Netflix series Killing Eve was recommended by a few people. I received the first disc and started to watch it, not looking to see how many episodes were on the disc before I began. After the fourth episode, I didn’t want to watch it anymore. I believe it was an advantage to those who viewed one episode a week.

I removed the disc and canceled subsequent ones.

Preoccupied

The Fleet was here. That refers to the Blue Angels. I hear and may see them leaving or landing at the Oakland Airport. I saw them doing their performance as I drove to San Francisco. I focus on how much is costs for them to perform. It is millions of dollars.

I think about the homeless on the streets.

A Meal Prepared

I spent a couple of nights with Isaac and Ari. I requested that Ari prepare the meal one night as he is very talented. He made chicken, carrots and couscous. It was his own recipe. It was delicious.

Hopefully, this will happen more often!