Change of Seasons

I enjoy the gradual change of every season. In a dozen weeks, I will be hoping for snow (which is extremely rare) and 20 degrees so I can cozy up with a cup of cocoa. After a few weeks of that, I will be longing for the sunshine and flowers of spring, and the ability to drop the top of the convertible. I will soon tire of that and anticipate the hot temps of the summer, and the comfort of tank tops and flip flops. Then it won't take long before the heat and humidity take its toll and I look forward to Autumn.

My only regret is that I don't live in New England. I have always thought of fall as starting in late September, early October, yet after 47 years in southeast Georgia I should have figured out our leaves don't change colors until Thanksgiving - or after. Oh well. Thanks to Tropical Depression Ida and a low front, we have had a few crisp days.

I wore my oversized yellow fleece for the entire day yesterday, inside and out. Snuggly goodness!

Living out a dream

Sometimes our dreams are grandiose, sometimes they are a little simpler.

As a child, I always dreamed of experiencing the red carpet. Like many little girls, I wanted to be a movie star in the worst way. The lights, the camera, the handsome leading men, and the glamour of costume and jewelry was my fantasy career. Well, guess what, it didn't happen.

I have had a very good life and don't regret it, but I never discarded the hope that one day I could at least visit Hollywood and see where the action takes place. And if there was one, and only one place I could visit, it would be Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

Little did I know that my daughter would up and move to Los Angeles. I sometimes try to live vicariously through her and imagine what it would be like to live in the land of celebrities and paparazzi. Fortunately for me, her move has afforded me the ability to "dip my toe" and sample that life!

I made my first visit to see her two weekends ago. Four nights in LA wasn't enough time to do everything I wanted, but future trips are already booked. Of course, the top of the itinerary was seeing her, hugging her, and spending time with her. Second on the list - Grauman's.

It was what I always expected and then some - grandiose old Hollywood opulence. Because they only have one screen, you had to watch what they showed - too bad for me it was "Astroboy". Hey, its all about the ambiance there; who really cares about the movie? Everything was perfect - tall ceilings, oriental murals, even the exit sign was written in that Cantonese penmanship.
The theatre was almost vacant, only about 10 of us in there to watch the movie. Didn't matter to me. The previews came on, then the magnificent curtains closed (just like in the good old days) then reopened for the feature movie.

I was in heaven.