IHoP Part Deux

Since our first pancake breakfast for the Army birthday in April was such a huge success we decided to immediately have another one. On Saturday, 17 October we served apple spice, blueberries 'n cream and plain flapjacks to approximately 100 troops. Volunteers Chris and Grace were flipping at warp speed, but even they could not keep up with the crowds. For the next pancake breakfast we'll get more grills, hotter grills and larger grills. I saw eyes rolling with delight and lips a-licken' after the troops added toppings of butter, syrup and whipped cream. Everyone in attendance had a great time.

Volunteers Shae and Phil did most the dirty work, but cleaning up huge bowls of dried batter and burnt up grills without the benefit of running water or a sink -- not so much fun.

We are delighted and proud to serve our troops. Literally.

[Pictures to follow]

Dis 'n Dat and Clean It!!**

On Friday, October 16th, our new Duty Managers, Kaewan and Scott arrived. They both seem very nice and we are thrilled to have them on board. It’s been a long time coming, but finally we are FULLY STAFFED!!!!!

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Pinkberry has arrived at the Avenues Mall. Although there were 6 people working behind the counter, the line was out the door and into the hall. Next time.

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One guy on my pad got a new dish for his TV. He thinks that because it’s so huge it will look like he gets American TV stations and his dish will be a chick magnet. I’ve seen the dish and I’m thinking that the only things it will attract are Martians.

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We closed the USO for 6 hours yesterday and had a cleaning day. We do straighten up all of the time and we have someone come in to clean every day, but some places had 15 months of worth of dust. We had fun and now the USO smells really good.

**When Leorit was about 3 years old we set up fingerpaints for her to play with. She took one look at the colors all over the table and at the top of her lungs yelled, "CLEAN IT!!! CLEAN IT!!!" So much for artistic expression in my older child.

Happy Birthday in the Navy

We had a totally fun event in honor of the Navy's 234th birthday, eating cake and making 550 parachute cord bracelets. Parachute/550 cord, is a lightweight rope originally used in the suspension lines of US parachutes during World War II. It is now used as a general purpose utility cord. In addition to utility functions, paracord now comes in hundreds of colors and can be used to fashion knotted or braided bracelets, lanyards, belts, and other decorative items. 550 Cord is used by many US military members as a bracelet signifying deployment to the Central Command Area of Responsibility, typically countries in the Middle East. It is also worn in remembrance of POW/MIA service members during National conflict.

I was taught how to make bracelets weeks ago, but since I did not practice I totally forgot how to do it. Luckily volunteer Phil showed up and gave us instructions. Major K, who was in camp for just a few days, just happened to ask that day if we had cord to make bracelets. Timing is everything. She was able to lead the whole group in crafts. We thought the event would last for about 60 minutes, but people were braiding bracelets and key chains for over 2-1/2 hours.

You may be asking, “Why are there so many Navy people at Camp Virginia in the middle of the desert?” Well, I have one question; you tell me: “Why are there so many Navy people at Camp Virginia in the middle of the desert?”

BTW: Navy embedded with Army is (not) affectionately known as "Narmy."

Home to Here

The last days of my visit were relatively uneventful. I got to shop at Target with a birthday gift card from Lori M. and JoAnne H. Didn't get to Nordstrom's. I remembered why I do not miss Los Angeles area traffic.

Flights back to Camp Virginia were uneventful. At LAX I chatted with Joy and Harry, a retired couple who spend their time traveling and with Chris and Lori. Chris is active-duty Army and really likes the USO.

I hung out at the Dulles Airport USO with about 10 active duty service members and volunteer Cindy. The USO was preparing for their weekly “Honor Visit.” Apparently veterans are given free trips to Washington DC to see all of the memorials. There was some commotion about bringing oxygen tanks to their buses, so I’m guessing these were military during WWII. The USO at Dulles has a display on their wall with coins given to them by their visitors. I think we should get one of these at our USO at Camp Virginia.

I made it back to Kuwait about 30 minutes early; safe and sound and well before midnight. My room has a thick layer of dust/sand, but no matter. Covering the day shift starting at 08:00 tomorrow. It's good to be home.

The House is Open

My open house was a ton of fun. I cannot thank Beverly, Pam and Annabelle enough for hosting with/for me. They scrubbed and cleaned, set up, washed, organized, made coffee, got cakes, filled platters, sorted plates, etc., etc., etc. I am so blessed to have you as my wonderful friends. Thank you.

It was nice to see everyone, although unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to talk with everyone. I did get to visit with former neighbors Kerry O’Keefe Mason and Kevin O’Keefe who I hadn’t seen in almost 40 years, Marina M. and daughter Natalia who drove in from Tucson just for the weekend and Renee P., who I’m in continuous contact with but have not actually seen in 5 years. (I didn't recognize her when she walked in the house. Oy!)

Thank you for coming to my family and my friends from work, WW, USO, Friday night cool people, etc. I miss you and really appreciate you stopping by. I just wish you'd eaten more food.

Hither and Fro

I’ve been running around like a crazy person since I’ve been home.

I was supposed to go to Kol Nidre with Toby on Sunday evening, but instead I went into a coma in her guestroom. We walked on Monday morning and then went to services most of the day Monday. Back for Break the Fast to the Zelens (thank you; love you) and then to my place (being sublet by my daughter, Leorit and her boyfriend, Ariel) for another Break the Fast.

I walked my beloved Signal Hill with Carol on Tuesday morning. Later Ariel and I surprised Leorit at work for her birthday. We walked around Westwood until she was able to leave. Although I was a little cold I decided it was not a good idea to wear my USC sweatshirt in that part of town. After Leorit got off work we drove to downtown LA to pick up Bo at his intern job, back west to Pico/Robertson so we could go to a Kosher/Persian/Chinese restaurant, then back downtown to drop off Bo at his bicycle.

Wednesday I walked Signal Hill with Cheryl. I met Bo for a Trader Joe’s picnic then we picked up Frankie and headed to the Norton Simon Museum (LACMA is closed on Wednesdays) to see the art, including Degas, Van Gogh, Warhol, Picasso, Monet and Gaughin. We also saw “Wrathful Deities of Buddhist Art.” What treasures. What a great museum. I had no idea.

On the way home Frankie mentioned to Bo that his mom was having her carpet cleaned. They explained to me that a few weeks ago, while Frankie and Bo were visiting after Frankie’s dad had been in a horrible car accident, their dog ate a gopher and then barfed it up all over the carpet. [I’m sorry Frankie’s mom, but I cannot stop laughing.] Bo says that after throwing up, the dog had really bad breath. Do you think??? (No need to re-read. The dog ate a gopher and then puked up the gopher on the rug. That’s what happened; that’s what I wrote.)

That evening I had dinner with Miss Beverly and her mom Pam. After dinner they dropped me off at home, but I was barely up the steps before I fell asleep.

Thursday I got my hair beautified by Batia in Beverly Hills then drove over the canyon to Toby’s. We met our third cousin Neil who we had not seen for 45 years. He showed us pictures of our mom, aunt, cousins and grandmother and gave us a book with our family history. He’s living in Southern California now, so hopefully we can get together a little more often.

Friday I walked at ridiculous-still-dark-o’clock with Gabrielle, then took the train into downtown Long Beach, had lunch with SMU and Tammy, and went shopping for my open house. Hung out with friends in the evening.

Saturday I stopped by Weight Watchers for a couple of hours to see my staff buddies and some of my (former) members, hung out with a couple of friends, then met the Pool Girls (Karen, Nancy, Pat, Terri, Joy and Alexis) for a fabulous salad bar lunch. (Nancy’s husband, Bruce, was there too.) Lots of food, lots of laughter, and lots of fun.

After lunch I drove to downtown LB where my friend Marina and I played car leap frog on Broadway. Marina and her daughter Natalia drove in from Tucson, Arizona for the weekend just to see me. We went to Costo, then met Bo and went to dinner on 2nd Street. I walked over to visit my favorite mannequin in the window at Body O’Soul. Sadly, he has moved or changed his hair or changed his style. Something is different --- and I don’t have a crush on him anymore. Sigh . . .

Marina headed up to Toby’s to spend the night; I took Bo back to his bike in USC-ville and then proceeded to the Bob Hope Hollywood USO at LAX to visit my volunteer buddies. After about 70 minutes of gossip and gab I departed for home.

On Monday I stopped by KY&L. It feels so good to be home. Although everyone is extremely busy, I did manage to visit with a few people. I miss you and love you more than you can ever imagine. Yes, YOU!

It’s been lovely, wonderful and fun . . . but I’m exhausted.

Stop Off in the Fatherland

I arrived at KWI about 10:15 for my 11:45 p.m. United Airlines flight through Dulles to Los Angeles. After standing in a couple of wrong lines at various incorrect terminals I finally made it up to the UAL ticket desk. Here’s the conversation:

Me: Hello. Should I put my suitcase on the scale?
Ticket Agent: (Looking at my printout) No. Your flight has been delayed until 2:45 p.m. [15 hours!!!]
Me: Um . . . yeah . . . that’s not going to work for me.
TA: Where are you ultimately going?
Me: Los Angeles
TA: [click, clack, click, clack, click, clack . . .typing] You’re on LH637, flying to LAX through Frankfurt on Lufthansa.

I've always been told that Lufthansa is great. Now I can agree. Ticketing, boarding, departing and landing went like clockwork.l The ticket agents and flight attendants were friendly and helpful. Most of them spoke at least 5 languages. Mark Miller (from Phoenix, flight attendant on the first leg) let me move into a row with two empty seats so I could try to sleep. Mark Becker (flight attendant on the second leg) spent time trying to find my glasses, which were lost for most of the flight.

I was also impressed with the airport in Frankfurt. In place of trash cans, there are four recycle bins. Employees ride bicycles, not fuel-powered gators. The airport is quiet without extraneous announcements in 3 languages every 30 seconds. There are small bathrooms all around the gate area rather than larger bathrooms 6½ miles down the corridor. I thought I was going through Dulles so unfortunately I didn’t bring any of my leftover Euros with me. I ended up spending $16 for “entertainment” (one People magazine and a small bottle of juice).

I arrived at LAX 40 minutes later than if I had been on the original United flight. Way to go Lufthansa!