Daily Archives: January 19, 2009

Dear First Lady:

We have read about your husband’s rigorous workout schedules and diet. Many people want to know what you’re wearing day-to-day but I don’t care. Yes, I’m a woman and don’t care a whit about what you’re wearing today. Even at tomorrow’s Inaugural. I know you’ll look great but that’s not the point.

One could say I care more about the meal you’ll enjoy after the initial ceremony and pre-ball. Yes, I’ve hints about that and future meals at the White House but that’s not what excites me. I’m a “foodie” so that’s my milieu.

What I really want from our President and First Lady is distinctly directed policies within the White House and in congress. Many regular US citizens go into work the first day and have a short time to make a difference. The White House is no different. Once Congress sits on its thumbs, the honeymoon is over.

We have such high hopes for you to make the honeymoon last longer than most presidents and get some really tough stuff done straight away. Thanks in advance, first Americans.

As to dogs, You know whatever you get should be the responsibility of your girls. Let them take that responsibility. In hopes for a stellar presidency and first family I am a citizen and voter who wishes you well. Cheers! Dee

Is the Dream Alive?

I know that it is for some, and that a sense of hope is flourishing in our nation and elsewhere for the historic occasion we will watch tomorrow on the mall, or at home.

The first national Martin Luther King Day, a bunch of us policy wonks piled into a car and drove eight hours to D.C. to spend the entire day going to MLK events. The day culminated with a gospel event at a pre-eminent A.M.E. church where Coretta Scott King spoke. It was a wonderfully exhausting and exhilarating day for legislative colleagues and lawyers, family and friends.

Back then, no-one was expecting an African-American to become President, or a woman. We were happy that this American leader finally received the recognition he deserved. Ironically we got both an African-American and a woman candidate for president this past election, a double whammy.

I write because of hope. Hope that African-American and other minority and disadvantaged children get a quality education. President Obama is a better aspiration for a low-income youth than an NBA or NFL player, if one does not have the build or talent to get there. He’s a lawyer and about to be president. And he shoots hoops, what could be more cool?

Yet many African-Americans are caught in a rut or downward spiral with little hope for the future. I hope this excitement and sense of hope pervades not only our government and non-profit organizations, but especially parents and kids. It would be best if the excitement infects the majority of the American public, including corporations, and gets us out of this economic recession.

My husband the physics major and software engineer says to study math and science. In the end you don’t have to do either but have a world of choices including business, economics, start-ups, whatever you want to do. Violin? Perhaps.

Today I look to the past to a man who had a dream. A portion of that dream will come true tomorrow but there’s a long way to go to make our United States of America color-blind. In the meantime I wish the incoming administration all the best in the challenges that they will face immediately and in the long-term.

Today, I am especially proud to be an American citizen and voter. Dee

Goats

The kid in the igloo is the new baby girl born yesterday, in the “maternity ward.”

Last week’s crop has joined Mom with the other goats in the pasture. See them trying out their springy legs by the pile of hay.

They are adorable to watch. Dee

Tuffy Came Through!

New Kids

New Kids

Little girl on the left (the stronger of the two), and uncleaned little boy on the right. Contented mama, congratulations! Thanks to Margie for the photo. Dee

L/A. II

Westwood View

Westwood View

A sliver of a view looking southeast from Wilshire Blvd. We made it to Beverly Hills for a pilgramage to Nate ‘N Al’s deli for brunch/lunch. I had a toasted sesame bagel with Nova Scotia Salmon, cream cheese, tomato, onion and capers, the works. With quality ingredients, no restaurant can really screw that up, but I was surprised that it was not on the menu.

After leaving the family, we wended south on Beverly Blvd., BeverWil, until there were too many “bev’s” in the streets to count so I meandered through neighborhoods down to Venice then back up to I-10 towards Santa Barbara. We drove Lincoln Blvd./Route 1 past Marina Del Rey but didn’t go down to the water because time was catching up with us and we had to press on to the airport for our flight home.

During the trip, I earnestly tucked into “Spain: A Culinary Road Trip” by Mario Batali with Gwyneth Paltrow (HarperCollins), companion to the PBS series. The prose is light yet informative, and the recipes interesting. When things settle down around here (or in a new city) I’d like to try a tapas party. I don’t yet know if I’m ready to find and cook an entire suckling pig (haven’t come to that recipe yet) but am sure I have the pan to roast it in.

So, I’m more than halfway through the book and the pictures are lovely. It’s an easy read and will be kept on my bookshelf and in the front of my mind as a travel destination. Happy Martin Luther King Day! Dee