Welcome Snowbirds!!

Personally, I'm freezing. It's 60 degrees, I'm wearing a sweater, fuzzy slippers and the heater is on. Meanwhile, 92,400 visitors are descending on the Coachella Valley like ants at the company picnic. Hooray for the snowbirds, our colloquial name for the seasonal guests who shop, eat, party and thaw out in our community and bring their hard-earned dollars to help our local economy.
To most of you Mid-Westerners, Easterners, and Northerners, this is the warmest place on the planet and a welcome refuge where pools are being heated to 85 degrees, bathing suits are available, but not marked down, and the game of golf is being played late into the evening. Big name celebrities play or tell jokes to sold out events, Indian Casinos have promotions and give-aways, there are casino buffets, gourmet restaurants, museums, hiking and elegant shops full of wonderful gifts. While a plethora of fantastic entertainment opportunities exist, many of us locals just marvel at the parties mentioned in the paper, the fun being had, the smiles on the faces of these visitors and we remember. We reminisce and think back to the first time we may have come out here to the desert and our memories of concerts, dancing, hiking, or seeing old Blue Eyes and the Rat Pack, or The Date Festival, The Living Desert (a Zoo), The Tamale Festival, Stagecoach Festival or the Coachella Fest and the lure of this great place we have selected as home.

My recommendation for the best place to stay is The Desert Springs Marriott Hotel or the La Quinta Resort & Club- both places have spas, golf courses, swimming pools and delicious options for dining. Finally, if you get homesick or too warm, you can take the aerial tramway up to the top of the mountain and play in the snow.

Honoring the Bird- Happy Thanksgiving 2010

Honoring the bird,
I thought about Mother Goose,
My favorite passion at age five
That soon changed into Seuss
With green eggs on the side.
Soon Chicken Little he was gone
And The Ugly Duckling became a swan.

Growing into Keat’s and his Nightingale-
“Adieu! Adieu! Thy plaintive anthem fades”…
Wait.
Or Coleridge with the Albatross--
“For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all.”


To 'Kill a Mockingbird'-
 The 'Maltese Falcon' lined our shelves-
With 'The Thorn Birds' and 'The Pelican Briefs.'
 Squawking,  chirping, a Spring-like cheep.
Winged creatures that never tire.
(That damned French speaking parrot in 'Love in the Time of Cholera')
 Singing in my lemon tree--
Created to inspire.

Reading near the Salton Sea

     The weak-

      Garbled sound of hunger
 turned over in the little boy's stomach.

    How could this child be sent to school without food?

       How could this child learn
 without energy fueling his soul?

       We open a book and he reads better than most.

       His eyes sparkle, 

He smiles-

But it rumbles again.

       He has resolved to learn.

       He will overcome all his adversity and fulfill his dreams.

       His seven year old mind has decided-

       He will succeed.

    
  

Recent Reads

     While writing and maintaining my everyday existence out here in the beautiful, warm, desert, the temperature this fall started going haywire and we kept our air conditioning on for a long time. Now, with the windows open, the balmy breezes blowing through my citrus trees and bougainvillea petals flurrying all over the place, it's a great time to be outdoors enjoying nature. Instead of Spring fever, it's like a Fall stall. Instead of working on my book or reading a good one, I am distracted by the delicious feel of velvety air dancing in my curtains.

Anyway, I'm getting side-tracked just thinking about going outside, so I'll try to sum up the reason for this blog post. I finished quite a few books during the Fall air conditioning months and thought I'd share my personal opinions with those who share my passion for the written word.

These books were picked by me because they were best sellers and I enjoyed learning about the writer's style.

A Summer Affair-Elin Hilderbrand- I enjoyed her style and it kept my interest until the end.
The Hippopotamus Pool- Elizabeth Peters--Interesting book about Egyptian tombs written in the Queen's English.
When We Were Grownups-Anne Tyler- Cute romantic story written almost like a memoir.
The Shack-William P. Young- God can be anywhere and can appear as anyone story, told in a nice easy to read format.
The Vision of Emma Blau-Ursula Hegi-A German family's American history and how the past affects the future.
The Choice-Nicholas Sparks- Whether you like Sparks or not, you should have everyone in your family read this. I loved it.
The Manny-Holly Peterson-Very entertaining and hip. Sexy, yet well written and interesting.

My Dream

I woke up dreaming about my husband and there he was, hugging me,
Kissing me, holding me and giving me all the positive feedback I could ever dream about.
How lucky I am, how blessed.
"You're a great writer," he says.
"Go write, I'll worry about everything else."
"I'll do the dishes." His words dance in my head and tickle my naughty desire for more reassurance.
"Read this," I say, still fishing for compliments.
 Leaves fall on the ground, the time will pass and I will dream a similar dream.
I will awake and he might be gone.
Cool sheets will turn towards me like ice.
Frosting my heart with pain.
Why am I so scared?
Fearing the unknown.
I should be celebrating daily and yet my fingers shake as I set his plate next to mine.
"Can I do the dishes?" I ask grounding my feet back into reality.

Some Dog-gone Good Memories

      I was reading some blogs this morning and I came across one about dogs. I love dogs and I can't say enough about my sweet little dog-- I lost last year. Not a day goes by when I don't think of him and all the ways he made me smile. I know he doesn't want me to be sad. Ever.
 His whole life had revolved around his master's whims. Will we play ball? Will we leave him alone to fret about the dark house? Will we wake up soon to feed him? Will we go for a nice walk? Will we buy him a toy or give him a rib bone to bury in the yard? His eyes were like question marks and exclamation points jumping onto the couch and trying to get our

ATTENTION.  His ears were like radar, that flopped all over the place in the slightest breeze. His tail stood straight up when he listened, or hung limp when he was scared. When we had company he shared his love by visiting every one's lap and by the end of a long evening he had turned even the  staunchest, most stringent cat lover into an ally. If someone wanted to study love they just looked at his face staring into mine. When I tried to read a book, he jumped onto my lap and shoved the book closed with his wet nose. So now that he's gone, I have to catch up on all my reading, and I rarely go for walks. I never buy dog toys and I seldom eat ribs. I close the light, and head to bed wondering if he's licking, frolicking and prancing around doggie-heaven trying to make the angels smile.