Mon 2 March
Imagine for a moment that you are a monk, a member of a monastic order that requires a vow of silence, but which longs to express its religious fervor through a Christmastide performance of Handel's "Halleluia Chorus".

Could that be possible?

Well, our Vashon buddy, Mary Tuel, just sent us the actual video of that very performance, and the better you know this masterwork, the more you'll love it. We offer here a wee bit of humor, hoping to liven up this time of So-Little-to-Laugh-At.

Thu 5 March
We are moving briskly into spring now. It has rained every couple of days for months, and those brown hillsides that we've often mentioned are such a lush green that we hardly recognize them. Sadly enough, that's a mixed blessing. The more things grow, the more fuel there will be when it dries out this fall, or sooner. California requires hillside homeowners to remove all brush and other burnable material inside a certain radius by the start of "fire season". That's a great idea, but lately the fire season has lasted all year. We suggest that you sell all your stocks (hah!) and invest in water, since that soon may cost more than gold.

Jane spent Tuesday cooking up a huge pot of chicken soup with rice. ["Any time of day is nice for eating chicken soup with rice." – from a favorite children's book.] Then she spent most of Wednesday driving that soup over to Heidi's house in Glendale and gabbing and giggling with a gang of girls. She did put aside a little for David, mostly because she ran out of soup-tight containers to stuff it into. But she returned in time for Soul Food Cafe at church – a great spaghetti dinner.

David spent this morning driving to various medical facilities to prepare for another angiogram this Monday. His doctor wants to peek inside his heart again to see how it's doing. It is comforting that so many highly educated professionals are so concerned about our well-being. And, thanks to medicare, we may avoid selling an arm and a leg to pay those professionals... this time.

Sat 7 March
Jane is out getting a haircut while David tries to kick-start his Quicken so he can start filling out the IRS forms. He's over there now muttering something about these %$*& labor saving wonders. It's embarrassing to admit that we spend most of our day shaking down the computer for vital factoids, and the rest racing around LA and eating out. Dang. We just LOVE retirement.

But the best part of computing is finding all the funny stuff our friends send us. The latest is a disturbingly appropriate video from our niece, Sandy, who lives in Wild Peach TX. [What a great name for a town – right up there with New Dime Box, Muleshoe, Swinney Switch, and Cut And Shoot... all in Texas.] It's called Lookin' for My Wallet. Remind you of anyone you know?

Now a question for our readers: Why is Daylight Saving Time?
To find answers (vital factoids), we naturally turned to Google, who knows all. At one site we found tiny clouds of semi-useful fluff. Another tells us all we ever wanted to know, including that Kyrgiystan is the only nation to have year-round DST. Still another urges double-daylight saving by adding two hours of sunlight and throwing the entire nation into jet lag for days.

But don't trust us – Google it yourself. You'll really have to search, though, to find our two favorite comments. One old farmer claimed all that extra sunlight was burning up his crops. And a wise Navajo woman said it seemed to her like cutting off the bottom of the blanket and sewing it onto the top to make the blanket longer.

Just remember to spring forward tonight. You don't want to be late to church.

Mon 9 March
We spent today at Northridge Hospital while David got an angiogram and passed with just a couple of bandages and a sore back from lying flat on his back from 6:00a to 4:00p. This was a big improvement from a year ago when things got more exciting. We are all relieved and we appreciate your prayers and good thoughts.

Another good part of all this is that Mark flew down from Seattle for a couple of days for the big event. So now we are planning touristy things to do while he is here. Visitors always activate our mental list of places we've been wanting to go see "someday soon".

Last night's Jazz Vespers at the church brought us pianist Laszlo Cser, with Tom Pedrini on bass. We are astounded at the top pros that Robin, our church jazz guru, has brought to these services. There are numerous problems here in LA, but there are so many good things that help to even them out.

Now, about that Most Dangerous Cake... Here are a few comments from folks who tried it, almost tried it, thought about it, or perhaps realized the danger:

Mary Tuel said: "Oh My God... I printed this out and am heading to the kitchen to try it. NOT include chocolate chips? What kind of wussy would leave them out?"
This was soon followed by: "OK, well that is at least a quick science experiment! I made substitutions, using what I had on hand. Otherwise I made it as directed.
"So here's the review:
"No cocoa powder, so I grated an ounce of Baker's Unsweetened baking chocolate. That made a pile of a whole lot more than two tablespoons, so I put in four tablespoons. In retrospect, I shoulda put it all in, because the result was a mildly chocolate cake.
"Milk: I used evaporated milk because I had an open can in the reefer, and I don't drink coffee that often, so thought I might as well use it.
"Simple and quick - absolutely. It did rise above the rim of the mug during microwaving, but settled back inside soon after the oven clicked off.
"Taste: won't win any country fair competitions, but if you're a chocoholic, it'll do.
"Visual: eh, not so great. Big air bubbles in the side of mine.
"Chocolate chips: tend to settle at the bottom of the mug during cooking, so you might have to spoon them over the cake to get the benefit. Watch for chocolate lava burns on your tongue if you eat too soon!
"Overall grade: C+. C for the cake, + for the chocolate. It's OK. First cake I've made from scratch for years! I took about two bites and was done for myself -- other family members will have a chance to taste and give their opinions. Photos attached."
[We publish this in its entirety, since it's the only report of a finished cake.]

Jeanne Pulleyn wrote: "I tried this Dangerous Cake but I couldn't wait three minutes for it to cook, so I just ate the mixture right out of the cup raw. MMMMMMM, delicious! Next time I'm really going to try and wait three minutes. it might be even better."

Dorthy Torno confessed: "Okay, I printed it, but it may be years before I use it. I still have a teenager at home, so sweets abound. At this very moment, I am hiding from myself 1/3 of a chocolate cake I made yesterday for the youth devotional. Why oh why can't they eat the whole thing???? Some is packed in Trey's lunch, but I can't send it all on one day. Groan. The only thing saving me now is the fact that I don't do caffeine. If I ate chocolate at night, I'd have trouble getting to sleep."

Charlene Griswold offered: "Dangerous? You are so right! I deleted this one immediately."

And now you know the REST of the story. You'll note that we haven't tried it either, but Jane thinks we may have some cocoa...

Thu 12 March
Mark's visit was powerful medicine for us old folks. In addition to three days with our favorite son, including a day at the Getty Center, Mark hooked David on StumbleUpon.com, which brings you random websites based on your list of preferences – sites you might never find on your own. But beware: it can result in all-day adventures as it delivers unplanned and sometimes unbelievable entertainment.

Jane is off to another callback this afternoon, followed by an evening class aimed at actors with lots of callbacks but few jobs. Then tomorrow she has a new audition. There's just gotta be a job hiding in here somewhere.

David is going to Seattle in a couple of weeks ... to judge a Band Contest. He gets judging invitations now and then, since our old Vashon phone number is still active and forwards all calls to his cell. He always offers to come if they'll buy his plane ticket. They always laugh and hang up. But he's been wanting to go up to meet Wendy, our new cabin tenant, check on the proppity, and visit with friends, so this seemed like a perfect fit. With a free ticket to Seattle from our friendly credit card weasels, and a rent-a-car & ticket home paid by his judging paycheck, this should be a true win-win-win situation.

Mon 16 March
Do you ever wonder what you do while you're sleeping? Do you lie still, thrash about, go out for snacks or what? Are you sure? Here is a fun video that may just get you thinking about the subject.

Fri 20 March
We mentioned last week that David and StumbleUpon.com are spending time together. The newest pictures on our menu page are just a sample of the many creative images he is finding. While an occasional inappropriate site pops up, most range from odd to thrilling. Thanks, Mark.

Jane's string of Audition-Callback-Silence is still unbroken. This is so frustrating, even though she sees the throng of gray-haired grannies out there competing for all those jobs. She knows lots of them personally now after hours of chats in those cattle-call waiting rooms. All are oddly warm and friendly, because they realize they don't compete on skill but on how much they look like the casting director's great aunt Maudine.

Still, watching TV with Jane is a kick. "Look, there's Lulu!" she screams. "Why on earth did they pick her?" Then it really gets tense when "Lulu" starts turning up over the next few weeks in commercials for two or there other products. Hey, seems our granny is more competitive than she likes to admit. But in fairness, she is genuinely happy to see some of her friends doing their thing. Must be that "friend" thing. Evidently, that doesn't include "Lulu".

Mon 23 March
Nowadays, we have lots of time to stare at the TV and follow all the latest shenanigans of The Recession. Are y'all watchin' all this stuff? If you believe these guys, the sky may actually be falling.

But an email came today that brought us some Good Things About the Recession – not funny, just something new to consider. That's more like it. Sorta helps to dull the pain while our home value and puny mutual funds fight for life... Wow, the Dow just passed 7,775.

Now Jane is off to her weekly acting class this morning after spending a sleepless weekend studying for today's assignment. She and her scene partner will perform a cut from "East of Eden" for their class, and they're up first. On the plus side, this may finally put an end to days of quiet chanting coming from the bedroom.

Meanwhile, David is gathering his garments and packing his paperwork for Wednesday's trip to Seattle. He is excited about a day of judging bands, but it's been years since he has dressed that formally. He's also trying to get his recliner shipped up there by 8:00am Thursday. This could be a life-changing event for an old retired guy.

Tue 31 March
We wrapped up March with several days in the Northwest (David) and several quiet days of California dreaming and auditioning (Jane). We also wrapped up a new (for us) Buick.

Last Wednesday, David flew to Seattle and enjoyed seeing Mark and April. He also enjoyed seeing Mark's current stonework project at a home on the rim of the Magnolia bluff. Wow, does that boy do beautiful work. After April's scrumptious supper, David slept there in preparation for his first day of honest work in ages – judging a band contest.

Thursday's contest ended by 2:00. Then he raced up to Everett to look at a couple of used Buicks that he had studied online. After a test drive and some friendly persuasion, he did the deal and agreed to buy a 2003 Buick Regal – silver, to compliment Jane's dark blue '98 Regal. He was pleased to note its excellent condition, low mileage and moderate price. He also noted just one other customer during his 2-hour stay at the dealership. Tough times to be a car salesman. And then, suffering Seattle's notorious evening traffic jam, David crept on down to Tacoma to stay with Irene and Ken.

On Friday, Ken had a training session for his new schoolbus driving job, so David and Irene (who should have been home packing for her Saturday trip to Phoenix) drove the rental car back to Everett, paid for the Buick, and convoyed back to Tacoma in time for dinner for three at the Southern Kitchen, the civilized world's very finest soul food cafe. The catfish was delectable, but those black-eyed peas, collards and yams... oh my word.

Saturday was a Vashon day. David enjoyed his visits with Ivan, Dexter, Scott, and our newest cabin tenant, Wendy, a delightful new friend. He missed seeing Phil, but he drove uptown to the bank, the Saturday Market, Bob's Bakery and Thriftway, the island's cultural center. It was cold and rainy of course, and he felt strangely content. As the ferry returned to the Point Defiance dock, the first few fat, splattery raindrops with tiny ice fragments hit the windshield, and before he reached the Hardy Arms it was almost real snow, but not solid enough to stick. After all, it's spring. Right? Ken and David went for dinner at BJ's Restaurant, a loud sports bar.

On Sunday morning David hit the road and drove to Redding CA. Then Monday he rolled on home, arriving about 3:30. The new Buick averaged 30.4 miles per gallon on the trip. We'll see how it does in LA traffic, but so far it's lookin' good!