Just got back from my trip to drop Nana in Palm Springs and on to Los Angeles. It was a short stay but quite busy! I arrived in LA mid-afternoon on Monday (thankfully, I missed the crazy traffic.) There was quite a stoppage in front of the Beverly Hills Courthouse, however. Turns out they were going to be starting the first of the legal gay marriages that night.

Monday night was spent with my wonderful family. Everyone came to dinner at Hamlet on Sunset. Uncle Jay, Aunt Judy, Uncle Aron, Gary (crazy Gary,) Howard and his wife Nancy (who is incredible, BTW.) Gary kept us in stitches during the evening. It was so much fun to be with everyone. Thank you for taking the time to spend with me.

Tuesday, I walked around Beverly Hills while my Aunt Judy got her hair done at Umbertos (yes, very chic!) Visited Roots & other assorted stores. Laughed at all the people riding the open air tourbuses down Rodeo drive. The weather was great for walking around.

Nancy came over to Aunt Judy's and the 3 of us went to The Grove for shopping and lunch. We walked around to all the stores and ate at Marmalade Cafe (yummy!) I am so glad that I finally got to spend some time getting to know Nancy. She's great & we have lots of stuff in common. It was fun to hang out for the day with her.

Tuesday night Aunt Judy, Uncle Aron & I went to Sunset Plaza and had dinner at Le Petit Four. The weather couldn't have been better for my trip. Eating in open air restaurants was a blast. My aunt & uncle spoiled me rotten. I hated to leave.

But Wednesday rolled around and it was time for me to see Ms. Andrea. My oldest, dearest friend and I hadn't spent time together since roughly the year 2001. Way too long. We met at John O'Groats for breakfast and then headed back to her house where I had the pleasure of meeting her adorable Wheaten Coco. Andrea had just sent her daughter Kate off to camp for 3 weeks and Josh, her son, was with his dad for the weekend.

My dear friend indulged my yarning and took me to 3 LYS. (she's the best) The first was A Mano Yarn Center. We walked in to a crammed-to-the-gills store with a large table teeming with women from every walk of life. It had such a wonderful feeling. My friend has limited use of her right hand and a woman at the table told her to come by anytime, she'd teach her to continental knit. They had a great assortment of yarns and supplies, but most of all it was such a comfortable place to be. Great store. I'd highly recommend you visit if you're ever in LA.

The second store was on Montana Ave in Santa Monica. If you've ever seen photos of stars sipping drinks or eating at outdoor patios, they're probably on Montana. The store was L'Atelier and while it was lovely, no one said hi and I wasn't crazy about their selection of yarns. They did have a section filled with every imaginable cashmere known to man and some Canadian Arctic Musk Ox yarn that was lovely. It's worth a stop in just to pet the expensive yarns.

The last store was incredible. Wildfiber is a huge space. I've never seen such a huge selection of yarns. I think they had every possible color of Koigu on one wall. They had a great selection of Malabrigo and some handspuns that were amazing. There was a handspun that was $164 for 58 yards. OUCH! But it was such amazing yarn. My friend couldn't put it down, but eventually did. The yarn was made by Tanglewood Fibers. I bought some 9" Hiya Hiya circs to try to knit socks. The owner said that she switched over the short circs a long time ago and finds it much easier.

After the extensive yarning, we went back to her house to hang and chat. Finally around 7 we went to dinner at Versailles, Ron told me I couldn't leave LA without having had their famous Garlic Chicken. Ron & I lived around the corner from the original Versailles on La Cienega. We used to eat there all the time.

Full from dinner we went back to An's and talked and laughed until 1am. Honestly, I haven't laughed that hard or had that much fun in ages. It's good to hang with old friends. Andrea is wonderful and has done so well with what's been thrown at her. I love you friend.

A too long drive home on Thursday and here I am, back in hell. Could it be hotter here in AZ? I miss the ocean breezes. But I must say, I missed my family & my dogs. It's always good to be home.