The Month of May

May had a rough start with the passing of my Uncle Steve. The housewarming/birthday party the first weekend of May was more or less cancelled once we learned that my Uncle was in his final hours. It was nice that my brother was in town so we could be together with my Grandma and Mike to support each other by sharing memories and telling funny stories. Seeing my 90 year old Grandmother distraught was heartbreaking. Steve had just been in San Diego in March for my Grandma's birthday and he was fine. I now cherish that I was able to see him when he was here, because I had no idea it would be the last time. The next few days went by slowly, I kept checking the Helping Hands Website for updates and waiting for the dreaded phone call. It finally came about 20 minutes after he passed the evening of May 5th. It has now been almost a month and tomorrow would have been his 55th birthday. I leave tomorrow morning with Jeff to head north to Santa Maria for his memorial service and celebration of life in San Luis Obispo. I look forward to seeing long lost relatives and loved one as well as meeting some of the people whose lives Steve had touched over the years. Family is the best cure for sadness and I know Steve would not want us to be sad but to carry on his legacy of charity and music. He left some big shoes to fill...

The Month of May also included Mothers Day. We had Jeff's mom and sister over for the afternoon and spent the day sipping on Mimosas, playing Rockband and enjoying each others company. It's been fun having people over who have seen the before and after on the house. It was quite the makeover. It's amazing what a little elbow grease and paint can do for a place!

For Memorial Day weekend we headed north to Redondo Beach for a long weekend with John and Goldie. We hadn't been up there since last summer and we really missed it! Redondo is such a neat city. G&J live walking distance to shops, restaurants and bars and the beach is just a short drive away. As is tradition, we were greeted upon our arrival with a cocktail. And also as is tradition we were so excited to see each other that we stayed up way too late and had way too many cocktails. Saturday was a little rough, but we managed to get ourselves up and headed to Hollywood. We drove thru the hills of the Hollywoodland neighborhood and got ourselves as close to the Hollywood sign as one can get. The sign is literally in the backyard of these peoples homes! The houses up there are fabulous with views of downtown LA but the crazy winding roads were a little much for us. That and the $2 million plus price tags....After our Hollywood Sign adventure we headed to downtown Hollywood to play tourist. We ducked in to the famous Roosevelt Hotel and had a cocktail, looked for stars on the walk of fame and ended back at the Roosevelt for dinner and more cocktails. Hollywood on a Saturday night is bananas. Lets just say the people watching was extraordinary! After dinner John drove us to the Smoke House which is by Warners Brothers Studios and Forest Lawn Cemetery (home to Marilyn Monroe and Michael Jackson) to listen to some live big band music and have a nightcap. The place reeks of old Hollywood and I would love to go back there for dinner some time.

So tomorrow I head north for a week in Santa Maria. The week may start on a somber note with the memorial service but the next weekend will be filled with fun and laughter as all my girls get together for Rosa's baby shower! We are expecting 60 people!!! It's been fun planning and shopping for this joyous event. I hope it goes off without a hitch and mama-to-be has a fun time. I can't believe that in just 6 short weeks a little baby girl will be a part of our group. I can't wait to meet her.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_Hotel_(Hollywood)

http://www.smokehouse1946.com/RestaurantHistory.html

http://www.seeing-stars.com/buried2/ForestLawnHollywood1.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redondo_Beach,_California