Life of Wry

Alternating active days with chill days turns out to be a good idea with mom. So after a big day yesterday, we cooled our jets today and mostly played gin.  We track our scores and track winners (what’d you expect?).  At this point in my visit, mom is way ahead.

Being a lifelong card player–historically mostly bridge, but these days mostly gin–she believes in cards. She believes in streaks. She believes that sometimes you have to change decks or switch chairs to interrupt cards that are on a bad run. She’s very superstitious.

She happens to be on a roll right now. Here is a hand she was dealt. DEALT. Not a hand she massaged and manipulated through fortunate card drawing and careful card arranging. She didn’t work this hand; it came right off the deck this way:

This, to her, is a clear signal that when the cards are with you, they’re with you. I don’t believe this and refuse to change decks.

At my peril.

Anyway, I’m way behind.

By late afternoon, we’d decided to go to the beach. Somebody needed some fresh air. Here are some shots.

Mom on the bench near Avenue I:

And, our view:

I’m going to use this spot to post a few more beach shots. I took these yesterday. I had a couple hours to kill before we took off for Matt’s and Michael’s and decided to spend it down at RAT (missing the annual RAT Beach reunion later this month).

The path down:

Looking north toward Torrance, Redondo, Hermosa and Manhattan, in that order:

Ran into about a dozen groups of Junior Lifeguards, this one was running to PV and back to Torrance:

Watched them do some drills:

Watched a bird:

The view from where I sat:

The walk back:

Parked next to the junior high. I like this ceramic mural:

T’was a choice place to go to school…

Anyway. We returned home, played more cards (I did much better! Started catching up, even) and had a late dinner. Like, 10:00 late. You can do that when it’s just you and your night owl mom, and you’re eating from a batch of soup Matt made a few days earlier.