As in Island, not a conflagration with sympathies to those forced to deal with the red-hot kind.
I visited a friend of many years’ standing on FI over the weekend. She’s been coming here since she was an infant, in fact, her father was the Mayor of Ocean Beach in the thirties. Several of her children and many other relatives also have houses on the island concentrated in the community of Seaview.
Ocean breezes notwithstanding, it was very hot Friday and Saturday; probably marginally cooler than in NYC although once the sun went down the temp decreased somewhat.
Saturday morning we went to an annual baseball game honoring two Seaview men who lost their lives on 9/11.
Most of the players were men in their mid-years with a sprinkling of teen boys and a few young women. Good playing all around but due to the heat we left after five innings.
Later that day we walked to Ocean Beach. There’s a lot of bamboo along the streetsides but so far as I know a panda invasion isn’t threatening. 
Once in ‘town’ we browsed the shops buying nothing although there is a new store with pretty jewelry and woven baskets. We passed lots of restaurants, mostly noisy and full of beer-drinking young people, as well as a few realtors and other businesses.
That night, the woman my friend shares her house with made a wonderful dinner of Eggplant Stacks served with pasta and a salad with veggies from the garden. More on that later.
Throughout the weekend people dropped by—friends, family and neighbors including one with her dog who has passed the required tests to become a therapy dog. Fearless deer browsed outside. The place is a kids’ paradise thanks to no cars and a roster of activities.
Among my fave pastimes was enjoying the outdoor shower—there’s something about looking up into trees that makes it special. My other delight was a long walk Sunday morning on the beach where the waves looked pretty terrifying to me, a fairly capable but far from Esther Williams swimmer. It was about nine a.m., so lifeguards were setting up rescue stations and I was glad I had no plans to enter the water above ankle level so would not need rescuing.
We read, watched the Olympics and hung out. I painted a little and did a quick sketch of my friend who is a knitter extraordinaire, rarely seen without needles and wool in hand. She completed a baby blanket and then embarked on what will be a beautiful scarf, most of her output going to people in need.
It was a great break on a sultry weekend.
Here’s the recipe for Eggplant Stacks a la Carrie N.
Peel an eggplant in strips leaving some of the skin on. Slice it into roughly ¼ inch thick rounds.
Spray a baking dish (a 9×12 Pyrex pan works well) with Pam or olive oil.
Brush both sides of the eggplant slices with olive oil.
Bake at 375 flipping once if you want to until slices are soft. Let slices cool.
Coat the pan with ‘red sauce,’ either homemade or out of a jar like Rao’s or Ragu.
Lay eggplant slices on top of sauce. Dollop each with pesto, homemade or bought. Top each with a piece of mozzarella about the size of a silver dollar.
Start over: red sauce, eggplant slices, pesto, mozzarella. End with red sauce and toss on some fresh basil leaves if you have them.
Bake at 350 covered with foil; remove foil towards the end of cooking which is when the stacks are hot through.
FYI: you can substitute zucchini, cut the long way, for the eggplant.
Serve humming Come on Baby, Light My Fire, if you so desire.
My “tea’ came in a paper bag with a plastic glass of weak iced tea
interact {with}. ” (My interactions with plants were limited to getting them into the ground, weeding, watering, and cutting them. We rarely spoke.)
Crimini mushrooms
Makes 1 cup
Culture Lab operates in a large converted warehouse with two galleries, a theater and an outside venue and is open Thursdays through Sundays starting at 5 PM. There are concerts every Saturday night, dance and comedy presentations, and opportunities for artists to participate in many ways. For more: 
the performance that brought her well-deserved fame. (I’ve had a long affinity for her as people used to tell me we looked alike or ask if I was her. Back in the day there was a sort of resemblance; now she’s been nipped and tucked so that she no longer retains her essence. On the other hand, she’s 90 so she can do whatever she wants.)
remotely snuggly and that, combined with Dick’s depression and Dorothy’s haute approach to life didn’t add up to a cheery childhood.)
The Palm Springs International Film Festival has a certain rakish charm. According to people met on line prior to seeing films, PSIFF, now in its 35th season, is much more organized than in the past. My friend and I stayed at the Palm Springs Hotel, a fifteen room, quirky spot that doesn’t have a restaurant but has a pool and hot tub as well as old-fashioned metal room keys that defeated me for days. The hotel is within walking distance of Rick’s, a popular restaurant for breakfast or lunch; nearby is another Rick’s serving dinner.
The very new Agua Caliente Cultural Center includes a permanent outdoor exhibition with native plants, rock formations and water features; inside are galleries incorporating digital animation, projections, some in a theater setting, and displays of artifacts, all stunning and dealing with the Cahuilla Nation, As Easterners very conscious of saying “Native Americans,” we were struck by the use of “Indian” everywhere including the Palm Springs High School where the team name is —you guessed it—the Indians.
