Pink Eyes

One of the scientists who invented Yukon Gold potatoes is an acquaintance of mine.  Sitting beside him at dinner one evening, I asked him how you tell?  "They have a pink eye," he explained.  "Without that they are just yellow potatoes." 

Reading the menu last evening, I saw "Yukon gold potatoes".  "Are you sure they are really 'Yukon gold'," I asked the waitress.  "They're supposed to be," she replied.  With that she called out the chef, who then trotted out one of these potatoes.  Guess what, they were not Yukon Gold, just yellow.  "They are our most expensive," he said.  When I told him that I knew the guy who developed them, he was flabbergasted.  He is going to call his supplier.

John, the inventor, told me that he always talks to the produce manager when he spots Yukon Gold that are not "Yukon Gold".  Apparently there are lots of imitations out there.

By the way, sitting beside us was the owner of another restaurant we have been to twice.  "I guess you can count on this being a good restaurant if you're here," I laughed.

Very hot in Palm Springs.  Going to visit Frank Sinatra's house today.   

Done

Well, went to Indian Wells and that's that.  Won't go tomorrow.  WAY too hot and it's only women's play.  Sorry to be such a male chauvinist, but I don't really enjoy watching the women pound it from the baseline -- their only game -- until someone hits it out or into the net.  Nothing but unforced errors.  Boring.

Lots of very rich people here -- ourselves excluded.  Lots of X-Ray thin women here too -- a ton of money and they eat salad.  Boring.  And ugly.  You know girls, you can be too old to be too thin.  We all need a little weight on us, minus the cellulite....yuck.

Sitting on a bench out of the sun, met a man who is doing a book on Canadian/American relationships.  "Why would any American give a sh-t about Canada?" I asked.  He didn't really have an answer, but proceeded to interview me because of my many Canadian/American connections.  Both my biological and adoptive fathers were Americans, my step-daughter is married to an American/Texan and B's grandchildren are both American.  "Do they not have dual citizenship?" he admonished.  They should have, but I have no control over that fiasco.  If you have the option of giving your kids Canadian citizenship, why would you not??  And step-daughter trots out the Canadian flag and T-shirts on all occasions.  No clue why her kids are not half Canadian?

Another tale for another day...or not.        

Sometimes I'm dumb

"Oh, you don't have to tip them, you have paid enough here," said the desk clerk when B asked about the protocol for dealing with the jitney drivers who circulate this sprawling resort.  It's about a mile from end-to-end, so one has to rely on these vehicles to get around. 



The other morning I ordered one at 7 to take me to the largest pool at the other end of our complex.  "Please pick me up 40 minutes later," I said to the driver.  "No problem," he replied.  Except that I never saw the guy again.  Started walking and about half way back another jitney drove by, which I successfully flagged down.  I have learned to tip the drivers, they are much more cooperative.  Duh! 



We are off to Indian Wells, hope to see some top players.....maybe? 

Seven

I had heard that Palm Springs was a huge gay mecca, but hadn't noticed it.  Until last night.  A party of seven gay men were seated next to us at dinner last evening.  I started to wonder about being "gay"?  I know one is born that way, but it must be a mixup of hormones -- you know a few too much of this and not enough of that.  What do you think? 



Not that I care, got several gay friends and my own brother was gay.  Sadly, he commited suicide in 1982 when his long-time lover decided to get married.  Too much family money for the guy to abandon, so he went underground.  Three kids now. 



Tomorrow it's India Wells for the tennis.  Doing my laps every morning, finally found a pool I can swim in without winding my way around the kidney-shaped variety.  Met a kindred swimmer yesterday and felt good because I am a much faster swimmer than she.  Isn't that awful!?  Feeling good because I can beat someone else hands down. 



God'll get me for that vanity.     

A Nice Surprise

I am a big catalogue shopper of  "Coldwater Creek", they have no outlets in Canada.  Strolling down El Paseo -- the 'Rodeo Drive' of Palm Springs -- I was happy to see one of their stores.  Went in and bought a gorgeous pair of white hip-hugger pants, a fabulous flower-print linen jacket and a black shrug for those "cellulite" moments we must all avoid.



We lunched at a local restaurant and were regaled with past Indian Wells tales by the bar tender.  "Andre Agassi was a real jerk," said our waiter.  Really?  I always thought he was very cool.  "No, he was rude and impolite to his fans," he added.  "Pete Sampras was lovely."  A recent poll revealed that the most admired man in the world was Nelson Mandela.  Next?  Roger Federer.  Yes indeed.  As I have blogged, B and I saw Roger win his first Wimbledon when he prevailed over Andy Roddick in 2004 (?), can't remember the year.  It might have been 2006??



Watched the Oscars last evening, against my better judgement.  All the women are starving themselves, seriously.  Glad McConahey (sp?) won for best actor, but he actually won for losing 40 pounds.  Jared Leto's makeup artist should have won, not Leto himself.  Cross dress and you'll win.  It's all so dumb, but I watched! 



Weather has turned warm again here in Palm Springs.     

Dogs?

Everywhere I turn there's a dog. This is a vacation spot and people bring their dogs?! Give me a break. A number of years ago I was in Brussels on business and yappy dogs were everywhere...and so was their....you know what. Disgusting. Same thing here. They bring them into restaurants!

We had a dog for years, but I would never have dreamt of bringing him on vacation. By the way, it's freezing here. Annoying. But I am enjoying the level of service we are afforded here. Some people I know well have the unmitigated gall to call them "wetbacks". How disgusting. The Mexicans who do all the work are the most friendly, hard-working people I have ever seen. What they put up with is an embarassment. We are not the most considerate of patrons.

Swimming today I dedicated every lap to my friend "D", who has been given a devasting diagnosis. She was the first person to befriend me at the Y pool when we moved to Calgary. Ever since we have had many laughs and many lunches. When I get back we will share more.

Whoa!

It was described as a "bistro" in the hotel guide book, but when we went for lunch yesterday I realized the book had been very out-of-date! This was a classy French restaurant and Friday's are the fashion show days. The place was packed with very rich and "not fat" women. I was very glad I had "dressed" for the occasion, but poor "B", always dressed to the back teeth, was in jeans! The owner, a very gracious/gorgeous broad, ushered us in and we enjoyed some of the best food and service I can remember. The models were lovely, but the outfits....well, not so much. One dress was $4,500! I wouldn't have worn it. And the shoes didn't quite match the hats...not an anchored outfit. It's raining here, a side effect of the floods in Los Angeles. But at least it's not snow! Yesterday my phone rang. "It's D, I have inoperable brain cancer," said one of my good friends with whom I swim every day. I was devastated. "When you get back, come over so we can cry and drink," she added. I knew something was wrong when her arm suddenly became paralyzed a couple of weeks ago. Physio was doing nothing so it was odd. I thought it might have been a stroke, but when the other shoe dropped it was crushing. Live every day, don't put anything off. That's why we decided to come to Palm Springs. Why not?