1) This Valentine’s Day began differently from every other I can remember: Bitmoji texts and a 30-minute phone call from an actual Valentine, after he received the dozen roses I had ordered for him. Thank goodness I decided to start my day with the dawn after all and not try to sleep on until 7:30, and thank goodness I had my first cup of coffee. We had a really lovely conversation, and later, when I logged on, I saw the email he said he’d sent, with a favorite quote of his from Brideshead Revisited that — that left me in an emotional state, let’s just leave it there.
1a) Who is this Valentine, you ask? Well, never you mind; his identity may be revealed at a later date. He is the Fascinating New Personality I mentioned a few weeks ago, and he is still fascinating.
1b) At age 58, this is my first Valentine.
2) So . . . “New friends are silver, but old friends are gold,” and in my current state I had particular need for a gold friend. Thank goodness Hochmina and I had already arranged to go to breakfast at Sherman’s and we were able to talk through this Brave New World.
3) I’ve been able to act on few of the recommendations made to me of things to do in Palm Springs, but so many people said “Go to Sherman’s!” that I’d’ve been justly shunned if I hadn’t made it there. I love delis and I love deli food, so it is no surprise that I now love Sherman’s, too. We had a table outside on the sidewalk, good coffee, a bacon cheese omelette, and a view of one of my besties backed by a range of mountains. Sherman’s FTW!
3a) “Great for people watching,” I was told, and at 9:15 AM Sherman’s was definitely a magnet for Heterosexual Palm Springers Older Than I. Walking from the car to the entrance, we past an elderly cellist just setting up for a morning serenade; our table turned out to be just next to him, and we enjoyed a series of romantic solos backed by pre-recorded accompaniment. I tipped him on the way out, and then got to notice his sign board with all of his previous symphony gigs.
3b) With most people appearing in T-shirts and shorts, one irresistibly noticed the arrival of a person in a short fringed buckskin dress with long sleeves and bits of jewelry. And I thought, “If Georgia O’Keeffe had ever been part of cocktail culture, this would have been her look.”
4) Then prowling through Ralph’s with one of my hosts on the lookout for egg noodles, flowers, a particular kind of prepared tomato, and some other things. And lunch al fresco with my hosts.
5) In the late afternoon I Lyfted over to Rancho Mirage to see two friends who moved to Palm Springs permanently about a year ago. While Palm Springs is defined by the mid-century modern low ranch house of severe angles and brightly colored doors, this gated community in Rancho Mirage is entirely high-ceilinged stucco cottages with Spanish roof tiles and rather lush plantings. The contrast surprised me.
5a) My friends have arranged their new home luxuriously; my goodness, their living room of pale gray with rich blues and greens was so perfect. As seems to be the practice here, the house came with a great deal of furniture from the previous owner, and they found some marvelous things in the consignment shops here. We had a really nice hour or so catching up and daydreaming about the future.
6) The Lyft driver on my return trip was a native of Indio, CA, full of questions about how New England was different from this region.
7) I rushed into the house with barely enough time to set the table before the Valentine’s dinner guests summoned by my hosts arrived. What was going to be a simple pasta dinner had been enriched by leftovers from polo and a superb homemade chocolate mousse.
8) Like all dinners with absorbing conversations, the evening stretched on, and I knew I was going to have to finish my packing. The night concluded with wide smiles and fond embraces from old friends and new.
PS: I conclude this entry on Tuesday morning, only two hours before departing for the airport. Dawn substituted her hazy robe for her rosy fingers this morning. It feels like forever ago that I arrived here, but that is because I’ve experienced and absorbed so much during this stay. After so much sameness and anxiety in the last two years, this new and different week fed my soul as I had hoped — but not, perhaps, quite as expected. I leave grateful for the generous hearts that welcomed me here in the first place — and eager to welcome my own houseguest in only a few days.