First Person Singular by Wendy Braitman

Amazing Grace

One last goodbye to Aretha Franklin

Mondrian Toast

Food art by Lucia Litman

Meatballs Al Forno

On Sunday, I spent the day cooking one of my favorite dishes, meatballs al forno from Mozza. It’s a serious undertaking, including homemade chicken stock and tomato sauce, but so worth the effort. And now, I’ve got a stockpile in the freezer.

Household Chore

Regular readers of FPS know I didn’t inherit my mother’s ambition for housekeeping. Because I don’t like clutter, I’m good at the tidying up part (with the exception of my desk), but the love of deep cleaning has always eluded me. The one exception is laundry, which I do every Sunday with glee. Ironing not included! What’s your favorite household chore?

Illustration by Marc Johns

Neil Simon, RIP

Let’s not forget. Neil Simon, another superstar passes this week. 

Illustration by Chris Phillips

Circle of Love

I’m a huge fan of the artist, Geoff McFetridge. Here’s how he describes this illustration: “Everyone is first everyone is last the front is the back of the line and we all win and we lose at once beautifully.”

Box Heaven

Even though I live alone, I like having a family’s worth of home supplies at hand. That’s why I go to Costco every 3 or 4 months to purchase jumbo amounts of toilet paper, laundry detergent, zip lock bags and paper towels. The nearest Costco is a 30-minute drive at best (early on Sunday mornings), so it’s an annoying errand, particularly the loading and unloading of the car, and hauling the supplies up from the garage. And then I discovered Costco online. Now, UPS drops everything right outside my apartment door. My only remaining gripe is tackling the giant empty boxes for the recycling bin.

Language Matters

L.A. Life

The other day, I walked by this on my way to see Crazy Rich Asians. Just another day in L.A.

Scooterville

It was just a month or two ago that I saw the first scooter strewn across the sidewalk, and now they’re everywhere. I’m already annoyed by them. But then I speak to people who think they’re great. Are scooters infiltrating your neighborhood? And if so, what’s your take?

Illustration by Tomi Um