~ 2010 Summary ~

* Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Eid, Winter Solstice and Happy New Year! *

"Times they are a-changin." – Bob Dylan
This year many of our friends will read this missive on Facebook or a blog. Others by email. And a few will get a delivery from the post man.

I'd like to announce that Jane and I got married but it seems the year has flown by without that auspicious occasion taking place. In any event, we are so married that friends call us "husband" and "wife." But I have come to realize that we probably need a little help from our friends to plan the ceremony and make it so. Any volunteers?

CJ, Jane's son, has merged his film editing skills with Internet savvy and has a good business going. He is spending Xmas in Spain with his girlfriend, Meggie. Lauren, Jane's daughter, pursued photography studies and it seems her future degree is leaning towards the Arts. Some of her work is quite marvelous.

Jane's jewelry is a hot item. Just last week another celebrity bought a selection of her designs. The partner store changed hands but is doing well. Jane is also considering other avenues for a bigger game.
www.jenandjane.com

Rain, my granddaughter, is two and traveling around with mom and dad, but still spends time with Aunty Tashania.

The family in Clearwater, Cape Town and other parts of the world are doing fine too.

Jane has been very active as a volunteer with our church. I have continued coordinating the Los Angeles chapter of the Dianetics Running Team. We have had some fun races and a few young guys on the team are actually winning races outright.

I haven't been rock climbing for ages but I have taken up surfing! It has been a slow learning process but I find myself ever excited to go catch that next wave. I'm addicted! It has even been cutting into my running time!

Photography is ever a passion too and I head the LEVEL Photographers group at work.

We bade a tearful goodbye to the Porsche, but at 357,000 miles (574 000 Km) it was time. I won't publish here the speed I did on the last day I drove her – suffice it to say I do miss that high performance. The new kid is a Pruis named "Hy," or "Hi" for short. Some great design went into this car, not the least of which is it is not very thirsty.

I have fallen in love again. This time with the California Central Coast. I work in San Luis Obispo during the week and go home to Jane on weekends. I rent in nearby Morro Bay and early mornings find me in the ocean with a surfboard. Surf, seals and sunshine. Life is good!
Now I just have to get the family to move up there with me.

We wish you and yours a New Year of flourishing and prospering and – winning! Please drop me a line, I love to hear from you.

From Collages

Year 2009 Summary

The unfortunate news of 2009 was that our Internet startup business which had so much hope was laid to rest and we all moved on to other things, poorer and wiser. Which led me to a contract in Utah.

Overstock turned out to be a remarkable company. They wanted me to become a full time employee and Jane and I seriously considered relocating to Salt Lake City. I started a love affair with the Wasatch Mountains, running the trails and taking many photographs. I feel privileged to have experienced the wildflowers that flourish in the summer – breathtakingly vibrant and abundant – I have never seen anything quite like it. I would fly home to California for monthly visits and Jane visited me too.

Big news is that Jane said "Yes!" I proposed in a romantic moment during one of my visits. She has set a tentative date later in 2010.

More big news was that CJ, Jane's son, graduated from the Pasadena Art Center College of Design with a degree in Film Editing. He and his associates have started a new company. He is incredibly talented and with his drive I predict he will go far.

Lauren, Jane's daughter, became an avid bicycle rider, participating in group rides far and wide. (And she got her brother riding too.) She started working and is surveying colleges to further her education.

Jane continues to make an artistic mark with her fabulous jewelry designs. She is also becoming more business savvy and is exploring expansion options.
I created a shopping cart for her web site. Feel free to try it!
www.jenandjane.com

Can you believe that Rain, my granddaughter, is now more than a year old and running around? She is the cutest little girl.
Taron is proving to be a good father and Tashania a good aunty.

Dalmain, my father, passed away in his sleep just after Christmas. He led a remarkable life and we thank him and wish him well.

Jane continues to be active n our church. My sojourn curtailed involvement with the Dianetics Running Team, but that should change now that I have started a new job in San Luis Obispo, which is in Southern California. (Jane is happy I can be home every weekend!)

We wish you and yours a New Year in which you flourish and prosper and a New Decade with a bright future! Please drop me a line, I love to hear from you.

Let the new decade begin!

In Memoriam - Dalmain

The old man has moved on. We loved him so.

The loss is what we feel and it is what it is. But I want us to remember the lighter side, the fun person, the dynamic businessman he was. And the father. I think he would appreciate that.

I remember, as a very young lad, climbing Rhino Peak in his beloved Drakensberg. That night a ferocious storm lashed us as we took shelter under a ledge near the edge of a precipice. He slept on the outside so that I wouldn't fall. He was so mad when I backed out of going to St. Johns. He taught me to sail.

I admire the winner in him. I've never won a marathon or been a millionaire. And he was of course quite brilliant. I so enjoyed his insouciance, his spirit of play. His practical jokes are family folklore and we should make an effort to write them down. I think he would enjoy being remembered for his playfulness.

I want to honour him for being a pioneer Scientologist in the early days, bringing Scientology to the Eastern Province. That religion has meant so much to me personally that I will be forever grateful to him for making it available for me to discover.

Charming, good looking, forever young! He sets a grand example in so many respects, I think you'll agree. I believe he is doing fine right now, free from physical encumbrance, and he deserves a great new life filled with further adventures.

Go Pops! With all my love.

1962 East London - Chocolate Shake

It vaguely registers with my senses that someone has ordered a vanilla milkshake. This is outside of my reality and I push the thought away.

We're at a corner cafe near the Eastern Beach. I was fortunate enough to be allowed to join my Aunty Noleen and her older friends on a trip to the beach. The highlight of the afternoon was of course the very special treat of a milkshake!

It is simply inconceivable to me that anyone could or would want anything other than a chocolate flavoured milkshake. I mean, chocolate is the best. I can still think about other flavours (as a choice by other people) but vanilla? Vanilla is no flavour at all. No, I shut that one out – the concept niggles at the rear of my consciousness but it doesn't bother me.

(7 years old)

She said Yes!

 
I was flying out to Utah and Jane was flying in from her show in Clearwater Beach and we met at the airport and got to spend a few hours together. So we drove down to Manhattan Beach and walked out on the pier.

We were very loving and in comm. The surfers were on the waves and beach was golden. On a whim I took her in my arms and said, "I have a question. Let's just keep it light and spirit of play."

She looked at me.

"Will you marry me?", I proposed.

"Yes!"

Leaving for SLC

It was very hard to leave Jane behind but work was available in Utah and I had to go. Six months! We've never been apart that long. But you do what you have to do and this too shall pass.

Ice on the water

In Sunny So Cal - who would have thought? The birdbath was iced over. But the Tulip tree is in full bloom.

~ 2008 Summary ~

* Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukka, Eid, Winter Solstice and Happy Holidays! *

2008 was filled with work — lots of it! Days, nights & weekends.
And our Internet startup venture delivered a product about cars on a popular social website named Facebook. Unfortunately the auto business took a wrong turn and we are now changing the software to be about fashion. Wish us luck!

Jane's jewelry design business continues to strengthen. She and her partners moved their store to Studio City which proved to be worthwhile. Internet interest has increased to the point where I must add e-commerce to the web site.
www.jenandjane.com

Jane's son, CJ, is a star film editing student at the Pasadena Art Center College of Design. He graduates in 2009. Lauren, her daughter, turned 21 this year! She graduated massage therapy school but has decided to continue with studies. Zutia the cat is adored by the girls and Freeway the dog is getting old but still enjoys his walks.

The big news this year is that Taron, my son, got married and started a family! Rain India Lexton was born September 30th. Taron continues to direct film and his wife, Marisol, is an actress. Hm, I wonder what Rain will grow up to be?
www.txlfilms.com

My daughter, Tashania, and her husband have been married ten years already and continue to work for our church. Brandon was promoted to an officer – congratulations!
www.scientology.org

Dalmain, my father, joined my brother, David, and his family in lovely Hout Bay, South Africa. And beyond that cousins on both sides of the Atlantic added to the family and made grandparents and great grandparents proud!

I still love photography and post the occasional shot on Flickr. Jane and I continue to be active in our church and I plan to devote more time to studies in 2009. Running is a big part of my life and I run the local Dianetics Running Team, taking pictures all the while.
www.dredom.com/run/dn/
www.flickr.com/dream-on

We wish you and yours a New Year in which you flourish and prosper!
And remember, I love to hear from you.

* Happy New Year *

Rain India Lexton

Rain India Lexton was born at 2:18am on 30 September 2008.

I am a grandfather.

Bunny Rabbit

We barely saw the little bundle of fur as it scurried across the road in the fading light and it remained perfectly still as we approached. A tiny rabbit!

Jane immediately looked around for it's mommy and then decided we should take it home. It looked so innocent and small. I went right up to it and it just sat there. Then I wondered if it was injured. Using my T-shirt I put my hands around the tiny animal.

Hop!

It did not want to be picked up. But after checking once again for its mommy and wondering what might eat such a morsel here in the unprotected wild Jane convinced me to try again.

Hop! Hop! Hop! Hop!

No, this little fellow was not going to be taken home. So I pointed out that there was some grass growing in the culvert and the bunny could eat that. With that we left.

I believe this was some dwarf variety of rabbit rather than a baby - I could be wrong but now I want to find out.

In any event it was a remarkable experience to have the creature so unafraid of human contact. Better than coyotes, I guess!

Did I mention he got married?

Yep! April 13th at Celebrity Centre in Hollywood. I'm told it was an "A List" wedding. Plenty of celebs.

My Son is Engaged!

Just received the notification that my son, Taron, is engaged to be married! Yes, it's the beautiful actress he has been dating. Well, at least we know the grandchildren will be good looking. ;)

That's about the age I got married.

~ 2007 Summary ~

~ 2007 Summary ~
Originally uploaded by dream-on

Home Office

 
So I joined an Internet "startup" company. Working morning, noon and night. From home. The spare room has become my office. This is my view. Kind of different working from home. Sometimes I forget to do the normal things like shave and brush my teeth. But it is kind of fun to be able to work all the time because — I love working!

Would the real Mulholland please stand up!

 
What is not clear from this picture is that there are three parallel roads, in the space of 80 meters, all named "Mulholland Drive." Another naming anomaly is one "Canoga Avenue" runs to the top of the hill and proceeds down the other side as "Canoga Drive" with mirrored street numbers. No wonder people get lost trying to visit us!

Fall Birthdays

 
The greater Rietman family converged on our humble home in the hills to celebrate birthdays in the Fall. They came from the north, the south and the east – by car and by plane but none by train. The home was not perfect, the home was not spotless – there were not enough chairs to sit on. So we tossed a futon on the living room floor and a trash can seated one person at the dinner table. It was grand! It was fun! So good to see the family again.
picasaweb.google.com/untiedt/2007FallBirthdays

Bamboo Stalk

  And here we can see the new "bamboo stalk" colour on the living room walls! Busy ripping out the carpet right now. Then comes the skirting boards. The parquet floor beneath is a little worse for wear and bodes a project unto itself in restoration. Considering that it took me weeks of smoothing and sanding the walls before we ever got to the paint I had better get a move on so everything is perfect for the imminent family gathering.

Good Morning!

  Here is Jane, shortly after I have roused her with a cup of french press coffee, preparing gormet breakfast and lunch sandwiches. Yes, I am so lucky!

Lucky

I am so lucky.

Walking the dog in the cool evening under beautiful trees on a quaint suburban street, I ask someone if they are both Weimeraners? They are. One is a silver and the other a blue. They got them from the rescue and she gives me the web site. Pretty leaves crunch underfoot. I realize I am lucky.
Here I live. Beautiful home. Plenty to eat and flowing water on tap. No gunshots, no drugs. No soldiers. No wondering what lurks around the corner. The sunset is beautiful. We see a coyote disappearing around the bend.

So lucky.

Breakfast of Champions

 
This is what I have to put up with on Sunday mornings! The omlete is gourmet in the extreme complete with fresh herbs from the garden. What is missing is the freshly brewed Pete's coffee with cream. And if this looks good let me assure you that it tastes even better! Problem is, Jane's breakfasts are so good that everything else pales by comparison. Yum! Am I spoiled, or what?