Every summer, Aimee has had a “cousins party” back home; this week, we decided to have one out in L.A. Unofficially, I guess, but still, two of Aimee’s cousins paid us a visit over the last few days, and we had a great time showing them around. Lauren visited on her west coast swing for a few days, and we enjoyed some great meals around town and sightseeing in Santa Monica and Malibu, plus a great concert at Royce Hall last night. Lauren was my Secret Santa, and the tickets to see the Kronos Quartet were part of her gift to me. The show was really great – the Bang On a Can / Iva Bittova opening act was interesting but a little trying to my ears, but Kronos’ performance was really amazing, with some stunning performances, a few L.A. premieres, and even some inspiring radial sander work. Royce Hall is a great place to see a concert, and the group put on a riveting show.



Our second cousin-visit came this afternoon, after we dropped Lauren off at the airport and after I finished my ten-mile run through Santa Monica and Venice in preparation for my upcoming half marathon. Matteo, whom I’d barely missed when I was in Italy, was spending a few days in L.A. on behalf of the vineyard he works for in Friuli. We only saw him for a few hours, but it was great to catch up on his terrific-sounding life in idyllic Italy.