Tag archives: shelter at home
Happy New Year! 2021 is finally here and while I’ve never been more ecstatic to watch the ball drop in Times Square, I know a number does not a miracle make. As much as we crave instant relief from the dumpster fire that was 2020 and the pandemic that defined it, unfortunately none of the […]
Governor Gavin Newsom’s shutdown order, in place for a minimum of three weeks, means no more dinners out for a while, coffees with friends, all of that. However, this is Montecito, a special, magical community of strong people that have been through a lot, with love in their hearts. This renders them fully capable of […]
Just hours into what is hopefully our final lockdown order, it’s deja vu all over again. I’m worried about my mother in Los Angeles and my in-laws cooped up in assisted living at Maravilla. As we head into the holidays, I’m missing my family and friends, I’m feeling bad for my kids, and I’m concerned […]
An award-winning, published landscape designer, with over two decades of experience, Alida is well known for designing new gardens, as well as restoring landmark gardens throughout Montecito and Santa Barbara. In the spring of 2021, Alida will be teaching a class in The Principals of Landscape Design through Santa Barbara City College. Between masks, fires, […]
Her faith, and the views, help her through One Summerland family that is looking forward to the changes at Lookout Park is Nancy Aviles, her husband, Rodrigo Campuzano, and their two young children, Amy and Roy. “Living in Summerland is a wonderful experience,” says Nancy, a child development specialist who works for an early intervention […]
My wife and I have significant comorbidity issues that would be extremely dangerous were we to contract COVID-19. Many of us have been self-quarantined since mid-February with no end in sight. Why are we here? California started way behind New York in experiencing large pandemic infections, only to pass it. Why are we here? Santa […]
It’s not nearly as well known as its far more famous cousin of SBIFF, but the Ojai Film Festival has quietly been making a name for itself over the years. And with frustrated moviegoers once again stuck at home sheltering, the OFF endeared itself with a new online film series called Festival Highlights. The streaming […]
Montecito mom Susan Crosby has been offering work out sessions and personal training for years, but now with everyone staying home, she has found a new way to connect with her clients. The Crosby family first moved to Montecito in 2003, thinking (like everyone else!) it would be a great place to raise a family […]
Lesley Drucker, a sophomore at Cate School, recently started SB Sunshine Tutors, a tutoring service to support students who are struggling with homework during the pandemic. Lesley saw how students were no longer able to meet with their teachers after class for help. “I really relied on getting help from teachers after class, but all […]
The American Film Institute honored Frank Capra by selecting his movie It’s A Wonderful Life as the Most Inspirational Film of all time. It was a great pick. Not only has it become a “Christmas Classic” for decades, but Frank Capra is quoted as saying it was his favorite film of all the incredible classics […]
I am writing this article both as a memorial to a dear friend of 50 years who just succumbed to COVID. And as a reminder to all that the coronavirus remains a clear and present danger to everyone. After eight weeks of hibernation, I am as stir crazy as everyone else, although I have the […]
You’ve gotta give it up for humans. With the exception of the Dark Ages, we’re always trying to figure out better ways to nest and adapt those nests to what life throws at us. But how we shelter has never had to absorb so much change… or so much stuff… so quickly as now. Our […]
Many Americans have taken to baking while sheltering at home. Mary Pat Whitney, Director of Public and Advancement Events at Westmont, has raised the bar, baking brownie bars and a whopping 12,000 cookies for the Westmont and Santa Barbara communities. This effort started as a way to show gratitude to local first responders and essential […]
Claudia Hoag McGarry has been involved in writing and literature for decades. Her resume includes more than a dozen screenplays, several novels and, more recently, a handful of theatrical plays as well as 30 years of serving as a Santa Barbara City College English skills teacher. Then COVID-19 arrived, shut down just about everything, and […]
The coronavirus and the related deaths of seventy thousand Americans and nearly two hundred thousand more people around the world, would seem to be a shared enemy that could bring people together – even people in a country as divided as ours. Instead, this pandemic has handed us new beliefs over which to divide. Stay […]
When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Go Shopping – Remotely In these tough times, it’s important to support local businesses while also practicing social distancing. To that end, when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit California and changed life as we know it, the Montecito Journal changed its local events listing page to a Grab […]
I am pleased to share joint authorship today with my good friend, Attorney Jan Larson. Coincidentally, she and her husband, Rock Rockenbach, soon will be moving back to Montecito. Jan and I both represent policy holders against insurance companies. In this article, we discuss how first party property insurance policies should be examined to determine […]
In the Times of Dis-Ease I am generally described as a cheerful person who tends toward optimism. But lately I find myself lingering over any mention of grief or fear or loss. Rather than turning away and protecting myself… I find that I am, in the face of this pandemic, turning toward the dark, unpleasant […]
Like the majority of the Montecito community, residents at Casa Dorinda are quietly sheltering at home, acknowledging that they are among the most vulnerable to COVID-19. Casa Dorinda has taken strict precautions to ensure the virus does not make its way onto the 48-acre campus, located in the heart of Montecito. In a recent interview […]
With plenty of extra time on my hands thanks to social distancing, I’m doing what millions of Americans are doing: reimagining my home office. Because quarantine is a great time to fixate on that which you control (or perceive you control). Sketching out a new blueprint, I asked myself: do we really need all these […]
