Friday, June 22, 2012

Magnetic Personalities

Sometimes when I'm working in the shop I feel like a wacko magnet and Wednesday was a banner day.
  • In the morning I sold some furniture, china and linens to a healer with a thick southern drawl who does all his work in the buff and claims he can heal whatever ails you - wink, wink...if you know what I mean...and I'm afraid I didn't. Guess I'm just a little dense. Need a curse broken or your aura cleansed? These are your peeps. His wife and assistant will enhance this work color therapy, energy first-aid and appropriate spells. They don't come into the shop very often but when they do, you can bet I'll be working...
  • About an hour before we closed I sold some antique African carvings to a young woman who whispered "I speak to spirits and they tell me to buy this stuff". Aside from this statement she looked and acted perfectly normal. She was decked out in bracelets and Tibetan protection amulets from our dealer who sells the stuff and spent just over $300 on two carvings. She says she doesn't particularly like the stuff, but the spirits say she needs it so she goes with it. She has two year old twins and a new baby at home. Contrary to the shamanic healers, she seemed almost embarrassed about the whole talking to spirits thing. The shamans on the other hand are clearly seeking new clients...


Thursday, June 21, 2012

Passing Through

It's been an intense week for us in our little corner of heaven. There's been news of two deaths near and dear to us and a diagnosis of terminal cancer as well. I know this is the stuff of real life but sometimes it just really sucks.

My dad's youngest brother Burton, my Uncle Bucky passed away earlier this week. With his passing I note a transition in my "family status" as relayed to me by my mom. When I called her to tell her the sad news she said "You know, you're the older generation in the family now...not that you're old or anything like that...". This coming from my mom who'll be 81 in August! As we talked more about age and aging I asked her how old she felt on the inside. Her answer - 55! That's how old I'll be in September. Today I find myself once again clinging ferociously to the notion that no matter how old the calendar says I am, time is and will always be...

on my side.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Home


Home always feels best even when the travels are truly amazing. Fortunately we're still feeling the positive effects of our CA trip even though some of the bills have already started coming in!

In the week since we've been home there's been a lot to catch up on inside and out, at home and at work. It's been a sad week too with news of at least one friend's passing and another's diagnosis of terminal cancer. I am further resolved to live by this...


 Yeah, I know it's from a online retail company but it speaks to me and I like it so I'm going with it. If you click on the link and scroll down you'll also find a video. So good.

I've started to fall into a nice summer routine and though it's rainy today that can't keep me from spending time in the garden. I've got a new herb patch planned near the kitchen door and that super highway for chipmunks that sits smack dab in the middle of my strawberry patch? The one that got enlarged to four lanes while we were away on vacation? Well it needs to be rerouted immediately! I'm not sure how I'm going to accomplish this but I am determined to have more than three berries this year. I would love nothing more than to be finished with work and chores and in time for a nap during the afternoon thunderstorm.

We've got bluebirds nesting nearby and robin and sparrow babies in the yard. I'm pretty sure there are hummingbirds as well but I won't find their nest until I'm pruning in the fall. 
 Our formerly decorative bird house
is now home to a nest of newly hatched house wrens. I love how the birds have whittled away at the entry holes until they were able to wriggle their little wren bodies inside. The house wren is a teeny tiny little spit of a bird but it has an enormous song.

I'm looking forward to tending my own nest today.



Friday, June 8, 2012

Return to Carmel

Minutes before heading out to Yosemite we called to ask about the possibility of returning to Carmel. Yeehaw! Not only did the Bay View Inn have a room, they had a suite with even more expansive views of the sea and we could have it for only a few dollars more than our previous room. It was a no brainer - we'll save Napa for our next trip and return to Carmel one last time.
 
So here we are. Ken just made the first morning coffee delivery and we are sitting here looking out over the sea from our balcony. We've already perused the local real estate listings and found we can't afford to live here unless we win the lottery. I'll get right on that. 

I have a bit of catching up do here but it'll have to wait. Pics from Chinatown and our last day in San Francisco are in the queue and photos from our trip to Yosemite are almost edited. I can hardly wait to get to the shots from the Mariposa Sequoia grove in the park. We visited there the morning we left. Here's a sneak peak...

 
Being in the presence of those trees and walking in that primeval forest has been added to the list of top experiences from this trip. We're headed to Big Sur for the day today and I'm sure there will be more wow's, omg's and gasps at the natural beauty of this place.
That's us...

Monday, June 4, 2012

Carmel

Okay, so I totally get this California thing...
This really might the most beautiful place I've ever seen in my life. I already don't want to leave but then again I always want to be on vacation permanently anyway.

This is the view from out balcony in Carmel.




And as if the charm of this sweet town and sound of sea weren't enough, there is a great blue heron nest within camera range. I had to promise Ken I wouldn't get hooked on watching these birdies like I did with these!

Recap of our adventures since my last post...
Friday in Chinatown and Fisherman's Wharf at Sunset (pics coming son...)

We checked out of the Mosser on Saturday morning and rolled ourselves and our luggage about two blocks away to pick up our rental car. The drive out of the city was easy as could be except for the times we crashed because of the view. 
 
I have never said "wow" so many times in my life. 
On the way to Carmel we stopped at Sam's Chowder House in Half Moon Bay. 
We strolled the farmer's market and walked out on the jetty's. 
Warm sun, respectable breeze, no crowds, a single friendly sea lion. Just perfect. 
At Sam's we met up with one of my dearest friends from college, her husband and her eldest daughter. It had been twenty seven years since we last saw one another and thanks to facebook, she knew we were in the area. 
This was and probably will be the highlight of the entire trip for me. 

Don't know what today holds, but I suppose it'll likely include lots more walking, great food and wine, at least 400 frames of photos shot and more wonderful adventure. I still don't know what day it is and now I don't care. 
As long as Ken keeps bringing me coffee in the morning and he's in charge of the map I'm in good hands.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Paradise


On Friday morning we walked about a block from the Intercontinental to our new digs at the Mosser Hotel. The Mosser is a turn of the 20th century building with tons of charm and character. Our room is about the size of the shower we had at the Intercontinental but it has everything we need. A comfy bed, nice natural light and a bay window that opens (there's no AC!), a comfy chair, free coffee in the morning and free wifi. As soon as we were settled we headed out to explore.


The weather is absolutely fabulous - 65 degrees, sunny and breezy. Warm in the sun and cool in the shade. The harbor is stunning and the views are to die for. Can we just stay here forever? 

The city is so vibrant and the people here are so friendly. 
We've seen some impressive acts and heard some outrageously good 
(and bad) music from the street performers.



The homeless are also friendly and entertaining. I mean come on, how could we not contribute?
 

Yesterday we had a cable car ride up,


and up
and up 
and then down




and down 
 
and down to Fisherman's wharf.  


There was a long walk along the harbor and out on the piers,
 

and an hour-long boat ride took us under the Golden Gate Bridge
and around Alcatraz.

We had dinner at the Crab House on Pier 39,
and a cable car ride home. 
We don't know what day it is and have stopped paying attention to the time. 
Ahhhhhhhh......















Friday, June 1, 2012

Paradise

We're in San Francisco! 
 

I haven't been inside a five-star hotel since 1988 when the largest oil company in South Korea sponsored a chamber music tour I was a part of. I forgot just how wonderful it can be.

I mean come on...how did they know?

We've got a shower the size of Texas,
 and our own fluffy white bathrobes and matching slippers too.

Here's the view from our eighth story window. The fog is just rolling in off of the bay.
 Even the graffiti is interesting!

Ken's conference is over and though he'll never tell you this in person, he did really well with his presentation. I have never been more proud of him. It was a big damn deal to get up in front of all those colleagues, company big wigs and suits and show 'em what you know. Now that the conference is over we'll be leaving this five-start paradise and heading over a few blocks to less fancy digs in the heart of the city.  It's a day without agenda and who knows where we'll end up or what we'll find!