Lenten Journal, Week 5

Week 5 with the Thankfulness Journal for Lent is easier, throwing a vacation into the mix.  I am behind posting, just returning from Mexico.

3/21/12 I am thankful for

bringing all needed documents to the accountant, and hearing the taxes will be finished in time.

Welcoming book club after frustrating clothes shopping.  Wine and Rob Lowe much enjoyed.

Winning the “quintessential 80’s hair cut” photo at book club.  What fun I had looking through my old photo albums to choose a photo.

True 80's hair, while in England.

3/22/12 I am thankful for

DEVON!!  Happy 14^th birthday!

A meeting postponed results in outdoor lunch with Colette on a gorgeous day.

Birthday dinner at Cheesecake Factory.  Yum!

3/23/12  I am thankful for

completing all vacation prep shopping, packing, errands, bank runs, work with a few hours to spare.

Theresa, for inviting us for dinner the last night in town.

Kerry’s spirit.

3/24/12 I am thankful for

leaving the country.

The smell of salty air.

Soft, white sand beneath my toes.

3/25/12 I am thankful for

no alarms for several days, no dogs jumping on the bed to awaken us.

Fresh sliced fruit and chocolate croissants.

Sky color = water color.  Amazing.

 3/26/12  I am thankful for

friends arriving, finding us on the beach.

Unending cocktails.

Watching my girls get massages on the beach.

3/27/12 I am thankful for

early morning walk on the beach, camera in hand.

finally, a drink at the poolside bar.

Group dinner, on the outdoor patio, divine.

C

Beach Story

Been out of the country, so I haven’t been posting.  Here is a Haiku I wrote in Riviera Maya, Mexico last week.  New habit, Haiku’s in my mind.

Waves caress coral

shimmy crabs plants fish shells while

slyly destructive.

C

Tide pools, underwater view.

A Graveyard Worth Visiting

The Old Burying Grounds is one of the more memorable and peaceful places we saw on our recent NC holiday.  Beaufort was a short drive from where we stayed, a fun historic town to visit on a cloudy, rainy day.  A few blocks of shops, Maritime Museum–free, can you believe it–with Blackbeard’s ship remains, beautifully restored homes, shipyard, ice cream shops (yum!), but my favorite site was this graveyard aside a tiny church.  Graves from the 1700′s, 1800′s, stilted, leaning, lettering faded, heartbreaking losses of 6 children through the years,  couples, soldiers, settlers laying quietly amidst wisteria and other trees, birds, forgotten flowers, whispers.

The story behind one grave covered with trinkets and joy is that a girl died upon a ship, and her father put her in a barrel of rum to preserve her body.

A few photos from the visit. C

Not forgotten.

angel wings

petrifying conch shells resting with a grave

The Steeple

family plot within the graveyard

Morning Bike Rides

Watermelon.  Key lime. Tangerine. Lemon.  Cranberry.

These were just a few of the whimsical house colors that lined the beach and road opposite us a we rode our bikes daily along the street running alongside the ocean in Emerald Isle, NC.

Mid-20^th century bungalows are situated next to statelier, multi-level clapboards,  all overloaded with balconies and scattered widow walks overlooking the Atlantic and the Bogue Sound. Some had amusing names like “Vitamin SEA” and “R&R” and “Mermaid’s Cove”, others marked with fluttering flags, scrubby gardens, gates open and closed.  A stately white home with black trim stands tall above the rest looking more like it belongs on a New Orleans boulevard than in a sleepy beach town.

It amazes and impresses us the non-motorized traffic along this road each morning.  There are thicker, thinner, high school, middle aged runners, dog walkers, a family biking, then another,  multi-generational families walking, several groups loaded with gear crossing to the beach already, fishermen returning from shoreline solitude.

It is wonderful to see so many people outside, getting some exercise, being together  or releasing stress before hitting the beach, the store, the mini-golf, the arcades, the boats.   Maybe work? If only everyday could be like this.

Slate. Sand. Forest green. Twilight.  Snow.   C

California Pics

Feeling a bit more like a photo blog than a writing blog the past couple posts, here are a few shots I took in and around Bodega Bay.  I enjoy shooting the unexpected, the quirky, and finding beauty in surprising places.  Open your eyes, that’s all.

by the dock

Pallets

enlargement of the food fight!

Welcome #2!

More inviting entrances from San Francisco, and one who needs just a touch of sprucing up:

Pacific Heights mansion

Sharon's condo

Twin craziness!

near Bodega Bay. love this.

Welcome! #1

On a recent trip to San Francisco, I became a bit obsessed with the entryways, sprouting flowers, fancy gates along the walkways and started taking pictures.  And more pictures.  Here is a sampling, with more to come in the next post. C

orange symmetry

Painted Lady fun

Mission District funkiness

Pacific Hts apt

Another Chicago Weekend

Just another incredible Chicago weekend. In our everyday world (yeah, right)…..

a Friday morning working in the city

a quiet salad lunch, sitting in Millenium Park watching every color and shape of mankind jump into the fountains

a beautiful evening out with friends at the Toast of the Town wine tasting event at the Field Museum, rubbing shoulders with Vince Vaughn while re-filling my glass, munching on delicious sushi and lobster rolls

an unexpected limo ride back to a hotel bar

an early morning bike  ride along the wonderfully refurbished lakefront path, south to Hyde Park, resting on the beach talking to the on-duty Chicago Police

riding back north and inadvertently becoming part of the festive Puerto Rican Day parade–so much fun!

meeting the kids after their solo train ride, then a water taxi north

daughter pulled into the street-performer show, called out to a raucous audience

a ride on the Navy Pier ferris wheel, overlooking the city on the slow-moving spin

mass at Holy Name Catherdral

beer on the sidewalk, waiting at Pizzeria Due for our name to be called, eating-eating more then

hugs on the sidewalk, comforting drive home.

It would talk a strong argument to convince me that there is a better city to be in on a lakeside, sun-filled summer day than Chicago. Overflowing, stimulating, culture-blending, music-filled, history-alive, future-untold.   Fulfilling. Satisfying. C

Spring Break at Home

Spring break. We have friends on the beach right now, skiing in Colorado, visiting family in snowy Minneapolis, but we are hanging around home this week. So lucky we are, to have Chicago just a car ride away–with so much to do–and other local friends to explore with us.

The Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago is still stunningly free, right along beautiful Lake Michigan.  My first winter visit there in years, the polar bear was joyful, the sea lion doing flips, no crowds, no lines.  I have mixed feelings about zoos–animals in captivity, but I know their homes are disappearing, and zoos are a way to educate our kids about conservation and show how beautiful, intriguing, and sometimes cruel the animal world can be.

Lioness sunning

 

On the north side of the zoo is the Lincoln Park Conservatory, a greenhouse filled with palms, then orchids, then a breath of springtime flowers.  Amazing colors to brighten our grey yards.

orchids in bloom

A riot of color

There are miles you can walk in this city, not spending a dime.  After an afternoon in the zoo, today we walked the shops on State Street, seeing the incredible flower displays in Macy’s.

With family, with friends, it’s fun to always see something new in Chicago.  What a great town.

What will tomorrow bring on our hometown spring break? C

A Lexington Visit

The World Equestrian Games (WEG) wrapped up today in Lexington, KY.  This is the first time this event (held every four years) has been in the US, it showed an incredible breadth of equestrian sports. Colette and I drove to the event with tickets in hand for two show jumping events, but we saw a wide range of horses, people, events, and lecturers.

We watched Icelandic ponies, their fast gait unlike any I have seen.  Beautiful creatures, impressive riders.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The California Cowgirls drill team was completely opposite from the Icelandic riders, with their American flags and Western outfits. The audience enjoyed the show almost as much as the performers, I think.

drill team

At the Clinician’s corral we heard John Lyons and Linda and Pat Parelli speak and demonstrate their riding and training techniques. Both interesting and educational, once you took a step back from the marketing.

The highlight was the two days of international, world-class show jumping.  Riders from 18 to 57 competing, we saw a portion of the speed competition and one day of the team jumping.  It is stunning to see how beautiful their form, how high the jumps, how technical the course.  Even these Olympic winners had refusals and knocked fences and walls, but we fortunately saw no injuries to horse or rider.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out this wall! We saw it come down two times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A glorious two days,  the Kentucky Horse Park welcomed, educated, inspired, challenged us, and made us wish our visit was longer.  Horse lovers from around the world, waving flags, eating, drinking, shopping–I think all were made very welcome by the people of Lexington. C