July 9

Josh and I tossed around a lot of ideas for our anniversary getaway, and settled on something low budget and different. We drove 100 miles to Lake Elsinore, stayed in cheap hotel, and watched a Minor League baseball game.

Did you know that Lake Elsinore has an awesome(!!) dress shop? Well, it does.

It also has a man with a white curly moustache who managed to eat his loaded hot dog without also consuming his facial hair.

I really enjoyed the game. It was so much more laid back than a major league game, and the best seats in the stadium were only ten bucks each! That's my kind of entertainment budget :-)

I loved the look on this kid's face. He was on tenterhooks as his favourite player came up to bat. Priceless!

July 8

My theatre-loving baseball fan has a birthday tomorrow (and it will also be 6 years since we said "I do"). We have some fun plans ... photos at the end of the weekend!

I commissioned this portrait from our good buddy Phil D'Amore. I recommend him, if you want a special gift or memento. His rates are very reasonable :-)

July 7

Our orange tree has one big ripe fruit, and a bunch of tiny green ones. What's with that?

July 6

He always leaves his breakfast things out on the counter. I don't mind anymore. After all, he's off earning a living by the time I find them there.

July 5

Many years ago, on a summer's evening, I walked past a home in Brisbane (Australia) and heard adult laughter emanating from someone's back verandah, where a group of friends gathered. I paused and viewed their silhouettes through the gap between the houses. They were eating dinner and drinking wine and enjoying their mutually convivial company. I was already an adult myself -- I was married, and had a child -- but my life was so different from theirs. I was so tempted to just walk onto their property and ask to join them; I knew it would be awkward but I thought there was a 50/50 chance they might welcome me. But I had to go ... I stood for another five minutes as an outsider in the darkness, captivated by their relaxed, civilized world, and I said to myself, "THAT .. THAT is the life I want."

Well guess what? Now I have that life.

:::happy dance:::

July 4

Just Josh and me, home all day, talking things through. Then Bob came over for dinner and gave him a saxophone lesson, accompanied by the sound of fireworks. A good day, except that I ran out of my slow stitching thread and now have to wait till 10AM tomorrow to get more.

July 3

I try to give blood every eight weeks, but when I went today I was surprised to learn that it was my first visit since February. It's so easy to find other more 'important' things to do on a Saturday morning.

I had the house to myself all afternoon, and cleaned like nobody's business. It's been a long time since some of those tasks got done. Now I can't make anything to eat for fear of messing up the kitchen.

Tonight: more slow stitching. I hope to get the tank top completed this weekend ... stay tuned!

July 2

Made some quick and dirty Powerpuff Girls dresses for Lauren and a friend: next Tuesday is Toon Tuesday at summer camp. As she's going to be absent all weekend, I figured I'd better get it done tonight while she was here to measure. I loved my serger till the last few seams, when something went wrong. I am clueless about maintenance on this beast; so a visit to the machine shop just got added to the weekend list.

July 1

Some days I don't want to go to work. Some days I don't want to go home. Today was the latter.

June 27

The slow stitching has begun.

Practicing Gratitude

Dear Josh, thank you for wearing the tie I gave you to Mikey's Bar Mitzvah. Thank you for not giving me a hard time for refusing to go too. I like that you don't have to wear a suit very often, but you look good in one when you do.

Dear prickly pear, thank you for reminding me of my homeland. Eucalypts remind me of Australia in general, but you are all about Queensland. I am glad you are not a pest here in California.

Dear leaf caught in a cobweb, you and your captor are both so fragile and beautiful. Thank you for hanging there, waiting for me to come along and appreciate you.

Dear Christine, thank you for coming hiking with me, and for taking this photo.

June 19

My newest project is all about slow stitching. Or it will be, once the drafting, stencil cutting, and painting is done. I've had Natalie Chanin's books for a long time, and I'm excited to be actually starting on a garment. Stay tuned!

June 18

Man, fake body parts are soooo realistic these days. Which one is Josh's arm?

This might give it away.

June 13

Next up on the birthday list: 4 year old George. I used Jill's tutorial but changed it up a bit, putting a racing car on the front and using two twill tapes so that the car wasn't obscured.


Buffy inspected it closely and declared it to be good.

June 12

Josh and I had a lovely (kid-free) day, complete with a tennis lesson, a few hours spent at a Civil War re-enactment, and a slow game of Scrabble after dinner.

We learned about the Zouaves from this Union soldier.

The Yankees march onto the battlefield.

Casualties were many, but the little drummer boy stayed at his post.

It seems like forever since we've had a day like this. No rush, no work, no demands. So nice.

June 8

Lizzie and Karen left, but Dawa came to stay.

Made by Helen Priem in the Netherlands, this little Tibetan boy was a total impulse buy. His peaceful demeanor spoke to me on a night when I needed some serenity. Gazing at him, my breathing slows and I realize that everything.is.fine.

June 7

Between visits to Michael Levine and the FIDM Scholarship Store downtown, I took the girls to visit Josh on the Dexter set.

Karen was VERY impressed with his 40 ft truck. She wants one.

Josh explained some of the finer points of propping, including the operation of rigged handcuffs ...

... the joys of man-eating (or, in this case, woman-eating) alligators ...

... and the necessity of stocking a good variety of body parts. It's all in a day's work for Hollywood's 'blood guy'.

Yep, that's what my peace-loving, easy-going "other half" does for a living. Who'd a thunk it?

June 6

Dinner at Cafe Bizou tonight. Good times.

June 5

My high school BFF, Lizzie, and her friend Karen, are visiting me from Australia. It is so SO good to have her here. It's the third time in the last ten years that she has spent a few days in my home, and I'm always glad to see her come, and sad to see her go. Karen eased her headache.

Another cool thing about today: mushrooms at the farmer's market. We bought a clump of maitaki 'shrooms and put them in the dinner salad. YUM!

June 4

Look who came to visit us tonight.

June 3

I linger over the photos of our Arizona road trip and tingle with excitement, knowing that Dad is planning an Aussie version for September. Can.not.wait.

June 2

She quickly discovered that crutches are not fun after all.

June 1

Thank you, treadmill, for giving me the opportunity to start the day with 30 minutes of sweaty self-love. And thank you, Josh, for buying it. I was skeptical at first -- we've had our share of unused exercise equipment -- but this was a good investment.