never leave the house without a camera

see, I know this - I know I should never leave my house without my camera, and yet occasionally I do, either because it slipped my mind to take it or because I thought for whatever brief reason I was going to be out and about, that I just wouldn't need it...

So of course the first thing I saw when I left for a little beach walk last evening was a young man walking down the street, he was carrying and actually playing a guitar (impressive considering it was large and he didn't have a strap) and because of this, he had his head slightly bowed, which made it much easier to see the Raiders logo in the front of his hat and harder to see the smoldering cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth. I don't know him, in fact he is likely one of those very rare people that probably lives here but that I have never seen. Despite this, I blurted out: "Wow, what a great picture that is!" and although he was probably thinking - "whatever crazy lady!" - he responded quite warmly and we had a brief neighborly exchange. It would have been an incredible picture, words just can't do it justice - here is this skinny kid, head bowed, just walking down the street strumming a guitar, and it was just really something - that I now super super wish, I had a picture of to show!

The next thing I saw was 6 kite surfers with some of the most beautiful colored kites flying in the air above them, that again, I would love to show...

I will not leave my house without my camera! :)

she looks familiar...

just playing with settings on the new camera, lots of fun :)

quoting

"Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions."
- Albert Einstein

How hot was it?

Well...........was it hot enough for ya?!

Pretty much every conversation I have had over the past few days has included some discussion about the record heat...suddenly everyone (clearly, myself included) is an amateur meteorologist - it's actually kind of funny how we seem incapable of discussing almost anything else! :)

And boy does everyone have an opinion, it is not at all simply, "hey, its' freakin' hot out" which should certainly cover the bulk of it, no no, it is actually all of the additional commentary and speculation about why it is so hot and what it all means...I heard every suspicion from random natural fluke to global warming and quite often to either proof of the nearing of the end of the world or the actual dawning of the age of Aquarius, I don't know why I find it so amusing and fascinating, but I do! :)

Also funny is how totally ill-equipt we coastal folk are to deal with high temperatures, for example: very few people here own fans or even have shade tree's for that matter and every store for miles was completely out of ice by early Friday afternoon. I have never seen so many hats, umbrellas, or barely/poorly dressed tourists (something I could definitely go the rest of my life happily without ever seeing again, by the way.) For 4 days, it was all quite something, but as of today, we seem to be all back to normal again. I began to wonder if the locals might start bowing to the returning marine layer, I'll admit, I was tempted.

So how hot was it? Well, us amateurs certainly made lots of guesses and predictions but the "experts" have now weighed in and the records are as follows for max temps in my small central California coastal town

Thursday - 107
Friday - 113
Saturday - 108

oh, and the average around here for this time of year is usually cold foggy mornings and early afternoons with a peek of sun in late afternoon and feeling lucky if we hit mid 70's. (thus the term: June Gloom)

Something I never thought I'd be able to say it that it was actually hotter here at the coast than in many places in the valley! We joked about going over to bakersfield to be tourists there since it was about 15 degrees cooler, I wonder what they would have thought of that! I heard so many people say things along the lines of "we came over here to get away from the heat, turns out we should have stayed home"

Small personal casualties of the heatwave:

• the standard plastic/resin kitchen broom that I left outside leaning against the wall after sweeping the deck is now a mostly useless stick with a completely melted and oddly curled tip mildly resembling what used to be the brushes

• my surfboard, even though in shade, all of the wax melted off the deck of the board, which would be fine except that all of my spare surfwax which was stored in my shed, also completely melted

Best things I saw this weekend:

• A teenage boy on a bicycle (I'll assume a local) with a cut up t-shirt, on the back he had hand written the following: "Tourist, go home but leave your daughter"

• Sundays at the Smokehouse are back: 6 singers, a mandolin player, stand up base player, tribal drummer, guitar player and several other contributors were gathered and making beautiful music on the corner by the beach today

• Dolphins playing in the surf

• Friends and fRamily

• I'll let some of the pictures speak for themselves...

Heat Wave

It was easily 100 degrees this morning at 9:30 am, we are really getting the summer out of this solstice! :)

I think it is the first time here that I have ever had to keep the windows shut to keep the heat out. But this is just observance, not a complaint, because it is so beautiful and clear and it feels so fabulously Friday today!

I am sure some of it is because I have put in a ton of overtime this week because two of team mates are on holiday and I have been picking up the slack for them, in addition to my regular projects. On the plus side of this, I plan to log off early without guilt and take a nice long beach walk (& possibly an ocean swim) which will probably end in the cool shade of a schoonies window for sunset and the hope of a green flash, with a bunch of friends and some ice cold adult beverages.

The other plus, is that I had to do some testing for work with blogs this week (thus also adding to the recent flurry of posts lately) and along the way, I figured out how to add my music playlist to my blog. This pleases me greatly!! :) So now we will all have items for our listening pleasure while digesting the latest posts. It is practically a full sensory experience now! LOL! The only downside is that it is a little bit limited, there were many other songs I wanted to add but wasn't able to, but still, it's a good start and I have only just begun, so more will arrive over time. It loads automatically, but please note that you can control it: play, pause, volume and even selecting which song plays. Heck, I'll even take requests, and if I can find it, I'll add it in. :)

Well, it is now close to 12:30, its around 104 and I am beyond ready to get this screen out of my face for a few hours! I suspect it will be a busy weekend in town with all the valley folks trying to beat the heat, only to discover its actually as hot or hotter here, which means for me that it could be a quiet weekend of trying to avoiding tourists, or a crazy one entertaining them...around here, ya just never know!

I suspect it will be a good weekend for collecting tourists quotes, one of my favorite summer traditions. Which reminds me that the winner so far this season is a tourist asking a grocery clerk "What time do they put the seashells out on the beach" ...

Stay cool! xoxoxoxox

Whoa!

It is 102 degrees here today, that must be a record...

summer fun!

Absolutely glorious day here my friends!! It is 86 degrees at 10 am this morning on the coast, (pretty rare for that temperature around here!) it is so sunny, clear, bright and warm, it actually feels like a real summer day!! This sun girl is stoked!



It is shaping up to be quite a summer! I love my new (used) bike and have been riding it all over town, walking lots on the beach and catching up with friends that are home or visiting for the summer, taking lots of pictures, I am just so inspired right now by everything I see. Tourist season is starting, but feels different so far this year, folks are in town but they are not taking over as much as it normally feels like they do. We're all debating if this years fourth of July will be insanity because its on a friday and it might end up THE event for toursits this year on limited budgets, or it could end up really quiet because of the limited budgets...

So many things to look forward to, the camping trip on the Channel Islands, golfing, surfing, a visit from my very best and oldest friend with her munchkins, a Willie Nelson concert, beach bonfires, a full moon hike, wine tasting, 5 birthdays, 2 weddings, close friends moving in just two houses down the street, BBQ's, and other random bits of juicy goodness that are sure to be created spur of the moment!

My garden is lovely, the strawberries are going crazy, the snap peas are busting out, the tomatoes are beefing up, the basil, arugala, thyme, sage, mint and majorum are lush and filling out daily, the garlic and onions are going very slow. The flowers are beautiful, I cut some yesterday to bring into the house.

On a similar note, a few of us have been talking about going kayaking at some point soon this summer for quite some time now...the surf has been far too mellow to catch much on a board and the weather and wind have finally been mellowing out, so it seems a good time to make a plan.

Now we just have to decide if we want to go up the coast a bit or maybe start closer to home, over in the bay. All this talk of kayaking and all the yackers we met camping got me thinking about the last time I went kayaking, which was lots and lots of fun, but also a little crazy. Upon reflection, I would now add to the list I wrote before:

Going with someone you trust and who is experienced provides a far better chance to come back in one piece than going with someone who is kind of a freak of nature and has only been out a few times!

Happy Summer!

PS: it's a full moon tonight - make a wish, I did!

Local Saturday

Beginning with a 4 mile beach walk, adding in a free concert at the beach with one of my favorite local musicians Shane Stoneman, a leisurely drive home along a beautiful backroad, crazy beautiful photo ops and ending with a delicious dinner custom made at our little Italian restaurant. Epic!

Ahhhh memories

Not sure why I am so bloggy right now, I guess there is just a lot on my mind and a lot of conference calls that I have to be on but not necessarily really contribute to, so I am multi-tasking. I have been writing a lot and working a lot with an art project I am trying to finish and with all the recent pictures I have taken. Just too much thought to hold in my head, I suppose! :)

Today has been a lot about memories, as I am putting together a gift for my dad for Father's Day which includes many family memories, some things I haven't seen for a long time. On screen at the moment is a 3 year old me ripping into new dresses my grandma made me for my Birthday, and boy am I excited about a red umbrella someone gave to me. I am pretty cute then:

I have been on conference calls non-stop all day and decided to run up to the store as a quick diversion between the last call and the next and threw on a red sweatshirt (cuz its chilly!) Apparently this item didn't make it into the camping wash, because it smells so strongly of campfire, it practically made my eyes water. I wore it that last night we were there, sitting around the blazing dual fire, so many happy memories were made, so many that I'll always treasure. I can hardly believe it has already been two weeks since the trip, I still don't feel like I came back the same person that I was when I left. Funny and fabulous how your life can change in a moment and so often when least expected.

Happy Friday!!

I haven't happy friday'ed in a while! Soooooooo...

Yea!!!!! It's Friday!! I am so ready for the weekend! I need a long walk on the beach, time to catch up on some errands, no schedule, no deadlines, no computer in front of my face all day, time for some art, some nature, some adventure, some fun! I feel some golf and surf coming on, if the weather and waves comply. Wishing all of you a beautiful happy weekend and of course Happy Father's Day to all of you Fathers, brothers, teachers , mentors, uncles and grandfathers! :)

More Happy Camping

Last Fall, I got a chance to take a trip out to the Channel Islands and was able to visit two separate areas of the largest Island, Santa Cruz. It was one of the best things I did last year. I really enjoyed the people that we went with and I got some beautiful shots, a few of which are my favorites of all time. The whole experience felt special and unique, though the island is visited often throughout the year, they have done an excellent job of keeping that sacred ground feeling and at times it was so foggy, we couldn't see beyond a few feet of ocean and it really felt like we were living in a world far away from everyone and everything else. It was just a pretty standard day trip, but very moving and thought provoking and I left feeling like I would love to go again as often as possible and explore all of the islands.

Today, I am so freakin' excited because I was just invited to a 3 day camping trip, near the beginning of August, on the island of Santa Rosa, which is only possible seasonally. The idea of being on one of the island's that is visited the least, being there with great people, having 3 days to explore, hike, rest, contemplate, take pictures and just soak it all up, is generally making me ecstatic! I can hardly wait! Tons of history and artifacts, white sand beaches, a few hours on the ocean, a huge painted cave, seriously, what could be better? Thank goodness I have lots of other fun things planned in the meantime or it would be a little unbearable to wait!

Add in a side trip to Sushi Marina for green mussels and you've got one of my versions of paradise.

mini dj's

These kids are a trip!

A little vacation

Re-entry back into my daily routine was a bit brutal coming off of one of the best little vacations I have taken. The last night, sitting around what may be the most blazing campfire I can recall, we actually discussed how hard it would be to try to explain to anyone who wasn't there just exactly what went on, but unless you were there, it's pretty tough.

I met all of these just wonderful people and so much happened in like two days that it felt like we had all been hanging out for like a month. One of the reasons I so love where I live is the true community aspect we have all created, and it was remarkably similar on this trip, definitely a bit of the kindred spirits feel. I can't remember the last time I laughed that much and for what feels like days on end.

I could write probably paragraphs of the little inside jokes that got created on the fly, and my friends who weren't there just aren't going to understand why almost anything having to do with Russia is funny and why I now slip into this really bad fake Russian accent occasionally, or why I am considered something of a rock star at Nepenthe's, my new appreciation for kayaking, why a six pack is going to send me into peels of giggles, why I will offer to sage anyone that needs a little luck and protection, why I think a show about fire protection would be fabulous and thus why when Hewell Houser says "it's amazing" I am going to fall off my chair laughing, why I am having a custom shovel made at the hardware store, or even how given all this it was even possible that at the last moment I almost didn't go because my best friend who I planned the trip with wasn't able to.

It was everything a good vacation should be, time away to unplug, time with friends, making new friends, laughing, reflecting, getting some exercise and seeing new things, getting a little dusty, stargazing, appreciating the astounding beauty of nature, sharing, making music, drinking a little too much wine, getting a fresh perspective and having a great time! I know without a doubt that I will be taking pieces of it with me all of my life.

I don't even have the words to convey my gratitude nor this huge profound feeling it seems to have created but can't even begin to explain. "It's amazing" (laughing my ass off) that we as a culture have made life so complicated. The basic simplicity I find when camping really brings home the fact that simple can be so much better and I'd like to find ways to create more of that in my life.

Here's hoping each of you is able to get out of your daily grind for a bit this summer to rediscover the wonder of Mother Nature and maybe even a little piece of yourself you didn't even realize was missing! Even a short trip can go a very long way!

Peace and Love and Light and Joy to all my relations! :) xo