Don't Want to Go Home....

This, our last day in Kauai is bittersweet; lovely to have another day of vacation but difficult to anticipate the goodbye and harder yet, the arrival back into all those "Seattle issues". Years ago, myy mother-in-law advised wisely that we let all those "things" back home slip away when on vacation. "They'll be right there when you get back", she'd say....and, so true indeed.

I wish I felt more rested from the standpoint of getting back into the work routine. I don't. Another week in the tropics and maybe..... Sigh.

I felt the same last year about leaving Kauai. I cried on the way to the airport and will probably do so again.

This gorgeous place allows my mind to put the crap on hold; if just for a little while.

Tonight D went out to Da Crack and brought food back. We ate on the lanai, the soft breezes pulling in ends of daylight. Night comes. And then, morning will come.

I don't want to go home.

Lanai View

early evening

Whether dusk, dawn, midday or sometime in between, the view from our deck (or as the locals say, "the lanai") at condo #136 is a slice of heaven for me. We've enjoyed this ocean vista for the last six days and have one more full day to languish in this sweet paradise.

The colors mesmerize me; the powder blue sky against the oceanic cerulean contrasted with the long expanse of green lawn. Oh my. Heaven.

mid day

Three Day Weekend

Sometimes it feels really good to do very little except what pleases. This three day holiday weekend has so far been all about a bit of this and a bit of that. In the case of games on the I-Phone, I'll admit it's been a lot of time spent playing Words with Friends, Hanging with Friends, and Scramble with Friends. I let myself play as much as my little heart desired, figuring that I'll slip into my age related dementia more slowly if I challenge my mind with word games.

There was also a trip to church with Dad yesterday which left me feeling guilt-free for the day.

Plus, 3 two mile walks, amazing food (D made halibut, spaghetti, and sirloin sliders), sorting, cleaning, fresh air, sleep, television shows, a dumb Netflix movie (Midnight in Paris), The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy on audio book, and an old fashioned in-the-hand book which I'm loving called Swamplandia!. How does Karen Russell write like this? She looks about eighteen years old.

Plus the weekend will end with an annual tradition planned for later today. More on that in a blog post if I can find the photograph that tells part of the story.

Happy Memorial Weekend!
Happy Birthday Virginia!

On Heading Home after a Good Weekend

The long weekend in Chelan (sadly) comes to an end today but I'm looking forward to the drive home. We've some gorgeous terrain to revisit as we retrace the miles back to Seattle. I'm hoping to check out some fresh produce stands; the local asparagus should be great right now.

I'm also salivating over the requisite stop at the DQ in Cle Elum for the soft serve vanilla cone. I strayed from my usual on Thursday last and ate a hot fudge sundae; not nearly as good as the cone. Something about the cold ice cream and the crunch of the cone does me in. Gotta. have. it.  Denny will sit in the car, indulging my persuasion patiently. He'll only eat one of DQ's cones if it's dipped in that waxy chocolate stuff. Oh well, leaves more for me.

This weekend has been all about rest, walks by the lake, food and visits  to local wineries offering barrel tasting this weekend. Barrel tasting? That was a new one for us but quite interesting. On the  third weekend of May, wineries in this area offer a taste of their youngest wines, right from the barrel. We tasted a Pinot Noir that won't be bottled for several  more years and (kind of) got the sense of what the wine would become. That sort of expertise we'll leave to the vintners but it was fun nonetheless. As usual, we ended up buying lots of wine; mostly white but some of those nice(older) pinot noirs as well. My sad comment was, "There's a headache in every bottle". Oh well.

Another nice treat was to read an entire, albeit short, book this weekend.  I loved the feel of a "real" book in hand after "Kindling" for the last years. The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka is but 129 pages but  each one reads like poetry. She's a beautiful writer.. The first few chapters were especially touching, personal and full of longing. Now there's a good book.

As an aside, Denny wouldn't touch this book with a ten foot pole. We have such disparate tastes in what constitutes a good read. Even the books I think he'll love, like Killing Lincoln  or  11/23/63, are met with comments like......"it's OK", "or, " it's taking me awhile to get into it". Seriously; it took the man 6 weeks to finish King's 11/23/63 which I'd purchased him for Christmas.  He probably finished it because he can tough out almost anything (think of those law books), even  Moby Dick back in the day. What he won't do is get started on one of my hard core reads; he can tell in an instant that it's literary poison. I digress.

So,  now we head home. Here's to ice cream and asparagus. But, not together. And, no wine either.

Shoes: Made in America

Shoes made in America?  You must be joking!  Ever taken a look at the inside of (every pair) your shoes to see from whence they come?  I did once and found that 100 percent came from China. 100 percent.

Today, I proudly purchased a "made in America" brand at  Bartell Drug Store, no less. My sister turned me on to these a few weeks ago. She has several pair and bought more this recent trip to Seattle. Yes, they're akin to "flip flops" but way better. What flip flops have you purchased lately that cost less than ten bucks and came with a two year warranty? Well, then... I didn't think so.

Check out Okabashi brand upscale flip-flops (aka zoris or thongs; yikes!; don't you love synonyms?) which come in a variety of colors and basic small, medium, large, xtra large sizes..They are MADE IN THE USA, recyclable and as noted, have a 2 year guarantee. The tag attached to the shoe indicates the shoes are also "dishwasher-safe, anti-microbial, slip resistant, and vegan friendly". Could you possibly ask for more?

Bartell Drug had them on sale. They were perfect for a gorgeous, sunny spring day and will be the go to shoe for the upcoming vacations to sea and sand.

Yay for Okabashi!

Lazy (Rainy) Saturday Afternoon

Bought at a Houston Fiesta Grocery....yum

There's  not much going on this afternoon. With Seattle's third wettest March on record, it's raining (AGAIN). There's just no point in braving the elements. However, it sounds reasonable to break off another piece of Dickies peanut pattie and sit back with a sugar free Red Bull, this time poured over ice and enjoyed with a straw, of course.

 

The tub of spreadable cheese won't go to waste either. 

Hard to believe that a week ago we were arriving at the venue for Carrie and Robbie's wedding; seems a long time ago. Every moving forward.

Kindle-ing

Well, I did it.

Rather, Denny did it. He ordered me a Kindle.

I've been talking about a Kindle for some time. Early on I could never imagine reading a book, magazine article or newspaper on a hand held, light weight device and scrolling through page after page. "I prefer holding my reading material the old fashioned way.", I'd say.

What made me change my mind was a bit of time and the opportunity to play around with one of these fascinating word storage machines outside of a high pressure sales environment. Thanks, Brenda.

This is a very cool device.

I've been practicing my reading and now it feels almost normal (but still novel; no pun intended).

There's a definite role for old time books with pages turned by hand. The Kindle will never be a permanent substitute. I love holding a book, its weight in my hands, the cover, the subtle scent of the pages.....ahhhh.

The benefits of a Kindle?
-- a great way to tote a lot of books on a trip on a device weighing 8.5 ounces
-- a fine solution to overflowing bookshelves (although I do like the look of overflowing bookshelves)
-- great deals on books; less expensive than "hard copy"
-- satisfies the "gotta have it now" syndrome
-- extremely portable; fits in a purse, always ready to go
-- font size flexible; I can (occasionally) get by with no reading glasses!
-- rapid downloads, huge inventory of books, long battery life
-- cool option to read a sample before purchasing

The drawbacks of a Kindle?
-- no old school, familiar feel and look of a book, no bookshelf with all those favorites
-- tough to share a good book; e books can't be transferred to anyone else
-- if it gets stolen, you've lost more than a book

As you can see, the benefits win out. Can't wait to take my Kindle to Hawaii and in the meantime, I'm reading A Visit from the Goon Squad and have two other good reads in the queue. I'm happy.

Home from Vegas, Part I

The trip to Vegas last week was too short but resplendent with good memories. On the way home I ended up checking my carry on size bag because it was so heavy with all my slot machine winnings.....not; but that's beside the point. My third trip to Vegas was not about the Strip at all even though I did drop some bills into a few machines in a several casinos over my three days. Didn't win a damn thing and I should know better. But...

The trip was about reconnecting with Pate, my girlfriend of 25 years; one I consider near and dear to my heart but with whom I've rarely telephoned in the 20 years we've lived so far apart.We write letters and emails and now we text. This is all because of my quirks, not hers. She puts up with me.

After a few years working together in Houston, she moved to Tampa and I moved to Seattle. We lived about as far from each other as you could get, on the diagonal, and still live in the southern 48 states. Through the years there have been visits every few years but never enough. Once we met in Albuquerque for a gal's weekend adventure to Santa Fe. Another time we met in Huntsville (Alabama, not Texas), dropped my son Chris off at Space Camp and took off on a car trip with our then two younger kids through through Tennessee. The last two visits have not been visits at all since they involved weddings of my oldest and then her oldest child.  It's impossible to count those quick weekends as quality time spent in each others company  since it's all about getting our kids down the aisle.

Pate moved to Vegas last fall and calls a silver Airstream trailer her home. She knows it's likely not permanent although she did allow that downsizing and living in an RV full time is not necessarily an outrageous thought. She and her husband, who's still in Florida getting ready to move West, just might. I spent three great days and nights calling the Oasis RV Resort home. Pate's trailer was a dwarf compared to the "big rigs" on either side. But inside, we had all the amenities. If there's a toilet and a refrigerator, I'm in heaven.

Pate knows her neighbors; I was surprised to learn that a large percentage of the folks staying at  the Oasis are semi-permanently parked there with their huge class A RVs, pets, and small cars in tow for trips about town. For those not savvy with the terminology, the class A is a motor-home, all in one and some look like large buses. They were everywhere at the Oasis.

Pate (and Ed's) Airstream in Vegas

Pate's neighbors are great folk. Everyone is (or seems) so happy, chilled out, laid back and in a good mood. I've always loved that about the RV life. It may be a total facade but I don't think so. Every time we journeyed out in our humble, little tent trailer and pulled into a place with hook-ups (that's a good), we knew we'd landed in friendly territory.  I met Russ with his 150 pound Great Dane who gave me slobbery kisses. I sat outside on a glorious, sunny and warm day with Pate, Chet, and Steve enjoying chocolate mousse vegan style. Amazing.

An interesting trailer. Aruba?

"Brutus" watches Animal Planet when not catching some fresh air

The secret vegan ingredient in chocolate mousse? Shh. Avocado.

Delicious

Pate and I enjoyed great food, drink, and conversation inside the Airstream as well. Life is sweet.

Staples; plus lime and ice

Outfitted with Internet

Goes well with rum and coke

More later. Part II  is another post.

Lovely Diversions

When work and related pressures threaten to knock me off base, retreat into one of a number of lovely diversions offers relief.

This past week mental exhaustion was beaten back by:




1. A great book: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I've been reading the book and listening to the audio version when on the road. This is a great tale and totally mesmerizing. I can't wait to get started  with Stieg Larsson's next two books in this millennium trilogy. I've seen people reading this book for several years and have had a copy for some time; finally decided now was the time and indeed, the time is oh, so right.

2. A totally addictive TV series: LOST. I'm hooked. Denny and I started with Season 1 back in January. It was a slow-go getting excited about watching the series but by the time we made it to Season 3 we were both hooked. Now we're flying through the episodes. Did you know there are 124 episodes covering six seasons? I hate to see this wildly provocative run come to an end. Some of the episodes are like watching the night sky on a clear night; pondering the expanse of the universe and feeling totally unable to comprehend space and time. I've heard so many people rave about LOST and have to wonder: where I was all those years when the show was broadcast week to week on ABC? Obviously doing something else. Hmmmm.

3. My bad; Dreyer's Coffee Ice Cream: sprinkled with mini-chocolate chips, of course.

So there you have my three suggestions for a grand evening after a long day at work.

Before and After

Before

After

Lazy Brain

I'm going through a very dry spell creatively.

However, I do have my nose in Jonathan Franzen's new book, Freedom and am spellbound. Between a good read, back episodes of Weeds Season 5, Californication, and In Treatment, all I want to do after work is vegetate, read or watch the tube.

Sigh. Till later.

One of these days, I need to get to a yoga class and start a run/walk program. Right now I'm still dreaming of goals and accomplishments but savoring the inertia of the moment.