Carmel

There have been some miserably hot California days of late. To escape the triple digits I fled to Morgan Hill and dragged C down Carmel.

The weather was perfect. The day was lovely.

There must be someone cured up in a chair with a book just inside that window.

Because I Yelp "bookstore" everywhere I go.

 Heavenly stairway.

I may have pinched myself just after I took this.

 

C was a perfect (patient) hostess, despite my late arrival and constant distraction by buildings, walls, bookstore, toy store, etc. We've got some additional trips planned down the coast later this summer, must drink up as much of California as I can.

Shabbat Shalom!

My charming friend N had her B'nai Mitzvah in June.

It was amazing. I had never attended a Jewish worship service, I hardly remember anything from the Passover dinner I once participated in. It was so lovely. I cried, I laughed. Everything felt purposeful. Everyone seemed so warm with one another - the entire congregation - hugging and kissing one another as everyone came in. Warm and genuine. I'd be down for being be less Puritanical at church and do cheek kisses and hugs.

There were many interesting parts, and wow, the symbolism. I naturally got distracted thinking about what worship might have been like for the Israelites - I don't know that it would resemble much of what I saw but as they where taking the Torah out of the "Arch" my mind was picturing them wandering in the desert. They did do a Mishieberach - a prayer for healing on behalf of others. The Rabbi stands at the alter and reads the names of people he asks everyone to remember during the prayer (then Rabbi also asked the congregation to give him any additional names), if you had someone you where praying for, or observing the morning period for you were asked to stand during the prayer. Familiar? The Rabbi would chant a line and the congregation would chant it back. I'm totally down with the Hebrew chanting, it's different, but beautiful. Definitely powerful. The Rabbi of the congregation I attended was simply wonderful. Many of the good things about the service I'm certain are a reflection of him.

At times I did irreverently feel like I was in a Fiddler On The Roof sing-a-long. All the Hebrew chanting. Some of the tunes played on the guitar could have come straight from Fiddler. I thus felt my impressions of Jewish life were slightly more valid.

One of the most humorous parts involved this photo:


They did past out candy - and we threw it at the people participating in the Mitzvah. Pretty certain I pelted a congregation member in the back of the head - right in his Kippah.

I was loathed to throw all of the three pieces of candy I was handed.... I think we should all get a piece of candy after the sacrament, you know, to help us remember the sweet blessings the atonement brings... And they passed out chewy fruit sugar gelatin - that's about as close as you get to fruit snacks without being fruit snacks. I love fruit snacks. Somehow two ended up in my purse. After throwing one and realizing my range from the back row would not allow me to reach the target individuals, I was simply being considerate of the other members of the congregation by stashing the sugary goodness. In memory of the sweetness of the moment, of course.

We visited afterwards and had a delicious lunch. What was described as a "potluck" put every ward potluck of my entire at church life to shame. I died! The cake.

I mean, it's beautiful, right? Not frosting - covered in white chocolate. And all those cherries - marzipan. It was a delicious piece of art. N baked the cake and another of the Mitzvah participants frosted it.

I had honestly not expected to be so moved by the prayers and rituals. I thought it would simply be a fascinating cultural experience. I liked one of the things the Rabbi said about it "If we made it up, we would have written better stories". No false happy endings for the Israelites. Such a pleasant way to spend a morning/afternoon.

Spring Ends

I prefer two seasons - Spring and Fall. Most of the time around here it feels like one or the other, except for those lengthy days between May and September when we hit the triple digits and I'm not free to escape to milder temperatures.

Everything starts to die. I like green hills.

I find myself longing for flowers that have not withered, grass that still looks fresh. Watch this time next year I'll be Dubai - then I'll be wishing for brown grass covered hill.

Fall can hurry up and get here.

Sometimes Projects Take Forever

Two years ago (yes, two years) I promised K and the Diplomat shirts. I had forced them (along with A) watch a documentary called Darkon (which if you haven't seen it, I suggest you watch it immediately). The menfolk (K most enthusiastically) decided we needed to make our own LARP and adopt an aggressive strategy that involved storming the houses of all our friends. K was rather disappointed that all our rather brilliantly hilarious brainstorming never came to fruition. This year, for his birthday I finally made good on my task - making t-shirts. I will spare you all the details of this secret society, but the gear was supposed to follow a bear motif.

Thus I give you:

 He's again willing to consider my company tolerable.

Mom, next time I'm coming to use the silk screen press.

Also, K is a giant - this would be a comparison, not with a child's shirt, but with one of mine. I'm glad if any LARPing is to be had we are on the same team.

G Promotes

First off, I think it's strange to call it a Middle School Promotion - as they are moving on to High School rather than graduating, but I suppose the school gets to decide.

Secondly, my baby sister starts high school next year. I'm both terrified for her, and horrified over the marked progression of time.

I also feel like those palm tree's used to be a lot shorter.... G was the co-salutatorian and did very well on her speech - even if she charmingly mispronounced a few words. We were too far away for Q to be able to see G and she was hilarious trying to figure out where G's voice was coming from.

 Enjoying graduation balloons.

 All over getting her hands on that medal.

 It was difficult not to eat ALL the cupcakes.

Garden party. 

I don't actually like graduation ceremonies. I have purposefully neglected to attend all three of my collegiate graduations. I came close to going for the first masters but in the end skipped it and opted for a charming luncheon with the family instead. I am glad G's was nice, even if I'm in denial that it occurred.

Lighthouse Trip - Point Cabrillo Light Station

Our final stop was the Point Cabrillo Light Station. The rain made the visit rather damp, but there are adorable cottages just up the street you can rent for a visit.

We grabbed lunch in Mendocino before driving through the redwoods and on to the bay.

Simply perfect.

Lighthouse Trip - Point Arena Lighthouse

If you want to learn about lighthouses Point Arena is your stop. The visitor's center has the six foot diameter, over six ton Fresnel lens on display. There was also a volunteer who initiated his lighthouse history with, "Let me begin with Charles Dickens...". Sold! It was the most interesting visit we had. Plus one actually gets to climb to the top of the tower for breathtaking views.

What was once accomplished with fire and a huge lens is now done with a small light bulb and a rotating lens about ten inches tall.

It was quite the view. During the 1908 earthquake the light keeper was actually at the top of the tower. The tower guide read us his account of what it felt like to experience it at 115 feet. Apparently he had the iron stairs to thank for keeping the tower upright.

A thing of function and beauty. The double lens was Point Arena's unique light signature - two flashes every six seconds. Would you like to know the appraisal value - over $3.5 million.

Here is where I started having a total To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf moment. It was a Lily Briscoe kind of day.

I love GPS.

At this point I waxed ridiculous getting excited about the fault structure and how the earth had been almost lifted almost perfectly vertical, creating the visible layers here. Which leads me to recommend John McPhee's Annals of the Former World. Dickens, Woolf, McPhee, a couple books T mentioned. A lighthouse book club is basically what we were during this visit.

Lighthouse Trip - Abbotts Lagoon

I've come to Abbotts Lagoon every time I've gone out to Point Reyes for years. There are perfect spots for beach picnics nestled in the dunes there. This time, I was way to tired to lug food all the way out the level path to the beach. We ate in the car, T was a good sport.

This driftwood boat was perfection. Kudos to the constructors. If only we had had a flag to hoist up that rope.

It was a rather blissful end to the day.

What followed was a long dark drive up the coast to our hotel - who's desk closed hours before our arrival. Thankfully there was an envelope in the dropbox with my name on it containing keys, or we would have been sleeping on top of picnic crumbs.

Grateful we enjoyed (survived) the drive and had beds to sleep in.