Oil Painting Still Life practice in my little Ojai studio. A visit that was supposed to last a month, is now well into week eight. Blue Eyes visited me for a weekend in January and unfortunately he arrived on the day Thich Nhat Hanh passed, so, much of his time was spent watching footage of … Continue reading I’m still in Ojai 🙂
travel
A pleasant surprise
In search of a new spot in Hawaii to experience, I honed in on the Hilo side of the Big Island. This would be the wet side! Hilo gets approximately 143 inches of rain on about 236 days per year. Compare that to where I live, Portland, Oregon, which gets maybe 43 inches of rain … Continue reading A pleasant surprise
Travel in the time of covid
As mentioned previously, I had been on a plane since covid surfaced. I flew with my sister, a short flight to Tucson, for her rehab drop off this past July. It went okay. We then had our Hawaii time share booked for October, our mostly annual at this point birthday trip for Blue Eyes and … Continue reading Travel in the time of covid
Birthday Road Trip: Santa Cruz to Ojai and back home
Although our California birthday road trip was great fun, it was months ago. I’m going to wrap things up so I can get more current. We departed Elk, on the Northern California coast, and headed inland, briefly. We stopped at a fun drive-in for lunch. Pick’s Drive-in, Cloverdale, CA (Blue Eyes loves beef) We made … Continue reading Birthday Road Trip: Santa Cruz to Ojai and back home
Finding my place to land
I’m not sure what’s going on with me or why writing hasn’t been a priority in my life, but alas, I am back and with the goal of writing more often because, I do enjoy it. I meant to do this post yesterday, and the day before, and nearly every day before that for…. months? … Continue reading Finding my place to land
Birthday Road Trip: Elk, California
Hwy 101 We headed south from Gold Beach on a beautiful Tuesday morning in May. All went very smoothly for about an hour. We were just south of Crescent City, California when we came upon a flagger with a stop sign. The motor home in front of us started turning around right there on Highway … Continue reading Birthday Road Trip: Elk, California
Birthday Road Trip: Gold Beach
Where has the time gone? It’s mid-October already? Crazy!!! I started the below post end of August, what??? I write about “detoxing” after my sister’s rehab. Well, apparently I didn’t detox nearly enough because I suffered for weeks with something I couldn’t define, sores on my back and my head, and a horrid ear infection … Continue reading Birthday Road Trip: Gold Beach
You should ask for your money back
Where are the balkans? We finally did our DNA home kit swab tests and sent them in. We purchased the tests years ago at the same time we purchased them as gifts for my mom and step dad. My father and step mother have since done theirs as well. Honestly, I’m a little surprised by … Continue reading You should ask for your money back
The American Southwest, part ten
Once we arrived Springdale, Utah, gateway to Zion National Park, we realized a few things. First, there were A LOT of tourists at this location. Potentially more than all the other places we had visited, combined. Second, we needed a way to get in to the park (the choices at this time of year are … Continue reading The American Southwest, part ten
The American Southwest, part nine
Well now that I’ve muddled through my marital frustrations and a three-person Thanksgiving, first time ever having Thanksgiving dinner with less than 10 people, I’m back to reminiscing our glorious road trip. Despite all the covid fears, I’m really glad we were able to carve out this time for the three of us. It looks … Continue reading The American Southwest, part nine