Baby Sweet Baby

Our friends from Illinois came to visit today and look who they brought!

There were so many laughs and happy smiles... and the baby had a good time too.

Girlfriend

This is one of my dearest friends. Isn't she beautiful? I just found out she's moving to Ireland in a few months. I am simultaneously so happy for her and heartbroken.

We found this patio and some good food and sat there for a couple hours having good conversation. It is amazing how it feels just like it did twelve years ago.

It's so fun when you have a friend long enough to have little sayings between you, and little memories have added up over time that make every get-together somehow fit into the same ever-widening picture of yourselves. And so special to have a friend that you can grow with and know that your ever-evolving self will always fit within the context of the love you share.

I already miss you!

Heaven

One of the highlights of camping in Big Sur was the time we spent playing in the river. After getting acclimated to the cool water, it was divine to drift in the currents. I love to float with my eyes closed, but thirty seconds of floating had me really far down the river, so I had to come up with a strategy for staying local. I propped my feet up on a rock and floated to my hearts content. 

A woman watching from the shore snapped this picture of me on her iPhone and emailed it to me today. (I would never have believed I would post a picture of me in my swim suit on my blog, given that I rarely even wear tank tops in public, but this one seems pretty reasonable.)

I have got to figure out how to float like this more often! There is something about it that puts me right with myself. I sigh just remembering it.

Teacher's Conference

At the teacher's conference last week, we used clay to model the varied metamorphosis of the brain in the fetus. It was fascinating and awe inspiring. Here I am watching my colleague sculpt a pre-natal portion of the brain stem.

The row on top is my contribution of the gradual fetal development of the grey matter in the brain. The row on the bottom is the metamorphosis of the spinal column, also In Utero, done by my sculpting partner. We worked on each stage together, the first three steps are the same, showing how varied the interpretations can be of the same information.

Here a teacher laughs at my embarrassment for standing there distracted with a cell phone, trying to take the picture of the clay forms that are above, while he watched. Luckily, when people laugh at me, I usually join in.

Big Sur = Wonderful

Peace.

I spent the entire first day just zoning out.

We took walks every day among the redwoods.

Fried plantains.

Working up some clay, getting ready for third grade.

Word search!

Practicing a proper pencil grip in preparation for first grade.

The inner meets the outer.

Swimming in the river.

This didn't last long, I was in swimming around right away.

They shared long conversations.

They spent many, many hours together.

Packed up for the drive home.

Last hike to the falls.

Like father, like daughter...

Showing my dad a fun feature on my camera.

Fancy Nancy

Aunt Nancy reads Fancy Nancy to Annabelle, a perfect combination.

Bird Box

A special gift for Annabelle.

Completely dried, a precious bird.

Annabelle shows it to every person who enters our house. She especially likes to invite them to smell it, exclaiming, "It smells like pepper!" 

It rests among other natural things on our table. During a visit two weeks ago, my father pointed out that having a dead bird on the dining table is very odd. I hadn't thought of that. But I haven't moved it either! I love this bird.

I think she needs a name. If you think of one, tell me.

Tegu

I cuddled this giant lizard like a baby for thirty minutes at a school assembly. He rested his head on my shoulder and his owner was amazed, "He really likes you." That's right. I'm good with lizards.

Rich

Dave turned 40 last month. (!) We had a big party for him at The Rose and Crown in Palo Alto and among them was our friend Rich. We love Rich.

It's hard to tell just one story about Rich, and impossible to pull them all together as an attempt to offer a picture of who he is to me. Way back when, I was the girl who got between Dave and Rich, and then Rich was the guy that came along on all our dates. At first I beat Rich at Tekken III, and then later Scrabble... over and over again. Rich was a painter, the first I ever really knew, and also a really good audience for my jokes. He is really, really fun when he's been drinking (especially when I'm not) and he's "that guy" who dances with all the kids at weddings. We share a similar knowing about things and we both love Dave.

And while I'm sure there are pieces of Rich I will never know, I'm also very sure he hates this picture. And while there are pieces of me that Rich will never know, I'm very sure he knows I posted it for that very reason.