I have been part of a wonderful bookclub for the last three years. My friend Christy came up with the idea and it has been a great thing in both of our lives. Women have come and gone but a core group has been there for quite a while.
This is no ordinary bookclub. We are a group of interesting, funny, smart women who care so much about each other. We are always watching out for each other and we have each others backs.
We met last night and it was so great to see everyone again after two months away. We just finished reading City of Joy which of course meant so much to me after spending time in india and with the author, Domenique Lapierre. Everyone was very moved and touched by this book, me included. I had seen the movie a few times but the book is so much richer and such a great story of people's love and strength in times of such intense adversity. It blows mind when I think of what people in india go through on a daily basis just to survive. Domenique is a very gifted writer and I'm so glad that this book came into our lives.
We haven't chosen our next book but will in the next few days. Whoever hosts the meeting usually gives some suggestions and we all decide what we're in the mood for next. It's always a good, lively discussion no matter what we read and we always have a very fun time together. But we are out of control on the food we bring. There is always WAY too much of it. Always delicious but always lots of leftovers. I was wishing last night that we could send it all to the people in India who have none...
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Road trippin'
Wow, it's been a while since I've posted. It's been a bit of a whirlwind.
My parents got home from Arizona on the 6th, Susie arrived on the 8th, and it was a revolving door at the house until Susie and I left on the 14th. Julian had been sick with some kind of flu bug and seemed to have brought it with him when they visited and soon, Susie, Mom and Teresa were down for count. Really sick for a few days. It was pretty awful. I felt so bad for them. They all recovered after a few days thankfully.
I was able to spend some good time with my family and friends. Teresa and I got tattoos at a great little place in Provo called The Painted Temple. Teresa got the Hindi word for "Faith" on her forearm. It's beautiful. She was a little nervous about her first tattoo but it was a great experience for her. I got a wonderful Kanji symbol that means "grandson" along with Julian's birth date tattooed on my right shoulder. I am so happy with it and am glad I got it. He means the world to me.
On Wednesday, the 14th, Susie and I set out in the direction of California. We spent the first night in Las Vegas and the next day headed into Death Valley. Neither of us had been there before and didn't really know what to expect. It was gorgeous. We found a sweet little room at the Longstreet Hotel and Casino outside the park and then spend a very hot day exploring Badwater Basin and Furnace Creek. We got back to the motel just before sunset, got our rum drinks in hand and sat out by the pond with ducks, geese and fake deer and watched glorious nature do her thing. It was fantastic.
The next day we explored the ghost town of Rhyolite which was fascinating. There are a lot of remains of old buildings of the town of 10,000 during the gold rush and an exquisite open air museum with amazing sculptures and a labyrinth. I loved it there. So much beauty among the rocks and dust.
We went to Scotty's castle and did a tour, then drove through the sand dunes, and Panamint Springs and ended up in Lone Pine, California for the night. We ate sesame snacks and cheese for dinner along with rum and juice and had an ok night's sleep.
The next day we explored the town of Bishop, went to an art gallery and a yummy bakery for lunch and then headed toward the town of Jackson, California in the gold country. We got a wonderful little room at the Country Squire motel, had drinks at Teresa's restaurant and slept well. The man at the motel was so nice and happened to be from Tiburon, where Susie lives. We had a nice visit with him, a great walk through the town and delicious breakfast at a local diner before hitting the road again. We drove down highway 49 and took a detour to Murphy's where we did a little shopping and walking before the drive back to the bay area. It was such a wonderful road trip with Susie. We drove 1600 miles together and we both loved it.
Now back in Marin and I feel very happy and excited (and a little nervous) about what's next. I have a couple of housesitting gigs while looking for a place of my own. I'm sure it will all work out exactly the way it's supposed to....
My parents got home from Arizona on the 6th, Susie arrived on the 8th, and it was a revolving door at the house until Susie and I left on the 14th. Julian had been sick with some kind of flu bug and seemed to have brought it with him when they visited and soon, Susie, Mom and Teresa were down for count. Really sick for a few days. It was pretty awful. I felt so bad for them. They all recovered after a few days thankfully.
I was able to spend some good time with my family and friends. Teresa and I got tattoos at a great little place in Provo called The Painted Temple. Teresa got the Hindi word for "Faith" on her forearm. It's beautiful. She was a little nervous about her first tattoo but it was a great experience for her. I got a wonderful Kanji symbol that means "grandson" along with Julian's birth date tattooed on my right shoulder. I am so happy with it and am glad I got it. He means the world to me.
On Wednesday, the 14th, Susie and I set out in the direction of California. We spent the first night in Las Vegas and the next day headed into Death Valley. Neither of us had been there before and didn't really know what to expect. It was gorgeous. We found a sweet little room at the Longstreet Hotel and Casino outside the park and then spend a very hot day exploring Badwater Basin and Furnace Creek. We got back to the motel just before sunset, got our rum drinks in hand and sat out by the pond with ducks, geese and fake deer and watched glorious nature do her thing. It was fantastic.
The next day we explored the ghost town of Rhyolite which was fascinating. There are a lot of remains of old buildings of the town of 10,000 during the gold rush and an exquisite open air museum with amazing sculptures and a labyrinth. I loved it there. So much beauty among the rocks and dust.
We went to Scotty's castle and did a tour, then drove through the sand dunes, and Panamint Springs and ended up in Lone Pine, California for the night. We ate sesame snacks and cheese for dinner along with rum and juice and had an ok night's sleep.
The next day we explored the town of Bishop, went to an art gallery and a yummy bakery for lunch and then headed toward the town of Jackson, California in the gold country. We got a wonderful little room at the Country Squire motel, had drinks at Teresa's restaurant and slept well. The man at the motel was so nice and happened to be from Tiburon, where Susie lives. We had a nice visit with him, a great walk through the town and delicious breakfast at a local diner before hitting the road again. We drove down highway 49 and took a detour to Murphy's where we did a little shopping and walking before the drive back to the bay area. It was such a wonderful road trip with Susie. We drove 1600 miles together and we both loved it.
Now back in Marin and I feel very happy and excited (and a little nervous) about what's next. I have a couple of housesitting gigs while looking for a place of my own. I'm sure it will all work out exactly the way it's supposed to....
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Salt Lake, Las Vegas, Park City, Orem
I've had a lot of fun travel this week. Went to Las Vegas with my friend Amber, who was going on a business trip and she let me tag along. It was really nice to spend some good, low-key time with her. We were laughing about how we used to go to Vegas and party non stop for 4 days and now we'd rather be in comfy clothes and order room service. Times change, and that is definitely ok. We have known each other for 20 years now and have had some amazing adventures together. Amber had a nice room, car and other perks from her company so it was really great for me. We had some wonderful meals, did a little gambling and went to a spa for the most amazing facials ever. Very relaxing, and very healing.
When we got back to Salt Lake, we drove to Park City to go to dinner and celebrate Amber's daughter Devan's birthday. It was fun to see old friends and we had the most amazing meal at the St. Regis, where Devan works as a pastry chef. The hotel is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. It was snowing pretty hard and we all felt cozy and happy inside with nice wine and delicious food. I am very blessed and very lucky. It's hard not to feel guilty when I am in a place like that, knowing how my friends in other parts of the world live. It is beyond extravagant.
After dinner we went to a bar on Main Street in Park City and had some birthday drinks. The same one where I met my first husband in 1990. Weird.
We spent the night at Devan's cute little apartment and talked and laughed and watched movies until the wee hours. Devan had accidentally locked us out and had to crawl through the window in her beautiful birthday dress. It was pretty darn funny.
Back to Orem now and getting things ready for Mom and Dad's return from Arizona. Can't wait to see them in a few days!
Had planned to have Easter brunch with Taylor, Julian and Dylan but Julian is really sick today so they had to cancel. Poor Taylor is so worried about him. I sure hope he gets feeling better soon.
When we got back to Salt Lake, we drove to Park City to go to dinner and celebrate Amber's daughter Devan's birthday. It was fun to see old friends and we had the most amazing meal at the St. Regis, where Devan works as a pastry chef. The hotel is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. It was snowing pretty hard and we all felt cozy and happy inside with nice wine and delicious food. I am very blessed and very lucky. It's hard not to feel guilty when I am in a place like that, knowing how my friends in other parts of the world live. It is beyond extravagant.
After dinner we went to a bar on Main Street in Park City and had some birthday drinks. The same one where I met my first husband in 1990. Weird.
We spent the night at Devan's cute little apartment and talked and laughed and watched movies until the wee hours. Devan had accidentally locked us out and had to crawl through the window in her beautiful birthday dress. It was pretty darn funny.
Back to Orem now and getting things ready for Mom and Dad's return from Arizona. Can't wait to see them in a few days!
Had planned to have Easter brunch with Taylor, Julian and Dylan but Julian is really sick today so they had to cancel. Poor Taylor is so worried about him. I sure hope he gets feeling better soon.
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