perfectly imperfect

Cas showed up with a wonderful card and a great bottle of Russian River Chardonnay. Then she, Aaron and I went on an impromptu "outing". I took them to the Palo Alto Junior Museum! We used to go there when they were little. We played the games, launching metal rings down a ramp to spiral to the bottom, solving puzzles and then moved outside to the little zoo there. We saw snakes, skinks, rats, hawks, rabbits, ducks, geese, ferrits, fish, peacock, racoon and a bat. But I fell in love with the bob cats. Seems the bobcats were hand raised so they are pretty darn friendly. One came up to me near the open fence and rubbed against it. We also loved the owl.

From there we headed downtown to the Palo Alto Toy and Sport World were we bought a RISK game, a beading set, and 2 ant farms! (one for Aaron, one for Me). Next door we had cake, milk and lemon curd.

We came home and played mario cart on the wii then went out to get House of the Dead (wii) and 2 guns. The three of us have been having a BLAST! Tomorrow we are gonna play together ALL DAY. I am so happy to have them both home with me! 

We went to dinner at Nola's where cas and I tried raw oysters together (we loved them!) and then had fabulous scallops and skirt steak. We are gonna have the fresh STRAWBERRY crumble that Aaron made for me (and the wine).

Its been a fabulous day and I can't wait to have more fun tomorrow!

I was getting food for dinner at Whole Foods  and was offered a taste of  Yerba Mate. I'd never had it before. The sample I had was iced and sweetened with blue agave  which I had also never had. It was love at first taste! I bought bags and bulk tea , blue agave and this adorable orange tea pot with built in strainer.

I've been sipping this tea warm (mmmm) all afternoon.  It's just the right amount of kick and sweet!

Yerba Mate: (unsmoked) "a natural energy and fitness tea, with more antioxidants, minerals, amino acids and Vitamin B than Green Tea" (2x the antioxidants)  And it's naturally caffeinated at about 1/3 the amount in coffee.

Blue Agave: is a low-glycemic organic sweetener made from agave (catus) nectar. It is absorbed slowly (unlike sugar) so you don't spikes in blood sugar. It's sweeter than sugar so you use less and it TASTES AMAZING.

The Pot - made in japan, this little baby has a built in filter for loose tea and makes about 2 cups. A couple of teaspoons (or a bit more) of loose tea - pour in hot water - steep for at least 5 min.

My chest tattoo is huge, fits me perfectly and I get compliments on it every time I leave the house with it showing.
No one else has this tatt. It is a piece of unique art. Did I design it? No. Could I have designed it, I am an artist right? No, I could not have designed it. In fact, I did not even go and look at art - tattoo art or otherwise. I described what I wanted - verbally.

When I went in to talk to Todd about this tatt - I told him I wanted a heart and that I wanted the heart to be broken and then be in the process of being mended - with laces or something. I wanted traditional tattoo swallows. I wanted it to be just black and gray. He took out a piece of tracing paper and laid it on my chest and traced out the important landmarks of my body - he noted where I had large birthmarks - he noted how much skin I typically show when my blouse is unbuttoned at the top. And I left with an appointment to get this tatt put on my body.

I did not see his design. I had NO idea if I would like his interpretation of my concept. In my mind's eye - this would be a small heart, being laced up by ribbons held by swallows. I imagined it just taking the area over my collar bone - not my entire chest. But I trusted. It was not easy for me to let go of the design of the art that would come to define me, but I did.

He wanted to surprise me - so I did not see the art prior to him putting the pattern on my body. My eyes were closed as he transferred it to my body. I could tell, it was much larger than I was expecting. I could hear my husband's appreciation for the art through his ooh's and "baby, it's perfect!."  When I opened my eyes and looked at myself in the mirror - I could see it really was perfect.

The heart was large and with lace inside, which Todd told me was an older Tattooing tradition. The heart had "glow" likes like a crown at the top - also traditional. The swallows were perfectly placed so that they wrap over my collar bones, and emphasizing the lines of my own body. The size of it was a shock, but the minute I looked in the mirror - I knew it was exactly right for me. The roses - with thorns - he could not have known how much meaning they have for me. I had not asked for them - but I loved them immediately. Black roses and thorns are a connection to the place online where I met Ben - the six thorn gallery - my virtual art gallery where all my art was described with words.

I had only given Todd words for the art I wanted and he made it real, and forever I will wear this art over my heart.

Amazing - and thought provoking.

I find so many things I am experiencing at the moment tied together by themes. The ending of this film fit right in to the focus of the book I am reading and the things I am feeling about life as a whole.

Cloverfield is a horror film and a love story of sorts. It managed to boil down "life" into a few hours. It was painful to watch, but easy to understand. We would do what the characters in this film did. We would experience what they did. That's what makes it a great film. It was an unreal situation, but it was a real response.

When faced with life or death situations - we all reach out to our loved ones - because there is nothing more important to each of us than love.  We long to be loved and we need to let those we love know we love them. The stronger the connection, the more compelled we feel to express it.

What if I knew my world was ending. Where would I want to be? What would I want to say?

It's such a horrific "what if" but the answer is comforting. I would want to be with Ben and I would want to tell him I loved him. If I could be with my children as well, I would and I would tell them I loved them - and my friends - and my family. But for me, that one deep in my gut feeling is to be with Ben until there is no more.

He posted a new song of NIN on his vox - Lights in the Sky. We were talking about the song, and how beautiful it is. I asked what it was about. Was it about the death of a loved one? Ben would not give meaning to Trent's words. Instead he looked at me and said "I will be by your side forever. I will be with you till the end." Now - that's what I hear when I listen to that song.

I hear "I love you." 
It gives me peace.

Here are my guitars. My Ibanez 12 string, Framus classic (from 1960), and my Ovation. I found the Framus at an estate sale - it's neck was repaired and its old and funky and I love it. The Ovation is an electric accoustic, as is the Ibanez and I have an amp for guitar and mic for voice. The Ovation is a replacement for the one Abby (my dog) broke. The Ibanez was a present from Ben.

Today's hike was much closer to home. We hiked the recreational trail called "the Dish" that is just above Stanford University. It's called the Dish because of the huge signal dish you pass about half way around the loop. I am always reminded of the movie "Contact" when I pass this dish.

The "loop" starts at a ranger station with a sign warning about the mountain lions in the area. We did not have the suggested "pepper spray" or "walking sticks" but we were together and ready to fight off a cat if we had too! The trail is paved and goes UPHILL fast past fields of grass and flowers. California oaks are everywhere as are ground squirrels and crows. The hike took us just over 1.5 hours to complete. The day was bright and sunny and the walk was fabulous.

Sparked by another's voxer's post, and a comment by her husband about writing down vivid dreams - I am wondering if other voxers would be interested in having a vox group for posting dreams?

I would love a place to post mine that is separate from my normal vox. Blogging here is conscious choice of topic but dreams are out of my control. Sharing them and reading other's dreams would be fascinating.

I just created a PRIVATE group called Vivid Dreams.
The group is private so that anyone who joins can know that their dreams will be kept private within the group. Please let me know if you are interested in joining this.  I've set it so that anyone who joins the group can invite others.

Looked just like THIS without the "53."

White, 1960 VW bug I put TAPE on to match HERBIE the love bug.

Stick shift, crank windows, flat windshield... it was my baby - until I went to college, then my sister got it. And she rolled it on the way to a beer party in the sticks. Her friends just rolled it back on it's wheels again.

We drove up into the fog and hiked through the eucalyptus, pine, ice plant and drifting sand at Fort Funston. The day was cool and the breeze off the ocean was delicious. Doggies (not ours) ran here and there carrying logs or balls. We took some photos of the old battlements there for "grunge". We slipped off trail and made our way to a cliff of sand hundreds of feet above the beach where gulls and crows were soaring.  It was lovely.

In the mood to continue our day away, we drove up highway one along the coast to Barbara's Fish Trap for fish and chips and then back up 92 to skyline. At skyline, we just were not ready to go home so we turned and rode up skyline 13 miles to 84 (at Alice's Restaurant) and then back down through the redwoods and windy roads to Woodside, then Menlo Park and home.

I am ALWAYS amazed how much diversity there is here. In almost every direction there is natural beauty.

Our new little red car, Mazda Speed 3) seems to love the fast curves through the mountains. I certainly love driving it there. We discussed another vehicle today. We sold all my big bikes and we keep meaning to sell Ben's R6 - but a day out like today makes us want to ride again. We are looking at selling the R6 and one scooter (not mine) and getting a sports touring bike. Something for us BOTH to ride (with me as the passenger). I think I'd like that. We'll have to test one out and see. When we go anywhere in the car, I am always the driver. I'd like something that swings that in the other direction!

On the "other" activities on my list for this weekend:
We did see IRON MAN - and it was AWESOME ****
I am reading, Lily Dale: The True Story of the Town that Talks to the Dead- and it is AWESOME****
I got through MOST of our laundry!
I cleaned out my dining room and the linen closet!
I found a number of "orange" home things on ebay to collect!