Alien

The creatures at Hatteras are different from those at Ocean Beach.

Sea Slipper

Bye! I'm slipping off to the eastern sea tomorrow. The Outer Banks of North Carolina. There won't be wi-fi in our house, but I hope to slip away daily to the pizza parlour and plug in. I'll miss you.

Ocean Beach

Dorothy's Salad

When I take the food photography workshop, I'm sure I'll learn to stand so that my head doesn't cast a shadow over the food. But this was an outstanding salad. And for a bowl of vegetables to be my favorite part of lunch–that's unheard of.

We had a three-way heart-to-heart over lunch. This time it was mostly about having to grow up with parents living in the same house. When I got back home, Janet emailed Dorothy and me to ask for advice on a project she showed us before lunch. I gave her my opinion, and received back one of the best email messages of my life:

From: Janet
Subject: Re: Quick question!
Date: July 10, 2007 6:53:02 PM PDT
To: Linda
Thanks and bless you, Linda! May you never have to attend church or play the piano again!!!

Dream

Bea Peltre

Me: Tom, did you have a dream last night?
Tom: ... Wait ... I think I did.
Me: Was I the star?
Tom: ... Yes.
Me: What did I do?
Tom: You fixed me a great dinner. That's how I knew it was a dream.

Bea Peltre (that's her photo above) will be teaching a class in food photography at the BlogHer Conference, which is July 27-29. Lara Ferroni will be teaching it with her. I cannot wait. But guess who else will be there.
Amy Sedaris.
Esther Dyson.
Susie Bright.
Elizabeth Edwards. (look at her favorite books.)

So go ahead and sign up, even though I know you're not the conference type. It's a measly $200.
........................................................................................................
p.s. I almost forgot to post a photo of what I made Tom for dinner tonight. (Nachos with a giant hotdog on top.)

Macro Setting

A foggy morning. I walked by some beautiful garbage on the sidewalk by the sea wall and tried out the macro setting on my camera.

Sea Slug

Happy Birthday, Us

Tonight Emmy and John took us to Tommy's for our birthdays. The best margaritas in San Francisco. Above: after two
Afterwards, we really needed a walk. I love small houses, and John remembered a tiny house a few blocks away. We ambled over. Isn't it exquisite?

Happy Birthday, Jamie

Jamie, I can't find the NY Art Director card I made for you. But here are two inspiring things for you to look at on your birthday:

A wonderful web site. (Miranda July's)

A nice face that you can make yourself: ˘¿˘

To make the face, hold down the option key and the shift key. While you're holding them down, press ./.

Oh wait! Look at this one: °¿°

While you're holding down the option and the shift key, down, press 8/8.

Happy Birthday, Oochie

I love getting email from Oochie. Here's one from yesterday. Don't you wish you had someone like Oochie to write to you?

From: Oochie
Subject: #1
Date: July 2, 2007 2:27:16 PM PDT
To: linda

Deer Linda,

I’m going to write little installment of letters. There are too many little stories here and there, and I just can’t find the time to tie them all together into one cohesive mail. Then again, when did I ever stick to one subject?

My mom and aunty Rose are flying back home today. I shall miss them terribly. Tonight when I go to work, there will be nobody waiting for me downstairs to bid me goodbye and good night. Since aunty Rose and my mom are avid watcher of TV shows with morbid news, I will hear no parting like this, “Drive safely. Don’t speed. And be careful, there’s a rapist out there.” Not quite the sort of comforting thing to hear when one had to walk from the parking structure, crossed the street, crossed another parking structure before one got into her work place. But, their cute sleepy faces, and vigorous waves made up for it.

My mom and aunty Rose liked the drawings I made for them. They did not take them home though. Probably because they thought those pictures were my decoration ... Well, they don’t have place for those pictures anyways. They had lots of luggage and not even a tiny flea could fit in them.

I notice I’ve already begun to let myself “go.” I’m wearing my comfortable tattered t-shirt and my hair is not combed. And, goodness me, did I lather some cream on my face today?

My mom is very big on skin preservation. On Monday she said to me, “Take good care of your skin. Don’t laugh, it’s not funny. It’s very serious.” On Tuesday she warned me, “It (putting lotion) is not something that you should neglect. Once the damage is done, there is nothing you can do to undo it.” On Wednesday she reminded me, “Did you put cream on your face? Do not neglect your neck. And, especially, your hands. Smooth face and neck do not go with wrinkly hands.” On Thursday she advised me, “Don’t be stingy with skin care. Spend your money to buy the best one.” My mom may go to ten different stores just to get something for $10 cheaper. But, skin care product is sacred. It’s okay to splurge there. Without people like my mom (and my sister), the lotion industry will go to dust. Maybe I should look into that Avon catalog that some lady named Theresa always leave on my mailbox. On Friday, my mom informed me, “You need something better than Olay.” And here I thought I was being classy, lathering the pricey Olay on my face before her. I tossed the Avon catalog. On Saturday, my mom pulled me to the side, and basically told me that I was not a spring chicken anymore and I could not continue to abuse my skin any longer. “It will start to show!”

Sigh, nature has cursed me with skin that doesn’t yield zit easily. I could have eaten all the junk foods, and do not wash my face, and my skin will not be pimply. Unfortunately this life of ease caused me to never learn about skin care. Nor care about it. I’m like a cow girl --- without the cow part. Oh, and, without the outdoors part either.

Oh, door bell rang. I'll stop now. Will continue later.

Love,
Luci.

I had to know what Luci's mom uses, so I could use it too. I begged Luci to email her mom right away and ask. In case you're curious:

Forwarded from: Oochie
Subject: mucho cream-o
Date: July 3, 2007 7:44:01 PM PDT
To: linda

Dearest Luci, I just use regular Loreal or Oil of Olay cleansing cream and lotion after cleaning the face, to economize. But for day cream, I use Dior moisturizing cream with spf and the nite cream and the serum. I also use Dior. Hope this helps. BTW, who is Linda? Is it aunty Lydia's friend? So, what are you planning to do on your birthday to celebrate?
Love, Mom
PS Don't forget to use the eye cream too, I used Dior, Estee Lauder or Biotherm.

Inspiration

I was so inspired by Barbara's necklace that I decided to make my own necklace this evening. Then a little wave came. Then a bigger wave came...

A Well-Rounded Man

I've known Larry for 25 years. I knew he was a firefighter, a pianist, and a photographer. I knew he liked to eat tamales. But I didn't find out until last week that he was a jewelry maker.

Bad timing. I had just designed a new web site* for him, with photography in mind.

I had called to ask what the big holdup was with the copy. He and Barbara had found some beads at a flea market that afternoon and he was out in the garage making her a necklace.
*with actionscript by Sally Queen of Code Cruikshank