Happy Birthday to Me

This piece by Carlos Perez is about 3 feet wide. (Artworks/San Rafael)

the green door

A visit to a real art store, not a virtual art store. A real one.

Sangria and fish tacos

A hike in the Marin Headlands

Back home over the bridge

Honored With

food from Peter's garden

a visit to Anne's studio ...

... where we saw her turtle series (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter)

and these amazing objects like something straight out of Blade Runner

live piano jazz

flowers and Champagne

a floor show

Happy Birthday, Tom

Today's Prompt: Photo #5

Today our prompt is a photo instead of a word or phrase. It looks like smears of red on glass, it looks like blood, it's eerie (thanks, msmasmush).

Red gooey pink chewy

I would like to bite your neck.

Please sit back and just relax

This will only take a sec.

(Sound effects.)

Do you need a tourniquet?

Do you own a scarf?

Vampires are the latest trend

But we don't want to shock your friends.

Here's a J.Crew catalog

I must say adieu––

You'll be wearing turtlenecks

For a year or two.

Along the Promenade

Art Therapy Day

We had such a great afternoon in San Rafael. Gina bought a bag of t-shirts to tie-dye, and I bought a bag of t-shirts to iron little pictures on. Most exciting purchase: 6 silk scarves @ $3.81 apiece, and a jar of chartreuse dye. Oh boy, I can't wait! You're supposed to dye the silk on your stove in a stainless steel pot. Will Tom mind if I use his All Clad stock pot?

Dear Diary

What Happened During the Eclipse

What happened during the eclipse?

Dogs danced.

Rocks smiled.

Driftwood levitated.

This Week's Treasures

The Right Idea

Our fearless leader wrote an Italian sonnet that I love. (She doesn't like to be called a teacher). Her name is Jane Underwood and she runs The Writing Salon where I take my class.

The Right Idea

When you have the right idea,
I say to myself, you'll know it.
Simple. So I drink tea and wait,
often for years, for that right idea.
It's such a relief when it finally
arrives (wearing sweats, out of the blue)
to tell me what I already knew.
(Sweats and an old shirt, so casually!)
I tend to expect more grandeur,
I suppose, from a right idea.
Not such a plain-clothed oracle.
But in one quick blink, no fanfare
The right idea can break thru rock, voila.
January, February, March. Then April.

Today's Prompt: The crime

Yesterday I downloaded a book called The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do To Get More Of It.

Today I didn't feel like reading it. I slept late. I knew I didn't need to meditate. I knew I didn't need to go over my work from yesterday and make a plan for today. I usually try to do both things before getting in the shower. 

Suddenly it was lunchtime and I was starving. I wasn't well, I could tell, and I needed nourishment. I plopped not one, but two tamales into the steamer. 

At 2:30 I knew I needed to lie down and rest. I had a headache. I wanted to take a Cold-Eeze, because basically they're yummy--and they always work. But we were out, so I had an Alka-Seltzer for colds (Orange Zest--delicious!) and went to bed. 

At 4:00 I got up and decided to go to Walgreen's to buy some Cold-Eeze. I didn't really have a cold––but I simply had to have a Cold-Eeze. On the way I remembered we also needed some cashews and almonds, so I turned around and drove to Safeway instead. I found the Cold-Eeze, some cashews, and a large bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin on sale. Then I remembered the Pacific Rim Dry Riesling that Tom had said he liked. It was so inexpensive. I put a bottle of wine in the cart and then it hit me how much I could save if I bought six bottles. (If you buy 6 bottles at once you get an extra 10% discount--but why am I telling you this; I'm sure you already know.)

I rolled over to the fresh baked bread. Tom can't eat wheat, and I know some people believe that carbs aren't healthy. But when you're not feeling your best, sometimes you need to give your body what it asks for.

They were out of the tiny buns, so I bought a 3-foot long Semifreddi's Sourdough Seeded Baguette.

Back in the car I tore into the sourdough bread. I didn't want to have to gorge myself in front of Tom, who can't eat bread!

I really didn't feel like walking, much less jogging. Today wasn't my day for sit-ups or arm exercises. And when you're feeling low, I'm not sure yoga is a good thing. So I gulped down a gin and tonic and Tom fixed a healthy dinner, along with dessert. I cleaned everything up. No clues.

On the Beach

6:16 p.m. at Sloat

6:45 p.m. at Pacheco

Mother's Day

Tom? Can we pretend like I'm a mother, just for today?

Sure!

Oh boy! What should we do?

First you'll iron my shirts.

Silence

How many would I have to iron?

A week's worth.

If I did that, what would you do?

I'd get you a box of candy.

What kind of candy?

A Whitman's Sampler.

Today's Prompt: Garbage

Today's prompt is Garbage, so as I walked this evening I thought about garbage and wondered what I would write about. I think I'll probably make a list of everything in my garbage can.

I kept my eyes open for beautiful garbage to shoot and came home with these photos. I wasn't expecting to find much glass because the tide was high, but I love this collection!

Gifts from the Sea and ...

 a card from Anne.

The Best Beach Find Ever

Larry and Barbara and Carla are on Sanibel Island today.

From: Larry
Subject: Beach monster
Date: May 10, 2012 7:56:48 PM PDT
To: Linda

We found it--saw the artist but she got away before we got her moniker or her pic!!
Took her two hours to do it.

A Trip to the Library

Three terrific books you'll want to check out.

Is the bucket half empty or half full?

7:07 p.m.

Today I found out I didn't get the subway book. Anne found out from her ortho doc that she's grounded again.

Good things: a link from Sal, an email from Aggles about Dad, an extremely spammy message from Jamie and speedy technical assistance from dogbark.com, a poem from Jane (a villanelle, no less), an email from Mari that made me laugh, my garbage and recycling and compost duties taken care of when I arrived home with takeout from Chino's. The sweet comments on Faster, faster!

7:14 p.m.

Today's Prompt: Faster, faster!

Do you have
10 minutes free
To write down
Your biography?

Potomac River
I was four
I only have
9 minutes more.

Paste and peanuts
Things I ate
The timer's racing
Past the 8.

Hate my freckles
Hate my chest
I have 7
Minutes left.

Shells and sea glass
Stones and sticks
The minute hand
Is on the 6.

Faster, faster!
Hurry please
Pretzels and
Pimento cheese.

Goodbye David
Tom, hello
5 more minutes
Left to go.

Friendship's harder
Than I thought.
4 more minutes
On the dot.

A therapist
Took care of me.
Now I'm down
To barely 3.

A window
With a pretty view.
How much time left?
Only 2.

Cashmere sweater
Sticky bun
Faster, faster!
Only 1.

Computer crash
File corrupt.
Hope you're happy
Time is up.

Happy Bird Day, Barbara!

Almost all my friends are bird-crazy and Barbara is one of the very worst.

Dear Barbara,

I thought the string bracelet looked like something a bird would use to build his nest.

Today's Prompt: Another World

7:31 p.m.

Oops! I ate the whole wide world.
It fit inside me fine.
I took it with a grain of salt
And poured a splash of wine.

Dessert: I had another world!
I mixed it with the moon.
I warmed it in the microwave
And ate it with a spoon.

I'm taking the Writing Salon's Round Robin class again, where you're given a daily prompt. You can use the prompt any way you'd like, or you can ignore the prompt altogether. But you've got to write for 10-12 minutes daily and exchange what you've written with your partner-of-the-week, or else.

Power Necklaces

We met at Park Chow and Cheryl passed out the power necklaces. She made them of fused glass strung on waxed leather cords. Janet's is deep red, Cheryl's is cool blue, and mine is chartreuse, of course.

The reason I call them power necklaces is because after spending time with these two women I had so much energy! It had to be the necklace, don't you think?