Gladsomeness

Tom: Are we making a Christmas card this year?

Me: What do you think of this idea? (above)

Tom: I don’t like that word.

••••

I made this card for our friends anyway––but it never quite made it through my printer and into the red envelopes. The phrase actually comes from a book about a family celebrating Hanukkah, and the word GLADSOMENESS stuck in my mind. The “O” in GLADSOMENESS is stolen from a book I’m illustrating about an orange dog. (It’s the ball she chases.) Thanks for visiting my blog.

Portrait of Jasper

Portrait of Jasper (color by Barbara, line by me) playing with the Wacom tablet in Photoshop.

Our last meal w/ Barbara & Larry (not counting breakfast and snacks on the way to the airport).

Admiring the caps Aggles knit for us.

It's a good thing she sent them because Ocean Beach was like a frozen tundra this evening.

Jeanne's and Ed's Annual Ham Party

Maybe I should turn on my flash once in a while.

We score a trip down to Jeanne's basement to see some of her WIP.

A peek at a new project.

WAH

Saying goodbye to our cottages at Dancing Coyote.

A long walk at Abbotts Lagoon.

A healthy lunch beforehand at the Station House bar.

Shooting sand on the beach with Barbara's Olloclip macro lens.

Christmas

Dinner in Inverness at our cottage. I made a huge mess but it was fun.

Christmas Eve

Walking with Barbara down the sidewalk in Pt. Reyes Station

Fun in the Skyspace

James Turrell's Skyspace in the de Young Sculpture Garden.

Larry and Barbara

Winter Solstice Celebration at FOG

Walking into Anne's new gallery!

Diana Mangano and Ona prepare to perform Busy Busy Bee, a piece written by Ona.

Listening.

Best Dressed

A detail from my favorite painting

That thing in the lower right hand corner is an iron. The things in the background are real napkins. Made of cloth. (Not paper towels.)

Ocean Beach   4:43 p.m.

An inspiring meeting of the Kids' Writerly Breakfast Club. I got a treasure chest full of candy
and gold doubloons. Earrings, too!

Macy's Downtown.
p.s. Wouldn't it be nice if psychiatric help were only 5¢? Especially during the holiday season?

Keiko LOVES My Book

Especially this one particular page.   Photo by Judy Sierra

A Little Color

Jeremy Moody made this wonderful chart out of Lego pieces showing all 182 Lego colors.

5:07 p.m.  The sky was heavy. Filled with anvils.

Cold.

Ocean Beach   4:54 p.m.

Stepping around mounds of snow.

It was so cold the ocean froze and we went ice skating.

Rain!

Ocean Beach   5:08 p.m.

"Profanity Ought to Be Fun"

Mary Norris is a crack-up! I read the sample from this book last night, and soon as the sun came up I ordered the whole damn thing.

She works in the copy department at The New Yorker. Have you seen her videos on YouTube? Hilarious! Here's a sample.

Another quote that made me laugh: The dictionary is a wonderful thing, but you can't let it push you around. 

Right before I got knocked over by a sneaker wave. At least I didn't drop my phone this time!
I held it up in the air. You know when I say "phone," I mean "camera."

Sunday at Church

Lunch with Lucille to celebrate Governor Jerry Brown’s signing the AB 1369 bill. This bill is actually two separate dyslexia laws, but an important part of it will be re-educating teachers in CA to teach reading in a different way. According to Lucille who tutors kids with dyslexia, this alternative method of teaching reading is one that works for children with dyslexia as well as for kids who don’t have dyslexia. The AB 1369 bill is something she’s been fighting for since she moved here ten years ago. Of course we have a long way to go––but YAY, Lucille!

Illustrations for a 48-page picture book by Cynthia Rylant have been turned in!
Good night.

Ocean Beach   4:55 p.m.

Why did no one tell me?

Probably because deep down I scorned these machines and the people who bought them!
So expensive; and how precious to make one tiny cup of coffee at a time. And the pods themselves––what a gimmick! And totally non-recyclable?

Still, somebody should have told us. We waltzed into Sur La Table looking for potholders and waltzed back out with this little Nespresso machine. It came bundled with a milk frother (that silver thing) and 16 different coffee pods. On sale for $139.00––though later we saw the same deal on Amazon.

Back home I yanked the machine out of the box, held the water container under the faucet, selected a pod and dropped it in. In 20-something seconds I had the best cup of coffee I’ve ever tasted. Except for the espresso at Pizzeria Delfina that time … but of course this machine makes espresso too.

And Tom was wrong about the recycling. You CAN recycle the pods, though you have to take them back to the store. Unless you live in Switzerland, in which case your mail carrier will pick up your used pods. Nespresso actually uses the aluminum in the pods to make new machines.

Ours is the smallest one they make. It’s called the Inissia and it’s a pure joy––a kids’ game, trying the various types of coffee in the shiny colored pods. 

How many of you knew about this machine and have been keeping it a secret from me?

Found: One pair of glasses, size large.  Ocean Beach  5:08 p.m.

A Happy Thanksgiving

Don’t begrudge me my perfect Bi-Rite Thanksgiving dinner! 

Ten Things I love on Thanksgiving besides Bi-Rite:

1. Beach Lane Books

2. Norma’s Country Ham (on biscuits from Devil’s Teeth)

3. Siri, who guides me when I drive

4. My tiny red under-the-desk heater

5. My GE dishwasher that sings “Camelot” when it’s finished

6. Chocolove’s Almonds & Sea Salt in Dark Chocolate (love poem inside)

7. My wool & cashmere socks w/ polka dots

8. My Salomon trail running shoes that I don’t have to tie, or really run in

9. Bill Evans Pandora station

10. Clinique Take the Day Off in that wonderful lavender bottle

Cold. Really cold.

Windy, too.  Ocean Beach  4:50 p.m.

The trail above Moss Beach. And that's not all:  Tapas!  Our favorite smokehouse! 

Ocean Beach   5:12 p.m.