I just had to snap a photo of the rock I noticed at the base of a big redwood tree in the parking lot of my credit union. I have no idea who left the rock, or if the message was meant for people or as tribute to the tree, but I will take it as meant for you and me!

Loren and I started this week spending the day with a dear friend from our UU Fellowship of Sunnyvale. She drove the hour or so to see us and we enjoyed a hike around Lake Chabot, then lunch and a long visit that afternoon at our AirBnB. It was a very meaningful time with many good conversations over our day spent together. 

We then had a special email arrive this week, it pointed us to a travel friend’s whittled down photo collection from our tour of Australia’s Red Center. I have so looked forward to receiving this, as he had snapped two phenomenal photos of the night sky that we saw while we were there, which he has generously and graciously included in his collection.

 

Loren and I also listened to a webinar one evening this week, given by an RN who’s expertise is in end of life oncology. She was teaching about providing end of life care in general. As part of the advertisement for it, we found this quote worth pondering: 

There are only four kinds of people in the world: those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers. Rosalynn Carter, former US First Lady

Another highlight this week was the day we spent across the bay. First I saw my acupuncturist – he had helped me some years ago with leftover pain from a broken wrist, and now he is working his magic on my long term knee and more recent pelvis issues. Loren also had lunch that day with a good friend, while I took myself to see the new Anderson Gallery at Stanford University. Before going inside I ate my picnic lunch beside a couple of plaster companions…

 

Inside I found three favorite pieces among the permanent collection. One is titled Full Time. I appreciated its message about Memory – something else to ponder, and, a new to me technique of painting the title on the edge of the canvas.

   –

Memory is not accurate recall. We remember what we want, what we choose. Our present moment influences our memory of the past. We remember what we want. We make it real by writing our own history, the one tattooed in our mind’s memory.

The other two pieces I especially liked were titled Red in Red, and, At the Lake, Morning.

 

That afternoon we had a nice visit with our neighbors who have been so helpful through our Journey with managing our mail. But how could I have forgotten to take their photo? In the evening, Loren visited over dinner with a group of men who were invaluable to the success of his business, and the restaurant offered a special photo souvenir. At the same time I caught up on some shopping. 

We have also enjoyed seeing more Giants games, and taking more Yoga classes. We learned a little more Italian this week too from another of Loren’s Mom’s frequently used phrases:
     Chi mancava ancora quella.
She taught us that it means something like, That’s all we need, or, Just one more thing. It taught me too how I cannot always trust online translation tools. Here is what one of them suggested: chi means who, mancava means was missing, ancora for still, and quella for that. Who was missing still that? It just does not accurately translate!

Now we are visiting overnight with friends who share our passion and interest in long term travel. We have had two enthralling evenings and one stimulating day of sharing our favorite places that we have visited over our lives and especially our four+ years and their seven+ months experiences. We are also exploring our next places of interest to visit, and just sharing about meaningful life experiences we have all had. We are enjoying being in their lovely home, which they too plan to rent out while they travel. Currently it is decorated with many attractive pieces of art that come from Africa, which is from where one of our friends hails, and reminds me so much of our visits to Africa. And, they have a remarkable yard where they can sit and enjoy seeing the seasons change and where birds come to nest annually.

  

We also so enjoyed toasting to their retirement that we learned was just a day new on the day we arrived! One interesting coincidence is how the bottle they chose to especially celebrate with is both a honey infused flavor – reminiscent of Loren’s and my recent time in Australia and perhaps the destination of their next adventure, and, the name of the drink is the same as a Servas host to Loren and me when we visited Freiburg, Germany.