Claire

Week 161 April 29, 2017

Published on April 29, 2017July 30, 2018 by ClaireLeave a comment

Loren and I started this week still staying at an AirBnB in Moffat, Colorado – in the San Luis Valley. The home was built using straw bales for insulation in the walls, not unlike the Earthships’ tires. On Earth Day we attended a memorable fundraiser with drumming, flute, and movement at nearby Joyful Journey Hot Springs.

The next day we visited in Crestone, which is halfway between Santa Fe and Denver. It is hailed as a peaceful area, near wilderness and the mountains. One writeup of the place claims, “An ancient spiritual-scientific reason the land is so sacred, so powerful is it is at the convergence of ley lines – part of the Earth’s electromagnetic energy system like at Sedona and Mount Shasta, which creates vortexes of powerful energies for healing and higher states of consciousnesses.” Loren and I had a pleasant time here, hiking a little and enjoying a light meal at the local brewery. I was hearing Rocky Mountain High in my head, especially after noticing a sign for a particular new local retail outlet here. That evening we were treated to a glorious sunset.

We continued to see more wildlife this week – butterfly, hare, rabbit,

eagle, raven, prairie dog,

even yak and a snake! It is always a great pleasure to have time out in nature.

We then drove to Longmont to visit dear friends from our home UU congregation, who we had not seen for 17 years. We spent a fun evening enjoying good conversation and catching up over a wonderful dinner they prepared. We stayed overnight, and in the morning had a great walk at Lake McIntosh. I was especially taken with artwork there that was made to represent leaves. Our friend explained that there are 52 peaks over 14K feet in Colorado. We had views of Mount Meeker and Longs Peak, Longs being the northernmost 14Ker in the state. We hope to see these special friends again before another 17 years elapse…

We then visited more friends also in Longmont, and also formerly – though much more recently, of our UU Fellowship of Sunnyvale, California. We enjoyed a lovely overnight visit with them, including a walk around Longmont’s downtown. We did not know this couple well before we left on our journey and it was very sweet getting to know how much we found in common, and, how close they had become to several of our friends at home too. We hope to have more good visits with these friends again too.

Then we spent a wonderful two nights’ staying with cousins in Littleton. A delightful though too short time together with thesegood-hearted family members!

From the Denver area we drove north to Kearney, Nebraska to see the founders of one of Loren’s former manufacturers, and their long time employees. It was another too short though meaningful time together with special friends.

Before leaving Kearney, Loren and I toured both the Museum of Nebraska Art (MONA), and the Archway Museum of Transportation. The latter spans from early Native American style to the modern Internet superhighway. Now we are enjoying visiting more friends from Loren’s work in Salina, Kansas…

Week 160 April 22, 2017

Published on April 22, 2017July 30, 2018 by ClaireLeave a comment

Happy Earth Day! It is also spring with colorful daffodils, tulips, and other vibrant flowers blooming. Loren and I spent most of the week around the “Enchanted Circle” of northern New Mexico. We have seen numerous ravens and even heard the whoosh of their wings overhead several times. No wonder Raven is such an important figure in Native American culture. Another commonly seen bird here is the magpie, dressed in formal black and white, even sporting black tails. They somehow remind me of the Chinstrap penguins we saw in Antarctica, and, of Magpie the friendly cat at our AirBnB.

One afternoon we hiked to the Rio Grande where Loren had a soak in Black Rock Hot Springs. We had planned to visit Manby – also known as Stagecoach – Hot Springs where I would have soaked too, but the day wore on more quickly than we anticipated and it was too cold in the shadows for me to consider it. On Easter Sunday I took a special yoga class at Aura Fitness, which was gaily set to Gospel music to celebrate the holiday.

Afterwards Loren and I attended Sunday service at Taos UU, where we felt right at home. We had lunch at Taos Pueblo near Red Willow Creek, where we ate “Indian Tacos” – meaning taco ingredients on Fry Bread. It was delicious! That evening we walked a half hour from our AirBnB to visit Shree Neem Karoli Baba Ashram, also named Hanuman Temple, built by the followers of Majarajji. While we enjoyed a vegetarian dish, the faithful were practicing Kirtan with chants, bells, gentle movement, and a lot of candles.

On leaving Taos, we had a picnic lunch at scenic Rio Grande del Norte National Monument before deciding not to camp or hike here – it felt too wide open, with no trees for shade anywhere.

That was a significant spontaneous decision because near where we did camp for two nights we saw a mixed herd of Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep, several times! And, we were content as we camped under a canopy of trees.

We then hiked in Columbine Canyon, between Questa and Red River, New Mexico. The trail criss-crossed and ran along Columbine Creek, which we understand is at its fullest ever. The trail also took us through mountain meadows, affording lovely views, and was perfect for lunch and meditation breaks.

While there I composed a poem, can you see the character of my writing on Loren’s hat?

Bemusing Butterfly

In grad school we were assigned to read

“The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat”

about some symptoms of brain injury.

Today after a picnic we encountered

A Butterfly Who Mistook a Hat for Nature,

making us wonder at its unusual behavior.

Surprising us by riding along quite a ways

as we hiked the gentle sloped trail

until we reached where two creeks join.

Our bright butterfly friend then joined

other butterflies flitting to Aspen saplings,

at what I decided to call Butterfly Junction.

Claire Adalyn Wright

The next day we hiked two miles up to Lake Cabresto before our check-in at Phoenix West Wing Earthship. Loren was quite interested to visit this community in Taos, for its peculiar Biotecture, an experimental architecture, sustainable, off grid. At the end of the day we drove nearby to take a photo from the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, where we heard the unmistakable and delightful long descending trills of the Canyon Wren.

Similar to Paolo Solieri’s Arcosante buildings and community in Arizona where Loren and I stayed overnight some years ago, Michael Reynolds’ Earthship housing is focused on reducing impact to the earth and increasing sustainability. For example he combines solar, thermal and wind energy, provides for independent food production within the dwelling, and, uses a four part water reclamation concept. We browsed books and watched DVD’s about his unique style, which can produce wildly imaginative and sometimes beautiful design. One of the documentaries we watched is Garbage Warrior, describing his effective use of discarded tires, bottles, cans, and plastics for building materials. We toured one home under development to learn more. As we know, some people’s trash is other people’s treasure, and he recycles waste into fortune. Incredible!

We next crossed the state line into Colorado where we camped two nights at Great Sand Dunes National Park, which is home to the tallest sand dunes in North America. It is often windy in spring in the southwest, and this has been our experience for these past few weeks. With the over 13,000 foot snowcapped peaks nearby, it was more than a little chilly overnight, and at times the wind howled and rocked our van. Here we saw several deer, but none of the black bear that we were warned about.

We hiked partway up the dunes, which was a little like hiking in soft snow, but decided to forego summiting the tallest, for the fierce pricking of grains of sand in our faces that the wind whirled up. It reminded me a little of the winds on top of Mt Washington in New Hampshire, and that relentless sand storm in the Sahara desert. Instead we returned to our camp for a 20 minute nap – that stretched into an hour, and awoke to an inviting afternoon outside before we hiked into the Sangre de Christo which translated means Blood of Christ, Wilderness. We enjoyed a most memorable time here!

Week 159 April 15, 2017

Published on April 15, 2017August 14, 2018 by ClaireLeave a comment

Happy Easter! Loren and I were still in Santa Fe earlier this week. I had a milestone moment of progress in my Bikram Yoga practice, and after class my instructor gifted me a ladybug pin to mark the occasion!

On leaving Santa Fe, we chose to drive partway on a dirt frontage road along the Chama River, with the reward of breathtaking views. We only knew of Chama River thanks to our Colorado cousin, as they have vacant property along the river. It was gorgeous!

We stopped at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, where we hiked a little in the stunning terrain. Then we took their Landscape Tour, to see some of the sites that Georgia O’Keeffe had painted near her studio/home here. I repeat, it was simply stunning to see the landscape in person, to see her rendition of it brought to the canvas, and especially after we had already been enthralled by her work in January at Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe.

We tried to stay at Chaco Canyon – a place that has been on my bucket list since we traveled nearly three weeks through the southwest some years ago. However, we had been unsuccessful in reaching the campground for advance reservations. We took our chances, ignoring the “Campground Full – Make Alternative Plans” sign. It was a long, poor dirt road most of the way in. We saw what seemed to be a wild horse, jackrabbits, and another pronghorn antelope, while neglecting the second “Campground Full” sign, hopefully trusting that it was out of date. “How could the campground be full on a Monday?” we wondered.

Alas the signs were accurate. The Ranger who flagged us down as we drove through – to make sure it really was full, offered that he knew there were only two campers at Angel Peak on Bureau of Land Management property, a two hour drive away, and this was nearly dusk. So we said a disappointed farewell to Chaco. To our great fortune, Loren’s idea of another BLM was less than an hour away. We drove more poor roads in to Bisti and De-Na-Zin Wilderness, where we were the only campers! We slept fabulously well here. In the morning, we hiked about 5 hours in the wilderness areas. The sights were otherworldly, some almost like above-ground caves of stalagmite/stalactite formations.

I wrote another poem from this experience:

Bisti De-Na-Zin Wilderness Wash

Claire Adalyn Wright

On our hike in the wide, dry, sandy wash,

I noticed foot prints and paw prints,

some hare prints, hoof, and claw prints,

pebble prints, and fossil prints, as well.

But the best, by far, were the water prints.

Speaking of experiences, my brother wrote,

“Life is definitely made up from experiences we have, not just how long we live, so it

sounds like you guys are living to the fullest. Keep it up.”

Thanks so much, I think we will!

Back in after being out of civilization during the week seeing elk, the southernmost Rocky mountains still covered in snow, and, beautiful wide open terrain, we made our way to a campground in Chama. Yes, we made a big circle in northern New Mexico this week. Compared to the BLM property the night before, our sleep here was periodically disturbed by barking dogs, artificial street lights, traffic noise – all at an RV park that was still “officially” closed for the winter.

The next day, after driving through more incredible scenery, we stopped to indulge at Ojo Caliente Historic Hot Springs for the afternoon on our way to Taos, where we are now. Loren’s favorite of the seven hot spring pools was Lithia, because it included jets that were similar to the ones in our backyard tub at home.

In Taos, we have attended two evening readings by local poets – after all April is National Poetry Month. We had a delicious vegetarian langar – lunch, at a Sikh Temple in the nearby town of Espanola, and, on Good Friday, we joined an annual six mile pilgrimage with the San Francesco de Asis – St. Francis of Assisi Church here, that included stops for recognizing the fourteen stations of the cross. I knew I would feel a bit more comfortable at our AirBnB, as our host’s front door graced us with familiar favorite images of mine.

Our host has taken in three rescue dogs, while also cat sitting for Magpie, who has a thimble-full of white on her tail. Fortunately, the property has a large back yard where the animals are able to be outside some. Fun!

Week 158 April 8, 2017, Year 4 begins!

Published on April 8, 2017July 31, 2018 by ClaireLeave a comment

This week we celebrated both my 60th birthday, and, our anniversary of leaving home in 2014. We have not lived in our house for over 3 years as of this week… This is a perfect time to again extend our deep appreciation to our family members and friends who encourage us in our dream-turned-reality. Two longtime friends recently emailed,

“…How long are you going… You may be looking at a Guiness book of records…”

and

“…I want you to know how special I believe your trip is. Enjoy what I think of as your

journey into humanity.”

Thanks to both! As Loren says, the beauty of our journey is that, “We have no end date.” I doubt that we will break any records, other than our own definite learnings about humanity and the world. I think that a bumper sticker I saw this week sums up what I am confirming has been my belief in our purpose on this planet to be.

Outside Flagstaff, Arizona at the start of this week, we stopped to see Meteor Crater, an amazing result of astronomic activity. There was a girls’ high school physics class visiting from Manchester, England, touring it at the same time we were there. It was fascinating to imagine that a little chunk of meteor in the photo with Loren is just a small piece of what slammed into the earth, some 50,000 years ago creating a huge indentation…

We then stood “on the corner in Winslow, Arizona,” a la the Eagles’ hit song. More songs we were entertained by this week were the Chuck Berry and Nat King Cole recorded versions of the Route 66 R&B song.

On our way to Albuquerque, New Mexico we spent most of a day at Petrified Forest National Park. This included many opportunities for taking in Painted Desert views, as well as seeing some tree fossils that are millions of years old. They were not frightened to death – just transformed and well preserved into mineral and rock by forces of nature!

In Abq – as the locals abbreviate it, we joined our AirBnB hosts for dinner and watching a Warriors’ basketball games together. Loren relished in taking twice daily soaks in their hot tub. We also attended a UU Sunday service at a vibrant congregation, where, being the day after April Fools the service was a fun one, centered all around Fools! Yes, that is a donkey in dialog with the minister. Like usual when we visit with UUs, we felt right at home. We attended a small group mindfulness meditation after the service where we picked up tips on how to be mindful on a hike, then we enjoyed a spaghetti lunch offered as a fundraiser for their UU Kids Camp. We had hoped to see the friends from our home congregation who have moved and attend there, instead we had a nice conversation with their father over lunch.

It was a scenic drive from Abq to Santa Fe on the Jemez Mountain Trail. We passed Jemez Springs, Jemez Pueblo, narrow red rock valleys with colorful steep walls, logging tunnels, Soda Dam – naturally formed by minerals, Spence Hot Springs which we hiked to but found they were not very hot actually, and a volcanic caldera, before we dropped down to Los Alamos.

In Los Alamos we visited the Bradbury Science Museum which displays historical nuclear weapons and research artifacts. It was most sobering to see this graphical depiction of the extent of contamination from nuclear testing before the still controversial WWII bombs were dropped in Japan.

We took a scenic day trip to Las Vegas, New Mexico – not to be confused with the infamous Las Vegas of Nevada, to see the historic Pueblo of Pecos, the ruins of Fort Union where the Santa Fe Trail wagons stopped for supplies and repairs, and, we had a soak in the free to all Montezuma Hot Springs.

We were even treated to seeing a herd of Pronghorn Antelope along the side of the road!

We have driven on and off Route 66 these past couple of weeks, through Arizona and New Mexico. It was known in a bygone era as the “Main Street of America,” but is no longer contiguous. A part of it even once ran through the Petrified Forest NP. I was surprised to learn that mid-20th century mapmakers actually removed it from their maps when Eisenhower’s Interstate System was established. Steinbeck had dubbed Route 66 “The Mother Road” in his The Grapes of Wrath, and museums we have visited along the route have displayed different quotes from his writing to help explain the history.

Here is my latest Haiku, about this week.

Santa Fe

Claire Adalyn Wright

If “All roads lead to

Santa Fe,” it is here, for

now, that we will stay.

We noticed several familiar – at least to us – city or street names as we drove in and around Abq and Santa Fe, like, Santa Clara, Los Altos, San Jose, Santa Rosa, Coronado, San Mateo, El Camino Real, San Diego, Alameda and Santa Ana. But, we knew for sure that we were not in California anymore!

Week 157 April 1, 2017

Published on April 1, 2017August 1, 2018 by ClaireLeave a comment

Loren and I started this week still visiting our dear friend in Orange County. We went for a picnic at Laguna Beach, then visited Wyland’s studio where I immediately recognized his wall art as what I had seen on a building in San Francisco. That evening we joined our friend and her daughter for a local theatre production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Hilarious! Before bidding our friend farewell for now we went on a local morning walk to see blooming wildflowers in the area.

We then had a delightful lunch date at a restaurant in Temecula with cousins. Afterwards we had coffee and ice cream at their home in Murrieta.

We camped that evening at Dixon Lake before a memorable Day of Meditation at Thich Nhat Hanh’s Deer Park Monastery. Exiled from Vietnam years ago, Buddhist monk, nicknamed Thay, is known for his mindful teachings. In the Dharma talk by one of the nuns, we were advised to be Mindful (Smrti in Sanskrit), Concentrate (Samadhi), and to be open to Insight or Wisdom (Prajna), as well as to Stop, and, Look Deeply. Loren and I hiked the peaceful grounds together after the silent lunch. That afternoon we drove by a road named “Sunday Drive,” then were enthralled under a blue sky, over green clad mountains, across green grassy meadows, and through green dressed canyons. Umm!

Loren and I then visited Anza Borrego Desert, the largest of State Parks. I understand Borrego means Big Horn Sheep, who make this park their home. The only ones we saw were through a researcher’s telescope, because, with the heavy winter rains, they can remain high in the mountains for water for now. We camped three nights in our van – two at “primitive” sites, the third at a campground with no showers. We slept under a vast array of stars, more visible due to the low light pollution of the desert. It was hard to sleep the first two nights due to a persistent, fierce whipping of wind, that, besides the irregular patterned sound, frequently rocked our van all the long nights into morn. In the morning we drove around Galleta Meadows to see several metal art sculptures.

While staying at the park we had three wonderful day hikes. Two were led by a volunteer naturalist, Ted, who was a wealth of information with a fun sense of humor. On the first hike in Tubb Canyon I wore three layers under my coat the whole time to keep warm, as we were at a high elevation. On each of the hikes, including Palm Canyon Trail and Hellhole Canyon, we saw desert oases. Beautiful!

And there is more! We arrived for the week after the peak of the “Super Bloom” of Brittle Bush, still vibrant and plentiful. In addition we saw an incredible variety of blooms:

Acacia (Cat Claw)
Agave
Apricot Mallow
Barrel Cactus
Beavertail Cactus
Bladder Pod
Blue Dicks (Wild Hyacinth)
Brown Eyed Primrose
California Evening Primrose
Cheese Bush
Cholla
Chupa Rosa
Creosote
Desert Apricot
Desert Dandelion
Desert Lavender
Desert Lily
Desert Milkweed
Desert Mistletoe
Desert Poppy
Disodea (San Felipe Dogwood)
Dune Evening Primrose
Dune Sunflowers
Fiddle Neck
Fiesta Flower
Golden Eyes
Ground Cherry
Hedgehog Cactus
Honey Mesquite
Indigo
Jumping Cholla (Teddy Bear)
Lupine
Monkey Flower
Mormon Tea
Ocotillo
Phacelia
Pin Cushion
Purple Nightshade
Rock Pea
Sand Verbena
Sugarbush
Sweet Bush
Trixus
Whispering Bells
Wishbone Bush
Yerba Santa
Yucca

among more that Ted had named that I did not capture, can you believe that long list? We also learned about the “not willow” trees: Desert Willow and Seep Willow. As well, we heard the calls of Canyon Wren, Desert Wren, Mockingbird, and Scott Oriole. Finally, we saw several of the large Sphinx moth caterpillar. A memorable three days!

Seeing the Sand Verbena reminded me of a Haiku that I wrote at Monterey Bay many years ago:

Pink and Yellow Sand Verbena

Claire Adalyn Wright

Pink and yellow Sand

Verbena is Vera, with

Ben in between her!

On our drive to Kingman, Arizona Loren and I stopped at the Salton Sea, drove through California’s Mecca – who knew we had such a place here, and, along Box Canyon Road where the Sonoran and Colorado deserts meet. We reminisced along this stretch of an Indian Reservation over similar drives we have had through Titus Canyon in Death Valley and Burr Trail Road in Utah years ago. Box Canyon Road is a great place to ride bicycles, but since we do not have our bikes, we went for a mid-morning hike!

Once we crossed the state line into Arizona we drove over the old London Bridge that spans the Colorado River in Havasu, then we drove to the nearby California border to pick up Route 66 near Needles. We had a stop at historic Oatman, Arizona where wild donkeys roam the period street representing life during the early settlement of the west.

In Kingman we visited both their Route 66 Museum and Mohave County Museum, drove past houses with both our namesakes on the National Historic Register – Williams House built in 1887 and Wright House built 1912, then ended our time in Kingman having a pleasant conversation over coffee with a Kingman local who is a friend of a friend of ours from Lower Lake, California.

We finished out this week with me taking a safari ride through Keepers of the Wild Animal Park in Valentine, while Loren relaxed and snapped photos of passing trains on Historic Route 66. Oh, and I should mention how I accidentally locked the keys in the van, where Loren’s spare key was also locked. From the generosity of 9th generation residents of Ash Fork, Arizona who tried to help, we waited two and a half hours for roadside assistance from Prescott to arrive. While it briefly snowed, the 10 year old daughter of our helper made some snowflakes from scrap paper to entertain us all!

Week 156 March 25, 2017

Published on March 25, 2017August 20, 2018 by ClaireLeave a comment

We started this week still at our UU friends’ farm, where we walked their 10 acres, seeing their land and improvements. Beautiful! We finished the day with dinner at a Mexican restaurant.

The next morning, on our drive south, I marveled at blooming red bud trees, mustard fields, leafing trees…

Loren and I splurged on an overnight at Mercey Hot Springs. Located several miles into mid-California desolation, it is where the valley was alive in carpets of “goldfields” – which I learned are Asthenia, thanks to our dear Godson identifying them! Once there we soaked in individual hot tubs, cooked noodle soup on our single burner campstove, and were serenaded by joyful song birds. Then we went for a beer with Dona, a camp host, at nearby Panoche Inn’s Lost Bikers’ Saloon. On returning we had another soak, then were lulled to sleep in our van by frogs and occasional hooting of long eared owls.

In the morning we had a soak, ate breakfast at our camp picnic table, which was complemented by a gift jar of homemade jam from our San Jose neighbor, yum! Then we walked around the property – it was too windy to play their disc golf course, had one last soak, and ate our picnic lunch. A memorable 24 hour respite!

That evening we enjoyed a dinner out with Loren’s dear college friend. We visited with her and her daughter and their foster dogs, then camped overnight in their driveway.

I loved the inspirational message on her kitchen wall:

“If music be the food of Love, play on.” Shakespeare

Loren and I took a Bikram yoga class before a delightful visit to catch up and savor lunch with my wonderful cousins in Monterey. That night Loren and I camped at Lake Casitas further south. In addition to inclement weather, we arrived too late and left too early to play disc golf at the Coyote Point Disc Golf Course.

It was a short drive from there to go to visit Reagan’s Presidential Library in Simi Valley.

We had a lovely dinner and overnight with more UU friends and their cute dog, in the guest room of their new home in Encino! The next day Loren, our friend and I had an inspiring time at the Getty Center in the Los Angeles hills. Our choice was to see Nixon’s library as was our original plan or spend the day with our friend, we chose our frie!

Now we are staying with our dear UU friend in Orange County, where we are reminiscing and honoring her wonderful husband who died over a year ago after celebrating his 80th birthday. We all miss him!

Week 155 March 18, 2017

Published on March 18, 2017August 2, 2018 by ClaireLeave a comment

This week was spent in wonderful visits with family and so many friends, winding down our last week in Castro Valley and the San Francisco Bay area for now. As usual lately, I wish I had been more conscientious about making photos… We began the week with another hike with friends, and this time their son joined us.

With neighbors and a longtime friend we had a sweet desert then saw Jane Lynch speak before seeing a short film that stars her, followed by a second interview with her, the script writer, and the producers. This was all held at San Jose’s historic California Theater, and part of the annual weeklong local Cinequest film festival, that by the way was the brainchild and result of the hard work of a Bikram Yogi from our home studio.

Loren and I had a memorable dinner then stayed overnight with a dear friend, who is among the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Sunnyvale congregants who we have known the longest. She is 90 and completing work on her memoirs, which include living through WWII in Berlin. On our minister’s invite, Loren and I were in the UUFS pulpit. Afterwards we led a fun discussion with lots of friends there about the world and travel.

More very dear friends hosted a delightful pot luck lunch with a few other close friends from UUFS.

We then also enjoyed a family dinner at a cousin’s home, with their friends, and Loren’s mom, sisters, and brother-in-law. We were treated to recording of the cousin’s father singing in Italian, as well as our first time hearing a piece by the magnificent male quartet, Il Divo, making it extra special. It was a late night that Loren’s mom thought “might have been too much” because, the next day she felt “woozy,” so declined the pizza picnic at the lake as we had planned. Instead, we ate the pizza on her back porch, thanks to it being another warm, sunny day.

I also had a neat catch up dinner with another dear friend. It was in 1989, courtesy of the efforts of her and her fiancé at the time, now married about 27 years, that I moved to California. Her husband had recognized my VTAM mainframe computer networking skills, which, combined with the need that his department at Amdahl Corporation had, led me to a perfect job opportunity. That same evening Loren dined with a friend in San Jose.

The next morning Loren had coffee with another friend, while a Bikram Yogi instructor and I had coffee after I took her class. Loren and I then enjoyed a Thai food lunch with one of Loren’s longest friends near his office in Oakland. And we had a lovely visit over coffee with another friend’s parents, before a great hike with our friend and Loren’s sister, topped by a delicious dinner of Loren’s mom’s favorite, polenta, at Buon Appetito.

Pizza is another favorite of Loren’s mom, and we enjoyed a lunch date with long time family friends with Loren’s sisters, over pizza. That evening, Loren and I had a fun dinner for Thai cuisine with a dear colleague and her beau.

We then had a final farewell dinner with Loren’s mom and one sister, dear friends and a neighbor. We topped the evening off by watching another Golden State Warriors basket ball game together with Loren’s mom and sister.

In the morning Loren and I had a Bikram Yoga class, checked out of our AirBnb, took Loren’s mom for coffee at Cafe Rumi where lo and behold a Toastmaster’s Club friend of Loren’s happened on by… then we bade farewell to Loren’s hometown, “Cee Vee.”

Now we are visiting UU friends’ farm after they relocated to Valley Springs, where their pets, livestock of hog, sheep, goat, and rabbit, along with gardening, and tenants, keep them and their farm dog fit, well fed, and on their toes.

Week 154 March 11, 2017

Published on March 11, 2017August 4, 2018 by ClaireLeave a comment

This week was one of seeing a lot of friends in between spending time with Loren’s Mom. We attended the movie India in a Day at Cinequest at the historic California Theater in San Jose with friends. We were also able to visit briefly with our next door neighbors – the twins have grown so much! I neglected to mention last week that we briefly saw other neighbors with a daughter who has grown so much too!

We had another great lunch visit with cousins near Santa Cruz, then played our first ever Disc Golf on a course at Aptos High. Loren and I just might have found a way to enjoy more exercise on the road, and at the same time be able to see more such wildlife!

We also appreciated having dinner with longtime friends at their home. Loren and I actually met courtesy of his bring Loren to his first ever Singles’ Dance, and he was Loren’s Best Man 25 years ago! We took this photo especially for her cousin in England, who missed Christmas in the US this year.

With Loren’s Mom, and, speaking in Italian, we enjoyed calling cousins in Alfiano Nata, Italy, then enjoyed a video call with other cousins in Morsasco.

Then we had another lunch date with one of Loren’s friends, who gave us a substantial number of travel tips to consider for our next overseas adventures. While Loren helped oversee electrical work at his Mom’s home, I enjoyed a lunch date with special friends from UUFS, helping to celebrate one friend’s birthday early. This friend is quite a talented artist, and you can just see her love of our other friend’s outstanding skills as a pianist.

Where was my camera to record my delightful dinner with another friend who drove up from Aptos? Loren also had lunch with another of his friends while a colleague-turned- dear-friend and I enjoyed a good walk and lunch. She again has her mailbox decorated festively. While writing of decorating, I helped with decorations at Loren’s Mom’s house.

Loren and I then had a lovely dinner date with another colleague-turned-good friend. After the meal I drew an amazing fortune:

“Travel and adventure will feed your soul in life.”

Oh, how true!

And, to finish the week so far, Loren and I joined the Choir to rehearse songs for this Sunday as we are preparing to be in the pulpit at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Sunnyvale. The service is at 9:30 – or – 8:30 if you forget to spring your clock ahead…

Week 153 March 4, 2017

Published on March 4, 2017August 7, 2018 by ClaireLeave a comment

This week we had lots of sunshine, complemented by smile-inducing spring sights and sounds – like cherry trees blooming and black birds singing. It was easy to hear the loud happy chirps of this one before I finally spied it in among the shrubbery. Do you see it? Spring is my favorite time of year!

We enjoyed a fun looked-forward-to evening of a board game with our AirBnB hosts this week.

The next day Loren and I were out and about in the warm and pleasant weather for a hike and breakfast with friends, where we shared travel tips and gleaned advice complete with a gift of used books to peruse for our upcoming travels. As we were leaving their home afterwards, I noticed an inspiring, meaningful license plate…

With Loren’s Mom and sister this week we enjoyed watching more Warrior’s basketball games, eating Sunday brunch out, and, were tuned in to see the Academy Awards major gaffe. The ketchup company had a competition to send in a selfie… we did not win it.

Loren’s Mom was interested to know our upcoming travel plans. As Loren spoke she took notes and later showed me, but I warned her that what she wrote may not be exactly what will transpire. But I took photos of her notes just in case!

Loren and I also took his Mom back to Lake Chabot’s Marina for coffee, where we lingered for at least a couple of hours, soaking up first the coffee and newspaper or book indoors, then basking in the sunshine of a glorious day outdoors. Then we had a good lunch together in my favorite sandwich shop, ToGo’s.

We enjoyed meaningful, though too brief, visits with my dear friends, alas, my camera was accidentally completely out of sight. We gleaned more travel tips from Loren’s friend who hails from India, and we had a delightful night out for Italian fare, treated by Loren’s long time friends and their wives. On one more night out we picked up yet more good travel advice from our Godson, over a favorite fare of sushi. I managed to snap a photo of his cat being taunted by Loren, but where was my mind for taking his photo? It was great to see his new apartment at a house in the Oakland Hills. We also caught up with a few friends by phone – those who live too far to be able to see this time around.

On my way walking back from a coffee shop to pick up our car from needed maintenance in the neighboring city of Hayward, I saw some inspiring art and a 9/11 Memorial that caught my attention.

I also had a mind-and-soul-challenging life experience this week which gives me more empathy into what some people have to face. At my routine mammography a couple of weeks ago I was called back in, which I chalked up to the new equipment and the technician’s difficulty with it – what normally is a quick in and out had been atypically long that day. But no, she explained that the re-imaging was required for two questionable spots. This led to an ultrasound which then led to what came this week – a needle biopsy. I am now partly bionic with tiny markers implanted at those two spots. I am blessed – or perhaps cursed – with an incredibly high tolerance for pain, but I still had to give up my yoga for that day and the following 48 hours.

While I only told a few people, they each responded so thoughtfully. I received a sweet text from my sister-in-law, a loving card from my mother-in-law, caring emails before and after from my cousin, and, a thoughtful card with a beautiful welcome home surprise of wine and chocolate cake from our AirBnB hosts! I feel more than blessed after each and all of these. Fortunately, the results – which also took longer as pathology was “backed up,” turned out that the spots are benign. It was great to be back in the Bikram Yoga “hot room” this morning!

Before the week was out, Loren and I found a tribute to gift them for their home of their favorite subject of artwork. and a reminder of the delicious fresh eggs we have enjoyed here.

And, this week we also remembered a neighbor’s life with a beautiful Irish prayer. She, with her husband lived across the street from Loren’s Mom since she and his Dad had moved to the neighborhood in the 1950’s.

Week 152 February 25, 2017

Published on February 25, 2017August 9, 2018 by ClaireLeave a comment

Thank you to our family and friends who reached out to check in on us this week. We have had more sun than rain in northern California, but the heavy rain that did come created devastation in parts of San Jose, as recently happened elsewhere in the state. Fortunately our home is not on the flood plain.

At the beginning this week, on the way to a dear colleague and friend’s new home, Loren noticed a new small street sign at the border to the neighboring city, Hayward, that I want to promote: “There is No Room for Racism.” As some seminarians aptly use to conclude their message in a homily or sermon in Unitarian Universalist services, “May it be so!” We then had a wonderful dinner date with this friend and her – new to us -engaging beau, at their lovely home. It is in the hills offering more views of the bay, beautifully lit up at night. She also has two – new to us too – kittens from the same litter. I love her names for them: Pumpkin and Spice. Seeing them play brought back memories of when I housesat for her cats, first Arthur then later Harry, when she lived in Los Altos.

We also appreciated some friends coming to meet us, closer to where we are staying this week. For example, we enjoyed a fun dinner out with former business associates friends of Loren’s, including two adorable young girls of one of the couples, in nearby Dublin.

Then we a fun lunch out in San Ramon near our yoga studio with a couple of women friends from Loren’s first Toastmaster’s Club of Castro Valley.

Another day Loren spent in San Jose visiting with some of his friends and mentors – one for lunch, another for coffee, then another for dinner, before these two joined in for a men’s group gathering. While he was away I spent the day with Loren’s Mom. I borrowed Loren’s sister’s car, drove us out for lunch in Castro Valley, then together we picked up Loren’s sister at her work on the way home. Daffodils blooming from their prolific back yard make a lovely table decoration.

We had another fun evening, and that was to visit again with friends at their home with their children and a fiance, and another long time friend. The son is Loren’s Godson, and we also were able to celebrate his 32nd birthday together. Happy Birthday again!

This particular friend of Loren’s is a published author, and it was nice to see his children reminisce of their claims to fame in his books.

But, Loren, standing on the trail in color, and Loren and I as hikers in black and white in a couple of photos can also claim fame through one of his books!

This week I have also spent time working on my notes of Loren’s Italian family history, trying to put the stories into a cohesive form. I have been working on this in bits and pieces over the years and believe I must also have some notes tucked away in storage. I want to try to have it to a point that I can review it with his Mom while we are here. Her memory is declining though. For example she told me the other day that no, she and her mother had joined her father in Boston after the depression because he went there first for work. So I changed all my writing about the other way around – that he had joined them there. Then, clear as a bell, she later said that, no, he had joined them in Boston after she and her mother first went with two of her mother’s brothers. So, I changed it all back to what I had remembered her saying years ago. This is a work in progress.

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