Journey Toward Wholeness

I am a day late with this post once again, as it was a full week. The day before we went to Monterey for a special wedding at the beginning of this week, we had gotten our annual flu shots. I was surprised though when I came down with the flu symptoms of achiness and malaise! They lasted about 24 hours, including all the way on the drive. Thankfully Loren drove while I slept, then slept again on arriving at our motel. On awakening to attend the wedding I felt much better. And the wedding was awesome! Enchanting, lovely, memorable. We stayed overnight and enjoyed a delicious brunch with many of the family and friends the next morning. 

 

Another activity this week was spending the afternoon in San Jose. When we discovered the cost to have our front yard mulched, we opted to spread it ourselves. We are proud of our efforts in doing that and some trimming, believing we did a better and more loving job than the paid workers would have…

 

Not only that, we were able to catch up with a few of our delightful neighbors, reminisce over the old meaningful log we lugged with us to this home, marvel at the flourish of a previously planted bush in our yard, enjoy another neighbor’s festive lawn decorations, and, become acquainted with a neighbor’s new cat who has a penchant for climbing a tree beside our front porch.

    

To treat ourselves, and as well as to avoid the commuter traffic on the way home, we stopped for our favorite burgers at MoJo’s, then went to see A Star is Born. Both of us can highly recommend it. Loren’s comment after the movie was that there was not a dull moment. A young man in the lingering audience heard him and seconded his opinion. 

 

Then we had a few fun days spent with a dear colleague and her husband who have relocated near Sacramento. It was nice to catch up with one of their daughters and her family who have moved nearby too. We all enjoyed their dog and cat. We also spent a beautiful fall day together visiting Apple Hill, an association of farms featuring – of course – apples, as well as pumpkins, wines, other fruits, related fruit products, crafts, and lots of food items to choose from to enjoy for lunch. You could spend hours, maybe days poking around here.

   
On leaving Sacramento, we returned to the south bay to attend a memorial service for a special member of our UU congregation. Our minister invited me with a couple of other congregants to offer a prepared remembrance, which was meaningful to do. That evening we enjoyed dinner with a couple from our congregation, one of whom has become quite the accomplished artist in her retirement. I always appreciate seeing her work, and this particular image of hers with quote of Epicurus struck me:

     “Not what we have but what we enjoy constitutes our abundance.”

Towards the end of the evening their more grownup daughter returned from a track event for more of a catchup. 

Then my brother and his wife sent photos of their visit to their younger daughter’s college football game that they attended. Otherwise, the local Bikram Yoga studio now has me on a weekly schedule of teaching the 6am and 7:45am classes once a week, which I am totally enjoying. On the same day each week, I have a routine of attending a Shakespearean Cultural class at a local community center, and, making dinner for Loren, his Mom, one sister and myself to share.

  

Loren and I hope you too are enjoying your days this fall!

Dear Friends and Family, we so appreciate you following along and reaching out to us recently as well as during the 4 and a half years that we have kept up this blog. It is still, as always, wonderful to hear from you!

To start off this week, while Loren was with his Mom I went to First Unitarian Church of Oakland with a Bikram Yoga instructor friend who has been staying in California for a few months now. It reminded me of how I met her at my Bikram Yoga Teacher Training. She was a friend of a classmate of mine, visiting our training, and the three of us went to see Paramahansa Yogananda’s Self Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine Temple. Not only was Yogananda a spiritual superstar, he was an older brother to Bikram’s guru – Bishnu Charan Ghosh. Anyway, we three had a nice day seeing the temple, the lake and gorgeously landscaped grounds, then having lunch together. This week, it was just the two of us who enjoyed the UU service, then we had a picnic lunch in the park next door. 

It appeared our week would include rain, beginning with this colorful sunrise one day, however the desperately needed moisture that came was just a tease of rainfall…

On my way to nearly daily yoga classes, I sometimes see some interesting things, and I am always delighted when the horses along my route are near the road. This week though my sights also included a rather bizarre scene from a crashed vehicle… I believe that no one was injured. 

  

This week too, fun fall activities abound. Are you watching some of the postseason Major League Baseball games too? This week we saw our Oakland A’s lose in their wildcard game to the New York Yankees, then saw the Yankees split 1 game each with Boston’s Red Sox for their best of 5 series.

Fun fall sights and tastes abound too, from Halloween decorations that are popping up in the neighborhoods,

and Loren’s and my homemade crumb pies – that we made with apples from a tree that he has cultivated from when he was a teenager that began as a mere sapling, sprouting amongst the ivy in his parents’ front yard,

 

to the delightful cats of a dear friend who I was able to have dinner with this week. Her kitties from the same litter are smartly named Pumpkin and Spice, which are even more precious at this time of the year.

 

Then, Loren and I took a day outing to pick up a pumpkin and walk along the beach at the Pacific coast, something we have tried to do most years as the anniversary of our first date, which was 29 years ago now. On our way there we drove over the 7 mile San Mateo Bridge, and witnessed the coastal fog lifting over San Francisco in the distance.

 

As he often does, Loren spotted a heron as we approached the lagoon at San Gregorio beach. I am always fascinated by herons! Our arrival timing to the beach was just as the fog was lifting here too, providing for a beautiful day after nearly a week of clouds overhead. 

  

We continued up the coast by car, and I had to stop to take a photo of the largest cluster of Naked Ladies in full bloom that I have ever seen. 

Loren and I also stopped for lunch at a restaurant with an ocean view. The water was just shimmering in the afternoon sunlight. Afterwards as we drove “home” to the East Bay by way of San Francisco, we just missed seeing the US Navy Blue Angels at Fleet Week. All we found in the sky were fading gray trails from what must have been the final act of their show. I remember seeing them practicing overhead years ago when we had lived in Sunnyvale – their tight flying formations are just incredible. 

 

To finish I will include an inspiring quote from an email byline that came through my inbox this week:

   “Stars only shine in darkness. If I am a Star, I’ll stop complaining about the darkness.
    Learning to shine.”

May we never stop learning! Oh, and in addition to a small pumpkin, I picked up a few gourds and ears of Indian corn to decorate the table outside our sliding glass door at our AirBnB… 

We started this week with a barbecue to celebrate Loren’s and his sister’s birthdays at his Mom’s house. We finished dinner with a chocolate cake with candles.

 

Loren has been enjoying the one teen boy at our AirBnB, he and his Mom are also long term guests in the house. He challenged Loren this week to their second battle in a game of Nerf gun war. Can you see their white styrofoam “bases” – what I call targets, on the driveway?

 

Last week I taught 8 Bikram Yoga classes with the long Labor Day weekend, this week I taught 3 more… I am really enjoying the teaching, as well as taking several classes a week myself.

Now Loren and I are at the start of a week’s getaway. Loren’s sister who lives with their Mom has gone off for a week to celebrate her birthday, and their Mom is staying the week with their other sister. Our first stop was in Berkeley – the once famously named Berserkely. We drove along Piedmont Avenue – a coincidence in name to the neighborhood in Oakland where Loren’s Mom was raised as well as theAnglicized name of the region in Italy where her grandparents were from. We soon stopped at the University of California to see Sather Tower. Its campanille is the third-tallest bell and clock-tower in the world.

 

We went to the top for the views of the Berkeley Hills, Oakland, and in the distance San Francisco.

 

The elevator operator mentioned on our way up that someone informed her that there was a fallstreak hole phenomenon happening today with recent formation of clouds overhead. We saw it clearly, both in the photo I had taken of Loren as we arrived and again from the top of the tower. 

 

Our timing was perfect as the carillon only plays three times a day, one being at noon. So we went back to our car and drove closer to hear the player perform three pieces after the clock rang out noon. Then we made it in time for our 12:30 lunch reservation at Chez Panisse, also in Berkeley near the campus. Seeing the Bell Tower and eating at Chez Panisse have been on my wish list for probably 25 years. and I am grateful that we could experience these both this week.

Now we are in Santa Rosa, making our way to a friend’s home for lunch…

We hope you had a nice Labor Day weekend, a good time to get together with friends and family. For us, this was another good week of meeting up with special people.

I enjoyed a lunch date and a good walk afterwards with a dear friend on one of the days that Loren was with his Mom. Sadly I did not think to take a photo to share. I am looking forward to also visiting with Loren with her and her husband in their new home soon.

The next day Loren and I drove to the south bay at 5am to avoid the traffic. We hung out in a coffee shop to pass the time, where one of Loren’s good friends met up with us for a visit. Alas, again I forgot to snap a photo. Then Loren and I met with our property manager, who is transitioning his business to a new property manager. It was a good meeting and we are grateful that the business relationship between the two men will continue in a modified form for the foreseeable future. 

A highlight this week included Loren’s birthday. On the exact day we celebrated twice with friends. First over lunch at Google where one of friends from our home UU congregation works. 

   

And after lunch we enjoyed a walking tour of the Googleplex campus, where Loren especially enjoyed the Games room.

  

In the evening we enjoyed a dinner date and celebrated Loren’s birthday with more friends. We enjoyed talking about travels with their daughter and her boyfriend who are also enjoying some traveling right now. 

On another morning we had our last scheduled appointments with the acupuncturist in Palo Alto this week. When we have gone across the bay for these appointments, we have left home by 5am to avoid the heavy traffic. Near his office is a coffee shop that opens at 5:30am. I developed a habit to pick up the newspaper and have enjoyed usually solving the embedded word and numbers puzzles.

 

Afterwards we enjoyed another lunch datewith more friends from UUFS, and this time I remembered to take a photo!

We finished this week with a memorable evening of visiting with Loren’s godson. We walked the partly steep trail down to a sushi restaurant in his nearby downtown neighborhood and after returning uphill from dinner, he and Loren enjoyed a soak in his hot tub. I begged off as it seemed to be extra hot water, so I enjoyed playing with our godson’s fun cat. 

Tonight we will be celebrating Loren’s and his sister’s birthdays with their Mom…

 

It is always a marvel to me how all year some or another plant seems to be blooming in California, feeling like it could be eternal spring, though I am well aware that fall is upon us. This week I noticed a striking blossom in the driveway of our AirBnB while I was sorting through our belongings that have been stored in the van.

One thing I came across is my previous passport. I had ordered a new one early last year when we were in the United States because it would be expiring, so had left it home after the new one arrived. It was nice to flip through to see several meaningful stamps…

  

I also put together a sack of little used items to take to charity this coming week. Loren noticed the letters on the side of the bag I was using and asked what they meant? I had to look the wording up online, and discovered that I have somehow held onto this plastic bag ever since we were in Croatia in 2016. I do try to reuse such items until they no longer can function… The words, mala bijela vrecica are translated from Croatian as: small white bag. When I added the actual Croatian character of the last word – mala bijela vrećica the translation returned a more specific meaning: a small white bag.

I took dinner to Loren’s Mom’s home this week, and thought to take a photo. Both his Mom and sister looked extra attractive in their tops, and Loren did a nice job of decorating the table in rearranging flowers for the occasion. After dinner he served his Mom her coffee where we watched the news then an A’s game – Loren has nearly switched his loyalty to this more consistent-winning team over the Giants, while I am still happier to root for the orange and black – and former New Yorker – team. 

 

Loren has become more serious about writing his book. Last week we attended and this week we joined a local Writer’s group. This week too we met with a Bikram yoga student who advertised her completed memoir for sale at the studio, and in meeting with us she had some nice tips for him to help with the publishing. Plus it was just delightful to speak candidly with the author of a book we had both enjoyed reading.

The highlight this week is that today is Loren’s and my 27th wedding anniversary! On the spur of the moment last evening, after I learned that one of my drop-in Bikram Yoga students was in town for a “Dueling Pianos” evening, I took Loren to the nearby pub where he was playing. We had never heard two pianists perform pop songs in duet before. When we arrived at the venue, there were few seats to be had. A friendly young group who’s table had extra seats invited us to join them. It was fun to converse – ok shout, with them, while enjoying the entertainment. 

 

Can you tell which performer is the yogi? I have to say though, while he hit all his notes, his postures look better in the hot yoga room!

My newest yogi friend took my request to play our wedding song to commemorate the upcoming day today. He called us up to the dance floor before he started What A Wonderful World, and even sounded much like Louis Armstrong himself in its rendition. 

  

The evening included sharing photos back and forth with our table mates, and enjoying the broad range of contemporary music. But, my ears are still complaining from the revelry around us. I thought it was much more fun to sit at the table front and close to the action, than it would have been to sit at the bar where it was projected by camera…

  

Looking forward to sushi dinner out tonight…

Loren and I started the week off at the Castro Valley Greek Festival where we enjoyed catching up with our former AirBnB host and one of her guests, and, we ate Greek food, drank Greek wine and beer, and watched Greek dancing. It was a fun evening!

 

We also went to make a copy of an historic family photo, and when we took the frame apart I was surprised to find a water color painting of Loren’s father tucked inside! It is not as accurate as a photo, but, definitely there is a resemblance that is unmistakable.

I have taught a couple more Bikram yoga classes this week, and for some reason I was moved afterwards one day to look up the Periodic Table of Elements. I found it interesting to notice how the electrolytes I remind my students to replenish after taking the hot yoga class – calcium, sodium, magnesium and potassium, are all situated in a neat 4 square block on the table for some reason.

We have noticed much smoke in the air this week – it only looks a bit hazier as it rides in and out on thick fog, but, I notice it in my sinuses, feeling like I have a cold one minute, then it’s gone, then it’s back, several times a day. When Loren and I went for a walk in the regional park, we found a whole herd of goats fenced in, eating the dry vegetation, and making quick work of it. This is one measure being taken to try to protect the neighboring homes should fire threaten even closer to where we are staying. 

 

Later on the hike we saw a flock of egrets heading to roost for the night, reminding me so much of the flocks we had seen when we were in Pokhara, Nepal, in November… 

 

We have met some nice people who stay or have come and gone at our AirBnB, and this week we had exciting news from one young couple who are visiting from West Africa. I learned that he proposed to her when he took her to see his school here. He even had a special heart laid out on the floor in the center of the hall to accentuate the occasion. Then they were married here in a civil service. My photos are from their video of the proposal and of a photo of them on their wedding day from his laptop. I am so happy for their joy!

   

As an unexpected coincidence, as Loren and I were leaving a writer’s group meeting, we discovered that it is held in the same building as this young man’s school, and, he offered to give us a tour. That is his country’s flag in the background, and, his shirt expresses the sentiment of his engineering studies: eat, don’t sleep, code.

 

We spent one enjoyable evening this week at the home of friends who have an owl living in a palm tree in their backyard. During the day you can just barely make out its head between the palm fronds. Each evening around dusk the owl flies out from the tree where it has spent the whole day. We were especially lucky to see him not only fly out, but to circle back around as if to say hello before he then headed off and away for his night of foraging. 

Another evening was spent with Loren’s long time friend, and after a nice dinner out together we enjoyed going for ice cream. The flavor he is eating – called Ube, is more delicious than how the color might appear it would taste!

Afterwards, together we watched a parade of sorts of classic cars driving up and down the main boulevard in town. We were delighted to find our friends whose palm tree hosts the owl were participating in it with their daughters!

  

And, this week we received a photo of my brother’s younger daughter who is now settled in her dorm room, as she starts her first semester of college. She’s look so happy and I am so proud of her!

 

Dear Family and Friends, Loren and I really appreciate you checking in with us by email, comments on the blog or by phone. Thank you for keeping in touch with us!

At the start of our week Loren and I saw the movie, BlacKkKlansman. Have you seen it? I was unprepared for the extent of discomfort that I would feel at times. I was therefore grateful that the theater where we saw it has big, cushy lounge chairs, as I noticed myself pulling my legs up and in close to my body during the tougher scenes. There were humorous moments too, and sad moments… especially given how it is largely based on a memoir by the real Ron Stallworth of the 1970’s Colorado Springs Police.

I read a couple of interviews of John David Washington, the lead actor, about the movie and his role. I agree with his ideas:

It shows us an example of people coming together, setting aside their differences to overcome this greater giant, this greater beast, and that is hate — this organized institution of hate that is generational because they’re so organized. I mean, that’s a huge takeaway. It wasn’t just one black man with one mission. …

I’m hearing positive things. This story should have been told. [Stallworth] tried to tell it. … We’re seeing an evolution of resistance, too. In the forms of hashtags and taking a knee. People seem to be ready to peacefully discuss differences. That’s what I hope this film can inspire — to start a dialogue and not be afraid. I think Ron talks about we can’t be afraid of racism. We have to be able to talk about it openly. But find the correct dialogue to negotiate such things amicably. …

We’re not pointing the bad guys. We’re not pointing to good guys. We’re pointing to Americans. We’re talking a history lesson — an entertaining one. I mean, it’s a period piece, but it has this very contemporary feel to it. …

And, on his own career learnings from the role, I believe his idea applies to not just him:

I see that change is a process, it’s not an event.

Loren and I had a dinner date that evening at 6pm with a couple of his colleagues. I had misunderstood the movie listing of 1.30 that the movie would be one and a half hours. Perfect, I thought – the cinema was near the restaurant, so we would have no concerns about traffic and would still have plenty of time to drive there after the show. I must say that the freeways in this area have taken on a more Los-Angeles-like feel – instead of what we remember from when we lived in the South Bay area and which is still the case there that commute lanes are restricted from 5am-9pm and 3pm-7pm, the newer commute lanes in the East Bay restrict traffic all day – from 5am-8pm. 

But I was shocked to find my watch read 6:25 as we exited the theater! I have now learned that 1.30 means 100 and 30 minutes! I am thankful that our friends enjoyed catching up with each other before we arrived. Yet again, I forgot my camera to record the experience… We had much fun talking of experiences and travels and dreams. One of them informed us that traveling around North America by van – not by RV, means that we are called “Vandwellers.” Despite my spellchecker, it is a word, I looked it up! Now we have another, new, fun way to refer to ourselves.

This week too, Loren treated on pizza at his mother’s. I noticed that both she and I were wearing pink tops and blue pants for the evening. I did think to take a photo of us in our nearly matching outfits. Since I just read this week in a Japanese-American’s memoir that this would be called a “pair look,” I can also say I have a another, new, fun way to refer to twin or matching outfits. On another evening I noticed for the first time that Loren’s sister’s rescue cat sometimes joins their Mom on her large comfy chair while she is watching TV, so I also snapped a photo of  them together.

 

On another day, Loren and I enjoyed a brunch/lunch with friends from our UU Fellowship. After they had left, I thought of my camera. So I did the next best thing to a photo of the 4 of us, I took a photo of the restaurant’s name…

One evening, Loren and I went for a hike at the nearby regional park. It was neat to see a doe and fawn, who were aware of us but not scared away, allowing me to capture a couple of decent photos. It was interesting to note how the deer here have a black tail, while I recall from our travels how deer elsewhere often have had a white tail.

 

  

This week too I had another email from a young man named Sohan who worked at the laundry in Kathmandu where I took a bag of clothes to be washed. He had asked for my email address, and every so often he will send a simple note. I respond each time, but have never heard further from him to my queries. This week his message was longer:

         Namaste dear friend how are you i miss you so much

adding for the first time the sentiment, “i miss you so much.” I hope he might one day send a followup email to my reply to him… Receiving that email reminded me of another young man who I had met when Loren and I were in Rwanda. His name is Stiven. He too asked for my email address and sends messages a little more regularly. The most recent one I received was this:

     How are over there? I would like to ask you what about you? I hope you
     are okay? Please mum are still travelling  or you are in USA right
     now? I miss you so much.

     Here is to much sunshine and hot.

     I look forward to hear from you soon. Have blessed  time and work

Stiven and I have had some meaningful email conversations. For example he has shared that his parents are both gone, therefore likes to refer to me as mum. He lives with his grandmother and younger sister, and, while the grandmother has had some health issues, she has been well again for some time now. Stiven is keen to improve his English and sometimes asks for my advice, so I try to help what little I can by email. And then there is the young minister who Loren befriended when I attended Father Michael Lapsley’s Healing of Memories course in South Africa. His name is Francky, but lately he has not responded to Loren’s recent emails. 

I taught another Bikram Yoga class this week. For the next month I am included on the schedule to teach a couple of classes each week. This will still allow me time to take classes myself, and to fill in if they need a sub once in a while. 

Loren and I had a date night at a sushi restaurant this week too. While there we were also able to watch a San Francisco Giants baseball game. We could not hear the announcers who we appreciate, but we could follow along from the notations on the screen what was happening. As the Giants lost, again, Loren is not enjoying the games as much. 

This weekend is the Annual Greek Festival here in Castro Valley. I remember how the year after our Honeymoon in Greece, Loren and I attended it for the first time. Now we will go this weekend for the first time since then, and, this time it follows our Honeyversary visit to Greece a couple of years ago for our 25th wedding anniversary. We are looking forward to it!