run wild starlight

 

 This week I camped with friends in cedar creekside cabins north along the California coast. A meandering path in the woods ushered us to the rocky shore where the pulsating wind enlivened me with each breath. Brooke and Kristen snapped gorgeous polaroids and I brought my Diana Dreamer along to play with.

At night the knowing moon and run wild starlight shone through the oaks and we gathered around the warm campfire for hours. As we slept the rain fell diligently and when I let in the light at sunrise, rainfall was coming down on the hillside treetops in a soothing rhythmic motion. It felt like the perfect accompaniment to morning coffee and my journal, so I added a woolen scarf, hat, and handwarmers to the composition and settled in.

Soon the sunshine returned with freshened air perfumed with eucalyptus and wild anise and we resumed our beachcombing.

Now I am on my way out the door again for another brief camping trip, this one with Bud, Rave and Gypsy, our bus. There's a crispness in the early morning and evening fall air that is best enjoyed outdoors and I want to make the very most of it. 

friday 5:46 p.m.

* Yogi tulips in our kitchen, stretching and bending towards the light

This morning there was chocolate mint tea with a dear friend and this afternoon brought thunder and hurried raindrops after months of absence. In this breath I am grateful for a husband home again after another week away, this time in Shanghai and Tokyo. I am grateful for the sound of my mother's cheerful voice on the phone, the funny dog curled up in his bed by my side, and spaghetti squash with marinara (made with rosemary and oregano from the garden) for dinner.

Life is sweet. I hope for you too.

a terrace in paris

Bud spent last week working in Europe and sent this picture of his "makeshift terrace" from a Paris hotel room. Though I was unable to accompany him on this trip, I do have a special visit of my own planned to the City of Light in November. It's been six years since I've seen Paris and I am envisioning long walks in the rain and hours spent in cafes scribbling in my notebook and sipping chocolat chaud. A first time visit to Shakespeare and Company bookstore is a must. I've also been daydreaming about Laduree macaroons since my last trip. As for the rest, the possibilities are endless and exciting!

Where would your Parisian adventure begin?

we ate tangelos under a big orange moon

 

 We ate tangelos under a big orange moon and smelled of campfire, eucalyptus, and starlight.

gone campin'

I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we 

unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright.

- Thoreau