Hey Ladies

Tonight I talked to my best lady Kjirsten on the phone. It made me miss her and her lil' family. I could hear Ezra and Ivan playing the electric piano in the background. Is it possible Ivan is teething and crawling? Ezra is WAY into (um, obsessed) with the alphabet and the complexities of not only cellphones but their manuals. This is enjoyable reading material for him. He is three! Almost four. Kjirsten and I got caught up for the most part on the ins and outs of our lives of late. Tho 1600 miles apart, we remain connected in a fierce way and seem to always be going through similar stuff.
Then I got a "Facebook" message from one of the few friends I made in Santa Cruz.... Edith. She has a top notch custom specialty cake baking business. Her cakes are elegant and gorgeous and so is she. Her and her husband have a lovely yard and they were very generous and allowed us to stop by and pick as many Meyer lemons as we wanted even when they weren't home. We are still eating the preserved lemons we made and brought back to Kansas in Mason jars.
These two "conversations" across the distance have me feeling happy yet slightly melancholy. I am very aware of the fact that I can only be in one place at a time and I can't have it all. Usually this is okay, but tonight I wish to be right there with Kiki, James and the boys to hear the piano concert in person. Then I would like to stop by Edith's for a piece of her Meyer lemon poppy seed cake and catch up.

Ports of Call

My parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary this past October. We all went on a family vacation last week to commemorate this accomplishment of sustained love. We went on a Carnival Cruise of the Mexican Riviera. It was wonderful to be in the sun and tho we stopped at super touristy ports, I absolutely love Mexico and any chance I can get to practice my Spanish. We all had a relaxing and fun time. I can't believe that a week ago I was laying on the beach with my whole family. It was a rude awakening to come back to a freezing cold winter. BUT today it was 70 degrees here (crazy!). Today was also my grandma's 90th birthday. It is amazing to think she was born in 1919. Time is absolutely baffling to me. Happy Birthday Gram!

The last bite of fruitcake

The holidays may be over but we still have our tree up. Its a dead branch we found down by the river, painted it white and hung beautiful ornaments from. One of these days I will be compelled to take it down, pack each little glass bird and acorn in paper and wrap up the wooden snowflakes. I have to admit that it was just this evening that I finished off the fruitcake my mom sent. Delicious. Its my grandma's recipe. If you aren't a fan of fruitcake you won't understand. So because I'm literally and figuratively still digesting the holidays, here are some images from the season.

Dulce y Guapo

Now that the holidays are over I am going to catch my breath and catch up my blog. These are pics of the Bourgeois Pig installation that Aaron and I did in November. The paintings brightened up the joint and transformed the space. The opening was a good time...thanks to all who showed up. We always feel so supported by our patrons and pals.

Happy Holidays

The open-house at the boutique where I work BoMo...(short for Bohemian Modern) was my official kickoff to the holiday season.
Getting out the glitter and garland put me in the spirit as did dipping dozens of cherries in chocolate. I invented a new appetizer that everyone was into.... Curry Carrot Cashew with Endive. I'll work on the name... I made a couple dozen ornaments to decorate with as well as filled old jars and bottles with this gorgeous glitter that i acquired a few years ago. I have 3 big barrels of the stuff and its been used for many projects and art shows....my MFA exhibit, etc. Tomorrow is the opening reception for our painting show DULCE y GUAPO and then we are going up to MN on Tuesday for Thanksgiving with my family. I've spent Thanksgiving with Aaron's family for the past 7 years so we are looking forward to sharing the table with my peeps. Its just crazy to think that this time last year we were in Costa Rica starting this blog...and eating a roast chicken in the jungle and later catching a scorpion. wow. a lot has happened since then.

Why I haven't been blogging...

I feel like I've been writing blogs in my head and not sitting down to type. Lately I feel like I am running in too many directions and multi-tasking all along the way. Its all GOOD STUFF that I'm up to, its just A LOT. Multiple upcoming Holiday art/craft sales, decorating for an open house at work, catering the open house, yoga, canning pickles, taking Osa on long walks, baking at the Casbah market, endless laundry, etc. meanwhile Aaron and I have an art show that opens on Sunday that we are finishing working on and gearing up to cater as well.
He and I just decided that maybe in 2009 we can have evenings that are free. When we lived in California we didn't really know anyone so our nights were always all ours. I'm not really complaining. I just want to read a book and chill out. Soon, right?

Hungry Cellar 10-25-08

A very special evening. Its thrilling to see the reward of days of planning, shopping, cooking, shlepping tables & chairs, ironing tablecloths, etc. take place before your very eyes. I love the way food and wine open up new possibilities for conversation, connection and resonance. Becca's words were thoughtful, provoking and revealing. Suzannah's music.....well, it sorta breaks my heart how beautiful it is. really. thanks for everyone's support. We've got a good thing going.