Almost Wordless Wednesday: A Mural

One of the walks we often take into town is to the local market. It's where we go to buy our date night fare. The other day when we were walking up the hill it occurred to me that I should take a closer look at the painted concrete wall that we walk past every time we make the trek. I was surprised to see how incredibly well done it is. It's a full block long. Here what we see walking up the hill.

Happy Winter Solstice, friends!

Shades of Blue

Today would have been my father's 98th birthday. It is the day the electors in my country cast their vote for President and Vice President. Is it any wonder that all I see before me are shades of blue? We took a walk out on the north jetty, hadn't been there for almost a year. I was expecting rainbows in the surf like last year, but all I saw were these shades of blue.

Words On A Wednesday

The house is suddenly empty. We took the last box to the local Post Haste store and shipped pillows and hangers to my mother, who was at that very moment flying south to her new home. We stopped at the local market afterwards and bought something for dinner at the deli case-- tofu, veggie egg rolls, coconut basmati rice. Date night on our first night in four months without my mom.

When we got home Roger put on the mellowest music we have: Stephen Halpern's Chakra Suite. We track my mom's flight online as she gets farther and farther away from us and closer to the new life she had chosen. Yes, she had regrets. She couldn't even remember why she wanted to leave, but all was done, packed and shipped. My sister came to get her and take her back south.

At the beginning of the day there was chaos at the tiny airport when we they were leaving. My sister found out that their baggage was not going to be automatically transferred to the next connecting flight because it wasn't with the same airlines. She was going to have to schlep three extremely heavy suitcases, her heavy laptop bag, and my mother in a wheelchair at one of the busiest airports in California where you have to take trains to get from one terminal to another. WHAT? The chaos and angst overtook the moment of farewell. I barely was able to give my mother the hug I had planned and the words I wanted to say.

It was just, "Bye ma! I love you." A wave and not even a look back.

And so it goes, and so it goes. We're expecting four inches of rain in the next two days. She's off to sunny southern California. These photos were taken on the day we took my sister to see the marsh. Our new life begins.

PS-- All went well on the flights. There was assistance by airline crew and everything went smoothly and right on time. A sigh of relief all around. 

Wordless Wednesday: Bird Island

A Day Begins and Ends

Wednesday morning

And in-between: I have a doctor's appointment to help me figure out why my left hip is painfully locking out of place and my left leg is numb and weak (there's an MRI in my future); we very carefully pack my mom's boxes for the move; the moving company comes to evaluate the shipment of my mom's stuff to southern California; a sofa is purchased to add to the load just to make the expense seem less ridiculous for such a light load. We come home and make dinner.

 Wednesday evening

The sun sets. We go to sleep.