Happy Friday!

A classic holiday treat, The Fruitcake Lady:

The Highlight of 2012

I was asked today, “What was the highlight of your year?” The year is, of course, not yet complete, but I can still answer unequivocally that the highlight of 2012 was my cousin, P.’s, wedding. The ceremony and accompanying three-day celebration were very, very special in every imaginable way. For their festivities, P. and R., the bride and groom, chose a private-lake reserve, nestled among majestic redwoods and peppered with lovely cabins and tranquil spaces for camping. A hiking trail bordered the spring-fed lake and there were canoes for exploring the nooks along its serpentine periphery. Each day I plucked and ate apples from one of the fruit trees growing on the property; deer ate those that speckled the grass underneath. At night I would gaze in awe at the plentiful stars, warmed by the campfire, good whiskey and the presence of friends old and new. That Saturday P. and R. made their pledge, under the aegis of a canopy of heritage oaks and their friends’ and families’ effusive love.

Thoughtful Toddler, PhD - Episode 1

Thoughtful Toddler, PhD - starring C.F., toddler extraordinaire. 

Thanksgiving List

This is happening, people.   I know, I know.   It’s terribly trite and everyone makes one, but goldarn it, I’m thankful for stuff!  I’ll try to keep my list short as you’re probably busy scouring the Internet for a super innovative – yet not inedible – cranberry sauce recipe (hint:  it doesn’t exist).  Now then...

Happy Friday!

Something beautiful to kick off the weekend...

Carla Morrison, "Eres Tú"

Convo with My Mom

Me:   “Hi, Mom!  Happy Veteran’s Day!”

Mom:  “Happy Veteran’s Day.   You know, I could get a lot of stuff for free?”

Me:  “Um, oh…”

Mom:  “Free breakfast here, free dinner there, free whatever.  Yeah.  But I’m not going to do that.”

Me:  “OK…?”

Mom:  “OK, have a good day, hon!”
 

Holiday Manifesto

Do you hear that rumble?  It’s the holiday juggernaut rolling into town!  Before it gets here and squelches the life out of you, remember:  you don’t have to sacrifice yourself for the holidays.  I know what you’re thinking, “But, but, but…table settings and Black Friday and gifts and perfectness and blahhhhhh…”  STOP.  Recall childhood and your favorite memories of this time of year.  Find joy again in leisure and conviviality, in gathering and play.  Covet the simplicity of contentedness, rather than the fantasy of perfection.  Kith and kin don’t care about the stain on your tablecloth or that you served store-bought cheese logs; they care about you.  The holidays are meant for enjoying time with family and friends so in these coming weeks, make time for the people you love.  Make time for yourself.

 

The Kinfolk Manifesto demonstrates how lovely simple gatherings truly are.

Vive ut Vivas

Two years ago after my dad retired, he and my stepmom moved 3,000 miles away. Before their migration to the right coast they had never lived more than a car ride away, so I was ambivalent about their pending adventure. I felt excited for them, but also a deep sadness. My dad and I have always been like two peas in a pod, sharing many of those inscrutable familial qualities that are difficult to describe, yet readily perceptible to even casual observers. Our relationship is facile and meaningful, never forsaking substance for fun and vice versa.

Día de los Muertos

The day which we fear as our last is but the birthday of eternity.

                                                                                        ~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Celebrate today with those you love and for those you'll love in this life and the next. 

Dia de los Muertos - 2011 from Eli Vazquez on Vimeo.