First Day

Evelyn: This is Justin's first day of his senior year. We have been taking these photos since he started school... and I realize that this is the last set. This is his last year. The last time I have him to myself and can insist he turn around for the camera amidst annoyed groans. Off to school my little ninja.

Waiting

Evelyn: We eat out a lot. Pito comes out to visit and we hit the Ozona Pig for a delightful dish. We wait, entertaining each other with banter and stories and rubiks cubes.

Do Not Sit

Evelyn: We were thrifting along, having had Vinna spend the night. These were NOT for sale, but on display at a 2nd hand store - "Do NOT sit, NOT for SALE!"

Coming & Going

Evelyn: Morning beach walk, and for once I went to the pier. I paused to stand, just as she did, to take in the meditative lull of the waves moving along the pillars.

Bent

Evelyn: Hauling a bunch of things into the office this morning, precariously balanced between bags and books, I attempted to slam the door behind me. What I didn't realize until late that night on my way out was the unnatural bend in my key, which had caught in the door earlier that afternoon. I had to take a hammer to it before I could pack up to go home.

The Current Pace

Evelyn: Today was Jamie's wedding shower. One thing I love about Jamie are the fabulous shoes she chooses. We have tried going on shoe adventures, but my feet are too rustic and finicky and adhere to the belief that the closest thing to naked, flat, and grounded, the better. But, she is my little shoe goddess.

Monica: (Evelyn writes...) So, I understood that Franklin's retreat burned down today after a late day conversation with Monica. Of course, as remote as they all are, and so close to state lands and miles of dry nature, a parade of firefighters from the local casino and towns were very busy over the next few days. I was sad to hear that flames were adding to the stress of acclimating to Wilbur. Regardless, I also heard the depth of gratitude for the firefighters and their diligence.

Unpacking

Evelyn: It was early morning, and I figured between running off to work and getting home, I would quickly unpack before sleep. Late night undoing of my travel gear: happy hat, day purse, funky pens, favorite skirt, and strategic plan for Wilbur... I think they are expecting me back.

(PS. If Monica doesn't send me a picture tonight... I will be posting my own stuff (5-29-2012))

Reminants

Evelyn: It is our last day together. Monica and I get up early in the morning to soak, quiet secret chatter in the silent flumes amidst soft pleas to the universe to let me stay longer. It feels really hard to leave Monica, knowing how challenging things have been and how much I can offer, if there was time. As we put my bags in the car, heading out to Sacramento, we stop by the sacred sage on the property and I pick a sprig to follow me home. I long to stay, and I draw in the aroma while sitting in the airport, a little piece of Wilbur in my pocket.

Medicine Wheel

Evelyn: Monica and I took a hike up a mining trail, strewn with artifacts from the old mining days in Wilbur. As we hiked up the hills, Monica reported that there was a medicine wheel somewhere up there that she and Michael had yet to find. My eyes caught a glimpse of a dream catcher as I wandered from the trail, and to our delight we found the medicine circle. Wilbur is stunning, full of flowers and trails, and little stacks of rocks that people have gotten creative with.

Investigation Work

Evelyn: I have a layover in Denver International Airport. I have 3 hours to kill and decide to lug my stuff down to different areas and do some investigative work. Seems this airport is the source of dozens of conspiracy theories about the New World Order, and the Mayan end of the world, the emergence of a new society, chemical warfare. It goes on and on. In the center of terminal C I find a huge representation of the ruins of a Mayan society - or the secret map to the underground city built on top of the Denver airport?

What it Represents...

Evelyn: My friend Ed is taking me to the airport. He is staying with Justin for part of the week, and I am packed and ready. I hand him a key to the house. I had a tetanus shot a few days back (Gizmo bit me in his glee over playing) and I had no idea it would render so much distress in my body. I've spent most of the day in bed, or on the couch, every joint aching, my shoulder a swollen mass... and yet eager to head on my way.

Afternoon Discovery

Monica: Sunday has become our hiking day, the day to explore some of the miles of beauty that surround us. We discovered an old dam a couple of miles away, surrounded by a large meadow and a view of the valley below.

Evelyn: I took a Jag ride with Pito and we landed ourselves at Jeremiah's for a meal. We found an old friend of mine gathered with a slew of her pup's waiting in the carriage for morsels.

College Towns

Monica: We've been driving to Davis to buy our groceries. It's about 80 minutes away from home and worth the drive for the available organic produce, Trader Joe's, art house movie theater, and diverse restaurants. We discovered these artfully-decorated bikes on the street outside a barber shop. I love college towns.

Wooly Lambs & White Flowers

Monica: We took the afternoon off to run some errands in town and I remembered that today was Friday and the farm stand would be open at Full Belly Farm. The sound of bleating sheep greeted us when we arrived. We learned that the farm is one of the biggest and best suppliers of organic produce to the Bay Area. They raise their own chickens, sheep, goats, and cows, as well as grow fruit and nut trees, produce their own honey, flour, and wool, and sell fresh milk and eggs. We strolled around the farm for awhile and by far, my favorite part, was visiting the wooly little lambs chasing each other around the base of an oak tree.

Evelyn: Walking out of work there are often piles of leaves gathered by the wind along the edge of the building. My attention was caught by these flowers mixed in with the brown leaves. Someones costume must have dropped a few faux flowers...

Evening Rituals

Evelyn: My dancing partner, Ed, and I couldn't quite time getting to a dance event after work as usual, so he invited me to the Largo Community Playground to dance, instead, on the play equipment. The summer is slowly creeping in on us, but the evenings still tolerable. And aside from dancing, there were spurts of jungle-gym climbs, avoidance of hot lava as we balanced and jumped from place to place, and a few dives down the slides. The park is lovely, and it was a good change from the everyday "grown-up."

Monica: It's a ritual on some evenings, Michael making the popcorn before we snuggle up together on the couch to watch a movie. He has a particular method which includes melting a whole stick of butter (we don't use it all!) in the little green "butter melter" I found at an antique shop in Tucson. While the butter melts, he heats the oil for the popcorn, then tosses the kernels in at the right time and cranks the handle of the popcorn maker just so until the batch is perfectly popped. He drizzles the butter over the popcorn and shakes just the right amount of salt over it all while smacking my hand away from stealing a few bites.

Places to Play

Reserves

Friday

This is Monica's image. i loved it so much I felt it needed to stand on it's own... not to mention it was an odd day with a horizontal picture instead of vertical, and I didn't want to ruin the exquisiteness of this with my goofy image...

Evelyn: Balloon pup - lasted nearly a month before it finally wrinkled up and wilted.

Signs

Jive Aces - Dali