Here comes the rain

Rain has come to Southern California. And just like that, fall has arrived. My oft-neglected rain boots are mighty happy to get a little action today. 


{Image via Pinterest}

The Longest Day of the Year

"In summer, the song sings itself."

-William Carlos Williams

Happy Summer Solstice!

{Image from Etsy, via Pinterest}

Happy Autumnal Equinox!

Today marks the first day of autumn. In Europe, that is. In the United States, autumn started yesterday. Confused? This link explains how the autumnal equinox can fall (pun intended, of course) on two separate dates:

The solstices and equinoxes are not actually days, but rather they are instants of time. The equinoxes are the instants when the Sun appears directly over Earth's equator....For 2010 the moment of the autumnal equinox is September 23 at 03:09 UTC (coordinated universal time). Coordinated universal time is also called Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), the standard time in the Greenwich, England time zone. Because this year's autumnal equinox falls so early in the morning in UTC, it is on the previous night in locations a few time zones west of Greenwich. In the United States, the autumnal equinox will be at 11:09 PM EDT, 10:09 PM CDT, 9:09 PM MDT, and 8:09 PM PDT on September 22. The autumnal equinox, or the first day of fall in the northern hemisphere, will be September 22, in the United States and locations further west. The September 2010 equinox will however be on September 23 in Greenwich, England, Europe, and more easterly locations.

And did you check out that beautifully brilliant moon in last night's sky? The tiny bright star next to it is actually Jupiter. Jupiter and the moon will be bosom buddies for the next month or so, but after that they won't rendezvous in the night sky until the year 2022. Start your sky gazing now.

{Image via here}

Volcanic Woes

The recent volcanic eruption in Iceland, from which a large plume of ash has risen into the atmosphere and is now hovering over the UK and Scandinavia, is putting a serious dent in my weekend plans. The dense ash cloud has grounded some 5,000 planes and has delayed the much-anticipated arrival of a couple British friends of mine with whom I was very much looking forward to spending a fun weekend. I'm crossing my fingers that the air space opens up sooner rather than later, and in the meantime, I'll be checking and re-checking the BBC for updates. Womp.


{Image via Flicker}

Spring is on her way

DEAR March, come in!
How glad I am!

I looked for you before.

Put down your hat—

You must have walked—

How out of breath you are!

Dear March, how are you?

And the rest?

Did you leave Nature well?

Oh, March, come right upstairs with me,

I have so much to tell!

I got your letter, and the bird’s;

The maples never knew

That you were coming,—I declare,

How red their faces grew!

But, March, forgive me—

And all those hills

You left for me to hue;

There was no purple suitable,

You took it all with you.

Who knocks? That April!

Lock the door!

I will not be pursued!

He stayed away a year, to call

When I am occupied.

But trifles look so trivial

As soon as you have come,

That blame is just as dear as praise

And praise as mere as blame.

--Emily Dickinson (1830–86)

Rainy day LA

Torrential rain has hit Southern California this week, and yet my commute to and from work has remained blissfully civilized in spite of it all (LA drivers are known for not handling rain very well). Kudos to the California Highway Patrol and my fellow drivers for maintaining calm and order on the roads! Although I can't say I'm especially fond of driving in the rain, I absolutely adore listening to it. Lately I want nothing more than to listen to the sound of it drumming against my window as I snuggle up warm and safe inside, book in hand. Preferably a Gothic or mystery novel that somewhat reflects the somber, gray weather outside.

I think the following poem by 17th century Japanese poet Matsuo Basho captures the current state of things brilliantly.

First Winter Rain by Matsuo Basho

First winter rain--

even the monkey

seems to want a raincoat.

More photos from Santa Barbara

As promised, here are some more photos of T's birthday sojourn in Santa Barbara. The entire trip was all about sun, sea, and relaxation, with a little sparkling wine thrown in for good measure. I even got to try something completely new for me (but not for T, apparently he's a pro): horseback riding! I can't believe they let such a neophyte on a live animal. But I got the hang of it. Eventually. And I even enjoyed it and would do it again. Yay!


Now here I am little bit more in my element: lounging ocean-side at the Coral Casino, a membership-only health club open to Four Seasons guests. Except where did I place my book and glass of bubbly?

The path leading up to our tucked away, cottage-like room at The Four Seasons, our home away from home (I wish).

When can I go back?

Santa Barbara Sunsets

Here are a few snapshots from T's birthday getaway. We drove up the California coast to spend a few nights at the stunning Four Seasons in Santa Barbara. As is evident in these photos, we drank in many a sunset, as well as quite a few flutes of sparkling wine.

More to come in a later post....

Splendor in the grass...and on the beach

Here are a few more pictures from the wedding weekend T and I had a couple weeks ago. After attending our friends' nuptials in Paso Robles, we decided to extend our vacation by a day and continue eating and drinking down the California coast. Our next stop was the lovely Santa Barbara, where we had spent our first holiday together two years ago (ah, memories!). We walked on the beach, went browsing through shops on State Street, and enjoyed the gorgeous summer sunshine.

Whenever we visit Santa Barbara, we head to Elements to nosh on impeccable sandwiches, salads, and wraps. Named after the four elements, each room corresponds to either earth, water, air, or fire. We always sit out on the porch in the "air" because the weather is too lovely to resist. Not to mention, we can see the gorgeous courthouse from across the street.

Said gorgeous courthouse.

And view from the top of its tower.

T and I unwinding under the shade of the surrounding palm trees. He read to me from a book on how mathematical randomness rules our lives. Awesome.

My view from where I lay on the grass.

And we hung out with a flock of birds on the beach. They were none too pleased when T ran at them to produce the last shot.

Alas, the sun sets in Pacific Palisades on a spectacularly restful 4-day weekend. Why can't all weekends be this long?

Holiday Weekend

I spent my 4th of July weekend precisely the way my little heart desired. I celebrated my good friend's birthday in Newport Beach with lunch overlooking the water, then drove down to San Diego to celebrate our nation's birthday with T's family. We ooohed and aaahed over the fireworks, sipped margaritas, gobbled up T's crowd-pleasing chicken, pesto, & sun-dried tomato sandwich, watched the sun setting over the Pacific, and played countless rounds of the card game "Peanut", my new obsession (how have I never heard of this game before?).

Oh, and I whipped up this dark chocolate & espresso souffle, which turned out really well. I was pretty darn pleased with myself! Though I can't take all the credit; T's sister was co-creator.

Weekend in San Diego

It's always nice to get out of town for a little change of scenery. Especially when that change of scenery involves casual beach towns and sweeping views of the Pacific. Contrary to what these pictures might suggest, it wasn't all relaxation. Scrambling across San Diego to attend two graduations (and are graduations EVER fun?) with two families isn't exactly what I call a vacation. But I can't complain: I caught up with my adorable three-year-old twin nieces, who are delightful and so much fun to hang out with; I got to snuggle with T's six-week-old niece; I had a beautiful room at the gorgeous Hotel Del Coronado, complete with ocean view and a deep tub. Here are a few snapshots from my weekend in San Diego.

Room with a view on two very different days

White shutters in the bathroom opened out into the living area, which also included a cozy fireplace.

I could have stayed here all morning; I nearly did.

Sinking into this comfy over-sized chair made me feel a little like Alice in Wonderland after she sipped from the bottle labeled "Drink Me".

Peonies bursting with colors ranging from magenta to a whisper soft pink. Found at Ralph's supermarket, no less. My excitement over spotting them in so unlikely a place prompted an older lady passing by to break into a story of how she would ride to school on horseback in six-degrees-below-zero weather. No joke. Don't know how that was relevant to my passion for peonies; it shall forever remain a mystery to me.

Gratitude is an attitude

I'm going to ignore the fact that I'm currently frustrated by problems with my car (which, in a city like LA, is akin to the earth standing still) and instead focus on all the great things about my day on this beautiful Easter Sunday:

• I felt completely energized after my morning yoga class
• I relished my soy latte from Peets and my mouthwatering ahi tuna salad from R+D
  
• I actually delighted in today's capricious early spring weather and the incessant flux between the sun's warm rays and the cool breeze blowing in from the ocean
• I had a blast hanging out with one of my favorite people ever, the one and only T, who makes me laugh and manages to cheer me up whenever I'm in a sulky mood (which is more often than I care to admit). Case in point: when I acknowledged I hadn't blogged in over a week, he inspired me to get to it with a little improvised rap* which was incredibly silly and random, but it did the trick: it made me laugh and motivated me to write. Thanks, T.

*Which included this gem of a lyric: "Don't let your blog hog the html." Oh, T's randomness knows no bounds. Thank God for that.

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter holiday!

Twitter

I joined Twitter today. I'm still debating whether or not this is a wise idea. Is anyone else tweeting on Twitter?

Speaking of tweeting, lately I've been hearing a chorus of bird chatter outside my window very late in the evening. Their timing strikes me as somewhat odd; surely birds of the tweeting variety are diurnal, for the most part? I was always under the impression that nocturnal sounds were left to the owls and other hooting creatures of the night. Even now, I hear the birds chirping away as I type.

A quick Google search later and I find that what I'm hearing isn't so strange. According to the Boreal Songbird Initiative website, I'm just bearing witness to the birds' musical migration:

"On spring nights, while most people are sleeping, a river of migrating birds flows north from wintering grounds in South and Central America and the Caribbean towards the places where they will raise their young in the Boreal forests of Canada. Few people realize that most birds migrate at night and that the number of birds making this phenomenal journey number in the billions."

Who knew? Reason #9439 why I can't live without the internet.

{Photo courtesy of Boreal Songbird Initiative}

New Horizons

I took these snapshots on the morning of President Barack Obama's inauguration. There's so much promise in the dawning of a brand new day, not to mention in a new presidency. If you couldn't already tell, I'm really excited and optimistic about the future and where our country is headed in the next few years.

Weekend Musings

Sigh. Why do holiday weekends have to end? It always amazes me just how quickly they go by. One minute you're relishing the thought of four luxurious days where you seemingly have all the time in the world to do just about anything that tickles your fancy, and the next you're lamenting the cruel, hard fact that work/school/reality must set in in a mere 24 hours. Still, I can't really complain (but oh, how I love to do it), as these past few days have been wonderfully relaxing with a healthy dosage of good friends, good food and good wine, not to mention some quality 'me' time. I finally finished Mrs. Woolf & the Servants, which was an illuminating look not only at Virginia Woolf's relationships with her domestic staff, but also her relationship with food and her own body (i.e. she wasn't a big eater, something I cannot identify with at all). I even enjoyed my workout session with my trainer (can you imagine Virginia Woolf with a trainer?!). Yes, I have a trainer and I go to a gym. This coming from a girl whose athletic zenith in life was doing a hand stand in yoga...with the instructor's help, I hasten to add.

In the final moments of the long weekend, the boyfriend and I (or T, as I shall henceforth refer to him in this space, because I'm getting lazy in my old age) braved the strong winds that had been blowing through the west side all day, grabbed a warm drink (earl gray for him, soy latte for me) and headed out to the bluff in the Pacific Palisades where we took in the setting sun. Only about twenty other people had the same brilliant idea. So did a few dogs. And it was FREEZING and extremely windy, even more so on that bluff than anywhere else. So our romantic interlude lasted all of one minute, and as soon as the sun dipped below the horizon, we scrambled out of there as fast as our legs could carry us.

Our legs carried us to Village Books in the palisades because I wanted to browse their selections, and I think T just wanted to get warm. I have to say that I really like this bookshop. It has a very cozy, neighborhood feel to it, and I like how the patrons all seem to know each other. Case in point: yesterday two men were talking very loudly in the shop about their houses and which architects they used and which homes they admire in the neighborhood, which would have been a fine conversation to overhear if it wasn't so suggestive of two grown men comparing body parts, if you know what I mean. It's the whole "my house is bigger than yours" mentality. Eventually, they graciously took the conversation outside, where they proceeded to talk at each other at exactly the same decibel. But apart from all that, I just like to give Village Books my business, especially in this day and age when Barnes & Noble and Borders loom on every corner, and Amazon is tantalizingly only a click away on the computer. So you can imagine my disappointment when I read that the shop is struggling a bit at the moment. Luckily, (or I should say hopefully), rescue came in the shape of one celebrity palisades resident and Village Books patron, Tom Hanks. I nearly whooped out loud for joy when I read about what he did for the shop. Which just seems so like him, too. I heart Tom Hanks and books and (hopefully) happy endings for book shop owners and extended weekends.

Oh, and for those who are interested, I ended up leaving Village Books with a copy of Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, a book I've been meaning to read, and Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope, because what better time to read the president-elect's latest book than the month of his presidential inauguration? In two weeks, people!