Misc.

 The cutest mini-butter sticks

full moon rise

 auspicious ferry ride to a fabulous job interview

gorgeous dinner

I only thought I was going to get to collapse in my bed after a very long week....

Have only a few minutes online; not enough time to write of all that has happened in the past week.  But finally, FINALLY, things are becoming happy around here.  More to come...

buzz, buzz

A fun first day of teaching; my class roster reads like a UN listing.  More details to follow, but wanted to share a couple of photos from today.  It finally cooled off; happy to see foggy mornings.  And!  An Ethiopian student brought in injera and lentils to celebrate her new year's.  Yum!

swift motion

this weekend marks my two-years at this exquisite view.

'autumn to winter, winter into spring,
spring into summer, summer into fall,
so rolls the changing year, and
so we change;
motion so swift, we know not
that we move.'

Craik

a quarter found bodes very well for this week-change is not only on the ground, it is also in the air...

poetry of human kindness

Yesterday dawned hot and hazy and you all know how much I enjoy that weather combo.  Thursday are also my day of back-to-back rehearsals--which I love.  However, all the venues did not have a/c, so spent the day completely drenched in sweat.

But things went well and it was good to see my singers and ringers after summer hiatus and I was zipping along home when my car started wildly shuddering.  This was on the bridge portion of I-90.  I could hear metal grinding into the asphalt by the time I got to the shoulder.

I do know how to change a flat and have done so on the fine freeway in downtown Oakland, but traffic was so heavy I was scared to get out of my car.  After several phone calls for help, I finally just dialed 911.

While I was waiting, another car pulled over and the guy offered assistance.  When he said he had his own hard hat and reflective vest, I figured it was okay to accept.  Which was fortunate as my jack was welded into my car and we couldn't get it out and had to use his.  We changed the tire just in time for the Highway Patrol to arrive.  He helpfully held a flashlight so we could load the tire in the trunk.  I asked him what would have happened if I were bleeding and injured and had to wait 45 minutes.  He told me that the dispatcher said that I was calm on the phone.  Next time I'll shriek.

Made it home safely on my spare and am going to send a gift card to the lovely boy who stopped to help.  

crazy, party of one

Life, while never slow for me, has suddenly intensified.  September is going to be juggling my current three jobs as well as teaching an intersession at a community college.  Oh, and my accompanist just gave notice, so I am revamping my entire semester's worth of music.  And somewhere in all of that, going to the beach to spend some time with The Elders.

A penny found on the way to work seemed a good omen.  As well as the fact that I'm going to defy this heat wave and turn on my oven to bake up a choir party's worth of cookies tonight.

September poem

it rained in my sleep and in the morning the fields were wet I dreamed of artillery of the thunder of horses in the morning the fields were strewn with twigs and leaves as if after a battle or a sudden journey I went to sleep in the summer I dreamed of rain in the morning the fields were wet and it was autumn "September" by Linda Pastan, from Carnival Evening: New and Selected Poems 1968-1998. © W.W. Norton & Company, 2009.

random bits of joy

coffee with an island cousin

my day off was cold and foggy but I still headed to the beach

as the rest of the week was hot (for Seattle), the peppers began to turn red

and while I've harvested tomatoes earlier, they are now appearing by the handful daily!

still on pins/needles over just about every aspect of my life right now.  So, it is doubly good to notice the teeny joys that are scattered across my days.