All's right with the world

Gwynnie had her dental procedure yesterday and was at the vet for 10 hours. It was a nerve-wracking experience, both the lead up of the three weeks wait for the appointment and then having to keep her fasted from 3am (yes, she wakes us to eat something at 3am) until we dropped her off at 7:30am. The result: she ended up getting six extractions, which is no small amount, though they apparently do have thirty teeth. Regardless, she came through like a strong cat, eating the food I sent with her while at the vet's, and then wanting more when she got home. She was alert on the drive home looking out the top of her carrier (which I open) at the sunlit mountainside along the freeway. Clearly loopy, but also seeming to feel fine. Litter box use has resumed and she's walking more steadily. I'm so relieved and so grateful it all went well.

Here she is just an hour or so after getting home, looking a bit glassy-eyed out the window as she listened to the neighborhood owl hooting outside. 

Still Christmas in the greenhouse

This poinsettia is going gangbusters. I have watered it since Christmas and it keeps growing. It seems to really like it in the greenhouse. I love the pop of red. It's sitting on my brother's baby chair. His birthday is Wednesday, tax day. 

Sweet picture of Oreo watches over me as I putter around in there. Gail had that painted for me when he passed away. I will treasure it always. And one day, I will see him again. I think of Sherri and her beloved Tallulah Mae. I pray they are reunited.

Marta coffee shop

Taken at Marta coffee shop on Adams. 2804 Adams, to be precise. This is blue corn sourdough bread. I could have gotten it toasted slightly darker, to make it crunchier, but it was so good regardless. And the decaf Americano was delicious, and served in a sweet pottery mug. It's hard to get a good decaf sometimes. But my nervous energy thanked me.

More light

The lunacy that is the US. The sadness of what we are inflicting on people in the middle east in the name of helping them. The casualties of war. Oh, but that's war, they say. 

May Pope Leo's words have some impact. Peace to all beings.

Light

Seems we need more of it these days. Sending light to all who need it, so that loss can feel less heavy, and that hopefully the good memories are shining over us so we can reconnect with our loved ones who are gone. Missing friends and family on this Monday. 

Love to all. May the divine energy that emanates around us, within us and from us heal the earth, everyone on it, and may all beings be free from suffering.

Recent reads

Recent reads I have enjoyed. Clearly slanted to the Japanese cozy fiction sub-genre:

Feb 2025 – The Restaurant of Lost Recipes, by Hisashi Kashiwai - so fun and makes you want to go ask them to cook for you. They are food detectives who help you get lost experiences back in the most delicious ways.

Dec 2024 – Before Your Memory Fades, by Toshikazu Kawaguchi - part of the series.

Oct 2024 - I'm Glad My Mom Died, by Jennette McCurdy - not as harsh as the title might suggest. A very honest account of a child actress and how she was "mothered."

Oct 2024 – Inside Out, by Demi Moore - there's more to her than what we all know. Intense, difficult childhood. 

Oct 2024 - Convenience Store Woman, by Sayaka Murata - she's an outlier who finds peace in her work.

Oct 2024 - Strange Weather in Tokyo, by Hiromi Kawakami - a sweet love story.

Sept 2024 - What You Are Looking For is in the Library, by Michiko Aoyama - more magic; the main character, Sayuri, is a large, calm, and perceptive woman who creates felted trinkets.

July 2024 - A Quitter's Paradise: A Novel, by Elysha Chang - a professional woman who didn't want what everyone expected her to want.

Nov 2024 - Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner - I hung on every word. So good, and you can almost smell the bubbling soups she describes.

Nov 2024 – Kitchen, by Banana Yoshimoto - more delicious food descriptions, and a great story.

Nov 2023 – Before the Coffee Gets Cold, by Toshikazu Kawaguchi - magical, about time travel. It's part of the series. I read them all.

A little magic

Sometimes you find actual magic in the world, or it finds you. On Friday, the 13th, which I consider a lucky day, I had a scan for a long-standing "thing" that requires monitoring. This being the 4th scan. The previous 3 all showed growth. This one showed a decrease. I am full of joy and thanks. Is it the mantra, "my body is self-healing" that I have said over and over many times over the four years since the last scan? I kind of put it out there that I'd be ever so grateful if this thing healed, grew smaller, remained so very stable. And it is stable. Is it a reprieve of my body saying, it's okay, we're quieting down and this is a result of that, perhaps after a long stint at a desk writing. Whatever it is, I am feeling so much gratitude. Thank you, Divine energy, thank you.

Time

Is time passing faster? Did some clock change speed when I "retired?" We've had almost no winter, and now its March 11th. My dear friend has been gone over a month (how can that be?) and I just want to slow it all down and go back. That is not the nature of time though, or life, and forward is the only direction we can go. Must put more energy into filling the daily agenda. Upside: the sun is shining today.

Move this

I'm wondering if there are any takers out there who would help me move this couch out of a certain La Jolla library. I've coveted it for years. Even inquired about it after the "renovation" when it disappeared for a while. And then it reappeared. I'm thinking we distract the front desk and run it out a side door. What could go wrong?

San Francisco

Back in 2010, I went to San Francisco every other week for work. Here's a picture taken outside the window of the very tall building I worked in. The highlight of these trips was walking to The Ferry Building for lunch each day. It was filled with great shops and lunch spots. It was my first encounter with Blue Bottle Coffee; I loved the simple blue and white branding. 

De-evolution

This picture is the view as I wait outside the elevator of a place I go to get therapy on my back. I am the rare individual with upper back pain versus lower. It's usually lower backs that hurt, but I think I have upper pain resulting from bracing -- holding my shoulders up and tight. A general feeling of unsafety in this world. 

The world is in a state of de-evolution. War has always been futile and there's nothing new about that. May there be peace for all beings.

San Diego at night

Across the city. Just after sunset. Photo taken in 2017.

Reading 2026: The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa, 2003

I listened to this book using the Libby library app. I loved it from the first chapter. 

The narrator was awesome, using different voices for the different characters, of which there were really only three: the housekeeper, her son and the professor.

It's described as enchanting, and that's a great word for it. You get completely absorbed into the relationships and interactions between the three.