We're writing this at ten minutes to six on Thursday night in the pacific time zone. We're wondering if we should watch the crazy man that is the president speak? We know we'll be lied to. We know he has no intention to tell us why 160,000 troops should be in Iraq doing something that costs them their lives at the tune of 60 per month,
a small price according to John Boehner. Should we actually watch him one more time?
Or should we go out into the garden and photograph metallic green bees, or try to identify the green flying insect we saw on our walk today? (
Bev, any clues?)
Should we review this small inconsequential video we shot on Thursday of a heron walking in the fog? (Listen for the fog horn, in the beginning and at the end, a sound of the foggy coast.)
Or maybe we should just go out into the garage to see how the fantastic pewter-looking lizard is faring? (Rather well, there were two when we checked. BTW, these are very small lizards, about three inches from head to tip of tail.)
We agree, yes, let's do all of these things before we look at the smirking vacuous face. We'll do all of that, and if he is still talking, we'll go and shovel the compost from one bin to the other before we ever listen.
Ah, the fog lifts, and it's quite beautiful beneath.
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Here's a short update on Roger's health. His echocardiogram showed that he has a "slight diastolic dysfunction." The diastolic is the lower number in blood pressure. The systolic measures the heart in contraction, and the diastolic measures the heart when it relaxes. Roger's diastolic measurement shows that his heart doesn't relax as much as it should. So, he has an appointment next Thursday to talk with the doctor about how to proceed. We'll keep you posted.
Have a great weekend, friends. We'll be back on Monday.
Today is our 19th wedding anniversary. According to the internet there is no traditional gift associated with this anniversary. So, I guess that means we get to make it up ourselves, which we do anyway (renegades that we are!). We always celebrate our anniversary with a special bottle of wine, not a particular wine, but one that catches our attention by vintage and vineyard. This year it is a local 2008 Zinfandel from Nevada City Winery. I'm making an Indian dish for dinner, a variation of Chicken Makhanwala, a delicious cream curry. We bought a fantastic garlic naan to go with it. This is going to be a very spicy feast. Nineteen years requires this kind of celebration and attention.
We just got back from a very quick trip to Santa Cruz, the place Roger and I lived for 15 years before our life-changing moves to Port Townsend and then to Grass Valley. It's been two years since we've been there. We didn't remember it being so crowded and crazy with cars and people everywhere. Even the short respites on the beach were spent among throngs of surfers, other walkers, and dogs chasing things into the waves. There was never a moment of silence. Not one. Still, we loved sniffing the flowery fragrant air and seeing jasmine and datura, sweet peas and scabiosa in bloom. A complete delight for our senses.
One of the very coolest things about being back in Santa Cruz for those 48 hours was the fantastic coincidental arrival of the monarchs. It's amazing how much we took these sights for granted, and now it has become a rare feast for our eyes to see them again. Lucky for us, they were everywhere.
Then, we were back home. Beautiful skies. Katydids on the old squash leaf, and 
a lizard in the sink. Nineteen years and the greatest gifts come for free.
