Rainy days and Sundays...

Weather up here in Santa Rosa is a micro-reflection of what's happening everywhere ... it's unpredictable. We've had a fair amount of rain even into June, but that didn't put a damper on any of our Sunday explorations at all. We love to be OUT IN IT. Grey skies just intensify colors, so our little eyeballs gleefully take in all that beauty.

One wet June Sunday, we took a drive to the Jimtown Store.  http://www.jimtown.com/
Just outside of Healdsburg, this wonderful general store is no throw back. It's a real deal landmark that's been around since 1895. Oh yeh, some facelifting for sure, but inside it still sells toys of latter days (remember those Chinese finger trap toys?), beautiful books, kitchenware, jars of homemade preserves and lusciously messy BBQ brisket sandwiches. (Be still my cholesterol-beating heart ...)

Oh yeh, and then there's Groupon. Yeh. We got "bit". They were offering a pizza special with wine tasting at a local winery and we just HAD to go...

For my dad's 90th birthday, my sister Jo and I flew up to Oregon to celebrate with him. Ted and Ray (Jo's husband) stayed home and went to the Lavender Festival ... (only real men do that ...)

What can we say about Coppola? The man knows how to enjoy life. And we know how to enjoy his wine! I think it was Nora Ephron who once said, "If you want to enjoy life. Marry an Italian!" I'd like to amend that a little by including "born-again Italian" because that's just what Ted is!

Salute!

Swami's gurlz

Friends of ours love Swami Kaleshwar. (http://www.kaleshwar.org/en/index) He recently made a brief visit from India to his temple in Laytonville (about 2 hrs north of here) and much to our delight, we became the Swami Way Station for travelers from SoCal on their way up North to be with him.

Above:

Top row, left to right: Kimberly Jeanne, Jennifer, Catherine

Bottom row: Ted & Peg

All five of us wore sweet pea flowers in our hair ... okay Ted's was on his ear...

WhoooWeeeDoggies! These girls are FUN!

We had them for one giggle-icious night, shrieking over "Legal Midgets", "Bed Bugs", "Mother Fat", and Kimberly's spontaneous "If I Died Today..." soliloquy that had us crying with glee. (Ya had to be there.) Oh, and go to http://www.urbandictionary.com/ and enter your name for the funniest self definitions ever. Scarily right on, in some cases, and kept the Laugh Fest going strong.

A few days later, after the Swami had come and gone, cousin Shelley and dear friend Christinea (who lives in India at Swami's ashram) stayed the night on their way back down to SoCal. We met them with long time friends (also Swami folks) Diana, Sky and Johanna at Café Gratitude in Healdsburg (raw foods mecca here in wine country: http://www.cafegratitude.com/images/Cafe_Gratitude/Posters_Fliers/menuhh4.10.11.pdf).

Top photo, left to right: Peggy, Shelley, Christinea, Diana, Johanna

Shelley is starting a new business, Life to Dying Guide and Coaching, and a more open-hearted Angel of Death you'll never find. She and Chris and Ted worked on her website (coming soon) most of the time they were here, and it will be beautiful. You'll see.

That night we watched the Lady Gaga Monster's Ball on HBO (http://www.hbo.com/lady-gaga-presents-the-monster-ball-tour-at-madison-square-garden/index.html), singing at the TV screen, and dancing around the room like crazed fans. Paws up Little Monsters!

But yeh. The fun had to end sometime (why?), and we took Chris and Shelley to the bus station to grab a shuttle to the airport for their flight home. Safe journeys dear friends. We had a blast with y'all!