artykins

So, this is really just a quick note to say that I'm back from a much-needed, much-enjoyed holiday.  Matt and I went north and spent the entire time within spitting distance of the Pacific Ocean.  It made for some wonderful scenery, even though it was on the chilly side.

Some highlights:

- Getting an early birthday present from Matt.  He gave me a new kite.  My old one is waiting on a new wooden dowel so that it can fly again, but in the meantime I tried to get the hang of this new one.  It's a stunt kite, so it had double lines and it took a while to get used to.  Of course, the one time I finally felt like I was getting the hang of it, I found myself within substantial distance of some serious power lines.  Needless to say, as soon as I realized the potential for danger, I somehow made the kite do crazy twists all the way to the ground.  That part was cool.

- Driving up Highway 1 all the way to Leggit and driving through the Chandelier redwood tree (the tree is huge and you can fit a car through it).  Whilst there, we stopped in at the little shop...only it took some thinking to get inside.  You see, a goose of some kind had taken up residence in front of the door and was staring in as if it wanted something.  Luckily I figured out that our car horn agitated the goose enough to go away long enough for us to sneak inside.

- Discovering raspberry bark.

- Seeing deer just outside our cottage windows.

- Seeing a jack rabbit, for what I think is the first time in my life.

- Glass Fire Gallery.

- Harvest Market.  This is hands down the BEST market I've ever had the pleasure of going to.  And that decision includes the Berkeley Bowl.

- Wandering along a beach (you can take your pick of them up north!) and happily spending the better part of two hours searching for and collecting sea glass.

- Seeing the ocean actually be several shades of blue.  I forget living on a bay that the water is so blue beyond what I normally see.

- Stopping in old town Petaluma on the way home for what I'm convinced is the world's BEST hot dog.  Personally, I think the owner of this little deli has magic.  He's possibly the nicest man I've ever bought food from.

- Having a kitchen in the cottage.  It meant I could cook!

- Making Matt and traditional spinach salad with bacon drippings, Dijon mustard and some red wine vinegar.

- Getting a necklace to commemorate our first anniversary.  It's been over a year now that we've been happily hitched.

- Coming home to FABULOUS water.  Up north we were actually on a well water system, so we didn't want to drink it and it was very hard on my skin.  Not a fan of the water.

- Coming home to family.

- Coming home to my own bed.  One that isn't all squishy and soft, but one that's firm and covered in familiar, soft sheets.