summer

the days are getting shorter, the nights feel a little bit crisper and i've had to turn on the heat the past few nights.  the last lingering traces of summer will soon fade into autumn and once again the leaves will burst into a million shades of gold and firey red.

then, suddenly one day the leaves drop to the floor and the winter slumber begins

it's so different living with seasons...there's an urgency, a need to enjoy every season while it's here. 

time seems to  rush by, unlike the lazy hazy californian summer that never ends

i am looking forward to wearing boots and sweaters again. and hot chocolate next to a crackling fire. and crystal covered lakes. but until then, i'm going to cling onto the last bits of summer and sun and warmth and store up every last bit. 

patagonian dreams

Last winter, we fulfilled a long standing desire to visit Patagonia, Argentina. Land of vast, never ending landscapes. The edge of the earth.  It was exactly how I imagined, and more.  This little adventure ended up changing our lives, in a wonderful way.

After a few befe de lomo filled days in Buenos Aires, we flew to Bariloche.  And that's where our Patagonian adventure began...

click on photo to go to photo album

Patagonia, Argentina. There was white water rafting, rock-climbing, glacier trekking, horse back riding, exploring, hiking...oh yes and shopping...and eating...lots of eating. 

vast open spaces...and cozy nights with hot chocolate...

more pictures to come...

el chaltan, patagonia
This is what you shall do: love the earth and sun and the animals, 

despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, 

devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning god, 

have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known 

or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons 

and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open

 air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at 

school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very 

flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but 

in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in 

every motion and joint of your body...

~ Walt Whitman

bloom

late summer blooms from our garden

i must admit that i was more than a little apprehensive, more than a little worried about

the to move to the suburbs

it can feel a little isolating...like i'm the only person alive out here*, surrounded only by

empty houses and dark streets

and then my neurotic side starts to kick in and then the hyperventilating begins!

but then i realized that i can make my world the way i wish it to be...i just need to reach out, instead of waiting for what i want to come to me. after all, there must be other people that come back to all those empty houses right?

ok now, deep breaths

in.....

out.....

in....

out....

everything will be ok!

and then i think some more, and i really can't believe how lucky i am to live in such an incredibly beautiful place. i must send out my "thanks" to the cosmos

what did i ever do to be so lucky?

lush green trees, winding wooded trails, open grassy knolls, acres of gardens, miles of paths, glassy lakes, quiet, calm...just what the soul needs (my philosophical side, of course)

i've decided that i need to bloom where i am planted

it's the only thing to do really (my practical side kicks in now)

this means 8 am yoga and meditation everyday..right? riiiigggght...

that being said, flushing queens is only a 25 minute drive away...i will be back soon for my dimsum, laksa, rendang, etc etc...you can't take this girl too far** from her food!

*i am mostly afraid of being all alone... que small sad violins

**that's why we stayed on the east side...close to all my beloved food - can't live without it!

before/after

A few weeks ago we moved in our new house.

And after all the cleaning, unpacking and putting things away,

we decided that we just couldn't live without a chalk wall.

So after buying the paint, taping, painting on two coats of paint...

A lot of hard work I'm telling you. Phew, I'm sooo tired already...

I think I better lay down for a nice siesta..

Umm...

Ok, so maybe none of the work was done by me...

but I did come up with the idea - that has to count for something!

Viola! - A brand new chalk wall just waiting to be scribbled all over!