Went for a lovely walk with Rainey.  Clear and frosty here in California.  

I'm answering all emails this morning.  Received one from MoveOn.org.  I feel compelled to post their message this morning to help us stimulate action in the US Congress to do something effective about global warming (beyond debating it forever while the ice cap drips and roars away)  I'm speaking to those of you who came to read the blog today...

Subject: Help Al Gore Send a Message to Congress

Al Gore is ready to build on the success of "An Inconvenient Truth" and start organizing to solve the climate crisis. He's working to get hundreds of thousands of messages to Congress demanding real action to stop global warming. And he's asking for our help.

Can you help out by signing the petition at the link below? If you do, Al Gore will personally deliver our comments to Congress. I just did it myself and it only takes a second.

http://pol.moveon.org/climatecrisis/

Thanks!

Yesterday I went over to the house of my oldest and dearest friend, Zenobia.  We had soup and salad for lunch with her husband, Tyler (whose daughter is Aiesha Tyler, Talk Soup host on TV).  We drew some Tarot cards and chatted about our plans for the New Year.  Zenobia always tempts me with talk of going to Morocco and visits to oases. This time she spoke of the Fez Festival of Sacred World Music next June.  She knows my favorite music is world music. Hmmm

As I sat on her couch, I could see into the tiny sunroom she had built off an unused door of her living room.  It's only about three feet wide and about seven feet long, but it has windows on two sides.  The window ledges are lined with clear glass olive oil bottles, holding rooting leaves, later to be planted. 

Two rattan chairs sit conversationally side by side. Sitting inside feels feels fresh, and the limpid light is beautiful, soothing, and inspiring.  The high shelves hold begonias in eleven green pots.  The blooms are pink.  As we talked of Fez and sacred music, a fat bloom fell to the floor, plunk!

The sun room holds heat during the day and helps warm the house. It has an environmental impact.  It has an emotional and esthetic impact.  It's only 3 feet by 7 feet.

Later we took the train into San Francisco to visit Zenobia's step daughter Rema, and her child, Ivy--almost-two. We met her husband, Jason, at Colibri (the wonderful Mexican restaurant that my friend Karla Nagel's friends own),  Jason is attending a world conference on the environment.  He is meeting scientists who work in Greenland, and his job is to supply the scientific research stations.  Al Gore is going to speak tomorrow. 

Robert and I had watched the video (my second time to see the movie) an Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore.  It's so compelling.   Robert and I love watching the Discovery Channel.  Last weekend we saw a sperm whale, lost and trying to find a way out of the melting undersea tunnels from the melting icecap in order to breathe oxygen.  We have seen the scientists extracting ice core samples.  "You can see in the ice core samples the exact year, that we passed the Clean Air act," I told Jason at dinner.  He didn't seem that impressed with my layman's report.

Monday morning showers.  A walk with Robert--almost 4 miles.  We had left over potato soup with chard and garlic sausages for lunch.  Gunther and Eliza and Anders and Auggie came over for supper last night, so it was warm and cozy at my house (I had on my samll gas fireplace as the weather has turned the inside of our houses very cold.)

The day before Thanksgiving, both Gunther and Sigrid had called me to ask me how I made  turkey dressing.  That was a wonderful high point for me--to have both of my kids call for advice!  This year was a little different as Jim and Sigrid, Trevor and Chloe had dinner with his mom, Gina (who just moved out here this summer from Detroit.)  Then they went camping with a group of friends they know from Jim's old coffeeshop hangout, Jennifer's in Studio City.  They all went to Canyon Country in Santa Barbara.

So we had G & E, A & A, their friends Marion and Stephen and their two little ones, Claire and Luke (they were the friends who spent six months doing research in India this year).  Of course we had Fumiko and Robert.  We baked gingerbread men for the kids to decorate before dinner to keep them amused, but they all played very well.

 A very satisfying day.  And now back to work this week.  I want to do some writing!  

Friday was Robert's and my 6th anniversary of meeting.  I had gone to see my friend Paul Pagano perform a waltz at a ball room studio.  I knew nothing about ball room dancing, but as it turns out, Robert was there and asked me to dance.  I had such a great time dancing with him (he's very good.)  

On Friday we drove down to Capitola-by-the-Sea (next to Santa Cruz, about a 2 hour drive from here).  We stayed at the Venetian Court motel--built in the 1920's with a Venetial theme, each unit painted turquoise, yellow, pink, green, and deep blue.  It faces the Pacific Ocean and is very quaint.  The developer (in the 1920's) was ahead of his time in thinking.  

A small wharf has a few memorial placques...names of people, "always loved, forever remembered."  "A life too short." (a surfer?  a lifeguard?)  "In our hearts forever."

One seagull sitting still

Two seagulls flying

In the early morning light  

thoughts ebb and flow 

It was a lovely fall weekend.

Lisa came down from Napa and brought vegetables, lettuce, fall leaves, sun flowers, and bread and cheese.  I made soup and me talked!  Wonderfully nourishing all around. 

On Sunday, Robert and I walked the shoreline where the dog park is and enjoyed watching hundreds of  dogs romp (we don't have one, though.)  A little shopping, and then home to cook dinner for Paula and Gralen who came over from San Francisco.  She told us about the real estate market (she's one of the best agents and has been doing it for a long time.) Robert grilled chicken, and we had the rest of the lettuce from Saturday, grilled figs, green beans, and fruit and ice cream for dessert.

 We had a chance to talk politics and what we all want to be doing in the future.  (No conclusions!)

Ever since I got back from Japan, I've been seeing old friends and talking!  Last see, I had dinner with my writer friend Bruce Gelfand, and we had a stimulating conversation  about writing, about the concept of talent and how much it affects outcome.  About determingin when to keep going on something and when to just let it go, release it.  How does one handle the emotional difference between letting go and the resentful or regretful act of "giving up."

Fall brings out the reflective in me.