Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 43

Today's Daily 5:

1. thankful for a friend who was praying through some harder moments
2. honest conversation
3. a pear for breakfast at home
4. arriving at mom and dad's in time to get a fruit smoothie and a plate of their nicely cooked late Monday morning (their day off) breakfast to eat for my lunch
5. watching the season premiere of "The Amazing Race"  (I don't think I'd ever go on the show, but I love watching it, and that's saying something for someone who generally avoids reality television)
6. finding some unexpected things to giggle about
7. retail therapy at the dollar store.  a $15 spending spree that included purchases such as a neck pillow for traveling, a couple chocolate bars, and a kids art project.
8. getting lots of exercise walking to and from a few planned (and one unexpected) errands
9. an unexpected phone call that brought a smile
10. a friendly and helpful sales man at London Drugs tonight when my laptop power adapter gave up the ghost unexpectedly, rendering my laptop useless until it was replaced.  this gentleman made a couple of calls to confirm that though they didn't have the exact item I badly needed, an item they did have in stock was interchangeable.  he also helped me with the extended warranty - a good deal since it will cover the adapter for three years, and this is already the third adapter I've had in the life of this particular laptop.  clearly the power adapter construction is the one flaw in the Mac design.

San Diego de Alacala Mission (California Part 4)

One of my favorite stops was the first Franciscan mission established in Southern California.  I'm a sucker for history, and for places that have been dedicated to prayer for years and years.  There is a peace in those sorts of places that is striking to me and always moves me deeply.  That this particular mission was Franciscan and had images of Claire and Francis of Assisi, both saints that are a dear part of my heart, made it a particularly lovely place to walk through.  If I ever move south, as Lisa is campaigning for me to do, (and as I'm considering anyway!), this would definitely be a place that I'd be going to to pray.

Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 42

Today's Daily 5:

1. Nectarine for breakfast.  in bed.
2. actually kind of sleeping a good portion of the night
3. encouraging notes from friends, promising to pray
4. a few brief minutes at the farmers market
5. sunshine
6. wearing a top I purchased at the tibetan shop a few years ago
7. a long walk on an Indian summer day
8. taking photos of the fall colors in my favorite park
9. making a whole pot of passion tea for drinking through the evening
10. text messages that referenced palm trees and made me giggle
11. chocolate
    

Sun, Sites, Water (California Part 3)

 

One more zoo photo, just because I really happen to like this photo.

The Museum of Man

 

At the beach at Coronado

Hotel del Coronado

Lisa pointed out this sign to me, and it cracked me up!

Seals at La Jolla

Needing to get my feet wet

At the Presidio

Lisa introduced me to many of her friends (who I promptly informed her that I was going to borrow/adopt) and one of them was hosting a Moroccan Tea.  That was a totally fun experience!  Also, this particular friend's driveway, on a sunny, somewhat humid morning, smelled like the butterfly garden at the Calgary zoo - an indoor smell, outdoors.  My commenting upon this fact, like my love affair with palm trees, was, I think, a source of great amusement for my friend who is used to a somewhat more tropical climate year round!

And, I don't have any pictures, but the day we spent in the LA Garment District was full of adventure, too.  That was a day that I'd been promised would be a truly cross-cultural experience, possibly complete with a marriage proposal or two extended to Lisa.  I don't think there were any marriage proposals, but I had great fun trailing Lisa and her Mom around to the various fabric merchants, and, since the weather here at home is colder, have made use of the scarf I purchased there at Santee Alley on several occasions.

Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 41

Today's Daily 5:
(for an introduction to the Daily 5 Lists, click here)

1. A sense of clarity that came waking from dreams this morning, as a scripture came back.  Ironically, it's a scripture I've rather hated, one that's been tossed at me as a sort of weapon through the years.  But this morning, as I woke from hard dreams, it brought clarity, and just a little bit of hope, and for that I was thankful.
2. Crepes for breakfast at a local cafe/bakery
3. An honest conversation with a friend.  Not one that was easy, but the response was encouraging, and there was lots of laughter, and some girl talk fit in around the big stuff in our lives that also needed discussing.
4. Looking forward to ways the house church I'm a part of is developing and will develop in the coming weeks and months
5. A really productive afternoon blog-wise, getting a bunch of posts written and scheduled for the future
6. a treatment from mom that helped ease some muscles that were aching badly after waking so tensely and suddenly this morning
7. knowing that my supplements are starting to kick back in and I'm going to start feeling better
8. A steak dinner out with my parents, both siblings, my sister-in-law, my brother's girlfriend, and my aunt.  Time out like that with my family is not always super enjoyable, but tonight, at that restaurant, I enjoyed being with them, and being treated to a really nice meal.