500!!!!

Oh, Trevor. Thank you for being a baseball hero of the old-fashioned kind. You are an amazing athlete and a humble gentleman to boot. Congratulations.

Back from our trip to L.A. and Ventura. It was a wonderful weekend. Don and I drove up to L.A. and visited with my mother. Traffic was so lousy on Thursday that we needed to hang around to leave later to get to Ventura. So I took Don to The Good Earth--one of the remaining few left--and one my favorite restaurants and teas. We left the Valley at 7:00 p.m. and the traffic was again awful (as was the internet map directions) and we didn't get to Santa Paula till almost 10;00 p.m.

Rev. Bonnie stayed up to show us the house and the list of things to do. We met Stella the Vizla of Love. This redheaded beauty is so wonderful. If anyone wants an affectionate and smart dog, look to the Vizla breed. I now know what the mix was for my Rosebud. I knew she was cattle dog by her markings and color; but could never identify her other mix. Rosie and Stella are the only two dogs I have met who acutally hug and cuddle. Both of them are only content when they are sitting upright, next to you and lean their head on your shoulder. Stella liked to burrow into my neck and my jammies no matter how awkwardly she had to bend to do so. She is lean and strong and smart. And yet, she whimpers if you are even thinking of leaving her. Stella loved to be on my head and face which made it very hard to watch television. But her kisses and kanine kuddles stole my heart. Oh, I do so love Dog.

But Stella was not the only one in the house. There is Audrey the cat who has to play second fiddle to Stella. Everytime Don or I wanted to pet Audrey and would call her by name, Stella would get so jealous and come bounding into the room to interrupt any feline fondling going on. Outside the house there were more critters. A koi pond and a large cage that housed two guinea pigs, two big bunnies, one quail, four or five cockatiels, two lovebirds and two turtles.
No partridges and only lemon trees.

Don and I were able to just 'play house' while we were there and it was quite restful.

On Saturday, I conducted a 10 year anniversary vow renewal for a couple that used to attend the Ventura Church. The ceremony was held on the beach right off their hotel in Oxnard. Fortunately, it was held later in the afternoon so I didn't worry too much that I had forgotten my sunblock. With my new short hair, my neck and top of shoulders are now exposed to the sun. The couple had four of their closest friends there to celebrate and a lovely time was had by all.

Don and I drove through Camarillo on the way back and stopped at Ottavio's restaurant for dinner. I had eggplant sicillian (seemed appropriate) and Don had the eggplant parmigiana. It was an early dinner for us and the crowd was older. The restaurant was an older, family restaurant with blue leather booths and mural artwork done by the man who painted the Sistine Chapel in Liberace's bedroom. 'nuff said.

On Sunday, we arrived at 8:30 to prepare and pray in. There are two services at the Ventura CSL. I have not done two services for a few years. It was quite wonderful to do so. If I were to have a church again, that is what I would look to doing. Even though I know it makes for more work, it is a delight to do a quieter service at 9:00 a.m. and get things rolling on into doing the more lively 11:00 service. As a speaker, it gave me the chance to learn from what I shared in the first service and make adjustments that I think were valuable to add to the second service.

If you ever have a chance to visit this church in Ventura, please do. The church is currently in the process of being qualified as a National Historical Monument because it is the only Mayan architechture used for ecclesiastical purposes. It is so unique. Not to mention, you will enjoy getting to hear Rev. Bonnie Rose, the senior minister there.

On Monday, we drove back to L.A. where I did some things for my Mom before we visited. It is amazing how well she is doing now. How much of this improvement do I credit to the subspace healing work of the EPFX machine; and how much is just part of the ebb and flow of her disease? Not sure. For now, I have suspended the distant healing treatments to see how things balance on their own. Stopped by to see my aunt Sunny to help her with a few things. I think she gets a big kick out of seeing Don, too. She gets all flirty and girlish around him. Hey, wait a minute...so do I!

Coming home is always a treat. We missed our Belle even though we had quite the critter fix while up North. We went to breakfast at the new Starbucks the next morning so that I could officially welcome them to the hood and to hear the new McCartney album (CD) release. It is a lovely and spacious store that I plan to visit often.

Over the next month, I shall begin to completely close out Mom's apartment. According to the Hospice workers, even though she is on an upswing, this is a terminal case and even with continued healing (n.b. curing) she could never live in her apartment again all by herself. Alas.
This means I can begin to return the focus towards my life and my work. So many ideas and options. I am eager to see the direction that is being revealed to/through me.

I am finally feeling the inner shift that matches my new haircut and the re-directing of my energy and intention. Even spent a few hours writing today and that felt very good. The joyous expectancy is returning. I am feeling that I already have what it is I desire and wish to accomplish. How sweet it is.