resplendent/sublime/lovely

10 days of fantastic weather around the bay -

wednesday:

long walk with the stroller in charming, sunny burlingame

sauntered through the ebullient botanical gardens with the kids i babysit

slanty light of golden hour

thursday:

drove over the golden gate bridge feeling euphoric

vermillion against blue blue sky

basked on the hot black sand at muir beach lulled by waves and teeny pebbles

slumber party with my brother and his family at my house!

friday:

rode a zebra on the carousel in golden gate park with my niece on my shoulders

thoroughly enjoyed it all at crowded baker beach with jo, aja and the kids

saturday:

general conference

spirited and scrumptious brunch in the mission

warmth in the corner bay window booth

general conference

walked from the ferry building to baker beach with dear friends

(9 miles along the edge of san fran and the bay)

the thrive and alive of our city

gauzy, dreamy views toward the golden gate bridge

wild calla lilies, free sourdough samples, stunning/unreal backdrops

on top of the cliffs and somehow between heaven and earth

sunday:

general conference

tons of rice-a-roni (the san francisco treat!) and friends

sunshine streaming thru the kitchen windows

general conference

walked to mt. davidson and sat in the long grass gazing at the rosy city

on that hilltop with good music and good conversation

monday:

ran past outrageously pretty houses and lush views in pacific heights

sat on a bench at buena vista park listening to "latika's theme"

feet dangling and eyes sipping in the view of hills of bathed buildings

tuesday:

laid on the grass of a cliff over the ocean

then relaxed on the deliciously warm sand at rodeo beach

then sat on a blanket at the most scenic scenic viewpoint (pictured above)

drove over the bridge and around the headlands with such good music

a to-die-for perfect effulgent windy morning with kelsey

wednesday:

walked down haight street in the evening sun with my two kids in tow

ran at kezar stadium in the breeze, which blew petals off the trees into my hair

thursday:

swooped on the park swing with one darling little girl on my lap

giggling in the sunshine, wispy hair glowing

friday: danced from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet

in a big, bright, sunny studio in the heart of my city

incapable of going underground to the train on such a glorious afternoon,

meandered up market street, people watching

took in the perfectly clear view from the visitor's center on temple hill

drove home across the bay bridge at orange/pink sunset

(general conference is on this list of resplendent/sublime/lovely things 4 times because there were 4 sessions and also because it's worth writing 4 times on any kind of positive list. every six months i get a vibrant surge of reassurance of my faith with general conference. it reminds me how real and big and wonderful the church is. i hear living prophets and apostles speak and the authenticity of my beliefs is carved deeper in me. i love love love the traditions of general conference, and i have so many good memories associated with it through the years.)

i am trying to live this:

"be patient towards all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. and the point is, to live everything. live the questions now. perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer. perhaps you do carry within yourself the possibility of shaping and forming as a particularly happy and pure way of living; train yourself to it -- but take whatever comes with great trust, and if only it comes out of your own will, out of some need of your inmost being, take it upon yourself and hate nothing."

-rainer maria rilke