Beginning the Finale

We are now beginning to get ready to leave, saying goodbye to Novato and doing last minute things.

Tuesday, late afternoon and early evening, we went to Corte Madera. I had an Apple One-to-One class, and Dan got a hair-cut. We then went to Book Passages to hear another author speak, David Hewson. He was quite enjoyable---he is British, and his latest mystery book takes place in Rome and in San Francisco, so we are both eager to read it at some point. He used the Apple application "Pages" for his delightful talk, with pictures of the locations that influenced his story. The influences are Dante and his "Divine Comedy" to Hitchcock's "Vertigo". What I enjoyed about him was how he talked about writing, the way the process works for him and how he gets inspiration. I regularly go to a Book and Author's Luncheon in Detroit, where a number of authors are doing their latest tours. The most interesting ones are rarely the ones I go for, it's the ones I don't know. But what I like the best is when their talk makes me want to go home and write my own fiction. The best authors are so inspiring and so articulate about the writing process. He was like that, very articulate, bright and enjoyable to listen to.

On Wednesday, I cooked dinner for Jay and Lindsey and Paula and Ken. I cooked it mostly in Novato and then brought it over to Jay and Lindsey's house. We first met Lindsey at Ikea because we helped them buy a futon, and half the baby's crib, and helped them bring it home. I then finished preparing the dinner. It's Passover today, but having a full Seder was too much to do, and would be bad for all of them to do on a weekday night, so they preferred we didn't do it.

I made both Jewish and Passover foods, as well as Easter, deciding we should celebrate 'em all, at least with the meal if not the ritual. I made deviled eggs which were supposed to look like bunnies (they didn't!) , blue cheese blogs which I knew Lindsey would love, cheese and matzos; noodle kugel, choroses, artichokes with lemon aioli, London broil; Paula brought rolls and butter, Dan made his Polish cucumber salad, Lindsey made a regular salad. Dessert was a lemon buttermilk cake with two different frostings, one side decorated with marshmallow bunnies, green coconut "grass" and jelly beans, and the other side was a Jewish star made out of jelly beans. I also made Jay his favorite cookies, vanilla chocolate cloverleafs.

It was fun to do, and fun to be together!

We stayed to clean up, then said our goodbyes! Oh, dear, it is so hard to do that. Lindsey and Jay are going to Portland for a long weekend, it'll be their last trip before the baby comes, and the best time for them to travel. I am glad, it's easier to leave knowing they are on a trip. But man, it is really hard to go, I feel homesick! I really love it here, because of being near family, but I also love the area, it resonates with

I drive on the highway (something I will not miss) and see the expanse of sky and distant hills and mountains, catching glimpses of the Bay at some turns. It is so inviting, so calming. Even when it is raining, the sky is fascinating, as you can see the clouds over Mt. Tam and other mountains in the background, moving towards the valley areas. When you walk anywhere at this time of year, you see all kinds of wildflowers. There are wild iris in our backyard, along with yellow, orange and other blue flowers. The wisteria is blooming everywhere---I never knew what it was before, and I love it, almost as much as lilacs. It smells like lilacs also, but grows on vines.

Oh yes, we can't forget the wildlife. We do enjoy the deer, though I can understand why people curse them, we just ran them out of our yard for the 4th time today. The turkeys are so funny, and so arrogant, just walk anywhere they please, loudly gobbling. Dan finds them annoying, though I know he will miss them.