worth it

Seeing my parents, seeing my old friend J and meeting his daughter, having J meet Erik--the weekend was very worth it. Some highlights of the trip were baking a carrot cake with my mom, leaning against a large rock watching J's daughter play at Waller Park, watching kids ride ponies in a circle, when J's daughter held my hand, dinner with my parents at Natural Cafe, intelligent conversation, warm hugs, and hot milk with almond syrup.

Today on our way home we stopped in Santa Cruz for lunch at a Sri Lankan restaurant--our usual place was closed, so we went to Malabar, the restaurant formerly known as Asian Rose. The food was rich with strong flavors. Then we walked around downtown. I bought Buddhist postcards and art postcards. Again, I wish I could scan them for you. We looked at Buddha statues--Erik noted their mudras--and I eyed a tiny Hanuman statue. I looked for Christmas presents but found none. There were some super cute Frog and Toad notecards at a stationary store.

Home again, the air seems a lot better. The sky is mostly blue again. It's not too hot. The air conditioner is good enough for this weather. I'm exhausted and wish it was bedtime.

I'm behind on my correspondence. I owe a few letters to a handful of good people. So if you sent me something recently, be assured that I'm thinking of you and will write soon.