Weekend in San Luis Obispo

Last Friday afternoon I hopped on the "Pacific Surfliner" train bound for San Luis Obispo.

For Amtrack's bargain price of 66 bucks round-trip I got to hang with my friend Tim who I had not seen since my friend Victoria's wedding in 1999!

Tim and I knew each other in high school and were roommates our first year at college in San Diego (with two other friends.) We all took turns cooking and I believe it was Tim who hosted our weekly burrito night. Who would have known back then that he would become such a fantastic host?

Pacific Ocean, heading Northbound on the train ...

Kynsi Winery for wine tasting ...

We took home a bottle of their fantastic Estate Pinot to have with our fabulous feast off the grill that evening.

Beautiful Talley Vineyards for more wine tasting ...

We were very happy to have lots of bee sightings!

Charming Downtown San Louis

Mission San Luis Obispo, founded 1772

Isn't this pretty? I am also thinking it could look fabulous in my kitchen!

Tiniest little nursery across from the Mission

Tim's Buddha, not Tim. He is in much better shape. He actually ran a 10K on Saturday morning while I sat in the car eating a chocolate croissant. Go Tim!

Tim's sweet little Addie. I am sure she was sad when I left, as my suitcase had become her new bed.

Headed Southbound out of town ...

From the train... between San Luis and Santa Barbara somewhere ...

It was a great weekend. I hope yours was too. Now, back to studying for Italian class, staying disciplined with my art, auditioning, and substituting at the Wizard of Art.

By the way, my Italian teacher is great! He is from Bolognia, has been here for twenty years teaching and is completely hilarious. Now if I could just remember what I learn!!! All of these kids in their late teens and early twenties ... I swear they have total recall. For most of them it's also their 3rd or 4th language. I just keep reminding myself, "This is for me! It's supposed to be fun!" And most of the time it is. Except for the quiz, that is. I am giving myself the excuse that the last time I took an academic quiz, in something other than theatre history, it was in the late 1980s.

"Young and old.

All part of the same.

Each moment is a moment of life, your life.

Each cycle has its lessons.

Dig out your glasses, if you must,

but laugh while you do it.

And remember to make each moment count.

~Melody Beattie

from Journey to the Heart

Have a wonderful week and thanks Tim for a fantastic weekend!

Global Artists and Activists ~ MDGFive

I am so thrilled to be a part of this! It launched today and you can log on to the MDGFive.com website and create your own advocacy video for maternal health! (You might remember my piece that is in the banner above-second from the right.)

There is a huge kick off tonight in New York at the Soho Digital Arts gallery. I wish I could be there to celebrate!

Thanks to my friend Lisa Russell for getting me involved and putting my art to such good use!

GLOBAL ARTISTS AND ACIVISTS KICK OFF NEW MEDIA INITIATIVE AND ONLINE VIDEO CONTEST

TO SPOTLIGHT GLOBAL MATERNAL HEALTH

“The arts are one of the most powerful ways

to build bridges among people from all over the world.

MDGFive.com has great potential

to reach, inform, and mobilize people

to make a difference for women’s and children’s health.”

- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

from the website ...

ABOUT MDGFive.com:

MDGFive.com harnesses the power of social media to increase community engagement in the fight to improve maternal health and reach MDG #5 by 2015.

The Flash®-based technology enables users to edit video online and add audio, transitions, and special effects to create video remixes that can then be published to a custom online community where users can view and share favorites. MDGFive.com includes creative content by world-renowned musicians, poets, filmmakers and photographers. The site features a “remixer” that can be used to create short videos using a library of music tracks, spoken word, film and photos supplied by renowned mixed media artists from South Africa, Sri Lanka, Honduras, Brazil, Thailand, Pakistan and other countries. Co-founded by Emmy-winning filmmaker Lisa Russell and Grammy-winning singer Maya Azucena, MDGFive.com was conceptualized and inspired by the growing interest in social media and the desire to have a creative platform that encouraged a local/global dialogue aroundmaternal health. The Beta version of MDGFive.com launched at the historic 2010 Women Deliver conference in Washington, DC and officially launched on Septembr 16, 2010 to coincide with activities leading up to the MDG Summit in New York City.

MDGFive.com is a project of Governess Films and is sponsored by Reality Digital, EngenderHealth, UNFPA, Ipas and Women Deliver.

***** MDG stands for Millenium Development Goal created by the United Nations. For more information, check out the website. http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/

Happy Birthday Beatrice!

It's her 10th Birthday!

Happy Birthday "B"!!!!

Yep, it's the anniversary of her hatch day today. It was the year 2000 and two months after she hatched in West Hollywood I took her home. When we arrived, I sat on my sofa while this little bird curled up, her head turned back into her wing feathers, and fell asleep in my hands. I didn't want to wake her so I sat there, as still as I could, watching this little being sleep for maybe an hour in the palms of my hands.

Beatrice is a Senegal Parrot and is very smart and playful ... and funny. I swear she has a sense of humor and when I have been sad or sick, she sits and watches me in silence.

I named her "Beatrice" for the character of Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing. Everyone asks if she talks and yes, she does, but only when she feels like it. Some things like "Hi Baby" and "I'll be back!" are clear as a bell. Others, only a mother could understand. She hangs out in my room outside her cage and when I am otherwise occupied lets out a string of "come here! commmmeeeeere! Up? Potty! Up? Comeeeerrrre!"

Chillin' on my finger ... 2009

On a perch in her "wing-a-bago" (I didn't make that up, that's what it's called!)

Beatrice on New Years Day 2007 on my clean white duvet cover. Often a risky move but no mishaps that day!

She loves to be cuddled and held and will nudge my finger with her head until I give her a neck massage. She can be quite the hedonist. I always hold her on her back and kiss her belly and say to her, "Who is the best bird? Huh? Who is the best bird?" Her of course and she knows it.

Having animals around, can remind us of the best version of ourselves. They remind us how to love and be loved and to be silly and in the moment. I mean, what could be a greater gift? If I wasn't in an apartment I'd probably have a whole menagerie. Then again, Beatrice might not like it.

The most important thing in life

is to learn how to give out love,

and to let it come in.

~Morrie Schwartz

Positano "Rocks"

O.K., ... they aren't exactly rocks.

Our friend Stefano at Hotel Posa Posa told us at breakfast how people in Positano toss their old tiles out into the sea and that they wash up on the beach, time worn, something akin to sea glass. He told us that he chips off the part of the tile without the color and uses the colored pieces to make mosaics. Cool, right? He was asking guests to each bring back one of these "rocks" from the beach for another project. One?

Well, I love a project. (And if has something to do with hunting for things on the beach, all the better!) My Mom and Dad were in on it as well and in the process we found a funky little place with fabulous seafood linguine. The restaurant is basically built on a rock, as you can see in the bottom photo. As you can also see, we got a little carried away with the hunt.

Could it be ... ?

Mom and I sorting just a few of at lunch ...

The waitress laughed, "Positano Rocks!" and used them as a trivet!

Under the restaurant ... if you click to enlarge you can see a little blue tile in the foreground ...

This gives you a better idea of the location of the restaurant!

My mom got so excited by the tiles she thought about making her own mosaic table but my Dad, standing there with his backpack loaded down with tile, reminded her of the hand-painted tiles that were already in her suitcase from Assisi and the other very heavy tiles on hold at the ceramics place in town. So, Mom and I picked out of few tiny ones to bring home as keepsakes and that evening handed Stefano a bag full of "Positano Rocks."

I uploaded these photos and wrote this post yesterday, not realizing after running out of time, that it would post on September 11th. I so hope we can all find peace and healing for the trauma of that day and all that has happened since.

Your daily life is your temple and your religion.

... And if you would know God

be not therefore a solver of riddles.

Rather look about you and you shall see Him

walking in the cloud, outstretching His arms

in the lightening and descending in rain.

You shall see Him smiling in flowers,

then rising and waving His hands in trees.

~Kahlil Gibran

from The Prophet

Hotel Posa Posa ~ Positano

This is Hotel Posa Posa in Positano. I guess the photos sort of speak for themselves. The view is obviously amazing but so are the people who work there, as well as the food in the restaurant! I will never forget this place, plus it's also the only place I've stayed in Italy where I had a breakfast where my blood sugar didn't take a nose dive by 10:30. Don't get me wrong, I still had my cappuccino and ate from the table of 20 pastries but this girl needs protein! (Thanks for the wonderful omlettes Stefano!)

When we arrived and I saw the view from the hotel room for the first time, my jaw dropped. Stunning. Quite possibly the best view ever! That night we had a beautiful dinner there (at the hotel) of sauteed fresh fish with tomatoes and olives, a beautiful vino rosso and of course topped off with limoncello. (The beginning of my love affair with limoncello!) I think I was too blissed out that first night to take any pictures. Apologies!

The sun never says to the earth

'You owe me.'

Look what happens with a love like that.

It lights up the whole sky.

~Hafiz

View from the room ...

From the street below the hotel ...

Hope you are having a creative and joyful week!

More Positano and Amalfi to come!

Quiet Corners ~ Amalfi

These quiet corners of Amalfi make me want to transport myself, teleport myself or somehow just jump into the photos ... to be in that paradise and perhaps even have a chocolate gelato in my hand!

I am having a crazy week. Not bad or anything, just a little crazy. I am looking forward to Monday and having a chance to have a nice pot of my coconut green tea and catch up with you all on your lovely blogs!

So, the challenge today (and always really) is being in the moment and finding paradise wherever you happen to be. O.K., if paradise seems like a lot to ask, than perhaps peace and definitely love. ;)

When you look for holy ground,

look down.

That's where your spiritual experience takes place.

Right where you're standing,

wherever you are now.

~Melody Beattie

Journey to the Heart

Amalfi, Italy May 2010

Have a beautiful weekend and wherever you are, I hope you can find a bit of paradise.