kitchen dancing at its finest...

This is one of my very favorite pictures:
Elise 'beating' Blake in an arm-wrestling match
at my 29th birthday party.
What you can't see is how hard she's laughing,
almost to the point of crying!
Blake made people laugh,
helped them loosen up--
so fun to watch and be a part of.
For the time that I knew him,
especially that summer,
Blake made life fun,
sweet, easy, vivid
and full full full of love.

sunday, the 26th, was my
dear dear dear
oldest (as in, longest-running)
best
friend
jamie's
birthday.
here's a picture of us
in new zealand, circa 2006...
i do not forget that i am lucky
to have her as a friend for life.

just having a little morning nosh...

in thanks for...

1. a fridge full of potluck leftovers
2. love in the mail from clarecita
3. a new song ("just a little love in the sun that's shinin...")
4. hearing things like: "we are the monkey babies,
and you are the monkey mama, ok mama monkey amy?"
5. a cabin trip on the horizon
6. good neighbors
7. frisbee weather
8. running on the coastal trail
9. discovering the music of ben sollee
10. having been truly loved

tonight's potluck is
the royal convening of the alaskan o place literary society.
in other words:
bring a dish inspired by one of your favorite books.
i just finished woman hollering creek,
sandra cisnero's gorgeous collection of short stories
about mexican americans,
and have all the ingredients to make tamales...
yum.
p.s. here's another out-the-window
sunset photo-- one more piece of evidence for why
living in this place feels like being on vacation.

after 7 long days,
the cleanse is over.
today i ate:
an apple
two peanut butter crackers
a bite of a cliff bar
creamy tomato basil mushroom soup
fresh biscuits
a honeydew smoothie a la camper
a handful of nuts and some prunes
a blueberry scone
pasta with kale
some indian pudding (with cashews, raisins and coconut)

solid food never tasted so GOOD.
(and i am going to sleep well!)

in thanks for...

* the cleanse (and that it's almost over...)
* the two little "crocodile pirates" running around in the next room
* an easter call from my mama
* getting to be a singer
* herbal tea
* turbotax
* an upcoming potluck (and the dish that laura's bringing!)
* my cousin's lovely new fiance

here's a link to some amazing photos
of mt. redoubt,
which began erupting 3 22 09
and has been at it ever since.
so interesting!
and beautiful.

natalie and i decided to
do a 7 day detox, or cleanse,
called the liquiphi 7.
why now?
it's "break-up" season here in anchorage--
the beginning of spring,
when warm temperatures
melt the piles of snow and ice,
and we once again have sun sun sun.
it's also passover,
and the end of lent,
and the time of year when
the turning grinding moving of seasons
has for thousands of years
inspired us to revamp our human lives, too
(spring cleaning, spring crushes and heartache,
spring angst, anyone?).
so far, midway through day 1,
liquiphi 7 has been pretty yummy.
however, please feel free to call
or distract us by other means
any time in the next 7 days,
especially after 8pm,
when the last smoothie-- the "detoxiphi"-- occurs.
and watch out on day 4, sunday;
that's when we're supposed to
be "on fire" with excitement.
our "pH [will be] balancing and
every cell in [our] body [will be]
enjoying this whole food nutrition
and proper hydration."
sunday afternoon art day
at o place
is going to be simply amazing...!

another o place sunset, and
the view from the dunes at Kincaid beach.
everything's melting, melting, melting,
and the sunshine has been bliss.

if you have time,
watch this ted.com lecture
by benjamin zander
on music and passion.
it's called
"classical music with shining eyes."

here's a photo (thanks, sarah) from our last potluck--
the chocolate, cheese and champagne soiree.
these schnazzy ladies are some of my
favorite people in anchorage.