dinner place review

as dated a california diner as you can imagine

as un-japanese as music can get

with varsity sports playing on the wall TV

and sashimi to gladden our souls. oishi

gratitude

driving back from dinner it occurs to me how fortunate i am. to partake of sunrises and sunsets in the most gorgeous locations on a regular basis to know the four seasons in relative comfort and to have lived so easily in so many different homes.

agatha raisin - m.c. beaton (1992- )

a new series discovered, thanks to J2's recommendation.

she is alternately a snazzy career woman with deep pockets and a doozy kitschy klutz swooning over eligible males. there is that chubby oriental policeman foil to her character who appears to be wise beyond his years.

the murders are real enough the action is bloody enough and all is set in the charmingly retro cotswolds. fortunately there are 31 books. i shall ration them over time.

in return, i introduce J2 to hamish macbeth.

fancy that!

i meet a dog in church today.

or, a dog comes to church today.

or, dogs are ultra-included in church.

the thing about being a visitor, i tell HOM, is i can just look on in bemused wonder. nothing has to make sense to me. to his credit the dog does not bark during the service.

to little A, on the eve of your birthday

my special princess, who introduces me to the ineffable fascinations of being a grandmother! to whom i need be nothing more than present, nothing better than i am, bringing nothing more than what i have!

i wonder at your curious mind and your eagle eye. i am astonished at your unbelievable grasp of things i mention just once. i laugh with you at your sense of humor. how does a 2-year-old kiddo know to tease her grandfather just so? i am in awe of your determination in the park. when i follow you up the step-ladder i get a minor attack of altitude sickness. i love your generosity when you share the cashews with me your mom and even little E. i cringe when you grease the table and the chair feed your hair and the floor and smear your cheeks but miss the mouth. i worry when you notice that E is getting attention.

grow hard and grow well, A! be strong and able like your mom! be generous and open like your dad! be faithful and grounded, unafraid of life! may he who is able to do more than we ask for or imagine do all that, and more, in your life!

to little E, on the eve of your dedication

how much you have gone thru to get to this time, E! thru maternal stress and growth challenges to perinatal issues! and how much i have seen you grow to this time! you are like a little thriving magical elf, tiny self-assured and amazingly self-possessed-ly calm.

how glad i am to see you, E! you are planted in a garden of nurturing love filled with blooms of care and protectiveness and sheltering shade. you have a mother who is strong and able (and strong-willed!) and a dad who is all vigilant watchman (yet soft-hearted!) who loves your mother well enough to be a good father!

may God strengthen you in your inner (wo)man and form Christ in you and fill you with his fulness. may you know him richly, who is able to keep you from falling and present you on the last day before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. may you live gladly and fully!

habit burger & grill

yummmmmmo. there's my first love in-n-out for the quotidian craving (Ji's words) and there's this char-grilled magic in sit-down grandeur for otherwise, protein-style without the pickles, thank you very much.