Thursday, August 21, 2014

Little by Little

Friday Fave Fives. It's a tradition here at Willow's Cottage.  I need this to keep me focused on the blessings of my week.  Susanne provides the link at her blog Living To Tell The Story.  So here are mine:

 But first... A beach photo--the wind surfers.  I am slowly getting back in to life in Bloggersville.  I even posted two photos of our weekend walk at Ventura Beach.  Here's one more. Little by little...


1.  Stellar weather (if you don't mind drought conditions).  Sunny.  Not too hot.  I don't have to run the AC; I just open the window and let the wind blow through.

2.  Fun evening at the university.  Once a year just before the beginning of the fall semester, the library staff hosts a dinner for the faculty and their families.  Some years are just more fun than others.  I reconnected with a former student's mom who teaches in the math dept.  We met a newer physics prof we hadn't known before.  We chatted with a lady on the library staff and found we had so much in common.  Great connections and great conversations.

3.  My cousin's daughter is visiting her husband's family in LA this week and arranged to spend a day with me.  I was seriously so excited since I hadn't seen her for way too many years.  What a delight she and her husband were.  We spent most of the day at The Getty Villa which they had never seen.  And then I took them to one of the beaches north of Malibu.  It was such a great day!  And they seemed to enjoy it too.


4.  The Getty Villa...I could visit that place every month and never tire of it.  Besides the permanent exhibits, there are always temporary ones which draw large crowds.  Because of our Southern California drought conditions, the pools in the gardens were empty of water and the fountains were turned off.  While it was disappointing for my cousins not to see the gardens at their best, it did change something for the better.  Usually, I am so enchanted by the pools that I spend less time gazing at the walls of the outer peristyle garden.  This time I noticed so many more details on the walls.  The Romans loved symmetry and the wall murals reflect that.  But there is also whimsy in the paintings.  Crickets and birds.  Little bunnies.  Lizards.






5.  Funerals are sad.  Seeing family and friends is happy.  We experienced both on the weekend.  When an extended family member dies, we are sad.  But Saturday was an opportunity for grandchildren, nieces and nephews and brothers, sisters and in-laws to assemble and remember with laughter, joy and comfort.  Because the service was at the church where The Professor attended when he was at university, he also reconnected with old, old friends from his college days.  It was good, but I hope we don't repeat this kind of event any time soon.

I just have to add this!  I'm rereading a book.  Do you do that?  Reread a favorite?  At the library this week, I pulled The Scent of Water by Elizabeth Goudge off the shelf.  Now I'm engrossed in this wonderful novel again.  It's excellent rest for my spirit between periods of lesson planning.

That was my week:  beaches, family, friends, museums.  What fun and wonderful things filled yours?

10 comments:

Faith said...

oh what a marvelous week despite the funeral circumstances. How fun to visit that Villa with a family member you haven't seen in awhile!I really enjoyed looking at all your photos.We haven't had to run AC much at all this summer and haven't had too much rain....but we are not in a drought like you folks! I LOVED that novel The Scent of Water!! that is definitely one I would re-read! enjoy your weekend.

Monica said...

We are experiencing drought issues although we had a couple inches of rain last weekend. THe weather here is so very hot you can't be outside very long without becoming over heated. ugh and the humidity is terrible.
What beautiful pictures!

ellen b. said...

Sounds like a full, rewarding week. How fun to take your extended fam to the Villa. Glad the weather has not been too hot...

Paula said...

The a/c hasn't been running today at our house. It feels so nice to have the windows open! We've had a pretty good balance of wet and dry weather this summer. I, too, reread favorite books. Glad you had a good week! :)

Jerralea said...

Yea, I reread books! Not as often as I used to because my time is more limited. I have reread certain series 3, 4, 5 times or more. I always glean something new.

Sorry about the drought but hurray for you in being able to not run the A/C!

Sorry for your loss but glad you were able to reconnect with family and friends.

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

A few of your faves in this post are also mine! Of course, The Scent of Water is top of the list. And the Getty Villa; but how sad no water in the lovely pool and fountains. Do you know I have some photos of those very same creatures from the wall murals that you are showing here. Isn't that a wonderful place? It might be good for me to join the Friday Fave Fives . . . to look at the many blessings and be thankful . . .

Barbara H. said...

What lovely murals! Such detail!

The evening at the university sounds fun, as does the reconnection with your cousin's daughter and her husband! And I know what you mean about funerals - almost like a reunion, and often the message and service and poignant and meaningful, but still not something you want to happen often.

I do reread books some times. I'd like to do it more, but have so many new books stacked up.

Susanne said...

Sorry about the loss of your family member.

It has been cold and raining here all week. If I could I would send that rain down to you guys.

That Getty Villa sounds like a lovely place to visit.

Deb J. in Utah said...

Sounds like a great week. I always wanted to visit the Getty Villa when we lived in So Cal but it was one of those things we "never got around to." Looks and sounds like a neat place. It's always so nice to reconnect with friends and family. Enjoy the week ahead!

nikkipolani said...

The Villa isn't the same without that sparkling pool, but I understand their reasons. There's certainly no lack of things to delight the eyes there -- wonderful capture of details.