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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

La La La, Gualala!

The ridiculously peaceful view from our cottage
To celebrate the passing of another up and down year, some friends and I trekked up to Gualala for some quality time together. It's so easy to become engulfed in day to day existence and to not spend time with the people you never seem to see enough, and after losing Vespa, I didn't want that to continue. Life is too short, and we'll never regret taking "too much" time off. I made reservations at a cottage, and then sent the email out to some of my close friends, not expecting anyone to be able to have a weekend free so last minute. Much to my surprise and delight, almost everyone and every dog came!

Roula enjoying her dogness
It was a rainy weekend,  but when the main attraction is being together, the weather doesn't really matter. We cooked breakfast and dinner together, played games, knit (OK, so only two of us knit), and simply enjoyed hanging out around the fireplace.

Fritatta in progress, onion-free per my request
 Communal cooking and dining is my favorite part of vacation. I love cooking for my friends and setting a big table for all of us, even if it is a bit hectic in the kitchen before we sit down to our meal.

Roula and her person 
Next year, they may not all fit on the couch together

Jabba the Bunny. He has a real name, but I forget it.

How could I not be happy with all that freshly picked kale?

This looks like a photo from a lifestyle magazine

Mingus singing the blues or yawning. Or belching.

A makeshift vase for our rustic bouquet
There is something about the Northern California coast that centers me more than most places. The beaches are rugged and deceptively quiet, but I wouldn't dare take a swim in the ocean unlike the user-friendly warm and sandy beaches to the south. The Mendocino coast would be a fantastic place to retire, but until then, I'll happily spend any extra time there.

3 comments:

  1. what a fabulous weekend!! so nice to see pictures of all the great times you all had. :) xoxo.

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  2. Looks like it was lovely! Beautiful pictures. Yes, everyone needs to do things like this as often as possible. "Too much time off"...*snort*...as if!

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  3. Oh, how nice. That sounds so . . . rechargy. Jabba would have ended up in my bag and would be hopping about my living room.

    Re: Kale
    I have just discovered this phenom (when the farmer down the road put some in my box despite my protests). Pretty good stuff. I mean. I can sneak in in just about anything savory and my kids eat it. It's become a staple in my basket.

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