Y5 – Day 143 – Orange Environs

On Monday, we gallivanted over to the center of Orange and visited The Duchess of Cambridge Design Center and Green Door Cafe.

Strategically positioned, every inch of space at The Duchess is a vignette of class and sophistication. Whether indoors or outside, the store exudes posh and chic style. The natural setting and the structure’s fine bones all lend to exhibiting elegant material goods. The mood is set, the colors are modern yet soothing and the older home is built with fine craftsmanship and expensive millwork.

ML at one of the many Duchess garden spots under a banana yellow Datura Tree.

After a pleasant shopping experience, we headed towards Green Door Cafe, a few blocks away. At Green Door, vegan and vegetarians eat together amidst art created by the owner’s son. My favorite appetizer is the buffalo cauliflower. The florets are drenched in an orange, hot sauced batter and baked. The accompanying vegan ranch dip cools the heat and coats your mouth with tanginess. 

We agreed on sharing the kale walnut muffin with icing which was to die for.

Although we stayed close to home, we had a satisfying adventure.

 

Y5 – Day 141 – While you were in Europe

While M and J hit the European trail, ML came and visited the Southern CA sights!

While LA doesn’t hold a candle to Vienna or Paris, it was a great location to meet ML off her flight. My novel intensive course took place in an LAX airport hotel conference room. Her plane was scheduled to land minutes before my class wound down. She just ubered right over. I was blown away by packed yet simple information garnered by generous, passionate writing teachers. And then, I was re-energized seeing my BFF even if it was a full day of learning and note-taking.

Y5 – Day 138 – Vegan Republic

At the Vegan Republic Market where E manages things, helps customers and improves the quality of life for all sentient beings, you can find frozen, packaged and compassionate shopping opportunities that directly support Animal Place, Their Farm Sanctuary in Grass Valley, CA.

After duly contributing to the well being of others, we funded another good cause and grabbed lunch at The Butcher’s Son, an all-vegan dining establishment that has risen to stardom on University Ave.in Berkeley.

Y5 – Day 137 – Berkeley Again

It’s 2018 and a visit was due.

First and foremost, reuniting with kidlets.

Second, VEGAN FOOD!

Third, atmosphere.

I traveled well and let my daughter drive as I relaxed. We listened to her well-planned playlist that hit all the right notes intended. Dogs were such great company too.

It’s so good to hug and laugh with your adult children.

Love you guys.

Back to the Future 2018

Our first meal was in the automotive repair district in Oakland where they took advantage of the warehouse and set up a vegan eatery (formerly a food truck) named Hella Vegan Eats.

Y5 – Day 136- Cindi and Addy visit Henry

Tonight, Cindi and Adelaide went to visit Henry in Oakland and we enjoyed our vegan and non-vegan pizzas as the dogs plopped onto the couch while our host pup guarded his food bowl. 

My oldest made deliciously sweet vegan Thai Teas for his sisters and we enjoyed vegan chocolate mint cookies and a bran walnut banana muffin he served for dessert. Thank you J and M.

Y5 – Day 109 – Time

I remember growing up on the beaches of Long Island and time stopped as I idly played in the sun – the wet sand and glossy pebbles, hot between my toes. The shore lapping.

Time was still. Joy was mine.  

The smell of sultry, humid heat peppered with salty seaweed baking on the beach. The warmth and taste of the briny water.

Seagulls squawking.  Horseshoe crabs aground and dying on the shore. Fiddler crabs popping out of holes.

Wildlife scurrying amongst the brush on the dunes by the worn redwood fences. The grasses and reeds rustling. A summer breeze wafting through a corridor of beach below a cliff.  

I wake up. I’m startled.

Time is just a blip – yet a continuum. But, only as long as it is held in your mind.

Y5 – Day 94 – Sedona

Sedona is majestic and magical. We could see face profiles, animals and various inanimate  objects in the red rock formations. Hiking with good ole Cindi went well till she nearly collapsed in the heat. The hikes are steep in places and the pebbled floor is irregular. Yet, the beauty of contrast, light and energy invigorates. Our dog could have cared less about the view and just wanted to keep up. We stopped here and there and let her drink water from her dish under the shade of a twisted tree or stone overhang. She’s so eager to please she never once begged to be picked up, although we did, anyhow.

 

 

 

Y5 – Day 88 – Harvesting

Thank you to contributor V from Oregon for this scrumptious array of produce from a farm in Portland where she toils in the black dirt and reaps rewards. Red and yellow onions braided with violet flowers and raffia twine, drape the kitchen wall. Hot red chili peppers hang clothesline style. Meanwhile, yellow squash and orange gourds stand alone like regal sentinels. Honey, golden cherry and crimson red tomatoes crowd into recycled green baskets. Various colored potatoes (not pictured well but next to gourd) collect inside a stainless bowl. A feast of surprising color combinations, taste sensations, seasonal September delights and satisfaction for the sustainable gardener.