santa barbara thanksgiving

a week by the seashore.  oh it was a good one!

we spent monday with joyce & sharron.  such dears.   deep true friends.

wish i’d had time to see my other 2 sweethearts, mary & syd, but alas time did not permit.

dottie’s good friend, christy, arrived on monday afternoon to join our seaside sojourn.   it was a lovely week of cooking, eating, reading, writing, piddling, and the very best thing of all…

sunrise & sunset walks along the shore.  my favorite time is morning when i watch our star rise up over glassy water.   pale yellow and silver light beams streak across the great basin.

clouds send their reflections down from the sky.

every plant and animal awake and alive.  warming in the rising sun.

our duplex for the week sat on islay & chapala, near mission and state for those of you who know santa barbara.  a charming neighborhood of bungalows and local coffee shops, little businesses, and friendly people.  we had a hot tub out back to soak in under the stars.

a small pleasant patio.

i finally had several opportunities to sample delicious plant-based meals, at the mostly vegan MESA VERDE.  which i cannot recommend highly enough.  on the pizza below is beet bacon – thin shaved smoked beets and macademia ricotta.  sublimely delicious.

moroccan tangine with fried onions, white beans, couscous, and roasted root veggies.

every bite complete ecstasy.  menu flavors from morocco, egypt, south of france, and sicily.  so so so good and very appealing to even those of us who are not of the vegan persuasion.

the most magnificent options on the menu of course being the show we witnessed each dawn & dusk.

i’ll have a few sketchbook pages to share once i’m home.  have to get a move on now.  i’m sitting here at the kitchen counter of our little duplex clacking away at the keys waiting for my turn in the shower.  then we’re off to the airport and home.

see you soon.  happy thanksgiving all who live here in the usa.  hope yours was a good one spent in the company of those you love in whatever place you call home.