Easter Sunday into April Fool's Day

It's the wee small hours of the morning and I'm awake for some insane reason... woke up to pain in my back and the sound of rain drops on the roof and  the thought that I had to reorder my Netflix queue...huh?  so I did... reorder the queue...

We had a very peaceful Easter... it had rained Sat. night and the air was clean and the sun appeared on schedule to warm our morning so that our walk on the beach was on wonderfully compacted sand in a negative tide as the air caressed.  We walked quietly wishing all a good morning and a Happy Easter as we tried to find our way...  sometimes talking is hard... we misunderstand each other's intent and there in starts the trouble....

Listening to the last hour of  "Prairie Home Companion" and  "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me" we ate our breakfast and relaxed.  I felt truly grateful for a day off.  It doesn't happen very often.  I enjoyed the chance to just be.  We had been to Carol and Chuck's for a wonderful happy hour on Sat. after an open house at 207 Toledo Dr. filled with folks and we were off to an intimate Easter celebration at Carla's... a gathering of  Tim, Marit, Carla, Hayley and T and I.  We sat and talked and decorated eggs... Marit and Tim were competing for top honors... Tim with the egga Pope and Marit with Marie Antoinegg.

Marit's Marie with her head

and Beheaded

Tim's The Egg Pape 

We all did at least one egg if only for presents... dinner was delicious with ham and scalloped potatoes, carrots and salad and cheesecake made by T & A.  On our way home, we swung by Jayne's and brought a plate and greeted Lynn & Bob.  Flowers are in bloom and the Joseph's coat roses are spectacular at their home.

Quietly we wound our way home in the rain showers in time to see "The Good Wife" and climb into bed.  A very good day...

We watched "Flight"  and "The Sessions" Friday evening... Flight was pretty hard to watch as the addiction took hold of Denzel but the movie was compelling.  The Sessions was outstanding!!!  I highly recommend it!!  Amazing acting and such an amazing young man and Helen Hunt was truly great!! Humanity is the perfect enigma and some people thrive no matter what they face...

Played with clay for a few hours on Friday as I coached a first time buyer on the art of making an offer.  I had sculpted a Dungeness crab that needed the finishing touches of glazing and the mermaid is drying and just about a week away from firing.  Tracy's seal is all ready adorning a post... wow!

Annie glazing the crab

T's Seal

444 Whispering Pines #95 just closed escrow and Anjuna is free again to enjoy some free time.  My other 2 escrows are moving along steadily towards fruition.  We'll be reviewing offers on 207 Toledo Dr. on Wed. and I hope they bring happiness to both the buyers and the sellers.... Win Win

Happy Easter and Happy Passover!!!  I'm going back to sleep... I hope....

Today is Friday, March 15th

The Ides of March is upon us and it's brought some unbelievably beautiful weather to the central coast.  what magnificent colors and smells and beauty!!!  What fun!!!   I just finished "The Paris Wife" which is our book club selection for next month and I LOVED it!!!!   What a great read... Hemingway was definitely a unique character and it was fun to read about the authors of that era and what they might have been like.... Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein and on and on...

Life has been very good to us...  we've been enjoying our walks to the beach and hearing music at Kuumbwa Jazz Society AND we caught Paula Poundstone at the Rio....  lots of fun!!!  and I've lost 13 lbs so far since Nov.  I love the "Lose IT!"  app!  I've hit my goal weight now I'm gonna see if I can make it to the weight that my license says... we'll see...

The best news:  I'm working on 3 escrows... YAHOO!!!  we needed that!!!  I've had several deals cancel over the last couple months so, it's great to have these wonderful people on board.  Man, is it the right time to sell?!!!  Multiple offers and prices jumping...  it's such an amazing turn around!  If you're hesitating or wondering whether it's the right time to sell... let me tell you:  It is!!!!  Call me!!!

Anyway, we're hoping to plan a trip to Hawaii some time soon but first, it's time to make hay while the sun shines...  Several referrals have  come my way and I love working with referrals!!!  I adore working with people... funny to finally get it.... but it is a dream come true to get to know people and assist them with realizing their dreams...

Tracy is sooo good!  He's had a lot of fun this past month sculpting a menagerie of wild life... I had the sickness so, I was forced to work my way back to health and ignore playing with clay.  I can't wait to see our work displayed upon the yard posts...  I just finished a mermaid sitting on a surfboard and my Dungeness crab was fired in my absence last month.  Tracy, on the other hand, has sculpted Riley, a sea lion, an otter, a raccoon and a crow!!!  Can't wait to see the finished products!!!!

Today is Saturday, Feb. 9th

Can't imagine how the Central California coast could have started out at 33 degrees this morning and now be up to the 60's and in my home town of Hamden, Ct. they've received 40" of snow!!!  How can that be?  It's a beautiful warm sunny day as I enjoy the view from my sick bed.... yah I finally succumbed.  I've been fighting it for a little more than a week and actually went to work Wed. and Thurs. .. even walked the glorious beach Thurs. morning but I'm down for the count now.

I've had to reschedule a listing appointment today 'cause I just couldn't get out of bed.  Last night we watched 4 episodes of "House of Cards" and we're hooked!!!  Kevin Spacey is just sooo evil... We were in bed and asleep by 11 and I slept 'til 8 and then, turned over and slept 'til 11 this morning.  I feel like my bed and I will be good partners for another day or so...  T made me tomato soup and grilled cheese for brunch and I've been reading ever since.

Rest up!!  T went to Urgent Care yesterday and they reassured him that he's getting better too... his lungs are almost clear.  Ai Yi Yi!!!  I'm just gonna give in and take a nap....

Be safe and well...

Today is Tuesday, February 5th

It's Cenz's birthday or it would have been his 62nd were he still here gracing our lives.  I really felt him this morning and then, my phone rang.  It was Frieda, Carol Feen calling to reminisce.  Frieda was Cenz's first true love and very dear friend.  They were grounded in reality way back when and shared very deep feelings about who they were becoming.... they decided at a very young age 9 or 10? that they didn't want love to be limited by gender, race or creed...that whomever they were lucky enough to fall in love with wouldn't be shortchanged by conventional thinking.  How amazing to know oneself that well at such a young age and then to live their lives accordingly!  As Frieda and I spoke this morning, I shed a few tears of joy that someone else still remembered my brother and cared enough to share.  Frieda lives in Northern Ca. and has an amazingly gifted voice. She's not singing right now but she is writing and I'm just so glad she is still on this plane..

I've found it very difficult to continue writing on a regular basis.  When T was ill, it was the means to get the word out and it was cathartic for me.  My motivation and mood has changed.  I'm engrossed in assisting my clients with their real estate goals and the real estate market has changed substantially.  As a  result of very low home inventory, we're seeing multiple offers and crazy price spikes.  It makes for very jittery buyers and sellers.  I represented a buyer over the weekend where the deadline for the counter offer was completely ignored and an offer was accepted prematurely.  That meant the seller was NOT well represented.  Who knows whether any of the buyers were willing to bring more money to the table.  The seller certainly won't ever know.  Stupid in my book.  Shame on the listing agent and we'll find another home for my buyer.  And so the story unfolds.

Tracy and I have started to slowly but surely get out a bit more.  We went to our Sereno Celebration on the 25th of Jan.

It was a fun time even tho' a bit subdued compared to last year.  The music was a little too techno and loud so the room cleared pretty early.  Also been to Kuumbwaa Jazz Society recently to hear Joe Lovano, a phenomenal sax player backed by Esperanza Spaulding.  A little too much progressive jazz but oh so much fun to be surrounded by music again...

Life is a series of adventures and other than a dose of this bug that's gone around which kept us from Michael's Super Bowl extravaganza... we're doing well.  I must say I am disappointed in the Niners that showed up to duel with the Ravens... the Ravens definitely played a better game....  Next year?

BTW:  I've been using a free app called "Lose it!"  and guess what?  I've lost 10 lbs over the holidays!!!! Yahoo!!!  It's like Weight Watchers in that it forces you to acknowledge each and every bite and consciously avoid empty grazing.  I'd like to lose a few more but I now know it's possible...

Anything and everything we can imagine is possible.... love to all!!!

Wednesday, January 9th, 2013

I believe in luck...luck allows us to take a chance circumstance and turn it into something or not... depends on how much you trust in yourself and your intuition because of course intuition always plays a part... luck can be good or bad or something in between but being alert to the whimsical fluttering of life's wings defines us all.  Met a wonderful client about 5 or 6 years ago totally by chance... she became a great client and a trusted friend and she finally succumbed to a double whammy: brain cancer and lyme disease but not before she taught me what it meant to seize the day...  I will miss Joan Safajek but treasure the memories...

Our lives are evolving.. we're resuming, accepting, growing, giving thanks and having fun again.  Christmas was a time of great joy!  Sharing with our extended family...rejoicing in the moment.  Carpe diem ...seize the day for it's all we ever really have....

I awoke in the thralls of a dream this morning... I was in a home I sold on the westside with Mom and we were dealing with the corpse of a loved one, a client who had 7 children who weren't local. Gary was searching through the contents and I was deciding that I couldn't bring myself to wash the body.  I wanted to treat Mom to Italian instead.... hmmm the irony on display and the tune in my head:  Jim Morrison singing "Riders on the Storm" .... Ray Manzarek doing justice with Roy Rogers playing his heart out Monday night at the Rio Theatre... my God we're alive!!!

I'm not even going to go there...  my mind is awake and churning...

So, the end of 2012 saw our T have a bone marrow biopsy right after Christmas and then, a huge celebration to close out 2012 and all that it was and jumpstart our hopes for 2013...

The McAnellis threw a raucous New Year's Eve party and over 50 people came and the hard core stayed 'til midnite... we ate great food and toasted the end of 2012 and voiced our hopes for our lucky year 2013!!!  What a ball and we ARE looking forward...

                     Carpe diem and Happy New Year!!!!

Today is Tuesday, December 11th

December has arrived in all its splendor as our lives have taken on new meaning....  We are oh so alive!!  This holiday season which began with Thanksgiving and will culminate with the New Year has been joyous!  I can't even express how wonderful it is to slowly regain our footing and rejoin the rest of you in actually taking part and experiencing each and every day.

We've had boisterous blustery storms blow through the coast and the last few days have left very large numbers of Humboldt squid stranded on the shoreline.  It's weird..

Squid next to T's boat er shoe

And here's one of our mornings on the coast...

Only one disappointment for me...  I made a bas relief of Cenz from a photo I took in '89 in the Louvre where life imitated art

Unfortunately for me, Cenz decided not to be captured for now anyway... I arrived at the studio on Fri. only to find my piece had blown up in the kiln... happens sometimes... but I can't help but think my Cenz didn't like it and decided I should do it again...

Love you all... be safe and enjoy!!!

Today is Saturday, December 1st

Wow!!!  It's been awhile...  As we welcome December and all that it brings, we want to acknowledge the gratitude we feel for the month of November and it's tidings....  November was truly a month for Thanksgiving!!!

After the election, we settled in to our routines and started to accept that our cancer journey was almost over.  We also celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary on the 24th.

Tracy and I have survived!!!!  It's been grueling, frightening and totally absorbing BUT the end of treatments was oh so near and oh so dear....  We had the fight of our lives and we have come out the other side:  VICTORIOUS... WE WON!!!  Those thoughts have consumed me and stifled me from even wanting to express them in writing... the thought that I might jinx the outcome kept creeping close to the surface... I know that's crazy but you know a lot crazier things come to mind when I think about the Big C....   the fight after all was mind boggling...  I wonder how many healthy cells I killed just by the fear and anxiety and stressful ever present reality of Tracy's travails.  There were times when the responsibility of keeping the flame of life going with my T were way too much to bear.  Way too many times where he hung by a thread and I bore witness and fought as hard as I've ever fought to keep him going...  after all it was a good fight... we survived and T is a new man.  The gentle soul of my big bear has returned along with his humor and his new outlook not without lots of scars and residual aches and pains but my T is back.   The most important thing we both embrace is he's alive and his indomitable spirit has survived!!!  I can't even say all the lessons we've learned about who we are and what we can do BUT we are so thankful for it all.  I can't say I'd ever want to repeat it... although who knows what the future will bring? and that in itself scares the hell out of me.  The journey was a perilous adventure  and yet the lessons we learned will remain for all of our time on this plane...

The weeks leading up to Thanksgiving and T's last treatment became an opportunity for me to wind down.  I finally acknowledged that I needed a break and some rest and relaxation.  I took the most relaxing vacation I've ever had.  We stayed at home and just enjoyed the time to lay back and read, watch movies and recharge.  I stocked up the larder and proceeded to lodge my car in the garage and pretty much unplug.  T even read to me!!!  I feel the 20 years I aged over the last 2.5 creeping off me slowly but surely and the stress and fear subsiding cause at the end of the day we survived!!!

I have this overwhelming desire to celebrate and slowly my friends we're going to celebrate with each and every one of you!!!

T will continue to be monitored by Stanford and our Bruno will keep a watchful eye. We return for a bone marrow test after Christmas and then, we see Bruno in January.  We encountered the head nurse of the ITA (treatment area) on Wed. and Sandy was a welcome sight.  She reminisced with us about a memorable meeting last year some time when T was insisting that his 103 temperature was caused by standing too closely by the fireplace... and by my finally breaking down in tears and admitting that he'd had a raging temperature all night.  T ended up in a hospital stay with ultimately, good results... Sandy embraced each of us and we all teared up as she admitted that that was the story she told lots of scared patients because just look at Tracy now!!!  Terry stopped by to double check T's chemo and he said he almost didn't recognize him cause "he looked like shit"  back then...  Wow, we have survived...

A year ago I didn't know if we'd make it to today but yesterday,  we had another kind of adventure...

We enjoy our daily walk down to the beach with Riley each morning and yesterday, was no exception...even in a torrential downpour.  We were bundled up with rain gear on top and I chose very light pants with my waterproof  Rockports and T chose shorts and flip flops.  Riley goes au naturel and jumps in and out of the new lagoon looking for birds or sticks or anything to chase after... The surf was huge and threatening but we meandered on the minimal shore ( the sandy beach is only about 10-15 feet wide right now) for a couple days now.  We picked our way along and finally had to cross the newly raging Aptos creek at Hidden Beach or turn back.  T decided that he could handle traversing with me on his back... ai yi yi!!!  I hung on as we got to the middle of the creek (which had become a raging river) T sunk in the muddy riverbed as a huge wave crashed on us, the water swirled and uprooted and pushed my huge man down into the current with me trying to ride the raging bull... Riley was oblivious as T shouted "your phone!!!"  and I finally was able to scramble out of the water to climb the cliff... upon checking, my iPhone finally came back on.  PHEW!!!   It's been sitting in rice overnight.  I hope the ringer isn't cooked... and T and I survived laughing about our adventure all the way home to a warm shower...

I'll add photos later...  love you all and thanks for your patience!!!  I think we're back on track now!