A Few June Days

It's been a busy week so far, too busy to philosophize about and too busy for much picture-taking. A couple of the days were primarily taken up with not being busy, actually.
This June has been cool, so far. But it was warm enough to go to the beach with a friend for her birthday on Monday. First we went down this steep switchbacked trail...






...then settled against a log and drank some hot cocoa, ate our snacks, and shed layers of clothing as the sun got higher and broke through the mist. Lack of wind makes for a relaxing time on the sand.














A Japanese family was so photogenic, I tried to sneak photos of the children. This is the best I could do.







When I got home from the beach, B. was reading on the patio and being struck by the miniature roses in a pot nearby. He grabbed the camera and took this photo, which I am humbly posting black spot and all.

The next day was my turn to help make Communion bread at church. In the Orthodox Church it is called prosphora, which means offering, from the ancient tradition of the people bringing bread to offer for the service.

I'd like to write and show more photos sometime about the different breads we make, but for now I'll just show you this one I accomplished, called a Lamb.




When the bread was done, just outside there were garden plots to be weeded and watered, and flowers to be deadheaded. Always something new is blooming or changed from my last visit, and I have to take a picture or two.

This morning I made it over to visit a bookworm friend who's always giving or lending me books. This stack shows:
1) on top, the video we watched together, of poet Richard Wilbur reading some poems and being interviewed at University of Southern California in 1990,
2) Proust was a Neuroscientist by Jonah Lehrer; D. said that when she read it she thought of me.
3) Three books by or about M.F.K. Fisher, which D. is lending me. Friend K. has been wanting me to read Fisher for some time, but I never dreamed the books could be small paperbacks I might read in bed!
4) A Gentle Madness, a book about book lovers and collectors, which I ordered online, not dreaming how big it is, and
5) The Outline of Sanity, a Life of G.K. Chesterton, also bought online recently.

I know it looks a bit ambitious, considering the other stacks of books around here. But I'm hopeful of having more reading time soon, while recuperating from foot surgery and in the car on several trips we have planned.


But I'm ending with one more picture from church, of hollyhocks and a gladiolus, because I couldn't get the photo to go into the right spot above!


Oh! Addendum: Just before the close of this third blessed day of this week, Dear Daughter sent me this howling link for any of you/us who don't just love to shop.