Check One Off the Bucket List

First of all, happy birthday, Linda!!! We love you!!!

And onward.

Most people who know me would, perhaps, not guess I have held a secret desire to eat at PF Chang's. A franchised restaurant. What can I say? Yum, that's what I can say, because, as it turns out, my friend's daughter works at one. Ah, the kindness of fate.

Over the bay bridge. It's a big bay!

Sunset out the car window

In one of those gigantic outdoor upscale mall/condo/office type places that I think are the new towns of America. I guess if you want to live in a mall, this would be heaven.

Heaven for me is on a bit of a different scale - spicy tuna sushi, hot and sour soup, egg rolls. Way too much even shared, but somehow we managed most of it.

Because I don't like to use flash in restaurants (well, this kind anyway), you can't tell that this is a gorgeous plate of sea bass (that we shared and still had some leftover), surrounded by scallops and shrimp on a bed of steamed spinach. I think it might be the best fish I've eaten so far in my life. Somewhere between lobster and...nirvana.

Lauren and Robin. The last time I saw Lauren, she came to my knee. Adult children love hearing things like that so I say them a lot.

After dinner we went on a walk it off stroll to some of the stores. And yes, some of them were pretty incredible. A place called The Zoo Gallery had brilliant whimsical furniture (like something Pan or Clay would have made - I'd give the link but it doesn't show the furniture and that was one of the very best things in a very cool store). A store called Fusion was full of amazing glass pieces caused lust in my heart. An artist, Gary Rosenthal, had some beautiful menorahs among a lot of other beautiful work. We were playing with kaleidoscopes until we realized we were playing with $800+ baubles.

A glimpse of The Zoo Gallery

We went into a store called Magnolia House that we'd gone to in its first location near the water, about 30 years ago. After a brief look at many beautiful, very expensive items, we were talking to the women working there, about that time before and how different everything was now - I don't recognize the area anymore; where there was once woods and water there is now mile after mile after mile of condos, chain stores and...I don't even know what. One of the women came around the counter and said, 'I'd like to give you a hug, because you remember what we who live here miss so much.' The taste of bittersweet was stronger than the delicious chocolate sold there.

But! It was a good reminder to continue the good fights for keeping Culebra the place we love, so that it won't be just a memory, as its much more simple days are only memories now for the elder Culebrense.

I know this was in yesterday's blog, but now it is in context. Lots of glitter everywhere. It got tiring.

Switching gears, yesterday we went for a walk in the woods with Ziggy the dog. Peaceful, unprimped, beautiful in its way.

Robin teaching me about deer moss

Ziggy wanted to go for a swim but we curtailed that as alligators might think a meal of Ziggy a real treat. 

A hobbit tree

Then it was time for the regular family outing to a local sports bar and a Steelers game (they lost, oops).

I felt right at home. Everyone into football, me watching the everyone's into football.

Have a mirthfully mischievous Monday. Do something motivating.