I had a delightful day, full of friends and sunshine and quite a bit of writerly brainstorming. I woke up fully intending to go to a coffeeshop, but instead realized that I felt like working from home (with some cold brew coffee that Katrina had given me to fuel my creativity) - so I spent a couple of hours writing at my kitchen table, which all went pretty well. But I came out of my creativity haze at 11:10 and realized that I was going to be late for my 11:30 coffee date....so I scrambled to throw my stuff in my purse and rush out the door.....
...and I met my friend Amber at Grace Cathedral, which made for a gorgeous hour of social time. She's an Episcopal priest who is also a romance novelist, and she was in the city for a church meeting (she lives south of the city), but she gave me a heads up yesterday that she would be around, so we met at the cathedral to catch up. I now wish that I had discovered the cathedral ages ago - for one, if I were to go to a church, it would be Episcopal. For another, the cathedral is gorgeous. For a third, it's next to a park at the top of Nob Hill, which means the surroundings are gorgeous as well. And for a fourth, there's a Peets Coffee in the basement, with lots of sunlight flooding through the windows from street level, and several tables that were totally empty. So perhaps there will be some cathedral writing time in my future....
But today was all about socializing. Amber and I sat in the sun and caught up over coffee, and I wasn't ready to say goodbye when she went to her meeting. Then I spent twenty minutes enjoying more sun while walking the outdoor labyrinth. It's a recreation of the labyrinth at Chartres, and I find labyrinths to be an interesting and unique spiritual experience; there is something about the idea of life and thought being a pattern and a winding circular path that appeals to me, rather than the thought that life is an immutable forward-moving deathmarch. So I followed the labyrinth all the way in to the center and stayed there for a bit...but I walked straight out rather than retracing my steps, because my feet hurt from wearing the wrong shoes, and I'm apparently a princess about such things. C'est la vie, I guess.
Then I came home and spent a glorious hour talking to Kathia, whom I hadn't caught up with in forever. And then, starving, I made a frittata; I changed up the last experiment and went with bacon, leeks, and hashed browns topped with eggs and shredded gruyere (instead of fromage blanc). It was a tasty endeavor, and now I have great leftovers for breakfast, so I'll take it. And then I spent the rest of the afternoon working, napping, and falling down internet rabbit holes, as I do.
The evening took a social turn again - I went over to Lauren's house, where I had time to watch Finley's bath and say goodnight to him before Lauren put him down. I also saw Nathan for a bit, and the three of us talked over wine after Finley was asleep. Then, Lauren and I pursued girls' night out - we went to Garibaldi's, which is very close to Lauren's house, and was also v. good. We sat at the bar and chatted up the bartender, and my wine and steak were great, and the conversation was delightful as well (although the bartender, Martin, probably thinks I'm a heinous bitch because I dominated the conversation and was always still working on my dish when Lauren was totally done with hers).
But seeing Lauren was great for my soul, as always, and our catch-up was deep and thoughtful and inspiring. And now I need to sleep so I can write and hang out tomorrow - goodnight!
...and I met my friend Amber at Grace Cathedral, which made for a gorgeous hour of social time. She's an Episcopal priest who is also a romance novelist, and she was in the city for a church meeting (she lives south of the city), but she gave me a heads up yesterday that she would be around, so we met at the cathedral to catch up. I now wish that I had discovered the cathedral ages ago - for one, if I were to go to a church, it would be Episcopal. For another, the cathedral is gorgeous. For a third, it's next to a park at the top of Nob Hill, which means the surroundings are gorgeous as well. And for a fourth, there's a Peets Coffee in the basement, with lots of sunlight flooding through the windows from street level, and several tables that were totally empty. So perhaps there will be some cathedral writing time in my future....
But today was all about socializing. Amber and I sat in the sun and caught up over coffee, and I wasn't ready to say goodbye when she went to her meeting. Then I spent twenty minutes enjoying more sun while walking the outdoor labyrinth. It's a recreation of the labyrinth at Chartres, and I find labyrinths to be an interesting and unique spiritual experience; there is something about the idea of life and thought being a pattern and a winding circular path that appeals to me, rather than the thought that life is an immutable forward-moving deathmarch. So I followed the labyrinth all the way in to the center and stayed there for a bit...but I walked straight out rather than retracing my steps, because my feet hurt from wearing the wrong shoes, and I'm apparently a princess about such things. C'est la vie, I guess.
Then I came home and spent a glorious hour talking to Kathia, whom I hadn't caught up with in forever. And then, starving, I made a frittata; I changed up the last experiment and went with bacon, leeks, and hashed browns topped with eggs and shredded gruyere (instead of fromage blanc). It was a tasty endeavor, and now I have great leftovers for breakfast, so I'll take it. And then I spent the rest of the afternoon working, napping, and falling down internet rabbit holes, as I do.
The evening took a social turn again - I went over to Lauren's house, where I had time to watch Finley's bath and say goodnight to him before Lauren put him down. I also saw Nathan for a bit, and the three of us talked over wine after Finley was asleep. Then, Lauren and I pursued girls' night out - we went to Garibaldi's, which is very close to Lauren's house, and was also v. good. We sat at the bar and chatted up the bartender, and my wine and steak were great, and the conversation was delightful as well (although the bartender, Martin, probably thinks I'm a heinous bitch because I dominated the conversation and was always still working on my dish when Lauren was totally done with hers).
But seeing Lauren was great for my soul, as always, and our catch-up was deep and thoughtful and inspiring. And now I need to sleep so I can write and hang out tomorrow - goodnight!
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