Man, what a great weekend

I must have been starved for girlfriend talk because the whole weekend was one big yack fest. I got to knock it around with four of the best.

The drive up was uneventful and my energy was good. As the scenery changed and started looking more Sonoma County-ish I started to feel a little strange. It's just so damn beautiful up there. Southern California just can't touch it. I guess I'll always feel I belong in two places.

I arrived at Lorraine's at around 7:00 Thursday evening. They had just gotten back from a camping trip. We sat in the kitchen with her mom and drank wine and talked while they made strawberry jam. Then we switched to these rum and pomegranate juice drinks. Lorraine made them a bit strong, but they tasted like punch so they went right down. Oops. One minute I was fine and having a fabulous time, the next I was completely shit-faced. Oh, Lordy. That ended that evening.

The next morning Michele arrived. We hung out for a while and then she and I left to do a little shopping before heading to Dave and Nancy's to go to the Occidental Farmer's Market to see Amelia play with her band. Walking around the farmer's market was so wonderful. Those people are my peeps. Just a bunch of Northern California hippies. You don't see too many babies in tie-dye around here. One vendor was selling barbequed oysters. I hadn't had an oyster in five years. I got six of them! Another guy was making paella. He had three huge vats of it cooking. Right before it was ready to serve this huge line formed. It took a while to get up there but it was worth the wait. Oh man, it was delicious. I walked by there later and all three vats were scraped clean.

While we were waiting in line Amelia's band played. She was on stand-up bass. What an amazing and acomplished girl she is. She was up there looking completely confident and serene and playing beautifully. Dave and Nancy have a lot to be proud of.

Afterward we went back to the Lorenz's and dinked around on ukes. Nancy wanted some help figuring out the harmony to this one Hawaiian song. Of course, Michele and I came up with two more parts. We just can't help it.

When we got back to Lorraine's Michele and I stayed up late and watched tv. They were running a Maverick marathon. I hadn't seen that show since I was a little kid. Jeez, I was cracking up! I want to see if they have the series available on dvd. It was really funny.

The next day we went back to Dave and Nancy's for a uke workshop and dinner thing. Her hula teachers, Ron and Carol, led the workshop. Two more friends, Sybli and Ross, were also there. We went through their whole book of songs. Like, a LOT of songs. Hawaiian music is pretty simple (well, except for the words) and all of the chords they used were very familiar. Ron showed us a lot of strums. Then we broke for dinner. Kotzian showed up right about then. (Hi, Brian! Great to see you!) Hoo boy, great food. We ate out on the deck, had a lot of wonderful conversation and played with their new chickens. These three girls look almost full grown but they're still peepers. The chickens were very entertaining.

After dinner we went back inside for more uke-ing. This time Ross switched to guitar, Dave and Amelia joined us on stand-up and accoustic bass and Ron, Michele and I played ukes. Nancy, Carol and Sybil danced! Oh my god, they were so beautiful. I gave up trying to sing in Hawaiian and just played and watched them dance. Hula seems so serene and meditative and these three women were the perfect embodiment of grace and beauty. It was certainly the high point of the trip. And the sound in that room was just amazing. What a perfect night.

The next morning I got up early to go to Mary and Jon's for breakfast. Michele had other people to visit so we said goodbye. I had a lovely drive out to Napa. Lorraine and Danny showed up about 40 minutes after I got there. We had a good breakfast and a very nice visit. Mary showed me her new uke. Ok, I've found my new love. Since I can't steal Mary's uke I guess I'll have to get my own. It's a Lanikai tenor with a pick up. It's not an expensive uke, but it has a wonderful, full sound. It was great seeing Mary and Jon but like all the other visits, it was way too short. Thank you, Lorraine and Danny for taking such good care of Michele and me.

The drive home was also uneventful but my energy wasn't so good. Yuck. I had to take a lot of breaks. On the Grapevine traffic got pretty heavy and slow. It sped up once I was in LA. I was so glad to get home. And now I'm at work at my subbing gig across the hall. Looking forward to Friday so I can work on my house. I was inspired by Lorraine's and Mary's and Nancy's wonderful, comfortable homes. Mine is still so NOT there.