Sunday at Point Reyes

Point Reyes is a magical bit of the California coast. I took Tabitha there for our first afternoon together. I was stopping in at Petes for an afternoon coffee, where we met, I asked if she wanted to go to the beach. We were retracing our path and showing our kids one of the most beautiful places we know of.



The kids loved it. Toly was scared of the big noisy surf.


The surf was huge and crashing on the shore. Tristan and Kassi began running toward the retreating wave then running up the beach.


I closely monitored their frolicking.


Rome mostly stayed far back from the scary waves.


Many calories were spent.






The wave just after this one was huge and pummeled everyone.


Tristan remained fearless.


occasionally a huge wave would crash all the way up the beach. There was no safely dry place.






Tristan was drenched.

and covered in sand


I consoled Toly and Rome after the big pummeling.


Luckily we read this sign on the way out otherwise we'd have probably stayed on the bluff.

Home at last

We have been in our new home for ten days. We have new beds IKEA rules. I, in all my years, have never owned a brand new bed (mattress). Plenty of new futons, plenty of lightly used beds but never a brand spanking new mattress. It might seem silly but spending several hundred dollars for a bed never seemed like money well spent.

I have been getting two additional hours of sleep per night. Money well spent indeed. The kids got a new bunk-bed set. They also got good mattresses. That was our big splurge most of the rest of our home furnishings are coming on-the-cheap. Freecycle is our friend. We did spend money on an antique bench. It is beautiful. This is also my first piece of antique furniture.

Tabitha got a new desk. I am sitting at it now. It is well constructed and very cute. The internet is finally working here at home. Now if we could simply get settled. It seems like all I ever do is work or put furniture together.

We have been going to Catholic Mass. Our first experience in the bay area was midnight-mass Christmas Eve/Morning. The music was divinely inspired and spiritually moving. Sixteenth century Gregorian chanting mingled with the most delightful quartet. It was sublime.

My job is going amazingly well. I found a leak in a new installation that has plagued the thermal department since the installation. My immediate supervisor wrote a letter for my file praising me and recommending me for permanent employment, ending my probation. We'll see where this leads.

The kids are adapting very well. Our longtime friends live six houses away. They have kids of similar ages. Rome loves, with a true pining love, their oldest daughter. She is twelve and babies him so magically that he is completely smitten.

There are still many things to be settled but we are methodically crossing things off our list. Well, mostly I got off to work and Tabitha manages to cross things off our huge list of to-do's.

We do have a new camera and I promise photos in the very near future. There have been several stumbling blocks in the photo department, including no reliable internet.

I must work out of town two nights this coming week. Tabitha is fine with this--a testament to how comforting our new home is. She really needs to convalesce from the bad neighbor trauma in Missouri. This home is safe and cozy.