Breaking from real life

So, we made a break from our real lives (get it, "spring break?!"), headed south, and have found ourselves in beautiful San Diego. We are staying with some old, dear friends who have a beautiful house overlooking the ocean -- so we are here for the week and will be eating and laughing and getting sand in our shoes and drinking margaritas and reading books and taking naps and generally having the sort of active and culturally enriching vacation we like.

Friends tell me that I cannot, cannot miss Rosie's Calico Cupboard while I am here -- a fabric store I would not have sought out as I don't really need calico for my cupboard, thank you very much -- so perhaps I will take a fabric-hunting excursion at some point.

Relaxation has already begun.

But wait -- a book recommendation for you...



I stumbled onto this book, via someone's list of favorites on Amazon.com ... and what a wonderful book. It tells the story of a modern day woman in Los Angeles, who has written a novel about the photographer Edward Curtis which is being considered for a movie project. The story weaves between her modern life and the story of Edward Curtis and his famous photographs of "the vanishing" American indians. The interweaving stories explore themes of vanished fathers, family life and intimacy, the myth of the American west, and more. The best part of this, to me, was the amazing lyrical prose. I kept pausing to re-read passages that were just so gorgeous.

It turned out to be the perfect thing to be reading as we drove down the length of California.

Hmmm, the fog is breaking so maybe a beachy afternoon IS in store today...