Hope and Beyond

After having such an amazing last Saturday with Laura and Andy, I wasn't sure when the next one would come along to compare ... well, I have to say, today was a pretty swell day. After a week of relative slowness at work, and being able to catch up with myself. I spent today at the Beach with Jay, Werner and our Pastor Chad, along with two of his friends from Canada (yay!! Kelowna B.C. to be exact) a really nice couple, up for a week of sun and sand and surf.

I can't believe we get to be here.

The boys (in the photo, Jay is second from the left, Werner in the middle and pastor Chad, far right) went surfing, while I laid on the beach ... it was funny though, we set up our "camp" of beach towel, waters and sunglasses and there was this really funky stench eminating every once in a while, and we were like, "What the hey...." but didn't really see anything to weird, until we turned around and realized that there was a nice, older half eaten bird carcass about 5 feet from our towel, but with so much stuff to lug, and not really a heck of a lot of other places to be, we opted to stay there, it wasn't too bad ... (~ ish).

Jay, seen here relaxing after the surf, bought a wet-suit yesterday in OB (Ocean Beach). He is wearing the suit in the photo =)
The boys surfed until noon and then we all went for lunch in La Jolla (pronounced La hoya) which is a very spiffy, trendy, upscale neighborhood. We ate our lunches, not on their sun soaked patios, but on the (very springy) lawn of their neighborhood Christian Science Church ~ right on our beach towels. We figured if anyone tried to kick us off they weren't being very hospitable.

We ended our afternoon by stopping into our good friend Evan's house warming party and then headed home, where I am nursing a sunburn (roar and ouch) and Jay is washing the salt water off himself.


This day is a special one, my last Saturday here before I head to Montreal this coming Thursday. Every once in a while I get a gut wrench of nervousness, a tremor of uncertainty. But I have been praying more every day and reading my Bible more than usual, so that can only be counted as a good thing.

I imagine I'll be blogging incessantly while I'm away. I'm hoping I'll have good Internet access and things just go according to plan.


On a slightly separate note, I was walking earlier this week and found a couple of my little wee friends on the sidewalk, making their way out of the blazing morning sun. I snapped (or I guess, captured) a couple photos, to remind myself to not shrink back, into my little shell ... if they can motor along on the hot pavement, in harms way of being stepped on or vaporized from the heat of the sun, just to stay a little longer on the planet, in the cool and safety of the grass on the other side, than, so can I.

Till next blog.

a.