A Beach Weekend

This has been a fairly slow week for me. This was intentional since I have been dragging for quite a while. I thought that perhaps my body caught up with me saying "enough!"  I had dinner with my friend Janet at Mexicali's. She will be spending next week at the beach playing in a golf tournament for women. 

No art class this week, but I did work on painting a daylily. I also drew a version of this daylily.  The painting is not complete. There is a mask on the stamens and pistil. I also want to paint the background black made from the colors I'm using on this painting. 

Drawing of Daylily

Unfinished Painting of Daylily

 We will be working on drawing and painting a parrot and then an owl. I asked if after this we could go back to drawing so I could finally finish the pictures of the dogs my friends Janet and Barbara had. Their dogs  have since died.   I had worked on them but had problems with proportions. I look forward to giving them their pictures. I also want to draw the pictures of the dogs my friends Mimi and Marc have. I need to take pictures to start working on them at a later date. 

On Friday, I had Chemotherapy first thing in the morning. I had a substitute nurse, Edna, who shared with me her experience with going to estate sales.  I think Shelley and I will try this together sometime.  She also suggested for the neuropathy to rub my hands together to create friction to increase blood-flow to my finger tips and also to fold up a beach towel on the floor to rub my feet to lessen the effects of n  She said it would also help for numbness (yes and issue), and pain (not an issue for me).  This seems like such an easy fix, I am very willing to do this. My social worker Robin happened to be here to see another patient.  She also went to the going away party for Susan and Jennifer. We had a nice talk. Kaiser started a senior clinic similar to the one I used to work in with Kaiser in the late 1990's to 2003. It was an excellent clinic for problem solving with patients and their families. I really enjoyed doing that then. Patients and their families need this information, and it is a service that is really needed.

After chemotherapy, my daughter Shelley and I went to San Diego to see a friend of mine Yvonne, whom I haven't seen in several years. She invited me down and said I could bring a friend. Shelley did the driving. I was worried about how I would do because of this sense of exhaustion I have been experiencing recently. I'm happy to say I did pretty good.  We met Rich, a friend of Yvonne's. We went to a small Thai restaurant with delicious food and lovely ambiance. We sat outside with lots of plants all around us. Then we went to the beach to see the sunset. There was a fog bank in the distance that covered some of the sunset, but it it was not a failure. 

Shelley and I at the Thai Restaurant

Yvonne with her friend Rich at the Thai restaurant

Yvonne and Rich at the Beach

Beautiful Sunset at the Beach

Shelley and I in Silhouette at the Beach

The next day, minus Rich, we had breakfast where the surfers hang out. Delicious food and nice bodies and then stopped at points along the ocean. So beautiful!  We went in a crystal store. I bought a piece of Amber hanging from a cord necklace. It is supposed to be the color of your energy. I figure I could use something to increase my energy!  after that, we went ocean side to see Bird Rock!  What a sight!  We took a nap in the afternoon which is exactly what the doctor ordered.  I felt so much better after this.

Yvonne, Shelley and Me at the Surfer Place for Breakfast

Shelley and Yvonne with Crashing Waves Behind Them

Yvonne getting Artsy with Shelley and Me Next to
Beautifully Tiled Bench

A Local Sight Called Bird Rock

Shelley with Bird Rock Behind Her

Yvonne Called this Evolution House.  There was More
around the Corner

We also stopped to get fresh smoothy. Mine was green which I needed for my medications. Very tasty!

At night we went to an Indian restaurant, Spice Lounge. That also was delicious food and fabulous ambiance. 

This morning Yvonne made us chilaquiles.   So delicious!  Shelley and I haven't had that. But now I'll rate everyone's version to what Yvonne made for us.  Yum!! 

So Yvonne is a host on Airbnb.  It is on the Internet.  It might be easier to use on a computer, but you can download the site onto your mobile phone.   She has two rooms she rents out in the Pacific Beach area. Beautiful!  And, she is a gracious host. Price is reasonable, close to the beach, lovely ambiance. No guarantee of a meal, but you'll probably get a meal. Love the coffee! I don't understand why we in America  we would drink such weak coffee that it just seems like colored water!  Ugh!  Yvonne coffee tastes just like great coffee!  Also, parking is an issue.  However, Yvonne gave us her parking spot at her home so we wouldn't have to walk much to our car.

I had mentioned in an earlier post that  a journalist and photographer from Bakersfield Life, a local magazine,  had stopped me and asked me what part of Kern County I liked the most. Actually, there is a lot I like, but since I was downtown I talked about that, First Friday, a monthly event with the emphasis on the art galleries in Bakersfield.  It is a wonderful event and now they are raising money to make this area more inviting. 

I'm in the Bottom Right Corner

Close up of the Caption

This was a good week. I really do much better if I take breaks. I hope your week went well and I'll see you next Sunday.             Rachel