Poco-Cocoa

I did carry my camera with me to New Mexico, but I’m a bit overwhelmed with the number of photos I took! So for now, here’s what I’ve been seeing through my iPhone lens.

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Roux got a postcard from London! It was very suspiciously around the time that my friends Aimee and Josh were there.

David made fantastic tiki drinks at the Noble Pig/Treaty Oak/Tipsy Texan party for tiki week. One was called the Banana Hammock. 🙂

Our drink came in a pineapple with lots of umbrellas and super-long straws. And the tiki sandwich from Noble Pig was insanely good.

This is a Mary Pickford. Lovely.

And this is a Fancy Free.

I’ve found my sanctuary – Deep Eddy Pool. We go in the evenings when everyone has left for the day, and just swim and sunbathe and gaze at the sky.

Awesome mail day! Gather, Sated, Remedy, and a card from a friend.

In New Mexico, we had a late dinner at Pizza Inn. Their subs are so good – the bread is crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.

We also stopped at this cute newsstand in my hometown. I bought an issue of Betty & Veronica for old time’s sake (so sexist and shallow now), and miraculously, they also had copies of Lucky Peach!

New Mexican deliciousness – proper red enchiladas with beans, rice, salad and crema.

My mom made flour tortillas from scratch. She makes the BEST tortillas – they’re thick and filling and delicious.

Another good mail day – I received my copy of Get Jiro! It’s soooo much fun, though I think a lot of it would go over people’s heads if they aren’t’ food nerds.

We went to Tigress Pub for the uncorking of their new barrel-aged cocktail, the Foreign Legion. It’s crazy good. While we were there, it was storming outside, with huge lightning and even an explosion or two downtown. As the rain slowed, a bajillion moths swarmed the air, which drew in a bajillion birds who dove around feasting on them. It was eerie.

We have summer smorgasbord a lot for dinner now. I just cook up some quinoa and bulgur, throw in a side vegetable (steamed broccoli, or cucumber/tomato/yogurt), hummus, feta, and whatever else we can find.

I felt like having tea and crumpets. Justin calls any little cookie/cracker/sweet thing that goes well with tea a crumpet.

Today was another good mail day – a card from a friend and the Israel To Go book, straight from Tel Aviv, that I’ve been pining for and finally ordered.

I hope you’ve all had a great week – and have a safe Friday the 13th!

How about this? How about we all take a moment and think about our Grandmas?

My Grandma Yaya was the sweetest, most loving woman you would ever meet. In fact, I’m sure that everyone that met her ended up calling her Grandma Yaya. She had crinkly eyes and rosy cheeks, and her face seemed to be held in a permanent smile. She loved God and loved her family, and gave so much of herself that Greed was something she likely didn’t understand.

At one point she had over 30 grandchildren, and we still each got a Christmas gift every year. A pair of socks, a bag of chips, a hand-sewn apron.

She gave to her church, she gave to her children. Most importantly, she gave me my father, and instilled in him the virtues and strengths that I love so much.

She survived the loss of her husband and five children. She believed in the goodness of God and the potential of her children and grandchildren.

She never forgot to ask me how my husband was, even toward the end, even when she was tired and sick and battling the cancer that finally overtook her.

She lived a long and blessed life, and from her I learned that giving yourself, giving love, giving hope is always the best choice, the choice that brings peace, and strength, and connection.

Last night she passed away – I can picture her now in the arms of God, her rosy cheeks aglow at the sight of my Grandpa, her heart filled with pride at raising and loving her children.

From her death I have learned that life is never long enough, that parents are to be cherished and appreciated and loved, that family is far more important to me than I thought possible.

I am heartbroken and yet strengthened. I am regretful and yet hopeful. I will take this moment as a lesson in life, of what I want for myself, and my family, and my heart.

Life is too short. Give more love.♥

Lately I’ve been using my phone to capture daily photos instead of carrying my camera around. I miss my cameras, though, both my dSLR and my Yashica. I want to get in the habit of making pictures again.

Here’s an overview of last week:

At some point early in the week I had time to just sit and read and journal. I can’t even imagine that now, because the second half of the week was so incredibly busy.

I went to the dentist and found out that sometime soon I’m going to have to get a crown, which should cost about $1,000. I consoled myself with a panna cotta and toffee gelato while getting groceries.

On Wednesday afternoon, our friend Jeret (Tavern Keeper at the Esquire Tavern), his wife, and a couple of friends popped in from San Antonio for the day. We started with drinks at the Tigress Pub, and had a great chat with Pam. This is the Slingshot, one of the delicious drinks on the new menu.

We walked over to Foreign & Domestic for dinner, and proceeded to eat so much that we thought we’d die of food. This is the smothered potato gratin. Do it.

Then we hopped over to Weather Up to see our friend Josh. I love how New Yorky it was. The drinks were great, but I did not like waiting so long. 🙁

And THEN we went to Midnight Cowboy. By this time we were all dragging and sleepy, but it was great to see our friend Brian there. I think most of us liked our drinks. I should have ordered something different.

On Thursday I had a long meeting at Yellow Jacket Social Club. I actually loved the atmosphere and music, but there was a haze of smoke (cooking smoke!) so thick that my eyes were irritated. I kept having to go outside to breathe. The outside tables were great, though.

Friday and Saturday were a blur. I helped out with Rachel and Logan’s welcome back party, which was fun but utterly exhausting. Those two can throw a PARTY! Even with this scorching heat.

Today was spent sleeping, and sleeping, and sleeping. A few crosswords. A bit of reading. Lots of worrying about massive amounts of work tomorrow. And a stop at Tarka for paneer tikka masala and my favorite mango lemonade.

Hopefully this week I’ll have more photos to share!♥