WordArt

First we checked out the American art. We saw so many beautiful and interesting paintings, including a reproduction of a painting of George Washington that we had seen on our trip. We love stuff like that, so we really enjoyed it.

The next building was an exhibit about the history of roses and about how varieties have been developed over the centuries and across the world. There were even smelling-stations, where we were able to smell some different rose varieties that were bred for their scents. It was really cool. We went outside and wrote in our idea books and then Mike took some great pictures with my camera.

Next, we moved into the old-but-newly-renovated conservatory, which is now a giant greenhouse. The main section was the rainforest. It reminded me of some of the places I saw in Costa Rica, with the big trees and big leaves and bright flowers. Mike and I made our way down the spiraling ramp as misters turned on occasionally to keep the “rain forest” nice and humid. This building was full of information and cool ways to learn while we played.

We climbed up from the forest floor to the ground level; where we were able to look at flowers up close to learn more about what the parts are and what they do. I got to tap into my memory of plant biology to explain some of it to Mike. He was super interested in learning it, and he even wrote some things down in his idea book.

The next room we went to in the greenhouse was a learning lab. Here we saw how seeds travel, how pollination works, how animals and plants interact, and about the life stages of a plant. It was pretty much awesome, and my mind was totally blown by how interested Mike was in all of it. I have to say, nerdy guys really catch my attention, and when they are good looking too, that just seals the deal. I guess it just made me so excited to think that someone could actually get me the way he does, and enjoy the things I geek out about. After the learning room, we checked out the cloud forest and the bog room, where we got to learn about carnivorous plants and epiphytes, which are plants that live on other plants, without being parasitic.
Narrowly avoiding death by carnivorous plant, we escaped to the café, were we had some lunch. After that, we snapped a few more photos of some of the beautiful plants and trees and then made our way through the not-yet-blooming rose garden to the Japanese garden.

The Japanese garden is hilly and spread out. A stream divides this garden into two sides and on the far side, there is a display of a traditional tea room. There were a lot of people in this part of the grounds—it is obviously a favorite spot for people who come to the library regularly. Not finding a place to hang out, we continued walking through the Japanese garden. At the northern edge, we walked through another gateway and found ourselves in the beautiful new Chinese garden.
There were many structures in this garden, as well as trees and plants. There were small pagodas with benches inside and some bridges, each with a symbolic name written in both Chinese and English. This garden was also a little crowded, so we searched hard for a perfect spot to sit and enjoy the beauty of the garden. We found a bench of the hillside, overlooking the lake and bridges, and of course all of the people who were savoring the sunshine. We took out our idea books and sketched pictures of what we saw. It was a nice creative time, and something that we had never done before.
Finally, the library closed and docents came around asking everyone to leave. We picked up our things and walked slowly out. It had been an amazing day already. We had so much fun just being together and seeing all of the beautiful things. We saw art, history, and science in a free, open, and beautiful format.

But, our wonderful day together was not nearly over. We drove over to downtown Pasadena, where we planned to hang out and grab some dinner. As I narrated directions and looked for a parking space, Mike told me that we had dinner reservations at 6:30! I had no idea that he had made reservations, so I was totally floored. What a stud, getting us reservations at a nice restaurant and leaving me clueless until the last minute! This day was just getting better and better.

We parked and had some tea, and took a leisurely walk toward the restaurant, falling in love with Pasadena as we went. It was really clean and fun and seemed to have plenty of cool places to hang out. Finally, we arrived at Bistro 45 on Mentor Ave. Although we were terribly underdressed, our beaming smiles and excitement may have caught the mater’di off-guard enough that he graciously escorted us to our seats. I was so excited to be having such a wonderful dinner (I just new it would be wonderful) after an already amazing day. As we sat down, we were given an anniversary card from the restaurant, which was super-sweet. We had our water glasses filled with mineral water while we took in the lovely ambiance. We perused the menu and wine lists and finally determined what we would have. Our server was sweet and patient. We ordered a bottle of Chianti to get us started, along with some fresh homemade ravioli. After much deliberation, Mike ordered the Angus Steak and I ordered the special Duck with orange sauce. When our food arrived, Mike and I were both struck by the perfect presentation and the amazing combination of flavors that we tasted. Everything tasted so wonderful, it was impossible not to finish, although it was very rich. Despite being full, we had to order dessert for our special day. More deliberation. I ordered the “Chocolate Soup”—a chocolate soufflé with hot fudge and vanilla ice cream. Mike got the berry crème brulee with cookies. The funnest part was that our plates had “Happy 1st Anniversary” written in chocolate! It was so special. We took some pictures, talked about how much we like each other, and finally decided to go back toward home.

On the way toward the car, we passed a record shop, so we popped in to look for cheap CDs and cool vinyl. We looked around and each ended up taking home a handful of CDs that we thought we would like. It was a fun little adventure within an adventure.

We walked back to the car and did some math about how soon we would have to be sleeping in order to get up in time for Easter. We had been enjoying our time together so much it was hard to agree to end it, but we would get to celebrate Easter together in the morning; and we both know that we are at our best when well rested.

Mike dropped me off at home, and I quickly fell asleep smiling about the wonderful day that we had. I remembered how excited we were about the weather, and how surprised we were to see George Washington again. I laughed about our pollination lesson and sighed thankfully that Mike did not lose his finger to a carnivorous piece of grass. I giggled thinking about the way Mike says, “You’re so beautiful,” and how it melts my heart every time.

It was a magically wonderful day: a perfect day.

To see more pictures of this day and other photos that I take, please visit my photo gallery by clicking on the "Pictures I Take" link to your right.

There is something very beautifully human about working with fruit. We are like all living things in so many ways, fruit being one of them. And yet I have the opportunity as the human type of living thing, to consider the color of the juice as an aesthetic, to consider the feeling of ripping pit from flesh as uncomfortably permanent, to consider the end--in my case consumption of the tart juice, and it's nutrients-- while I participate in the human activity of separating the pit from the cherry.

The body craves nutrients. The body knows what has them, and it craves these things. When I am hungry for meat, I need protein, when I am hungry for greens I need iron, when I am hungry for red fruits I need whatever vitamins in them that they have to offer... and so I find them. Today it is in the crisper drawer of my refrigerator. Hardly the scavenger I once was, but here I am reminded that I am still a child in many ways, as my own mother, a woman who keeps her family fed, has filled this refrigerator with the things she instinctively knows that we will need. Out with the cherries, I need them.

Working with our hands is intrinsically rewarding. To look back, hands bloodied by ripe fruit, and say, I have accomplished that, I have made that, I have conquered that; this is a reward. The gifts of being made in the image of a god; perspective, ego, a love for our own work. I pitted a bowl of cherries. It is not the quaint folk art of your great-grandmother. But I do wonder if that virginic godess felt the way I feel now. If while she made your uncles pie, she struggled with the pride that comes with creation, with the tearing of one fruit to feed your own. I can only hope that she did. And while they called her a good woman, she new much more deeply what it meant. And hoped that I would someday know it as she did. She is a good woman, she does what she ought, they say--never knowing that strongest moral value was the feeling of greatness within her, that her work was power, not because it bought her place in a society of pie eaters, but because she pitted cherries and chose to let herself experience the glory of it.



I choose juice over pie. I like juice. It's easy to drink, easy to make, delicious. It unlocks the complexity of fruits of a variety of colors and textures and allows them to sit together in a cup, open to being enjoyed for purely their flavor and nutritious value. The options are limitless. Fruits and vegetables of every type can be juiced together or separately and served blended, chilled, hot, frozen; whatever suits the body's desire. I create and I consume. Sometimes I create and I share. That is an entirely other pleasure from that of simply creating. But today I am consuming on my own. And it is delicous. A blend of cherry, grape, and blueberry juice. This smooth but tangy glass of red-violet beverage is full of antioxidants, vitamins, fiber, and plenty of pride. Good for the body, good for the spirit, and I believe, altogether, good for the soul.

Poetry, it's what's for breakfast. Bon Appetit.

Abandonment Is Guilt Free Here

You should have left
Without saying goodbye
Goodbye
Said like that
Means something
It means that the part between
That and hello
Meant something
Hello
Something Meaningful
Goodbye
Like that
But you are going
And I am pretending
Nothing means anything
But you want to say goodbye
Like that
So how can I go on
Pretending
When we both know the truth
And it is a shame
When a person feels guilt
That the space between
Has meaning


This Town

This town hasn’t got it anymore
Whatever a town’s got to have
To make me want it
This town just hasn’t got it anymore

I used to be in love here
I used to think that’s what the lights were for
I thought this was where we might dance
But it turns out this town hasn’t got it anymore

Not sure if it’s anyone’s fault
Or if it happens to all towns
Maybe just the ones I’ve lived in
Whatever the case may be
This towns one that hasn’t got it anymore

The buildings stopped glowing at the edges
For-sale signs aren’t romantic
I feel like a stranger again
Walking fast downtown
This town never let me do that
But now it does
So I guess it hasn’t got it anymore

Maybe there will be other towns
Even cities
Maybe there will be other dreams
Even love
There’s only one way to find out
I’ve gotta leave the town that hasn’t got it anymore.

Saturday, Mike, Jolene, Ryan, and I went to Raging Waters in San Dimas, CA for an action packed day of water park fun. We went on almost every ride (ignoring the ones that were not cool, of course) and got some serious thrills.


Some of the highlights included:


The Speed Slides- you can imagine that these are fast slides. yes they are. very fast.

The Lunch Factor- we had bacon wrapped hot dogs and chicken strips. and horchata. yeah.

The Till You Drop- we rocked Raging Waters from nearly opening till closing. slowing down is for pansies.

The Post Park Dinner- we had a great dinner at El Farolito in Placentia, CA. meat is good.

Overall it was an awesome day with some very cool friends. Raging waters is a fun place, and if you're planning on going you should be sure and cash in on the AAA discount, the buy-your-tickets-online-3-days-early-discount, or the buy-a-day-get-another-day-free-discount. I mean, you'd be silly not to.

Alright now, get out there, get watery and have a good time!

Courtney

Friday night, Mike and I went to a stellar even at Rock Harbor church called Go Acoustic. It was a magical evening of up close and awesome music with artists who donated their performances to raise money for Habitat for Humanity in support of the church's GO Campaign. The GO Campaign is an effort by Rock Harbor to give ourselves away in 2 ways: 1) to raise 1 million dollars this year to give to 12 specific causes (donating 150,000 of that to Habitat for Humanity) and 2) to send people on mission trips in 4 major "outposts" ongoing for 6 months.

It was rad to be a part of this event because it supported something I really care about, people living in poverty, and it also gave me a chance to hear some great music; some new to me, and some classic in my heart. Every artist was absolutely great. I encourage you to check out their myspace profiles:

• Molly Jensen
• Drew Bray
• AJ DeGrasse
• Jon Foreman of Switchfoot

I personally really enjoyed their music, and the venue was awesome. It is a rare treat for me to get to see good artists perform in a place that is nice and cozy along with people who love music and helping people so much.

Rock on.

Courtney