Sunday, April 22, 2012


I'm home again in Los Angeles after a perfect weekend in San Francisco and just outside of it. I spent most of the time hanging out at my dear friend Jody's house. I wore my pajamas until noon, and she lay on my bed and we talked and talked. Her husband made delicious coffee. We went to a ridiculously fancy restaurant on Friday night in San Francisco and ate tiny portions of too-rich and fussy food. We went to a beautiful benefit for a school for kids with severe disabilities -- the school where our darling Lueza attended -- and I sat next to Jody and cried when the slide show ended on her soulful face. Despite the sorrow of Lueza's absence, and it was palpable, the love that surrounded that child fills her home still, and I can honestly say that I have not felt so relaxed and happy and at ease in years. Thank you, Jody and Jacek, for your warmth and hospitality, for your beautiful home and for being such steadfast friends.

We woke up this morning and visited Jody's good friend, ate the most amazing homemade biscuits and orange marmalade (honestly, I could have eaten a jar of it) and sat out on a high porch in the hot sunshine, laughing and talking. After that, Jody drove me into the city to my blogger friend Sally's house where the famous Maggie lives, and after listening to Maggie's jokes and chatting a bit in their wonderfully quaint San Francisco home, Sally drove me to City Lights, where I raptured in the poetry room upstairs and purchased a small stack of black and white postcards of poets and a copy of Jack Gilbert's The Dance Most of All.




Sally and I walked to North Beach and ate eggplant parmigiana sandwiches at a corner bar and continued a conversation that lasted all the way through lunch and to the airport several hours later when she dropped me off and we decided that meeting one another was exactly what we had expected and that we'd known each other forever. 


Reader, I've a perfect score on melding my real life and my blogging life as every single blogger I've met personally has been an unequivocal pleasure. I'm awed by this and very, very grateful.

14 comments:

  1. It makes me happy that you were able to sit in your pyjamas until noon. I am glad you ate fussy and rich food. Mostly I am glad that you for to spend time with people that love you. xo

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  2. Sounds like a terrific trip! I haven't been to San Fran since 1990, but I remember being excited by my own visit to City Lights. And I agree -- all the bloggers I've met in real life have been wonderful in person, too.

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  3. Now that was a weekend.
    Yay!
    Beautiful.

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  4. What a marvelous trip. PJs till noon are my life goal. Am a bit jealous because this weekend *I* was at the grocery store at 6:30am buying coffee and milk because we were out and I couldn't fathom how the world would continue to spin without my coffee.

    Also jealous I wasn't able to meet you or Heather on my last trip to LA - but I did have a gorgeous tomato/something sandwich at the Mistress. It was divine.

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  5. This is so on par with what I've written about today. I feel terribly pulled to make real-life connections with my readers, and those writers that I read.

    Sounds like you've had a perfect weekend. xoxo

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  6. Certainly these moments that you describe are to be treasured; aonderful gifts from the universe...

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  7. You reap what you sow, Elizabeth. I am a firm believer in that. So pleased you had a glorious weekend with friends new and old and were taken care of, both by others and by yourself.

    If you're ever in Seattle...

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  8. the whole trip sounds so lovely. im really happy for you!

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  9. I don't know about you but so often I look forward to travel and almost build it up in my mind to a point where it can't possibly meet my expectations - I am so glad this wasn't true for you this weekend!

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  10. Sounds perfect.
    When I'm settled here, I hope you'll come visit me--with or without your children--however it works for you.

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  11. Sounds like a really good SF trip. Next time you come up I hope I am on the CA side and we can get together, too, Dear Lizbeth. x0 N2

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  12. What a glorious get away! So happy for you. It sounds PERFECT!

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  13. I'm so glad to hear this. The trip sounds like a gift, all the way around.

    Your success in blog-to-real-life conversions makes me happy for you.

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