Sunday, March 2, 2014

More of the Night Before Last, Yesterday Afternoon and This Morning

I'm back in Los Angeles, the Oscar helicopters are circling, and I've already scrubbed my Barbie bathroom clean. 

Let's reminisce.

Here I am in the Chihuly boathouse BATHROOM. It was filled with vintage children's books and weird animal figurines. It was, after the pool, my most favorite room:






Here's a magnificent 85-foot table, made from one slice of a tree that was felled when too many prisoners in a penitentiary used it for escape. It begged for someone to dance right down it, but I refrained.


Here's a close-up of the sculptures that ran down the table in rainbow colors:



Here's a close-up of the bar. See that familiar photo of moi? It was sitting right below the bottle of Scuttlebutt beer that features a mermaid and the letter S. Like my friend Carrie says, There are no accidents. Those photo cards were distributed throughout the boathouse -- the beautiful people at Caregifted loved our video and used the still photos in such a beautiful way.





There were stacks and stacks of warm-colored Navajo blankets in a room ringed by low leather armchairs and a wall of sepia-toned photos of Native Americans. There was poetry by Heather McHugh and Robert Pinsky. There was jazz by Molly Ringwald. There was an excerpt of an upcoming documentary about us -- long-time caregivers of the disabled, made by the extraordinary Adam Larsen. Remember that name. My friend Cara and I drank, perhaps, a bitt too much beer and wine. We laughed a lot. I told her secrets, and she held them. When the event was over, we took a taxi to a restaurant called Grub, and I ate sauteed calamari with a light, flavorful sauce of tomatoes and wine and garlic. I drank a whiskey sour, and I slept well.

Yesterday afternoon, we hosted a luncheon for the caregivers, and I met and talked with the most wonderful people -- all recipients of respite weeks. They each have incredible stories, many of which will be featured in the documentary.  It was rainy in Seattle that afternoon, but I lay on my bed and read and thought about everything, relished it all. Last night, I sat in the living room, sipped some berry wine and talked for hours to Adam about caregiving, about dance and documentary and cities and life. Remember what I said. Remember Adam Larsen's name!

This morning, I woke early, and Heather gave me a ride to the airport. We stopped at a funky hippy bakery and got coffee, talked every second of the 45 minute trip. I love this woman and can't believe my good fortune to have met her.

How's that for superlatives thrown willy-nilly?


Reader, what did you do this weekend?


10 comments:

  1. It sounds amazing! All all all of it.

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  2. What I did this weekend was rejoice in your weekend. Okay, not entirely but a lot.
    I am not kidding you.
    Oh, Elizabeth- when I think of you, I just think of good, through and through. And enough wicked good humor to make me love you even more.

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  3. Ohhhh, I am so very happy for you! You deserve all of this goodness, and more. I'm so thankful that you got away to experience and be part of this. Happy, happy, joy, joy!

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  4. I love it! I hope the weekend resonates deeply within you for many weeks to come and I hope you didn't go home to muddy streets and grumpy children. Can't wait to see what comes of all of this!

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  5. NO ACCIDENTS, not ever! What a great report - you sound rejuvenated! I love that Ninkasi Total Domination beer in the photo, and feel you should know. Made in Eugene, Oregon, my hometown. No accidents.

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  6. So glad that you got to go to this event, Elizabeth, and were honored there. Go on savoring every moment. x0 N2

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  7. I froze my ass off. Your weekend sounds better:)

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  8. S for mermaid Sophie. I read somewhere that happy "accidents" like that mean you're doing something right. And of course, you are.

    Sounds like a magical time.

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  9. oh, wow! so happy you had such an amazing weekend!

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  10. everything sounds so divine!! wish i could have been there too!!

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