Respite

 

You haven’t seen much of me lately, and I’m sorry for that. I can’t say why, exactly, I haven’t visited and written. 

Read the rest at my Substack.

January Sunset in Malibu

Oliver, his friend Mac, Sophie and I drove out to Malibu at 3:30 this afternoon. It was about 75 degrees today and gloriously sunny, but we hadn't been to the beach in ages, and we particularly wanted to catch the sunset. I drove my sexy white Mazda on Sunset Boulevard all the way from our neighborhood to the coast and then headed north so it took some time, but the drive was easy and the boys entertained themselves by counting luxury cars. Luxury cars here are not the Mercedes and BMWs, but the Lambos, the Maseratis, the Porsches, the Rolls, the Bentleys, the G-Wagons, etc. ad nauseum and every single one was noted, and either Mac or Oliver "claimed" each one as theirs and I just nodded my head and hmmmmmed. Boys who love cars are entirely nonplussed by middle-aged women who couldn't give a damn. 

The sunset, on the other hand, a couple of hours later, was easily the most spectacular that I'd ever seen. I'm serious. It brought me to tears. I'm prone to hyperbole, but this was something else -- first some gentle blues and then pastel sorbets and then a bit of pink and orange and then -- well -- see for yourself! The sky was literally glowing.

I swear to you that there are no filters on any of these photos!

I don't know where ya'll live, but you should move here. At least in January and February. The universe is particularly abundant, then.

In His Element: Dispatch from the School of Revolution

We drove out to Malibu Canyon today and attended a very cool class on aboriginal hunting, trapping and stalking. It was beautiful country,  and while I had thought I'd drop Oliver off and do some work, I found myself, instead, walking and hiking through the brown and golden fields, past herds of deer in the quietest place you can imagine. I took lots of pictures, more of which I'll share later.

As you can imagine, The Big O is in his element. I'm warming up in the car -- hence, the weird formatting. 

Malibu

I can't believe how fortunate I am, sometimes, to live in this glorious place. Yesterday, we left our house around 2:00 and arrived in Malibu shortly afterward. We spent the rest of the day there, just south of Zuma, with the best of friends and family. My baby sister Jennifer, her husband and three children are visiting, so they got a good taste of true southern California beach life -- very, very cold Pacific ocean, brilliant blue skies, dolphins, huge rocks, the setting sun. We ate fried chicken and salads, played and laughed. The only thing missing was Sophie who was in school for the day, but given how chilly it got when the sun started setting, I was relieved that she had stayed behind.

My nephew Charlie

My sister Jennifer and I

My niece Claudia and behind her my nephew Harry

Malibu

Yesterday, I drove Henry, his friend P and Sophie up to Zuma Beach in Malibu on a spectacularly beautiful day. We met one of my best friends, her husband and daughter at the very end of Zuma -- a glorious place with surfers to watch and rolling waves and warm sand. I feel almost guilty posting this as my parents swelter in Atlanta, Georgia and one of my sisters swelters and emerges from the hideous storms in D.C. The lack of heat and humidity out here is one of the main reasons that I live so far from family -- and while going to the beach can be sort of a hassle, when I'm there I always think why don't I do this more often?