A good friend of mine sings a sweet, alt-country cover of the über-80′s Wall Of Voodoo jam, Lost Weekend (a spectacular song in it’s own right). It’s super catchy and it’s sort of been in my head for weeks, which is why I’m using a lyric to title this series – even though the original song is rather forlorn. Quite the opposite of my weekends these days, but never mind that. It’s a great title and really, aren’t they all? Lost, but never forgotten.




Friday
Last week was a hard one. A really hard one. I’ve had a lingering case of the sads, plus we’ve been fighting off a cold. And on top of that, preschool was on spring break which means Waits was home with me, which means my work was sidelined, which makes me a bit of a stress mess. Oi.

So needless to say, I was more than happy to say hello to Friday afternoon – the beginning of a damn good weekend. And we kicked it off right, when Waits woke up from his nap around 4. The first thing we did was make some juice!


This is Waits’s new favorite blend. Actually, since turning three he’s become increasingly picky with his vegetable intake, and this is one of the only juices he’ll drink right now. Luckily it’s packed full of goodness!


Cilantro and lime from up at the preschool, a bit of kale from my CSA, and tangerines off our tree. SO. GOOD.

We spent a lovely afternoon together, just the two of us, puttering about in the back yard. We planted a flower bed.

This is my dilapidated little house. GLAMOROUS. I know you’re jealous.


Flowers! Can’t wait till they really fill out. Snap dragons and ranunculus.

And then we took a little tricycle ride around the neighborhood, with Mr. Harley. Perfect spring weather.



That evening there was a simple dinner (that didn’t photograph well) and a lovely bath (but I’m not so into bath-pictures-of-kids on the internet, so no photos of that either) and then it was off to bed for the little guy. Once he was snoozing I got to work, late into the night . . .





Saturday
Saturday started off overcast and gloomy, but that didn’t stop us from taking our weekly stroll over to the Farmer’s Market. Besides, grey skies make great light for photography.



These kids were just adorable, and seriously talented too.

Blech.



From there, we were off to Waits’s preschool. I’m really lucky to have found The Greatest Preschool In The World (no seriously, it’s official) and I would do anything to make sure Waits goes there. Which is why, when we were getting all enrolled, I asked if there was any way we could do some sort of trade, maybe, to offset some tuition? When she agreed I was stoked, and when she proposed that I take on the school garden, I think I actually squealed.

So for the past few months, I’ve been putting together a vegetable plot. Or actually, a few vegetable plots. One is in full swing (kale, butter lettuce, swiss chard, cilantro, and broccoli) and another I’ve just seeded out (carrots, walla wallas, cantaloupe, and watermelon). And that’s just the beginning! There is so much space on that terraced hillside. BIG plans.

The preschool valley. The garden is on the hillside directly below, barely visible.


so miniature // so much weeding

I see you Mama!

On the way down from preschool I dropped Waits off with Damian. Back at home I quickly got to work grading papers, which I did for a few hours, until . . .


Porch. Coffee. Friends. Perfect.

One of my oldest and dearest friends was in town for the weekend. And I met her, on that porch, which belongs to another old and dear friend that I’ve recently reconnected with.


Gretchen (in town for the weekend).


Ingrid (keeper of the perfect porch).

If I tried to describe these two women to you, it would probably just sound like bragging, because it’s not possible to do without using words like “brilliant” and “visionary” and “multidimensional-genius-goddesses”.

It’s funny though, when you’ve known someone as long and as intimately as we’ve known each other. They saw me through my entire tumultuous twenties, saw me at my very worst – as I saw them at theirs. We watched each other make big mistakes. Laughed and cried and loved and hurt. Put each other on pedestals and gasped as we all tumbled down. Went through years-long periods of not even speaking, and at the end of all that . . . a porch, and a cup of coffee, and my heart is so very full for them. Life is funny and I am lucky. And that’s just that.

Blogger! (photo by Gretchen)

I was supposed to go home and work. And I was so close! I was really going to, but . . . well, Gretchen’s only in town for the weekend and dangit, she convinced me to come out to this BBQ. At least I put up a good fight.


Above.


Below.

And as the sun went down, the instruments came out – everything from an upright base, to guitars, to a beat up old harmonica. And I thought, “Yes, this is definitely where I’m supposed to be tonight.” Sometimes there’s just more important things than work, ya know?





Sunday
I woke up Sunday morning, rolled over, pulled my laptop into bed, and began working. And that’s where I stayed until the afternoon.


Tofu scramble topped with olive tapenade. I use this scramble recipe.

With enough work done to satisfy (sort of) my nagging sense of duty, I ventured out into the world. I don’t celebrate Easter, but I did have a party to attend!



My friends were throwing an “Art Party”, which is basically a way to get all of the amazing creative people they know in one place, to meet and mix and make creative connections. Which is awesome, because they know A LOT of amazingly talented people. It was also a way for Clovis, a photographer, to take a series of artist portraits, which he’s putting together for a show.


Our inspired hosts: Clovis, a photographer, Ingrid, a painter, and Terry, a musician.





Props for the photos. (The typewriter was mine)




Paintings everywhere, even on top of the fridge.

I put my camera down pretty early in the evening. Sometimes you just want to be in the moment. And it was a great moment, that stretched well into the night. We watched an experimental short film, listened to a noise dj, and took lots and lots and lots of portraits. It was an amazing night, full of amazing people. Definitely the perfect cap to an all-around amazing weekend.

What about you – did you have a good one? I hope so!

♥