Finding the Light

Oh, it was restful, my blog-free week.

(Griffith Park, Hollywood, 5/30/10)

1. I slept.

2. I ate consciously and healthily (thanks to superb cooking by the Divine Italian).

(I'm extending my "Clean" cleanse for another 14 days because I am finally starting to feel like myself again. It's not rough at all: two home-made fruit smoothies or vegetable soups a day and one midday meal laden with protein -- turkey, chicken or fish -- and lots of greens. Easy-peasy.)

3. I took spiritual guidance from a very wise teacher who has mastered living in the moment.

4. I saw "SATC2" with Ivarene Farmer and "Shrek 4 Ever After" with the goggle-headed kid below.

5. I read and lounged in the comfort of my new Nathan Turner "Flores" chair and John Robshaw pillow. In a perfectly timed stroke of serendipity, they both arrived last week when I needed them most.

FYI: The John Robshaw pillow was only $39.97 on HSN, down from $168.00 (a few other styles are available too.) One caveat: It arrives with a stiff polyester insert pillow which you will want to replace immediately with a down one, as I did here.

6. I hiked with my family in the hills behind our house. Boy, did we hike. Do you see Luca rounding the bend?

So many people think that life in Los Angeles is entirely urban. But as you can see, it's not.

Reaching the top of our neighborhood peak, we were rewarded with a glimpse of the majestic San Gabriel Mountains.

Turning back toward Hollywood, the famed Griffith Park Observatory pointed us in the right direction.

There were trompe l'oeil forests...

...and countless beautiful specimens of a life well lived.

Afterwards, gratitude predominated (although it may have been just because the hike was over.)