Our sweet Makenna Dylan is one today!
The theme for her outfit and cake is "ONEder woman" and did she look ever so cute in her red, white and blue, her dark complexion showing the colors off so well!
Christopher put in 12 hours of blood, sweat and love yesterday creating her amazing birthday cake (it weighed 16lbs!!) tho this would not be the one she would get to stick her little hands into...
that was a separate white one that she LOVED, her "mmmmmmm's" of sheer sugar joy a sure confirmation of that fact!!
I've had four wonderful days here in Indy with this family of ours, getting to know Makenna some more:
she's coy at times, giggly at others,
stands, crawls, claps,
loves her mama to be close by,
eats avo like crazy, cheese too,
sleeps thro the night,
seldom cries, enjoys bath time,
and long walks in her stroller with me.
Allison's belly is growing beautifully with their new baby whom we talked and dreamed about...
of course we're excited to know if it's a boy or another little girl...
we'll know more next month after the next ultrasound!
Delilah, the Doberman, dressed in a bandana, turned three today as well, and had her own pup cake with peanut butter and banana icing that was delish (I made and tasted it) and was devoured in 2 seconds flat!!!
I shall miss then all when I return to Casa Azul tomorrow...
thanks for being brave and allowing us two gammas, Marlene and I, to be a part of the celebrations today 💗💗💗
It's been wonderful!

My three weeks of self quarantine in Oxnard upon return from Aussie flew by!
I was busy:
Learning to stand in lines at the bank and the grocery store once a week wearing a mask and trying to see through my fogged up glasses,
cooking up a storm from a new recipe book "oh how she glows",
lovely long conversations with those who sweetly checked in on me and whom I checked in on too,
yoga at home and long walks on the beach at low, low tide,
weeding and planting and tending to the garden,
fighting the pesky swallows who attempted to return to the eaves of our home where they made their messy, muddy nests and resided for 6 months last year!!!
I listened to the news every evening, limiting myself to two hours, knowing I needed to stay abreast of what was happening, doing my best to avoid drowning in the negativity and the conflicting opinions.
My home became my sanctuary...
So today when I left for LAX to fly down to join Nev, finally, the reality of the impact of Covid-19 on our world outside of my created safe space, was overwhelming!
LAX was empty!
I checked in alone
Went thro TSA Precheck alone
Walked the hallways to my gate alone
And boarded my flight alone
(I literally was THE ONLY passenger)!
As we took off and flew over Marina Del Rey and Redondo Beach, the beaches eerily empty of people, my tears started...
this morning had been surreal...
I cried for the world!!
And I cried all the way to Mexico, though some of the tears were happy as I soaked in the beauty below me, and excitement grew at seeing my honey from whom I'd been apart almost 6 weeks!!
Another walk alone through Immigration at San Jose Airport, and pushing the red button, of course, in customs(!!),
and there was my Nev with the biggest grin and the warmest, tightest hug...
man, did that feel wonderful ♥️♥️♥️
We marvel at the way the world seems to be healing itself as we all stay at home...
We marvel at the simplicity that has become a part of our lives as we all slow down...
We marvel at the miracles and the heroes and the inspiring stories that give us hope as we grieve the losses of so many and so much...
Tears heal us...
As do faith, hope and love!

This morning I listened to a sermon preached by Pastor Rick Warren from Saddleback Church in Orange County, CA.
I'd invited my friends Luchi, Joy and DeeDee to listen along with me, and they did.
His sermon was focused on temptations that we may succumb to in this time of aloneness, of despair, of questioning, of loss...
and then he led us in communion.
I've never been through an experience like this quietly in my own home,
but, as he prayed over my offering of bread and wine
and then we ate and drank together
I was overcome by a feeling of tremendous peace, joy and connectedness not only to my friends who I knew were doing the same, but to thousands of others all around the world participating as well!
Next weekend we celebrate Easter!
For the first time in 2000 years Christians all over the world will be celebrating in their own homes instead of their churches due to the corona virus and physical distancing...
but we will not be shaken!
Christ still died and HE is still risen!
I'm going to tune in to Saddleback Church again this coming Easter weekend to celebrate...
if you don't have a local church that is streaming their services on line, then join me at www.saddleback.com
Love and peace to you all.
XX

It's a week since I arrived home from Australia.
When I got to Sydney Airport early last Wednesday morning I was informed my flight had been canceled! New Zealand had denied entry for our stopover in Auckland. We all scrambled to get onto another flight. I was lucky to get onto Virgin Australia's last flight out!
It's been a busy week here in Oxnard:
getting used to shopping under social distancing rules and guidelines
learning to limit outings to stores for necessities only
connecting with family and friends, catching up on their lives, how this pandemic has affected them, each story so different, the disappointments and fears tremendous
staying connected with my Nev in Mexico and trying to be brave about being apart
getting back into our garden, long neglected due to our travels, and loving every minute
fighting with the swallows who have returned to our neighborhood, and winning the battle against their attempt to nest in our eaves and take over our back yard again for which I’m grateful
limiting my time listening to the news while also being aware of my need to keep abreast since things are changing so fast both locally and around the world
celebrating the wonderful
remembering birthdays
trying to keep some sense of normalcy!
I walked yesterday and saw this sign along the way...
it made me smile.
As we reach out to each other through FaceTime and texts and telephone calls I do not feel alone
As we connect through on line classes and social media gatherings I'm excited at the possibilities
As we share our angsts and our hopes I find purpose for my prayers.
I don't know what next week will bring as I desperately hope to get to my Nev in Mexico
but, for now, I plan to be both genuinely human and kind
I plan
to look for the good in every day
to wash my hands
to eat healthy food
to reach out
to look for opportunities to serve
to pray, continually!
I can't wait to feel the strength of a good handshake
the warmth of a hug
kisses from my grand babies (and my honey!)
the conversation of friends and family gathered around our kitchen table...
life as we loved it!
That's the wonder of faith and hope that I'm choosing to hold on to...
today.

Just when you think everythings going perfect, the whole world turns upside down!
After coming back from New Zealand in February, I had planned to bring NAUTIBOYZ down to Baja as the work being done on her in Ensenada had been completed.
So, the day after Maggie left for Australia to pick up JURNEE, Matt and I took off to Ensenada where we met Marcos, our Captain, who would help us bring the boat down the 1000 miles from Ensenada to Casa Azul.
Though the boat had been completely repainted and looked beautiful, it wasn't long into our first 40 hour leg to Turtle Bay that we lost our auto pilot (steering 1000 miles isn't fun, especially from a wheelhouse not nearly as comfy as BLUE!), our radar (we were lucky that there wasn't a lot of boat traffic and the weather was fine) and our generator (which meant no hot food or hot coffee for the next long while)!!
The fishing wasn't bad from Turtle Bay to Mag Bay (caught quite a few football sized tuna) and from Mag Bay to Cabo lots of yellow tail, though nothing big.
Our night in Mag Bay was one of the most uncomfortable I've ever experienced on a boat as we rocked and rolled through the night...
our anchorage in Bahia Maria brought back many memories of our night on BLUE when Maggie and I got lost in the dark and couldn't find BLUE!!
After arriving in San Jos del Cabo and getting all defunct electrical stuff fixed, we suddenly realized the whole world was in chaos...
we had been completely oblivious to this though Maggie had mentioned it when we talked to each other while she was in Australia!
Arriving at Casa Azul and then hearing Mexico was going into lockdown, I decided this was the best place to hang out until things got back to normal...
and Matt decided to stay here too.

I'm sitting on the balcony of my hotel room looking out over Sydney International Airport, where I can hear the sounds of the airplanes taking off and coming in to land...
It's almost time for the sun to begin setting on this, my last day, for now, in Aussie.
I woke up this morning almost dreading opening my email but was thrilled to find an invitation from Quantas to check in for my scheduled flight to LAX tomorrow morning!
Which I did!
Quickly!
Then it was off to the depot to collect our precious JURNEE who, other than being grubby, looked none the worse for her trip across the ocean from NZ!
I was thrilled to see her and to be in her, something familiar...
I made my way to the western suburbia of Sydney where I have booked JURNEE into a partially covered storage facility for the next three months, renewable as needed;
I’m believing we will be back in August to pick her up and continue on...
dreaming about the future must continue!
My clothes are washed
My bag is packed
My UBER is booked for the morning
My mind is doing its best to anticipate what awaits me in California.
I've made the difficult, emotional call to stay in Oxnard and self quarantine for two weeks before heading down to join Nev in Mexico...
it's just the right thing to do right now!
Tonight I shall sleep well.
Tomorrow I shall fly away.
It's been a grounding two weeks in the midst of world tragedy...
something wonderful to hold onto,
which I do now with much gratitude. ♥️