Happy Birthday Lantana!

My sister turns 24 today. Some pictures from the early years. 

Literary

Athletic
Noticable 

Tough 

Artsy 

Naughty* 

Adventurous 

*You're also Nice and Nature-bound

Pictures from Hawaii 2009.  Love you sister!

Flying into SB: Aerial Views

With the current storm outside these pictures seem a wee bit irrelevant . But after several cold cozy holiday weeks in Maryland/DC it was nice to come home to t-shirt weather in January.  Above we have a view of the harbor, downtown and the foothills behind.

Zoom into downtown: red tiles roofs galore. I both work and live under one.

This is Hope Ranch, a very posh neighborhood.  When I went sailing we went right along the coast line and got our rutter tangled in a kelp bed. Someone told me the Hope comes from Bob Hope.  While mapping out my new town, I had suspected that it might be hideous (or at least hope-less) since place names often mislead. I was wrong.

Clearly, I prefer the window seat. If this blog is any indication inflight  snap-happiness has become quite a habit.

Tempting Tempeh

I grew up with tofu, not tempeh, but this Indonesian "meat" has recently emerged as a household staple.  I generally love fermented foods (miso, kombucha, pickles, yogurt, sauerkraut, poi) and this makes the list.

I usually cube it and cook it like any stir-fried protein.  For preparation I use combinations of soy sauce, olive oil, garlic, apple cider vinegar, molasses, black bean paste, nutritional yeast. Whatever I grab first from the shelf really and it usually comes out great.

I ate this plate with couscous, wilted beet greens, and some chopped farmers market goodness.  Beet greens are also amaaaazing if you haven't yet indulged.

One can find tempeh at Trader Joe's and most other stores.

Wine Country 2010

Andrew's dad came to town and we had a fine time taking him around nearby wine country. Remember our first visit those grape fields?

Back roads and mossy trees. I love that A is always willing to pause or pullover for my photos. This lovely stretch took me back to our Wildflower Drive & Rainbow Dance last spring.

Solvang and that European flair.

Multi-purposed barrels.

Sunset: che bella!

Train to LA

Depart by train from Santa Barbara at dawn.

The view.

Why it is called the Surfliner.

Venice Beach color.

Cool dudes.

Black & white boardwalk.

Crowds attract crowds.

Almost sunset.

We spent a day in LA before flying out of LAX for the winter break on the East Coast. I figure even when I have a loss of the blah-blah-blog words I can flash around some images. What's your take on these photo-journal blog posts?

Green Eyed Girls

Beach photo & famed inspiration.

Dedicated to my Siblings

Forrest Walker,
Green and gold can
Describe my only brother.

Holly Mahina,
Timeless grace and
Constant cheer.

Lantana Kolea,
Wild, thorny,
Bright and unique.