Cam(ille) in Ca(lifornia)

I'm back! And as confused as ever.

[caminca]

Not all Dad projects are as painful (literally) at linoleum. With the apple tree in the backyard reaching its prime, the house was inundated with green apples. Hundreds of pounds of apples. (We were pushing bushels on everyone we knew.) The end of September found the kitchen filled with the smells of fall. Dad and I found a couple different applesauce recipes and after some small batches with blind taste testing we decided on two. One was more traditional and one had nutmeg in it (the second was my choice).

We cooked and milled and canned until we wanted to drop. Most of the credit goes to Dad, because I was in and out with work. That man really doesn’t like to waste food. He also made apple butter and let me tell you it was surprisingly delicious. I had never tried apple butter before because it sounds gross. Apples and butter? No thanks! After trying it though, it’s really like apple jam or preserves…so why don’t they just call it that?!? I would have tried it years ago!

backdate: 09/24/16

[caminca]

The up side of living with your parents for the summer: free rent. The down side of living with your parents: projects. Mom went out of town for a week so Dad decided to replace the linoleum while she was gone. It was one hellacious week. The kitchen proved to be much harder than the bathrooms with not one, but two layers of linoleum; the bottom layer which seemed to have turned to glue. On the plus side it brought back fond memories of growing up, the excavated flooring was so familiar.

backdate: 09/09/16

[caminca]

Labor Day Weekend found all of us at the Cabin for the first time. I was impressed with the amount of reading that went on. It was a true vacation. Guess that’s what happens when there is no internet or cell phone reception. We may be onto something here. ;)

backdate: 09/04/16

[caminca]

Tasha and I suspended packing efforts for 12 hours to visit Banff National Park. It was breathtakingly beautiful even in overcast and rainy conditions. This is definitely a location I want to visit again and spend some real time exploring. backdate: 09/02/16

[caminca]

There’s a lot to be said for friends that are family. Tasha is my family, as is Susan, so going to support her when her Mom died was not a question of “should I go?” but “when should I go?”

Between the sadness that goes along with a loved one passing, there were many moments of joy and laughter. One of these was the Helen-funded 7-11 stop. The gross amounts of candy, chips and bright pink cream soda flavored slurpees we consumed on the trek from service to gravesite was awesome and kept us laughing. We smiled as we noted that Helen would have been right there with us enjoying every second of the giggles and sweets. And maybe she was.

backdate: 08/29/16

[caminca]

I stopped posting around the time of Helens passing. Heading to Canada to be with Tasha made for some long days and short nights. I took to sleeping instead of posting. And then I got so behind that the thought of backposts overwhelmed and intimidated me so I just never started again. Until now.

[caminca]

My Dad, a Chicago area native, has been a Cubs fan since he was a child. While we grew up going to A's games (and I do love the A's) he passed on his love for the Cubbies to his children. Thanks for letting us share this win with you Dad. NICE WORK CUBS!!! ❤️🐻💙

[caminca]

When do I get to be settled? I long for a settled life. Stability. A place to belong. People to belong with. Is that a real thing? Is anyone truly settled? Or is settled just a temporary plateau Amidst the ups and downs of life. I feel unsettled. Unstable. I hope I hit a plateau soon. Even if it's just temporary.

[complicatedcamille]

[caminca]

Still haven't forgotten. 15 years has gone by fast. God bless this country that I love.

[caminca]

Amber and I went to the Bay Area Roller Derby Championships. With our only foreknowledge of the sport gleaned from the movie Whip It, we didn’t know what to expect but we were excited. The semifinals were fine, not as action packed as we had imagined, but the finals delivered. Those girls are tough! The cast of characters from players and crowd members alike were carrying and entertaining. Note for self next time: wear black. I was clearly out of place in my white shirt. I was good for lawn bowling, not so much for this.

Also we had pizza from the Fist of Flour Pizza Co.'s food truck and it was amazing!!! Need to find their storefront location.

[caminca]

[caminca]

Saturday morning we went to Berkley and learned the art of Lawn Bowling. It was pretty fun, the Berkley Lawn Bowling Association has free lessons every weekend taught by members of the club who volunteer to share the love of the game. At first sight it's an old persons sport, classically wearing white clothes, our instructors all had white hair and the clubhouse was like a time machine to the past. But looking closer it's anyone's game, well, anyone who takes the time to learn it. For us Saturday morning it was a game of pure luck.

[caminca]

My bohemian cousin came through town and stopped by for a visit. She usually lives as an expat in Taiwan and always comments that I am torturing her when I post pictures of baked goods. So we decided to make some sweets together. Since Dad’s garden is brimming with zucchini I decided on zucchini cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting. We had a fun time making them and catching up. Bonding by baking is always a good idea.

[caminca]

"Luck favors the prepared." - Edna Mode

[caminca]

I went with the parents to the cabin this week. It was just overnight but it was great. You're so far removed from everything that a suburban town has to distract you with. There was no agenda of things to do, it was so simple. There was a lot of reading, sorting, a few naps and walks. Dad and I did go to "town" for some groceries; there's only one grocery store and its 15 minutes away. Nearest fast food is 25 minutes away. Grabbing fast food instead of making something at home is less of a temptation when it's 25 minutes away. I think I could like it up here.

[caminca]

D&C 131:1-4

This is what I opened to late Saturday night (which was actually early Sunday morning) when I knew I needed to read scriptures before bed but didn't want to study anything particular. It was random but a good reminder of my commitments. At least I thought it was random...until Sunday/Monday when I was overcome with emotions of the weekend. I thought about maybe adjusting my priorities to pursue happiness now instead of eternal happiness. As I was thinking about my choices, what paths I could go down, this kept popping up. Coincidence? I think not. Often when I randomly open the scriptures, I find answers to things that I am thinking about or confirmations about things I have already chosen. These are truly tender mercies from the Lord. I am humbled and grateful that despite the fact that I am not always the best daughter, my Father in Heaven keeps blessing me with help so I can make good choices and return to live with Him someday.

[caminca]

We had a bridal party for my BFC today. It was a surprise party (because I LOVE surprises) and also apparently because she had specifically said no bridal shower. Oops. When she realized that it was happening (like 5 minutes before) she was pissed. Luckily when the small group of friends and family arrived she softened her heart and the six of us enjoyed a nice low-key night. Themed “White Christmas” we enjoyed an assortment of white snacks, yummy Thai food, drew on white tea cloths and ate a beautiful cake. This gathering of food and friends was a great combination for lots of laughs and great conversation.