I am happier than I have been in a really long time. I’m having a good balance between seeing friends and spending time alone. I’m walking or cycling everyday up and down some pretty steep hills, spending as much time as possible outside, and marveling at the beauty of this place.

I keep coming across surprises – like this yarn bomb tonight. It looks like a southwestern sunset. And behind it, reflecting in the window – actually is the sunset.

I love this beauty so much! The wonderful thing is that so much of it is tangible, you know I had to touch this bit of art. It was warm, having absorbed the sun all day, and contrasted with the cool air on my skin. Heaven!

The sunsets here are different than they are in New York City, the colors here are more subtle, and of course, there is more space to see the sky. I was thinking about how sometimes Francis (my partner, and really, my best friend for much of the 90s) and I would walk to the pier in the summertime on nights we didn’t have band rehearsal or gigs. Francis was good about sharing beauty with me (and culinary delights, spiritual exploration, and, always, music). Of course, to get to the end of the pier, we’d have to walk past hustlers and dustheads and loud, sweaty people all looking for something, some good feeling, some good time — watching the sunset from the pier wasn’t something I could do alone.

Once I got to the water, I had this knack of drowning out the bad disco and the conversations and the catcalls. I could just focus on the sound of the water and the red brilliance of the sunsets. Sometimes I really needed that focus just to reset myself for the week.

I didn’t know I was going to write all of this. I was just going to say – I’m tired, I’m happy, I’m grateful for friends, I’m getting lots of fresh air, I’m not so lonely and life is feeling pretty good these days. (Phoenix was an excruciatingly, painfully, lonely place and chapter in my life – I am grateful for the suspended joy of this summer – a contrast to my time in the valley)!

And with all the dancing I’ve been doing and the music I’ve been listening to lately, I swear I am growing little wings. Don’t know about a halo, but the wings are there . . .

Thanks for reading. Have a gorgeous, bliss-filled week.

Namaste ~

Holly