Pt Reyes Birthday Weekend

Happy birthday to me! And my great hair. Yes, I’m only two feet away from my childhood goal of growing my hair long enough that I can sit on it. One, gross. Two, not going to happen but I like it long for now. At some point, I’ll go back to the “lob” but not yet.

For my birthday, I decided I wanted to spend the weekend at Pt Reyes. I think it is one of the prettiest places in the Bay Area, but a day trip can be a bit of a slog with traffic, hikes, and slow speed limits through the park. So, my birthday gift to myself was to book a hotel in the area so SMS and I could just enjoy the area. We left Saturday morning and stayed through Monday morning.

We had such a good time! The first evening, we walked to Abbott’s Lagoon. It was more of a walk than a hike, but Abbott’s Lagoon was beautiful. It’s a birder’s paradise, which I am aspiring to be for my old lady years. We heard a flock of ground birds that sounded exactly like people laughing. I really wish I knew what they were!

Then we went to the Tap Room for dinner. It was pretty chill and we had a wonderful time. The food was delicious. I had the fish and chips Saturday night special. I recommend!

The next day, we went into the Park and hiked to Tomales Point through the Elk Preserve. It was just under 10 miles with some rolling hills. Nothing too strenuous and it was absolutely beautiful. We split a sandwich for an easy picnic and had the best time. After the hike, we looked around the old buildings of Pierce Point Ranch.

After the hike, we went to the Saltwater Oyster Depot for a snack and liked it so much that we made dinner reservations. The food was exceptional and we had a glass of wine from the buzzy winery Jolie Laide, which I’m seeing on a lot of local restaurant wine lists lately.

Also, we stayed at this hotel which was fine. It’s a cute property, but the walls were so thin. They freely admit this so I knew this fact before staying but oh man. There are thin walls and there are THIN walls. It sounded like every car passing on the road outside was in our room. Every time our next door neighbor sneezed, I wanted to duck from the sneeze cloud. Seriously, it was like there were curtain dividers instead of walls. The hotel’s website said that people came for peace and quiet. Which probably caused the flock of birds that laughs like people to really lose it.

The next day, I got my birthday girl way and went on two short walks. The wind was intense and SMS wasn’t haven’t the best time, but he rallied for meeeee! First, we walked to Pt. Reyes. Honestly, it was really windy. But so beautiful.

Then, because we were basically already there, we went to the light house. You have to walk about 1/4 mile from the parking lot to the light house. It was still really windy. I decided I wanted to go down to the lighthouse. SMS, a very good sport, decided that wasn’t his idea of a good time so he stayed at the top, sheltered from the wind. I ran down and back. I timed myself- 8 minutes! Phew!

Then, we were wind’d out. We drove back in the early afternoon to avoid rush hour, which was smart. Rush hour is definitely a thief of joy! We drove towards Stinson Beach and had lunch at Due West, which was good but not as good as Saltwater.

Look at the cool gift my Mom got for me! It makes a truly horrible, but incredibly accurate, sound. She also got me a cover-up, which I can’t wait to wear around our White Lotus apartment pool. My in-laws got me a gift certificate to a restaurant near Parnassus, which I’m excited to try. And finally, SMS got me some earrings that I had wanted so that I can always wear something in my second piercing, even when sleeping.

Singlethread Farm Tour

Last Fall, SMS and I went to Singlethread Farm for a tour. It was a fantastic experience that started with a snack (always a good thing), followed by a tour with some crop picking. I don’t want to brag, but we made our friends’ eight-year old kid so jealous with this adventure. You see, we had stopped by their house afterwards and while we were describing the day, it was pretty clear he was dying to go at some point. I decided then and there to take him at some point. He’s the sweetest, most polite kid. SMS and I have known him since his 2nd birthday party. Strangely, he doesn’t remember us from that rager but he knows us now! He is particularly attached to SMS.

We were on the early side. Ok, we were the first to show. But we were only 15 minutes early! It’s just that last time, they started right on time and I didn’t want to miss anything. We walked around for a bit and with the help of one of the farmers, identified fennel along the path.

The tour started and we walked around, learning a lot about farming methods, crop rotation, planting philosophies, etc. I thought it was super interesting. The now 9-year old said later, “He talked a lot.” Yes, unfortunately, Spring is not the best time for picking produce, which is what he had been hoping to do. He still thought the experience was pretty cool. The highlight was picking the snap peas. These were a favorite snack of the farm dog that walked with the group.

It was either a sick joke or a real “crop,” but we all chowed down on edible flowers. In general, they taste like flowers although one had a real wintergreen note. I suggested that they start wine-pairing farm tours to help identify more botanical flavors in wines. The tour leader’s wife who’s in the wine industry loved that idea. Or she is just really nice.

We ended with delicious onigiri. Between the snacks and the interesting information, I was ok with the lack of vegetables to pick! But maybe we’ll go back in the Fall so our kid friend will have a better experience.

We went to Medlock Ames to pick up wine, which went a little longer than the 2 minutes I had promised. But, SMS and I got to taste “The Flag,” the new, super high-end cabernet so…worth it! Then we grabbed bento boxes at The Taste of Tea in Healdsburg. It is definitely a restaurant worth going back to!

We drove our kid-for-the-day back to his parents house, where we were invited to stay for dinner. We had a great time and feel really lucky to live in such a great area, knowing such awesome people.

Shangri-La, Honolulu

Back in college, I was awarded funding for a three-week travel fellowship to Andalucía to study the art of the Moorish Empire. I went to Cordoba, Sevilla, and Granada. It was an incredible opportunity for me since I wouldn’t have been able to afford a Summer trip to Europe otherwise. Also, it turned out that I vastly overestimated how much lodging would cost. My budget request was $50/day and I ended up spending ~$20, which allowed me to take a side trip to Barcelona with the “bonus money.” I know, I know, that’s a pretty loose definition of “side trip,” but it was awesome! Moorish art and architecture with a big side helping of Gaudi!

That Summer overall was pretty amazing because on my return, I spent 8 (10?) weeks in a lab on-campus earning enough money for my last year of college spending money, which was necessary! Anyway, reflections for another day but definitely an idyllic Summer in Northwest Massachusetts.

All this to say, I have loved Islamic Art for a really long time. Even as a kid, I remember being pretty wowed by Granada, although I am more appreciative as an adult. I first heard about the Shangri-la several years ago during a trip to Oahu. I’ve wanted to go since then, but it takes some planning. It is only open certain days and tickets have to be purchased in advance. Since I was extending my trip for a mini-vacation, one of my top priorities was to finally see it.

I bought my tickets online for a morning tour back in December. The tickets are released quarterly on the first Thursday of September, December, March, and June at 10am HST. They do sell out! How quickly, I do not know since I had set an alarm and logged in shortly after release.

That morning, I went to the Museum, which I walked through before and after the tour. The group loaded onto the mini-bus and drove out to Shangri-la, which is in a beautiful neighborhood east of Diamond Head. The bus ride was quiet and lasted about 15 minutes with minimal traffic.

The Shangri-la foundation is now separate from the HoMA, but they still coordinate closely. The bus let us off in the Courtyard. There was a short-ish, 10 minute intro to the place in the main foyer. The remainder of the time was self-guided.

It’s hard to pick a favorite part, so let me tell you some highlights. I loved the main bedroom wing, because it seemed very clear that the area was a separate sanctuary that would have been closed off during any larger social events hosted by Doris Duke. Also, the marble window insets were made by craftsmen in Agra, India and were the inspiration/focal point for designing the place.

The view from the back lawn was spectacular. I loved the balcony where tables and chairs were set up for foundation workers’ lunch breaks- lucky! There were different rooms decorated exquisitely, both with art and furnishings.

After 80 minutes or so, we made our way back to the courtyard. They offer box water and a small ice cream sandwich. I had the lilikoi one and it was delicious. I fully realize that the snack is to lure visitors out so that we leave!

I wish I could have stayed longer, swanning around as if I were the current owner. It would be very easy to do! The tour group is quite small in number, so it really is a quiet experience where I didn’t feel crowded or jostled walking through the house. There is a small cove beach below that I think can be accessed publicly, but that’s an adventure for another day.

One thing I wasn’t expecting was that the art was a broader Islamic Art collection like the Sackler (boo on that family legacy!) Gallery in DC rather than a strictly Moorish, Alhambra-replica that I thought I would see. There’s no great reason why I thought this, I just did. But it didn’t matter! It was really an exquisite house with incredible art. I loved it and strongly recommend a visit!

Honolulu Museum of Art

I have been to Oahu several times since 2005 when I was there for six weeks for a medical school rotation (go USUHS!). Even though Oahu, and Waikiki in particular, can be seen as too crowded and touristy, I love it! I have also done new-to-me things on most visits. This time was no exception.

First up, the Honolulu Museum of Art is amazing. It’s where you check-in and board the shuttle to the Shangri-La, but it is a worthwhile destination itself.

The highlights were two temporary exhibits (sorry). The first was a two-gallery immersive, walk-through exhibit by Rebecca Lewis Law. It consisted of thousands of copper-wire strands of botanical specimens hung from the ceiling of two adjacent galleries that were at right angles to each other. It was spectacular and special. The write-up talks about the fragility of nature.For example, there are some found plastics incorporated into the beach-y part. But I kept thinking about Annie Dillard’s writings on the fecundity of nature. It was just so overwhelmingly immersive and awe-inspiring. I really loved it. I went through three times, although not backwards (which is not SMS’ favorite habit of mine!).

Pictures were only allowed at the very end of the tunnel at the artist’s request to amplify the viewer’s experience. If you get a chance to see it (through 9/10/23), I strongly recommend it!

The second exhibit was Noah Harders‘ mask sculptures which were incredible! The masks and photographs of him wearing them were on display. The work is so creative and beautiful- I loved it!

The permanent collections are also pretty cool. I enjoyed the Polynesian Art and Pacific Rim art galleries. I also lucked out and saw a Deborah Butterfield horse. I really like her work. There are two horses near my house- one near the old Sunset magazine headquarters and the other right by Stanford hospital.

There was also a ceiling mounted “Aquarium” by Dale Chihuly.

Overall, I loved this museum. I think the exhibits are thoughtfully presented and the quality of the collection is high. Five stars!

Hawaii, Part II: Fun

Not that the first part of the trip was a hardship, but I definitely had a lot of fun during my last three days in Hawaii.

I went to the airport and picked up the Turo car rental. It was a little old car and I took a ton of pictures in case there were any issues with “damages” at the end of the rental (there were not!). Then, I went to Mitch’s Sushi for lunch which was amazing. There were a few foodies at the conference who recommended the place and they were not lying! The fish was so fresh. I know for the true sushi connoisseur, it’s all about the rice. I don’t know a lot about rice but it was also good! Mitch’s was not cheap, but it was delicious.

Then, I went to check in at the cabanas of Kaneohe Bay. It ended up being a bare bones unit that looked like it was 1/4 of an elongated shed. There was noisy AC and shared bathrooms. Basically, think of it as glamping and it’s amazing. Think of it as a hotel and you’ll be disappointed. I thought of it as the former and it was great! The room was about 20 feet from the beach on Kaneohe Bay. It was beautiful. One of the activities I really wanted to do was kayak out to the sandbar but during my visit, it was too windy to allow rentals so I was out of luck.

That evening, I met up with a med school classmate for dinner with her wife at Senia. They specialize in “regional cuisine focusing on Hawaii’s abundance.” We started with fun cocktails. I had The Freddie (wild turkey bourbon, chestnut, vanilla, blood orange, smoke). We ordered a bottle of wine recommended by the sommelier as a lesser known but excellent French wine (Faury, Saint-Joseph).

The dishes were absolutely amazing. We shared several, which was such a good plan. We had a bone marrow dish that was excellent, although St Germain in Norfolk (RIP) still has the best I’ve had. We had smoked ahi “cigars” (bric pastry, yuzu kosho aioli, chive) that were innovative. Senia, in general, is a big fan of the smoke. The hamachi tataki (cucumber, tomatillo, poha berry) was super refreshing. We shared two larger dishes: the triple smoked salmon (lemon & chive waffles, maple butter glaze) and duck three ways (breast, crispy leg confit, foie gras, orange, port wine gel).

For dessert, we split two. One was a panna cotta and the other was amazing. Hahaha, I can’t remember the name and it doesn’t seem to be on the website menu. One looked like a uni-don, which was very clever and cute.

The bill was pretty crazy and, even crazier, my friend picked it up. WHAT?!?! That was unexpected and overly generous. I am definitely taking them out to someplace great in the Bay Area when they come to visit. My friend works a few per diem days at a nearby university so I definitely want to return the treat!

The next morning, I went to Cafe Kalawe where I had a delicious pancake. Next, I picked up a malasada from Leonard’s mobile stand before heading over to Bellows Beach. The weather was sun-rain-sun accompanied by a lot of wind, but it is so beautiful there. I read my Kindle, so I didn’t have to worry about the wind turning the pages. Over the vacation, I read The Love Letters of W.E.B DuBois, which isn’t exactly a beach read but it is a good book. I recommend it, but it’s pretty heavy. The rest of the day was pretty mellow and I was very excited for my next day’s plans.

I had been wanting to go to the Shangri-La for the longest time. It’s Doris Duke’s former home in Honolulu that was inspired by her honeymoon tour that included tours of the Taj Mahal and other Islamic Art exemplars. I didn’t know about it during my medical student rotation, but I think I knew about it by the late 2000s. But on my various trips, I was never able to make it on a day that it was open as the schedule is pretty limited. This time, I had booked tickets two months in advance and I was ready!

First, I went to Guieb Cafe for breakfast where I had a delicious bao bun egg benedict and fried rice. At this point, if you are wondering if I lost weight on this vacation, I would have to say no. No, I did not. But, you know, vacation!!!

After breakfast, I toured the Honolulu Museum of Art while waiting for the shuttle. The museum is amazing! There are incredible permanent collections of Polynesian art, as well as two temporary exhibits that were breath-taking.

I’m starting to realize this post is getting a little long, so I’ll write about the Honolulu Museum of Art and Shangri-La separately. After the museum and house tour, I went back to Waikiki and had a shave ice at the Island Vintage kiosk. Then I went to the beach for a few hours that included a lot of time in the water. I never went surfing, but I was glad to get in the ocean for an extended swim. After the swim, I decided to have a final shave ice at Ululani’s. I meant to go to Wailoa, but Ululani’s was excellent.

Then I headed back to Kailua, where Brandi and I met up for another, more low-key dinner at Buzz’s. I’m so glad I got to see a friend while in Hawaii. Although she and I weren’t in the same close friend groups at USUHS, we always liked each other so it’s great to still be in touch.

The next day, it was time to go. I had a longer-than-expected-to-pour-over pour-over at Tradition coffee, dropped off the Turo in the airport, went to my gate, and left. I was a little sad but excited to see SMS. I had a wonderful week in Hawaii and I know I’ll be back! Aloha!

Hawaii, Part I: Work

I had so many plans to blog the trip, but here we are, more than month later so I’ll divide it into two parts: work and fun.

I arrived on Friday evening. I travel light with my roll aboard and tote. It was a little tough to manage a work wardrobe and fun clothes, but since it was warm weather attire, it worked. Not sure if I would have been as successful with Winter clothes. After deplaning, I walked to Big Kahuna pizza right outside the airport. I first went here during my medical school rotation so that was awhile ago. I got the garlic cheese balls- they were a little less delicious than I remembered but I’m glad I got to go. Then, I took the $3 bus to Waikiki. I guess I was reliving my student days! I checked into the Moana Surfrider and went to bed.

The next day was the conference start. We had a half-day agenda that started early. Overall, I really enjoyed hearing my colleagues lectures. I learn best from lectures, so it was a great refresh. I went to Murakame Udon for lunch, which was delicious. SMS and I found it during our honeymoon so it has good memories for me!

That evening, I went to the Halekulani for a drink and dinner. I sat at the bar and had a mai tai and poke appetizers. It was really lovely. I walked through the lobby to look at their main floral arrangement, which is always spectacular.

The next day was another morning meeting, adjourning at lunch. I had previously made a brunch reservation for the Orchids at the Halekulani. My chairman and his wife took me up on my invite and we had the best time. The conversation was great, but the food was the star of the show. Oh my gosh, so many mini-stations offering a variety of food: mini-ramen bar; carving stations with turkey, prime rib, and whole suckling pig; sushi, traditional breakfast items; omelet bar; raw bar; and dessert table. At the table, we could order fresh juices and we ordered fresh guava juice, which is so good. It’s not as sweet as canned guava juice, but it tastes so much richer. New favorite, must go back! I also ordered a half-order of Egg Benedict, which had delicious Hollandaise sauce.

Although I was full, I had been pretty good about taking small amounts so it was more of a tasting menu experience rather than “I’m so full I want to die” experience, which is much more pleasant.

That evening, the chairman hosted an evening cocktail party in his suite. The views from his balcony were amazing. I also had a really nice conversation with some of the guest lecturers. It was nice to talk to them outside of the conference.

The next day, I had two of my talks. I had practiced and felt pretty good about both the content and delivery. Like I said in the overview blog post, I hope I get invited back! That evening, there was an evening reception where there was more socializing and I saw a physical therapist I knew when I was a resident! It was so great to see her and her husband.

Finally, we got to the last day of the conference. I delivered my last two talks and then, by noon, that was it! I really enjoyed the conference. It was a pretty laidback introduction to lecturing as a University faculty, which I appreciated. After a late checkout, I headed to the airport. But not to hop on a plane! Instead, I was going to pick up my Turo car rental to have the second half of my Hawaii trip: (more) fun!

Alllllloooooooooo-HA!

Me and my Mystic Tan say Aloha! And nom-nom-nom-udon!

Although I already loved my job, I felt particularly joyous when I was invited to teach at an annual CME course in Hawaii within my first few weeks of starting! Going to a conference in Hawaii all for the cost of four lectures…yes, please. Sign me up!

Moana Surfrider

The conference was held at the Moana Surfrider in Waikiki. I spent the first four days of the trip at the conference and the last three days on a mini-vacation. Unfortunately, SMS couldn’t make it because of his own work. Plus, I also thought the conference wouldn’t be family-friendly but that’s because I didn’t closely examine the schedule. Now I know that I should definitely bring him for the entire trip and hopefully, that will be next year. Pleaseohplease, let me be invited as annual faculty! Although I’m pretty sure that the slots are rotated apart from the course organizers. But I will lobby hard!

My “hotel room” at Kaneohe Bay. Although distorted lens, look how close the beach is!!

Highlights of the trip included…

  • Four talks that went well (one 30 minutes, three 10 minutes)
  • A partial oceanview room at the conference hotel
  • Seeing a vestibular physical therapist I knew from residency
  • An amazing brunch at the Orchids at the Hale Kulani
  • Great lectures from fellow faculty (should be #1, haha)
  • A long-anticipated stay at Kaneohe Bay
  • An even longer anticipated visit to Doris Duke’s Shangri-La
  • An unexpectedly amazing visit to the Honolulu Art Museum
  • An incredible dinner at Senia with friends
  • Honestly, multiple delicious food experiences
View from the Chairman’s Suite during Happy Hour Sunset Social

February- First Half

I am lucky that I am here to write about this month. Did you think I died? Well, this little bird almost gave me a heart attack. I woke up one morning and walked into the living room. Channeling my best “Miss Clavel turned on her light and said, ‘something is not right,'” I realized that my little Madeleine-bird was not in her cage. OMG. Where was her little corpse? I crept around trying to find her. Then there was a little shift of yellow in my peripheral vision, I gave a shriek, and we had a tearful reunion. Jk, she hates me. But I did get her back into her cage.

I have some books on my TBR list, thanks to a seemingly belated “Best books of 2022” list that I found. I was about to say I didn’t know where I found it, but looks like the screenshots say it’s elle.com. Such a sleuth.

SMS and I attended our apartment complex’s Super Bowl event, which was a lot of fun. The game was really good! It’s nice when it’s a game where both offenses shine because it’s pretty easy to follow. But, as they say, defense wins championships…

Thursday drinks in the grocery store continues with my favorite work friend. It’s not the fanciest place, but we call it home. Ha, ha, we definitely do not but it is fun. As well as weird. Also, they’re a little off on the pours. Since there was “only a little left” in the red, the guy poured it all out and said, “Ooops, that was a lot.”

We had a feast with long-time friends where we pigged out on chicken biryani and crab. Oh my gosh, it was so good. It was great to see them and tour their under-renovation house. I had fun with holding their baby daughter (~6 months) who has such a luxurious head of hair!

There is a robot “security guard” in the basement. It plays this weird, spacey sound as it rolls pretty slowly through the garage. Although it seems slightly silly, I bet it can speed to the scene of the crime and/or deploy multi-directional tasers. TBD.

Finally, I found some good visual jokes this month. I would put them in a gallery because they’re not that hilarious that they deserve their individual photos, but the Venn diagram is not behaving.

January 2023 Wrap-Up

Well, to wrap up this month, I’ve decided to change my website’s theme which may have been a bit of mistake but I’ll make the needed edits soon.

Visit from Friends: A Study in Empties

Since the month had two federal holidays, it was already primed to be a pretty good month. We also saw two friends of ours that we hadn’t seen in a few months. I finished a paper that had been a real albatross over my head (I think that’s a mixed metaphor), so it’s nice that it is done. Until I get the requested edits but hey, that can be a February thing.

SMS and I made a few furniture decisions. We decided we both disliked our couch. Honestly, I have used the word “hated” which a little strong, but I am really happy that we are couch upgrading. The arrival will be another February thing so it looks like January functioned to tee up the blog content for the next month.

IKEA furniture: the best value purchase of my life

I also learned that you can order spare Ikea parts for free! I had placed the screws for the guest bed in a very secure spot and absolutely could not find them. I morosely Googled “What to do when YOU ARE A TOTAL IDIOT and lose your Ikea parts” (or something to that effect) and, lo and behold, it seems other people have done a similar thing so after a little research into the furniture instruction pdf to get the part number, I ordered the parts which arrived 2 weeks later from Sweden. Yes, complete with the customs label! Total value: €8.56!

By the way, I found the screws while waiting for the new one. They were in the Peloton parts/tools bag because of course that makes total sense.

Photo documentation of the broken zipper

But, another bargain of the month was when I wrote to the company that made my jacket. The right pocket zipper split without any real reason. I’d only owned the jacket for a month so I wrote in. I fully expected to be given a pre-paid label to send it in for repair. Instead, they gave me another jacket. That’s crazy! So, now I have two jackets because you better believe I’ll just take the broken one to the dry cleaner to have the zipper replaced. And when I say that, I mean in roughly 6-7 months from now by the time I finally get around to it.

Big family events included the birth of my newest nephew. He is so cute. I think the cutest video I’ve seen so far is when he’s napping, his Mom strokes his head with her finger, and he smiles in his sleep!!! So adorable! It was also my sister’s birthday and, gotta be honest, she’s starting to be the age that I want to lie and say is my age. My Mom kept it simple with 21+, but I’m a fan of the late 30s sweet spot!

I made some resolutions for the year which I just reviewed and…good thing there are 12 months in the year! But I’m making good progress. I have my trip to Hawaii planned out for the conference + a few extra days. SMS is going to pass but I think I’ve planted the seeds for a European Fall vacation for us. That would be awesome.

Treasures, Trash, and Scams

Happy New Year! I think I have one more day to say this- it seems appropriate until 15 Jan or so. Things have been going pretty well. I still feel a bit discombobulated with the move but we are so.close to being pretty set in our apartment.

Treasure or Trash? 2019 Calendar featuring yoga dogs.

We have thrown a lot away. There was a fair amount of stuff that we looked at and thought, enough. Some of it was just garbage, but we made a few runs to Goodwill. I have also revived my amateur power seller status on OfferUp and Facebook marketplace. But oh my gosh, there are so many scammers on FB marketplace and they’re not even good at it. Who falls for these things? Like, they immediately ask for your phone number and get aggressive when I say, No thanks, I’m good with texting. Then I block them after I ask that if I give my phone number, should I then send them the confirmation code that I’m surely about to receive via text *eyeroll*? Jerks.

I also had another scammy experience with the “Yolo County Sherif” calling and saying that I had missed a court date/hadn’t answered a subpoena. YOLO! I have no idea what the angle of this call was? Maybe I could pay my missed court appearance fine with Amazon gift cards? Who knows. I listened to the guy for about two minutes, but then I told him it sounded like a scam. He assured me that it wasn’t (so relieved!) and then, when I said it still sounded suspicious, he said that it was a professionalism issue that now that I had made initial contact with them I should…hang up. I should hang up, which I did. They tried calling back, but of course I didn’t answer. I don’t know, there’s something about someone lecturing me about professionalism that sounds like grasping for straws and is so obviously fake that I am done. And in case you are worried that this could possibly be true and I better watch out for a Yolo arrest, two of my colleagues received similar calls on the same day.

I have also re-homed my off-brand Hulk hands that I bought for a resident skit several years ago. Although they are great, it’s time for them to find a new purpose. In this case, I gave them to a colleague/friend for her four year old’s Hulk-themed birthday party. So, in celebration/memorial, I took a few pictures of “driving” with the hands. Do not fear, I was stopped in traffic.

One thing we did not get rid of was the above watercolor. I find this picture absolutely hilarious, plus it’s in a pretty good frame which I repurposed for a picture that I actually take seriously. The reason why Vagina Tree is so funny to me is the story behind it. SMS took pictures for a local artist’s show. As part of his payment, he was allowed to pick a painting. He picked this painting! I had thought he was given this painting but the fact that he picked this out when he had other options (i.e. anything else) is still making me laugh.

So, that’s it for today’s episode of Treasures, Trash, and Scams. I would be ok if this was a one-and-done thing to start the new year, but I will keep you posted!