Tanka challenge 11/1/10

Boats bob at moorings,
Their masts afire as the
Sun sinks in the bay.
Halyards chime gently as day
Eases slowly into night.


(SOMEONE is out of practice.....)

Dia de los Muertos Phoenix weekend part 2

There was brunch with the bride and groom and friends at the house they'd rented for the weekend. I finally got to meet their dog, Duni, a very sweet lab/pitbull mix who Dustin kept trying to get into the pool. Duni Does Not Want! Also got to chat with Ri's Mom and one of her friends from San Mateo who's a professional seamstress/decorator over in San Mateo. The newlyweds were happy and we just did not get enough time together. I do, however, have an invite to come out to their place in Albuquerque some time and I may just have to take them up on it!

Kelly realized that her wedding ring was missing, so we headed back to the house to see if we could locate it. There was also a trip to the farm where the reception was held - outdoors in a dark field. The man there said he had a metal detector and they'd keep looking for it. I do hope it turns up, because Kelly was crushed. As therapy, she decided to show me everything she had in her jewelry box, ranging from stuff she'd had since she was a teenager to some really special vintage pieces that she'd inherited and gifts from Andy. I'm a sucker for antique jewelry: when I admired a marcasite shooting star brooch that she'd bought second hand, she insisted on giving me her marcasite dragon brooch. He's a very classical Chinese dragon with a small red stone for his eye, about 3 inches long. He's not vintage, she assures me, and she doesn't wear him. I will find a reason to do so - he's gorgeous.

We had a late lunch/early dinner at this GREAT little joint called My Big Fat Greek Express. Huge portions and everything was delicious. I had the Angus souvlaki (perfectly cooked) with lemon potatoes, rice and steamed broccoli/carrots in a yummy garlicky sauce and Kelly and I split an order of excellent baklava. The baby happily gnawed on broccoli and got tzatziki sauce all over herself.

Halloween candy and pumpkins were acquired on the way home and I harvested seeds from the pumpkin guts for roasting while Kelly and Andy carved and Kitty "supervised." She had a bit of a meltdown, being a VERY tired 15 month old who wanted her clothes OFF and didn't want to miss a single trick or treater. We left her with Andy and her big brother Cort and Kelly dropped me at the airport.

How often do you get hugged by airport security? I did. As it happens, one of the Tousando/Rising Sun crew works for the TSA at Sky Harbor, specifically, the young man I made a "squire's obi" for two years ago.  Andy had called to see if he was on last night. He not only was, he was the one who checked my ID through the checkpoint. He came off shift about fifteen minutes after I got to my gate, grabbed a pizza and a drink and hung out with me at the gate until my plane boarded.

As I sit here dropping and cropping photos, I do not envy the professional photographer whose assignment it was to shoot a wedding at sunset. Photos are up at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/70104978@N00/sets/72157625293372448/

The flight home was on time, uneventful except for a bit of turbulence right after take-off and a Giants' win announced before landing, and I hit green lights all the way home from the parking lot.
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In other, unrelated news, Cynagua Coronet was won by Takeshi Reikoku for Hosokawa Sora-hime. This pleases me.