Thursday 13: Today Plus Mish Mash

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I haven't done a Thursday 13 in a long time. I used to do one regularly, and I liked it. So here's today plus a random thought or two:

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1.

JB and I drove a long hour today in support of our weight.

I want my body back.

(I've cheated the first two weeks of vacation)

I want to look like Marianne. :)

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It is hard to lose weight,

to get in shape and stay there.

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I am working on it.

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(Even though I cheated).

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This lunch was good.

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2.

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This birthday cake was in honor of Studio Lolo (lo to me),

myself, and Mim in absentia. I have never shared

my birthday with friends before, and I like it.

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3.

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This house was just painted, pretty much all

one color. What a difference paint makes.

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This is important to know, don't you think?

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I want this in my yard....
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5.

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Today was the annual carnival parade

in Provincetown. About 50,000

people came for it.

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.The theme this year was

jungle or tropical.

This guy is a lemon tree.

JB and I planned to see the parade.

It is fun and outrageous.

But we stayed late at the beach

and then fell into the red couch.

So we missed the parade on purpose.

We were surprised we decided that!
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6.

.We walked down to Commercial Street

after dinner and there were plenty

of costumes still enjoying themselves
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7.

There they were:

three babies and one father

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8.

I dunked and bobbed in the ocean today.

It is cold, but once I'm in it's so refreshing.

Normally I would have a good tan by now,

but I've been writing and socializing

and I love spending my days that way too.
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9.

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Stella likes it here. She gets more frequent walks

and she can't stop sniffing.

(This year Ptown was voted the most dog friendly

place in America)
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She came to the beach with us today,

for the first time,

lay in the shade under an umbrella.

We forgot to bring water for her.

JB was on her way to get back in the car

to get some when

and a kind woman and man

offered us theirs.
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10.

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I can't take a good picture of myself

to save my life. Plus how do I WANT to look?

I am actively losing weight, none to soon.

I want to look fashionably cool.

I prefer it seem like my own style.

Right now I don't enjoy buying clothes.

And I want to.

I don't know how long it will take

for me to reach three important weight goals.

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1. I want to be able to tuck in my shirts and blouses.

2. I want nice legs again.

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3. It's private, and I really really want it. :)

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11.

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This is the walkway to our condo.

It's one of three made from

dividing a house that

was once a convent

for Cuban Nuns.

Honest to God.
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12.

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I love women.

Of all ages.

I love their wisdom.

And gutsiness.

Partners, friends. acquaintances,

strangers, movie stars.

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I'm glad that so many wonderful

women are in my life.

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13.

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I love sitting outside

at a table

and sipping cappuccinos.

One day, along with JB,

I want to spend three months

in Italy,

sipping cappuccinos outside,

writing,

and eating.

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So I end where I starting: food and eating. Please root for me. I want my body back. I want to love the way I look. I even want to be able to post one g.d. photo of myself that I think looks terrific. .

Anybody else interested in doing a Thursday 13?

They're pretty interesting to do.

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Love

kj

Momentous Friends

TA DA! Lo, Marianne, & kj
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I am not someone who has many close friends. I am well liked, hopefully for good reason, but I don't allow myself to be vulnerable with many people, and I know that being willing to be vulnerable makes a friendship a close friendship.

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My darling friend Liz, Marianne's darling son, and my darling JB

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Last Thursday, Liz came to Ptown for our annual vacation here. JB, Liz and I have the best time, often doing very little. We fall into each day as we wish, and we enjoy every moment. Sometimes we go out for breakfast, we go to the beach, we shop, we read, we take naps. We talk a lot. Liz is my Sister-Friend. She and I made that term up years ago, and she is the only person I use it with.

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Liz is a 'real' friend. I met her through JB's work and I am quite happy to be myself in her presence.
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As Liz prepared to head out, Lo and Marianne arrived. This was an event to be forever cherished, because Marianne has come from the Netherlands and three blog friends met in person for the first time.

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Lo is a 'real friend. She started out a blog friend and that was plenty wonderful, but over time we have become close friends in real place and time.
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Marianne is a blog friend. Except that changed as of Monday.
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She and Lo and Marianne's twelve year old son arrived here in Provincetown. It was spectacular.

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First of all, just meeting and hugging Marianne was pretty spectacular.

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She is very beautiful, fashionable, lovely, wonderful. I am not exaggerating.

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Her son is very adorable, sweet, fantastic and charming. He is a total delight to be with.

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I am talking about friends who are great to be with.
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What did we do together? Ah, along with Liz for a bit of time and JB throughout, we witnessed magic. Not ordinary magic, mind you: this was the special astonishing magic of friendship.

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Marianne is a real friend too.

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I now know how her hands move, how wonderfully she and her boy laugh together, how clearly she adores Lolo, how trim and well dressed she is, how wise and loose and thoughtful she is.
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JB was an incredible co-hostess. She volunteered to take this charming boy to the pool so Lo, Marianne and I could walk along Commercial Street and visit galleries, stop for a seaside drink. She was her kind thoughtful self from beginning to end. I am always so thankful and proud of who JB is. She is as loving and kind to me as I have ever known.

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Marianne brought abundant gifts for both of us, from China and Holland and from her own hand.

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She also had painted birth mandalas for JB and me, and each is incredibly amazingly vibrantly beautiful. I will cherish mine forever. Both will be hung in a blessed spot in our home.

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It's pretty obvious the three of us are pretty damn knock down gorgeous, don't you think so?

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Marianne, friend to Lolo and kj, new friend to JB, terrific Mother and amazing artist, and her sweet darling boy are heading back to New York tomorrow and flying home. Safe travels, dear friend. You can bet We'll do it again.
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Love
kj

What Do You Do?

. The pool at the Provincetown Inn
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My friend Susan recently posted this quote on Facebook:
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There is a common perception that compassion is, if not actually an
impediment, at least irrelevant to professional life. Personally, I
would argue that not only is it relevant, but that when compassion is
lacking, our activities are in danger of becoming destructive. This is
because when we ignore the question of the impact our actions have on
others' well-being, inevitably we end up hurting them. ~Dalai Lama
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Now why would I be thinking about this in the midst of a long wonderful vacation in a magical place?
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I know someone who is bright and charming and alluring. But she lacks compassion. I know she will not find peace because of that.
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Yesterday we watched a Mother and her little girl walk along the sidewalk into town. It was obvious this was a child who was encouraged to about wonder, just from the way she walked.
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To me Compassion is a fancy word for kindness.
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Compassion means being kind.
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And what struck me when I read this quote on Susan's Facebook is that it doesn't matter what you do for work, and it doesn't matter if the circumstances of your life are good or bad.
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What matters is that you know that kindness is the road to your own happiness.
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I am pretty sure about this.
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Since I'm on vacation, with time to wax and wane through all the colors and words I often don't have or make time for, I thought I'd just stop by to mention this not-so-little fact about compassion and kindness.
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What Do You Do?
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At the very very very least, let it be kind....
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Love
kj

Sunrise & I was there.... :)

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Race Point in Provincetown in Cape Cod.

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JB, Liz and I were up and out by 5:25am.

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Sunrise was at 5:46.

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We weren't prepared.

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It was magnificent.

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We were astonished.
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It is a short steep walk

from the parking lot

to the beach.

Before the sun came up,

we didn't know that

the sky would be blue-pink.

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And then it began:
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It was not yet 6 am. We drove around:
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It was beautiful.
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At 9:30 am we headed home.

The light would be just as beautiful

for the rest of the day,

but that is another story. :)

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Update on me kj babes: I am doing alot of thinking and

I'm not doing alot of thinking. I am having a great time.

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Love

kj

Speechless

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Yes, it's really this beautiful.

Love

kj