07-30-2024, 12:11 PM
Back from Tahoe. Christina's mom rented a big house for her kids (Christina, sister and brother) and their kids. Christina's sister has three boys (all married, oldest has 3 kids, younger ones none) but the middle one and wife didn't come - they made excuses but it seems more and more that she doesn't want to spend time with his family much. The two who came live in the Bay area. Christina's brother came up from Bakersfield, and his daughter came over from Scotland (she grew up in San Diego but her mother is Scottish, so she has dual citizenship and is a social worker over there.) The house was at the top of the lake, and off the beaten track, just north of Incline Village.
The house was big but odd. Four floors, and on every one part of the space was raised on a platform, maybe 4-5 inches. Top floor was kitchen and a big room, with a huge dining table and somewhat oversized chairs. One floor down was two master suites with big bathrooms including sauna and jacuzzi tub plus shower. Then small rooms on the bottom floor flanking a tv room (with too few chairs) and a kitchenette (microwave, sink & dishwasher). There was also a second suite of rooms with a different entrance with two similar kitchenettes. Decor was odd - a couple of Chagall prints, a Picasso print, a couple of Erte prints, and I found a framed (I assume a reproduction) gold record for American Beauty in one of the closets. Way too much slate, on floors and some wall sections.
We got a room with a sauna, so I was able to take a sauna every day. Unfortunately the sauna wasn't quite as hot as I wanted but enjoyable nonetheless.
I skipped going to the beach so I wouldn't have to be with the young children (3,6 and 9) who are super annoying. The youngest cries a lot, the middle one is a whiner and yells and makes noises constantly (our half-Scottish niece works with children and thinks he has ADHD). The oldest one infuriates me, and I finally realized it's because he's exactly like my brother was when we were kids - a bit on the Autism spectrum with some know-it-all thrown in - and it just draws this kind of primal anger out in me and I want to beat the shit out of him.
I did do one unexpected thing. My middle nephew's wife is learning tarot but is really new at it so wanted me to do it, since she only knows the three card spread. (I don't know how that's possible, but whatever.) I showed her a variation on the Celtic Cross that I came up with. The she wanted me to read for people. I haven't done it in over 20 years, but gave it a shot. Her deck was difficult to work with since it wasn't traditional imagery (it was called the Botticelli deck or something) and the card meanings in the accompanying booklet were questionable, but I found a website with the Waite deck, and it started to come back to me. I felt some inspiration reading for my nephew but the other readings didn't work very well. I think I'll get back to working with it some more.
In September we'll do a weekend in South Shore with friends who live there. That will be better. And it's on a shared birthday of me and our host.
The house was big but odd. Four floors, and on every one part of the space was raised on a platform, maybe 4-5 inches. Top floor was kitchen and a big room, with a huge dining table and somewhat oversized chairs. One floor down was two master suites with big bathrooms including sauna and jacuzzi tub plus shower. Then small rooms on the bottom floor flanking a tv room (with too few chairs) and a kitchenette (microwave, sink & dishwasher). There was also a second suite of rooms with a different entrance with two similar kitchenettes. Decor was odd - a couple of Chagall prints, a Picasso print, a couple of Erte prints, and I found a framed (I assume a reproduction) gold record for American Beauty in one of the closets. Way too much slate, on floors and some wall sections.
We got a room with a sauna, so I was able to take a sauna every day. Unfortunately the sauna wasn't quite as hot as I wanted but enjoyable nonetheless.
I skipped going to the beach so I wouldn't have to be with the young children (3,6 and 9) who are super annoying. The youngest cries a lot, the middle one is a whiner and yells and makes noises constantly (our half-Scottish niece works with children and thinks he has ADHD). The oldest one infuriates me, and I finally realized it's because he's exactly like my brother was when we were kids - a bit on the Autism spectrum with some know-it-all thrown in - and it just draws this kind of primal anger out in me and I want to beat the shit out of him.
I did do one unexpected thing. My middle nephew's wife is learning tarot but is really new at it so wanted me to do it, since she only knows the three card spread. (I don't know how that's possible, but whatever.) I showed her a variation on the Celtic Cross that I came up with. The she wanted me to read for people. I haven't done it in over 20 years, but gave it a shot. Her deck was difficult to work with since it wasn't traditional imagery (it was called the Botticelli deck or something) and the card meanings in the accompanying booklet were questionable, but I found a website with the Waite deck, and it started to come back to me. I felt some inspiration reading for my nephew but the other readings didn't work very well. I think I'll get back to working with it some more.
In September we'll do a weekend in South Shore with friends who live there. That will be better. And it's on a shared birthday of me and our host.
the hands that guide me are invisible