Over the River and Through the Woods...

I spent this last weekend visiting my sweet pregnant friend, Cara. Since I won't be able to attend her baby shower, I decided I needed to make the pilgrimage on a separate weekend before baby arrives. I'm so glad I did.

First off, let me say that I couldn't get enough of pregnant Cara! She's almost at the end of her journey and is more than ready for it to be over. She feels puffy and sore. Her legs and feet are so swollen that she can't fit many of her shoes. Her belly is round and perpetually shifting as baby girl let's us know she's feeling a bit cramped in there. So, Cara may not be able to see it, but she's SO beautiful right at this moment. I assured her that she will be glad to have all these preggy pictures which I and others have taken of her, but she's not completely convinced of that yet.

On Saturday we drove from Minden to Reno so we could play at a pottery painting studio. It was in a cute little plaza so we waddled through some of the local shops first. Of course, it didn't take much to lure us into the local bakery as well. It was so good for me to sit across the table from one of my soul sisters. I felt that rare sense of safety in knowing she would handle my openness with great care.

When we finally made it through the doors of the pottery studio, we were already tired, so the racks of blank pottery canvasses overwhelmed us. I think we spent half of the time just trying to decide on which piece to paint, and then HOW to paint it! Cara was a little over-ambitious and became quite fatigued by the tediousness of the dotting.

I'm pretty sure I put too many coats on mine and it will all crack and burn off when they go to fire it. I don't really care much, though. It was all good therapy for me.

The sun was setting as we headed home and it was perfect.

On Sunday we lazed around a bit with the felines (Lola and Othello), and then headed to a Minden local breakfast joint. Breakfast is, by far, my favorite meal to eat out. There's nothing like a good coma-inducing Waffle, or French Toast, or Pancakes with that huge ball of butter melting on top. I always struggle with my order. I spend a lot of time trying to beat the system in my attempt to perfectly blend an omelette with a sweet counterpart. Ideally that would be french toast but, usually the best I can get is a pancake.

After breakfast I loaded the van and started my drive home. I drove up in the dark so I was looking forward to the scenery on the way back. Minden is nestled in a valley of farms and scattered trees, all surrounded by snow-peaked mountains. Truly serene and somewhat timeless.

I drove up through the mountains.

I wish I could have captured more of what I saw. The trees were an unbelievable blend of colors. Dense evergreens were interrupted by brilliant yellow, orange and red leaves.

In some sunlit clusters, they glowed as if on fire.

I couldn't just pass through Tahoe without stopping to say hello to the lake. It was crisp but sunny and the water was three shades of blue.

I think I took about 50 photos along my drive down the mountain. Would have been more if I had more time.

Again, good therapy.