Pacing myself into Pasadena . . .

After a mammoth effort to close down my large Somerville studio and to vacate my Boston condo in search of my snow bird Pasadena wings, I'm finding myself with an empty iCal. And it feels uncomfortable/good and uncomfortable/bad. Sleeping has been at the top of the list to recharge the batteries: physical, mental, and spiritual. A yoga studio is barely a mile away, and all the usual haunts—Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Target—not much farther. Yes, I've traveled 3K miles from home but it's not a foreign country.


Yesterday I attempted to hike the little-known Bailey Canyon in Sierra Madre, with views over the San Gabriel Valley at Bailey Canyon Wilderness Park. I got about a quarter of the way up this 3000 foot climb and turned around knowing it's best to start small and work my way up to the top. Maybe by March I'll be able to make the top but for now I'm easing in.

In any case, I felt I earned a breakfast at the local Sierra Madre coffee shop where we were serenaded by students out x-mas caroling.

Getting a library card was a lot easier and I even found—through the help of a local Altadena friend—a book group I can join. We're reading a little known Steinbeck novel, To a God Unknown which is so far reading like a biblical text.