Here’s my third and last blog post of the day

with pictures of Upper El Cajon, Oliver the Toggenberg Goat,

Henry the Dog & my WONDERFUL Human Friends

 

I spent 90 minutes with five of my favorite human beings this afternoon… oh! and a vulture, too!

 

Jon and Francisco picked me up on Calle Los Angeles at about 12:45 and whisked me up to Upper El Cajon to have lunch at Marilyn Stevens and Guido Hastings home with them and Jane Howe from next door.  I knew absolutely everybody there at least a little bit, so it was wonderful to spend time with them, laughing and exchanging stories and getting to know each of them better.

 

When we arrived, the quiche that Marilyn had baked for the occasion was still cooling on the kitchen counter before she could cut it into serving sizes, so we headed out the back door to see the view without the fence that obstructed it  the last time I was there several weeks ago. (This was after Jon and Francisco had oohed and aahed over how the place had been remodeled and improved since they had lived there several years ago.)

 

Views of Upper El Cajon from the adjoining yards

of Marilyn/Guido and Jane

 

 

 

2D images don’t do the astonishing views justice!

 

I made a beeline to Oliver’s yard. He was lying down in the yard but Guido called to him so he stood up and came over.  I wanted to get a picture with him, but he balked at first, so Marilyn came into his yard and directed him to a place where pix and videos could be taken. Marilyn got a short video of me with him, but my big fat hand got in the way as I took the phone from her and walked back to the gate, so I won’t post it here. It’s posted on Facebook if you want to watch it there…

After  I did that, I asked everyone to pose for a photo…

 

 

From Henry (the dog) clockwise: 

Marilyn, Francisco, Jon, Jane, Guido/Paul

 

Jane invited us over to see her home at that point, so we went over for the tour and spotted this guy high in a tree next door and right overhead. He was in no rush to leave, either. (Maybe he smelled the quiche and thought if he hung around long enough we’d throw him some.  Nope.  We ate every scrumptuous bite! My God, what flavor.  Marilyn is an amazing cook!!!!)

Both of the houses are showcases for the families’ passions.   

I asked permission to photograph & share this jaguar mask from two directions.

Jaguar Cat Mask Left Side

Jaguar Cat Mask Right Side

 

I guess about twenty minutes after we arrived, we were called to come inside, grab a plate and napkin, and dish ourselves up a slice of the quiche and some salad. We did that, poured water into glasses, and carried our plates, glasses and napkins to the front porch, where we gathered cozily around a small table.

 

Then the real fun ensued.  Everyone took turns telling stories, sharing reminiscences and laughing as we ate our meals and — not long after — our desserts, courtesy of Marilyn and Jane, who both contributed homemade delights that tasted heavenly.  Jane regaled us with following the recipe for her dessert to a T and then discovering that the whole concoction had spread from separate little bite size treasures into a gigantic pizza size conglomeration.  She broke it up into smaller portions and we each took several pieces and enjoyed them tremendously.

 

Marilyn had baked a thicker, gooey-er batch of small cookie-like circular delights, which were — she said — too hot to touch at the moment. A few minutes later, Jane — who proclaimed she has asbestos hands (capable of withstanding hot foods) — tried to pick one up, and found it cool enough to handle, so we all dug in and got our share, too.  The plates went around twice. I can’t swear to it but I’m pretty sure every bite was eaten.  The fare was just too good to leave any behind!

 

At about 2:30, Jon and Francisco said they had somewhere else they needed to go, so everyone wished me a happy move on February 1st and a great time at my new location in San Isidro. We left soon after and headed back down the hill toward Grecia.  They let me off at Calle Esteban Salas and I walked home slowly, reveling in the wonderful time we all had.

 

On the Way Up, Jon Gave Me the Cuerpo Donation Documents

 

… and a Spanish language cheat sheet that he has had for decades. He said he knows I will put it to good use — and I will! I already have, this evening, and I will be using it for some writing practices in the coming days, too.

 

When I got back into the casita, I filled out the cuerpo docs and will have them laminated at DIMI the next time I go into Grecia so they’ll stay pristine.

 

Not long after that Lisa and I connected on WhatsApp and visited for about 50 minutes, which was the perfect ending to a perfect day…  *sigh*

 

I am one lucky/blessed individual.