Category Archives: Friends

The people who are brave enough to hang with us.

When standing in line for a beer in a plastic cup begins to lose its appeal.

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In early June, we were lucky enough to have a visit from our good friend Shannon. We attempted an outing to the Oyster Festival, but quickly decided that waiting in line 45 minutes at one of the 3 remaining booths that was actually still open, was not our idea of a good time. We decided that, having been to our fair share of Oyster Festivals together, next year I would call her to let her know when it would be, and would then promptly make reservations for us at Hurricane Kate’s – a place to enjoy oysters, complete with comfortable seating, a full bar and no one in dread locks hitting you up for beer money.

So, we promptly packed back up in the car and headed for home, wherein we made a delicious dinner complete with wine and dessert. And, lucky for you, we caught it all on film.

The only thing that would have made this afternoon more perfect would have been a giant bouncy house.

My Friends: Rabia

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This is me and Rabia.

Natalie and Rabia

This month I was in the most fortunate position to get to help Rabia celebrate her thirty-somethingth birthday. I hesitate to say exactly which birthday this was because, well, I can’t remember. It doesn’t help matters at all that when I called her on what I was SURE was her actual birthday, she, in her ultimately sweetest Rabia way, reminded me that her birthday was indeed THE NEXT DAY. I guess if there is any consolation at all in this pathetic story, it is that 2 other friends made the same mistake. So there.

Rabia and I have known each other for going-on 10 years now, and I can honestly say that I have not met a single person that didn’t find her downright awesome. She is goofy and charming, and just an all around genuinely likeable person. We have had more than our fair share of good times together — usually involving food and wine and dancing. Disco dancing, to be exact. Rabia is a great listener, she laughs at my jokes and is just one of those friends that you never want to be without.

She currently resides in Sebastopol — the wine country version of Arcata — where she is a bona-fide esthetician at a fancy-pants spa. Due to crazy schedules (Rabia, since I have known her, has always had a MINIMUM of two jobs at any given time), and the fact that we live over 4 hours drive from one another, we don’t get to spend nearly the time together that we would like. But, when we do, it is like no time has passed at all. It is so comforting for me to know that after 10 years, the two things you can still find in Rabia’s purse are a bottle of lavendar aeromatherapy face mist, and a tin of obscure breath mints. It’s like going home again.

Happy Birthday, Miss Rab, you are truly, a friend for the ages.

My Friends: Shannon

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This is me and Shannon.

nat and shan

This weekend we attended Shannon’s 36th birthday in Ukiah at her snazzy new house that she shares with Ryan. Shannon has been my friend for many years and, together, we have had many wild adventures. In an effort to preserve my sparkling reputation, I will not go into details about these adventures, but will say that during NO time did we ever do anything fattening, immoral or illegal. Ahem.

Shannon is a great friend for many reasons. First of all she also is a Gemini, and the 4 of us get along swimmingly. She writes really great stream-of-conciousness emails that go on paragraph after rambling paragraph (no doubt a side effect of the precision writing she was a slave to in law school). She is the best friend to do absolutely nothing with. She is a thoughtful listener. She has great penmanship. She has this amazing freak-of-nature hair that never has to be washed (literally — she doesn’t even own shampoo), yet never looks greasy. She is an ‘extended length hugger.’ Her priorities just make sense: good food, good wine and you should ALWAYS have dessert. I can talk to Shannon about anything, and I mean ANYTHING. It is comforting to know that no matter how banal or abstract or long-winded or redundant, she is always willing to listen and give productive feedback.

And so to you, Shannon, on your 36th birthday I tell you this: my life is so much richer with you in it and in a nutshell, you rock.

Long Overdue Thanks

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Definition of good friends: People who let you and your 15 month old hold up in their house for 10 days without a single complaint, and even go so far as to say they will miss having you around. Is sainthood far off?

A huge shout out to Andrea and Brian for all of their generosity in putting up with us crazy kids.

And now, on to our next adventure: Operation Red Cabinet

Photos to follow soon…..