This post was sponsored by the Grateful Dead.

My father came to visit me, which is nice and devastating. I am one of those people that has never gotten over my childhood traumas and doesn't cope well.  Idon't deal with loss very successfully.    My husband was out of town, which made it more challenging.  My father is a nice man, which makes it harder, believe it or not.  Losing an asshole? There is some kind of righteousness to be found, but the loss of someone dear that is good, it's  like a gross insult to injury.  He brought my grandmother's cookie jar.  It is my taste.  It goes well with my subway tile.  It kind of breaks my heart. 

A few weeks ago I made a perfect paella, with a lobster tail I bought on sale at Safeway.  Mark, who has visited and fallen in love with Barcelona, said it was perfect, so HA!

A few weeks before the paella, Aunt Karen came to stay with me for a few days, while Mark and kids went to Reno for his father's wedding celebration to his long time partner Duane.  We all love Duane to pieces, because he is so lovely and gorgeous and delightful, but I couldn't take time off work, and it was very expensive, so Aunt Karen came, and stayed with me, because my iron level was still dangerously low and I was pretty much feeling like dog-meat, and afraid of dying at any moment. Aunt Karen made cocktails and wore pearls like any decent person would do in the face of death. We went to the Portland Art Museum and watched "Harold and Maude" with my friend S, who I love like crazy, and who doesn't mind my crying in movies (very much?), or leaning on him, or drinking his iced coffee.  My friends are amazing and the very best people in the whole wide world.

We had an insanely lovely lunch at this shitty New Mexican cafe.  The service sucked, but we were happy.  We totally WON! HA! There was excellent coffee.

Then we made this remarkable pork and my friend Jim came and we laughed more.

It was very hot.  And I hate heat when there is not a large body of water around. 

Then I decided to cut off a great deal of my hair.