Rinchen Terzod Road Trip!

Great Salt Lake

This about sums up Reno

Telegraph Ave, Oakland

Bakesale Betty's--best scones ever!

Yangthang Tulku!

At the Rinchen Terzod!

K and I drove through Utah, the land of endless blinking casinos (aka Nevada), by Lake Tahoe, over Donner Pass, by Sacramento and finally, made it to Alameda where the momentous two and a half month long Rinchen Terzod is occuring (for about another two weeks)!

Our minds slowly became a little more calm, perhaps a little more clear. If only we could hang onto that peace.

More snowbird-mineral basin bowl!

I can't believe I've been snowboarding at snowbird since November and just went to this bowl for the first time last week! I've never before rode anywhere so amazingly beautiful and empty. From the top, you can see endless mountain ranges. It really is unbelievable!

Everything still

1)dark of morning
2)drive into mountains
3)white sky
4)summit, two plows
5)snow
6)wind in the chimney
7)the park city weather like my emotions
8)snowing, then not, then snowing

Surreal

-Used adult magazines! What the?

-laying on a hospital bed, alien organs on the screen. My beating heart a small mouth opening, closing.

-watching the fighter, feeling we know those people, those voices (oh Massachusetts, you are in my blood)

-driving to park city over the weekend-forgetting the sundance craziness. Strolling downtown, feeling as though transported to manhattan. The young and thin dressed to the nines. Heels and fur coats and spaghetti straps stalking the streets, the Indian jewelry shops. Celebrities closing down bars, restaurants.

-taking successive chairlifts up to 11,000 feet. Endless mountain ranges spread before me. Riding the pristine mineral basin bowl under purpleblue sky. The powder spray.

Goodness

1) Driving into the mountains in the still, peach morning
2) Incredibooth and Hipstamatic apps
3) A sleeping baby at work
4) Mashed avocado with lime, salt and olive oil on toast
5) K's vegetarian chili
6) The smell of a blown out beeswax candle
7) An upcoming trip to Alameda, CA!
8) Attending a few days of the Rinchen Terzod! Yangthang Tulku!
9) K's vacation!
10) More exciting travel plans within the year!
11) The little girl in True Grit
12) K, Spencer and I wearing bathingsuits to the canyons restaurant this afternoon and getting free lift tickets!
13) A lovely, quiet day
14) People from so many differnet countries reading this blog! (But who are you? Perhaps you have blogs of your own? If you want, leave a comment, that way I can check out your blogs too. Thanks!)

Hipstamatic

Usually I don't get excited about apps, but the Histamatic app is just too cool, especially because i love to take photos but have no skills or special camera. With this app it seems like I do (at least to me)!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Snowbird...

                                                   Incognito

A Little Taste Of Summer

I saw a recipe for this salad on the blog 3191 the other day (I can't link to this right now as I'm using my iPhone). Anyway, when the grayness of winter gets you down, this is the thing to eat! It seriously tastes like sunshine. Here's the recipe: arugala, grapefruit, avocado (I added pea shoots too). Dressing: olive oil and lemon. That's it! Who knew it could be so easy to eat summer in winter!

Now

Wondering if it will snow and snow tonight--sweeping the nasty inversion away.
Hoping I can watch Blue Valentine, go sledding.
Thinking what a disappointment Somewhere was, but how amazing I am Love.
Glad the helicopter isn't able to fly today during K's shift.
Trying to stop being lazy, make miso soup, brown rice, hot lemon with honey.
Planning to work on some stories.

Magic

After Khenpo left, K and I decided to take a little trip to Montana.

In case you're not sure what you're looking at here, this is Rt 20 covered ENTIRELY in ice! We traveled on this road for many a gorgeous hour
through Gallatin National Forest,
Targhee National Forest,
Yellowstone.  
Past Big Sky.

                                                              White waves.

                                                               -12degreees.

                                            By the Boiling River, Cinnamon Creek,

                                                               up the caldera.

Khenpo Guru's Visit!

Well, despite the fact that none of our dear retreat friends were able to be with us (we missed you all), Khenpo's visit was a total success! "Somehow," as Khenpo likes to say, our living room was transformed into a tiny dharma center where Khenpo gave a teaching on a four line prayer by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and the following day, a Tsokey Thug Thik empowerment! Ten people we'd never met before showed up and almost all of them turned out to live in our neighborhood! Now I know why there are so many prayer flags around--there really are Buddhists living in those houses! Also, Khenpo has said he'll come again. Woohoo!

Oh, and the happiest of New Years everyone! Wishing you lots of peace in mind and body!