The Curious Housewife

Looking northwest, Point Lobos Park Looking  northwest, Point Lobos Park On the trail at Big Sur State Park Looking towards the Santa Lucia Range at the top of the trail. Banana slug! Controversy! Could be wild morning glory or a non native invasive monster! I just got back from spending 3 days on the California coast, down in the Big Sur area. Big Sur is south of Monterey and Carmel, maybe about 30 miles or so. I was actually in a little spot called Lucia, about another 20 miles or so away and staying at a monastery! The place is called New Camoldoli Hermitage  and the men who live there are Roman Catholic Monks. They run a retreat/hostel kind of place where people can come to do whatever they wish to do, in silence. It's a spot for religious contemplation of course but also a place where a person can be quiet for awhile. There is no available Internet, no television or radio, and no talking on the grounds. I live in a small rura...

Fourth of July Lake (in the distance) looking south from just a little west of Round Top Lake, Carson Pass area, highway 88, CA Are those mountains far away or closer than they look? Is that lake small or big? It depends on your perspective! This post was to be about something else entirely but instead of what I was going to write about, I think I will share my experience from yesterday's visit to the doctor. It's been 6 years since my bypass surgery (9/13/12).   Twice a year, I go for a visit with my cardiologist. In advance of that visit, I do some testing to see if my carotid arteries are still in good shape and I have my blood drawn in order to check my cholesterol levels and the functioning of my liver. When I see my cardiologist, I joke with him that I must be his most boring patient! With the exception of one thing, nothing has changed for me in the last 6 years. My cholesterol levels have remained constant, my overall cholesterol ratio is good, my blo...

Round Top Mountain and The Three Sisters-Carson Pass area, CA This past week I went on a lovely hike up highway 88, near the Carson Pass area of California. There is still plenty of snow though much of it has melted. People are hiking, boating, kayaking, and generally enjoying the cooler weather afforded by the higher altitudes. I had a wonderful time with my hiking buddies walking up and down hills, checking out wildflowers and being rewarded at the top of the ridge with a view all the way to Lake Tahoe! At the end of the day, I was tired, happy to get home, a little keyed up but very peaceful. It was a coincidence then that the next day I happened upon this article in a magazine. The premise of the idea sounds very familiar! H ave you heard of the term ecopsychology ? I hadn't either but the idea of it is probably familiar for many people even though they may not know about the formal field of study. Ecopsychology studies the relationships between humans and the natura...