i don't know if words could ever explain my viewfinder at this moment. i am sitting at the dining room table of a hexagonal human aquarium. kj and i came here to carmel on wednesday. her uncle is a mad genius who took five years to build what is know as "the jewel box of the enchanted forest." i must have done something ok to deserve this. we are on 23 acres of land built in a forest mountain canyon. the house was designed around redwoods. there is a back deck with a hot tub and the speakers are built in all over the place. we had an eighties rock-out session two nights ago naked on the ledges above the hot tub, flood lights blasting up into the trees. how i evny the neighbors. i want to tell you everything but i will do so later. i just wanted to share this space with you. it's been a few days and i missed you.

making coffee for our new guests.

later that morning

although the vegetation has little to do with new england, it is the closest feeling i have to vermont. we'd drive along the back of sugarbush [sexy, i know] north and it is the earth and oxygen smell i remember. the drive here to the aquarium was amazing. sun blasting over our cowboy hats and mirrored lenses, listening to sugarcube remixes and nostalgia compilations. searching for freeway crushes and cheap gas stations. we arrived at the turn-off at sunset, bridges and rock archways lining the horizon. the aquarium, a.k.a. jewel box, is three miles into the canyon, getting darker and colder with every rotation of the wheel. i was in awe upon arrival. this is like frank lloyd wright's wet dream. we turned on digital cable music, and began to let the city roll off. it was to be a thanksgiving of new traditions. we slept well under a mounted african kudu head and awoke to mandarin essays and knitting. par-tay girls. we ate burritos for our t-day feast and played trivial pursuit. while heating a pot of water, we set off an alarm that was triggered by a propane sensor. for thirty minutes, the house turned into our propane disco, lights flashing everywhere with matching sirens. it was a mini catastrophy but miles of laughter later. now bella and cosmic are here. the dynamic has changed completely. kj and i bicker like an old married couple and now she/we have two more energies to bounce off of. it is overcast and dreamily grey. i return to mandarin essays and staring up at the redwoods.

i was the first to sign the guest book of the jewel box and it went something like this. i didn't know it was a lie until later.

r and s. thank you for creating and sharing the jewel box. it truly is enchanted. i return now the chaos of metropolis with an impenetrable calm. how precious and rare.

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