Mama's boy

I spent 24 hours in California this weekend - just enough time to miss it, but not enough time to fully enjoy my home sweet home. Not only was it Mother's Day yesterday, but it's also my mom's 60th birthday in a few days, so my uncle hosted a very large, very creative, very delicious feast in her honor. He and my two cousins apparently planned the menu several weeks in advance and spent all day Saturday cooking.

During my short visit, I visited a Chinese painting gallery with my mother, sister and sister's boyfriend to look at paintings, one of which my mom planned to purchase as a gift to herself. They were all by a friend of hers who has been gaining fame as a Chinese painter in recent years. We narrowed down the selection to three and took them home so others could weigh in.

I also got to visit the local Starbucks with VALedictorian and catch up. The walk between my parents' house and the Starbucks is probably less than the walk between my apartment and my gym, but it still felt strange to traverse the distance on foot, instead of in an SUV like most suburbanites.

All in all, it was a nice visit, but way too short. I wish I'd had time to visit SF and see my friends, but I guess I'll have to save that kind of trip for another day!