MY WEEK IN PHOTOS: APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2016!

MY WEEK IN PHOTOS: APRIL 25 – MAY 1, 2016!
The week of my 26th birthday: a dinner with my parents, new adorable chopstick holders, a flight to Asheville to visit “A Little Weather” and lots of baby lambs! And some sad news tucked in all the happy. Everything’s okay.

Enjoy!

Another week, another shot here.

The big, ugly fence finally came down around the tent where the replica Dunhuang caves are! So exciting.

I’ve never seen the tram get a bath before.

The skies and clouds showing off on a Monday

I met my parents at a Japanese restaurant on Pico

❤

Albacore…quickly becoming one of my favorite dishes.

Black cod with mushrooms

The most tender pork I’ve ever tasted!

My parents being cute

Was doing some work on the computer Monday night and look who was sleeping next to me.

My dad insisted I watch this documentary on Snow Monkeys. Here’s the link if you’re interested. Apparently they are my dad’s new favorite thing.

One of the beautiful gifts from my parents.

I also got these special noodle chopsticks that came with adorable holders (A FLAVORED EGG AND GREEN ONIONS WHAT)

Tuesday, but my last day of work this week

Lines and shadows

My hair fades weird still. Had Zach help me re-dye, he’s becoming quite the master

My b-day morning! I documented my entire b-day HERE!

I hope 26 is the year I get obsessed with pottery

Shrunken Zombie Head! (It’s rum and some other mildly tropical flavors)

DELIGHT

It’s Thursday – the morning of our really early flight to Charlotte where we catch another flight to Asheville. This was probably taken at like 5am.

Sunrise over the airport

I have sad news to share that Yoko, my family pup and sweet sweet ghoul angel dog passed away on April 28, the morning after my 26th birthday. She would have been 18 years old this year.

I received the news at the Charlotte airport after a 4 hour flight from LAX. I cried of course, but felt worse that I couldn’t be there for my parents who took her to the vet, returned with her collar, and had to clean up her toys, pee pads, treats, food, and bed. I miss her, but she lived a long, long, long happy life. I’m happy to have known her and shared icecream with her.

After the news of Yoko’s passing, we shared a beer and some wings. I sat in a corner booth and wrote a little thing for her:

I asked for a dog every year for Christmas since I could remember, the day you came up to me in the park I lured you to love me with all the tricks I knew as a 10 year-old. When we had to leave, we asked around to see who you belonged to…nobody it turns out. We dropped you at the shelter and we gave them our number and told them we’d be back in 1 week if nobody claimed her. It was the longest week of my life…every night I’d stay awake wishing and wishing that you’d be mine. I remember the day my parents went to pick you up! I had to be in school…all day I told everybody “today I’m getting a dog!” And when you came home, I shouted random sounds at you to see if I could figure out your name from your former life. We decided on Yoko. Not after Yoko Ono, but after Yoko the sweet Japanese antique dealer that had grown fond of me on Fair Oaks. For 18 years you made me a more patient and loving person. You can see in the photo above that she gave all her life and light to me, and that’s the most generous gift of all is she fulfilled the dream of a little girl and loved her more than the girl could ever see until now. I love you, Yoko!

Boarded the tiniest plane in the world, Zach became President for one second.

And we were off!

So green here.

Had a beer while waiting for Zach’s sister at a brewery in the River Arts District in Asheville

Then had a beautiful beet salad and some pizza nearby

Sky!

His sister lives out about 30 minutes from the city, we arrived to the rental cabin a few properties down the road close to 11pm.

I was there to take photos for a photo book for A Little Weather, so most of my photos were on the DSLR. I’ll share those as I process them of course.

Beautiful barn

Lil’ chickens

Moose the pup

Breakfast on the farm

Beautiful details everywhere

The most beautiful cows I’ve ever seen with serious bangs goals.

Nettle! The youngest and only girl of all the new sheep on the farm. She’s so cute, in this pic she’s only 3 days old.

Are you dead? I’m dead. Nettle!

Zach holding another lens for me, good AC.

Burning caterpillar larvae out of the trees

Minty leaves

Turns out being on the farm in the fresh air away from the smog of LA is worse for the skin. Who knew.

Back in downtown Asheville to see a performance that Jessica (Zach’s sister) and her weaving students put together.

A little snack, we had dinner plans for after 9 pm.

2 hour durational weaving performance

“Real life takes time”

This performance was a part of the Black Mountain College Museum performance festival I think.

Feeling a little sunburnt and pooped, but to dinner we go

Oysters

Saturday!

Burdock tea brewed by Jessica. She said to drink some and heat up some for a steam mask of sorts.

Listening to “Embedded” and soaking my face in burdock.

I’m a little boy ready to explore the world

Sights on our walk from the cabin to Jessica’s farm

Found a tick ready to latch onto your clothes….THEY ARE EVIL AND SCARY AND I WAS SO SCARED OF THEM.

Avocados for breakfast

We drove out to Penland College of Crafts and stopped at this diner on the way

Had to get a cap

So beautiful out here

In the glass blowing studio

In the photography studio

The textile arts studio

Zach finding himself

Rain! It spontaneously pours rain there.

What a day!

We had a big dinner at the farm with a beautiful salad foraged from the property and farm, and bratwursts made from a pig that Jessica and her partner raised and then butchered.

Sunday sunrise

The only wifi is near the weaving studio

So misty and magical

Checking out the new bees

Construction in the barn

Using avocado skins and pits to make a dye

Trying to be useful in the weaving studio

She weaves

The dyed cashmere

We went to town early on our flight day

To visit the Asheville Pinball Museum, of course

Cyclone is really fun if you ever see it out in the wild.

Bye, Asheville! Bye, Jessica! Bye, farm!

We get to the Asheville airport and there’s been a delay. We stream Game of Thrones that aired that night.

We finally get to Charlotte around midnight and a LOT of flights have been cancelled. You can’t tell from this pic, but this is just part of what was a 700 person line wrapping and weaving through the whole terminal.

Ours was cancelled too. Everybody was scrambling to book a new flight.

Around 2am we had hope we’d make in on a flight to Los Angeles…

…CLIFF HANGER…

This post is dedicated to Yoko.

Much love friends.