life's a picnic

picnic grub
Originally uploaded by CuriousEpicurean

it is. it really is. it can be that simple if you want it to be.

there are many reasons why i love picnics. it's free. has good scenery. rustic. simple. no reservations needed.

even in the philippines, beach picnics - i remember my mom packing up the yummy pinoy food and we'd all head out to the beach. in america, i appreciated picnics more as i got into picnic concerts, shakespeare in the park, etc... . i have fond memories of hollywood bowl concert nights. my friends and i weren't one of those people who were cool or rich enough to have a picnic basket (though i always wanted one). we'd pack our sandwiches or better yet - order out from the olive garden or somewhere like that and we'd take it with us. one of my favorites was going with a friend and we had a potluck picnic- the friend from hawaii introduced me to spam musubi (otherwise known as spam sushi - spam is big in hawaii) & other polynesian cuisine. it was a perfect night - if memory serves - i think that was the evening that i saw ella fitzgerald perform live. one of her last performances.

my other favorite picnic memory was going to a shakespeare by the sea in san pedro in southern california in fermin park overlooking the rugged bluffs. the air smelled of sea. and so did i.

when i went to college - i had even simpler solo picnics. made myself tuna sandwiches or peanut butter sandwiches - and drive to the beach or hike the redwoods or both ... find a spot, usually a driftwood on the beach and simply listen. by the way, those devices with sound waves of waterfall, rain, or waves crashing has nothing on the real thing.

this was during the before jack period of my life.

my most recent memory was visiting my family in so. cal. and was happy to see that my oldest sister does picnics and concert picnics with her family. i was lucky enough to be taken to one in the los angeles's festival on the green. it was an almost perfect night for picnicking - almost because there were peacocks walking everywhere. and i don't like birds of any kind. i'll run screaming for the hills. it's a childhood phobia - it's my thing - let it go. it's irrational fear so don't talk me out of it.

anyhoo i digress. one of my favorite picnic moment remains with my oldest sister packing a lunch for her, me, and isabelle for a beach picnic with other moms and their kids. i loved it. the kids laughing and splashing on the beach. moms (and me) chatting and eating. eating and chatting under the shade of a pretty lush, leafy tree.

of course, the best was in kauai. going to the beach daily with the entire asuncion/lorthioir/reed families with nanay packing our lunches every day and we'd eat together - with the island as our picnic blanket.

it's becoming picnic season here in seattle. and where we live is prime area for it. lincoln park, discovery park - picnic concerts, in the zoos, shakespeare in the park are all being scheduled in the city right now.

it's simple to have this. go to your local park or your favorite "green" spot in the city. and then just take your tupperwares - fill it up with goodies, get a water resistant/proof picnic blanket and set it somewhere cozy with a good view. this is what we did this week. last minute - jack called to say he was coming home really early & let's picnic before the sun goes down. so i cooked a really fast picnic, tupperwares full of simple pasta, olive oil, garlic, and parsley; another full of shrimp caesar scampi; a vegetable salad and fruit salad. we just took a bottled water, diet cherry 7-up; and propel water.

we went to lincoln park in west seattle. a short drive from our home. but oh the view of everything. forest on one side; puget sound on the other with scenery containing the olympic mountains, vashon island and blake island.

what i love about all this is that - for that moment in time, i exhaled from all of my worries (i'm sure jack did too but i won't talk for him).
for me picnic is about the experience to watch life unfold before you- slowly, gracefully. the sun setting. seeing between grass blades for little critters like slugs or little daisies or strawberries trying to grow. the kids playing in the park or learning to ride their bike. doggies being walked.

or watching the clouds roll by into various shapes & sizes.

or in seattle, watching the ferries go back and forth between islands - creating small waves for us to hear.

that's why i love picnics. it is sweet and pure - when life can be so hectic, draining, & demanding. it's sharing a moment with someone you care about. or solo picnics with yourself can be so therapeutic and healing. i always think that for that brief moment, life is good enough and i won't want for anything. except maybe another plate of something good in the basket or in the tote or in the cooler.

it can be that simple. for a few hours anyway.