Love
-
Shadows and Light
iHanna has a blog photo challenge, where participants go through their photo libraries and find pictures that fit a certain theme. The idea is that you spot that theme in photos that you have already taken, not that you go out and take new photos that would work. I like the idea, so I’m playing along. January’s theme is Shadows. Here are my shadow pictures from my iPad photos. The picture above is an oak tree on one of our walks, and I am so often struck by the beauty of the shadows in amongst the branches. I take pictures, trying to capture it, but I don’t end up sharing…
-
Friday Randomness
Just some random thoughts that have nothing to do with the heartbreaking fires in Southern California. I don’t know what to say about the fires except that it is shocking and horrible. Lives lost, homes lost, communities destroyed. This drone footage reminds me so much of the fires in Paradise and Santa Rosa from several years ago. I am shallow enough to be specifically sad about the homes that I visited 5 years ago that were prominent in the TV show, Beverly Hills, 90210, which are about 1/2 block from each other in Altadena. I cannot tell you how stupidly happy it made me to stand in front of these…
-
A Lovely Day
Goodness you guys, I had the most wonderful birthday yesterday. It truly was A Lovely Day. Ready for a bunch of pictures? Here we go. The day started when I awoke maybe an hour before anyone else. I came downstairs to a decorated table, with flowers and gifts. If you’re curious, the gifts are AWESOME. Wine, a wonderful cookbook (which I will share when I’ve tried a couple of recipes), a gift card for a massage (!!), and two memoirs, for Ina Garten and Kelly Bishop. After I finished my final yoga session for 2024 (which was actually a meditation and really, JUST what I needed), I had breakfast and…
-
Saturday Randomness
I hope that everyone has enjoyed their Christmas/Hanukkah celebrations, and that life is returning to normal (if that is what you want) or that the festivities are continuing (if that’s more your jam). My company gave us both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as holidays, and then next week we will have both New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day as holidays, plus we still have Fabulous Fridays off (at least we did yesterday, they haven’t told us whether this wonderful benefit will carry in to 2025, and let me tell you, WE ARE ON PINS AND NEEDLES waiting to find out!), so I went ahead and took a couple…
-
Day of the Dead
Sorry for the Bonus Post, but I thought I would share the little poster that I put together for Day of the Dead today. This year’s additions are my Great Aunt Flo, who died in early October at the age of 100, and my boy Mulder, who died last year. I didn’t do any sort of altar last year, so just adding him now. I did not grow up with Day of the Dead, I think the first time it occurred to me to do an altar was in 2017 after my Dad died. But I like it. I think of all of these loved ones many times a year,…
-
My Great Aunt Flo
Grandma on the left, my Great Aunt Flo on the right. Aunt Flo’s husband died in 1961, and she spent the rest of her life caring for family. For a cousin, for her parents, and then for my Grandma. When my Grandma died in November of 2016, Aunt Flo asked me, “Who am I going to take care of now?” I told her that those days were behind her, she needed to take care of herself. She spent her final years collecting recipes and going through family treasures. Then in late 2021, she went to a care facility, where she got excellent care and lived near her granddaughter, Debbie, and…
-
Happy Independence Day
Happy Independence Day to my American friends! Our plans today include a small family BBQ with Ted’s parents and maybe his brother. I am looking forward to a good hot dog, as that is something I do not eat very often. Ted and I had a lovely anniversary together yesterday. We started the day slowly, went for a walk early before it got too hot, went to the grocery store for things for today’s bbq, and lazed around a bit. Then we hopped on our local transit (BART) and went in to San Francisco for the day. We took a cable car from the Embarcadero to the end of that…
-
Miscellaneous Monday
First off, look at my beautiful Mother’s Day breakfast. We usually get danish for Mother’s Day, a tradition born when Maya was little and Ted worked early (before the sun came up) on Sundays, so this was something that he could put together before he left. She’s old enough to make me anything I might want now, and he works normal hours, but the tradition remains because I love danish, and the only time I eat them is Mother’s Day. Now look at this picture and tell me whether you think I have a skin cream addiction. I love skin cream, and I think I collect it now like I…
-
Blood Orange, Fennel, Avocado, and Arugula Salad
Maya took me out for a lovely lunch on Saturday to celebrate Mother’s Day. We ordered a few items and shared them. We had a salad, some calamari, and tuna tartare. Maya doesn’t eat meat, but she does occasionally have seafood, and tuna tartare and calamari are definitely favorites. The salad was blood oranges, fennel, arugula, and feta cheese. Everything was delicious, but the salad was our favorite item. To drink, I had a lovely crisp Sauvignon Blanc, and she had her drink of choice, gin and tonic. I liked the salad enough that I decided to make it at home last night, and because everything is better with avocados,…
-
Friday Randomness
Just a few random thoughts today. A while ago, perhaps 6 or 8 weeks now, we were out for our morning walk, and came across the potted plants in the picture above. They were lying on their sides on the ground. How did they get there? We don’t know. Perhaps they were stolen? We moved them into the positions shown in the picture, and assumed that if they were there rightfully (meaning if the grounds people left them there and were going to come back) they would be put into the ground. If they were not there rightfully (stolen or dumped for some reason) then someone would come get them.…
-
5 Things Friday – Happy Birthday Ted!
I hope you’re having seasonally appropriate weather. Happy Birthday to Nance, whose birthday I remember because it’s the same as Ted’s. I’m going to try to be better about coming around and seeing what you’re all up to.
-
(Not) Wordless Wednesday – Aunt Flo is 100!
My Great Aunt Flo turned 100 yesterday! She is the first person in my family to make this milestone age. She had some visits today from local family, and there will be a party for her this weekend, which we will attend. Aunt Flo is strong, sweet, generous, and devoted. She is dearly loved. She was married on her 26th birthday, which was also my mom’s 8th birthday. She was in the hospital room with my mom when I was born. She was widowed at 37. She has devoted most of rest of her life to caring for family…a cousin, her parents, my grandma. She can no longer live at…
-
Wisteria
I love wisteria vines, particularly when they are in bloom, as they are right now. My mom had such fondness for them, they reminded her of her Great Aunt Julia (for whom I am named), who had a lovely arbor in her back yard. Growing up, she would always point them out to me. So of course, they make me think of my mom, and also of my Grandma Wells, who had lovely wisteria growing in her back yard as well. The other day I decided that I was going to go in search of wisteria on my walk, and share my pictures with you. The picture above is of…
-
Mulder’s Birthday
Today should have been Mulder’s 9th birthday. He would have perhaps been starting to slow down a bit more, but would still be enjoying long walks on my Fabulous Fridays. He’d still be begging for carrots and cucumbers and bread. In his honor, I thought I would share this video from his 6th birthday, his ‘Golden Birthday’, which we celebrated by making him his own hamburger. He was so much fun!
-
Monday Meme
I know, a cartoon and a meme are not the same thing, but I liked this cartoon and decided to share it. Want to get caught up? This sign is on one of our local walks. There’s construction ahead, and somehow, they think it’s important for us to know that the sidewalk is close. Very close. Maybe a foot and a half? (I did terribly on the spacial section of the ASVAB way back when, so don’t really ask me about distances, and if you need help packing your moving truck, I’m probably not your gal.) Do you make wishes? I sometimes do. I make a wish if I blow…
