Round Robin Challenge: The White Stuff

"The first of all single colors is white... We shall set down white for the representative of light, without which no color can be seen; yellow for the earth; green for water; blue for air; red for fire; and black for total darkness."

~Leonardo Da Vinci

RRC: The White Stuff

White... It isn't just for mashed potatoes anymore!

Observe...

White As In The Small Sailboat On The San Francisco Bay



White As In A Cloudy Sky Background



White As In A Snowy Day In Tilden Park



White As In A Performance Artist In San Francisco On Black Friday



White As In A Snowy Egret About To Take Flight



White As In Another Snowy Day In Tilden Park



White As In A Rare White Alligator



White As In A Cemetery Gate



White As In The Small Plane We Flew In Around The San Francisco Bay



White As In The White Water Flowing In The Feather River



White As In The Clouds And Fog Over The Golden Gate Bridge



White As In The ( i ) In The Sky



White As In The Fog And Clouds Moving Further Into The Bay



White As In Even More Clouds And Fog As We Approach The City



White As In The Last Few Moments Before The Golden Gate Bridge Is Completely Covered



Okay, that's my gallery for this edition of the Round Robin Challenges! If you would like to join in the fun, there is still plenty of time! Just click the link at the top of this post entry, to be redirected to the official Round Robin Blog! While you are there, you can also find a link to other Round Robin participants for this time around. Go say HI! There are some wonderful photographers among us!

Visit Sensational Color To find Out Some Really Interesting Facts About The Color WHITE! 

~Me :)

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year: A Cautionary Tale

"It is hard to be defensive toward a danger which you have never imagined existed."

~John Christopher, The Pool Of Fire

 

Okay, Thanksgiving is coming up really quickly, and while I have everything I need for the holiday, I still find myself needing "just one more thing." Mumph! Did I want to go out to pick it up? No! did I know I had to? Yes! You see that package of gingerbread marshmallows that I had forgotten to pick up was going to be absolutely essential to my planned Thanksgiving feast for two. So what else could I do? Yep, I had to brave the cold, cruel world of pre-holiday shopping, so off to Walmart I went.

I found the marshmallows just fine, there were still plenty to be purchased. Whew! And I also found the other 10 or so items I had forgotten I needed... stroke of luck there...with my cart not full, but comfortably stocked with Thanksgiving necessities, I found a fairly short line at aisle 9. Good. Only three folks ahead of me, the wait for my turn at the conveyor belt would be reasonable. Well, until the woman, three women up from me, pulled out a large accordion wallet filled with coupons!

I thought Extreme Couponing was an urban legend! But no, as it turns out... it's a thing! I turned to the lines on both side of me, to see if I would be better off switching aisles, but there seemed to be the same amount of people in all the lines, I had just picked the one with the couponzilla in it. At first I was a bit annoyed, but the quickly changed to amused as the lady fought with the Walmart associate about why she should have been able to use the Target coupon at Walmart. LOL. Cool! Let the people watching begin!

Believe me... I saw some stuff! I saw a small child and her mother mutually picking their noses. I saw an amorous man, hopefully a husband, gently rubbing his (wifes?) rear end. I saw a little girl of about 4 years old staring at me, not blinking mind you, just staring. STARE. Why do children do that? I tried to remember if I did that as a child, and I have no memory of such behavior. Why do they do it? Instantly I check to see if I have a booger on my cheek, or if I have my leggings on inside out. I have never found anything out of place, during these encounters, so why do they do it?

As I tried to avoid making eye contact with the easily fascinated child, I happened to notice the woman in front of me, engaging in an odd behavior for a woman, well, it would have been for this woman anyway, you see, the woman in front of me had her 2 strap purse on her shoulder by only one strap! The other strap was halfway down her upper arm, leaving her purse completely open to the world, and what ever pickpocket might be in it! What the HELL was she thinking?

I wrestled with the question of SHOULD I OR SHOULDN'T I SAY SOMETHING? The wrestling went on for about 5 minutes, and in the end I decided to keep my mouth shut. She was about my age, so I figured it wasn't for me to tell her how to carry her purse, nor did I want to plant an idea in someone near us that she would make a great target! Sometimes it's better to mind one's own business. It's not easy though, especially during this time of year, when one has to be especially careful. It's not just THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR for those of us that live within the law, criminals find it nifty to!


I really hope the lady makes it through the holiday season without any stolen wallet dramas! It doesn't make for a very happy holiday season. Last year an unscrupulous ring of baddies stole of my ATM card number from a bogus machine at a store I patronized. It wasn't fun filling out the police report, not to mention the feeling that if it hadn't been caught by my bank, they could have taken everything we had! Thankfully my bank knows I don't do much late night shopping in Illinois, where the bulk of the items were purchased! I was lucky that it was caught, and believe me I don't take it for granted!

Do this blog author a favor... think about how to keep yourself, and your valuables safe, while out shopping this holiday season! Theft does not know gender, so this is for the guys out there as well!

BE SAFE!

"Life has it's woes, so learn to be on your toes. Be alert"

~Bernard Kelvin Clive, Your Dreams Will Not Die

~Me :)


Avoid Pickpockets And Muggers When Shopping (ABC NEWS)
Protect Your Wallet This Holiday With Tips From 'The Pickpocket King' (CBS L.A.)
Beware of Pickpockets (Blog)

MINE!

"I am what is mine. Personality is the original personal property."

~Norman Brown

That's my cat Dylan. Boy is he ever my cat! How do I know? Well, I know because he tells me so. Oh not with words per se, although he does have a human vocabulary of about 10 words, but instead of just coming out and saying he is my cat, he has a few insistent gesture's that convey his his belief that I am indeed... MAMA!

Dylan owns exactly 5 things in this world. His hamster "Pinky" which isn't... shhhh... a real hamster, but instead a popular toy called a Zhu Zhu pet. The elderly gentleman next door who likes to touch noses with him through the fence, who Dylan believes is his grandpa, his favorite yellow cat toy ball with a bell inside it, Me, and lastly... his brush.

That is HIS brush. Hendrix is not allowed to be brushed with it. Apparently there are rules to these things. Pay attention human! Dylan, unlike his brother, gets fleas very easily. I haven't figured out why the two boys are so different in that respect, I think it must come down to simple body chemistry. Dylan puts out heat like a space heater! Hendrix on the other had, throws off no heat what so ever. If I would have tried, I couldn't pick two cats less alike.

It's all good. For the most part the boys get along well enough, they have their moments, but Hendrix is a considerate soul who never steals his brothers toys, or anything else. Dylan on the other hand is mindful about other peoples things, he will have NONE of them in HIS space! If they somehow end up in HIS SPACE, they won't be there long, he will remove them to an inconvenient spot to teach you to pick up after yourself.

All of it is perfectly workable. Dylan is forgiving, as long as you observe his #1 RULE. NEVER, EVER TOUCH HIS BRUSH! Dylan adores his brush because that is his favorite way to spend his Mommy and Me time. It all started one day, way back in 2009. He was a year old and he started going out to play in the yard. To my dismay, he would habitually find the least comfortable place he could find to take naps, under the large juniper tree.

In the grass under the tree, resided a large colony of ants. The ants bit him, and let small pimple like sores. Before I knew it, he had a full blown skin condition that required nightly warm baths. He was really uncomfortable, but as soon as he hit that soothing warm water, he cuddled into me and let me wash the sores away. After the baths, I put him in his blue baby robe and brushed his fur until it dried. It was an amazing bonding experience with him, and for a cat with RULES, he was so happy and thankful, he cuddled into me, and I could tell, I was his mama... at least in his eyes and heart.

He pretty much sleeps with his brush. He brings it up onto the bed at night and puts it between himself and I. I usually brush him for about ten minutes or so, and then it's lights out. Dylan will purr for about 45 minutes or so, and that is a wonderful sound to fall asleep to. He is my baby, and he always will be. We found each other just when we needed each other the most, and somehow, he knows that to.

JUST DON'T TOUCH HIS BRUSH HUMAN!

~Me :)

Ice Cream Nirvana

"It's simply a very romantic place. Just one look at any of these streets, and you couldn't be anywhere else... it's so beautiful, and there's that location, and the sense of the free spirit. Who couldn't ravenous in such a place?"

~Julia Child

Ravenous INDEED! Alan and I had plans to visit Girardelli Square while we were on vacation this year, but somehow we just didn't make it over there. How is that possible? What were we thinking? LOL. I took this shot as we were sailing back through the Golden Gate on our way back from the Eco Tour we took. Just sailing past that sign made me ravenous for my favorite sundae.. 

The Gold Rush

Vanilla ice cream with freshly homemade hot fudge and melted peanut butter throughout. Perfectly topped with whipped cream, chopped almonds, a cherry and a Ghirardelli SQUARES Milk Chocolate.

Umm... YUM!

Alan and I have a tentative date for the day after Thanksgiving. That's another day that we traditionally spend in the city, and what better way to end a day of walking around Union Square, then sharing a little ice cream NIRVANA! 

Here is a Ghirardelli menu (PDF)


~Me 

Under A Golden Sky At A Time Of Harvest

"Autumn begins with a subtle change in light, with skies a deeper blue, and nights that become suddenly clear and chilled. The season becomes full with the first frost, the disappearance of migrant birds, and the harvesting of the season's last crops."

~Glenn Wolff and Jerry Dennis

It's the middle of autumn, and it tastes delicious! Here, take a big bite...

A California Harvest













Happiness! And there's more to come!

~Me :)

Time To Celebrate My Lady Parts

"The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like and do what you would rather not."

~Mark Twain

 

Ugggg! Has it really been three years already? Okay, yes, I know it's time for the doctor to do the required poking and prodding. Actually, I think it may have been due last summer, when I got the original reminder appointment in the mail, but I... ummm... kinda, sorta, ignored it. Then when I had a scheduled appointment I canceled it, well, it was smack dab in the middle of vacation after all. Okay, now it's time to just get over it, and deal with it. Uggg.

Later today I will have the GYN fun, then it's off to a date with Mr. Squishy. Of the two, I would much rather date just Mr. Squishy, but unfortunately it's too important to not keep the other appointment. How could 3 years have already gone by? It really didn't seem that long, but then time flies when you are ignoring your lady parts.

At least I can get both appointments over with in the same afternoon. :)

Ugggg!

 

Remember my friend Clarice? Clarice is a Boob Girl. It's a long story, but one day, years ago, Alan and I acquired a full box of fake boobs. There is not a lot you can do with fake boobs, but not being one to waste things, I decided to make a Boob Girl. I made 2 and sent one to a friend. Clarice makes me smile, and she reminds me that laughter is pretty good medicine. As is keeping doctor's appointments!


 ~Me :)

Lifescript Quiz: How Much Do Know About Women's Health?

Nostalgia In Autumn

 

"There is something incredibly nostalgic and significant about the annual cascade of autumn leaves."

~Joe L. Wheeler


It's beautiful outside. It's still autumn, but there is a tender chill in the air. Not cold enough to hurt my bones, but cool enough that a sweater feels like a hug. Autumn was on it's best behavior this past week. Last Monday it was 85 degrees, and not at all cold, as Alan and I took our late afternoon Eco Tour of the San Francisco Bay. Friday the temperature dipped into the high 30s to the mid 40s overnight, and a soft blanket of snow dusted the hills. Autumn leaves and snow is a beautiful way to transition into winter. Funny thing, but that transition always reminds me of people I miss. It's something about the changing temperature I think... rather than the falling leaves... not sure... but in autumn I just seem to think about old friends, long gone, yet still so close in my heart that I could close my eyes and feel them next to me.

I miss them. Especially in autumn. So I whisper... I miss you, and hope wherever they are they miss me to.

 ~Me

And Now, The Moody Blues, Forever Autumn