San Francisco In October

 "At night the fog was thick and full of light, and sometimes voices."

~Erin Bow, Plain Kate

A couple days ago, Alan and I decided to take a long ride along the San Mateo coastline into San Francisco. We were both hungry for some fish and chips and we decided to try a little place in Fisherman's Wharf we had heard about recently called, Codmother Fish and Chips. It is a little hole in the wall place on Jones street, that makes authentic British style fish and chips. We got some to go, and headed to Fort Baker, which is basically under the Golden Gate Bridge. Let me tell you, the fish was amazing, and the fog rolling under the Golden Gate only made it better!I love the fog in San Francisco. It's full of color and shadows and it is so beautiful it sometimes takes my breath away! 

"One day if I do go to heaven... I'll look around and say, "It ain't bad, but is ain't San Francisco."

~Herb Caen

Codmother Fish And Chips

2824 Jones Street, San Francisco, Ca

If you are visiting Fisherman's Wharf, stop in and get some of the delicious food at Codmother's Fish And Chips. And if you are still a bit hungry, try their deep fried Oreo or Snicker's bar. 

It is OMG good!

San Francisco in October is delicious!

Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Walking In October

"October's the month

When the smallest breeze

Gives us a shower

Of autumn leaves.

Bonfires and pumpkins,

Leaves sailing down...

October is red

And Golden brown."

~Unknown

There is nothing like walking in a park in autumn, especially after the first hard rain of the season. The chill in the air that compels one to reach into the back of the closet and pull out a favorite old sweater, just to feel it's against the bare skin, also reminds one to not take life or time for granted.

Life or Time.

The beauty of the season, of the transitioning leaves and the changing weather is life affirming!

Waste not one moment of autumn. Waste not one leaf.

Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Vintage Halloween

"I was born on the night of Samhain, when the barrier between the wolds is whisper-thin and when magic, old magic, sings it's heady and sweet song to anyone who cares to hear it."

~Carolyn MacCullough, Once A Witch

I am a big fan of vintage greeting cards. I love the old fashioned artwork and the quaint styling, so this year I decided to have a little fun making my own. When I can I like to base my photography on my own impression of what I am seeing through the lens, not necessarily exactly how the scene realistically appears. I don't do it often, but when I find a scene that reminds me of a favorite painting, I apply extra lighting or perhaps do a simple adjustment of the contrast. 

Mostly I do it with natural scenes, but the other day, while photographing some cute little Halloween figurines, it occurred to me that I could probably create some vintage styled Halloween cards inspired by those wonderful vintage cards from days gone by!

Tell me what you think!

What do you think?

Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

A Face In The Crowd: Mr. Scary

"Evil was coming. I wondered whose face it would be wearing."

~Dean Koontz, Odd Thomas

While walking around Fisherman's Wharf yesterday, I spotted this face in the sidewalk, in front of Madam Tussauds Wax Museum. Yes, we had an amazing time there, and yes I have tons of pictures to share, but that will come later. For now, contemplate Mr. Scary... does he look like anyone you know? He seems somewhat familiar to me, but I just can't quite figure out who he looks like! 

All I know is this face gives me the chills!

Thoughts?

The Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Spooky

~Me :)

Pumpkin Goodness

"My favorite word is 'pumpkin.' You are a pumpkin. Or you are not. I am."

~Harrison E. Salisbury

Pumpkins. I LOVE pumpkins. I love the taste of them. I love the nutrition of them. I love that they make an amazing air freshner! True story... Alan and I purchased a new car back in the mid 1990's. A silver KIA Sephia. It was a great car, and we liked it very much, except for one thing... it smelled! Bad! The odor began a couple days after we purchased it. We took it back to the dealership, and they tried, but never found the source of the terrible odor. It was like the one episode of Seinfeld was written about us! 8 months goes by, and we had tried every cleaner known to man, with no luck in ridding the car of that awful smell. Finally we gave up and resigned ourselves to the fact that our car simply had

 BODY ODOR!

 What can you do?

 A couple months later came Autumn, and with it, all those lovely spices, leaves, pumpkins, and apples. It was AUTUMN and we learned to paid no attention to the smell. We go used to it. Then one day, about six months later, we noticed that the odor was, in fact, gone. It had finally run it's course. Yay! Or had it? You see, we found something strange in the trunk of our car, on Easter Sunday no less, buried deep beneath some papers and car cleaning cloths was a pumpkin, which had been long forgotten from last Autumn. Not a big pumpkin, but a pumpkin all the same. It was pretty gross to look at, but a dream to clean up, and it had, apparently, neutralized the offending smell of our beautiful silver KIA,

 in the months since Halloween!

Excellent!

After that, we occasionally bought small pumpkins, cut the top off, cleaned it out, and put it down in a piece of Tupperware, to hold it in tight, and put it under the passenger side seat, to let it do it's thing. We change it about once a month or so. You can also rub cinnamon or any kind of spice into the the inside walls of the pumpkin to have a nice spiced scent.If you want it to last longer, don't cut the pumpkin, just let it age naturally.

Apple Hill Pumpkin Gallery

 2014

:)

Leaf Of The Day

Great Pumpkin Resources

All About Pumpkins
 Pondly
PUMPKIN NOOK

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

The 17 Mile Drive In October

"The two girls grew up at the edge of the ocean and knew it was paradise,

 and better than Eden, which was only a garden."

~~Eve Babitz, 

Sex And Rage: Advice To Young Ladies Eager For A Good Time: A Novel

It's been a couple years since Alan and I drove down the lovely 17 Mile Drive that borders Pacific Grove/Monterey/Carmel. I know I go on and on about how much I love the San Francisco Bay, and I do, but the beauty of the Monterey Bay is not to be taken lightly. It is amazingly beautiful, in fact... it stuns me! No wonder so many have found great creative inspiration here. I know I do!

17 Mile Drive Gallery

2014

A lovely golden sunset to end a perfect Monterey Day!

Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Flutterby On An October Day

"A fallen blossom

Returning to the bough, I thought...

But no, a butterfly."

~Arakida Moritake, 

Traditional Japanese Poetry

We visited the Pacific Grove Monarch Sanctuary yesterday, and it was it's usual beautiful, ethereal experience. The Monarch count was way down, in fact the lowest I remember it being, but the ones that were there were quite active. It always makes me feel good to visit there, and just relax and let go of whatever is sitting on my soul. It's an amazing experience! Perfect for the weary soul on vacation.

Monarch Gallery 2014

Beautiful.

Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Happy

~Me :)