A Face In The Crowd: San Ramon... A Whole Foods Smile

"Where health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itself, art cannot manifest, strength cannot fight, wealth becomes useless, and intelligence cannot be applied."

~Herophilus

A Whole Foods Smile :)

In an effort to eat better, and keep my body moving in a healthy direction, I decided to stop in at a Whole Foods market for lunch the other day, and while I was looking through the wonderful organic fruits and vegetables. As I searched, I happened to see these lovely pieces of Jackfruit staring back at me! I have never eaten Jackfruit before, so I didn't purchase any while I was there, but after a simple Google search of them I found out that they are really good for you, and probably taste pretty good as well. Somewhat like Tasty Fruit gum as described at NPR. So, maybe I will put them on my Christmas list for Alan. You see, each Christmas we make special gift bags for each other, filled with organic tastiness, and we try to include at least one thing that the other has never tried before. It's our little way of encouraging us to try new things. The problem is, we are now at an age where we are running out of new things to try! LOL. Middle age is fun! No really, it is!

Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

RIP Mike Nichols

"There's nothing better than discovering, to your own astonishment, what you're meant to do. 

It's like falling in love."

~Mike Nichols

Vanity Fair, 2008

I was very sad to learn yesterday, of the passing of the amazing Mike Nichols. Mr. Nichols directed some of my very favorite movies, among them, The Birdcage, Working Girl, and the classic, The Graduate. While it bothered me a bit, to different degrees over the years, that there was a glaring flaw in The Graduate. You know, the scene where Benjamin Braddock was supposed to be on his way to Berkeley to see Elaine Robinson, and then it happens. Benjamin is seen heading to Berkeley, by way of San Francisco! Which would be fine, had be been heading up the San Mateo Peninsula, and then heading east with the skyline of the city behind him, but no, Mr. Nichols showed Benjamin heading into San Francisco instead. Berkeley is in the East Bay, so that was a geographical impossibility. Sigh. 

That tiny bit of silliness had never kept me from enjoying The Graduate, indeed I have had many great discussions over the year about why I consider it one of the top ten films of all time, but that trip across the Oakland/San Francisco Bay bridge has made me grimace once or twice. LOL. I guess, deep down, I thought maybe one day I might be able to ask the man himself why he made that directorial decision, just to be able to hear it from the master himself. Alas, one more celebrity that I admire, and who has made my life better is now gone yet again. I will never have that conversation, and that mystery won't be solved. And I guess I will never learn that, unfortunately, our idols aren't immortal, but when you see talent like his, or Robin Williams, or John Hughes, or any one of the amazing talents lost to the world this year, doesn't it seem like they should have been?

RIP Mike Nichols

And Thank you, Sir!

The Final Scene From The Graduate

Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Quiet

~Me :)

Things I Think About While Shopping For Thanksgiving Dinner...

"I bought two items to get a third free, and then I returned the two. I should be Shopper Of The Year."

~Jarod Kintz

This Book Is Not For Sale

Things I Think About While Shopping For Thanksgiving Dinner...

1. It's just Alan and me, do we really need a 30lb turkey?

2. Dylan McDermott really is the sexiest man alive! 

3. No Alan is!

4. Dylan McDermott is the sexiest actor alive!

5. Or is...

6. No. Dylan McDermott really is the sexiest actor alive!

7. I wonder if Robert Wagner killed Natalie Wood?

8. Should I make brown and serve rolls for Thanksgiving?

9. I miss Robin Williams so much!

10. I love the rain.

11. I love making Thanksgiving dinner for my hubby!

12. It's not easy dieting this time of year!

13. I have an itch in the center of my back that I can't reach! Help!

14. I miss Medical Center with Chad Everett

15. How many people in this store with me right now, have a gun on them?

16. I would rather not die in a Walmart Grocery store.

17. I have the song, "Oh Babe, What Would You Say" by Hurricane Smith stuck in my head.

18. I need to pick up a cinnamon broom.

19. The leaves are falling off the trees too soon.

20. I wish I knew where I lost my brand new Nikon Coolpix camera?

21. I think a bowl of tomato soup would be just about perfect for lunch today.

22. Why did S&W stop making Spiced Crabapples?

23. If I could invite Dylan McDermott to Thanksgiving dinner,  would I? Or would I be too nervous?

24. I think the allegations against Bill Cosby are probably true, and that breaks my heart.

25. Charles Manson just got married? Who would marry him? WOW!

26. I think I believe that the Amityville house was haunted. 

27. M*A*C*Y*S always says "Believe" this time of year. Believe in what? Sales? God? Miracles?

28. Singing... Mares eat oats, and does eat oats, and little lambs eat ivy... .

29. Charlie's Angels was never the same without Farrah Fawcett.

30. Am I the only one in the world who likes Lima beans? I can never find them.

31. Why do I always forget to bring the reuseable grocery bags?

Just your average, every day dose of Randomosity.

Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Happy But Busy

~Me :)

Life With Joey

"If cats spoke, it would say things like, "Hey, I don't see a problem here."

~Roy Blount

Can you believe Joey is a year old? I can't believe, we have owned him almost a year! He came running into our lives last year, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and it was pretty much love at first sight for all of us! And while adding another cat to our family was the last thing we had planned, it didn't take long to wonder where he had been all our lives! He is kind, and funny, and very respectful of his big brothers... even Dylan... whose official nickname is Mr. Pissypants, because of his little kitty anger issues. LOL. Joey loves Dylan, and wants to play with him so much, but most of the time Dylan will have none of it. Although Dylan will play the odd game of patty-cake once in a while. Mostly Joey plays with Hendrix, and it been very good for both of them! Hendrix needed a playmate, and Joey needed a big brother, so sometimes things that seem hopeless, have a delightful way of working out! We love our Joey cuddle bug, and we will be a family for a very long time!

This Thanksgiving I Am Most Thankful For Joey!

:)

Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Mr. November... And Suspension Of Disbelief

"Sometimes she sat and let her mind go blank and her eyes go out of focus, so that she watched the slow, jerky movements of the motes that floated across her pupils. They amazed her as a child. Now she saw them occasionally bumping into another body without acknowledgment,

 and then floating on, free and alone."

~Robert Goolrick

A Reliable Wife

I was out leaf peeping around Berkeley the other day, when I spotted a single leaf, seemingly floating in mid-air. I was fascinated. I wanted to just stare at the leaf, and take it's picture, and pretend it was indeed, somehow, floating in the blue space between the trees. Unfortunately, I knew deep down that it wasn't the case, it wasn't some kind of supernatural miracle, but the obsession was amazing while it lasted.

 I allowed the temporary suspension of disbelief for a moment or two, then I took a clearer look forward and found the leaf was resting on the thinnest of silk spider web strands. Apparently the spider and I share a fondness of Autumn leaves. LOL. And impossible situations. It's days like this that he crosses my mind. I wonder where Mr. November is. I wonder if he is happy, and I wonder what it would be like to see him again, even after I have gone to great lengths to never be in his web again. 

Why do I still do that?

Floating On Air

Is suspension of disbelief

Like Autumn leaves, people float in and out of your life... but some are unforgettable!

Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Saturday In San Francisco

"It's simply a very romantic place. Just one look at any of those 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 become ravenous in such a place?"

~Julie Child

Last month, early last month, Charles and I made the trek across the Bay Bridge to take a ride on the San Francisco Bay. We had tickets to ride the Rocket Boat. I told you all about that in a post a month ago, so I won't bother with those details. This post is all about a challenge I have given myself, which is to take the best photo of San Francisco I can, while crossing the San Francisco Bay Bridge. It's something I came up with years ago, and I have been working toward that goal ever since!

 The traffic on that particular day, October 4th, was quite heavy, so we weren't moving as fast as the usual traffic flow. Saturday, in the city, are always busy, particularly when the weather is as glorious as it was on that day. It was beautiful! Still, I didn't get that perfect picture I have been striving for, but it's okay, I never get tired of trying.

God I Love It Here!

Leaf Of The Day

 

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Autumn Moss

"The artist is a receptacle for the emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider's web."

~Pablo Picasso

Last month, on the day of the first really good rain the Bay Area had seen for a while, I decided to do some photos in Tilden Park, in the Berkeley hills. I knew the rain would make every thing gorgeous, and it did! The little droplets made everything look like shiny diamonds when the sun hit it just right. Well, almost everything. Spiders still look like spiders. But hey, everything else looked gorgeous!

Even this tree which was bare, except for the mossy tree.

Hmmm. While that red moss is kinda pretty, it somehow doesn't seem to really be moss! I am trying not to think about what it could be. Like maybe it is a cocoon that a some giant creepy crawly burst forth from. Or some odd alien kind of thing. Something Stephen King might write about. I know, it's probably just moss, but is there such a thing as red moss? Say yes! Yes there is! Please!

Fine. Now I just freaked myself out!

Leaf Of The Day

 

Mood: Intrigued

~Me :)