Rainbows And Woodpeckers

 

"A lion does not flinch at the laughter coming from a hyena.

 A gorilla does not budge from a banana thrown at it from a monkey. 

A nightingale does not stop singing it's beautiful song, at the intrusion of an annoying woodpecker."

~Suzy Kassam

Rise Up And Salute The Sun: The Writings Of Suzy Kassam

The weather was a gentle mixture of sunshine, rain and rainbows. Well, I guess rainbows are more of a weather phenomenon then weather itself, but the point is, we didn't actually get all the apocalypse predicted. The Sierras, saw heavy snow, and the Bay Area was slammed pretty hard, but here in the San Joaquin country, we made it through pretty well! Louis Park was pretty today, that's where I photographed this gorgeous Acorn woodpecker, resting among the last leaves in the park. Birds were easier to find, as you might imagine, but I didn't get anything new, what I did get was beautiful, and it gives me an idea for what to plan for when we begin a new year of birding, on January 1st! There were lots of birders on the roads with us, which was nice, it's always good to see!

Winter? What Winter?

 

"Color doesn't just add something to a certain something. It gives it life."

~Anthony T. Hincks 

We have had a series of winter storms come through the last few days, so the sky has been dark, and the trees are now merely skeletons, but with the few leaves hanging on, there is color that encourages me to keep looking up. This Sumac tree, in Lincoln Center, continues to surprise me with it's will to live on, and not let go of autumn! Winter? What winter? What is this winter you speak of?  *wink*

Merry Christmas!

 Merry Christmas!

"One of the most glorious messes in the world, 

is the mess created on Christmas day! Don't clean it up too quickly!"

~Andy Rooney

My boys, Tyler, Simon and Joey...

Ellipsis Christmas Movie Countdown #25

 

"It is a truth universally acknowledged fact

 that when one part of your life starts going okay, another falls spectacularly to pieces."

-Bridget Jones (Rene Zellweger)

Bridget Jones's Diary

By Helen Fielding

Bridget Jones's Diary... a Christmas movie? You bet it is! It begins somewhere around Christmas, and follows Bridget through a year of  highs and lows and life as a "singleton" in her 30's, in London! Single women world wide can identify with Bridget's life, in fact, some married women can too! I saw a lot of Bridget in my own life, like my ability to make a fool of myself, while attempting public speaking. And I, like Bridget, had the worst taste in men, until the right one came along. Christmas and New years are but co-stars in this movie, but it's enough to make it a honest view of life during the holidays, during a year in the life of all women, but especially, Bridget Jones's.

All Things Christmas Eve & Movie #24

 

"One Christmas eve, in my childhood, my dad asked if I wanted to leave alcohol out for Santa. I agreed, but said to only leave a little as I was afraid I would wake up on Christmas morning to see, Santa drunkenly circling over our house in his sleigh."

~Stewart Stafford

Whew! We made it! If the storm doesn't flatten my condo (see my previous post) I will lots of time to myself to bake cookies, wrap packages, watch MS NOW, and listen to some holiday music. I found something wonderful on YouTube... Hipster Holiday Party Jazz. I all stuff mid-century, I find it truly amazing! If you're not really mid-century hipster, you might still enjoy a different way of hearing the holiday classics! Anyway, I hope you enjoy the music! As for the movie I will be watching...

Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

Tornados? On Christmas Eve?

 

"Do not be angry with rain; it simply does not know how to fall upwards."

~Vladimir Nabokov

Mammatus clouds

Stockton, Ca

December 24th, 2019

A tornado? On Christmas eve? Well, it's not unheard of! We had a small tornado touch down on Christmas eve in 2019. I went into World Market to do a little last minute shopping, and when I came out, I spotted some very strange clouds. Mammatus clouds to be exact! If you have never been directly under them, let me explain, they are the both spooky and gorgeous at the same time. But they are fine, they don't cause tornados or anything, they just let you know you should take shelter, because unstable air is imminent! Right now tornados are "possible at a lower risk", but stuff can change quick! I plan to be upstairs all day tomorrow, wrapping presents, and watching Donald Trump's fall, due to the Epstein files. There are a lot of windows where I will be, so I should be able to see it all coming. And maybe I will see the Mammatus clouds too! 

New York Times: Extreme Weather

I guess the storm will be heading straight into Stockton over night, and will stick around a few days. We'll see what happens, who knows, maybe I will get a few new photos! Below are what I think might be the last of the Sugar Maple in my yard. If we are getting as much wind as they are forecasting, they are only a few hours from falling from the tree. There is something sad about winter being this pushy.                

Ellipsis Christmas Movie Countdown #23

 

"Isn't that always the way? Whenever you have a body you don't want found, everyone falls all over it."

~Jules (Peter Ustinov)

We're No Angels

Three escaped convicts learn the meaning of friendship at Christmas. That's it in a nutshell! But a lot of great stuff happens along the way too. It's not like any other Christmas movie I've ever seen. I just love the old movies, and the values they bring. I don't want to say much about the plot, because if you haven't seen it before you should just jump in and enjoy the movie! That's all. I'm watching it again tonight because I just need some holiday spirit, and to get lost in the plot of this nearly perfect holiday film!

Christmas Past... December 18th - 24th 1971

 

"I've been and kid and I've been an adult, And believe me, adultery isn't what it's cracked up to be!'

~Danny Partridge (Danny Bonaduce) 

The Partridge Family

This was the cover of TV Guide, the week of Christmas, 1971. I was 9 years old, and usually glued to the TV set, even on Christmas! During this week, The Odd Couple aired their Scrooge episode, Scrooge Gets An Oscar, and Christmas at the Whitehouse, is described as, the First Family prepares for the holiday season. LOL. Can you imagine that today? LOL! Family? What family? Trump's children? From which marriage? Oh my, the political zeitgeist from those days, would have reeled at a president ogling the Rockettes, or young female elves, passing out holiday cheer! It didn't take much back then, to end a political career. I wonder what it would take today? Perhaps it would actually take Donald Trump shooting someone on 5th avenue... but now, when I think about it, I am not so sure.

Visit Ultimate70s.com for more information about the TV listings

 from the week of Dec 18th -24th 1971 

Ellipsis Christmas Movie Countdown #22

 

"The odd thing about this form of communication is that you're more likely to talk about nothing than something. But I just want to say that all this nothing has meant more to me than so many somethings."

~Kathleen Kelly To Joe Fox in an email.

You've Got Mail

You've Got Mail, is another movie with a loose association with Christmas, but a sentimental one all the same. It is basically a remake of, Shop Around The Corner, but updated to reflect the ins and outs of the love in the computer age. The three little words, you've got mail, which used to tell you when your email had arrived to your inbox, always made me smile. It was fun. Then one day, AOL lost it's damn mind and began to shut everything down, and turn itself into a giant generic billboard. Gone were the AOL Journals, eventually they removed the chat rooms, and so much more that made it the place to be. It was a sad turn of events, but I will always love AOL services for the friends I made, some of which are still friends of mine today! Hi, Karen, Patrick and Kat! Oh well, the AOL of yesteryear, featured in this movie, reminds us how lovely life could be in the 90's, and that was a good thing, I don't know, I suppose it'd merely quaint by today's standards, but it worked for my generation. The love in this movie, which is actually realized some point after New Years Eve, is a great movie to just feel the romance of true love, and the love of times gone by! All that was from my memories, but Kathleen Kelly and Joe Fox, have another story to tell. So, sit back, grab your Starbuck's coffee, or homemade Keurig pod, and watch life and love in 1998! And enjoy the autumn holidays, that are portrayed in this film so beautifully. 

Dear Santa, Bring Your Umbrella

 

"December's wintry breath is already

 clouding the pond, frosting the pane, obscuring summer's memory... "

~John Geddes 

A Familiar Rain

Winter, where I live, is beginning with a fierce statement! It's going to rain for the next 10 days or so, as another atmospheric river makes landfall! Christmas eve, and Christmas day should be especially brutal! This should be an interesting week!

Ellipsis Christmas Movie Countdown #21

 

"Sometimes we have to have a leap of faith. To believes what no one else does."

~Ed Warren (Patrick Wilson)

The Conjuring 2

It's the last day, well partial day, of autumn, so I though it would be fun to feature a movie that brought a little autumn horror to Christmas. This movie is the second in the "Conjuring" series, and a holiday favorite for hubby and me. It's set in 1977 Enfield London England, and details the famous Enfield haunting of the Hodgson family, which coincidently, takes place during Christmas. There are plenty of scares in this movie, so watch it in the dark, but make no mistake, there are plenty of heartwarming moments as well. I know, it's a little off beat as a choice for a Christmas movie recommendation, but it's a good change of pace movie. Give it a try. I just love the autumn months, they give us such variety in our available choices!

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #91

 

"How can you understand something is really beautiful? Very simple: When one thing comes out of your life, you wait desperately for it to come back. And Autumn's beauty is such a beauty!"

~Mehmet Murat ildan

It's time to say goodbye. Autumn ends at 7:03 AM PT today, so it counts as an autumn day for about 7 hours. That's enough for me. When the sun is out, I can tell it's a winter sky now, the last bit of autumn is gone now. It's going to be raining for the next 10 days or so, so there's that! But I don't have much to complain about really, autumn brought the color, in it's own time, and it seems the color this autumn loved most of all was pinkish red! Well done, autumn. You did good!

Goodnight Autumn 2025