One Month, A Million Little Joys Plus Autumn Leaf Of The Day #29

 

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."

 

L. M. Montgomery

Anne Of Green Gables

 

Fuzzy little autumn creatures. What's there not to love? And it's even better that I spotted it in October. My favorite month gives me everything in just 31 days! My anniversary. Halloween candy. The turning autumn leaves. The Pacific Flyway, virtually at my front door, as I know the mergansers will show up in the channel eventually. The smell of cinnamon and clove is everywhere. Spumoni. Halloween costumes. Scary movies. And that first cool breeze. One month, a million little joys. October.

 

~Me

14 Years And 1 Day

Morning: Slept

Afternoon: Slept

Evening: Ate grass. Decided grass is boring.

Scratched. Hard to reach itchy bits.

Slept.

~Jackie French

Diary Of A Mad Wombat 

As of today, my blog is 14 years, and one day old. I missed posting on my anniversary, yesterday, because, well, I guess for the same reason that I have done very little blogging this year in general... Donald John Trump! It's stupid, I know, but I have let him drain my creativity to a certain degree. I am having to admit the truth to myself, that the depression I have fought so deeply has returned and he is a part of it. There are more things going on, but I don't want to touch on that right now. In fact, I don't want to dwell on him either. I just want to acknowledge that I still love my blog, and I am trying to get back into the swing of things, because autumn will begin soon, and I don't intend to miss that for any reason!

So, let's take a look at what I've photographed lately...

On August 18th, the Stockton Ports, which is the farm league team associated with the Oakland A's, had a fireworks display after one of their games, and as luck would have it, our front porch is almost a front row seat for the fun. Apparently, we are facing the waterfront district at just the right angle.

They aren't perfect shots by any stretch, but I will check the schedule and have the tripod ready for the next round in September! A little more practice is in order.

The Solar Eclipse Of 2017

Again, not perfect shots, but I was happy with the outcome. I didn't have the right lens for my conventional digital camera, the NIKON, but my smart phone, a Samsung 7, did pretty well with bouncing of the eclipse off the pool. This last photo was at the maximum 75% in Northern California.

And finally...

 I engaged in a little retail therapy the other day. I saw this chenille throw at Pier 1 and couldn't resist it. It matches the autumn theme I have in the living room, and it reminded me of the autumn leaves that I love so much! I also found this pretty candle...

It's Spice Cake scented, and it smells amazing! Well, as amazing as a candle can smell! LOL. I am such a sucker for anything autumn, the colors give me a wonderful sense of well being! And the spicy scent inspired me to bake some pumpkin muffins. I am really excited to get back into photography this Fall, and I think this will be a really good year!

And just between you and me, and pretty much everybody else, it seems like Donald Trump's misdeeds will be catching up with him soon. With any luck, by the end of the year he will be gone to the pokey, or at least unseated as our president. My fingers are crossed!

I am working on defeating the depression. In addition to the pain in the ass that is Trump, we have other problems going on that will need some resolve one way or the other. Alan and I are still going strong, but money is tight and we are working on refinancing and maybe pulling some equity from the house. I will share more about that later, but for now I just want to plan for some autumn fun, like baking and photographing the beauty in the world. I just need to concentrate on the things that chases away the darkness. 

So stay tuned!

 There is a lot more to come!

 I will probably post a couple more times before I am officially back with my autumn leaf portraits for 2017!

Mood: Happy/Encouraged
Me :)

 

Happy Together! In Love Forever!

"So, it's not gonna be easy. It's going to be really hard; were gonna have to work at this everyday, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, everyday. You and me... everyday."

~Nicholas Sparks

The Notebook

 

We did it! We made it to our 26th anniversary! Life has taken some really odd turns in those years. Times of complete happiness, times of great sorrow. Doubts. Fortune. Times when the checkbook ended up in the negative. Health. Illness. You know, all the things that the vows remind you of when you sign up for the adventure, but that you don't really know how it will be till it's experienced. We have faced it all and them some. Like the loss of our beloved cat Elvis.  

Elvis was our best friend. He was also an amazing marriage guide, in that if we got out of line, he would set us straight! We had Elvis about 6 years, when one day he did a nose dive, from the top of the dresser, onto our bodies as we slept! BANG! It was quite a way to wake up! "What the HELL was that?" Alan said groggily. "I don't know" I responded. And I didn't! He had never done that before. Then a couple days later, at about the same time of day, he did a similar action, by running across our bodies while we slept! This was quite uncharacteristic of him. What in the world was he trying to tell us?

This behavior went on for about two weeks, with enough randomness that he would let our guard down and think he was over whatever it was compelling him to do that. Then one morning, I heard him jump onto the dresser, and I quickly cautioned Alan that the Elvis bomb was incoming! We both rolled to our sides at the same time, narrowly missing him landing hard between us! As we talked about it over breakfast that morning, I realized that Elvis had been doing this for a couple weeks, which coincided with the amount of time Alan and I had been fussing over an issue in our lives!

Elvis, loved us enough to put us in our place! He had picked up on the fussing, and he would have NO part of it! Dive bombing us was his way of bring us together, to solve a common problem. When I told my theory to Alan, he said that it was worth working on coming to reasonable compromise to the issue... that day... and we did. And that night, for the first time in a long time, we didn't go to bed annoyed with each other, and Elvis never dive bombed us again!

And we have never seen a hint of that behavior in our new little boys, in fact Hendrix considers bed time Love-Love time. He tucks us in, and purrs and kneads on us, and then we all drift off to sleep. Bedtime just wouldn't be the same without those kitty kisses at night! Alan and I learned from the world's best cat, to not go to bed angry, or resentful, or negative of any kind, and while that lesson was learned completely, we appreciate the nightly gentle reminder from Hendrix to never forget!

We are happy together!

In love forever!

 Leaf Of The Day

October 13th, 2016

Mood: Happy

~Me :) 

August 23rd, 2003

"Writing is the only way I have to explain my own life to myself."

~Pat Conroy

My Reading Life

I have been blogging since August 23rd, 2003! How in the world is it possible all this time as passed so quickly? So much has happened since that day... all those years ago... that I decided to start Ellipsis. At first I didn't have much to say. I just wanted to post my photos, and let them say that words for me. Folks could make of it what the would. Then one day someone asked me my opinion... I think it was about the upcoming election... and to my surprise, I had something to say! And I have been, which occasional intervals, talking ever since. The last couple years have been busy, and it's taken some turns I never expected, let alone saw coming! But we rode them out, and here we are, living in our own home, and that is probably been the biggest surprise of all! 

In that life is never boring I have some news. I am not really wanting to talk about it in this post, but maybe tomorrow, or later this week. Soon. If you are following me on Twitter you may already know a little about it. It's health related. I don't mean to be cryptic, I just don't know how much I want to share in this particular post. I will expand on it soon. So, you will just have to come back to find out whats up! LOL. How's that for a cliffhanger?

And speaking of upcoming posts, have you seen the autumn light yet? You know how the soft yellow glow tends to show up a couple weeks before it officially becomes autumn, yesterday morning was the first time I saw it. It was gorgeous! The soft autumn glow was coming through the window and shining on Joey, bringing out all his colors. He has orange, gray, brown, and white mixed into his tabby stripes. He is a beautiful cat, and one of the best things in my life. 

So, there are plenty of upcoming posts about Joey, and Hendrix and Dylan, and the autumn sun, and my Leaf Of The Day project will be starting up beginning the first day of autumn, and if all that isn't enough to keep me blogging, American Horror Story begins a full month earlier than usual, and our vacation happens in October, as does Halloween, and the elections are in full crazy mode and...

and...

and...

Sheesh. I am already tired!

LOL.

Just stay tuned. There are a lot more blog posts coming.

 We have a lot to discuss!

The first pre-autumn leaf.

Cull Canyon, August 14th, 2016

Mood: Content

~Me :)

Happy 25th Anniversary!

"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep, 

because finally reality is better than your dreams."

~Dr. Suess

35 Years As Best Friends.

25 Years As Best Friends Who Got Married.

You ARE The Love Of My Life.

You Are My Everything.

You Are My Alan.

Happy Anniversary Darling... I adore you!

Love,

 That Woman You Married!

Leaf Of The Day

October 13th 2015

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

In Every Change...

"In every change, in every fallen leaf there is

 some pain,

 some beauty. 

And that's the way new leave grow."

~Amit Ray

Vacation officially begins on Tuesday morning, our 25th wedding anniversary, and we will be celebrating for the next 3 weeks or so. The day trips are planned, and the cameras are on standby. Plumas will probably be the longest trip in terms of distance and time spent on the road, but this year is simply a must! Not only are the leaves all lit up and ready for photographing, but there is an added feature to visiting Plumas County... the quilt barns! Over 70 barns, throughout the county, will be decorated with different squares of colorful quilt patterns! It's like one big public art project sprinkled all over the county! I can't wait! My cameras will be getting an extra workout this October in Plumas. The leaves, the quilt barns and the Halloween decorations. A true feast for the weary photographer! 

But don't think our vacation is all about the trips here and there, it's also a wonderful chance for Alan and I to get into the kitchen with some delicious, organic ingredients, and cook up a storm! I have been wanting to make some cannoli and some risotto, and I know Alan has a few culinary ideas up his sleeve. And then there is the time we need to spend on the continuing project of unpacking, and getting the house in order... finally! So there will be days when we will just stop. Clean out a box. Paint a wall. Swim in the pool! You know... just enjoy our new home. Wine and fondue. A decadent dessert. Midnight swims. Long autumn naps.

 What more could I ask for? 

Life Is Good!

Leaf Of The Day

October 11th, 2015 

Mood: Excited

~Me :)

24 Years

"To be fully seen by someone, then, and loved anyhow...

 this is a human offering that can border on miraculous."

~Elizabeth Gilbert,

 Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace With Marriage

Today is our 24th Wedding Anniversary!

Strange man... how in the world did you ever put up with me

 for that long?

Well, whatever the reason, I don't need to know, but I thank God for it!

I love you Alan!

Happy Anniversary!

And Now... The Leaf Of The Day...

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 175~ My Favorite October Memories

"In the entire circle of the year there are no days so delightful as those of a fine October, when the trees are bare to the mild heavens, and the red leaves bestrew the road, and you can feel the breath of winter, morning and evening... no days so calm, so tenderly solemn, and with such a reverent meekness in the air."

~Alexander Smith

I knew the last four weeks would go by fast, but I had NO idea how fast! It's November 1st, and I am already mourning the loss of October. I love it so much. But there is one more week of vacation, and Alan and I still have a few adventures coming up this week, and a lot of photo opportunities, so I am am happy. The memories of our vacation will keep me warm all through winter.

Happiness :)






"Nothing is really lost to us as long as we remember it."

~ L. M. Montgomery, The Story Girl


~Me :)

Now, I wonder what my friend JR has posted for today. Let's go see, shall we?

JR
http://graffitionacyberwall.blogspot.com/2012/10/apadf6-172.html

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 166~ Ghosts After A Storm

"Ghosts have a way of misleading you; they can make your thoughts as heavy as branches after a storm."

~Rebecca Maizel, Infinite Days

 

Yesterday was our made up holiday of Family Day. Alan and I came up with the idea of a special holiday while on our honeymoon back in 1990. On October 23rd of that year, he and I decided to venture over to Half Moon Bay to pick out some pumpkins for Halloween. Half Moon Bay is pretty much pumpkin central for the Bay Area. Anyway, while we walked around the pumpkin patch we took lots of photos. LOTS OF PHOTOS. I pretty much wanted to remember every bit of our first pumpkin hunting expedition as a married couple. At one point, Alan and I decided to see who could get the best photo of the day, so we went in opposite directions with the intent of meeting back together in 20 minutes.

As I searched around the pumpkin patch, I spotted a rather nice looking young man picking out small pumpkins with his young son. I thought it would make a sweet photo, so as the man began toward me with two pumpkins under his arms, and his son by his side carrying pumpkins in the exact same manner, I decided to take a photo of the two fellas. As they came closer to me, the father filled the frame of his camera... and he didn't look at all happy with me! Yikes! Had I made them feel uncomfortable? Well, within a couple seconds I figured out what had upset the man. You see, he wasn't just any man visiting a pumpkin patch with his child, no, it was Joe Montana and he was not happy with my taking his photo! Suddenly I got a lesson what it looks like when a pissed off pro quarterback looks like coming at you.

He and his family wanted to spend a quiet day as a family. I didn't realize it was him until he was coming toward me. I took a couple photos, and then put the camera away. It was almost time to meet Alan, so I walked away quickly. As Alan and I sat at the picnic table, enjoying a slice of pie, he and I traded stories about what he had found. Needless to say, I had the best story! LOL. A short time later, the Montanas sat down a row behind us, and we could hear them talking about how nice it had been to have a nice long family day together. And that was it. Family Day was born. Alan and I also reasoned that since our wedding day was just 10 days earlier, it would be good to have a special day to spend with our future children, so they wouldn't feel left out from anniversary days, or getaways.

We never had children. It just wasn't in the cards. But Family Day is still something we look forward to.

:)

Since that time of meeting Joe Montana, Alan and I have had spontaneous encounters with celebrities every year around our anniversary vacation. We have met... Joe Montana, Helen Hunt, Elvira, Regis Philbin, Kathy Lee Gifford, Howard Stern, Harry Hamlin, Jessie Jackson, the Duchess of York Sarah "Fergie" Ferguson, and a few others. It's always fun to contemplate who we might come across. It's a tradition. Well, it's our tradition. It wouldn't be autumn... or our anniversary vacation without it. It's just fun! :)

So, this post is only a small part of what all we did and saw. I lots to share over the next few weeks.

Yesterday, I saw ghosts. Or orbs. Or ghostly orbs... again. Hmmmm. Someone is following me. I think. Spooky. Especially since I have only been having trouble with orbs the last few weeks.


Stay Tuned!

~Me

Today's Link...

JR
http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/10/apadf6-164.html

He Still Loves Me After 19 Years!

From For Ellipsis

"Only choose a man in marriage a man whom you would choose as a friend if he were a woman."

-Joseph Joubert

19 years? Really? I can't believe it! Marriage to Alan has been a blink! Well, a blink for me, maybe a little longer for him. You see, he is amazingly easy to live with, me... not so much! I wouldn't consider marriage to me an easy thing, hell, sometimes I want to leave me! LOL. My best friend is a guy... HI H.P... and even he says he would have left me long ago if he was married to me! LOL. Thanks Pal. Actually, he always follows it up with... "I would probably comeback though." LOL. Probably... sheesh!

Alan really is the perfect husband. And we get along because we have shared the same goals for the future. We are happy because we were best friends first, married people second. When things go wrong, we seem to do better then when things are going just ok. It's a weird dynamic, but it's true. Our first year together, should have been the most difficult, but in truth we were having too much fun learning to be married people. We learned, among other things, that you can't substitute laundry soap for dish soap in the dishwasher. LOL. BIG LESSON LEARNED. A couple years later, we learned about "in sickness and health" when I got Epstein-Barr disease, and couldn't hold food down for the good part of 6 months.

We have shared the loss of family members when my parents passed away, and when his brother Darryl passed away a couple years ago. We dealt with a miscarriage a couple years into our marriage, and the death of the best cat in the world, Elvis, in 2008. Before we got married, we went through a major natural disaster, the Loma Preada earthquake of 1989, and after we got married, the Oakland/Berkeley firestorm in 1991.

We have ridden the roller coaster and laughed till we cried, with a few screams along the way, and now we are happily aware that we are indeed growing old together.

It's love.

:)

It's 19 years.

Tonight, instead of going out into the first MAJOR rainstorm of the autumn season, we are having a nice dinner at home.

The menu includes...

Roast Chicken w Gravy
Sweet potato Casserole
Green Bean Bake

Warm Chocolate Cherry Brownie Sundae for dessert.

Then, we are going to cuddle up and watch "So I Married An Axe Murderer."

It's our movie! :)

Later in the week we have a date to go to the movies, and then out for a burger at Red Robin afterwards. We love Red Robin. We have been eating there since we were kids. Gosh, when we walk in there, and they are playing 80's music, it's like a time warp all the way back to before we were dating, when we were just really good friends. Friendship is good... love is better!

I know why I am married to Alan, but I swear, I will never understand why he is married to me!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY ALAN :)

Love, Carly

17 Years Today! Happy Anniversay Alan :)

"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person."

-Mignon MacLaughlin, The Second Neurotics Notebook, 1966


Another reason to love October, it's the month our wedding anniversary falls in. :) Today we have plans to stay home, and watch spooky movies all day, then later in the afternoon, we have plans to go out to dinner. Something insanely expensive, and completely decadent I am sure. I have been taking really good care of myself and monitoring my diabetes closely, so I think one night of being nutritionally naughty will be fine. After we get home from dinner, we will probably cuddle up and watch our favorite movie, "So I Married An Axe Murderer." LOL. Yep, it's our movie! :)

17 years! I can't believe it's been that long, it has all gone by so quickly. Even the moments that seemed to move at a crawl, and the moments when I was out of my mind in pain, have gone by in a blink. Alan takes such good care of me, and most importantly, forgives my mistakes before I even make them. We have grown as a couple, and we have allowed each other to grow as people. And after all this time, he doesn't look a day older to me, then he did on our wedding day in 1990! LOL. He's still looks exactly the same. :) I kinda like that guy. ;) Happy Anniversary Alan!

Love, Carly