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"The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other."
-Burton Hillis
The storm that came through the Bay Area yesterday, brought an all new meaning to the phrase, "Black Friday." LOL. Can you believe I took this photo at 4:10 PM? LOL. I love rain, especially in late autumn. It makes the leaves on the trees seem even more vibrant! It was cold, dark, and wet, and I was grooving to the sound of Christmas music as I went to the Mall. I was a happy girl. Black Friday is one of our favorite days of the year, Alan and I just love to go and people watch. One of our favorite sights from years past, was two women who brought a shower curtain rod to hold all their shopping bags on! LOL. They were obviously shopping geniuses, they new a good bargain, and how to get that bargain home! LOL.
Our favorite haunt on Black Friday is Union Square in San Francisco, but alas Alan had to work, so we decided to go somewhere closer when he got home. We chose the Hacienda Crossing mall in Dublin. There wasn't much to see, and there were plenty of parking places, so I wonder how that will bode for holiday sales figures. :( Not good methinks. But I did my part. I got a beautiful new sweater and purse at Old Navy, and then went home for Thanksgiving dinner PT2. After wards Alan and I went to "Christmas in the Woods" at the Carousel in Tilden Park.
We love it there, it is amazingly beautiful, and too much fun! Alan talked me into riding on the Carousel, the little round bench that goes around and around. I was surprised at how fast it went, it totally made me dizzy, and of course Alan laughed, and yes, we shared a nice kiss. Gosh, that man is still romantic after 19 years. He loves me I think. We will comeback a lot before it closes just before Christmas. We have a tradition of picking out ornaments for each other, and the cats, from trees at the Carousel. They have a wonderful selection. Some handmade, some a little more commercial. There is something for everyone. I even found a beautiful mermaid ornament! That made me smile.
How was your Black Friday? What did you do? Did you go shopping? Did you stay home under a nice soft blanket? Did you watch sports? Tell me everything!
:)
-Carly
You can read more about Tilden here. If you live in the Bay Area, consider coming to the Christmas Fantasy In The Woods. It's a blast!
"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold everything is softer and more beautiful."
-Norman Vincent Peale
The folks over at the Blogger's Community Photo Challenge have chosen "Christmas" as their current topic! I can do that! So, here is my entry for this challenge round. I took the photo the day after Thanksgiving, while visiting the Holiday Fantasy In The Woods in Tilden park. I like to make my own holiday greetings whenever possible, so this is one of the designs that I am making for this year. :) I think it says Christmas rather nicely... don't you?
Have you played the Blogger's Community Photo Challenge yet? If not, just stop over their place for all the information, and the links to other participating photographers. You'll be glad you did!
-Carly
"Merry Christmas To All"
Holiday Fantasy In The Woods
Tilden Park
Berkeley, California
November 28th, 2008
Early Evening
"Perhaps the best Yuletide decorations is being wreathed in smiles."
-Author Unknown
Finally, I am officially beginning my Christmas shopping. Running here and there. Wrapping this and that. Oddly enough, I seem to be wrapping a lot more of that as opposed to this, this year! LOL. I bought some fancy holiday stickers, to put on all the holiday envelopes I will be putting in the mail tomorrow, and hopefully, I will be out tonight at the Holiday Lights In The Woods, in Tilden Park. I say hopefully, because we are due for some rain and really cold temperatures over the weekend, beginning tonight. I love it when it is super cold and cloudy for the holiday, but I am afraid my joints and muscles have to protest. Oh well, I will put on my new mittens, and grab some Starbuck's for the ride up into the park, and hope the rain away. It's the Christmas season...
I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas
Lyrics and Music by John Rox
I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do,
Don't want a doll, no dinky Tinker Toy
I want a hippopotamus to with and enjoy
I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
I don't think Santa Claus will mind, do you?
He won't have to use our dirty chimney flue
Just bring him through the front door
That's the easy thing to do
I can see me now on Christmas morning
Creeping down the stairs
Oh what joy and what surprise
When I open up my eyes
To see a hippo hero standing there
I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus for Christmas
No crocodiles, no rhinoceroses
I only like hippopotamuses
And hippopotamuses like me too
Mom says the hippo would eat me up, but then
Teacher says a hippo is a vegetarian
There's lots of room for him in our two-car garage
I'd feed him there and was him there and give him his massage
I can see me now on Christmas morning
Creeping down the stairs
Oh what joy and what surprise
When I open up my eyes
To see a hippo hero standing there
I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
No crocodiles or rhinoceroses
I only like hippopotamuses
And hippopotamuses like me too!
-OndineMonet
"Holiday Bear Concert"
Holiday Fantasy In The Woods"
Tilden Park
Berkeley, California
December, 2007
Early Evening
"Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse."
-Henry Van Dyke
It was a good weekend. I am happy, which is a good thing. Alan and I had a nice, easy going holiday, then spent the next day together enjoying the crowds and the sun, and just being together. :) But let's start with the holiday, before I tell you about the rest. Sound good?
Alan had to work on Thanksgiving, so it was just Elvis and I most of the day. He and I laid in bed until time for the Macy's Parade to come on the TV. He always curls up in my lap when I watch the parade, and this year was no exception. That makes for a good day, but this year I was a little busier then usual. See, I decided to take on making an 18lb. turkey for dinner. LOL. Now most folks make ones much bigger then that, but see, I have been fighting this overwhelming fear of turkey. What if I didn't spice it just right? What if I didn't cook it long enough? What if I cooked it too long? LOL. Well, come to find out, as with all my fears, it was simply a matter of researching the fear, until it wasn't so scary anymore.
Thank GOD for the Butterball hot line. LOL. I made the turkey, and if I do say so myself, it came out fabulous. LOL. Juicy, tender, and oh so succulent. Yikes, now I am just bragging. LOL. But seriously, it just felt good to have the whole meal come out right... you know? In past years we either went with a ham, or ordered in a catered dinner, but this year it just felt good to make dinner. We had all the usual side dishes, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean bake, cranberry sauce, and dinner rolls. For dessert, we had sugar-free pumpkin pie. It was a good meal.
Friday, it was off to Union Square, in San Francisco. It was so much fun over there, we had a lot of fun just walking the square and window shopping. We also took a walk down Maiden Lane, which is just off the square, to see the Xanadu Gallery. The building was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and was a prototype for the Guggenheim museum. It's a beautiful, fascinating design, square shaped on the outside, but inside it contains a long, wide circular stairway. It's amazing. The design of the building is a work of art in itself, but once inside there is all the stunning International art to appreciate. A true feast for the eyes.
After we took a few photographs of the building, we continued down the lane. As we walked we could hear a street performer singing Ava Maria. He had a wonderful, forceful operatic voice that set just the right mood. Maiden Lane is one of the prettiest streets in the city anytime of year, but when you are already in a good mood, and you are seeing inspiration everywhere, it is especially enjoyable. The music, the smell of the food from the gourmet shops, the fabulous weather, architecture of the city, and the company I was in, made it all a little bit magical, but then I tend to find the magic in the most simple of places sometimes. I can be kind of silly that way sometimes.
After we got home on Friday, we took a short nap, then it was off to the Holiday Festival in the Woods. I will show off some additional photos of that next week sometime. It was as gorgeous as it was last year, with the Merry-Go-Round all decorated for the Christmas season, and the decorated trees from around the world. :) It was lovely.The rest of the weekend has been very quiet, I have been in the mood to do some baking, so I am made some cupcakes and muffins for the neighbors, and this afternoon I am making some Chocolate Mint Brownies for Alan. I might have one if my blood glucose numbers are ok. I am still living as a if I am a diabetic, at least for the next year or so. Heck, I may just live this way forever, because I feel great and I know I owe it all to being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.
2007 has been a strange year. It was filled with friends who moved away, and medical concerns, but it has also been filled with friends who have comeback into my life, and wonderful surprises such as my being able to reverse my diabetes condition, which just might mean that it will never return. I have gone through some things this year that I had no idea how to face, and yet somehow, I did. I guess when sad or chaotic things are happening in our lives, we find that inner strength to get back up and keep going, I am not sure where it is in me, but if nothing else, 2007 has shown me it's there. I will just have to take it on faith, that I can also depend on me. I have faith in me. :)
So, here it is... the weekend in pictures. Enjoy.
-OndineMonet
Thanksgiving Weekend
Berkeley, San Francisco, California
November 22, through November 25th, 2007
