Everyone Knows It's Wendy

"I fully appreciate the ability of trees to attract kites. They have special powers that way."

~Charlie Dunton

Everyone knows it's Wendy! LOL. I decided to have a little fun with my photo editing program by making a GIF of my beloved kite Wendy. I have owned her since January of 2007, and I adore her, but I haven't had many opportunities to fly her. I am hoping to take her to Ocean Beach next week, now that the weather is beginning to get really warm. Ocean Beach is a great place for kites! On any given day you can see all kinds of sizes and styles of kites! Now that Alan has that gorgeous dragon kite, I should be able to do a lot of photography while I am there! Okay, I will admit it, the summer does have it's charms!

The Association... "Windy"


"Who's tripping down the streets of the city
Smilin' at everybody she sees
Who's reachin' out to capture a moment
Everyone knows it's Windy"


Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Meet Ambrose The Dragon Kite

"Imagination is the highest kite one can fly."

~Lauren Bacall



Yesterday, Alan suggested we go have a little fun in San Francisco. It's always fun going on a date with Alan, so of course I said YES! After a brief debate about what we could do in the city, we decided it would be fun to grab the kites and head for Crissy Field. Along the way we stopped for a sandwich to take to Golden Gate park. By the time we got out to the marina, it was about 1:00 PM and it was perfect conditions outside for flying a kite! It's been super windy in the Bay Area the last couple days, and a bit on the chilly side, but you couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. And the sight of our new dragon... Ambrose... was just the bit of whimsy we both needed! And of course the sight of the Golden Gate bridge right there... well... it never ceases to make me happy!



We had so much fun, I think this is going to be a regular activity for us this summer! There are a lot of parks and beaches to visit, maybe next time I will bring our other kite, a cow named Wendy! LOL.

Wendy... 2007
 

Isn't she pretty? ;)

I will be posting more photos, in the next few days, of our fun this week in San Francisco! Stay Tuned! :)

Mood: Silly

~Me :)

Round Robin Challenge: "Friendship"

"Friendship isn't a big thing, it's a lot of little things."

-Unknown

Our Round Robin topic for this edition comes to us by way of Teena, author of the blog, "It's all about me!" She has chosen, "Friendship," as our topic. For as long as I can remember, Alan has been my friend. Well, actually, we became friends in the early 1980's, but we have known each other since 1977. We met on Memorial day of that year, and it wasn't exactly love at first sight, or even friendship at first sight, but with some maturity came compromise, and respect, friendship, and then love. A natural progression I suppose. :) He has always understood me, when most people didn't or couldn't. He is a man of enormous patience and kindness, and for some strange reason, he thinks I am nifty. Strange man. LOL.

I was just telling him earlier this evening, that he could have done much better than me in the wife lottery. He just smiles, and reminds me he how much he likes, as well as, loves me... faults and all. Marriages have to have more than love and lust, they have to have friendship as well. We do. Look at Alan helping me fly a kite! He laughed at my choice, a cow, I think he will be picking out a different one next time. LOL. He knew it would be good for me to get out of the house last week, and have a little fun. He and I laughed and laughed that day, at that silly cow. He knows my Fibromyalgia has been difficult and painful recently, and he knows just how to encourage me. We are friends now, because we were friends first. :)

I have other friends, my Internet friends, my pal H.P., and some friends who have moved to the east coast, but with whom I am still close. Those friendships have passed the test of time and distance. While H.P. and I don't speak as often as we like, I know he will be there on Christmas Eve... and we will gab the night away as I wrap those final packages, and wait for Santa Claus. Alan has to work almost every Christmas Day, so he is happy that H.P. and I can touch base and keep each other company. I don't have many friends, I have cut myself off a good bit, but the friendships I do have are strong ones. Thanks H.P.!

The Round Robin Photo Challenges are open to everyone, if you have a blog or website to post your original photo to, you are invited to play. You can find out all the rules and information by paying a visit to the official Round Robin blog. Be sure to pay a visit to the other participating Robins, by following the links below. Thank you Teena... this was an awesome challenge!

-OndineMonet

Linking List

Teena... It's all about me!

POSTED!

Carly... Ellipsis... Suddenly Carly
POSTED!

Marie... Photographs And Memories Too (AOL)
POSTED!

Karen... Outpost Mavarin
POSTED!

Nancy... Nancy Luvs Pix
POSTED!

Kerrin... A New Day
POSTED!

Cosette... Pandora's Bazaar
POSTED!

Suzanne... New Suzanne R's Life
POSTED!

Renee... Ode to the Muse
POSTED!

Gina... Gina's Space
POSTED!

Renee... Ode to the Muse
POSTED!

Tammie Jean... Long Drives To Nowhere
POSTED!

Steven... (sometimes) photoblog
POSTED!

Gattina... Keyhole Pictures
POSTED!

Plan "B" From Outer Space... And Other Observations!

"Plans get you into things, but you have to work your way out."

-Will Rogers

It's a plan "B" life, a plan "B" life... for me! Yes, I can sing about it. LOL. I am learning not to sweat the petty stuff, but to rather pet the sweaty stuff... and so on and so forth. LOL. Yesterday, Friday, was supposed to be Elvis's big day... I will get to the reason as to why we will be celebrating it today, instead, in a little bit... just read on. :) See... I am smiling, and yes I am aware of my over use of the under appreciated punctuation... ellipsis. See, I used it just then, to indicate a brief pause, which you will understand as you read on...

The Girl From The Wrong Side Of The Street...

It all started when I called AT and T/Yahoo, to order my new service of DSL, which they had assured me by snail mail, that I was more than qualified for. Tee Hee. Okay, so I called the nice representative, her name was Marge I think, and she took all my information, and explained every plan available to mankind even some plans that AT and T doesn't offer. :) Smirk. Anyway, the very last bit of information that Marge needed, was my existing phone number. "Ooooops," said Marge, "Ms. Gordon, it seems that we cannot provide you with the exceptional service of AT and T, together with Yahoo DSL at this time." "What?" Asked the shocked consumer. "Why not?" "Because, unfortunately, at this time, it is not available to customers in your area."

"Ummmm... yes it is," I said. "I have seen my good neighbor Midge, enjoying your excellent service, Marge." "Where does she live, Ms. Gordon?" UT-OH! Had I just got my good neighbor Midge in trouble for stealing DSL? Panic! "She lives across the street, and down the way. Why?" "That's the sticky-wicket Ms. Gordon, she is on the right side of the street." "No, I think she is on the left side of the street if you are coming up the hill." I informed her. "ROFLHAO, actually ma'am I meant, we only offer DSL on the side of the street that Midge lives on." "HUH?!" It was all so surreal. Madge was telling me, I couldn't order DSL, because the line doesn't cross the street. I repeat... "HUH!?" "I am sorry Ms. Gordon, how else may I provide you with excellent service?" Long pause on my end of the call...

"Ms. Gordon... ma'am? Hello? "Yes Madge, I am still here... you have a nice day!" CLICK! I know, it wasn't Madge's fault, but really now... I was living on the wrong side of the street? How earthy of me. ;) With my nerves completely fried, I took a nice long nap, and decided to check other ISP companies later in the day. As of this morning, I am a proud Earthlink customer, with DSL coming in about 8-10 days. Yeah, I know, although it comes with everything I need to install the gadgets all by myself, I am already preparing for the inevitable plan "B" that is sure to follow. :)

And Then The Next Day...

Thursday, Alan woke me a little before 9:00 AM, so I could tune-in to see Regis Philbin return to his show, after having been gone for 6 weeks, while he recovered from a Triple-Bypass. I like that show. It touches on topics, but it isn't all stressful about things. You know? Just a little talk show. Nice. It's a pleasant show to eat your breakfast to, although lately I have really gotten into downloading the Rocky & Bullwinkle show from AOL Video. Tee Hee.

I love the thought of a squirrel and moose making friends, solving crimes, and otherwise assisting humanity. :) It's deep. LOL. But on occasion I do also watch Live with Regis and Kelly. So it was good to see him back up and running. Afterwards, Alan and I watched The View, debated a little, and then he talked me into keeping my word about going on our date to the Marina Green, to fly our kite. My Fibromyalgia was telling me to, "go back to bed," but it was a warm day, really clear, and a good bit of wind, so the conditions were just right. So, I got up, it took me a couple hours to get dressed, man I was tired, but my spirits were high, so off we went, across the bay to San Francisco.

We decided to head to Golden Gate Park first. It would be nice and windy there, and I could drop by the gardens and look for life. I found lots of life, see above. The California poppies were in lovely full bloom, and dancing about them, were some enormous bumble bees. Happy bees. I had a blast stalking them. It was kind of fun to realize my fear of them is completely gone. :) I was hurting really bad, so I had to sit down a couple times to work through the pain, but I got back up, and waited patiently, until I got the picture I had in my mind, a bumble bee in flight. :) I did pretty good I think. :) With the photo achieved, it was time to go down to the beach to fly the kite, there's always wind at the beach!

Okay, well, we realized that it was a little too windy to be able to photograph the kite flying. I didn't want to get sand in my digital camera... I like my camera, so the beach was out. What to do? Where to go? "I know... Crissy Field would do!" Silly me, I had forgotten that there is a large wind break at Crissy Field, in the form of rather tall eucalyptus trees. Sigh."Well, shall we try the Marina Green?" Said Alan. "Yes, why didn't we just go there to begin with?" I asked him. "Well, when you said "lets try the beach," I thought you had moved on to a Plan "B." LOL.

Poor Alan, he has gotten so used to life throwing us curves, he just rolls along, and loves me while we go. :) As it turned out, it was a fabulous day to fly a kite, and he did all the work getting it into the air. We laughed, and we made others laugh. He had no idea what kind of kite I had purchased last winter. I let it be a surprise. (Insert evil laugh here). Tune into my blog next Wednesday, to see our kite. Alan is currently looking for a kite of his own, he say the one I chose is just too, "out there!" LOL.

There Are Other Things On My Mind, But...

I had some other topics I wanted to talk a little about, but this entry went a little longer than I had planned, so I decided to just let it flow. :) I am glad I did, it was a little bit of levity, and I needed that because we had to postpone Elvis's 10th birthday party, from yesterday, until later today, and it made me a little sad.We had a bit of drama last evening, when we went to put his balloons and streamers into place. Alan noticed that sitting up under the table umbrella, was a rather large wasp nest! YIKES! It took a while to deal with that.

Sigh. We had everything wrapped, and the balloons ready, and we even got a Lemon Supreme pie, then had to cancel everything. It is the first time since 2001, that we haven't celebrated his birthday on time. In 2001, we were just moving in to our current little place, and everything was just crazy... including me. :( It will be a special party tomorrow, we will make it special. Cross your fingers that the balloons survive overnight. Plan "B" has been activated yet again! If nothing else, this week has given me a chance to pause here and there, choose and unplanned path. There must be a message in there somewhere. :) Why even this entry is a plan "B." It seems Blogger doesn't recognize the very important, yet under appreciated punctuation character that is known as the **Ampersand**. LOL. I had to take two stabs at saving this entry. :) The adventure continues! Check back tomorrow, Sunday, to see Elvis's birthday party photos! :)

-OndineMonet
"Happy Bumble"
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, California
April 26th, 2007
Afternoon

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Windy Days

"Don't be afraid of opposition. Remember, a kite rises against, not with the wind."

-Hamilton W. Marble

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Snap a picture of wind. Naturally, it's difficult to get a picture of the wind itself, being that air is generally transparent, however, it's easier to get a picture of how the wind is affecting other things: hair, flags, kites, so on and so forth. You can see where I'm going with this.

-John Scalzi (By The Way)

I have a great love for windsocks. I have several around my yard, but this one is my favorite. I like kites too, in fact I just purchased a new one last January, but haven't found the time to take it out. It's a funny cow kite. :) Imagine seeing a cow flying by. LOL. I haven't had a chance to take it out yet, but what a nice thought for a way to spend a day this week. Maybe I will ask Alan to go on a date with me, later in the week,to fly the kite on the Marina Green in San Francisco. If we do, I will take pictures... I promise. :)

May the raindrops fall lightly on your brow.
May the soft winds freshen your spirit.
May the sunshine brighten your heart.
May the burdens of the day rest lightly upon you,
And may God enfold you in the mantle of his love.

-Irish Blessing

-OndineMonet
"Fly Away"
Berkeley, California
April 16th, 2007
Afternoon