On An Autumn Jaunt

"I told some imprecisely imagined interlocutor

 that each year I hoped to have outgrown being moved by the autumn and each year I hadn't"

~Bridgid Brophy

The King Of A Rainy Country

On an autumn day, we took a ride to find clear skies, clear air, and autumn in all it's splendor. We didn't have to go very far either, just a short jaunt to Placerville and the city of Camino, just across the road! The drive there was absolutely beautiful! Every imaginable color was on display, and full of spicy autumn beauty! There is snow predicted for this week, and with half a chance we will be able to drive back up, and hopefully, I will be able to photograph snow and autumn in all their intense glory! My heart is doing back flips just thinking about the possibilities!

 

And then the moon, almost full, waiting for nightfall.

#61 Leaf Of The Day

November 21st 2018

Photographed November 11th 2018

Stockton, California

~Mood: Quiet But Happy

~Me

My Hair And Alan And An Autumn Leaf

Autumn has come

and reason has gone.

Yesterday, I sold the sun for you

and tonight the stars are running away from me.

When you spoke

you slowly annihilated my world.

Your mouth was like the sea

in your kisses I sank.

Your hands were like the ocean

in your caresses I sank.

I ask for no salvation on this moonless night.

I only ask for more autumn.

~Kamand Kojouri

Vacation is officially over. Time to resume real life for another year! No all day movie-a-thons. No more late night, disgusting snack runs for nachos and ice cream. No more just jumping in the car and going where it tells us to go. No, it's back to real life. Responsibilities. Fear of Trump. Fear of paying the mortgage and utilities. Real life. But thank goodness that in that real life, there also exists the love of my life, Alan. Oh, and there is still some autumn to be discovered, so the vacation might be over, but the adventure continues... with Alan, autumn, and my hair apparently. But gosh, when the alarm clock sounds in the morning, I will feel just a little sad, that he won't just be down the hall. I love that man! 

#53 Leaf Of The Day

November 13th 2018

Phtotgraphed November 12th 2018

Stockton, California

~Mood: Happy/Sad

~Me :)

 

Dance Of Depression Plum Fairies

"THE HOLIDAYS ARE RUINED!

This book is one page long and just contains that one sentence."

~Amy Poehler

Okay, whether I like it or not, I have to face Christmas! But I am not in the mood... I am just not. It has been such an odd year, everything has seemed upside down, and it feels like every day might begin, but end before it naturally should. Trump can't stop running his mouth, North Korea has a missile pointed at us, and... .

I could give the long list about everything he does that scares the ever loving SHIT out of me, but why?

Bitching won't make my depression magically disappear. It won't make it 2016, on the night of the election, when Hillary Clinton won. It won't make any of it make any sense at all. Bitching, at most, will relieve a little bit of the tension, I feel in my mind and my body. Reality, is reality. Hey, at least the last few days have had some bright moments to them. Omarosa has been fired from her "job" as "White House Liaison for African American Outreach". That's been an amusing tale, and I am sure it was quite the political and holiday spectacle, but that's one Christmas party I am happy to have missed! Anyway, it made me smile, so there's that.

Over all, I'm tired, that's all, I am just really tired, but I am hanging in there, waiting for someone to ride in and save the country, like a shining knight saves the damsels at the end of most animated movies and children's books. I wished I really believed that would happen. Deep down. But every day there are rumors of Trump, firing the one person who could actually save us, Robert Mueller. If that happens, there would be an immediate Constitutional crisis, throwing us further into chaos, and making us even more vulnerable to hostile foreign nations. And then there are our other problems, which again, we don't have a lot of control over, but hopefully, some of this will be straightened out, when the clock strikes midnight and 2017 becomes, 2018. 

There are a couple more weeks left in 2017, and I am going to try to get through them, with a smile on my face, and a little bit of joy, here and there. We are putting up a few decorations later today, and tomorrow we plan on visiting the Christmas Carousel in Tilden Park, and then perhaps we will visit either San Francisco, or Sacramento, on Sunday, to see what kind of festive decorations they have going on there! I think that leaving the house, and jumping into some seasonal bliss my help the cloud I am in. We'll see. Wish me luck, okay? I am really going to try to put a happy face on all this, and who knows, maybe it will stick!

#15 Leaf Of The Day

December 15th 2017

Stockton, California

Mood: Tired

~Me

An Autumnal Afternoon

"A moral character is attached to autumnal scenes; the leaves falling like our years, the flowers fading like our hours,

 the clouds fleeting like our illusions,

 the light diminishing like our intelligence,

 the sun frowning colder like our affections,

 the rivers becoming frozen like our lives...

 all bear secret relations to our destinies."

~Francois-Rene de Chateaubriand

Memoires d' Outre-Tombe

 

Alan and I took a drive yesterday, to enjoy the beautiful late autumn sun, and we enjoyed the journey very much! Saturday was the third day of vacation, and while we still have most of a month to go, things haven't gotten off to the best start! For one, on his last day of work, 2 hours before he was due to leave for the day, he was told he had to work over, for the men that had been chose to man the road closures at the North Bay fires! Frustrating, but more than understandable! Then on Friday, my back was killing me because I had gotten very little sleep, due to Dylan's meowing all morning... LOUDLY! That kitty does not suffer in silence. If things aren't just perfect... he will let you know about it!

So, that meant Saturday was our first chance to get out, and enjoy the beauty of a late afternoon drive in autumn. We chose as our destination, the small town of Ione, California, which is at the farthest end of the Central Valley, in Amador County. The town is known as the "Gateway To The Motherlode." I find Ione fascinating, because not only is it a rustic old west town, but it has a rich history, and it just so happens it has one of the most haunted landmarks not just in California, but indeed, America!

The spooky, Gothic Preston Castle, which was at one time, a boys reformatory! The castle has been featured on many television shows about the paranormal, most recently The Low Files, on A&E! I first visited the area last year, but I have planned a longer post about that later in the month, and what sparked my interest in going back for a visit this year. It's kind of a funny story, and I will share it in the coming weeks, right now it's all about the first real autumn photos for this year, and of course, the leaves! But stay tuned, there is a lot more to come!

#15 Leaf Of The Day

Ione, California

October 15th 2017

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

A Late Summer Twilight By The Pacific Ocean

"The pacific is my home ocean; I knew it first, grew up on it;s shore, collected marine animals along the coast.

 I know its moods, it's color, its nature."

~John Steinbeck

Travels With Charley: In Search Of America 

Saturday was a lot of fun! I wasn't sure at first I would be going because the my orange monster cat Dylan gave one of his early morning meowing concerts... LOUDLY! He is the most beautiful cat I have ever seen, orange like a coastal sunset, but he is also bossy, quirky and one of the great pet loves of my life. A curse, and a blessing all rolled up into nine pounds of fur!

Anyway, we left Stockton at about 1:00 PM, and made a couple stops in the East Bay, before heading to Half Moon Bay, and then to Pigeon Point Lighthouse and coastal overlook, which is about 30 minutes north of Santa Cruz. I did some shots of the lighthouse, but the lighting wasn't great so I am planning to revisit next month while we are on vacation.

It was a good day. I was in pain, so I didn't do as much with the camera as I would have liked, but Alan and I did a lot of talking, and a lot of laughing, and listened to a LOT of 80's music! We pretty much sang all day! God, we are old ones now, and eyeing retirement in a few years, and I am sure when that day comes, there will be a lot more photography, and music, and dancing around in my granny panties at the ocean. Well, probably not that last one!

The best part of Saturday was the complete lack of political obsessing by me. I didn't check my phone to see if there were missiles on their way from North Korea. No fretting about the last or even the next stupid thing he might be planning or doing, nope, the day was all about the music, the creativity, and the pure fragrant smells of being by the Pacific Ocean!

Where do the days and the years go?

Wasn't the 1980's like 15 minutes ago?

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

 

 

Autumn In Yosemite

Half Dome Outlook

Yosemite National Park

 

"The magic of autumn has seized the countryside; now that the sun isn't ripening anything it shines for the sake of the golden age; for the sake of Eden; to please the moon for all I know."

~Elizabeth Coatsworth

Personal Geography: Almost An Autobiography

The head noise the last few days has been deafening. The noise from the political talking heads... has... been... deafening. Social media has been deafening. Life noise in general has been deafening! Alan and I needed a day of quiet. A day seeing new horizons. A day that was as far away from the fighting as we could get, so we picked a California destination we hadn't been to before. We chose Half Dome, in the Yosemite Valley. Not surprisingly, we weren't alone! There were many people, not really talking, they were just doing what we were doing, photographing the unbelievable natural beauty of our surroundings!

Truly, all the photos I have ever seen of Half Dome, have not done it justice, and I didn't manage to capture it's stunning beauty as accurately as I wish I could have. I guess I have lost a bit of my creative magic. I'm trying, but I am still dealing with yet one more broken heart in my life, and it's just going to take a while to find my inner happiness again. Personally, I have had my heart broken enough times that I know there is no rushing this process, the best I can hope for is that one day I will wake up, and it won't hurt anymore. It's a one day at a time process. But everything starts somewhere, and yesterday I began the healing at Half Dome!

Just quiet amazing beauty. So needed. So appreciated!

 Leaf Of The Day

November 11th 2016

Mood: Quiet

~Me :) 

Change-A-Palooza

"Never miss an opportunity to see anything that is beautiful."

~Janet Hobson

I didn't post yesterday, but it's okay, right? I was busy. Busy wrapping presents, baking 6 dozen cookies, paying the bills that get paid in the middle of the month, doing laundry, photographing more leaves, searching recipes for Baked Ham, bringing in all the late packages ordered from Amazon.com and Groupon, 15 at last count, tracking down a new noise in the house I never heard before and de-worming the cat. Hendrix to be exact. Yes, he has worms... again!

This time, because I can't face putting him through the stress of putting him in a kennel and driving him 90 miles to see Dr. B., we are trying the tablets that kill worms. It takes about a week to work, but from what I have read it does the job. If it doesn't work, I will slip my kitty some Valium, and myself as well, and we will drive down to the Bay Area to the best doctor ever! Or will I? 

That's the debate between Alan and I. He wants to find someone closer, for Hendrix's sake. He doesn't want to put him through the long drive and the stress of the car and all the scary sounds. I want to make sure my kitty gets the best care possible, and that means Dr. B. . The problem is, my argument that Hendrix will be okay once he is home again, isn't a terribly strong one. I know Alan is right, but it doesn't make either of us very happy.

Sigh.

 Losing Dr. B, is probably the worst part of what happened. 

Sigh.

I guess I should find the boys a doctor up here, if for nothing else, emergencies, but it's difficult to trust anyone other than Dr. B., he is amazing, but I have to do whats right for the boys. Right? But what is that exactly? It's less stress for them to have a doctor here in town, but what if I can't find one who will be as good as their current one? Taking them on the 90 mile drive will terrify them, but I will have piece of mind that they are getting the best care possible. Either way, I hope these pills do the trick, I don't want my boys to be uncomfortable. I love them. They are my children. And as I sit here I guess I know what I have to do. I have to find them a doctor up here. 

Weep.

Sigh.

Stupid.

It's All Just Stupid.

And what is my lesson for the last full day of autumn?

Things Change.

Sometimes everything does, all in a single action.

I think I will concentrate on that plate of cookies,

 it's a thing of beauty. So are the leaves...

Leaf Of The Day

December 19th 2015

Leaf Of The Day

December 20th 2015

Mood: Exasperated/Sad/Frustrated

~Me

Apples Worth Wanting

"Some people expect things to fall into their lap. Oh, they might work a bit for it. I'll just shake this tree, and if I shake it long enough that pretty red apple will plop right into my hand. Never occurs to them that they might have to climb the damn tree, fall out a couple times, get some scrapes and bruises before they get to that apple. Because if the apple's worth wanting, it's worth risking a broken neck."

~Nora Roberts, Face The Fire

 
The Bubblegum Wall on Bubblegum Alley
San Luis Obispo, California
October 2005

This picture is from my photo archives, the year 2005 to be exact! It was October, and I was on vacation in San Luis Obispo with Alan. We stopped in at our favorite restaurant and Inn, the Apple Farm. They have the most amazing food, and when we take our rides down to Santa Barbara, we always stop in for breakfast on the way! On this trip I was a little tender, life in 2005 had it's moments... sigh... we will just leave it at that!

Anyway, I was tired, and feeling quiet, but it seems as if the moment we hit the central coast, all the sad began to melt away! From the very first time I visited SLO, in the early 1990's, I have felt like instead of visiting a gorgeous city that I adored, I was actually returning home. I get a strange familiar feeling while visiting there, like maybe I had lived there in some past life. If one believes in that kind of thing! But not like Deja vu... no... more comfortable than that. So, whenever Alan feels I need a little TLC, he packs me up, puts me in the car, and he takes me to my favorite places!

Do you believe in past lives?

I am not sure if I do.

All I know is I never felt more at ease, or more at home, than when I am on the Central Coast of California. I hope to be able to take a long drive with Alan in October, while we are on our 5 week vacation. We'll see. It's been nine years since we visited there. I didn't have Fibromyalgia the last time I went, and I also didn't have an under-active thyroid either! Both of which tend to exhaust me, and might make that kind of drive too much for my body! Alan enjoys driving, but he shouldn't have to do all the work!

I don't know... we'll see... maybe I can sleep for 2 or three days before we go! LOL. I would hate to think I can't make the trip anymore, but it is about a 17 hour drive round trip if we take a leisurely pace. I will have to think it over, but right now, I say YES! LETS GO! The Central Coast, and all it's beauty and history, is definitely worth having!And besides...

An apple a day, keeps the doctor away! ;)

Mood: Hopeful

~Me :)

Life As Fine Wine...

"Accept what life offers you and try to drink from every cup. All wines should be tasted; some should only be sipped, but with others, drink the whole bottle."

~Paulo Coelho, Brida

As Alan and I sat at dinner last night, on our 23rd anniversary, we did a lot of reflecting on how our marriage has taken twists and turns over the years. A lot can happen in 23 years! Thankfully, we have done a lot more laughing than crying. But don't get me wrong, we have had some dark days among all the joy. But that's just life. We are the lucky ones, we have held onto each other at all costs, and at all curves in the road. I suppose we needed some of those low points, to realize just how amazingly wonderful our love story really is! We have similar sense's of humor, and we share the same values, so that makes us great partners when things get rough! I am thankful for him... and for us. And I know, he feels the same.

 How you ask?

He tells me, and shows me, every single day!

Like he did yesterday, on a very long drive from vineyard to vineyard in Sonoma and Napa.

 

Life is a fine wine, and it's good to have the right person to share it with!

"I would pour you a glass of wine, but wouldn't it be more romantic if you sipped it from my armpit?"
~Jarod Kintz, A Story That Talks About Talking Is Like Chatter To Chattering Teeth, And Every Set Of Dentures Can Attest To The Fact That No...

~

Mood: Happy

~Me :)