Baby It's Cold Outside! + Art About Town: San Francisco "The Tulip"

"December's wintry breath is already clouding the pond, frosting the pane, obscuring summer's memory..."

~John Geddes

It rained on Friday night! It also rained in the wee early hours of Saturday morning! Snow had been predicted on and off all day Friday, and I really got my hopes up, but alas, there was NO snow come early Saturday morning. Well, at least, not where I live. In fact, you had to drive all the way down to Mount Hamilton to find snow, and that was at the very top of the mountain, at the Lick Observatory. 
Oh well. At least it cleaned the air, and made for an absolutely beautiful Saturday! Crossing the Bay Bridge into San Francisco, you could see forever! 

I was tempted to ask Alan if he wanted to head over to Marin County for the day, after we finished at the Embarcadero, but I was a bit tired, so we just made it an early afternoon and came home and cuddled. We don't get Saturdays together very often, but I talked him into playing hooky so we could play in the snow. When it didn't come, we decided to just go with Plan B. That's what this year has been all about you know, Plan B! LOL. But am I complaining? Well... yes... but I am also thanking my lucky stars! Life is just one long adventure! You just have to go with it!

Saturday December 7th, 2013

It's Not Autumn Yet!


The Embacadero Center


Embarcadero Center Ice Rink



Art About Town: San Francisco... "The Tulip" By John C. Portman


I love this sculpture. I photograph it every chance I get! It can be seen from all over the Embarcadero, while on the ferry and from Treasure/Yerba Buena Island. It stands three stories tall, and at night makes a lovely appearance outlined in tiny, clear lights. I have done posts about this sculpture before, but each year I have to revisit it and photograph it especially for the holidays! I only wish my photographs of it did it any real justice! It's breathtaking!

It was a good day! A crisp, bright, beautiful day, and time with the love of your life, what more can a girl ask for?

Mood: Very Happy!

~Me :)

Snow Day

"I love snow for the same reason I love Christmas: It brings people together while time stands still. Cozy couples lazily meandered the streets and children trudged sleds and chased snowballs. No one seemed to be in a rush to experience anything other than the glory of the day, with each other and however it happened."

~Rachel Cohn, Dash & Lily's Book of Dares

Yesterday was a snow day. Well, actually, that's not all together accurate. The snow actually fell on Tuesday, as a fast moving cold front, down from Alaska, moved over the Bay Area. As soon as the snow began to fall, all the roads leading to it were closed! Isn't that always the way? The Bay Area isn't known for it's snowfall, and because of that, when we do get the maybe once yearly dusting, the powers that be tend to keep it walled off from us because folks tend to not know how to behave in it. Driving way too fast. Parking in dangerous places. Parking on private properties. You name it, we in the Bay Area do it. Not always on purpose, but that's not really the point. Anyway, the snow came and went so fast that we were lucky to be able to drive, not to where we usually go to see snow, South Lake Tahoe, but rather to the top of Mount Hamilton, in Santa Clara county.

It's a lovely long drive up the mountain, and it was a nice warm afternoon, so Alan and I decided to stop for a picnic at Grant Ranch Park, which sits about half way up the mountain. From there you get the first look at the domed buildings at Lick Observatory, which sits at the summit of Mt. Hamilton, at 4,200 ft. The summit still had a good bit of snow, and the road wasn't passable until the afternoon, so we got to the park just in time to have a nice relaxing lunch, and then drive up to the top! I thought it would be colder than it was, so it was a nice surprise to have the lovely view of snow, but to actually be comfortable. Grant Ranch Park was so lovely, I almost hated to leave it behind for the snow, but it didn't take long for me to change my mind. The drive to the summit was stunning!

Grant Ranch Park, Mt. Hamilton Rd

 

 

 

 

The Drive Up Mount Hamilton

 









The view on the eastern slope, looking toward Patterson, and Livermore...




And when it was time to go home, we decided to take a little bit of the snow with us! The medium size pack of snow lasted on the hood of the car all the way back down the hill, and was still there as we merged onto HWY 680!



Alan and I had such a good time together, I wish it would snow more often! I love snow days!

Lick Observatory

Mood: Happy :)

~Me :)

A Late Autumn's Daydream

From For Ellipsis

"The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of world, and wake up in another quite different, and id this is not enchantment, then where is it to be found?

-J.B. Priestley

It snowed last night. Come have a look...



South Park Drive at Grizzly Peak Boulevard

From For Ellipsis

Near The Steam Trains (Tilden Park)

From For Ellipsis

Water Fountains In Tilden

From For Ellipsis

There might be a few more snow showers later today, but tonight is supposed to be even colder! Perhaps as low as the high teens. I LOVE it! I am already missing my beautiful autumn leaves, but the snow is so lovely, and so much fun. Is there anything better then grabbing a Hot Chocolate, and watching it snow outside?



;) Carly

Update: My local ABC affiliate KGO 7 published one of my photos on their website slide show! Click here to view it!

Fresh Snow Falling...

"The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?"

-J.B. Priestley

Yesterday, Tuesday, the magical occurred in the form of soft, silent, gentle snow falling in the Berkeley hills. It happens from time to time, but not nearly often enough for this girl. :) When does happen, I feel myself come alive inside, despite the pain the cold brings to me. I am only in my mid 40's, so I am not about to let degenerative arthritis stop me from playing in the snow, especially when I know that it could be forever before it comes back again. Know what I mean? So, as soon as I could I got up, put on several layers of clothes, my boots, my gloves, my hat, my scarf, and got my camera and extra batteries, and headed into Tilden Park, aka, "my winter playground." I had to get up early, and then feel my way through the fog along the winding road, high above the city of Berkeley below, but even a case of the jitters wasn't about to stop me!

South Park drive at Grizzly Peak boulevard is closed from November 1st through March 1st every year. It is a steep road down into the park and rainy weather can make it a bit dangerous. I was able to park at the gate and take a shot downwards toward the first curve. The visibility wasn't very good, so I decided not to try walking it.

Tilden is beginning to be my favorite place on earth, no matter what season. In spring there is a snowstorm of beautiful blossoms to play in, in summer you can find all kinds of colorful dragonflies and damselflies frolicking about the top of the water on Lake Anza, in autumn there are some Japanese maple trees along with oak, Juniper, Eucalyptus, pine and cedar to make the air smell beautiful. It's an amazingly beautiful place to be in autumn, but yesterday was really something special! It's still autumn, so there were still a few leaves on the trees, but mixed with the color was the crystal clear white of the newly fallen snow. :)


I am crossing my fingers that we have more snow days, but I know it is a bit of a long shot. The Bay Area just doesn't get snow the way other places do. It's all a trade-off, we get some magnificent weather all year round, it's never really too cold or too hot, with the rare exception every 5 years or so, otherwise the climate here is wonderful all year long. Yesterday was, in my opinion, perfect. The only downside was that Elvis wasn't here to see it. I always wanted to show him snow. He enjoyed the cold weather so much. He loved to run around the backyard on cold rainy days, and just let the rain pour down on him. Strange cat. It was so funny to watch him run right out into it, and then right into the mud he would go. Big grin on his face.

Afterward I would bring him in and give him a bath. He would purr and smile. He was a cat that liked cold weather. In the summer when it would rain, sometimes he would sit under the dining table outside and just watch the drops of rain fall. I used to wonder what he had on his mind during those times? Was he daydreaming about a big chicken dinner? Was he thinking about a conversation he had the night before with one of his opossum friends? What could a cat like him be thinking about as the rain fell? He would have loved snow... I just know it. I think he would have been great to go tobogganing with, he loved to slide around, and he loved movement. I missed him yesterday. I miss him everyday.

Someday I will take either Dylan or Hendrix or maybe both along on one of my Bay Area snow jaunts. It would be my guess that Hendrix will be the one that will love snow. He is my little adventurer. He takes life at the speed of sound. Dylan will be waiting at home, to come and sit on my knee, while I sit typing at the computer about the adventure Hendrix and I had just had. That's what Dylan did yesterday, he sat purring on my knee for about 2 hours, which is better then any heating pad. I am missing Elvis so much, but these boys of mine take all that pain away, and turn it into warmth. :) There was more snow in the park this morning, so I say, Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

-Carly
"Snow On Grizzly Peak"
Grizzly Peak Boulevard
Berkeley, California
December 16th, 2008
Morning

My Snowy Stranger (Haiku)

"It is one thing to photograph people. It is another to make others care about them by revealing the core of their humanities."

-Paul Strand

I had a good in the snow time earlier this week, especially with all the little happy touches I found here and there. Is there anything more happy, in the middle of a cold, cold winter, then the sight of a cheerful little snowman? This little guy wasn't very tall at all, but he had me smiling most of the day. It was an amazing feeling to feel snow between my fingers for the first time. It felt warmer then I thought it would, and now I know, I prefer it to rain. Yes, definitely. I did have a difficult time with the aches and pains that followed later in the day, but that is kind of a fact of life in winter. When the temperature drops, so does my toleration for pain. I am dealing with my Fibromyalgia the best I can, and I know trips like this are going to be a trade off. Sometimes that fact makes me sad. I will never accept that life has so many trade-offs to it.

I will probably be homebody the rest of the weekend, due to the large storm outside right now. High winds, talk of flooding in the Bay Area, and this is only day one of the 3 day storm. Yuck. Still, there is supposed to be a lovely, lively bit of lightning and thunder later today. I LOVE that. I sky making a big noise, and everything smells so good. :) I like to sit by the window and watch it rain, and maybe wish just a little that it would snow, and cover the whole world in those soft, mushy little individual flakes that make me happy. Like I said... everything is a trade-off.

My Snowy Stranger (Haiku)
By Carly Gordon

My Snowy Stranger
Made Of Soft Winter Moments
Waves Warmly Goodbye

-OndineMonet
"My Snowy Stranger"
Woodside, California
January 22, 2008
Afternoon

Snow Days

"All of us who are concerned for peace and triumph of reason and justice must be keenly aware how small an influence reason and honest good will exert upon events in the political field."

-Albert Einstein

Tomorrow is the New Hampshire Primary, do you know where your candidate is in the polls? After the debate last Saturday night, I am more sure then ever in the merits of John Edwards, but I must say, Hillary Clinton continues to impress me, and earn my respect as well. Obama, by contrast, is losing me more and more every day. I just don't have a strong enough faith in his abilities, to see him earn the nomination and to be eventually be president. I think he talks a very good game about change, but he really doesn't get down to specifics. I think Edwards and Clinton are much more clear and decisive on what their plans are if they are elected president.

I haven't completely closed my mind to Obama, because there is good chance he will win the nomination, and I want to believe in whoever is chosen on the democratic ticket, but I have to say, right now, he isn't someone I believe in. Just being a democrat is not enough. Hopefully, the next president of the United States will be a democrat, and so my vote will be reflecting the person I want to see in office for the next 8 years. I would like to have the same kind of faith in the next person I vote for, as I did for Bill Clinton in the 90's or Al Gore, in 2000. I wish I knew right now who the running mates of the candidates will be, because to me, it's just as important as who will be president. There is a lot to consider here.

Oh well, the California Primary isn't until February 5th. I still have some time to visit some websites and do some reading. As I mentioned before, Alan is planning on voting for Hillary Clinton, while I am still in favor of John Edwards, so we have had some really interesting conversations lately. So, while the New Hampshire Primary is happening tomorrow, I will be on my way to the snow to do my first new photos of 2008. The southern Sierra got a good dusting of snow from the last storms, and there is another strong system on the way. Hopefully I will be able to get some nice winter photos, and I am looking forward to the long car ride with Alan as well. Alan good for my moods, as well as my blood sugar. :) He's the best part of my future, well, he and Elvis. :)

Note: I will be gone very late tomorrow, so I won't have a Tuesday post, but look for me on Wednesday! I'll be back with new photos! :)

-OndineMonet
"Decision 2008"
Berkeley, California
Winter, 2008
Early Evening

Snow Days

"Excuse me everybody, I have to go to the bathroom. I really have to use the telephone, but I'm too embarrassed to say so."

-Dorothy Parker

After my appointment with Sarah yesterday, I took a ride through the Caldecott Tunnel into Contra Costa County. As I exited the tunnel, I caught a glimpse of Mount Diablo, and saw that it still had a fresh dusting of snow from the night before. How ironic is that? Tee Hee. Actually, the northern slope had much more snow on it, but this was the best point I could find to snap a photo. This is the view from the west. Most of the Bay Area hills, Mount Tamalpias, Mount Hamilton, all had a fair amount of snow on them, but cars weren't allowed up to where it was. We seldom get snow in the Bay Area, and folks don't know how to deal with the ice on the roads properly. Sigh. Later today however, the road up Mt. Hamilton should be open once again, so I am going to try to get as far up to the top as possible. I want to play in the snow. I could go to the Sierra, where there is plenty of snow, but it's too long of a car ride, it's about 4 hours one way, and I want to stick closer to home for the next few days till things warm up a bit.

A nice surprise was waiting for me when I got home. In my mailbox was my certificate for a free haircut from Supercuts, and a certificate for a free Giant Stuffed Burrito from La Salsa. How much fun is that? I got them from my local ABC affiliate, KGO, channel 7. The consumer reporter for the station, Michael Finney, does a weekly spot called, "Finney's Friday Free Stuff," and each week there is something new to try. Sometimes it's Starbuck's, or maybe a service of some kind in the area, it's always something kind of cool though. I have no idea why, but I never used to respond to the offers, I don't know, last week when he was describing the free Supercuts certificate and the free La Salsa certificate, it kind of sounded like a nice way to spend a day, sometime soon, all to myself.



It's time to cut the mermaid hair I think. It's too long. I am tired of my brunette looks, so it is time to go back to blond. It's been forever since I was a blond, but it sounds like a fun way to shake off the blahs. Alan always said being a blond suited me, so why not? I think I will go for a cut similar to Kassie DePaiva's. She plays Blair, on "One Life To Live." It is a natural flowing cut, that should be easy to manage, and at the same time it can be worn up or down. I like that versatility. I was blessed with fantastic hair. I have always been able to handle it, and except for a few bad perms in the 80's, it has pretty much behaved itself. So yes, one of these days, before my free "Girl's Day Out," certificates expire, I think I will declare it a snow day, and go have some time with myself... as someone else... and yet still just me. You ladies reading this know what I mean... right? ;) And hey, Cal Berkeley is looking for test subjects, so who knows, that could really round the day out nicely.

Volunteers Wanted For UC Berkeley Behavior Experiments

"Rivers pain you; rivers are damp; acids stain you; and drugs cause cramps. Guns aren't lawful; nooses give; gas smells awful; you might as well live."

-Dorothy Parker

-OndineMonet
"A Cold Day On Mt Diablo"
Berkeley, California
February 28, 2007
Afternoon