Dude Run! Don't Walk, Down Westeria Lane

"Desperation is the raw material of drastic change. Only those who can leave behind everything they have, ever believed in, can hope to escape."

-William S. Burroughs

I watched the season finale of ABC's "Desperate Housewives," tonight, and I while I found it an enjoyable enough episode, I had to wonder a bit about what could have happened to this show? When it first premiered in September of 2004, I thought is was a smart, sassy, snazzy breath of fresh air. I was, and still am, tired of the obsession of "Reality TV." Some of those shows are so silly in premise, some are sick, while others are just plain insulting. I get that it's fun to have someone to root for, I guess I just prefer to do my rooting for ficticous characters. You have to remember, I was a young adult in the days of Dynasty and Knots Landing. Of course it was also during the greed of the 80's, but you also have to remember that the summer of "Who Shot J.R.?" was popular for a reason. Through those fictional characters we could, for at least an hour a week, pretend we could live a little through them. Feel glamorous, feel strong and self-assured. Sometimes even feel good about wanting a better life. Ahhh...is there anything like pop culture to make you forget your woes? LOL.

I loved the character of Cigi Dunne on Knot's Landing. I loved the way she dressed, the way she wore her hair, the way she interacted with the other characters. Lisa Hartman played Cigi perfectly. Who would have figured that by the time the season finale would come around, she would be killed off in a cliffhanger? I thought it was done very well. All kinds of hostility and desperate circumstances had been following poor Cigi for weeks. She was a classically misunderstood herorine. Then in the last episode of the season, everything came to a shocking conclusion, when the camera pans across a dark, lonely, beach, where Cigi's body lay lifeless in the surf. Shocking! LOL. Of course it had me hooked all summer...I was sooo there when Knot's Landing came back the following season. Did Gary do it? Abby or Chip? Ginger or Richard? Who, who, who? LOL.

I don't feel any particular need to be there when "Desperate Housewives" comes back next season. There was a cliffhanger of sorts in tonight's season finale, but the thing is...I don't know if I care enough to watch it next season. I suppose it might depend on what it will be playing opposite. NBC and CBS haven't done much for me in recent years. I will miss the West Wing, but I am looking forward to the new show, "Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip," mostly because it will star Bradley Whitford, who played Josh Lymon, on West Wing. It will also star Matthew Perry, and it comes from Aaron Sorkin, who created The West Wing. With that combination, I believe it could be a hit. Good cast, good writing. Fingers crossed.

I haven't checked the fall schedules yet, to see what will be competing with what. I don't know...maybe I want to be surprised, maybe I just don't really care. I am hoping I haven't turned into a hopeless old coot. I'm, only 43. LOL. In the last few years I find myself watching more documentaries and science shows on Biography, A&E and the History Channel, then I do big network shows. As you know I am a big fan of Ghost Hunters,which is considered a "reality show." It airs on the Sci-Fi Channel, every Wednesday at 9:00 PM Eastern time. I mostly watch it because I enjoy the personal interactions between the members of TAPS, but of course once in a while they do provide a genuine, "what the heck was that?" moment.

It's a bit like a soap opera of sorts, only without the glamorous clothes, although they do have all new official TAPS T-Shirts and other gear available for around $20.00. You know...for any ghost hunting you might have planned in your real life. LOL. Hey, I love a good ghost hunt, don't you? My favorite quote of that show comes by way of Brian, the Taps team member who might be considered by some to be the weakest link. Whenever he thinks he is over his head, he accepts it, and bellows a simple, "Dude Run!" Sounds reasonable to me. LOL. Now THAT is good "reality" TV! Maybe there is something to be said for keeping it real. :)

Tell me, do you have a favorite "TV MOMENT?" Is there a show you are looking forward to either coming back next fall or one that will be premiering? Share with me what you think.

-OndineMonet
"A Walk On Westeria Land"
Castro Valley, California
Spring, 2006
Mid-Morning

The Interlude

"No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees, no fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds...November."

-Thomas Hood

Can you tell I am missing autumn? :) The rain storm that was promised for today, never really got here...at least it didn't get to Berkeley. Oh there was cloud cover, and the air felt thick, like just before a big downpour, but the rain never did come. Somehow, I think it made me a little sad. I think I had been looking forward to the way everything smells after it rains. With summer only a few weeks away, this was being called the last interlude of cool weather before the heat of summer invades. Sigh. As much as it hurts my body when it's cold outside, it stimulates my mind and my senses just as much. I think clearer...everything seems to focus better. The world just seems to turn more gently, when it's raining. And when it rains in autumn...well...THAT is when I feel most alive.

I took this photo in Nevada, in the afternoon of a day in late October. It had been raining earlier in the day, but at this point there was just a heavy mist in the air. The temperature was cool, not cold, but I was really glad I had my warm brown sweater with me. There was inspiration everywhere. The trees directly behind me, were lit up with bright, new yellow leaves that looked like perfect lemon drops. And when the sun did peak through the clouds, and managed to dance off the leaves, it almost looked like golden tears, falling to the earth. Sigh. As melancholy as it all sounds...it was more dreamy then I can even say. Sensual beyond reason.

It was the end of October, but the November man was on my mind. He tends to invade my thoughts on days like that. And days like today. He will always be November to me, he was falling leaves, he was that chill in the air, he was the music playing on the radio, he was the first and last bite of autumn fruit. And every time we parted...I couldn't quite remember what he looked like. He caused me to go blind. He still does. The one thing I do remember, even after 20 + years is the way his eyes dance, that sparkle of life...so clear...so blue. He was beyond reason.

Musical Interlude...

Falling By Lablanc & Carr

I think about winter, when I was with him
And the snow was falling down
Warmed by the fire, I love being by him
When there's no one around

'Cause I'm falling, I'm falling
I'm falling...in love with you

I think about summer, my head was swimming
You wrote my name in the sand
We walked together, hoping forever
Please don't let go of my hand

'Cause I'm falling, I'm falling
I'm falling...in love with you
In love with you

The fall and the springtime, and like in-between times
Your here and then your gone away
And I just wanted to say
Won't you please, please stay

'Cause I'm falling, I'm falling
I'm falling...in love with you
In love with you...In love with you.

-OndineMonet
"Like In-between Time"
October 29, 2005
Late Afternoon
Nevada

Carly Loves A Mystery

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science."

-Albert Einstein

It's a cold, rainy night here in the Bay Area. Unseasonably cold they say. I don't know, I suppose it is, right now the temperature is only about 53 degrees, and I can hear some thunder in the distance. It's probably somewhere north of here, perhaps around the Golden Gate. I live for nights like this one. It makes me feel alive to feel all that electricity in the air. It's the kind of night that makes all the usual sounds traveling through the hills, sound like vagabond spirits on a journey, looking for a dwelling in which to rest...and make their feelings known. I believe in ghosts...how about you?

LOL. Don't mind me, I am just intrigued by the great mysteries because of the renewed search for the remains of Jimmy Hoffa. Fascinating isn't it? I wonder if after all these years, the government will finally unearth the body of the former Teamsters boss, putting to rest one of the true, great, "Who done-its" of the 20th century. On the one hand it would be fascinating to finally know what happened to him after he disappeared, on the other hand, there would be no more mystery to ponder. What do you think...will they find his body on the property in Michigan?

One of the things I enjoy most about the Internet, is having all the information, right at my fingertips, to be able to search out all the things that have mystified me since I was a little girl. I always did love a good mystery, I have always been curious. Now, in my old age, I have the time to really search out information about things that before left me in a constant state of wonder.

Like, for example, who was Carly Simon really singing about in the song, "You're So Vain?" I always took it for granted that it was Warren Beatty, but now I am not so sure. I keep visiting her web site, looking for clues, or that one special day when she might decide to finally share with the world his true identity. It could have been "Deep Throat" of Watergate fame. Nah, since his identity was made known last year, that doesn't seem very likely. Maybe it was Richard Nixon, nah...that doesn't see quite right either. Elvis maybe? James Taylor? Wally Cox or Henry Gibson? Mick Jagger? Sigh. According to her official web site, Carly Simon will never tell the public who the song was about. In fact, she finds it kind of silly that it is even still being pondered. It's a great mystery...why wouldn't it still be pondered? Tell me, who do you think it might be?

Do you suppose Amelia Earhart was taken by space aliens? Was she captured by an enemy army? Or did she simply run out of fuel, and crash into the ocean. Maybe she was tired of all the fame, so she decided to fly off into the sunset and leave all the notoriety behind. I would like to think she flew off, to her own private island, and lived the rest of her life, not lost, but found within herself. Hearing only the sounds of the ocean, and the seabirds, and watching an eternal sun, sinking down till it met the endless sea. That's what I think about sometimes, when I am photographing a sunset over the ocean. How nice it would be...to be alone with that view every single night. Not a care in the world. But then, I realize how much I would miss my computer, my cell phone, my breadmaker and my digital camera. LOL. Tell me...where did Amelia go?

Let's have some fun. Over on my sidebar is a new quiz. I will post the results of the last quiz, about blogging, in a few days. For now, share with me which one of the great mysteries you have always wanted to know the answer to. I have assembled a pretty good sized list, but if your favorite mystery isn't there, feel free to share with us, in the comments, what your favorite mystery is...and if you would like to see it solved, or if you would rather not know what it's real story is. I look forward to your answers...after all...I LOVE a mystery. :)

"Without mysteries, life would be very difficult indeed. What would be left to strive for if everything were known?"

-Charles de Lint

-OndineMonet
"Mystery"
Berkeley, California
May 18, 2006
Afternoon

Go Away!

"We must embrace our pain and burn it as fuel for our journey."

-Kenji Miyazawa

Do you wish you could take all the hot air from the dramedy life of Jennifer Wilbanks, turn it into real gas and run your car on it? God...will this women NEVER go away? Now ok, I will admit when her story first became "news" a year ago or so, I had some sympathy for the poor girl. I know what it's like to plan a wedding, and have to face some new bit of craptasticness, seemingly at every turn. But I didn't understand then and I don't understand now, how this could possibly be news. At best it is filler. Stupid, annoying, who-the-hell-cares FILLER! I can't be the only one on the Internet who doesn't care if I NEVER hear about her tragic life again.

It seems there is a new chapter for the probably upcoming LIFETIME movie. Her guy, the guy who took her back, has called off the wedding. Sigh. That will mean a lot of toasters and waterpicks will be going back to Macy's. Weep weep. Sorry, given the actual news going on in the world, I am finding it difficult to tolerate stories about a very common, everyday, flaky moment in someone's life, especially when I don't even know them! Sheesh! If you are just as fed up as I am with this little more then gossip icon, leave me your comment. Feel free to tell me if I am completely off my rocker , you know me, I welcome all views here as long as they are respectful. In the mean time...Jennifer...darlin...GO AWAY!

-OndineMonet

Steven's Feline Friday : Elvis Looking For Ernst

"As every cat owner knows, nobody owns a cat."

-Ellen Perry Berkeley

Elvis is a bit sad these days. It seems that since that new kitty turned up in the neighborhood, the Russian Blue, some of Elvis's friends have been hard to find. I am afraid Ernst, Elvis's best buddy, has run away. Well, that's not completely accurate, Ernst has been seen here and there by his owner, but he doesn't come home, and when she does see him around, he never comes when he hears his name. I was talking with his mommy tonight...and sigh...we think he may have adopted another family where he feels more comfortable. Much to the sadness of Elvis and Ernst's sister Molly.

My boy was lonely for a long time before we moved here, then one day Ernst moved into the neighborhood. He was just a wee kitten,but he decided to adopt Elvis as his big brother. They had so much fun with each other. It was good for my boy to have company. Somehow, I don't think he ever stopped missing his real brother, Jack, after we had to get rid of him. I know I still miss him. Sigh. I think this weekend, I will have a good, long, play session with him. It's supposed to rain cats, and dogs, so we will be spending the weekend inside. In fact, there is supposed to be quite a storm coming our way. The weather channel doohicky that I have on my sidebar, began warning of "severe weather" earlier today. Thunder and lightning is likely. Personally, I love it...but my boy will need some reassuring. I don't mind doing that one little bit...he's my baby after all.

I love sharing my cat Elvis with you, and it is even more fun to do so as a part of Steven's Feline Friday. If you have a kitty and want to play along, it's easy. Just post a photo of your cat and then pop over to Steven's and leave him your link. Go have a look see this week's Feline Friday entry...it has all the information you need to know. Thanks Steven, for the fun meme.

-OndineMonet
"Elvis Looking For Ernst"
Berkeley, California
May 18th, 2006
Late Afternoon

John Scalzi's Weekend Assignment #112: Things You Have Other People Probably Don't

"Something in human nature causes us to start slacking off at our moment of greatest accomplishment. As you become successful, you will need a great deal of self-discipline not to lost your sense of balance, humility, and commitment."

-Ross Perot

Weekend Assignment: Show off a personal possession of yours that you are reasonably certain other people don't have. Note this is limited to possessions: Don't haul up the spouse and go 'neener-neener." Pets are also off limits unless it's a truly bizarre pet: We're talking like a hyena or an ocelot or something like that. Otherwise it's best to stick to physical objects. Also, as I've done a similar Photo Shoot in the past: don't recycle. Come on, you've got more than one thing in your house..

Extra Credit: Pictures! I mean, obviously.

-John Scalzi

I can't remember if I have shared with you before, that I have a fondness for political campaign buttons. Well... I do. I know that having political buttons is not really all that unique as a rule, but I ask you, "do you know anyone with a genuine Perot/Choate button? That's probably something most folks don't have. LOL. I enjoy my buttons very much. I have been collecting them for years, but this one is my favorite. I keep it on my desk, although it is almost always pinned on the sweater that my stuffed moose, Ross, wears. Yes, I did indeed name Ross after Ross Perot. There was a lot I liked about that man, there was a lot there to admire and appreciate. More then anything, I liked the little extra choice his candidacy brought to politics in America. While the ballot is open to many different parties for each presidential election, we rarely have strong contenders to challenge the Democrats and Republicans. He did that, and while he isn't who I ultimately voted for, having another viable choice was a very good feeling. Here's to Ross Perot, and others like him.

Extra Credit: See above.

-OndineMonet
"Perot & Choate"
May 18, 2006
Berkeley, California
Late Evening

Blogging And Ethics

"Our Very lives depend on the ethics of strangers, and most of us are always strangers to other people."

-Bill Moyers

For the most part, bloggers are not qualified journalists. However, in recent years, blogging has gained a certain reputation as being a good source for information on everything from, recipes for homemade cat food, to the latest political intrigue. Sometimes the bloggers get it right, sometimes they don't, it is usually up to the reader to decide if the facts presented in any given entry, is accurate and factual, or if it is the unsubstantiated musing of a citizen journalist.
When I first began Ellipsis, I had no idea that I would eventually evolve in my entries, to include my personal opinions regarding current events. One day someone asked me what my political view was, and that opened a door for me to share how I felt about things. It was a nice freedom to be sure, but with that freedom came a responsibility, at least that is what I believed to be true. My word is important to me, so when I wrote an entry I tried my best to write with accuracy, integrity, and checking my facts not just once, but several times. I am not a professional journalist, I am a blogger, but the time and energy I put into what I write about means I have to give up something else in life, so doing it right means a lot to me.

I am thinking about all this because of an article I read today on AOL News which had originally been featured in the Wall Street Journal. The article deals with the influence blogging has over opinion on any given subject, but at times more specifically political issues. Sometimes all it takes is a story which may be true, to begin a blogging blitz of amateur OP-ED speculation. Personally speaking, anything that gets us to engage in an intelligent dialog is a good thing, unless we begin to play telephone with it. While politicians, celebrities, and the notorious may seem larger then life, in truth they have lives like all of us, and should be protected from irresponsible rumor mongers.

Having an amateur blog means that we can satisfy the need we all have, to take a stand on issues that mean a lot to us. I have been described as having a lot of passion regarding my political beliefs. That's true but it might be a nice way of saying, "Carly can certainly be overly opinionated about certain things." LOL. That's fair, it's not lost on me about how bull headed I can be, I have been known to dig my heels in when a subject comes up that has in some way touched my life. I don't however, feel the need to express every thought I have, the minute I have it, if at all. There are one or two subjects that I rarely speak about, because I feel too close to it...and it's hard to accurately express myself. I learned a long time ago that if I can't say what I want to with more clarity then emotion, then it's best to allow myself to process it through, within myself, until I can articulate it with honesty and clarity.

With all the scandal in the Bush administration, I would be thrilled to see a good bit of news come to light. Something along the lines of what was written in the Wall Street Journal article. It seems the online site,Truthout.org, ran a blog article breaking the news that Karl Rove had indeed been indicted last weekend by the special prosecutor in the CIA leak case, Patrick Fitzgerald. As of the writing of this entry, it doesn't appear that an indictment has been handed down, yet, but it does give one hope. Although for the time being, a bit of false hope. It's that potential that it won't become true at some future point which causes a lot of problems, for a lot of people. It degrades the integrity of citizen journalists in general, and makes us all sound like...well...misinformed nutjobs.

Opinion is fine, it should be encouraged. To share ones opinion with a friend means a lot,to share one's opinion on the Internet means bravery. All the tough subjects come with the possibility that if someone disagrees with your personal philosophy, they might REALLY disagree with you, and hurt feelings or even anger can be the end result, rather then two persons, sharing their opinions with passion. To present an opinion as fact, without anything to base it on, is irresponsible, and you won't be doing yourself any good by doing so. So why would an established web site write online articles which may be best described as wishful thinking, rather then honest jouralism? Couldn't the author of the apparently mistaken article simply have written an OP-ED article about how much he would like to see an indictment come to pass. Has blogging become the new tabloid medium? Share your thoughts with me.

-OndineMonet
"Splash"
San Francisco, California
Spring, 2005
Afternoon

Art About Town: San Francisco

"Anyone who says you can't see a thought, simply doesn't know art."

-Kojiro Tomito

I love this sculpture. It is titled, "Yin & Yang," and it sits at Justin Herman Plaza, along the Embarcadero, in San Francisco. The first time I saw it, I was in a moving car, on my way to the Bay Bridge. It wasn't very practical to go back and take a longer look at what I thought I saw, which was two disembodied heads, resting near the fountain at the plaza. That's not something you see everyday...now is it?

The eggheads are reproductions of artist, Robert Arneson's, eggheads, "Yin & Yang," which he created for the University of California at Davis. A native of Benicia, California, Arneson taught ceramics at U.C. Davis from 1962 to 1991. His egghead series were placed in different locations around the college campus. The original "Yin & Yang," sit outside the campus's Fine Arts department. Robert Arneson created many other powerful pieces, such as, "General Nuke," which is another in his head series, and is a statement on the escalating tensions of the cold war. While "Yin & Yang" have an almost whimsical quality to them, General Nuke reflects the artist's darker period. He passed away in 1992, from liver cancer.

One of the things I like to do, when I am out with my camera, it to practice taking photos while riding in the car. I have managed to get some interesting shots that way, a few I want to share here over the next few weeks. I like the way everything surrounding my subjects comes out just so normal. There is a lot of motion surrounding the subject...and it is all much more candid then if I tried to take the time to set everything up. I don't know, it's just a personal experiment I am trying, in an effort to broaden my horizons as a photographer. I could use some feedback on these entries. Please...feel free to let me know what you think. :) I also want to know what you see when you look at "Yin & Yang"...what comes to mind?

-OndineMonet
"Yin & Yang"
Justin Herman Plaza
San Francisco, California
May 14, 2006
Afternoon

Reflections...A Round Robin Promotion

"Life is a ticklish business; I have resolved to spend it in reflecting upon it."

-Arthur Schopenhauer

The water in Lake Tahoe is so clear, I swear you can see forever in it. Last February was a magical month, as far as my photography went. In one 24 hour period I went from photographing competition surfers and sun worshipers on the Bay Area beaches, to the snow topped hills and parks of Lake Tahoe Nevada. California has me forever, how many other places on earth offer so much for the amateur photographer? A mere 4 hour ride can place you in almost any photographic opportunity you desire.

When I saw how crystal clear the lake bottom was, I couldn't help but allow myself to stop, and rest, on the bench that sat just a few steps from the lake's edge. I let my thoughts drift with the flow of the water, and I let my thoughts to drift as well. Sometimes it can be very difficult to let thoughts into our minds, especially if they are in the form of painful memories. Sometimes it is the just the thing we need to do however, in order to free us...and let us move on toward happiness.

When I first learned how to practice meditation, the person instructing me told the class to , "allow the thoughts to come into your mind, acknowledge them, then let them just pass through your mind and continue on with it's path. As you breathe, allow the sounds around you...the sounds you hear every day...to enter your consciousness...acknowledge them...then let the sounds move on their way." At first it was difficult to do this exercise because I wasn't quite willing to give up control, but as I practiced on my own, it became easier and easier to let go. Now, months later, I have a new appreciation for the positive power of reflection. :)

I am excited and ready to meet this Round Robin challenge. It was chosen by our fellow friend, Cheryl, author of the journals, "Welcome to My World," and "Life Through My Lens." The date of the challenge will be, Wednesday, May 24, 2006, and as always you can post your entry any time between the midnights. If you can't post on that day, you can also post for up to one week after the date of the challenge, but you have the best chance of having your entry be seen if you post on the challenge date. :) If you haven't played before, simply pay a visit to the official Round Robin journal to learn all the information about the current challenge and how to play.

On a related note, I want to send out a warm "Welcome Back" to our friend, and fellow Round Robin, Duane, author of the journal, "sotto voce USA." Duane is an awesome writer, and a great photographer. I always look forward to seeing his interpretations of the challenge subjects. This past year has presented Duane with many challenges, both on and offline, but he always comes through with a great deal of dignity and strength. He inspires me. He gives me some great advice when it comes to my photos and writing...he is my talented friend, and I am glad he is back in the blogsphere with us. Welcome back Duane! If you haven't visited his journal before, be sure to drop by and say, "Hello," and "Welcome Back." :)

-OndineMonet
"Reflections"
Lake Tahoe, Nevada
February, 2006
Afternoon

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Bottom's Up!

"Love is not consolation...it is LIGHT."

-Friedrich Nietzsche

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Put your camera on the ground to shoot a picture of something you don't usually see from the bottom up. Call it the "worm's-eye view"of the world, if worms had eyes, which they mostly don't.

-John Scalzi (By the Way...)

This past weekend I paid a visit to Fort Point, which is located at the mouth of the San Francisco Bay. I have always wanted to see the lighthouse which sits inside the courtyard. It is one of the smallest of the Northern California lighthouses, oh how hard it has worked! The lighthouse is 27-feet tall and sits a mere 83 feet above sea level, atop Fort point. This lighthouse was the third and final one to be placed at the fort. It survived the 1906 earthquake, but not the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, which overshadowed the point and obscured the light. Fort Point lighthouse was officially discontinued in 1934. The lighthouse keeper to serve the longest was James Rankin, he was in charge from 1878 to 1929. When he retired he was commended for saving 18 lives off Fort Point.

I have a lot more photos of Fort Point to share with you, and I will post them soon. It is an immensely interesting place, with a lot of history. I decided to take as many photographs of this lighthouse as possible. It's beauty really caught my imagination and coincidently, I decided to photograph it from this angle, looking upwards into the light. :) Cool isn't it. :)

"I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars."

-Og Mandino

-OndineMonet

Fort Point Lighthouse

May 14, 2006

Afternoon

Kaboom

"Everything is created from moment to moment, always new. Like fireworks, this is a celebration and you are the spectator contemplating the eternal Fourth of July of your absolute splendor."

-Francine Lucille

It was a very full weekend. A chili cook-off, a rodeo parade, the Kaboom rock concert and fireworks on the Embarcadero, plus on Sunday, a trip to Fort Point to visit the inside of the historic fort, and to photograph the awesome lighthouse that sits just inside the fort's courtyard. It was so much fun to get out with the camera for these events, even if it meant that tonight I am a swollen, pudgy mess. LOL. It was oh so worth it. :) The rock concert Saturday night was awesome, and at right around 9:00 PM...there were fireworks. I captured this scene, looking down on the city of San Francisco, from high atop Twin Peaks. Amazing! It was a great opportunity to stretch my night photography muscles. This year the Kaboom concert celebrated it's 13th year, I hope there will be at least 13 more. You can bet I will be there camera in hand. The only thing is, I can't seem to get the first song the station played on the radio, as the fireworks began, out of my head...

Light My Fire
By The Doors

You know that it would be untrue
You know that I would be a liar
If I were to say to you
Boy we couldn't get much higher...

Come on baby light my fire
Come on baby light my fire
Try to set the night on...fire!

The time to hesitate is through
No time to wallow in the mire
try now we can only lose
And our love become a funeral pyre

Come on baby light my fire
Come on baby light my fire
Try to set the night on...fire!

You know that it would be untrue
You know that I would be a liar
If I were to say to you
Boy we couldn't get much higher

Come on baby light my fire!

-OndineMonet
"Try To Set The Night On Fire"
San Francisco/Twin Peaks
May 13, 2006
Evening

Scenes From A Parade

"Never approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear, or a fool from any direction."

-Unknown

Here you go, as promised some scenes from the Rowell Ranch Rodeo Parade. It was a gorgeous day in Castro Valley, and it was a lot of fun to sit back and enjoy the awesome sights. Horses, terrific marching bands, wacky clowns...all so much fun. Aren't small towns just the best? One really neat moment was being able to say hello to Senate candidate Ellen Corbett. What a nice lady! Fun, Fun, Fun! Today, (Sunday) I am off to Fort Point, to do some photographs inside the fort for the first time. I have been looking forward to that for a long time. :) Next to each picture are some Cowboy Wisdom quotes...Enjoy!

"Talk slowly, think quickly"

"Always drink upstream from the herd."

"If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen are defrocked, shouldn't it follow that cowboys would be deranged?"

"Sometimes you get and sometimes you get got."

"Tellin a man to get lost, and making him do it, are two entirely different propositions."

"If you find yourself in a hole, the best thing to do is to stop digging."

Ellen Corbett

"Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance."

-OndineMonet

May 13th, 2006/Afternoon

Off To The Rodeo

"Never be the first to arrive at a part or the last to go home, and never, ever be both."

-David Brown

We had chili for dinner last night (Friday). Six different kinds of chili to be exact, you see, we had dinner at the annual Castro Valley Rotary Club's chili cook-off. The chili cook-off is the official beginning for the weekend festivities that celebrate another year of the Rowell Ranch Rodeo, held in Castro Valley. Today (Saturday) there will be a parade on Castro Valley boulevard, with school bands, floats, and of course a few local celebrities and politicians. In past years we saw among others, a current Miss California, Jennifer Glover, who was once a resident of Castro Valley. For a sleepy little town, with only two exits off the freeway, they sure can party. :) As for our choice for the best chili of the cook-off, we chose the Sterlent Credit Union's entry...yummmmmmmm! See you tomorrow with scenes from a parade! :)

Rowell Ranch Rodeo Schedule

-OndineMonet
"Chili Cook-off"
May 11, 2006
Early Evening

John Scalzi's Weekend Assignment #111: Two Out Of Three

"All truth is simple...is that not doubly a lie?"

-Friedrich Nietzsche

Weekend Assignment: Present three "facts" about yourself: Two of the facts true, and one of the facts false. Let people guess which "fact" is the fake one. Reveal the fake fact on Monday. You don't want to give away the fake fact too early, so be sure to make it sound plausible, next to the other two real facts.

Extra Credit: Can you lie with a straight face? Really?

- John Scalzi (By The Way...)

Tee Hee. Ok, well some of you have been reading me for almost three years, so you already know a good bit about me. It was a little difficult to come up with some facts that might stump even my oldest friends here in the land. The whole prospect made me do some thinking, which can be dangerous for someone like me, but when all was said and done, it turns out there are still a few things I haven't shared. Let's see if you can spot the lie...

1. I once peed on a CHP officer who pulled me over.

True! I was on my way to the Alameda County Fair, and it was a very HOT June day! I have never been someone who could take the heat of summer, even when I was 2 1/2 years old. So, when the VW bus I was riding in, with my brother, sister and some other assorted hippies, decided to get a flat tire, I was "put out" to say the least. To my reckoning I should have a tall Orange Julius in front of me, and a tree over my head for shade. LOL. As our friend Jack fixed the tire, along came a CHP officer to give us a hand. He was familiar to me in that he had pulled my father over on the same stretch on Interstate 580 a few days earlier. The policeman remembered me, and was being very nice to me, as he and I engaged in a sort game of game of TWHIRL. I began to laugh, and the rest is history! LOL. He laughed, and to this day I still remember what he said, "When you've got to go, you've got to go." How cool was he? :)

2. I once drove around town in my car, with NO clothes on. What? It was hot!

Lie! Sort of. I didn't drive around town with NO clothes on, I had on shoes. Here's what happened. A few days before my wedding, I had simply reached my breaking point of nervous tension. Everything had went wrong, including the fact that the seamstress of altered my dress had somehow managed to cut 4 ft off of a 7 ft train, and hemmed it lopsided, and turned the sleeve point so that it no longer rested on my hand. A girl dreams her whole life of the gown she will wear on her wedding day...I was so hurt to see my gown ruined.

It was a HOT October day in 1990, and I decided to take a skinny dip in my pool. It helped clear my head, so I pretty much stayed in my back yard most of the day, and in fact fell asleep by the pool. I woke up to a phone call about 10:30 PM from my maid-of-honor who wanted to let me know that she couldn't take me to the church on my wedding day, because a mutual friend needed a ride!!! Hello? If I don't get there, there would be no wedding. That was my BrideZilla moment. I slammed down the phone, before I said something I shouldn't, I marched to the back yard for a swim. Well, I knew Half way there that a swim wasn't going to do it. So I grabbed my robe, my keys and got into my car.

I live in the hills, there is very little traffic up here. As I drove I felt like that robe was going to strangle me, so I pulled over...took it off...and drove around till I felt better, and less constricted by life. I did drive through the downtown area, but it was well after midnight. There wasn't anyone around, and if a car would have pulled up, the robe was sitting right next to me and I could have covered up quickly enough. I hope this story doesn't disappoint anyone I know...I have a slightly wild streak to me, and I go with it in certain circumstances. That's who I am. So, I hope this truth won't send you running from my journal, but I won't lie to you about who I am, because I am so much more then someone with a wacky sense of humor. Enough said.

3. I was married by a minister, who was not considered legally competent.

True! My Bridezilla moment had past, but the wackiness continued. Among the, now too funny moments of my wedding day, it tuned out that the minister who performed our ceremony was ill with a temperature of over 104 degrees. He says he didn't remember much about how everything went. It has been strongly suggested to me that technically he wasn't legally competent to have married us, because of that fever. Balderdash! Everything may have gone wrong that could, but it never once occurred to me to not marry Alan. We beat a lot of badness to get to the alter...I wasn't going to let go of our day that easily. :) legalities can step off! :)

Can you spot the lie? ;) I'm so wicked. (Insert wicked laugh here)

Extra Credit: Nah... ;)

See you Monday with the reveal.

-OndineMonet
"Two For Paradise"
San Mateo, California
May 11, 2006
Afternoon

Soapy Blogs

"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living."

-Dr. Seuss

The other day I was doing a little research online, and came across a blog that had absolutely nothing to do with what I had been originally looking for, but it was a nifty little find all the same. It is called, "Split Reflections," and it is being written by a young mother living in Llanview, Pennsylvania, who's name is Jessica Buchanan...or Tess Buchanan...you see...she has a complicated life to say the least. It seems, she is suffering from D.I.D (Disociative Idenity Disorder) so while life can be hectic and confusing, she is facing her trials with strength and courage and the two hunky men who are madly in love with her, Antonio and Nash. Sound a bit outrageous? Think this couldn't possibly be real...well sparky...you're right! LOL. Jess/Tess Buchanan is actually a character, played to perfection, by actress Bree Williamson, on the ABC daytime drama, "One Life To Live."

I have been a fan of daytime dramas most of my life. I remember watching "All My Children" on the day it debuted, and even before that, there was General Hospital which had my mother hopelessly hooked. Now my sister preferred something a bit more off beat, so she would hurry home from school each day to watch "Dark Shadows." Lots of folks were hooked on that one, which is why today it is still enjoying a healthy fan base through it's conventions and fan sites. That show scared the Downey Flakes right out of me as a child, but I still showed up in front of the TV, Jiffy Pop in hand every afternoon, right alongside my sister to see what new adventure would visit the residents of Collinsport, Maine. The beautiful witch, Angelique (Lara Parker), was my favorite character. How spooky was she?

I was thinking the other day, about how cool it was to be able to interact with either Jess or Tess and how far things have come for the fan. Each entry into Jess/Tess's blog is a short recap of recent events in the characters life, with enough seemingly genuine bloggy style thrown in to make it interesting for the reader. As an example, Tess/Jess has recently given birth to a baby girl, and is not sure what she should name her child. OK, I thought...I'll play along, and so I left a suggestion or two as if I were reading a blog by the average blog author one would encounter on the Internet. It was a fun thought to ponder, stepping even for just a moment, into the town of Llanview, and the life of a character I have watched grow up. I can't help but wonder what it would have been like to have read the blog of vampire Barnabas Collins, of Dark Shadows, as he went through so many changes and situations. Things were tough for a vampire.

I guess the thought intrigues me so much because of the close encounter I had some years back with Tom Eplin, who at the time was playing HUNK-O-LUSCIOUS Jake McKinnon on the NBC soap, "Another World." Why did fate have to make it such a surreal moment? There I was, at the salon, with my head upside down in a bowl of warm water, having my hair washed, when he walked in...and stood over me, chatting with the person doing my hair. For a moment...just a moment...I was somehow transported to the fictional town of Bay City, and Jake was there, and he was just another customer. Weird...very weird.

So, I decided I would have a closer look at the ABC web site for other shows, and what I found out was that several shows on the ABC network which now have characters with blogs, like Dr. Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough) resident of Port Charles and physician at "General Hospital." And there are a few nighttime shows with blogs as well, such as "Lost" and "Grey's Anatomy." So tell me, would you visit these blogs and leave your thoughts, good wishes, advice, support and care for fictional characters, same as if they were real folks you meet through Blog/Journal Land? Would you step inside the fantasy, or would you simply address the blogs author by saying you enjoy the show? Is it a good idea to have blogs that look like the real thing, and don't really indicate too readily that it is intended as a site for fans of a certain show to visit? Tell me what you think.

PS: If you visit the blog of Robin Scorpio, don't tell her that her mother Anna Devane is on her way back to Port Charles...shhhhhh...it's a secret! :)

-OndineMonet
"Keys"
Berkeley, California
May 10, 2006
Late Evening

Round Robin Challenge: Free

"There are many ways to be FREE. One of them is to transcend reality by imagination, as I try to do."

-Anais Nin

I love apple juice. There is nothing better on a warm autumn day, then to sit out in my yard, with a tall glass of ice-cold apple juice. At least twice a year I have to take a drive 260 miles south, down HWY 101 to San Luis Obispo, California, to the Apple Farm. Honestly, they make a special apple juice right there on the premises, that is so good it curls my toes. Sitting here right now, I can almost taste that juice, flowing down the back of my throat, it's crisp, spicy flavor tickling my palate. A glass of that apple juice is like taking a sensuous bite out of autumn itself. It is an experience which shouldn't be missed in this lifetime. Truly, you would be amazed at how good just one sip will make you feel. Yes, it's worth the drive, over 500 miles round trip for that apple juice.

The Apple Farm is a very special place for many reasons, it's not just the juice that makes it a favorite place of mine. They also treat their customers like old friends...even if they have just met you. As one example, down in the Mill House, where the juice is produced and sold, there is always FREE popcorn, freshly popped, waiting for whoever comes by. The corn is popped in an old fashioned kettle popper that fills the room, and the air just outside the Mill House with the comforting aroma of warm, buttery popcorn. It is an amazing companion to the chilled juice. The Apple Farm is a place I love, not just for the amazing food and drink that you find there, but for the way they go out of their way to make you feel like you are home. Yeah, safe and home. :) Hopefully, I will be able to take a trip down to SLO next month for my birthday...ahhhh...I can almost taste the juice and popcorn now. :) It's the little things in life...that makes it all so sweet.

This Round Robin was chosen by Phinney, author of the journal, "Paragon." Thank you Phinney, for reminding me of one of my favorite places on earth. For all the information on the Round Robin Challenges, pay a visit to the official RR journal. To see the entries by our other Robins, simply click on the links below. You'll be glad you did!

-OndineMonet
"Popcorn For The Road"
San Luis Obispo, California
June 29th, 2005
Late Morning

Apple Farm

Linking List

Phinney... Paragon POSTED!
Karen... Outpost Mavarin POSTED!
Carly... Ellipsis...Suddenly Carly POSTED !
Tammy... The Daily Warrior POSTED!
Sara... Animated Seasons
Connie... Connie's Photo Pages
Erika... Photographs of my Soul POSTED!
Nancy... Nancy Luvs Pix POSTED!
T J... Photo Inclusions: Every Picture Tells A Story POSTED!
Suzanne... Suzanne R's Life POSTED!
Valorie... Retrospect USA POSTED!
Mary... Alphawoman's Blog
Sassy/Deb... Sassy's EYE (AOL) A Sassy Blog (Blogspot)POSTED!
Steven... (sometimes) photoblog POSTED!
Julie... Julie's Web Journal POSTED!
Tess... First Digital Photos POSTED!
Derek... Through My Eyes POSTED!

Art About Town: San Francisco

"Art does not lie down on the bed that is made for it; it runs away as soon as one says it's name; it loves to be incognito. It's best moments are when it forgets what it is called."

-Jean DuBuffet

I love this sculpture. It's called, "La Chiffoniere," and it stands at Justin Herman Plaza, on the Embarcadero, in San Francisco. Created for the city by French Pop artist, Jean DuBuffet, it stands just a across the plaza from the controversial, Vaillancount Fountain, but commands ones attention just as much. I took this photo on April 18th, while the celebration of the 100 anniversary of the 1906 quake, was happening across the street at the Ferry Building. The lights from the celebration, bounced off the scultpture making it seem to glow like a fine opal. Sigh. I could have stood there all night...just taking it in.

It was nice today to see Governor Schwarzenegger, and California legislators, working in a bi-partisan effort to put aside their differences long enough to campaign together for the $37.3 billion bond measure which will appear on the November ballot, and will, among other things, allow for the growth of art programs in public schools. That is so important, how many studies does it have to take, before it is more widely realized how important the arts are to our nations youth? Statistics show, that children who are exposed to the arts at a young age, were less likely to lose their way. I know art, and the fact that I was encouraged by my teachers in the appreciation of it, completely saved my life when I was a little girl. Sometimes, it still does. :) Tell me...how has an appreciation for the arts changed your life. Share with us. :)

Click here to read more information about Jean DuBuffet (Artcyclopedia)

-OndineMonet
"La Chiffoniere"
Justin Herman Plaza on the Embarcadero
San Francisco, California
April 18, 2006
Late Evening

The Boyish Charm Of George Bush

"I would say the best moment of all was when I caught a 7.5 lb largemouth bass in my lake."

- George Bush, on his best moment while serving as President of the United States.

-Blid am Sonntag , May 7, 2005 (Bush's Best Moment In Office? It's A Fish Story)

And let's not forget how 2001 treated our great leader...

"But all in all, it's been a fabulous year for Laura and me."

-George W. Bush, December 20, 2001, Washington D.C.

It's good to be him!

-OndineMonet
"Busho"
Bodega Bay, California
Summer, 2005
Afternoon

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Grab Bag!

"Live in the sunshine, swim in the sea, drink the wild air..."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Grab Bag! Show off any picture you want, as long as it's really cool. That's right you make the call...all I want is to look at it and say "Whoa! What a neat picture." And remember, just because it's called the Monday Photo Shoot doesn't mean you can't post a picture on Tuesday, Wednesday or even Thursday morning for consideration on the Thursday spotlight entry.

-John Scalzi

Recently, I took a little time off to go and see what I could find with my camera. To my delight, I found some awesome light everywhere I went, with awesome life living inside it. And all was well...

-OndineMonet
"Walking On Sunshine"
San Mateo County, California
April, 2006
Early Afternoon

Taking Photos

"I take photographs with love, so I try to make them art objects. But I make them for myself first and foremost...that is important."

-Jacques-Henri Lartique

Sometimes I wonder what I would do, if I didn't have my camera. I can just be having the worst day, but if I can just focus for a few minutes with my third eye, I will eventually calm down and relax. Lately I have been needing those moments more and more.

Recently, I started posting photos on Flickr again. That's been really fun. I spent this weekend looking through old files from last year, to maybe give a second look to some photos which I may have dismissed as not good enough. My needs are a lot different this year, I have had to slow down a bit when it comes to taking photos. It has made me a little more forgiving of my own mistakes with the camera. As a result, I have several candidates in mind for a painting I would like to do later this summer.

I know for sure it will be one of my florals, so now I will have to make up my mind on what colors have been catching my eye the most. Last year i was seeing a lot of blue everywhere. The above photo is a good example of that. It has not been touched up in any way, the natural lighting combined with the season and colors immediately found in and around Berkeley all came together naturally for this photo. It is one of many that had that blue casting to it. Blue was definitely last years color.

This year I seem to be finding more of a balance, but still I seem to be noticing a lot of red in my travels. Signs, flowers, clothes, in the sunsets. I don't know, I used to go through my monochromatic phases, but then for a long period of time, I took very little notice of the colors and just concentrated on lighting. Hmmm. Do you have a certain element that is always a part of your creative process? When you take photos, do you find your eye is drawn to a certain color or theme?

I have a collection of photos posted over at Flickr that is a pretty good representation of my photo journeys with both my digital and my non-digital cameras. I could use some feedback. Go have a look see and tell me what you think. My photo taking changed dramatically after I switched to mostly digital photography. I would be curious to know your thoughts. In some ways I think I relaxed more after I switched to the more economical process, somehow not worrying about the cost of processing film has made everything a lot more comfortable. Just click on the Flickr badge on my sidebar to visit my pages.

Alan started a Flickr page this weekend as well, it's going to be an alternative to posting on his Blogspot blog for a while. After the AOL Exile of last year, it was difficult for him to find the time to learn the new way of posting over here. Between the yuckiness of the whole situation and his schedule at work...it all seemed pretty bleak that he would find the groove again. Flickr has him interested in sharing his creativity again...that's kinda fun. :) You can find his page here.

There are some awesome photographers signed up to play along with the Round Robin Challenge coming up next Wednesday. The subject will be "Free," which was chosen by Phinney. There is still plenty of time to sign-up, just visit the official Round Robin journal and follow the easy-to-follow instructions. It's a great way to make new friends and gain new readers, and also...to just have a good time sharing your love of photography. Recently we had a new Robin joins us, Connie, and we will have another new Robin coming along for our challenge this time as well. Be sure to drop by and welcome Suzanne. She is a lovely lady I met just a couple weeks ago. She takes some really impressive photos, so I know it will be great fun to have her join us.

-OndineMonet
"The Wicked"
Berkeley, California
Spring, 2005
Late Afternoon

Gas

"Our addiction to oil is a matter of national security concern."

-George W. Bush (April 24, 2006)

Here is the result of the Poll I ran here on Ellipsis this past week. I think the results, while few in number, is still a fairly accurate representation of how we all feel about what the true cause of the current oil price inflation. I guess the next question is, how we will deal with the prices as they are now, and how the will be in the future?

More and more it has become clear that the Bush administration plans to do very little to ease prices at the pumps. Oh they have a plan alright, in fact according to the White House, Mr. Bush has a 4 point plan...

1. Make sure consumers and taxpayers (voters) are treated fairly.

2. Promote greater fuel efficiency.

3. Boost U.S. gasoline supply by delaying summer deposits to the national reserve. (Most experts agree this will do very little to help)

4. Invest aggressively in gasoline alternatives.

And lets not forget the plan to rollback E.P.A. standards for the processing of oil products.

So, while prices per barrel have actually come down in the last week or so, we, the consumer, will see very little relief at the pumps. According to a recent AP-Ipsos poll, most Americans have already pitched in to do their part, by taking fewer vacations, cutting back on heating and air-conditioning and yet the prices continue to rise.

This is a situation that doesn't just affect whether or not we will be able to take an extended vacation, this problem affects every industry that relies on gasoline for any part of it's supply and demand. A stark example of this terrible state of affairs came when I decided to order an ice-cream pie recently from a nationally known ice-cream shop. I had purchased one about a year ago from the same place and paid approximately $11.00. Last week when I visited the same store, and was preparing to purchase the same pie, I found it would now cost me $18.00. YIKES! It's roughly half-a-gallon of softened ice-cream poured into a graham cracker crust.

While it might be nice to be able to have it made out of some wonderfully, gooey, special flavor...frankly I can make it myself. So, instead of a pie made out of white chocolate raspberry ice-cream, it was made out of homemade cantaloupe honey ice-cream. It was quite good and I had fun coming up with the recipe...but the over all thought is still rather disturbing. The thought that most families in America, can no longer afford simple luxury of a trip to the ice-cream parlor. We in America are working harder, and harder, and getting less and less for it...yet we demand nothing of our representatives...why is that? I don't know about you, but in November I will remember which one of my representatives did what, I have no more patience with politicians who let Bush and company get away with anything and everything, but who display nothing but their CONTINUED outrage at his souless and condescending ways. Bush, the president who keeps America...barefoot and pregnant.

-OndineMonet

Things That Go Boom In The Night!

"Pentiums melt in your PC not in your hand."

-Unknown

Whew...Grrrrrrrrr...Whew. It's not like I haven't been warned! Karen has mentioned it, Patrick has mentioned it, Steven has mentioned it. Did I take their advice and do it? No. LOL. It is such an easy thing to do...it only takes a few minutes, so why don't we all do it? Maybe we should designate a special day for it. Yeah...that's it, I hereby proclaim that the first Saturday in every month be, "BACK UP YOUR TEMPLATE DAY!" LOL.

It was tragic! I sat down last night, all ready to post several profound, poignant and very important entries about Lima beans, cats, pigs and orbs, except what do you think happened? I couldn't post those entries because my template had suffered a horrible, hideous, untimely death. It was sooooo sad. I clicked on my journal, and all that was there was a tiny little symbol that looked like this...

( ~T/)
Weep...WHINE...Whimper....WHINE. Oh my, I saw my whole bloggy life flash before my eyes. There is NO way I could go through rebuilding yet another journal. That would just be too much, so, imagine how it felt to think I might actually be looking at the end of my blog...and my blog career! Why, whatever would the Internet do without me? LOL.

Fortunately, my good friend Karen was awake and online, and she came quickly to my aid. Within an hour, I was once again up and running, with only a minor amount of fussing. Karen was awesome. A tweak here a tweak there and faster then you can say, "HTML." I was back. Listen and learn gentle reader...DON"T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU! Back-up your templates, so if yours decided to leave the cold, cruel world of the Internet, you can rebuild with a minimum amount of muss and fuss. Say it with me now...

"Yes, I will back up my template!"

The only casualty of the great template breakdown, is that I lost the poll I was running about gas prices. Fortunately I had saved a copy of it earlier in the day. So, I will be writing about the results of that poll tomorrow, but now I have a new poll on my sidebar, about the challenges of blogging. Stop by and take a look at it, I think it will be fun to find out what we all find most challenging about keeping a blog or journal. :) Let me know what you think. Also, do you have any blogging tips you would like to share? Please feel free to leave them in the comments.

Thanks again Karen :) You're the best!

Note: What I mean by backing up your template, is that basically you go into your template, open up a document file, such as word pad, then copy and paste the full body of text information into the document file. Keep it for safe in your document files, or even email it to yourself, should you ever have to replace your template information.

-OndineMonet
Blogspot"
Berkeley, California
May 5th, 2005
Early Morning.

John Scalzi's Weekend Assignment #110: Strange Dreams...

"A dreamer is someone who can only find his way by the moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world."

-Oscar Wilde

Weekend Assignment #110: Recount a strange dream you've had recently. Any sort of dream is fine except the really explicit sex dreams. Because, you know, we're running a family show, here. Otherwise they can be as weird as you want them to be.

Extra Credit: Name a favorite song with the words "dream" or "sleep" ( or some variation of those words).

It's been a tough week. There have been some external stresses going on for me, ones that are hard to explain. Here or anywhere really. You know...sometimes it can be difficult...life that is...but I get up every day and deal with it anyway, because...LOL...that's all I can do. Sometimes I have trouble communicating with a friend of mine. Shrug. I don't always know why. Is it me? Is it him? Is it because we are both cancers? LOL. Who knows. Somehow...I think...it must be...that I am lacking. I'm just not enough of what he needs in a friend. Shrug. It happens I suppose. It doesn't have to feel good, and as a result, my sleeping is intermittent at times.

So, because of times like these, I take every opportunity I can to try and catch up on whatever sleep I have missed. It's not the amount of time that counts, it's the quality. So, today I took a nap in my back yard, under the pear tree. That tree is magical for sleeping, and it is especially wonderful right now because believe it or not...it is going through a second spring. Just a couple weeks ago, most of the pear blossoms fell from the tree, but to my delight, this week it began to blossom all over again...it's gorgeous. So, I took my pillow, by favorite quilt and I went into the yard to rest...and rest I did.


I was in the middle of a big meadow...flowers everywhere, and I was taking a nap, while listening to top 40 music, when all of a sudden an advertisement for Lima beans came on the radio. And not just any Lima beans, "Barry Manilow" brand Lima beans, "which contain no trans-fatty acid." Whew! Because goodness knows that would be something to be concerned about! LOL. Well, just the thought of a good can of Lima beans, had me get up...leave the beautiful meadow, and head straight for my favorite grocery store, Andronico's Market. Except they don't carry Lima beans, so I had to settle for a can of Skintimate, Apple-Berry Moisturizing Shave Gel.

It seems I had to shave my legs because David Duchovny was going to be meeting me back at the meadow, where the big tire swing was now hanging. I no sooner got my legs shaved then David showed up, with a bottle of white wine, a single perfect lavender rose...and a can of Lima beans. LOL. Then we pretty much played out the song, "Kiss Me," as played by Sixpense None The Richer." When I woke up...the Ethereal Musician was playing his sax...and all was very nice in the Berkeley hills. :)

Extra Credit: Dream A Little Dream Of Me...

Stars shining bright above you
Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"
Birds singing in the sycamore tree
Dream a little dream of me
Say "Nigh-ie night and kiss me
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me
While I'm alone and blue as can be
Dream a little dream of me

Stars fading but I linger on dear
Still craving your kiss
I'm longing to linger till dawn dear
Just saying this
Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
But in your dreams whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me.

-OndineMonet
"Dream A Little Dream"
Berkeley, California
May 4th, 2006
Afternoon

A Meme From T J :)

"She glances at the photo, and the pilot light of memory flickers in her eyes."

My friend T.J., author of the journal, "Photo Inclusions: Every Picture Tells A Story," included me in this neat little meme, that features one of my favorite things...photography. The idea is to post of 5 photos as answers to a certain 5 questions. Fun, fun, fun. Follow me...

1. One photo of something you made.

Here is a photo of what I prepared for St. Patrick's Day dinner. Traditional Corned Beef & Cabbage. I love to cook, almost as much as I love taking photos. I want to do more with that this year. I want to learn to take good photographs of food. :)

2. One picture of a gift someone gave you.

Here is a photo of my favorite pendant. Alan gave me this dragonfly for Christmas this past year. I have a dragonfly and butterfly motif throughout my house and in the garden. I have been collecting them for years. He bought me this dragonfly, the day after I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia...it is representational of change. :)

3. One picture of something strange.

LOL. ;) My Pillsbury Doughboy with a dirty face is kinda strange. LOL. So is my sense of humor. LOL.

4. One picture of something with a pig. Why? Why not?

See, this could qualify as both "strange" and Piggy. I don't know what came over me. One day I was shopping at the World Market, and I saw this plastic bag filled with these little pink piggies. I couldn't resist. What the heck was I going to do with a plastic bag of piggie? Well, take pictures of them I guess...that's my story and I am sticking to it! LOL.

5. One picture of something unique.

It doesn't get any more unique then this sculpture, which can be found on the Cal Berkeley campus. The university grounds has all kinds of wonderful sculptures and art pieces...this one is a favorite of mine. It's called, "Rotante Dal Foro Centrale," and is by Italian artist, Arnaldo Pomodoro.

Thank you T J for including me in the neat meme, it brought back some wonderful memories, just by looking at the photos. :)

-OndineMonet

"Meme"

Have You Met Miss Molly?

"Cats are dangerous companions for writers because cat watching is a near-perfect method of writing avoidance."

-Dan Greenberg

Meet Miss Molly, she is the sister of Elvis's best friend Ernst. She is a lovely, polite little girl, but she is really shy...and sometimes downright wee. Molly had been a little bit afraid to make friends, until about a week ago, when all of a sudden she decided to trust me. One bright, warm, morning last week, I stepped out the front door to go on some much needed errands, and there she was, sitting on my front stoop waiting patiently for whatever cats wait patiently for. Elvis, her brother Ernst, or maybe she was waiting for the morning delivery of the New York Times. I'm not too sure, but I do know that after 6 months of running away from me, this time Molly was wanting, more then anything else, was to say good morning...to me! :) It's a good feeling when a cat gives you their attention. They don't have to you know, as a good friend once reminded me, "Carly, you haven't been ignored, until you have been ignored by a cat."

So Miss Molly and I sat together on the porch, mewing and cooing with each other, we chased a toy mouse left over from Elvis's birthday party. We watched Ernst try to figure out what exactly the opossum was doing, as it made it's way through the ivy, you know, we contemplated all the great mysteries of the universe. And we enjoyed each other's company. I like my friend Molly, I bet she would be great fun at a tea party. :)

To see and share about other beautiful feline friends, be sure to visit my good friend Steven's blog, "(sometimes) photoblog" for his weekly meme, "Feline Friday." As Steven says, "Cats Rule."

-OndineMonet
"Miss Molly"
Berkeley, California
April 28th, 2006
Morning

Looking For You

"The camera makes everyone a tourist in other people's reality, and eventually in one's own."

-Susan Sontag

I took this photo a couple weeks ago, during my week long respite. I don't know, the bridges in the area just inspire me so much. Especially the Golden Gate. This photo kinda sheds some light on why they probably named it that I suppose. The light that comes in and out of this corridor is stunning. I don't know, it's hard to explain really. This photo was taken on April 18th, the night of the 100th anniversary of the great quake of 1906. I couldn't help but wonder, as I took the photo, could the sunset on the night of April 18th, 1906, have looked anything like this? Do you suppose that when Jack London was photographing the city, as it laid in ruins, he also noticed the sun, golden and smooth in color, dropping gently behind the Marin Headlands, even amid such devestation and chaos?

Jack London Exhibit

-OndineMonet
"Looking For You"
San Francisco, California
April 18, 2006
Early Evening

Art About Town: Santa Rosa

"Art is indeed not the bread but the wine of life."

-John Paul Richter

The town of Santa Rosa, California is an art lovers dream come true. The whole town has a rich history, with it's wine country past. There are nearly 200 wineries in the region, as well as some of the finest California cuisine to be found. The Area boasts 16 gold courses, some of the countries top spas, some awesome hot air ballooning adventures and of course, some of the best public art to be found, north of San Francisco.

Santa Rosa is also home to the Charles Schultz Museum. Last year I showed you some examples of the Charlie Brown sculptures that dotted the town throughout the summer of 2005. The 55 statues were auctioned off for charity at the end of the summer. This year it will be Woodstock, 77 of them to be exact, that will be positioned around town, from the end of May until September 24th, at which time they will also be auctioned off. But that is by no means the sum total of the art to be found in Santa Rosa, in fact sometimes art can also be found in the most unusual places.

How about on a bus bench? Yep, the above photo is titled, "Wine Country," and it is a part of the Artstart Benches Program, which is a public art project in combination with a youth employment opportunity. 24 of these benches can be found all around the town, each with a unique theme. 21 apprentice artists from the Sonoma County area were selected to participate in the public art program, which also included a large mural. This particular bench paid homage to the rich history of wine making in the region. Other bench themes included one with a cow theme that was titled, "Sonoma Cow-nty," which sat outside Santa Rosa High School, and "Spirit of Santa Rosa," which was placed at the Sonoma County Indian Health Clinic.

I am looking forward to seeking out the Woodstock sculptures, I will of course have my camera in hand. LOL. Don't ya just love great art? :)

Your Monday Photo Shoot: The Birdies!

"The very idea of a bird is a symbol and a suggestion to the poet. A bird seems to be at the top of the scale, so vehement and intense his life...the beautiful vagabonds, endowed with every grace, masters of all climbs, and knowing no bounds. How many human aspirations are realized in their free, holiday lives...and how many suggestions to the poet in their flight and song!"

-John Burroughs ( Birds and Poets) 1887

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Snap some shots of the birds around you.

-John Scalzi (By The Way...)

Don't ya just love spring? I am so blessed to have lots of fruit trees and Poplars for these wonderful creatures to nest in. I am also blessed with a kitty who brings me the injured ones when he finds them. Life is good.

-OndineMonet
"In My Yard"
Berkeley, California
April, 2006
Mid-morning

Yabba-dabba-doo

"An architect is the drawer of dreams."

-Gracie McGarvie

I love this house. If you are driving north, up the peninsula from San Jose heading for San Francisco on HWY 280, you can see this, "Town Of Bedrock" inspired home, sitting nestled on a hillside. There are all kinds of gorgeous, expensive, homes and mansions all around it, but this place steals the show. Every time I see it, I half imagine seeing, Fred and Barney at the next on-ramp, getting ready to merge into traffic. But alas, I never do, but I always look for them all the same. Now I ask you...How cool would it ne to live in a house that looks like it was built for a "Modern stone-age family?"

Opening Lyrics...

Flintstones, meet the Flintstones
They're the modern stone-age family
From the town of Bedrock
They're a page right out of history
Let's ride with the family down the street
Through the courtesy of Fred's two feet
When you're with the Flintstones
Have a yabba-dabba-doo-time
A dabba-doo-time
You'll have a gay old time

I guess, if one was in the right position to do so, they could have a house built modeled after any of the TV houses we all grew up watching. One of my favorite episodes of the X-Files, "Sunshine Days," features a young man named Oliver, who had the ability to to change the appearance of his house, at will, to resemble the Brady Bunch house. Oliver had grown-up feeling like a loser, kind of like the character of cousin Oliver, from the Brady Bunch, so he created a world where he felt secure and accepted.

I think when I was a little girl, if it had occurred to me that when I grew up I could have a house built to look like a TV house I would feel comfortable it, I would have chosen the Addams house from the Addams Family, complete with the artwork...no...especially including the artwork! LOL. I loved the marlin that had been stuffed and mounted on the wall, with a human leg hanging out of it's mouth. And who didn't want to blow-up trains with Gomez? Honestly, there are some days when I consider investing in two sets of trains and engaging in that very pursuit. LOL.

Closing lyrics...

Flintstones, meet the Flintstones
They're the modern stone-age family
From the town of Bedrock
They're a page right out of history
Some day, maybe Fred will win the fight
And that cat will stay out for the night
When you're with the Flintstones
Have a yabba-dabba-doo time
A dabba-doo time
You'll have a gay old time

So tell me, if you could have a house built that looked exactly like any TV house which one would you choose? Would you like to live like a Brady? How about a magical house like the one Darin and Samantha Stevens owned? Or maybe you would prefer the typical all American address of 1313 Mockingbird Lane. Of course, in the summertime I used to daydream about living in a hut like on Gilligan's Island. I had such a crush on the professor! LOL.

-OndineMonet
"Yabba-dabba-doo"
Hillsborough, California
April 19, 2006
Afternoon

Garden Gnomes And Codeine

"Do not all charms fly at the mere touch of cold philosophy? There was an awful rainbow once in heaven; we know her woof, her texture; she is given in the dull catalogue of common things. Philosophy will clip an angel's wings, conquer all mysteries by rule and line, empty the haunted air, and gnome mine unweave a rainbow."
- John Keats

Strange...Very strange. Tuesday will mark the fifth anniversary of when Alan and I moved into our little cottage in the hills. In some ways it has been a blink, in other ways it has seemed to drag. I was just thinking the other day about how we lived in our first home, a three story walk-up apartment, for the first eight years of our married life, and all was bliss...well...most of the time. LOL. No marriage is completely blissful, that is one of those things no one chooses to share with you before you get married. Oh, don't get me wrong, there were signs of such here and there. And if my some reason you do happen to miss the clues about marriage having it's moments, there are always soap operas to clue you in.

They always struggle to bring the hero and the heroine together, despite insurmountable odds, only to have them marry in an elaborate ceremony then within six months one or both of the lovers will be plotting the other ones untimely demise. LOL. Well, it's justified, I mean we can't have a boringly happily married couple saving the world...right? LOL.Fortunately Alan and I have always found the adventure in our life together. LOL. Well, I am happy to report...the adventure continues!

If you were reading Ellipsis when it was on AOL, you may remember my little run in with the freaky garden gnome that lives in my back yard. Just in case you missed that adventure here is the basic details. When I moved into my cottage, I was blessed with not just a comfy new home, but the property it sits on, which is more like a small park, then a back yard. It has five fruit trees, and a lot of space to get lost in. It is in a safe place, so I can pretty much feel safe about going for a walk on the property and taking a nap under one of those trees on a warm summer day. No worries. Well, except for the gnome. See, when I moved in here, there were two creatures that were here first, and who I would have to agree to share the space with. A black, ceramic duck, and a freaky garden gnome. I say freaky, because he tends to move about the yard...all on his own.

Truly. I will place him under the lemon tree, and then the next morning he will somehow be sitting on the patio. YIKES. I thought for a time that maybe the opossums, might be moving him, they have quite a sense of humor you know, but no, I think not. Hmmmm. Anyway, one day last year I fell out of a tree, and landed on the gnome, injuring my leg. LOL. Go ahead and laugh...it was funny. That will teach a forty-something woman to climb a tree in search of the perfect photo opportunity. LOL. So, I was off my feet for a few days, and thoroughly looped on pain killers, when the crazy thing ended up tripping me again. This time in my own office. No, he hadn't wandered into the house on his own, Alan had put him inside one night to give him a coat of paint, and he thought my office would be a good place to put him that was out of the way. Uh huh. Kaboom...

So, fast forward a year to now. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia late last year. I am doing well, learning to find my groove, and learning to take care of myself, but even though there are still the occasional days when it really doesn't matter how hard I try to concentrate...my brain simply won't work the way I want it to. That's ok, it makes for an interesting time. LOL. Like the conversation I had with Alan early yesterday morning, when I held a very intelligent conversation with him while I was sound asleep. It's one he won't forget anytime soon, and I learned that I can still get embarrassed, even around someone who I have been married to for almost 15 years.

Generally speaking, I usually do my writing and photo editing between the hours of 10:00 PM and 5:00 AM. See, Alan snores the roof off, so it makes sense to do my cleaning and creative pursuits during those hours, then I go to bed when he leaves for work. I sleep till about 12:00 noon, get up, and by the time he comes home at 2:30, I am ready to spend the afternoon with him. Well, sometimes I get tired easily now, and staying up all night simply isn't an option. Last night, I was tired, but I felt ok, so I kept to my usual schedule. Well, almost. What I did differently was to get up from my desk, sit back in my favorite recliner, and turn of a rerun of "Dharma and Greg." I don't know when I fell asleep, but I was out cold.

About 5:30 AM or so, I heard Alan, laughing his butt off, and asking me, "what the hell does THAT mean?" Well, I didn't know myself, but I knew somehow I had gone off course. I woke up with words coming out of my mouth, and NO idea who it was saying them. LOL. To the best of my knowledge, I have never heard myself talking in my sleep. LOL. I gotta tell you...it's weird! LOL. Ok, so here's how it went...

I, at some point, got up from the recliner, and came into the bedroom with Alan. He was lying in bed, grabbing those last couple, "one more minute," moments. As I got into bed, he asked me if he could tell me what had happened at work the day before. "Sure", I said..."absolutely." Apparently, he began to tell me that he had some silliness come up regarding a supervisor who double scheduled him, and he was having trouble getting the time straightened out. It wasn't a big problem, but it was one of those stupid scenerios that happen in life. You know...silly stuff. Well, I was listening VERY closely, he said my eyes never blinked once. When he was finished conveying the situation to me, I responded by sharing that, "Well Alan, THAT's exactly my point. THAT is why America has a poet laureate after all. To make sure the opossums put the gnome back in it's proper place. And don't forget the cheese!" ROFLMAO! "Carly, we have a poet laureate to handle my scheduling woes?" LOL. "No, of course not Alan...huh?"

I heard the last few words, and wanted to know myself what that meant. LOL. Oh boy, is that what it's like? Talking in your sleep? It was so surreal. I was only a tiny bit spooked after that. I managed to get back to sleep, but I did wonder why the gnome had been on my mind, since I try so hard to not think about it. It gives me the wiggins, but I don't have the heart to get rid of it. I can be such a schmuck sometimes, but the thing is...he was here first. And besides...what if he came back? That would be a whole other deal completely! LOL. So, I have learned to peacefully co-exist with the gnome. Last night's little adventure probably had more to do with the Codeine I am taking for the back pain which is exacerabted by the Fibromyalgia. Still, there are times when I have to wonder, can an inanimate object REALLY be out to get you? LOL.

Tell me, have you ever encountered an inanimate object that for some reason, seemed as if it didn't like you? Share your story with us. Also, have you ever talked and or walked in your sleep? What did you do? Where did you go? What did you say? Was stress the cause or did you just spontaneously do it? As for the gnome in the above photo...he's isn't my freaky gnome, I have never wanted to photograph him, well, not without his permission. That would just be rude! LOL.

-OndineMonet
NOTE: Ted Kooser, is our current Poet Laureate. He was appointed in April of 2005 by, James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress. Kosser is the 2004 winner of the Pultizer Prize for poetry for "Delights and Shadows."