The View From Grizzly Peak Boulevard

"If you're alive you can't be bored in San Francisco.

 If you're not alive, San Francisco will bring you to life."

~William Saroyan

Yesterday was our last day of vacation, and we decided to spend it in Berkeley, but no trip to Berkeley would be complete without visiting our old neighborhood on Grizzly Peak Boulevard. Not only is it home for us, but it has Tilden Park and the most beautiful views of San Francisco, Oakland, the Peninsula and Marin! I have been so lonely for the East Bay, and the Berkeley hills is my favorite spot to take it all in at once! There is nothing like that view in November, the air is so crisp and clear, and the air smells so good. I never thought I would miss the smell of eucalyptus as much as I do... but yesterday, while standing there, I realized I really did miss it. Sigh. But it wasn't so sad, I felt like I was home, and my heart didn't hurt for just a little while. I will be back again soon. 

After all... it's still home, and it always will be.

Leaf Of The Day

November 5th 2015

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Grieving In Autumn

"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all."

~Stanley Horowitz

My favorite autumn trees are in a small, quiet park in the East Bay, and nothing makes me happier than grabbing a lunch and spending a little time there, just walking among the leaves and photographing as many of them as I can. It's a little more difficult now that I am living in Stockton, but while Alan and I were on vacation I managed to visit there a couple times. And I will continue to through the remainder of this autumn season, but I know that it isn't healthy to allow my grieving of my life in the East Bay to keep me from exploring new autumn sights here and in neighboring Sacramento. In fact, I just found out that Sacramento is known as the City Of Trees, and puts on quite a show of autumn leaves, so I really need to broaden my thinking, as I move through the five stages of grief. Believe it or not, those stages apply to anything in life that passes away, including the loss of a place you have lived your whole life. I miss the East Bay so much my heart aches, but at least we are in autumn as I grieve, because it's those leaves and the cool days that always guides me back to feeling alive. Strange... in that autumn is all about the final burst of life of each year. 

Leaf Of The Day

November 4th 2015

Mood: Quiet

 ~Me :)

Sweet, Melancholy, November

"October extinguished itself in a rush of howling winds and driving rain and November arrived, cold as frozen iron, with hard frosts every morning and icy drafts that bit at exposed hands and faces."

~J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix

I usually hate to see October come to and end. It's my favorite month. It holds everything I love most. My wedding anniversary, days at the beginning of the month warm and bright. Days at the end of the month with just enough chill in the air to remind me of a favorite sweater stored away. And the nights, oh the October sunsets that turn into long nights sitting with Alan, cuddled on the courch, watching a favorite show. Magical times. But this year is different. October was warmer than usual, because of our move to Stockton. 

This year, the October days seemed to run together. It's a lot warmer out here in Stockton than the Bay Area, and it's going to take some getting used to! But November started with a genuine chill in the air, and I got to see the rain fall on my pool! What a silly sight that was! But the best thing was getting to wear my newest autumn sweater. I bought it over the summer, at Ross in Turlock. It was too pretty not to buy, never mind the fact that it was 105 on the day I purchased it! I knew the earth would eventually turn back to the cold and dark, my kind of day, and that sweater would comfort me, and yesterday, it did. Who knew a comfy sweater could do so much for alleviating homesickness? 

And anyway, how can one night smile,

 with leaves as beautiful as the ones in this post?

Leaf Of The Day

November 3rd 2015

Mood: Quiet

~Me :)  

Our Joey

"I want to thank you for the profound joy

 I have had in the thought of you."

~Rosie Alison

The Very Thought Of You

My little Joey was very unsure about Halloween. What was that doorbell sound? Who were those strange little folk on the porch? And why was daddy giving them things? LOL. When we lived in the cottage in the Berkeley hills, we rarely got trick or treaters, so this was the first Halloween Joey really experienced. This was also his first time seeing children! As far as I know anyway. Hendrix loved Halloween. He was right behind his daddy at the front door, greeting the kids and their parents, and helping hand out the candy... in his own way! He is a black cat, so he was already in costume! I wish the boys enjoyed pet costumes the way Elvis did, but alas I have to let them be who they are, and who they are doesn't involve dressing up! 

It's okay, Elvis was an individual and so are each of my little guys! And Joey, being the littlest, is learning about things in the most respectful way a cat can. He is just happy to be a part of the family, you can tell he is still grateful to be safe and warm and loved. We found him two years ago, on Thanksgiving weekend, and we are just as grateful as he is that he came to live with us. He cuddles me, and knows when I have a blue moment, and loves me through it with hugs and whisker kisses. Thanksgiving has a whole new meaning for us, with Joey a member of the family!

Leaf Of The Day

November 2nd 2015

Mood: Grateful

 ~Me :)

Punky's Big Night

"Halloween shadows played upon the walls of the houses. In the sky the Halloween moon raced in and out of the clouds. The Halloween wind was blowing, not a blasting of wind but a right sized swelling, falling, and gushing of wind.

 It was a lovely and exciting night, 

exactly the kind of night Halloween it should be."

~Eleanor Estes

The Witch Family

Last night was Punky's BIG NIGHT! Every year Alan and I look through, what seems like a million or so pumpkins, until we find the one that really speaks to us. I MEAN REALLY SPEAKS TO US! This year was the most important search of the perfect punky since our very first punky 25 years ago! This time we needed to find just the right punky for our first Halloween in our very first house! LOL. And because this was a special Halloween, Punky didn't disappoint! Not only did he shine welcoming all the little witches and goblins, but we had a decent turnout of the little ones! It seems this was a true witch night, followed closely by some black cats and super heroes! It was a good night! I love Halloween, and I was lucky enough to marry a man who loves it as much as I do! He was a big hit handing out the candy, all dressed up as a chef, complete with a rubber chicken for making Chicken and Dumplings tomorrow night no doubt! LOL.

 Life is good!

Leaf Of The Day

November 1st 2015

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

A Look Back At October And Happy Halloween...

"Witch and ghost make merry, on the last of dear October days."

~Unknown

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Yes, it is the dearest of October days, and it seems like forever until it comes around again! And as of tomorrow, November 1st, I will begin longing for it! Ever since I was a child, I have had the unreasonable fear that I wouldn't live to see another Halloween. Silly. Of course I will, and not only that, I will have plenty of things to muse about having occurred in the time between! My life loves to take strange twists and turns. I was just saying to Alan the other day that we never do things the way other people do. We just seem to find the odd circumstance. Oh well, at least our life together isn't boring! LOL. 

Okay now, on with the look back at October...

Leaf Of The Day

October 31st 2015

Mood: Excited

~Me :)

The Night Befor Halloween

"There is a child in every one of us who is still a trick or treater looking for a brightly lit front porch."

~Robert Brault

Are you ready for tomorrow night? The best night of the year? The one that completely knocks other best nights of the year on their butts? I am! Halloween has always been a big deal to me. It's been my favorite holiday since I was a wee one, watching spooky movies on the TV with my father! He really got into the spirit of things, always bringing home multiple pumpkins to carve, and buying ridiculous amounts of candy to pass out to the neighborhood goblins. But it was those super spooky movies I loved best! Soylent Green was one of his favorites, while clung to the old black and white movies like The Innocents. Oh well it was all good, as long as it was fun, and if it was one thing it was always was... it was fun!

Leaf Of The Day

October 30th, 2015

 Mood: Happy

~Me :)

 

The Witching Time Of Night

"Tis now is the very witching time of night,

when churchyards yawn and Hell itself breathes out 

contagion to this world."

~William Shakespeare

One more little homemade Halloween greeting for this year! I didn't do nearly as many as I planned to do, this vacation was much more subdued than previous years. Still managed to get some good stuff as I traveled here and there. Funny about photography, you never know when or where the muse will whisper in your ear, and encourage you to see the image beyond the obvious! Photography has taught me to be a much more careful viewer, as well as listener. Its almost spiritual at times. Don't believe me? Take your camera with you next time you visit your favorite haunt. You never know what you might see!

Leaf Of The Day

October 29th 2015

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Sleeping In Autumn

"I've dreamed a lot. I am tired now from dreaming but not tired of dreaming. No one tires of dreaming, because no dream is to forget, and forgetting does not weigh on us,
 it is a dreamless sleep throughout which we remain awake.
 In dreams I have achieved everything."

~J.R.R. Tolkien

The Lord Of The Rings

I have been really tired today. My Fibromyalgia has been poking at me. It seems that since all the stress has died down, and I can relax a bit, my body is reacting in a way I simply didn't have time for over the summer. Oh don't get me wrong, my Fibro hurts when it hurts, but the last summer, while looking for a house, I couldn't take the time to sleep when I needed to, so I dulled the pain with extra pain killers... 2 different kinds... and pretended that I wasn't in pain at all. It's something that can be done on a limited basis, but I wouldn't recommend making a habit of it. Anyway, I am sitting at my desk, in so much pain every stroke of the keyboard makes me want to crawl into a blanket and lie still until my body stops piercing me with a 1,000 needles of pain. So, here are some of my favorite photos from the last couple weeks, hope you enjoy them.

Leaf Of The Day
October 28th 2015

                                                      

Mood: Tired

~Me :)

Every Day Costumes

"I think if human beings had genuine courage, they'd wear their costumes every day of the year, not just on Halloween. Wouldn't life be more interesting that way? And now that I think about it, why the heck don't they? Who made the rule that everybody has to dress like sheep 364 days of the year? Think of all the people you'd meet if they were in costume every day. People would be so much easier to talk to... like talking to dogs."

~Douglas Coupland

The Gum Thief

Alan and I visited the Spirit store yesterday to pick out a costume for me, and choose some decorations for the lawn. We decided on some cute fencing, and some Candy Corn lights. It's the first Halloween in our very own house, so it will be fun to watch the decorating evolve over the next few years! We already decided to make some yard ghosts for next year. I saw some years ago while vacationing in Nevada, and I never forgot how cute and whimsical they were! It will be a fun project for us. I wish we had time this year, but everything just happened so fast! Anyway, my costume this year will be an emoticon. An emoticon with sunglasses! LOL. I am a happy/cool face. Fun! Alan's costume is... oh wait... I better ask him before I tell you. Maybe he will let me take his picture on Halloween! We'll see! Stay Tuned!

Walking around the Spirit store certainly reminded me about how things have changed. You didn't see demonic babies or pop culture figures as Halloween costumes when I was a child, or young adult for that matter. I remember political figures, and there were costumes of certain people like Madonna or Freddy Kruger, but it wasn't until O.J. Simpson that things seemed to take a strange turn as far as Halloween costumes went. I guess I am showing my age here, but even back then I found it in poor taste to dress as O.J. and Nicole Brown Simpson. We won't discuss the subsequent serial killer costumes that came after. 

For the most part I say Go For It! Make it the scarier the better! But when it comes to cases like with O.J. I can't find the fun in it. War is another thing I can't seem to find a positive in trivializing. I think dressing as a soldier is fine. Especially if you are a child of an active service member, but once I actually saw a young man, maybe 13 or 14, in a costume depicting an active service duty member with multiple gunshots across his chest, and blue in coloring. In other words... a dead soldier. This was several years ago during the Iraq war. It was shocking, it was depressing, and it completely turned me off. So much so that I just left the costume parade and went home. 

To each his own. And at his age he had a right to make a statement but is Halloween the right time? I really hope this year there are a lot more Candy Corn witches, and less pretend victims of serial killers. But that's just me. I suppose freedom of speech doesn't end on Halloween... right?

Leaf Of The Day

October 27th, 2015

Mood: Happy

~Me :)