I Can't Stop. Don't Send Help!

"It was one of those sumptuous days when the world is full of autumn muskiness and tangy, crisp perfection: vivid blue sky, deep green fields, leaves in a thousand hues. It is a truly astounding sight when every tree in a landscape becomes individual, when each winding back highway and plump hillside is suddenly and infinitely splashed with every sharp shade that nature can bestow... flaming scarlet, lustrous gold, throbbing vermilion, fiery orange."

~Bill Bryson

I'm A Stranger Here Myself: Notes On Returning To America After Twenty Years Away

Yeah, I am obsessed. I can't pass a tree all lit up with Autumn leaves and no gasp like it's some kind of amazing miracle. LOL. I don't know... maybe it is when you consider that leaves are as individual as human fingerprints. Shrug. All I know is that there is something about them that makes me feel amazing inside. Healthy and happy and energetic. It's a big mystery to me, but I don't fear it or fight it. Why would I? It's just life I guess, and the gentlest of reminders that seasons happen and nothing should be taken for granted... EVER! And I try not to, but life get's weird and busy and one forgets, at least I do, usually sometime mid July! But before long comes the odd leaf that just can't wait for autumn to begin, and quietly turns one of the colors that only lives 3 months out of the year, and I reminded that every single second counts. 

I love Autumn so much!

Bear with me a little longer... okay?

Leaf Of The Day

 

Mood: Happy/Grateful

~Me :)

Walking In The Rain In Autumn...

"The hush comes with the deepening of Autumn; but it comes gradually. Our ears are attuned to it, day by day. But even now, if one awakens in the deep dark of the small hours, one can hear it, a foretaste of Winter silence. It's a little painful now, and a little lonely because it is so strange."

~Hal Borland

It rained yesterday, and it was too pretty to spend the day indoors so... 

"After the first autumn rains, how inimitable the beauty of days... the fall colors, not yet faded, washed out, in the winter deluge, but dripping, glistening, every crystal drop refracting the hut it trickles over. Running, draining color, brighter before the soil takes back again the positive red and yellow and blue to weave into the misty textures of spring."

~Virginia Garland

The Rain Out West: A Magazine Of The Old Pacific And The New 

February 1908

Yeah I know... I am obsessed with autumn, but it's almost over, so humor me!

:)

Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

On A Slightly Blue San Francisco Day...

San Francisco On A Slightly Cloudy Day In Autumn

"The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. 

So we sat in the house. All that cold, cold, wet day."

Dr Seuss

The Cat In The Hat

November is a beautiful month in the Bay Area. It's mostly sunny, but not that horrible harsh kind of sun that makes temperatures too hot, like you find in September, or too bright, like you find in January. The sun in the Bay Area, in November, is pleasant. If we are lucky, there will be increasing days of rain, beginning with today's rain. I love the rain in November, because it's not too cold, like in January, and it's not sticky, like in June. It's the perfect weather for getting reacquainted with your favorite sweater, or for cuddling with a cat under a beautifully soft blanket.

 I love long naps with my furbabies. I think I get my best sleep in November.

 I love this time of year!

It's going to rain today, and I am yawning and smiling just thinking about it!

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head

Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Harvest Yumminess!

"Somewhere along the way, I realized that the new year doesn't begin in January. The new and fresh has always come for me in the Fall. Ironically, as leaves are falling like rain, crunching beneath my feet with finality, I am vibrating with the excitement

 of birth and new beginnings... My year begins in Autumn."

~Betsy Canas

I love cooking in Fall. I have a full kitchen pantry,
 and I am working on new recipes.
 Stay Tuned!

Yum!

MMMmmmmmmmmm Yummy!

Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Art About Town: Pleasanton, Ca... "Poppies" (Happy Veteran's Day 2014)

"As we express our gratitude we must never forget

 that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

~President John F. Kennedy

I took this series of photographs way back in late January of this year, and saved them especially for this day. I have a great appreciation for the military and all they do, but I sometimes have a difficult time understanding war, and the ego's of a few men who thirst for it.

But that's beside the point!

Today, I just want to say...

Thank You!

"When our perils are past, shall our gratitude sleep?"

~George Canning

Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Reflective

~Me :)

Art About Town: San Francisco... "SOMA"

"We have art in order not to die from truth."

~Friedrich Nietzsche

For this Art About Town post I bring you the newest installation, next to Pier 14 in San Francisco, "SOMA." It comes by way of Burning Man, as have most of the works of art that have stood in this place over the last few years. I have enjoyed all the pieces, especially "Crouching Spider," but this one brought a happy little smile to my face because I will have return to photograph it at night, when all those little bulbs light up in different colors! "SOMA" was created by the artist collective, Flaming Lotus Girls, most famous for their flaming sculptures at Burning Man. I did this photograph in early October, and I plan to go back, sometime in the next couples weeks, in the evening, to see it all lit up in it's colorful glory. I can't wait!

Stay Tuned!

 Hello... Goodbye

Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Autumn Shadows Autumn Light

Autumn In Orinda, California

"No other time (than Autumn) does the earth let itself be inhaled in one smell, the ripe earth; in a smell that is in no way inferior to the smell of the sea, bitter where it borders on taste, 

 and more honey sweet where you feel it touching the first sounds. 

Containing depth within itself, darkness, something of the grave almost."

~Rainer Maria Rilke

Letter On Cezanne

Autumn Happens In California

It Is All About Shadows... And Light

Autumn In Monterey, Ca

Especially At Twilight

Autumn Leaves Fall From The Trees

The Flowers Are Happy To Be Yellow

The Leaves Begin To Turn In The Sierra

Placerville

And On The Road To South Lake Tahoe

And Twilight Along The San Francisco Embarcadero

It's Easy To Believe In Ghosts On A Day Like This In Autumn!

Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

The Surprise Just Around The Cape...

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, look to tomorrow,

 rest this afternoon."

~Charles M. Schulz

Charlie Brown's Little Book Of Wisdom

October was such a busy month, we did a lot of things on vacation, we went a lot of places, but we also kept to our traditions for the most part, one example being taking a ride on the amphibious vehicle tour, Ride The Ducks. Every year we catch a waiting duck, and tour North Beach, Chinatown, Union Square, the Financial District, South of Market and AT&T Park, then hold on tight as we slide off a ramp into the gorgeous San Francisco Bay! Once in the water we tour past military ships at dock, and float over to McCovey Cove, just out in the water, to the right of the ballpark!

As you might imagine while on the tour we see some marine and bird life, but on this voyage, we were treated to a rare up close and personal treat of a sea lion sunning himself on the ship Cape Horn, and laughing at us as we floated past him! What a beautiful noise they make! I love them, they are another thing about San Francisco that keeps me head over heels in love with the place! 

He was a great surprise!

What a great place to nap! And what a great way to see a sea lion up close! The Ride The Ducks tour is a lot of fun. Take the tour if you ever visit San Francisco! I am a Bay Area native, and I always learn something new from the tour! It's awesome!

:)

Leaf Of The Day

Pier 39 Seal Lion Cam

Seal Lion Facts

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

The Last Day Of Vacation Part Two...

"In matters of healing the body or mind, vacation is a true genius!"

~Mehmet Murat ildan

After we finished at Ripley's Believe It Or Not!, we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and headed into Marin for dinner. We had a Groupon for an Italian restaurant in San Rafael. The restaurant name, Gaspare's, may sound familiar to you, if you are a regular reader of my blog, you might remember it  as the name of the Italian restaurant Woody Allen used in the movie Blue Jasmine. But the one we visited the other day, while still owned by the same family, was their Marin County restaurant, as opposed to their Geary Boulevard restaurant that was seen in the film. Same food, different location.

The drive into Marin was nothing short of breathtaking, but I always get a little sentimental about that bridge, no matter how many times I see it, I always feel like I am seeing it for the very first time. I love it so much. And I love Marin County. It had been a long time since we drove along the shore of Sausalito, and weaved our way through the hills of that part of Marin. It was the perfect way to bring our vacation to a close, and so was eating at Gaspare's. The pizza was delicious, and the service impeccable, and we had a very good time, reminiscing about the best parts of our vacation. We had a blast this vacation! I kinda love doing the staycation thing, and pretending to be a tourist! I like coming home to my own bed at the end of the day!

November 5th, 2014 Part Two

Marin County Vista

 The View From Sausalito

 

Gaspare's Italian Restaurant

Yummy... Gaspare's, I will be back for more of your delicious food.

Next time San Francisco!

Jasmine's booth please!

Thanks Woody, wherever you are!

Leaf Of The Day

Mood: Happy

~Me :)