The Legion of Honor

Yesterday Ash, Lys and I decided to explore a museum in San Francisco that we hadn't been to yet -- The Legion of Honor.  This beautiful example of neoclassical French architecture sets on a hilltop in Lincoln Park with views of the city on one side, the Golden Gate Bridge on another, and the ocean on yet another. We had to park down the road away but enjoyed the scenic walk overlooking the golf course and vistas.

 

 

 Majestic horses and riders statues stand guard:

It is such a lovely setting that we saw four different brides and grooms having photos taken here and there in the courtyard.

 

 

There was a lovely display of Dutch and Flemish Masterpieces and we all fell in love with these colorful paintings that captured the essence of the people of their time -- with Dutch blood in our veins, our imaginations were captivated with the scenes of everyday life.

 

 

 Exquisite detail on some of the furniture made us appreciate the workmanship:

 

 

Our day began with lunch at Olive Garden and a little shopping and ended at Starbucks, resting our feet and enjoying one last tidbit of each other's company before I headed home.  I love spending time with my daughters!

A Beauty-Full Weekend

We all need them from time to time. A weekend to pamper ourselves. Ash and Lys came home for the weekend and we embarked on a girly-girl time of it. Pedicures Saturday morning, side by side looking at magazines and giggling about things from time to time. Lunch on Cannery Row in Monterey. Then shopping at Del Monte Center for the perfect lipstick, an exercise diary, sweet smelling lotions at Bath and Body Works, skin care regime products I've been dying for (or should I say my skin has been dying for).

Lys even fit in a haircut with our favorite stylist and while she was being shampooed and clipped, Ash and I explored a couple of nearby art galleries.

Monterey Museum of Art

Even Frosty got into the act with a trip to the groomers Sunday morning. We thought we needed pampering but he was so shaggy that the groomers said he was like a "doggie makeover". Poor guy was so grateful to be able to see again!

We finished the weekend going to the matinee to see Gwyneth Paltrow in Country Strong, and although we're not big country music fans the movie was good.

Such a relaxing two days and the best part was sharing it with my two daughters!

The Living Roof

One of the fascinating features of San Francisco's Museum of Natural Science is the living roof! It's easy to imagine these photos were taken across a hilly field of grass, but this entire area rests on top of the museum roof.
San Francisco's steep hills:View across part of the Golden Gate Park from the rooftop:
And now for a little history...
What a beautiful day in the park we had!

Spring Fever - Literally

Spring break has arrived and I have the week off work. Had a wonderful weekend this past weekend until Sunday night when a cold hit me full force. I sneezed a lot on Sat. afternoon, but had chocked it up to allergies as we were among wildflowers much of the day. Monday I ran a temperature and spent most of the day on the couch, dozing off and on. I'm afraid I wasn't much company for my dad on his last day here (he went home yesterday).

Saturday, after visiting the San Juan Bautista Mission, we drove on to Gilroy where we stopped at Barnes and Noble (so Ashley could get some books she needed for her dissertations) and then had lunch. From there we went to San Jose to the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum and Planetarium. Especially interesting is their replica of an underground tomb to meander through, the reproduction of King Tut's coffin, and actual artifacts from senet games (the precursor to backgammon) and papyrus for writing.

http://www.egyptianmuseum.org/

Entrance to the museum and King Tut's coffin replica:

Easter morning came and everyone was treated to an Easter basket -- no matter how old you are at my house, the Easter bunny always remembers you! Even my dad had a basket with a box of See's chocolates in it!

The girls helped me cook and we fixed a roast beef dinner (Lys made her banana bread). After dinner, we took flowers to Wayne's grave at the cemetary in downtown Monterey.

We came back home to a sight! On the family room floor were yellow scraps of paper, chocolates and brown candy holders. Dad had nibbled on his Easter candy and left the See's candy box on the end table next to a chair. This was just too much temptation for Chaucer and Frosty, who had apparently jumped on the chair, knocked the box off, nosed around until they got the tightly-fitted lid off the box (they are more industrious than I thought), and had indulged in half a box of candy.

We all converged on the scene, scolding the dogs, opening the door to put them out in the backyard, while trying to clean up the mess, worried that they had ingested chocolate to begin with (which is poisonous to dogs), sorry that Dad was missing out on a fine box of chocolates. I looked out the back door at the dogs standing on the deck and realized their tails were happily wagging and they both looked like they were smiling -- because they each had a big piece of chocolate in their mouths! More scolding ensued as the girls went out and did a tug-a-war with them to get them to forfeit those last two chocolates they possessed. So ended our Easter Sunday.

P.S. The dogs are fine.