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!

Murphy's Law

September is drawing to a close on a much more peaceful note than it started in our family.  The end of August and beginning of September brought daily dilemnas including:
* Ash's car was rear-ended, pushing her car into the car in front of her -- we are still fighting with the other guy's insurance company to get the repairs paid for.
* I woke up to the fluttering of a bat in the bedroom one night -- eek!  Not again!  I had to have the "batman" out to get it out of the room (with rabies testing to follow --thankfully it was rabies free).  We are working with a bat company now to rehome the bats that seem to like my roof with the result of one sneaking into the house at night when I let the dogs out.
* Happily doing my housework I noticed a strange smell from the dishwasher coming from the dishwasher -- hot wires.  It went kaplooey and I had to spend an afternoon at Sears dishwasher shopping so my old one could retire.
* Dad and the police department called me one day at work to say his brand new, rather pricey,  bicycle had been stolen. 
* Lys called me one morning to say her car wouldn't start at all.  Good ol' AAA towed her to a mechanic and they got the car in running order but provided a long list of $1500 worth of recommended repairs.  So we were faced with the decision of whether to invest in the older car or put the money toward a newer used car with fewer miles.  She opted for the later and after a couple days of shopping, test driving and negotiating, she is now back on the road in her new used car.

Issues finally resolved (except for Ash's car saga), things are settling into a nice routine again.  Summer weather is still here, but I heard the patter of rain on the roof last night for the first time in weeks.  Today I am getting out the autumn decorations for my house and doing some fall housecleaning.  I'm getting the oil changed in my car, having a pedicure and then meeting a friend for coffee later today.  September is here!

Encyclopedia of Moi: E

Time to move on to the letter of E in the Encyclopedia of Moi.  The first one is easy!

Elephants -  I've been a fan of these magnificent animals for years.  It started back in high school when I began collecting them.  One of the highlights of my trip to Kenya was visiting the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust -- dedicated to saving elephants and black rhinos.  What fun to pet their rough backs, watch them wrestle and wallow in the pond, and take bottles of milk from their dedicated caregivers.  The caregivers live with the elephants and provide such a service!  Consider helping these precious animals!  I was foster mom to Sinya who was rescued from a well.  Read her story here:  Sinya.

Easter - Spring! Easter lilies, beautiful pastel colors, baby animals, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Easter is full of love and promise and one of my favorite holidays.  When I was a girl my mom always took me shopping for a special Easter outfit, complete with hat.  My brother, sisters and I would dye eggs the night before.  On Easter morning we had to hunt throughout the house for our Easter baskets containing some of our dyed eggs and those sugary Peeps and chocolate bunnies.  This is a tradition I passed on to my children and even today, although they are adults, I still give them Easter baskets each year. 

Eggs - Faberge eggs, to be exact.  These bejeweled treasures from Russia have fascinated me through time.  Remember those enchanted sugar eggs with little images within from when we were kids?  Those, and a lovely Christmas ornament I received from a friend a few years ago, are the closest I've come to having such a special egg.

 

Elton - Elton John has been an incredible talent and was a rock and roll force during my high school and college years. Hearing songs like "Daniel" and "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" transport me back to specific nights in my life.

It's a little bit funny, this feeling inside...and you can tell everybody this is your song.  Hold me closer, tiny dancer.  Count the headlights on the highway.   It seems to me you've lived your life like a candle in the wind.  Don't let the sun go down on me. So goodbye yellow brick road.  All evoke memories of  good as well as bittersweet times in my life....

Join in the fun -- start your own Encyclopedia of Moi!  This great idea was started by Shannon -- check out her entertaining encyclopedia and blog here:

   
Images of spring and egg are courtesy of Wikipedia.

Encyclopedia of Moi: D

Time for the Encyclopedia of Moi again 

~ this time with the letter

Dad - My dad is a huge inspiration and I feel so fortunate to be his daughter.  He is almost 89 years old but looks and acts much younger.  His secret?  Exercise!  When he was in his early 50's he started running -- this was back when it was just becoming popular to run 5K's, and 10K's.  He quickly moved on to marathons and completed many, with a showcase of trophies for his age group to prove it. When running began taking a toll on his knees, he switched to bicycling.  He has ridden coast-to-coast (at the age of 80) and still goes for 10-20 mile rides 4 times per week.  When asked what he was doing for his upcoming birthday, he said he was thinking of going out and buying a new bike.  Now how many 89 year olds do you know that are doing THAT for their brithday?

 Dad rafting down the Colorado River!

Dogs - I grew up with dogs and currently have two sweetiepies -- both were rescued from the animal shelter.  Six year old "Chaucer" is a poet at heart, like his namesake.  He's shy and quiet, with such a gentle soul. "Uncle Frosty" is eight years old and the happiest dog on earth.  Tail always wagging, slobbery kisses if you let him up on your lap. 

Dreams - Aren't dreams fascinating?  Hot topic in our family.  Every once in awhile I will have a dream that awakens me with an epiphany.  This morning I woke from a dream with the words ringing in my ears, "It's not what you DO, it's who you ARE inside that matters."  Besides trying to analyze the many vivid dreams I have in my sleep, I'm a believer in having the other kind of dreams and goals to keep us progressing and hopeful through life.

Dusk - My favorite time of day.  There is just something magical about the feel of the still air, the blue sky giving way to darker hues and street lights and kitchen windows casting their first yellow glows of the evening.  I snapped this photo out a window in downtown Santa Cruz during a concert intermission.... 

Disney - What incredible imagination Walt Disney possessed!  Disneyland was a big part of my life --not only as I grew up in Southern California but also when I had my own children.  We still make regular visits to Disneyland.  Besides the theme park, Disney movies have had an impact on us!  

My kids were fortunate enough to grow up during the Disney animated remakes of the famous stories of "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin," "Tarzan," "Lion King," "Pocahontas" and all the fabulous music that went into those flicks.  You might hear us break into song around the house:  "Be our guest, be our guest, put our service to the test..." or "Make way for Prince Ali!"  And "Dumbo" still makes me want to cry:  Baby of Mine 

Hakuna Matata!

Borders Going Out of Business

Ash and I went to Borders last Sunday.  They had their "Going Out of Business" banner plastered across the store front. 

We are very sad about this -- voracious readers that we are, it was one of our favorite hang outs.  They said they can't keep up with Kindles and Nooks and other electronic forms of books.  Personally I still like the feeling of a real book in my hand, being able to turn the pages, make notes in the side margins, highlight my favorite passages.  But I guess the electronic companies have answers to all of that and even offer clip-on lights and pimp-out covers in leather or needlepoint.  I was still holding out until I read an article about how after a certain number of 'reads' it is more ecologically sensible than books.  Hmmm, I sputter about that one for a minute.  Still not sure what the solution is to passing on a 'good read' to friends and family, which we do regularly around here. 

What is this world coming to?  Yes, I confess to kicking and screaming over that potential feeling of being "plugged in" all the time. Not to mention eye strain.  So I did a little research and found this spot-on analysis of traditional books vs. e-readers (at the least, scroll down and read the author's cheeky comparison list):  Kindle vs Real Books

One thing I absolutely agree with is the ridiculous cost of textbooks!  If you haven't been to college lately, textbook prices are criminal!  Editions are outdated every other year if not more often, prohibiting you from dumping them at the end of the semester buy-back season.  Textbooks surpass the cost of tuition at community colleges.  Some considerate, savvy teachers understand this and tell the students the "old editions" are permitted in class, despite the fact they were published a whopping three years ago.  My daughter's teacher credential program includes the cost of an iPad and all required reading material and texts will be accessed through it.

As it turned out, Borders' going out of biz sale was a bust.  We left empty handed.  Even with their 25-50% off deals, things were still overpriced.  Sorry, Borders. 

Anyone with e-reader experience out there that can share their win-over moments, would love to hear your take.  

Florida!

Every summer my two sisters, dad and I get together -- a pact we made years ago in honor of the importance of family.  This year we went to Linda's in Orlando and it was completely relaxing.  We had no plans, just woke up each morning and said, "What shall we do today?"  No tourist traps or amusement parks for us -- we took the roads less traveled to little towns outside of the city for leisurely site seeing.

One such place was De Leon Springs Park.

Boasting that their springs were one of the places where Ponce De Leon is said to have searched for the Fountain of Youth, people still come to swim and canoe in the lake.

It was here that we also discovered the charm of the Old Spanish Sugar Mill Restaurant.

 

 

Bowls of fresh eggs and pitchers of stone ground grain pancake batter are brought to your table to pour on your griddle, built into your table.  Fresh blueberries, chocolate chips, banana slices and other tasty sides are provided to make your pancakes oh so yummy!  I highly recommend the french toast -- the batter they bring to dip your bread in is delicious.

 

The old gift shop where I bought postcards and a "Flippin' Out" t'shirt for my grand-niece....

Another day we drove to the quaint town of Mount Dora for lunch and antiquing -- main street below:

Great prices on beautiful pieces were found as we browsed through shops of old furniture and glorious patterns. After commenting on the peaceful harp music playing in the background of one shop, Linda sneaked around and bought Chris and me each a CD of it to go with the ginger bubble bath she'd given us earlier.  Heavenly!  Don't you love these open air cafes and fun names like "The Painter's Daughter?"

 Other activities we managed to fit into the week included a visit to my grand-niece's horse camp where we visited the pot-bellied pigs, donkeys, horses, and chickens galore!

 

My neice holding "Miss Chicken" -- notice the kids giving the chickens rides in the baby stoller.  They play with these chickens like I used to play with my pet cats!

A visit to my sister's gym helped us work off some of the calories we were consuming.  That's my dad -- turning age 89 in a few weeks -- and still riding a bicycle 40-50 miles each week!  Is he amazing or what?!

 Lastly we enjoyed a jolly good time at Sleuth's Mystery Dinner Theater one night. 

Highly recommend it -- slightly risque humor, great wit!

Encylopedia of Moi: C

Summer school is over, my traveling is complete, so maybe I can move along with my blog once again during these last blissful weeks of summer vacation!  My oh my -- up to letter C.  I believe mon "Encyclopedia of Moi" amies are on letter K so no keeping up with them now.  This encyclopedia will have to be completed in my own sweet time.  So let's move forward with the letter....

Calendars -- I've kept daily calendars since high school -- and by "kept" I mean in a drawer.  I can tell you where I was and what I was doing any day of any year for the past four decades.  Nerdy, I know.

California -- I love this state. We moved here from the midwest when I was in elementary school, so I'm not a native, but have spent most of my life here.  It has it all -- beaches, forests, mountains, deserts, quiet nature or exciting city life.  Quirks and all, I stand by California.

Cats -- When I was a little girl we had a cat that fit into my Chatty Cathy doll's clothes perfectly.  Poor kitty.  There have been cats in my life ever since.  Seems in our family, a house isn't a home without a cat hanging around.  Last fall my house became catless when Ash moved out with her orange tabby.  So I visited the local animal shelter, intending to adopt one adult cat, but the shelter volunteer told me about their two-for-one special and helped me fall in love with an adorable kitten (I'm partial to Siamese cats, can you tell?).  Scarlet was an itty bitty baby who thinks 2-year-old Violet is her mama (she's not, even though they look alike).  Violet has good naturedly taken this maternal role in stride and allows Scarlet to cuddle with her, they groom one another and play together.  Scarlet has grown since her homecoming picture below -- she is lively and spirited and plays with the dogs fearlessly. 

Here is glamorous Violet.  Silly girl -- I set my tote bag and suitcase on my window seat when I returned home from Florida a couple days ago and Violet couldn't wait to make herself at home in the bag!

Cocoa -- It's a bit odd but my sisters and I are not coffee drinkers -- instead we grew up with a warm cup of cocoa in the morning.  Even now, all these years later, whenever we stay at one another's home we offer each other a cup of cocoa in the morning.

Creativity -- Where would we be without creativity?  It's been a touchstone throughout my life.  This word embraces inventions, art, music, progress, problem solving, decorating, educating -- so many avenues.  Everyone has the ability to be creative, and what is so cool is that it can take so many different forms!  My friends and family engage in so many admirable pursuits:  one daughter writes books, another writes songs, one creates tunes on the piano, another takes amazing photos.  Some of my friends make beautiful quilts, some have enviable gardens, one takes oil painting lessons in her retirement.

My sister Chris makes beautiful scrapbooks, my sister Linda has a home filled with antiques and personal momentoes that exude charm!  I write poetry, create family journals and albums of our life stories and photos, create themes and materials for my speech and language therapy, and am always exploring other creative outlets.  Creativity feeds our spirits, allows us to experience a taste of success, and provides joy in knowing it is our own work and inspiration that brought the idea to fruition.  What do you do to honor your creativity?

 Join in and create your own Encyclopedia of Moi.  Link to:
http://shannonsswell.blogspot.com/2011/02/encyclopedia-of-moi-volume-d.html