tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3430959297895408772024-03-12T19:52:36.285-07:00Jib jab with TimThis was about my garden, It's now about connecting. Including family, friends, cooking, gardening, skiing, mountain biking, swimming and, in general, enjoying.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789907464958460848noreply@blogger.comBlogger184125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-343095929789540877.post-14174446719331880622018-01-31T13:54:00.003-08:002018-01-31T13:54:44.350-08:00The Sun, The Moon, The Planet Earth Aligned. Twice.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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On August 21st, 2017 Mike, Paul, and I were in the Wyoming outback to see the totality of the solar eclipse. I took this picture, which brings back incredibly moving memories. It's a wild feeling, the physical stuff. The wind stops and the temperature drops. Also, I imagined the magnitude of the Sun, our planet and the moon align. Being a human dot, yet a part of something so incredibly huge. It was an exceptionally moving experience that stuck with me for that day and many days after.</div>
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Here's a TedTalk on it <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.ted.com/talks/david_baron_you_owe_it_to_yourself_to_experience_a_total_solar_eclipse%23t-564423&source=gmail&ust=1517518002882000&usg=AFQjCNEELomJLJh5sXRR-k8-q79uIw-LLw" href="https://www.ted.com/talks/david_baron_you_owe_it_to_yourself_to_experience_a_total_solar_eclipse#t-564423" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" target="_blank">Ted Talk</a>.</div>
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Then it happened again. <br />
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The Wyoming trip involved planning, flying, driving and, okay, some fishing and hiking. This time I saw the news it was going to be a blue moon. And then I heard it was an eclipse also, and a third aligning, where the moon and earth were at there closest. It's called a Super Blue Blood moon. A lunar trifecta. I was planning to swim with my friends in the Bay for a viewing, then someone said fog was forecasted, and at my 4:30 am wake up I wasn't up for it. I'm so glad I got up though! I could swim in the pool, and hopefully, see something along the way. I looked out the back window, out the side windows before I left, and nothing. I looked around the front yard and still nothing. So, I thought I missed it. I jump in the car, pull out of the driveway and directly in the middle of the street is this! Only it was far more amazing in person. I literally stopped the car in the middle of the street, put on the flashers, ran in the house and everyone came out to see it. I've been tickled all day thinking about it. I've been thinking about Kirsty, Patrick, and Kathy who shared it with me. Which magnifies its effect even more.<br />
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From space.com<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #5b5b5b; font-family: FreeSans, Arimo, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">A </span><a href="https://www.space.com/15455-blue-moon.html" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #3366cc; font-family: FreeSans, Arimo, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Blue Moon</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #5b5b5b; font-family: FreeSans, Arimo, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> is when two full moons happen in the same calendar month; </span><a href="https://www.space.com/15689-lunar-eclipses.html" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #3366cc; font-family: FreeSans, Arimo, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">lunar eclipses</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #5b5b5b; font-family: FreeSans, Arimo, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> occur when the moon passes into Earth's shadow; and </span><a href="https://www.space.com/38940-supermoon-facts.html" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #3366cc; font-family: FreeSans, Arimo, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">supermoons</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #5b5b5b; font-family: FreeSans, Arimo, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> happen when the moon's perigee — its closest approach to Earth in a single orbit — coincides with a full moon. In this case, the supermoon also happens to be the day of the lunar eclipse.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #5b5b5b; font-family: FreeSans, Arimo, "Droid Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I've been going about my day in an unexpectedly good mood. Really grateful. Like somehow the energy forces aligned through me or in me also. Something good happened. And I'm running with it. You never know what life will offer. So, just keep showing up. Get out there. And enjoy.</span></div>
Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789907464958460848noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-343095929789540877.post-12855208315355061742014-01-04T17:42:00.000-08:002014-01-04T18:52:13.669-08:00Visiting San Francisco<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The view at the Legion of Honor</div>
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Frances came out to visit in the fall and we went into the city. I took her to one of my favorite spots, and let her explore the city a bit on her own which I think she was dying to do. This is the end of the line on Hyde Street, just below the famous Buena Vista bar for Irish coffee, and just above South End Rowing Club, my favorite swimming spot.<br />
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Tourist!<br />
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I think she's happy. Me too. So happy she wanted to visit and put the effort into making it happen. We really had a nice time.<br />
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This is where I was headed. Aquatic Park. That's Alcatraz in the background, about 1.5 away. You can see a swimmer below the main mast of the tall ship.<br />
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Legion of Honor Rodin's Thinker<br />
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Love this view from the top of the De Young Museum. See the Golden Gate bridge?<br />
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French countryside impressionists.<br />
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Nice front yard at the Legion.<br />
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Really can't beat the view at the Legion of Honor.<br />
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Art resembles life?<br />
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Ready for lunch.<br />
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Chinatown San Francisco</div>
Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789907464958460848noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-343095929789540877.post-30867544716175072522013-04-01T17:41:00.000-07:002013-04-01T18:05:45.548-07:00Happy Easter!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This is a slideshow from Easter. I'm working with embedding slideshows. You can speed up the slideshow with the fast button (recommended). You can also click on any image to get a closer look. If you click, you'll notice something happening, which is you going to my Smugmug site. There you will find a much better viewer, where you can look at the images as you like, in any size you like. If you like the photos, it's worth a try. These pictures are some photos from my new-to-me camera. (Thanks Nan!) I'm really enjoying it, and these I braved the new world of turning off the auto settings. I took a bunch of others that were either blurry or too dark to use. <br />
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Enjoy! Let me know what you think!</div>
Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789907464958460848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-343095929789540877.post-5086014175096975382013-03-16T11:45:00.001-07:002013-03-16T11:48:06.716-07:00Saint Patrick's Day (tomorrow)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Tomorrow is a big day around here. Today is too for that matter. Patrick is coming home!! Moira too! Moira arrived early this morning, and so we will all be here for Saint Patrick's day! We are going to need to do some cooking, which means we will need to do some shopping. I'm pretty excited about it all.<br />
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Here are a few recipes of interest:<br />
<a href="http://thesancarlosgarden.blogspot.com/2010/03/irish-colcannon.html">Irish Colcannon</a><br />
<a href="http://thesancarlosgarden.blogspot.com/2010/03/roasted-vegetable-irish-lamb-stew.html">Roasted Vegetable Lamb Irish Stew</a><br />
<a href="http://thesancarlosgarden.blogspot.com/2010/03/irish-soda-bread.html">Irish Soda Bread</a><br />
<a href="http://thesancarlosgarden.blogspot.com/2010/03/vegetarian-mushroom-and-barley-stew.html">Vegetarian Mushroom and Barley Irish Stew</a><br />
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It's so nice to have the energy of the whole family together. It's even more special, now that we have kids who don't always live here. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. :-)<br />
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Time for some Irish music too. Chieftains, U2. Who else? </div>
Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789907464958460848noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-343095929789540877.post-50128439522999249092013-03-05T19:24:00.002-08:002013-03-05T19:24:30.287-08:00Casa Batllo, Barcelona<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I've been to Barcelona a couple times now, and love Antonio Gaudi's architecture and style. I'm not the only one. All of Barcelona loves Gaudi, and Gaudi loved Barcelona. This apartment building is one of his later designs at Casa Batllo. Earlier in the day, we visited Sagrada Familia cathedral, a spectacular, if not seminal symbol of Gaudi. Still yet, I was tingling virtually my entire visit to Casa Batllo. It's on what might be opposing ends of the spectrum, both art, and architecture. Or form and function. And on both fronts, it's exquisite. This is a photo of a little artistic note at the top of the staircase handrail.</div>
Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789907464958460848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-343095929789540877.post-1149883558761059332013-02-06T16:21:00.000-08:002013-02-08T10:49:51.641-08:00When in Doubt, Plant Blueberries<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I'm learning about different therapeutic techniques and one is, when stressed, turn to Mother Nature. One trick I am trying to use is to have gratitude, and nature helps me there. It's so frigging cool, what mother nature does! As an example, I just wanted a little pick-me-up from the week, and so we went out to Half Moon Bay to the nurseries. It's bare-root season, so honestly, I was thinking fruit trees. I know, where are you going to put it? And that's another story...<br />
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<a href="http://www.hmbnursery.com/">Half Moon Bay Nursery</a><br />
The drive over to Half Moon Bay is beautiful in itself. There are a few nurseries along 92 as you are headed into Half Moon Bay, and if you don't have time, go straight to <a href="http://www.hmbnursery.com/">Half Moon Bay Nursery</a>. It's the best in HMB, and maybe the best nursery in the Bay Area. It's the first one on the left as you make it over the hill. Anyways, for a few years, I've tried planting blueberries. I've got about 4 plants that are either dead or almost. I really think they should flourish, like everything else does. I know people grow them in the area. So, I'm trying again. This time, partial shade. Under the blue spruce, which it should like, and how I remember them growing wild in Michigan... So, here it is in the kitchen. Sarah is lurking in the background. See the Cape Cod glasss? From our previous adventures... Also on the Half Moon Bay trip, I got a grape, and a white raspberry. Actually Sarah got the white raspberry. We'll see how we do. I also got a killer teak table from another guy named Tim. Ask me about that one!<br />
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Jib Jab with Tim<br />
I've been thinking how awesome nature is, and sometimes how easy it is to forget about it. I'm pondering it more, and seeing what gems I can come up with. Heading over the hill to HMB put me in a completely different and positive mindset. It seems to be a common thread when in and around nature. More later...<br />
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Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789907464958460848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-343095929789540877.post-78674718501350734372013-02-03T18:02:00.001-08:002013-02-03T20:22:15.805-08:00Draw Me A Story!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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That's Malcolm at the <a href="http://www.museumsoflosgatos.org/site/art-museum/currentexhibitions/">Los Altos Art Museum</a>. LAAM brought in Malcolm's series of children's book illustrators from the <a href="http://cartoonart.org/">Cartoon Art Museum</a>. Yep, he is the founder of the <a href="http://cartoonart.org/">Cartoon Art Museum</a>. This <a href="http://cartoonart.org/2009/12/now-renting-draw-me-a-story/">traveling collection</a> has been all over the United States already. The exhibit includes the work of various artists from the last 100 years; illustrators and comic artists show the breadth and techniques of the craft, from idea to art to print, and how processes and techniques have evolved over the past century. It's a fascinating study of ways to tell a children's story.</div>
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Here's Malcolm with three generations, Kirsty, Sarah and Karen, none prouder than his daugher, Kirsty. :-) It really was a fun day and an impressive collection and exhibit.</div>
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Here is the art work for a book as the illustrator created it. You can see all the reference colors and notes in the margins that get used for production.<br />
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Here is the final book cover. Cool!</div>
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Here's a nice piece on some of Malcolm Whyte's history. You can see how this exhibit is a good representation from his experience. Pretty cool!</div>
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Kirsty is featuring one of the artists from upstairs here. She is a first grade teacher, and wanted to remember this image. I think she has some ideas on how she may use this in her class. Wouldn't you love to see this in your first grade classroom?<br />
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Sarah and Kirsty enjoying.<br />
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There was a presentation from the curators thanking all the major donors, as well as the artists on-sight. At the time, I thought this woman had quite a presence, showing an extraordinary amount of attention to the donor-curator love-fest so I took a picture.<br />
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Later, Sarah and I were upstairs, looking at a comic strip, and the more we read it, the more we were laughing and enjoying it. The comic is about this character reaching in the fridge for jam, and finding there wasn't any left, so she decided to make some, first, by picking cherry-plums from the neighborhood. Then...there was a mention of a San Carlos park in one of the panels! We both looked at each other, saying; "Oh!" I was thinking, we make jam! We live in San Carlos! The more we looked and read, we began to realize the young award-winning artist who created this is from San Carlos, and is a 16 years old. We liked her.<br />
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Just as we were realizing these things, and loving the strip, this young dynamo, Emma came up to us to introduce herself! This photo is vintage Emma. She is a bundle of energy, with a contagious personality. She's already giving back to the community, including teaching at <a href="http://826valencia.org/">826 Valentia</a>. She's going to be <a href="http://missionlocal.org/2012/12/826-valencia-alum-gives-back-one-comic-at-a-time/">fun to follow</a>, and hopefully we will see her around town. You can see her strip, the <a href="http://www.chapelchronicles.com/comic/97?l=en">Chapel Chronicles</a> on her website.<br />
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Mid-conversation she offered to make a sketch for Sarah, even in the midst of all this attention and goings-on. It was really quite a generous gesture, from quite an inspirational young woman. Keep your eyes out for Emma T Capps!<br />
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Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789907464958460848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-343095929789540877.post-64348201656020291002013-01-27T17:57:00.000-08:002013-01-27T17:57:00.700-08:00Christmas Preparations<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Kirsty's mom was resisting a big tree because of all the work involved, so Kirsty offered to put it up and take it down. Sarah and I went too, and we helped a little, but mostly we were just getting into the Christmas season. It's kind of a contrast to be mid-holiday season, and it really was quiet! Not quiet as much as serene or maybe peaceful. It was really nice to just be. All three generations sharing, passing down traditions. Sarah told Pops she has a record player and is really enjoying it. Which inspired Pops to turn his on with some Christmas music from his collection. He's quite a music lover, as is Sarah. He started flipping through his records and gave Sarah a big stack. I loved seeing that connection happening. Really cool for both of them and me for that matter.</div>
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I am forever in awe of this view. I can't stop thinking about all the people, and possibilities and just how fortunate I am.<br />
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This is a necklace from Denise and Samuel Wallace, on the cover of a book about their jewelry. It's a really special piece, by really special artists. More on this later. Time to post before January is over!</div>
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Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789907464958460848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-343095929789540877.post-15682484419471944472012-11-25T09:07:00.001-08:002013-01-26T20:45:22.678-08:00Christmas Tree<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We are now with Christmas Tree, and the decorating has begun. And there's the little maple tree outside, whose still in full fall colors.<br />
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Christmas time.<br />
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I'm trying out a new camera. This is out the kitchen window. My pear tree in the foreground, the lavender below that, and see the Meyer lemon behind that. We get this foggy misty morning more often during winter. It's regularly pretty dramatic. Do you like the pendant lights floating in front of the pine?<br />
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Here's another photo with the new camera. I was going for short depth of field. I really wanted that blurry background but giving it color. I like the red contrast of the berries against the green.<br />
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Trying the zoom here. Even here is beautiful color. Anyway, there you have it.<br />
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Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789907464958460848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-343095929789540877.post-69015339523405829832012-11-02T16:26:00.001-07:002013-01-26T20:28:51.579-08:00Crossing Colorado<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We crossed the Colorado border last night as the sun was setting. Wow. It's so beautful! We came in from the northeast on I 80 from Nebraska, then cutting across I 76 to Denver. Yes, Nebraska gets pretty remote, but still lots of huge farms. Once you cut into Colorado, it really does become wild. Unchanged, and natural. Really, the first time I felt that across the whole country. Sure, we saw nature and lots of it. This is different though. Nature was surrounded by nature. Lacking the aquarium feel. No fences or buildings and so on.<br />
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<img height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI2x7uyXzIcvTiOmWMcdyd786npXBUj8qbJRjbGukWBlLIzsex1N-y52ZWd9R9Zor0GmStSCQWrldvhqaMd-rSkAySpAm9wg9xMTBiiPNrUbbOxMAC_oUfhA9HxheHT72yFbj_YQW7P9T6/" width="640" /><br />
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This is where I grew up. Speaking of unchanged.... :-) It's starting to look like it doesn't fit in the neighborhood anymore, well, except to me.<br />
<img height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBUerECITMuFClvTbo3oDPa3RJuHwz-KOJgSppn5BxjNht5f4pWHSWmjKtHWCYgFb7GwpiL0OZFqWaLrhVgxRZcwGmN9x8GuF_gtZhku0AazZdpN6vy2idBo9Z149KjzNT8PWrgjR1hVz7/" width="640" /><br />
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Along the way, love the landscape.<br />
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Lots of driving. Beautiful open road.</div>
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Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789907464958460848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-343095929789540877.post-20118580930713473962012-10-28T07:59:00.001-07:002013-01-26T20:54:10.638-08:00Museum of Fine Art, Boston<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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That`s Sarah next to the Chihuly exhibit at the Fine Arts Museum in Boston. It`s 40 feet tall and made of like 2,200 individual pieces in lime green, totaling several tons. Beautiful and impressive. We also saw Mario Testino, the famous Vogue photographer. Sarah was turned off by his use of native "primative" women mixed with "modern" "1st world models". I see her point. His work elicits a big wow. It`s the message we had trouble with. After that, we kinda ran outta time. Discouraging. Note to self; give Boston FAM 4 hours, and note the early close time.<br />
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<img height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4v5IF46NapnSAQaqoubXeHJXHiVBboQaZbB0Kj-bmrpwlunX_CgqGWIYxQ2W_-zuhyphenhyphenNXByhx7G1OYtJ5SO1J8nI4SoWrAyE50IHBs1sp9h1Ag7lVnU9ppWDpJIfA3eEmyFgUvYfrADhu2/" width="640" /></div>
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Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789907464958460848noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-343095929789540877.post-11135218160006435342012-10-28T07:19:00.001-07:002013-01-26T20:52:45.160-08:00Edward Gorey House<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Edward Gorey house. What is exciting place. Remember the PBS Mystery Theater? That was Edward Gorey who did the illustrations. Sarah has been working at EGH this summer and just finished her assignment. She fell in love with Rick and the museum. So did I. Such an incredibly comfortable, energizing, well, vibe. I slept in Edward Gorey's room! A doubtful guest! It's a must see on the cape, in Yarmouth Port.<br />
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<img height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA8AS-atHvitlYr66psu8uhFNB7pNazBfYSS6fun1ayct6IEpGS0fBgVSresP837bKyWCWYl7NQpG6znUHK82oI_KyzOhSmkZHg3ISqI7fpZKjIQ8xi7Cj1Gx0rTAECwgIlwXEfqS33cmr/" width="640" /><br />
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Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789907464958460848noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-343095929789540877.post-65142261597413338292012-10-28T07:15:00.001-07:002013-01-26T20:56:14.452-08:00Cape Cod<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I just arrived in Cape Cod and just in time for Sarah to take me down the Cape to Provincetown. we had a beautiful sunset. it was a gorgeous call me evening. we were nearly the only ones on the beach.<br />
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<img height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTCfhaBzdQ5J0JHDWi55VufTbjTT7QEqdpaaKEr6H2LOdUj7mAaQiub5lN15JFc0VvfSoCTcLW1fJNF-EgUhzlPTCILvOdb-aknXo1f6E79cizwlJZDo5oP1GQOsKLsEvpSrJZ3cpTtT7u/" width="640" /></div>
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Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789907464958460848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-343095929789540877.post-49310321796773431752012-10-21T20:34:00.000-07:002013-01-26T20:59:53.751-08:00Golfing for Dad's 80th Birthday<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Happy birthday Dad! That's Dan, and me behind the lens of course. This is a course John shared with us. Unfortunately, he couldn't join us. It was a beautiful day and virtually no one on the course out in Aurora. Dad loves golf. Dan and I play about once a year with Dad, and enjoy it, but somehow never get to more than the one time a year. Dad's a great teacher and still hits the ball real well. I hope I'm doing as well at 80. The irony is my older brother, John loves golf.<br />
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I throw this photo in to show you how picturesque the course is, and yet, virtually unused on a 75 degree Saturday afternoon.<br />
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There's me staring down a long put. I had a great day, aside from my golf.<br />
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Dan, on the other hand, had a stellar day. The last hole was this big water obstacle, and Danny lofts a perfect arch, landing it up perfectly on the green. Maybe his best shot of the day and at the best time to do it. Dad had a great day too, including a different hole, putting his tee shot about 8 inches off the pin. Wow!! <br />
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Me, on the other hand, spent way too much time off in the weeds. So to speak. :-)<br />
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This is Dan on the last hole. I told you, pretty nice lie. Darn it, he still 3 putted, but it doesn't take away from a great tee shot. We'll remember that for years to come.<br />
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We rented shopping carts for our bags as shown. The blue bag was our rental. Dad has been dealing with blood clots in his legs, which cause him pain. It has to do with how fast he walks, and he said golfing pace works just fine for him, and it did. We did not wait for Dad one bit.<br />
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<b>Jib Jab with Tim</b><br />
This was a great day. So many wouldn't agree, if I described it on the surface, which is part of why I loved it. We walked over to the course, and the starter came out to greet us and invite us on the course. We ended up chatting with her for about 20 minutes. My brother John was totally enjoying her, which in and of itself was super nice. The last group she started was on about hole 4, and the only other person on the course was ahead of them, so no pressure whatsoever. Low cost, high on beautiful day. Happy birthday, Dad!<br />
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One note, the photos are low res, somehow I hit the wrong setting on my camera. I was so disappointed! Well, life goes on. The course is a par 3. <a href="https://www.auroragov.org/ThingsToDo/Golf/BookaTeeTime/index.htm">Centre Hills, Aurora, CO.</a><br />
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My bro, John is a photographer, and now a blogger. <a href="http://youmeannow.blogspot.com/">He just started his today.</a></div>
Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789907464958460848noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-343095929789540877.post-87857199906633126372012-08-18T07:51:00.000-07:002012-08-27T14:44:33.619-07:00Summitting the Grand Teton<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We broke up into two teams, and this is who I summitted with. Mark, in the middle is Paul's brother-in-law, who I know from another Grand event, and Bryan, to the right is my new friend. He's 17, same as Pog. His dad says the family has been coming to Grand Teton National Park forever. Brian has a passion for climbing since he was little. His dream was to climb the Grand Tetons, so his parents turned him loose, and we happened to be at the right place, right time to share the adventure with him.<br />
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It's a little hazy from the huge forest fires in Idaho. What a great trip. More to come. We used <a href="http://www.exumguides.com/?page_id=1486">Exum</a> guides, Josh Beckner was our premiere guide, not shown here.<br />
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I'll sort through more of Mike's photos, and mine soon. In the meantime, <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/111839396824379849199/2012_08_11Tetons?authkey=Gv1sRgCN_xppKdqteglwE#slideshow/5777995164181427986">take a look and comment.</a><br />
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Me at 3:00am preparing for climb. A little sleepy, disoriented, and yeah. Six hours later, we were on top, at 9:00am. We started at about 4:30am in the dark, with headlamps and ropes.<br />
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Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789907464958460848noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-343095929789540877.post-17815721626790559512012-07-01T20:05:00.000-07:002012-07-01T20:07:21.585-07:00Swimming Aquatic Park, San Francisco<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I couldn't help but stop for this bumper sticker. I've been struggling with the ups and downs of life lately, and knew it would be hard to get back in the water, and knew I needed to. Here I am, just before 8 am Sunday morning with a couple of my swim gang headed over to the South End Rowing Club for a splash in Aquatic Park. Where's that? It's directly in front of <a href="http://www.ghirardellisq.com/sites/all/files/images/directory.pdf">Ghiradelli Square</a>, looking towards Alcatraz. It's just on the end of <a href="http://www.fishermanswharf.org/">Fisherman's Wharf,</a> at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hyde_Street_Pier.jpg">Hyde St Pier</a>, down the block from the famous <a href="http://www.thebuenavista.com/home/home.html">Buena Vista </a>bar, where you can get the most famous irish coffee in the world.<br />
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Here's Aquatic Park, and just behind the tall ship, you can see Alcatraz. What you can't see to the left is some low concrete bleachers and to the right, in front of the tall ship is the South End Rowing Club next to Hyde St Pier.<br />
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Here's my gang today. A special bunch of guys. Bunk, in the middle is one of our mid-western boys, about 75, and for the life of me, I can not catch him in the water. That's my coach, Mike, to the right, and Fernando to the left. Mike is an amazing fount of coincidences. He knows everybody. He remembers everyone. He connects people. It seems like he hardly talks, but is so easy to approach and chat with. Simply, he enriches lives. Lots of them. Almost secretly helping us get closer to the people we want to be. That's Fernando on the left. A happy young man, who took up swimming and has lost I don't know. I'll say 50 pounds? That's our white van. Mike makes coffee. We meet at PCC in Redwood City at 7am. Jump in, and away we go. No muss, no fuss.<br />
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There's history for ya. Oozing out of every corner of the SERC est 1873. Imagine San Fran in 1873. A couple decades after the gold rush. A couple decades before the great earthquake of '06. And here we are. Using the same frigging club those early San Franciscans did. Obviously, a lot of rowing goes on, as well as boat building, and quite a bit of swimming. That glow in the back is looking out the back to Aquatic Park.<br />
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That's the locker room upstairs. It's pure history. You can almost feel the bodies from a century ago, meandering around telling jokes, and getting ready for a swim in the bay.<br />
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Post swim. On the pier in front of SERC. The blue and white building is the Dolphin Club. I've never been in there. It looks like it's got similar history. These are the two I swam with. Karen and Bunk, both swam my a*@ off. At least Karen waited for me! It was a great day. Water temp was the warmest I've ever run into in the Bay at 63 degrees, totally flat, with a pretty strong flood current. We did the big loop, inside the park, I would say about a mile. I should have added to it, but Karen got out, and so did I, and I just couldn't quite get myself back in.<br />
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<b>Jib Jab with Tim</b><br />
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I'll point out a couple things in this picture. You can see a zodiac out there watching swimmers come in. Between the dock and the Zodiac, you can see a neon orange swim cap of a swimmer in there. In the middle of the picture is a new friend, I just met after the swim, sort of by accident. I'd heard a terrible story about a local swimmer who did this amazing 9 mile swim from island to island in Hawaii. There was an organized relay event to swim across, and this guy swam the whole thing himself. The horrible part of the story happened after 6 hours plus of swimming, he's about 200 yards from the shore, now able to see the sand on the bottom of the ocean, and some guy wasn't paying attention and had his boat in the finish area. After much prompting to move, the boater finally gassed his engine, and John got pulled in by the prop, taking off his right arm and half his left hand.</div>
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Karen (on his left) knows him from Half Moon Bay. She started telling me who he was, as I was asking him to take the picture above this one(see his coat sleeve bottom left?). I saw his thumb bandaged, but didn't think my instant camera would be a problem, and less than a second later, as I reached out with my camera, I realized he didn't have a right hand and not much of an arm. Before I could feel completely uncomfortable, he says, in the most positive way; I think I can do this, but if not, you can try someone else. He's got two fingers that work on his non-dominant remaining hand. His 'thumb' is actually built from a chunk of bone from his hip, that's still healing. He takes a second picture because he notices he has his sleeve in the picture. Boom. Done. Perfect pic. So, instantly, the uncomfortable is gone. He's talking like we're old friends, and all the tragedy he's lived through, that's changed his life dramatically, and so many others, is, well, just a part of life. He's talking about his bone is infected. He's working on getting some really cool prosthetics, if he can work with the insurance company. All like it's just a part of life. Wow. I'm in awe of his spirit. Feeling blessed to be standing next to him, and having a conversation. He's inspiring. </div>
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It wasn't 4 sentences in until he got to talking about how it all works swimming. He's back in the pool. He says he doesn't have any catch with his hand, and he's talking about fixing his hand so he can swim. I'm thinking, and trying to stay in the conversation, wait, what? You swim? You've got no arms, dude. That does not compute!</div>
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And then I'm reminded of the bumper sticker above.</div>
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<a href="http://lifeafter615.blogspot.com/2012/01/back-in-water.html">John, first time swimming, after.</a></div>
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<a href="http://lifeafter615.blogspot.com/">John's story.</a></div>
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He calls it life after 615. The 615 is 6hours 15 minutes, which is how long he swam before he hit the boat, and changed his life forever. Everyone says he was an awesome guy before. I didn't know him then, but I wonder if he's even more awesome now.</div>
</div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789907464958460848noreply@blogger.com42977-2999 Hyde St, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, CA 94109, USA37.80849554104369 -122.4209761619567937.806927541043692 -122.42344366195678 37.810063541043689 -122.41850866195679tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-343095929789540877.post-70946784358688176942012-06-16T17:25:00.001-07:002012-06-16T17:25:29.460-07:00Yay Summer!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It's hard to not get excited when mother nature does her thing. In the foreground is my latest harvest, (and one of my first of the season) zucchini and green beans, a few strawberries, and in the background, from the farmer's market, some un-godly number of pounds of cherries. We caught the tail end of the Redwood City Saturday market. It goes 8:00am -12 noon, and we show up at 12:30pm. Most stands were taken down, and even this one was near down. He had a huge box of cherries. I think he said 18 pounds? So, we got em for $19. We're washing and pitting, and Kirsty is making a pie. The pie is all about the crust, well, as long as you have fresh fruit. Which, we do.<br />
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Here's Sarah's scones, using part of the 1/2 flat of strawberries from the farmer's market the week before. We looked into selling prepared food at the farmer's market. There's a bit to it, beyond just showing up with your wares. You have to get a license from the county. You have to prepare your food in a certified kitchen. And then, you need to get a permit to get a spot at the farmer's market. All said, it could easily be a couple thousand even before you start talking about ingredients let alone equipment. A few shortcuts came to mind, like using the kitchen of a certified restaurant, which all of them are. And selling in a booth with someone else. Still, there are a few hurdles, even if you are just experimenting. <br />
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Another big bit of the berries went into Sarah's strawberry pie. Doesn't that look delicious? It's a juxtaposition of a photo because we started eating it before I thought of snapping a picture. See the heart-shaped vent? It's what I would call a Sarah signature.<br />
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<b>Jib Jab with Tim</b><br />
Thanks for the encouragement to get back into the writing. I really enjoy it, especially when I hear from you. I've been working on family stuff which has taken all my energy lately, and it's been hard to think about anything but. So, anyway, I'm trying to get back in the saddle. Thanks for your patience and prodding!<br />
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This is a bouquet of roses comes from our garden. We planted a rose bush for each of our kids. They've been moved unceremoniously. Trimmed irregularly, watered sometimes, yet, they keep coming back, as beautiful as ever. Lately, our focus has been on the yellow one. I think he's coming back.</div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789907464958460848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-343095929789540877.post-11037887645860551372012-04-11T16:44:00.003-07:002012-04-13T10:36:25.494-07:00Portland, Oregon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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A snapshot of my collection of memorabilia from our Portland adventures, starting with Easter, <a href="http://www.powells.com/">Powell's books</a>, <a href="http://stumptowncoffee.com/location/downtown/">Stumptown Coffee Downtown</a>(see more pics here), <a href="http://www.mothersbistro.com/">Mother's Bistro and Bar</a>,where we had the famous french toast encrusted in corn flakes. Oh so good. <a href="http://www.habibirestaurantpdx.com/">Habibi Lebonese</a> food for lunch. We went here while shopping, and had a tremendously delicious meal, very inexpensive, and particularly good. Turn's out their second location was a block from our hotel, <a href="http://www.drmartens.com/page.asp?navid=18">Doc Martens</a>, such a Portland natural. <a href="http://www.randomordercoffee.com/">Random Order Coffeehouse</a> and bakery makes incredible and award winning pies. It's a coffee house in the true sense of the word. Vintage clothes shopping, my favorite is Lulu's. A couple other fun places, with an interesting twist: <a href="http://store.lulusvintage.com/">Lulu's</a>- upscale vintage clothing, super nice and informed staff(owners) and Kirsty's nickname, Lulu and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/saysayboutique">SaySay</a>- trendy clothing boutique and Sarah's nickname, also a fun shop, with the owner as sales staff.</div>
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Stumptown is Portland. It's so Portland. Awesome coffee, sassy atmosphere, stripped down, but elegant. Fancy, yet not pretentious. Dependable and yet sassy. That's our hotel across the street. Everywhere in town sells Stumptown coffee. It's delicious and a mainstay for grey days.</div>
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As much as these are unique bikes, they are typical in Portland. Utilitarian, yet customized. Definitely a free spirited and energized vibe.</div>
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Crazy. Not sure what this one is designed for. Just because? Note the poster on the ground. I think it was celebrating the 100th year of the Titanic.<br />
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Really enjoyed the bikes in town. Here's another special one. <a href="http://b-linepdx.com/">Be line pdx</a> is a zero carbon emission delivery service and advertising all based on these tricycles. Awesome! That battery is for a little assist if needed. What a blast to work for this company. They've partnered with big and small companies like Whole Foods and Office Max, as well as local bakers and others. Another fascinating area they are addressing is delivering donated perishable food to food banks and shelters. Wow. Talk about making a difference. It's pretty exciting, and seems like such a natural in Portland.</div>
</div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789907464958460848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-343095929789540877.post-84032880247563085322012-04-03T14:28:00.000-07:002012-04-03T14:28:37.873-07:00Pizza Orgasmica, San Rafael, CA (and Stinson Beach, CA)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We had a nice hike up the beach today. That's Bolinas on the other side of the lagoon. It's a beautiful place here, at Stinson Beach. We're on the edge of town, at the end of the spit. So tranquil, yet beautifully exciting. There are so few people over here, which makes you just want to smile and appreciate how good life is. How small is it, you ask? Last night, we walked into town for dinner a little after 8:00pm, to the Sand Dollar restaurant and they had to make a decision whether to stay open for us. They said yes, happily, and we knew they would. :-)<br />
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I'm trying to learn to use depth of field to get focus at a point and out of focus everywhere else by using a high or large Fstop value. It's not working. Apparently, it's easier if there is less light. Anyways, I'll keep trying. See any shells in there?<br />
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Here's another one where it would have been fun to have these little guys in focus, going to blurry in the ocean.<br />
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This is a glimpse of the stunning beauty here, the Bolinas/Stinson lagoon in the foreground, mr pelican overhead, and the marin headlands in the background. <br />
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You might be recognizing Bolinas in the background, and this (guessing) native purple beauty in front.<br />
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Purple flowers up close. Such a vibrant color against the backdrop of the beach colors. Isn't nature grand?<br />
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Here's another bit of mother nature doing her thing. This is a huge tree, half of it hanging over the lagoon, with roots 'looking' everywhere for a place to dig in. It does not phase the tree one bit. He's huge! And growing straight and strong and tall. Cool.<br />
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All I can say is, the circle of life. This is what's left of a spotted shark on the beach. Nice looking, even at this point in it's decomposition. He's about 2 feet long I would say.<br />
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Here's the essence of the Stinson artist community. I love the colors and textures of this sculpture made of found pieces of nature and man's refuse. In the nest were, I am guessing contributions from the unknown artist and those who wanted to add-on, including rocks that looked like eggs, crab shells and other items.<br />
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Kirsty and her dog, Ellie. Both in their sweet pot, loving life. Such a happy place. We are so lucky.<br />
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Jib Jab<br />
We're learning. <br />
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We went up to the beach this time, with no food. No drinks. No extra clothes. We did bring sheets and pillows, but that's it, for a three day visit. Turns out there was a nice bottle of Moet Chandon on ice in the fridge (who left that? we're going to replace it, and thank you, what a great idea and treat). It was nice to finish it in the morning. There was also coffee, whew. It makes everything better. Less time to get there. Less time to clean. Less decisions. Less is better.<br />
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Pizza Orgasmica and Brewing Company in San Rafael, CA<br />
Okay, I would be remiss, not providing details of a super fun lunch I had in San Rafael, in one of my favorite places on the planet (Marin), Pizza Orgaasmica is on Fourth and Lincoln. Like any good pizza place, but so so so much better. Yes, they make their own beer. Yes, they make really nice pizza from great ingredients. Yes, it's fun inside, couches, brew equipment, and sports on tv, but yes, soccer, and Marin style sports. Anyways, I had a great spinach, feta, and dried tomato, and a delicious IPA. <br />
<br /></div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789907464958460848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-343095929789540877.post-89642414716378756032012-03-27T07:29:00.000-07:002012-03-27T07:49:54.656-07:00Rome, Italy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We arrived in Rome getting on pretty late. Still Luca picked us up at the airport, (in the airport no less) and brought us to our hotel, then to this little plaza area for dinner. Finding it and a parking spot were a significant part of the adventure, but Luca seemed un-phased the entire time, and determined to get us to this place. It was rustic and the buildings and surroundings seemed a little tired, but many people were streaming in, and having a good time, which is contagious. <br />
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What seemed like in the middle of the street and plaza were a number of these nice little ristorantes.<br />
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We ended up at <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.in/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d1151283-Reviews-Elettra-Rome_Lazio.html">Elettra</a>, with traditional Italian cuisine. The food, including my fish was delicious, and the salad with crispy onions, also delicious. The pictures don't capture the fun-ness of the place. Casual, yet elegant. Not too expensive, yet so tasty. Great waiter (I think), Luca talked with him in Italian. Anyway, I felt a bit local here. Really liked it. Luca, thanks for such warm hospitality.<br />
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<br /></div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789907464958460848noreply@blogger.com0Via Principe Amedeo, 00185 Rome, Italy41.8978968 12.50179141.8919873 12.4919205 41.9038063 12.5116615tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-343095929789540877.post-34334819755550076142012-03-25T19:46:00.001-07:002012-03-26T21:33:06.564-07:00Where am I?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It's been here for sometime. Maybe older than some of you. It's got global relevance. There's current and historical reference. Okay, I'm not doing very well on the guessing game. Look at the building on the left. Can you see the logo on the top? These tents are made from plates, together they appear to be flowing. The tower is multi-functional. Part restaurant, part communications tower. It's the site of the XX summer Olympiad. Remember Mark Spitz? Seven gold metals? Olga Korbut and gymnastics? Not to mention the unmentionable massacre of the Israel team members?<br />
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This is a view from the communications tower. We ended up having dinner here. Below you can see the BMW headquarters building and the edge of the BMW museum.<br />
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For BMW fans, here's the whole shooting match. lower left huge building is the new gorgeous BMW museum. We had no time to visit, but it looks fantastic, and huge. Behind it, is part of the BMW factory. Mid right is the BMW headquarters building. It's called something like the quad tower or something. Off in the distance, top center is the sports arena, in glowing red and almost looks like it's floating. The color changes every couple minutes. Our dining experience rotates. I think we made 2 or so revolutions. <br />
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I liked this divider light wall, made of wire and lighting embedded in the restaurant.<br />
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Of particular interest to me is the Olympic pool, from 1972. The Germans take pride in the facility and the event altogether. It was exciting to visit, and swim here. I actually swam in lane 4, as did Mark Spitz, for a number of his amazing metal flurry.<br />
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What does this say? This is the Spitz lane.<br />
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Aerial view of the pool and aquatic area.<br />
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Artistic view of the dive pool. In the background is the 50 meter pool.<br />
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This is the official symbol for the XX Olympics. It's actually a flat weaving, but somehow the photo created this 3D view. It did not look this way directly.<br />
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Our hotel is just across the way from the Olympic center. This shows a tiny view of some architecture, everywhere around us. <br />
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I vaguely remember these concrete dorms, and vividly remember the tiered dorms in the background from the Olympics. They continuously showed these during the hostage crisis.<br />
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So, did you guess? Yes! It's Munich. <br />
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Jib Jab with Tim<br />
As much as we were on the edge of Munich in this location, we did get a good flavor of some highlights in our short visit. We actually had two really good meals. One, a traditional Bavarian meal just on the edge of Munich in a neighborhood area. The other meal was in the communications tower, and the food was actually quite good! Who would have thought?! I really enjoyed our German visit.<br />
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I just finished my expense report and found the receipt for an awesome place we ate the first night, called <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.osterwaldgarten.de/&ei=L-twT7KmN4Ow2QX5xP3DDg&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CEMQ7gEwAQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dosterwaldgarten%2Bmuenchen%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3Dp2d%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26prmd%3Dimvns">Osterwaldgarten</a>. It's a great regional beer garden with a very local feel and delicious food. We had the ox, which was a delicious steak. We meandered around this area, about 4 stops on the metro from our Olympic village hotel, and only found pizza and beer places. Finally we stopped a local heading into his apartment, and he pointed us to this place for a local Bavarian favorite.<br />
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Here's a photo of the awesome fare. This is delicious ox, and of course some nice root vegetables. The steak is on a bed of a noodle type thing, with the crispy delicious onions on top, and the stellar juice/gravy/goodness underneath. I asked if they had a veggie side, and that's where the wok-cooked bell peppers come in, on the left...kind of the Californian adaptation as it were. The beer, of course, was delicious, and a highlight here. Yes, it's a beer garden, but it was way cold and late to be eating outside while we were there.<br />
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I wish one of these was my mug.<br />
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It's a fun, Bavarian place inside.<br />
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Yes, I'm pretty obnoxious, always taking pictures with the camera. I wanted a working picture, but didn't want to interrupt, so this is not necessarily an ideal candid moment. None-the-less, here we are, looking professional. This is Joerg and Mark, ready to head into our meeting. As you can see, it turned out to be a nice day in Munich.</div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789907464958460848noreply@blogger.com2Olympic Stadium, Spiridon-Louis-Ring 21, 80809 Munich, Germany48.1738353 11.546940248.1632463 11.5271992 48.1844243 11.5666812tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-343095929789540877.post-45230224024456997682012-03-17T10:09:00.002-07:002012-04-01T11:42:19.353-07:00Amalfi Coast, Italy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We had a meeting in Pagoni, not far from Naples, and I noticed a sign for the Amalfi Coast. It's over a range, quite steep hills and narrow roads with tight turns. In some places, not room for two cars, in fact there were a couple spots where we had a car face-off, and had to back up to let the opposite traffic through. Another interesting diversion was this goat herder and his flock. See his herder dog behind the truck? Totally awesome.<br />
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There was a lot of cloud cover, so the views were a little interrupted, but here's an idea of the rugged, steep hillside, and the coast below, with an olive tree to border. The olives, and lemons from this area are renowned, well at least the lemons, which are a special variety.<br />
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A blurry picture out the car window, showing the steep hillside. This is characteristic of the houses and terracing around.<br />
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Water view from the road.<br />
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Gotta love these guys waiting for something.<br />
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Here's the beach view from the center of town.<br />
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And looking the other direction, here's my travel partner, Mark.<br />
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Here is the cathedral in the town of Amalfi, Saint Andrews. I'm not sure about that much about it, other than it's beautiful, and they were holding Monday afternoon mass just as we visited. The bells were ringing and so on. Quite moving. Apparently it was first built in the 9th century during the medieval times. Since then, it's been added onto a couple times over the centuries.<br />
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Inside St. Andrews Cathedral. <br />
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Mark and Luca talking shop.<br />
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As we were leaving the church bells started ringing. Incredible sound adding to the ambiance. Take a listen and look. <br />
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This is the limoncello made from lemons exclusively from the Amalfi coast. Not much of a picture, but it's the place we purchased. Super nice shop and people. The aroma is pungent with lemon, more than limoncello I've had elsewhere.</div>
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As night was setting in, and we were driving along the coast, I saw this place, seemingly dangling over an incredibly high cliff.</div>
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On the way out of the area, near, or in Positano, Luca, our incredible tour guide and now friend, had a locally famous pizza place in mind. I did not catch the name, but awesome pizza, served ever so personally by two waiters, all 100 cm of hand-made deliciousness.</div>
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Jib Jab</div>
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Here's my two traveling buddies to the Amalfi coast. Luca is the sales exec who invited us to meet with his account outside Naples. We finished the 2.5 hour drive from Rome to here, and 5 hours of meetings with the customer, and I noticed a sign to Amalfi. Luca seemed to pick up on it, or had it in mind all along, I'm still not sure which. Either way, he took us over the range, shown behind us here, to the goat herders, and beyond. It turned into about a 19 hour day, which sounds either grueling and terrible, or incredibly awesome and a day to remember for a long time. Last night, Kirsty and I enjoyed our delicious and special Limoncello, and I remembered our fantastic experience again. Thanks guys, for going for it and taking me with!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD50a1K0Jc1XtoJ26aDUuri-xDo2OA3CPbFWeXeTQ3JrlMeiIMqEkQah-mekdx83e6PhdVRZzPaTUR91k1izcngi84sz8eSLtKa7qXgHABUHlJP2Heg8XEy4viG16cbq7iGSKSMtGWOS_J/s1600/IMG_4332.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789907464958460848noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-343095929789540877.post-24562401403634470682012-03-11T13:50:00.000-07:002012-03-11T13:50:16.905-07:00Paris, France<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The Arc de Triomphe at night, with the Eiffel Tower in the background. You can actually go to the top of the arc for viewing the city. It's in the center of one of those round about circles, including the Champ Elysees. Originally commissioned by Napoleon in the early 1800's I think, to celebrate all his army victories. Unfortunately, he was deposed before it was finished, and actually didn't go through it except in his casket.<br />
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The Eiffel Tower was built around the beginning of 1900 for the National Exposition or something like that. Originally, it was the tallest man-made structure in the world, and was to be taken down 20 years later. Fortunately, it's functionality for broadcasting radio and tv helped to preserve it by giving it further use.<br />
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I have trouble getting a good perspective when taking photos of the Eiffel Tower. It's so big! Like almost 1,000 feet tall to the top. We were going to climb the tower, but the stairs were closed when we arrived, too late at night. I've yet to climb the darn thing. Apparently you can climb to the first and second tier, and the elevator takes you to the top, if you chose that. Anyway, I liked this view of it, with the street lights blended in, even though it's not in landscape, I couldn't find a good-enough landscape to replace it.<br />
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Sometimes it seems like they don't make food that's not awesome in Paris. We just walked around to find this place, and it was very good! That's my lamb chops, and Mark had scallops I think, and on the right, you can see the last escargot shell remaining. <br />
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This was a typical brasserie with their own interpretation of the classic croque monsieur if I am spelling that correctly. A ham and cheese sandwich, albeit exceptionally delicious.<br />
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These are pastries in a little patisserie around the corner from our hotel, I think it's called Guest. Why are most Parisians not overweight? And how are so many petite? <br />
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Not an exciting picture, but I wanted to capture a really fun restaurant. This is another place we went to by recommendation from one of our locals. <a href="http://www.relaisdevenise.com/">Le Relais de Venise </a>restaurant is very near our hotel, at Porte Maillo. It's a regular, where you just sit down, and get the fixed menu. Steak and frites. Oh, you chose the wine, which was delicious. The steak is out of this world. So tender and delicious, with a sauce I can say may be close to Bearnaise. Buttery, herbs, and so on. Then of course a huge pile of frites, followed by your choice of dessert. Absolutely worth the wait. They do not take reservations. You wait around the block, but the line goes pretty fast. Very fun, and great food.<br />
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Actually, one last note on logistics:<br />
<a href="http://transfer.airport-paris.com/air-france-coach-service.htm">The Air France bus from the airport to town was perfect.</a> It's a bit of a haul, and the buses are nice and inexpensive. Here's the one we used, #2 to our area of Porte Maillot. It's only like 14 or 16 Euros.</div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789907464958460848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-343095929789540877.post-19528770705776188832012-03-06T02:45:00.001-08:002012-03-06T02:45:14.846-08:00So many choices Paris France.<br /><br /><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=12/03/06/224.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/12/03/06/s_224.jpg' border='0' width='450' height='337' align='left' style='margin:5px'></a><br />We are headed to Munich this afternoon. Paris has been awesome. We've seen, walked, metro, ate, drank, and got cold and wet. It's hard to look forward, it's so nice here. So it's time for a cappuccino and pastry. The choices are, well Parisian. <br /><br /><br />Posted using BlogPress from my iPad<br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Guest%2091%20avenue%20des%20Ternes%20Paris&z=10'>Guest 91 avenue des Ternes Paris</a></p>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789907464958460848noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-343095929789540877.post-20981144170976716632012-03-04T00:49:00.001-08:002012-03-04T00:49:56.359-08:00Barcelona, Spain<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />Beautiful night shot from top of the hotel.<br />
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We watched the sunset. This is slightly before.<br />
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4Cats restaurant. Delicious and fun, and not too expensive.<br />
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I had to capture this picture from the wall at 4cats, as I had just seen the original in the National Museum!<br />
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Student protest, in front of the Mobile World Congress. The protest was about higher student tuition and fewer students accepted. Moving on to Rome. </div>Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11789907464958460848noreply@blogger.com0