We had thunder and raindrops in southern California... I got a new job... I spent time in ER with my daughter... Other than that it's been an uneventful three days ;-)
Stay tuned... "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." - john lennon
(Photo by: ~jolenemarie - kids jumping into Newport Harbor at Pirate's Cove, Corona del Mar, CA)
Some of us stand on the edge, weighing the possibilities... Some ease into things, holding the hand of a friend... Others jump head first... How do you live your's? ************************* ANNOUNCEMENT: Coming this weekend (Aug. 25-26) at AlteredInsomnia BIG SALE ON ALL RETRO RUBBER STAMPS! And... FLOWER POWER! VINTAGE WALLPAPER, brand new condition (rolls had never been opened!) from the early 1970s! Check it out!
Yesterday when I was in the kitchen preparing this macaroni salad (my Mom's recipe) I had the strangest and most REAL flashback...so real that I actually felt for a moment I was transported back to my Grandparent's home on East 64th Street in Los Angeles during the 1950s.
For some reason unknown I was standing here in my kitchen and I suddenly smelled a steaming pot of eucalyptus leaves on the stove... I saw my Grandpa standing over them, stirring the pot like he would...making a strong tea to help clear his lungs.
I felt the wood chair I sat on as a child and felt the old wooden table where I rested my elbows as I watched. Grandma was at the kitchen sink in her apron, and I saw clearly the tin can that sat upon the counter for scraps since they had no garbage disposals in those days in their homes.
I glanced to my left and looked past the service porch where another of Grandma's aprons hung, and the wringer washing machine sat in the right hand corner...looking into the screened in patio where all our family get-togethers took place at the long wooden table Grandpa had built.
I was overcome and tears shot from my eyes...for a mere brief moment...it all felt so very real.
I have been wanting to try this for a long time... Nothing spectacular - but it worked! Moving pictures .... YAY! :)
(Of course ya'll know to click the little arrow to make it play!)
This was filmed at LookOut Point overlooking Newport Harbor in the late afternoon when the fishing boats were coming back in... Kind of boring...but I learned how to do it :)
Ready to Para-Sail away? This flyin' high guy's feet are about ready to touch the water...as soon as he does the boat will pick up speed and he once again reaches great heights...
No, I swear, we don't live on a tropical island...this view is from LookOut Point looking south towards Little Corona beach...you can see right through the hole in Arch Rock...one of the most sought after backgrounds for photographers. From where I stood to take this photo it takes me only a few minutes to walk to Little Corona...I have gazed at Arch Rock for over 40 years!
I have loved fishing boats all my life. One of my favorite times is the late afternoon when the fishing boats start coming home in the harbor...they remind me of my (late) favorite Uncle Lee who was a commercial fisherman all his life...
I am never without my camera...I just never know what I might see...like this man and his DOG in the harbor...how cool is that?...
Big Corona del Mar State Beach... Corona del Mar is Spanish for Crown of the Sea...
I shared a bench on the cliffs at LookOut Point with this sweet couple for nearly an hour. "Dr. Ralph" and his wife, Madeline. They both turned 85 last March. They are no longer strangers to me now, but instant friends. Dr. Ralph was a surgeon/physician for 50 years "in towns along the banks of the Mississippi"....where he told me he "did surgery in the morning, saw patients in the afternoon and delivered babies at night"! Up until only four (!) years ago Dr. Ralph was swimming a mile each day! Married 63 years...I am so glad I invited them to share the bench with me...they shared their stories and touched my heart...
Dagny can often know what is going on in our lives by watching television. If she didn't get an email from my daughter Jillall she had to do was watch an episode of The O.C. to know what was going on. When the Cohen's moved to Berkeley Dagny just assumed we would be there, looking for that Craftsmen style house any minute.
Well, Dagny...here comes another one (August 15th)....but alas, this one sure isn't going to reflect our lives! :-) But you will see our 'hood since this one is actually filmed in the O.C. !
In the late afternoon, as usual, I was at LookOut Point down the street from home...sitting there, minding my own business...taking a few photos....nothing unusual.
Suddenly there were a lot of people standing behind me, walking back and forth, acting strange....so I held on to my camera (hey it's a $1,000 camera!) a little tighter and looked one of 'em in the eye. Then I noticed she had walkie-talkies and all sorts of tech toys on her body....and I thought WTF is going on? So, I slowly turn around and see that LookOut Point has been invaded by an MTV camera crew, director, and lots of people on cell phones, carrying huge cameras and tripods and acting very busy :-)
Lo and behold, it's Chase and Taylor...not exactly Ryan and Marissa, Dagny!
So Dagny, here you have it....a BEHIND THE SCENES EXCLUSIVE at Pirates Cove overlooking Newport harbor.
