I took a week off from every activity and just did nothing. A good payoff. Tonight it was raining and suddenly at sunset, there was a gorgeous golden light and a rainbow appeared. One of the most beautiful I've seen in years. I couldn't do it justice in the short time I had to grab my camera and try to get a shot. But here is one quick one. I don't know what it is about a rainbow that brings out childhood awe, but they always do. In the back of my mind I heard Kermit the Frog singing, "The Rainbow Connection", so in a moment of whimsy and sweetness here it is:
I got up and it was cool enough to make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip muffins, here's the recipe:
INGREDIENTS
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups canned pumpkin puree
4 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup water
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 24 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, sugar, salt and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, beat together pumpkin, eggs and water. Stir pumpkin mixture into flour mixture; beat until well blended. Fold in chocolate chips.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.
I also found an intriguing folkie/indie artist Leslie Feist, more commonly known as Feist from another website and loved her song Mushaboom. So here's a photo that seems to reflect the ethereal strangeness and the song itself.
So make a good cup of french roast with some creme, raw sugar, grab a muffin and have a good one.
Just a simple laid back day. The condo is torn up for the weekend as taking advantage of the warm weather, we're catching up on some projects. I'm going to take off next weekend instead. I caught up with a friend over coffee and discussed photography of course. I grabbed some fashion magazines from England (I like how they think about fashion and their photography) to peruse. I usually update my makeup and clothes this time of year. I don't do cheap foundation or skin care as I believe this is where my money is best spent. I love Bobbi Brown, MAC, Vincent Longo, Makeup Forever and Sue Devitt. For my foundation I go to Sephora/Nordstrom's, but for eye shadows, blush, lipstick/glosses, EBay rules. I love Kiehl's skin care and they have a great philosophy of giving back. What can I say; I like being a girl.
I love fashion, but due to my job and life style I tend to embrace functionality for the most part. Levi's and a great line of reasonable artist/boyfriend jeans from American Eagleare what I wear when I'm not working, or yoga pants, with tees or form fitting tops. Work is usually simple chinos, pants and tees/tops/blazers/sweaters. It's very cold in the clinics year around.
I grabbed this shot at the Alameda market and it reminded me of Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians, "What I Am":
Last year I had a very negative experience in a yoga community I had joined (not many choices here). Let's just say it was a fairly insular community with narrow ideas of what yoga is about. It soured me. Late yesterday I found my way back to the yoga mat. It was a quiet homecoming of breath, bone and flesh. I realized that yoga is about opening up to self and listening to one's heart. I have visited many yoga communities in several communities and the ones that are best are the ones that have always been connected to the earth, that are real and open to the complexity of reinterpretation in a changing world. It's okay to be sensual, love makeup, be a philosopher, like romance novels, enjoy a good wine and food and so on. If you don't think so take a tour of studios in either Toronto or San Francisco, two of the most interesting "yoga cities" I have ever visited.
In celebration here is a trio of session songs from Patty Griffin:
Even after three springs in California, I cannot believe how fast Spring emerges here. Being a Midwestern/East Coast hybrid, I'm used to gentle tantalizing peeks that emerge after a brief warming spell usually in late February early March. Just enough to know the cold isn't going to last that much longer, but long enough you start dreaming of soft greens, loamy earth smells and the first warm wind that you know will be with you for a few months. Your energy seems to grown and your mouth begins to anticipate the first asparagus to appear and other greens.
Here in California it's fast. It is a in your face brashness, that trumpets I'm here enjoy the show for a few days because I'm marching right on to the summer season. I caught these flowers in 80 degree sunlight (admittedly warm even for this part of of California this time of year). I know they'll be gone shortly. It's a reminder to grab your moment of art where you will, because it may not be there when you return.
I was also inspired by a lovely dance/music collaboration by Alessandra Ferri and Sting. Stretching out and using the gifts given:
Today was easy day. The pup and I both had our respective grooming appointments this morning. My crowning glory now is just that thanks to Carlene. I spent the rest of the day just taking it easy, who knew a flu bug could take so much out of you, especially when you're working at the same time. I did work on getting some minor tasks done, like putting the finishing touches on a trip to the East Coast in May. All I have to do now is pack, get to the airport and have a good time. I'm utilizing the free ticket I got so I hope this trip doesn't resemble the Phoenix one.
I worked on scanning some negatives that I haven't had time to really do anything with from my trip to London. A friend went with me and she had never seen the sights so we did the Tower of London. I'd been there before so I looked for some different things to photograph and found this broom and dustpan and was struck by it's homeyness in all of the grandeur we were experiencing at the time.
One of my favorite things to do in London is to go to St. Martin's in the Fields for concerts. While I've never seen Yo-Yo Ma there, I have enjoyed a Vivaldi concert. So here is a bit for the enjoyment of it:
I would never have believed I would become a gadget geek, but going digital has changed that. I had a to good to be dismissed chance to adopt an Olympus Evolt 500 complete with lenses late last year and I decided to go with it. Up to this time I had been shooting with Nikon film and Bronica SQ-Ai. Long story short I fell in love with the Olympus and it's digital SLR (I went out and compared to others). I know there are 1001 reasons why Canon and Nikon digital (and I've shot with them) are better, but I know I've decided to hold forth with it. I've always had a tendency to root for the underdog anyway. They introduced their new DSLRs with the Pro model to follow later this year. All I can say is come June, I'll be adopting the Olympus 510 and then the Pro model early next year. It's a good thing I'll be temporarily increasing my work hours for a couple of months
The photo tonight is mocking a friend's taunt calling Olympus a lemon manufacturer. And I'm just listening to blues, Kenny Wayne Shepard Band, "Deja Voodoo" because this bloody virus wants to hang on....
What do you do when you spend a few days with the cold virus your co-worker passed to you? Stay down, drink fluids and just sleep a good deal.
I just worked a bit tonight on some old photos that I scanned, got inspired by "Inside the Actors Studio" and caught up on a few magazines.
Since I felt so blah and let's face it, have avoided the mirror until my eyes stop watering (not a pretty site) and want to feel healthier and stronger, I went for some glamour (a shot I did from a another photographer modeling for me) and a reminder of individual strength both in career and love life....
Just some thoughts. I'm just in that zone of stillness, not sure what's next, what's coming....I think the news I received last week that my brother-in-law's construction business might go down the tubes after 22 years due to the bad economy where they're at is part of that. I'm concerned about it because my mother has been living with my sister and him and they all may end up out in Arizona instead of the Midwest. One of my original reasons for going back towards the East was to be closer to the Midwest in case something happened as my parents are getting up in age. But now I'm looking at do I stay closer here. Also it seems there are enormous changes for others of my family members in the Midwest, i.e. divorces, moving etc. I know I shouldn't let my family dictate my moves, but still connection to them is important...We'll see...
Ah well, just musing. I've been altering some Polaroids with gel pens and just doing little projects. Today I'm going to try and do more Photoshop lessons as I have some work to do on my nephew's senior pictures. The weekend will be about relaxing and hooking up with some friends. In the next two weeks I'm heading towards the ocean to get my fix. I'm thinking of going up to Carmel to Point Lobos in early April before tourist season hits to get some photos. I was there last year.
Since I'm in an ocean mood, here's a bit more Enya "Caribbean Blue". The photo was taken around Half Moon Bay and reminds me of journeying:
