Sonoma Days

Winter skies.

Tue, 9 Feb 2010 10:48:25 -0800

Photos from top to bottom:

1. 405 Freeway, Los Angeles. 
1. Backyard foggy morning. 
2. Buds and spiderwebs on our Bradford Pear tree. 
3. Another front moving in. 
4. The Russian River, now full and turbulent. 
5. Mustard blooms in-between the old Zinfandel vines in nearby Dry Creek Valley.

Eat. Drink. Take photo.

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 09:47:26 -0800

Photos from top to bottom:

1. With Richard and Laurie at Nalle in Dry Creek. 
1. With Chad and Allison at Art’s Deli in Studio City. Not pictured: Celebrity sighting Richard Lewis. 
2. With Irv and Linda in Irvine. 
3. With Jude, Woolf, Ken and Mayumi in Santa Monica. 
4. With Larry and Patti in Westwood.

This decade’s done. And I’m done with it.

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:16:12 -0800

Goodbye to ’09 and all the rest of the ‘00s too—a decade that began in fear and then ended the same way. In between it was mostly a blur of a tsunami-Enron-stolen election–Paris Hilton-Iraq–Katrina–Afganistan–anthrax–swine flu–Great Recession-crap-o-rama.

Everything that was once thought to be certain became suspect. Not only could the center not hold, the center was impossible to find.

So many people in my life have struggled through some very hard years. 
On these winter days the distance between my own gratitude and longing narrows. I feel the passage of time more sharply.

The sun sets way too soon. 
And yet, today I watched on my iPhone as our African- American President rocked out to Melissa Etheridge covering “Born to Run” while he sat next to Bruce Springsteen, of whom he said, “I’m the President, but he’s the Boss.”

That’s a sentence filled with at least four impossible things, a sentence I never thought I could ever write.

Well, maybe things are looking up.

22° this morning. Yikes, it’s winter!

Tue, 8 Dec 2009 10:22:40 -0800

Photos from top to bottom:

1. - 3. We jumped into the car on Sunday for an hour’s drive to Point Reyes National Seashore in west Marin county. Shore birds, tule elks, wind, and...magnificent solitude. 
4. Sign seen after our tasty lunch (including local Hog Island oysters) in Point Reyes Station. 
1. At Stryker winery in the Alexander Valley. 
2. - 8 Radishes, lettuces, and strawberries in our winter garden. Let’s hope they survived the freeze last night. 
9. Southern California meets Northern California in our neighborhood. There’s both a palm tree and a redwood on our street, and around the corner, this orange tree stands next to a deciduous tree.

Halloween in Chicago.

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 13:32:21 -0800

Here’s what we did on October 31.  Photos from top to bottom:

1. Somewhere in Old Town. 
1. Eating apple cider donut holes at the Green City Market. Care seems to have a sixth sense for finding farmers’ markets. 
2. Indian corn for sale. Following our (rather cold) time walking around the outdoor market, we had a great brunch at Perennial, probably our favorite meal of the trip. 
3. - 5. At the Chicago History Museum. Weinermobiles rule! 
1. - 7. Millennium Park. 
2. Dinner at Rick Bayless’ amazing Frontera Grill. 
3. North Halsted Halloween Parade. Costumes included the Octomom, Balloon Boy, Dead Chicago Olympics Zombies, Mad Hatters, Drag Queens, and a roller coaster. Photos here.  
4. Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials perform at B.L.U.E.S.