Today 1/10/15

In bocca al lupo.  m (no v)

This Morning 12/13/14

Well, this morning is last night.  I had the pleasure of, once again, photographing the winter concert for one of the local community college bands.  And he's holding my (this year's) favorite Christmas music.  I look at this shot and think about the fact that just about everywhere, at least in the Western world, there are people coming together for celebrations of one holiday or another.  A very fragile blanket of peace.

In bocca al lupo. m (no v)

This Morning 12/02/14

In bocca al lupo.  m (no v)

This Morning 11/25/14

In bocca al lupo.  m (no v)

This Morning 11/22/14

In bocca al lupo.  m (no v)

This Morning 11/21/14

In bocca al lupo.  m (no v)

This Morning, 11/19/14

In bocca al lupo.  m (no v)

My Dog Spot!

My Dog Spot Photography is born!  The web site is up and running.  I'm excited and curious and scared.  I am learning so much and isn't that what makes life really fun?  The style of photo I create is with a white background although certain props can be optional.  Family members can be included in a few of the shots as well. We've had fun adding a couple of "extra legs" to a photo.  As time and interest go on I will be trying out different styles, so stay tuned.

Public debut will be at the Holiday Craft Fair at the Monterey Bay Aquarium this Sunday (7-9:30pm if you're a local).  10% of my proceeds will be donated to the educational fund established in v's name at the aquarium.  

Other vendors will be donating 10% to an educational scholarship being set up by the aquarium itself.  Since 1985 the aquarium has hosted school groups with students 18 years and younger at no charge to the students. 

Please wish me luck!

In bocca al lupo.  m (no v)

My Family and Home Life

I've spent a few days working on the upcoming My Dog Spot Photography web site.  I have such a headache!  I am amazed at all the new things I need to learn and even more amazed that I learn any of it.  What is the best of all that comes out of this is the amount of support I'm getting from my friends and associates.

So much has happened in my life since I decided on the title of this blog, or more to the point, the sub-title of this blog: a home and family life, and not necessarily blood ties.  It's good I added that.  At the time it was because v and I had such a small family: we were the two of us and r, his beautiful daughter, in Portland, Oregon.  Now it is just r and I and that extended family of non-blood ties.  Home life is me and my two cats and the succession of possums that come by in the evening for a small snack in reward for keeping the garden organic and snail free.

Home life is my circle of friends; a friend who would come by a few evenings a week to help break the new and crushing silence that had become so rare in this house since v moved in those years ago. With her help I've eased into the rhythm of my own movement and the sound of my thoughts.  It is my kind and thoughtful neighbor dropping by to see how I am and to share his own small business adventures and woes (please remember Fog's End Distillery's Monterey Rye and California Moonshine!). Another neighbor who has taken the time to attend to my apple trees. It is the daily emails with the reconnected life-long friend now in Georgia, the morning texts from my oldest friend still in Southern California, and the wonderful letters from a dear, dear friend in Pennsylvania who also lost her husband way too early--another gentle, loving, and passionate Italian... lucky us! My weekly connection to the aquarium and my new, but no less dear friends, who have become a part of that non-blood family. Home life is my two cats, one sweet and one crabby (there always has to be a balance).

And now home life is about re-inventing myself and trying to succeed with a new endeavor.  Fingers crossed!

In bocca al lupo.  m (no v)

Into the Unknown!

Big breath and deep sigh...I'm starting a small business: pet photography.  

I figured there are any number of wedding and portrait photographers around.  I have sent the card designs to the printer.  I have my contact info blurred because I haven't quite gone live just yet and most of you who drop in aren't exactly local, though if I'm ever heading back to Europe I will make an announcement.  (And for those of you in Russia, v would have loved practicing his language skills with you!)

Once I have the website up and running I'll publish the address.  I will keep this site in the loop as far as any successes I may have.  I am nail-bitingly nervous. v was the impresario and had all the courage and hutzpah.  He was a born salesman though his heart was in wood working and his vocation was teaching.

So, I'm soon to launch in a quiet, modest way.  Fingers crossed!

In bocca al lupo.  m (no v)

BiondoBags

Another one of the projects I've been up to lately. These are shopping bags, or totes if you will. They are made of laminated cotton, are extremely lightweight, and can fold up and be tucked in a purse or pocket.  Easy to keep in the map pocket of the driver's door in the car.  There is a three inch pleat on each side making them expandable for groceries or several items of new clothes.  They can carry a lot of weight. I've recently toted home two half gallons of milk in glass bottles along with four glass bottles of root beer (brewed locally I might add), in a single bag along with a loaf of bread and a few vegetables.  I happened to only have had one bag with me at the time.  They are washable.  They make nice gift bags too.

I make them in several ocean related prints (the one at top I consider "beach umbrellas").

Each and every one is designed and made by me.  They'll be on sale at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Craft Fair on November 16.

In bocca al lupo.  m (no v)

How Can I Help?

How does ocean acidification effect shellfish?  As the pH of the oceans decreases with the huge amounts of CO2 that are dumped into them daily carbonates are less available.  Carbonates are what shellfish rely on to develop their shells, without it the shells become thinner, growth slows, and the animals die.

How can we help??? Stop blaming and start changing...just a little at a time.

Turn off the lights
Buy less plastic, period.

Consider quality over quantity--more is definitely not better.

Have a weekly evening of reading or conversation instead of TV or video games

Encourage your children to put on their own theater productions for you and your friends
Gather together for potluck evenings
Support Farmers' Markets and buy produce grown locally and in season
Make do and mend--that's an old saying from the days of rationing, but why not be creative?
Go to the library
Play in the park
Use reusable (and washable) bags for shopping
Walk to our destinations whenever we can, or
Ride a bike to school, the market, work (if possible).
Share rides.
Demand better public transportation! Two hour commutes of only a few miles is not encouraging people to "ride the bus"!
Support Light and High Speed Rail development.

Just a few thoughts, please add your own.

In bocca al lupo.  m (no v)

Back to the Library

Bookstores have all but disappeared.  I admit that the idea of a device such as an iPad having the capacity to hold a library full of books was intriguing to me. I envisioned the classic oak, tenon joined, library table in a room surrounded by windows and French doors.  Resting in the center of this venerable old table would be a simple tablet device and that would be the library. But, you know what?  I miss holding a book and reading a printed word off of paper.  Now that there are no bookstores locally, I have rediscovered the library. I've dusted off my card and have been enjoying carrying home a stack of novels that I can disappear into.  I'm also enjoying the fact that in our area here, we still have a couple of the old Carnegie libraries still in service. It's nice to just pull a book off the shelf and sink into a comfortable old chair and read by the light streaming in from some beautiful old windows. A brief escape.

In bocca al lupo.  m (no v)

New Friends

A chance shot and new friends.  Above is my favorite shot from the winter band concert at Monterey Peninsula College.  Tonight when I went to shoot their spring concert I was greeted like an old friend from several of the band members.  r is a retired physics teacher and plays the baritone sax for the band.  Thank you v for getting me this camera!

In bocca al lupo.  m (no v)

A Box Full of Love

v is home.  Five days in the hospital, no matter how great that hospital is, can take a toll on someone and v is no exception.  He's weak and sometimes breathless, but he is not beaten down.  He's getting a little stronger.  His most notable improvement occurred last night after a visit from our friend and shift captain from the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  She arrived with a beautiful box full of cards, gifts, hand made candies, a book and other tokens of love and encouragement including a beautifully "translated" message from the sea stars themselves, and with the gift of her time and company. I'm afraid my lens just can't contain it all in one shot. It's difficult for us to contain it all in our hearts!

 

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

The Audition

Auditions for table dressing.  A new project for v and me when he gets home, which may be today!!!  Timing will be delicate as there is a football game this afternoon that he really, really wants to see...and we don't have a TV!  He has loads of invitations.  He can view each quarter from a different recliner, armchair, or sofa if he wants.  Or, he might be able to wait 'til after the game to come home.  I think I know a place...

Thank goodness we discovered last year that the Superbowl is streamed live on the computer.  He can be bundled up with his treats and watch here while I can be elsewhere in the house (or garden if the weather holds) doing non-football stuff.  And he can wear his jammies if he wants.

You know, I want to clarify why this blog even exists: it was created at the suggestion of an old, old friend who found me after a fifteen year loss of contact.  So much had changed; her address, she moved to Georgia! me; my name and address, and she found me!  The internet happened while we were silent, email, and this blog stuff.  Trying to send photos to her was causing problems with the emails so she, a woman who never learned to drive, encouraged me to start a blog so I could load up (gee, I guess that would be upload!) photos of my life and share with her.  I just couldn't do Facebook, I'm not that into reconnections. So here we are.  I am fascinated that a woman who has never turned a steering wheel can negotiate, and guide me through, the technical confusion of computer communications.

It's turned out to be a great way to keep our friends at the aquarium updated on v's condition.  I have been so surprised to hear various of our shift mates say, "oh, I read that on your blog"! Well knock me down with a feather!  Welcome all of you who are reading this.  I miss you and I miss the aquarium, in that order.  I'm really hoping to be back soon.  And v wants to visit again also, even though he ended up in the hospital shortly after the last time, it really gives him such an energy boost.

Oh, and just because I love seeing photos from France (especially Paris) since I can't get there:
check out the Valerie Jardin link to the right. She just posted a number of beautiful scenes.

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

A Field Trip

Today was good.  Despite not feeling so hot, v agreed to go with me to the Monterey Bay Aquarium this afternoon to visit with our shift mates.  Tuesday 2nd: what a great group of people we found ourselves involved with when we started volunteering back in 2011.  We have received so much support through emails, cards, phone calls, and visits.  Thank you, all of you, for such caring and consideration.

We spent nearly two hours visiting friends and visiting favorite spots within the aquarium.  Just to let you know: the aquarium has wheelchairs to loan to folks like v who don't have the energy to walk throughout that big place.  The floors are concrete, really pretty but not the most comfortable for long periods of time. Another note: if you do borrow a wheelchair, you might want a cushion of some sort...

Update: the radiation continues. Four more scheduled treatments.  He's finally gained some weight, nearly two pounds.  That is thanks to a Peanut Butter Moo'd from Jamba Juice after each treatment, and the delicious gift from one of our shift mates who brought us a big pot of delicious, and rich, soup over the weekend and the recipe and fixings for zucchini pancakes!  Really good stuff!!! We also may be seeing some relief of his back pain, but oh the fatigue caused by the radiation! It was a true tour d'force for him today, but he did so well. The blessings of friendship.

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

The Dunes

We finally found the entrance to Ft. Ord Dunes State Beach along Monterey Bay.  On the spot where I took this from there used to be an enlisted mens' club that was commissioned by General Stillwell.  It was an elegant place for the soldiers to relax and escape for a time during the wars.  The interior was beautiful with large well lit rooms, huge fireplaces, reading rooms, and beautiful murals painted by WPA artists.  In 2003 the building was torn down. The cliffs were eroding and the building had been battered by recent storms. The army tried to save the building, but nature won.  I don't know if the murals were preserved.  I know it was discussed. It will take some looking into.  One would hope that, at the least, there are photo documents. Stillwell Hall was the first enlisted mens' club built. Prior to that only officers warranted such grand accommodation for their relaxation.  The views of the bay were stupendous.

As we sat on the bluff a large school of Risso's Dolphins swam playfully by.  They leaped behind the waves and surfed within them.  For some reason every shot I took of those lovely dolphins came out extremely under exposed.  Must have been my excitement at seeing another creature at play.  We will just have to keep going back.

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

The Lesson

One of my favorite shots taken with the film camera. v showing fb the features of fb's new iPhone one morning at coffee.

I'm so loving my film class.  I've never experienced a semester that went by so quickly, way to quickly...

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

History

First light of morning and the blissful cup of coffee. The lamp was a vase about one hundred years ago.  A wedding present to my Great-Aunt Anne.  It's been a lamp all of my life, I'm so glad that whatever damaged this beautiful vase didn't destroy it.

When v and I met we were doing a play "Zorba!".  During one of the rehearsals he called me over to say he had something "to show me".  He pulled a chain out from under his shirt and showed me his little Ganesh pendant that a friend had brought him from India.  I'd been wearing mine for a couple of years, but it was far more local.  Fate, I suppose, eh?

When I was in nursery school I wore cowboy boots.  I was planning on growing up to be the Princess of Texas (I was three, and with Texas, who knows anyway?).  During one of our juice breaks I was approached by a little boy who proudly showed me he had the same cowboy boots. My first boyfriend, Burt. Those were my last pair of cowboy boots, I have no idea if Burt continued on with that particular fashion statement, I dropped out of pre-school and never saw him again.

In bocca al lupo.  m & v