Thankful

I am thankful for:

my husband

my family

my harley

my friends

my job

my auburn hair

mornings

fall leaves

pecan pie

email

cozy blankets

eye sight

the ability to reason

hugs

opposable thumbs

beaches

auto-feed scanners

chocolate covered anything

carbonated water

sunsets/sunrises

cameras

the ability to walk

smiles

cotton

shortbread

gasoline

music

Google Chrome - even though it makes my blog look wonky and incorrectly colored

teachers

bread

other people's puppies

distance

trees

black

and a lot more too.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Friday

So, I haven't touched my camera since the last post where I said I was going to make it a priority. I haven't even downloaded all the pics from Mister and my City Walk and you have probably noticed, no post about that topic, YET, either. Its on my To Do list. Getting up in the dark and getting home in the dark, seems to put a damper on my willingness to do, well, much of anything. I'm not a daylight savings time fan.

I know its not technically Friday, but today is my work Friday - yee haw! I have friends in town from Sonoma tomorrow and we have a day planned. We'll be wine tasting at Jacob Williams Winery in Lyle, Washington tomorrow. My Sonoma friend's brother owns it. We'll then go to the Full Sail Brewery for lunch and then find some funky fun place for dinner. Looking forward to having a day off from work to play with friends whom I don't see very often. Good friends are funny that way, you don't see them, but you still miss them and are excited to get together. (thx D!)

I plan to have my camera in hand all day and hopefully take some photos. Who knows, you may get lucky and I'll actually post some.

Ok, here's a photo I took this very morning for my Facebook profile. A bracelet that I love that I have lost for a couple weeks, found last night. I then slept in it.

Have a great weekend my friends.

2010

I've been missing my vegetarian days of late. It could never really happen living with a carnivore, like I do, but I'm leaning toward being 'more' vegetarian in 2010. Does that make any sense at all? Living with Mister has taken me back to a day when I eat animal protein nearly every day. Its distressing me a bit. Just thinking out loud.

Collections

9 things I collect:

1 - bowls - really all manner of kitchen ware, but mostly mixing bowls, preferably vintage pyrex;

2 - watches - although I've stopped wearing them and all their batteries are now dead, if I wear them at all, I just consider them bracelets;

3 - lip balm - I seem to have them in every jacket pocket, several in my purse, in the bathroom, in my night stand, many in my desk, randomly stashed around the house, clear, shimmery, tinted, you name it, I've got it;

4 - vintage green glass (depression glass or vasaline glass) - mostly pitchers, but I would love a pie stand;

5 - cameras - not intentionally, I just have always liked photography, so have several, and want just one more;

6 - fridge magnets - from everywhere I travel;

7 - corks - every bottle of wine or champagne opened in our house, the cork goes into a wire basket on the counter. I have no idea why;

8 - empty glass jars - I'm weird about cute glass jars, those little ones pimientos come in, jam/jelly jars, vintage canning jars, anything with a cork or a cute shape, totally weird, I know this. I have to go through and recycle old ones so I can add new ones (don't judge);

9 - heart shaped jewelry boxes - well, I used to, not for many years now.

Can you tell I was reaching on #9. I guess I just don't collect things. Sure seems like I have a lot of cr@p though. I've probably forgotten something really obvious, oh well.

So, what do you collect?

Just Realized

I just realized that I'm bummed I haven't picked up my camera, in a very long time, and spent any time with myself taking photos. I've taken very few photos this year. I believe I will rectify that situtation, and soon. Wish me luck.

In the mean time, this is a photo my friend Sully took. He was showing me some other photos on his computer and this one popped up, I immediately asked him to give it to me. I just love it. I hope you do too.

I totally want a stone daisy somewhere in my yard.

Just Watched: We are Marshall

Recommended by a friend, sat on my Netflix list forEVER, couldn't even remember what it was about when I got it in the mail - - totally recommend it to everyone. Its the true life story of Marshall University's tragic loss of nearly its entire football team and coaches and many, many fans in a plane crash and how the university and the town come back from the horror. I cried from about five minutes in until the credits rolled, and then through the credits. Highly emotional, but that may just be me and where I am right now. I don't really care for Matthew McConaughey, but he nailed (I presume) the coach he plays and in the end, I have more respect for his acting talents than before I watched this film. I do *adore* Matthew Fox, and he's in it too. Go, watch We are Marshall, I don't think you'll regret it.

a prelude, fall color and a kitty

My friend Alison, of Discovering San Francisco, has inspired Mister and I to do some urban hiking. I've always loved the idea of urban hiking, but have had a bit of a difficult time talking anyone into doing it with me. Why walk around the City when the wilderness is just over there... Alison has a book of San Francisco "City Walks". She's been blogging about her adventures as she makes her way through the book. #1 - Alison's a writer, so her posts are interesting and make sense and are cohesive. Not necessarily something found here on my little site. #2 - I found it wonderful that she moved to a new city and found a unique way of discovering interesting things about it that she might not necessarily have discovered on her own. #3 - I bought a book of City Walks in Portland and am very excited to tell you Mister and I did our first Walk recently and I plan to copy (the sincerest form of flattery...) Alison and blog about our adventures. Here are a couple prelude snippets of our first walk, which just happened to be on a spectacular Autumn day in our city.

So, there you go, a prelude to a story... are you enticed?

Now, some fall color. I've been negligent in photographing and subsequently posting fall color photos here. These were both taken on walks Mister and I regularly do around our neighborhood....rosehips.... do you *love* them!And my sweet Harley. He's blissed out next to Mister on the cozy crocheted afghan my mother made me. Its Harley's favorite blanket to snuggle on.And... again Harley with his crazy, cocked ears and reflective eyes. He lays on the back of the chair sandwiched against my back as I use the computer at home.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Priceless

An opinion piece: This morning, I was listening to the news and heard a priceless quote from the new candidate for California State Senate (R), Carly Fiorina, it went something like this... Its time we balanced our country's budget, we have to do it at home, we should have to do it as a nation... Now, that's not an exact quote, and I don't normally feel the need to comment on political 'stuff', but, I just want to remind Ms. Fiorina and her cohorts that the budget was balanced before her party leader took over and lead the country into a financial chasm, the likes of which have never been seen, for eight long years. I really, really dislike political rhetoric. With all my heart, I can't stand it. He said, she said, they did this, what's up with them.... Why can't the American public figure out that all sides of the politics slant their views and only comment on the erroneous ways of the their 'rivals'. Both sides R and D get their panties in a wad when the other side does something they don't like and then when its their turn again to be in power, they do the exact same thing that they railed against just 10 minutes ago. With all those pronouns, I hope you got what I was trying to convey. The majority of the American people (not all of us, but a majority, in my opinion) have no idea what is going on because they can't be bothered with it, our personal lives are chaotic enough without spending the time and energy to wade through the lies and half truths. I think that most people just listen to what they listen to or read what they read and believe all of what is said to them. All of what is told to them. No thought about what the entity who is giving the information wants to gain from telling the half truths. Its true, I weigh 119 pounds! Seriously, I do. But you see, that would only be a half truth, I also weigh a few more pounds than that too. Ok, maybe that's not a very good example, but you get what I'm saying.... right?!? I sincerly hope you do. Mister and I dream of living somewhere better. But, in reality, this is the only country I can feel completely safe posting something like this on the internet, so, I think we'll stay... for now. ...Please school me if you feel the desire.... I can always use more schooling and opinions are great too.

Just Watched: Bottle Shock

I overheard someone talking about this film at a party. I thought it was slow at first then fun in the end. Interesting information on the uprising of the California wine industry, as its based on a true story. Something my lovely, wonderful, passionate, discerning and did I say lovely... California wine connoiseurs (did I spell that correctly, I don't feel like looking it up... help me out here, would ya?) would do well to remember, 'Don't be a snob, like the French, about your wine' other parts of the world are capable of turning out amazing wines too!

Just Read: The Audacity of Hope

GO READ THIS BOOK NOW!

This book is so uplifting. It is wonderful to have a president who has such a grounded, real life outlook on our economy, family, and just people in general. Even if he hadn't become president, he has an intelligent and yet unassuming way of verbalizing what he believes. Politics, religion, race, family, nothing is left off the table.

I laughed and I even teared up a bit in places (at his amazing view of things). At one point he tells about his life with Michelle. I seriously thought he was talking about my relationship with Mister.

I wish everyone could read this book, no matter what their political views, this man 'gets it'. He has a unique (and not so unique) view of things growing up without a father figure, half black/half white, ending up as a lawyer then a senator who is rather well off. He feels honest out open and (I know I keep coming back to this) real. He doesn't seem untouchable, does that make sense?

I got this book from Audible.com. Its where I get a lot of my books, but, if you been reading my blog, you know this. President Barack Obama was the reader!!! So, so, so cool. It made 'reading' the book just that much more alive.

GO! Go get this book and read it. If you want, I'll buy it and send it to you! Just leave me a comment and I'll get it to you. Seriously. Read it, pass it on, ruminate on it. You won't regret it.