Twenty-twentyone

Song - Dancing in the Dark by Bruce Springfield

 

 Happy New Year!

Here's to a year when we can hopefully start hugging again.

And dining with family & friends sharing our stories and love.

Hold on tight to the small, important things that make us happy...

...a sunrise...

...puppy love...

....a meal cooked with love...

...a frosty morning spent by the fire...

...a long walk by the ocean...

...live music..

...traveling to far off places and getting to know the people who live there...

...a little cabin in the woods (and I know just the one for me!)...

...a child's laughter...

...a great book...

...a road trip...

...the joy of seeing people smile again!

 

Whatever makes you happy, I hope you find it in this New Year!!!

 

"You are never to old 

to set another goal 

or to dream a new dream."

--C. S. Lewis

 

 

..

Sound Waves in the West

Song - Radio Nowhere by Bruce Springsteen

Something you probably didn't know about me .....

............that I was a radio announcer in 1973.....

....kind of.....

I went to Foothill College in Los Altos Hills for two years majoring in Ornamental Horticulture.  And during that time I was asked to be the "call in girl" on the college radio station "Tips on Gardening". 

I would take the calls from the public about gardening problems or questions and relay them to one of my professors, Chuck Konigsberg who would then discuss the situation.

It was an early morning show on Sunday's so in reality we occasionally didn't get enough calls to fill out the entire time slot so we had a page of prearranged questions to "fake it"!!!

I guess this is where you learn to lie.......college.  

"Yes Chuck, I have a call from Sally who is having a problem with aphids on her tomatoes.  What would you suggest?"

By the way, my garden is in full bloom right now and I'm loving it! 

Come on by and have a peek!!

"As every radio listener knows, it's amazing how much 

you can see with your ears." 

 -- Ashleigh Brilliant

Robin

Song - Elmer Fudd sings Bruce Springsteen by Robin Williams

Robin: A Spark in the Dark by Bay Area Studio Artists (BASA)

The collaborative painting Robin: A Spark in the Dark was created by the seven-member Bay Area Studio Artists as a signature piece for a show called Light <---> Dark. Our goal for the show was to present a meditation on the light and dark patterns and balances that make a painting intriguing, compelling and dramatic.

As we began to think about a group work to illustrate this idea, we realized there was another kind of light and dark in our emotional lives.  And as we discussed this we thought of Robin Williams, whose death had touched us all.  He seemed to embody the brightest of light moments as well as the darker side of reality.

The resulting portrait we created is painted on 24 - 10 x 10 inch canvases.  The seven artists were randomly assigned three or four pieces of the painting.  The canvases, painted in acrylic or oil, represent the BASA artists' eclectic mix of styles from realism to expressionism.  We like to think the resulting work reflects the mix of realities that were always part of Robin's personae.

(Above content written by participating artist Joanne Taeuffer)

Artists participating in BASA include - Suzun Almquist, Marcy Wheeler, Jeanette Baird, Joanne Taeuffer, Susan Bonebakker, Sharon Tama and Ellen Reintjes.

Yesterday, August 11th marked the one year anniversary of Robin Williams passing.

Robin: A Spark in the Dark will be in an exhibit  "Pairings" at the Healdsburg Center for the Arts
from August 19 - October 4, 2015.  And at the Marilyn Citron O'Rourke Art Gallery in Benicia from Oct. 12 - Nov. 20th. 


"Not just my world, but the entire world is forever a little darker, less colorful and less full of laughter in his (Robin's) absence.  We'll just have to work twice as hard to fill it back up again." --Zelda Williams

twentyeight

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JON

Johnny Be Goode - Chuck Berry and Bruce Springsteen

Just when did my little Jonny get to be 28 years old and a man?

This is how I will always picture him in my heart.  He has always been a hard working, happy guy!

Making Stone Soup with Andy.  Andy gave the directions and did the stirring while Jon collected all of the stones and grass or whatever his brother told him to do.

He was very independent and would balance out joy & reward with punishment when he was told not to do something.

One day I found him starting to cross the street without adult supervision.

"Jon, if you cross the street without asking, you will have a time out"
After considerable consideration and weighing the two very carefully....
"OK mom, I'll cross the street and take my time out!"
And then he went skipping out the front door!

But kids do grow up and Jon has grown into a caring, loyal, interesting man. (but he will always be my baby!)

 Can you just see the sweetness pouring out of this little boy

Jon and his cousin's Sean & Paul and brother Andy getting ready for a Super Bowl game

 

 

Jon in Santa Cruz

Jon in Disneyland pouring so much cheese onto his spaghetti that he clogged the cheese dispenser.  I'm not sure if I know who that guy next to him is with the HUGE glasses on???Mmmmm......

 This was his neighborhood bud through grade school - Marco.

Jon has always loved animals and still does....ask me to tell you about Joe Montana sometime!

Jon with his cousin Sean & brother Andy on Halloween

For awhile in high school Jon played drums in a band called "Losing Autumn".  Guess who's house they practiced at????  The orange hair thing was only for a weekend while they competed in Battle of the Bands.

Jon helping Jim build the pergola in the backyard.

Jon graduating from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo

 

Jon fly fishing in Hope Valley near Lake Tahoe

Jon after Andy dressed him up early one morning to meet Brent Jones at preschool.

Brent was sweet enough to autograph Jon's football card.

Jon with his friend Megan at Christmas.

Thank you Jon for being a big part of our lives and reminding us to play more and laugh often!!

"A son holds his mothers hand for a little while......her heart forever." - Author Unknown

B_R_U_C_E

 Song - Dancing in the Dark by Bruce Springsteen

Just returned home from seeing BRUCE and I am so hoarse, I will have to whisper this blog to you.

I have survived Thanksgiving.

Thank you for asking....

While the boys were home, Mr. B and I took them to the lighting of the old Danville Oak Tree.  We strolled the streets of Danville, shopped, ate, enjoyed the lights and watched Father Christmas & the Snow Fairy light the Christmas Oak Tree.

My son Jon and his girlfriend Megan spent some time with us during their Thanksgiving break.  On Saturday we went to the Bering car museum in Blackhawk. 

This one was made out of Tulip wood

Although I am not a car buff, I can appreciate the beautiful artistic design of these cars from former years.

I also have been helping care for my Grand niece & Grand nephew ( 4 & 5 years of age).

While they are great kids, I just can not keep up with them.

I am old.

I am tired.

They know this.....

I am not used to answering 38.5 questions per minute.

My niece is in Germany for 12 days and my sister-in-law, my mother and myself have taken on the roll of caretakers for these two little sweetie pie's!  But as you can see from the photo below, they are still testing the waters......just to see if Auntie Jeanette can keep up.

I thought we would make a reading fort on Thursday, kinda like in the movie "The Holiday" but they decided it was a tickling, wrestling fort instead.

 
I thought they would come out talking like those two little lovely British girls from the movie "Olivia" played by Emma Pritchard and "Sophie" played by Miffy Englefield and like them, they would want to discuss deep feelings and ask me interesting questions but oh no.....Oh my....no way. 

"The Holiday" staring Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Jack Black, Kate Winslet, 

When I returned home from dropping them off at Grandma and Grandpa's for the evening, I came home to find the fort occupied.

Mika and Max were just as exhausted as I was and that fort was looking pretty cozy.



I have also been spending lot's of time at several veterinary hospitals lately seeing specialists.

Mika was just diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis or Westie Lung Disease.  She...well "we" will see a Cardiologist on Tuesday.  The outlook is not looking too good.

Max is putting on a little weight (which is good) but he takes 14 meds per day and well as IV fluid every evening and has acupuncture every other week.  



But the reason for my hoarse voice.......(I'll bet you thought I forgot)!   is that I just returned from an incredible Bruce Springsteen concert tonight!!!  Sorry for the poor quality of my photos but I only had my cell phone with me.

The Stage FROM OUR SEATS!!!

We were three rows up from the stage and 4 seats over. Great seats (thank you Eric)! Incredible seats!

It was so very incredible!  A great three hour show. So much energy.

Mmmm...maybe I can get him to come over to my house and chase my two little charges?

Live music is a wonderful thing.

"The best music, you can seek some shelter in it momentarily but it's essentially there to provide you something to face the world with."  - Bruce Springsteen

Independence Day

Song - This Land is Your Land by Bruce Springsteen Hope you have a safe and fun fourth!    I am putting in a new front walkway garden..... And Mr. B is making his family's famous Macaroni Salad - the old fashioned way! "Life without liberty is like a body without spirit" - Kahlil Gibran And if you have not seen this video of Red Skelton yet, it is a heartfelt piece of work.