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

Change of Seasons

Song - The Turkey Song by Adam Sandler

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving and weekend!

In Northern California, the weather has been beautiful.  Crisp in the evening but we have been enjoying breakfast and lunch outside.  The trees are putting on an incredible show of colors for us to enjoy.

My three boys were all here for Thanksgiving which thrilled my heart!  Our table was full of friends, family and food.....oh my.....way too much food!

The silver was polished

The table was set and the candles lit

The family china was ready

as were the kids!

Mr. B was cooking two turkeys - one traditional and one "his" style 

(this year I think it was BBQ Tequila lime - yumm!)

We all held hands and were grateful....very grateful for so much happiness in our lives.

Ohhh....then comes dessert!

It was ready to go.....

Then it was all over....and after wrapping up leftovers and washing many dishes, 

 we went to bed with very full tummy's but very happy hearts.

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."  ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Leaf Peeping

Song - When the Leaves Come Falling Down by Van Morrison



^{Mr. B and I have been so busy with Thanksgiving preparations that we have not walked around our garden for the last few days.  The other day I noticed that our October Glory Maple Tree in the backyard was still somewhat green but yesterday it had already been lit on fire by the crisp Autumn air.}

The Japanese Maple tree in our front yard is framed by my kitchen window, so I have been watching her turn colors slowly.

^{Momijigari from the Japanese momiji, "red leaves" or "Maple tree" and kari, "hunting", is the Japanese tradition of going to visit scenic areas where leaves have turned red in the Autumn.}
 

I wish you all a wonderful and heartfelt Thanksgiving.......


"The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself."  ~ Henry Miller

 

 Song - Sounds of Autumn

 

 

"We could learn to stop when the sun goes down 

and when the sun comes up. 

We could learn to listen to the wind; 

we could learn to notice that it’s raining 

or snowing 

or hailing 

or calm. 

We could reconnect with the weather 

that is ourselves, 

and we could realize that it’s sad. 

The sadder it is, 

and the vaster it is, 

the more our heart opens. 

We can stop thinking 

that good practice is 

when it’s smooth and calm, 

and bad practice is 

when it’s rough and dark. 

If we can hold it all in our hearts, 

then we can make a proper cup of tea."

from "Wisdom of No Escape" by Pema Chodron

 

 

Fire Engine Red

Song - If I Had A Boat by Lyle Lovett

When Mr. B told me that we were going on a boat ride

 in the San Francisco Bay

 last Sunday morning

all I could think of was...

FREEZING!

After all it is mid-November!

 Guardian

Mr. B and a friend had bid on a Fire Boat Ride for 10 people at a charity event and won.  Well, the men-folk forgot all about it until now and it expires at the end of the month.  So off we went Sunday morning for brunch and a ride around the bay with family & friends.

"Cupid's Span" by Oldenburg and van Bruggen 

Happily it was a gloriously clear, mild day and just as we were heading out towards Alcatraz Island, the Fire Boat received a distress call and had to go to work. They did a quick turn about and headed towards Hunter's Point explaining that if it turned into a dangerous situation, they would need to drop us off "somewhere" and we would need to find our own transportation home. They are definitely a working crew and boat!

One of  Phoenix's Water Gun's

Just as we neared the destination they received an "all clear" call and we were able to continue chugging along on our adventure.  

They took us into McCovey Cove for a different view point of the home of the SF Giants!

Then we headed around Alcatraz Island and back to the station house.

The Ferry Building

Our friend's daughter, Kayli was "driving" the boat and searching for fish, birds and the Giants with her "binoculars".

San Francisco has two fire boats - The Phoenix and The Guardian both from the 1950's. They are located at Pier 22 1/2, just under the Bay Bridge.

Heading home we talked about what a fun day it had been and how we need to get out and explore more often!!!  Our thanks to Firehouse 35 and the SF Fire Department for a great day and for protecting the beautiful city of San Francisco.

"We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now."  - Martin Luther King, Jr.

31,045.6 days

Happy Birthday DAD

“And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.” - Abraham Lincoln

NOW

enjoy

a 

little

MUSIC CELEBRATION

by 

the

PIANO GUYS

Boo!

Boo and Happy Halloween!!!

Song - Monster Mash by Bobby (Boris) Picket and the Crypt-Kickers

I just discovered that I have been avoiding painting.....again.

I think it's because I am struggling with acrylic's vs. oils.

Acrylics = easy to use & clean up

Oils = Juicy, buttery and great blending

After my last workshop in Santa Fe, I found myself loving oils and now I find myself doing all kinds of antics instead of painting.  Even cleaning the house!

 
Family Tree work....must be done!

Todderdown, England

** I discovered a GG Uncle that was sent to Australia because he killed 6 people and was hanged. Yipes! Just in time for Halloween!

And I have relatives that lived in Todderdown, England - named because it was built on hills and valleys so you just had to "todderdown" the lanes.



Laundry and housework must be finished!

** I washed the dogs this morning and then sprayed the bathroom with bleach and then promptly forgot to wash it down.  Wow it really smells clean.

The studio needs to be reorganized!

** I have been placing paintings and boxes of equipment in the studio because there isn't any room for it elsewhere but yesterday I spent an hour cleaning it up so I could paint.

Posey

Oh yeah...and the Giant's won the World Series.  Last week at this time we were at the First Game of the World Series and I was in doubt that they would make it.  But they did and we had a blast watching them!

Tyler's pumpkin

Romo

Most importantly the PUMPKINS must be carved!!

Mr. B Carving his Witch pumpkin

My very scary pumpkin eater!!!

Mr. B's Witch Pumpkin

A grandmother pretends she doesn't know who you are on Halloween.  ~Erma Bombeck