Blog Archives

One of the stranger sights that might catch your glance as you drive through serene Marin County is the historic San Quentin State Prison, a maximum security facility complete with gas chamber. It also happens to sit on prime SF Bay waterfront property, with vistas to remind 6000 inmates how good life is on the outside.

Jeff and I spotted the prison as we were taking a quiet, sunny drive through Tiburon. The facility stands out as your eye pans across wetlands and multi-million dollar waterfront condos.

As you might expect, the pickings are slim in the calendar aisles of the bookstore. Nevertheless, 22 days into the new year, I wandered off to dig through the scraps for a $5 wall calendar. (For the past three weeks, I have been gesturing .to the blank spot on my wall where a calendar usually hangs…soooooo, I had to find SOMETHING suitable.)

Sure, there were the normal cute kittens and well-dressed puppies; there were ducklings, cows, pigs, and even “jackasses”. But the 12-months of hamster photos took top prize as the oddest calendar to grace a wall.

What did I buy? Hardly surprising: vintage black and white photographs of trains. There were actually THREE competing calendars with that theme.

Birthdays are a bit more magical when mixed with a pinch of surprise. Jeff's cold nixed our plans to drive north for an overnighter in Sonoma, so had to concoct a new treat. My simple solution was to treat Jeff to a variation on his favorite birthday cake (Black Forest)…I made Black Forest cupcakes instead. Aren't I a clever one?

First off…Happy Birthday to my dear Jeffrey. He is still fighting a nasty cold, so its a low key day. Nevertheless, he did get a warm pancake breakfast that certainly helped his mood.

This morning, I was playing around with a few photos from the past week. First off is another shot from my flight above the Rockies last weekend. I just love the dramatic clouds in this shot. Then, a couple of shots of the Flamingo hotel in Las Vegas. And lastly, a family shot from the Duke Gardens in North Carolina.

The Rocky Mountain states were a captivating sight during my return flight from North Carolina Sunday afternoon. The sun was low, which set off unique textures and out-of-place facilities. This smokestack created an incredible show that I just had to try and capture. It was impressive in color, but dramatic in black and white.