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I passed this guy trying to load up his car at the Presidio this weekend. I think the picture speaks for itself!

The Ft. Mason Holiday Show was this weekend. Each year, my fellow photography classmates and I transform our classroom into a one-room art gallery. We begin the transformation on Friday morning by moving furniture, computers, and photo equipment into the darkroom.

Then the fun part. We hang our work gallery style. Here are my friends Susan and Roxanne hanging one of my photos.

In all, 10 students plus our instructor displayed approximately 50 works of art for our adoring public. We even hung two pieces in memory of our dear friend Nancy…she made these shows really run like clockwork, and she was dearly missed.

A couple hundred people saw our work over an evening and a day. So many good friends dropped by for some wine and art. I even sold a couple of images. How flattering is that 🙂

In honor of my brother Cliff’s UNBEATABLE version of Chex Mix from last Christmas, Jeff made a batch of his own this week. Now, if there is one snack that I can’t put down, its homemade Chex Mix–real butter, Worcestershire Sauce, mix, all toasted for an hour in the oven to coagulate…YUM! We downed this batch in like 3 days tops. (Also in honor of my brother, who made a total of 3-4 entire batches during his week-long visit last year!) Merry Christmas, Cliff.

Not even December yet and already so much holiday cheer. I added to this today by slipping a new Christmas CD in to my car changer. First, the back story.

Like most folks, I respond with Pavlovian glee when I hear the holiday regulars–Bing Crosby, Andy Williams, Frank Sinatra, Burl Ives, Johnny Mathis, etc. And my love of the Charlie Brown Christmas Special growing up has made that CD a staple in my adult holiday festivities. Oh, and of course, all the classic 80’s and 90’s stars-turned-crooners are near and dear to my heart. (Who doesn’t like hearing Bono in Do They Know Its Christmas.)

But my brother and I didn’t own any of that music when we were kids. For us, Christmas music will always have its roots in the two records that we played nonstop each December (and fought over nightly, I might add). Our classics? A Merry Mancini Christmas by the Henry Mancini Orchestra and Chorus and That Holiday Feeling! by Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme.

No snickering please.

I found the Mancini album released on CD several years ago…and that made me very happy. But Steve and Eydie eluded me. Well, the wait is over. This 1964 “classic” is available from Amazon, and it arrived yesterday.

So this morning, I sung my way into work. This may be a sign of a need for therapy of some type, but I enthusiastically recommend Steve and Eydie. There is no way it won’t make you smile…the way that a classic Sinatra tune does picks you up. Its HIP, baby.

On Sunday, we shared one of favorite day trips with Jeff’s co-worker Brian, who was visiting from New Jersey. The rain to come the next day was proceeded by lots of picturesque clouds. (Clouds are Mother Nature’s gift to photographers.)

We drove north from San Francisco, across the Golden Gate Bridge, and out to the coast along curvey Route 1. Just past Muir Beach, we stopped at a hidden overlook–an old military outlook–where we could stretch our legs and look back towards the city.

An hour later, after many twists and turns, we arrived at our destination: the Pt. Reyes National Seashore lighthouse, which is situated on a craggy point at what seems like the end of earth. We arrived around 4pm, which meant that the sun was well into its warm decent. This lit up the coastal rocks in a beautiful golden color.

The Pt. Reyes lighthouse is situated at the bottom of a long staircase, over 300 stairs down…and unfortunately over 300 back up.

As we drove away from the lighthouse, we stopped several times to catch the changing light of the sunset. We passed a dozen grazing deer, hundreds of cows eating dinner, and some pretty spectacular vistas.