Dinner

Went to dinner tonight at a friend's house. I wanted to thank her for making such a lovely meal. So, here's to good friends, good food, good conversation. And then lazing on the red sofa after dinner, once again!

"One of the delights of life is eating with friends, second to that is talking about eating. And, for an unsurpassed double whammy, there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends." - Laurie Colwin

Breaking in the fine china!

Stuffed pork loin, mushroom risotto, and a nice bottle of wine.

And she even made dessert! Chocolate mousse.

February 14th

February 14, 2009 - Today is just another day, to me. It also happens to be called Valentine's Day. What annoys me is the commercialization of ALL holidays. And no, I'm not bitter that I do not have a boyfriend right now to shower me with overpriced crap that he feels he needs to purchase because the commercials say so. 

I really don't like holidays in general because people usually ask, "What did you get for ________ (fill in the holiday)?" I prefer the quality time spent with family and friends during holidays, over the materialistic things I might get. As for Valentine's Day, I guess that would be overpriced: candy, cards, flowers, stuffed animals, balloons, fancy dinners, etc... Please, it means more to me to get that kind of stuff at other times of the year, when it is a surprise. Show me your love when you're not being told that you should--ooh, and you don't even have to buy me anything, either.

Oh well, I guess at least a plus of holidays is a small spike in stimulating the economy.

To top it off, I tried to find out who this St. Valentine dude is. There are several different stories, and I'm not going to go into the detail. You can do the search yourself if you are so interested. Besides, Hallmark doesn't really give a hoot about the history, as long as you buy one of their greeting cards.

So, as to not be a total poop about the day, I'm going to share a photograph that, to me, captures a moment of unspoken love between a grandson and his grandmother.

This photograph was taken in the late spring of 2008 in Cernobbio, Italy. I was with family and friends taking a boat ride around Lake Como. We had just finished eating at a gelateria and were heading back to the boat. I was lagging behind, as usual trying to find the perfect photo op, which allowed me to snap this photograph of my mother and nephew.

Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind.

"Pooh!" he whispered.

"Yes, Piglet?"

"Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw. "I just wanted to be sure of you."

Note:  Right after we got back to the U.S. from Europe, my mother was diagnosed with cancer. She has endured several rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, as well as surgeries and side effects. She has aged quite a bit from the time that photograph was taken, but I'm glad that my nephew got to experience his first trip to Europe with her.

TO ALL MY FAMILY AND DEAR FRIENDS, HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY. XOXO

Choices

What a busy day -- and I'm exhausted. As you can see from the photographs below, I went to my fave place to walk. Today was a little different from the other day. I was alone and nobody else was out there. That's how I like it. (I'm acting like it is my own nature center.) I was a little annoyed at the fact that I saw trash here and there along my walk. I tried to pick up what I could, but in the future--please take your trash with you!

"The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn." David Russell

For Auntie B. the quote for this photograph would be Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken." Why? Obviously, there is a fork in the path and I had to make a choice of which path to take. Luckily, I walk here often, and have been able to take both. However, in life we are not always so fortunate.

And what would a walk in my favorite place be without my deer friends...I had to include a pic of this one, curiously staring at me. I wonder what was going through the mind of my buddy.

Rainy Day

When I left work today, the weather was beautiful. I went home and then got a good run in. Exciting. Lately, I haven't been too happy with the effort I've been putting into exercising because the weather has been not so great. I can't wait until spring. Then, I'll probably really complain about the rain, but at least it's easier to exercise in the rain, than on the snow/ice.

Right now, it is raining. Tomorrow it is supposed to rain. Sometimes I like rain, but right now I'm not in the mood for it. Actually, my favorite is when I have to work on the weekend and it is raining. That way, I know that nobody is outside having fun while I'm working.

In the photograph below, I was looking out the window at Dulcisinfundo ristorante. We ducked into it during a rainstorm and ate lunch, hoping the rain would pass. The food was pretty good. If you ever are in S. Gimignano Siena and want to eat at a nice little restaurant, the address is 21, Vicolo Degli Innocenti 53037 S.Gimignano Siena

"Into each life some rain must fall, some days must be dark and dreary." 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 

I can hear the rain falling as I type this. I have the urge to go grab a sponge, some soap, and a bucket and go wash my car...

By the way, the rain did stop by the end of our meal.

Winter Blues

This post is for all of the people suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). 

Where I live, today was an overcast and hazy day. I took a walk in one of my favorite places here, but it didn't do anything for me. I began to think about other places I like to take walks. Instead of going through "light box" therapy for your SAD treatment, I am inviting you to take a visual walk with me through one of the most beautiful places I like in Hawaii. BUT you have to promise me that if you ever go to Hawaii and stay on Oahu - you have to visit the Windward Side of the island. Yes, Waikiki is wonderful for tourist-y stuff, but I promise that a drive along the Windward Side on up to the North Shore will be well worth your time. Besides, I stay exclusively on the Windward Side because driving into the "city" (Honolulu) makes me anxious and gives me a severe case of hives.

The long narrow photographs are panoramic views. Click on any photograph for a larger, more intense view.

The first few photographs are in a cemetery. From that point, you can have a view of the ocean as well as the Ko'olau Mountain (which is over 30 miles long). Although I don't have any photographs, the sunsets are beautiful there.

Hawaiian Memorial Park Cemetery in Kaneohe, Hawaii

Ko'olau Mountain

A view toward the mountain

A view toward Kaneohe Bay

The next photographs of the Ko'olau Mountain were taken from a boat in Kaneohe Bay.

Coconut Island (Gilligan's Island) with a view of Ko'olau Mountain in the background.

"Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better take things as they come along with patience and equanimity." - Carl Gustav Jung

Here You Go

Don't know who said the following quote, but do know that there are orchids in these photos. And Auntie B reminded me that I haven't been putting up any photos...

"When two friends understand each other totally, the words are soft and strong like an orchid's perfume."

Fiera Milano - Milan Trade Fair

Yikes. It's February already. Right now, I'm sitting around watching television and eating Craisins. I started looking through my photos and saw these that I took at the Milan Trade Fair. I thought the display of dried fruits looked really cool how they were arranged as well as the colors of the fruits.