Outdoor Adventures on the Peninsula

February came and went in a blur. I know in many parts of the U.S., that blur was one of snow and ice. Not so here in (surprisingly) sunny Northern California.

What, you don't have a water temple in your neighborhood?

Since the Professor had Valentine's Day off work (hooray!) we spent the afternoon exploring the landscape of our new Peninsula neighborhood. We live within easy driving distance of some truly beautiful country, so we figured we'd expose the young 'un to a little nature.

First stop was the Pulgas Water Temple. No, fellow Legend of Zelda fans, there weren't any dungeons or puzzles or fairies. Just a nice dome and a reflecting pool.

Unfortunately, little Bubby fell asleep in his car seat right as we arrived, so I did a solo scouting mission to see what was ahead. It's not like we could wait. For some reason, the parking lot is only open Monday through Friday, and only until 4 p.m. sharp, as the sign in the lot says. Oh, and you could only park for 30 minutes. You'd think the city doesn't want anyone to see this!

So, off we went to our second destination, the Crystal Springs Reservoir.

I love this place. Well, what I've seen of it so far. I'd previously taken Bubby on a stroller walk on the Sawyer Camp Trail in Belmont...and it had ended in tears. For both of us. I figured we'd have a better shot at a good time with Daddy along.

Yeah, not so much.

We did manage to enjoy some of the sights after Bubby had an al fresco lunch, though we really didn't get much further down the trail. I think his hands were cold, poor guy, and I'd forgotten his mittens ('cause it was like, 60 degrees).

I highly recommend this trail for anyone looking for a pleasant walk. It's a wide, paved path with plenty of restrooms and benches lining it. It draws folks of all types, from solo bicyclists to clans of families with strollers and tricycles. I hope we can finally get Bubby to enjoy this place!

We've only begun to scratch the surface of what we can find here on the Peninsula. It's been quite a change for us, after living 15 years in the highly urban Berkeley/Oakland area. Though, every time I start to miss it (which is often), I remember that this...

...is just a five-minute drive away, and I instantly feel better.

Stitch & Craft Show, March 17-20

Okay, I know I've kept you all in mad suspense. You ask yourself, "what the heck is this news that she promised to tell us, then disappeared for three weeks?" Finally dear readers, I can share.

Two of my stitched pieces are showing at the Stitch & Craft Show in London this weekend!

Han Solo and Nibbler are a proud part of Mr. X Stitch's entourage at the show, and will appear on a wall o' awesome needlework.

This not only marks my needlework's first international showing, but its first live showing in general. I feel quite honored, and only wish I could travel to London to see the exhibit with my own eyes. Jamie (a.k.a. Mr. X Stitch) has promised pictures of the event, so as soon as I have 'em I'll share.

I'm so excited! If any of my U.K. readers are planning to go, please take a picture for me!

Eye: The Good Land

"In fact, it's pronounced 'mill-e-wah-que' which is Algonquin for 'the good land.'" -- Alice Cooper

Now that I've utterly dated myself by quoting Wayne's World, let me share with you my impressions of Milwaukee, WI.

Amazing beer:

(Seriously, tears came to my eyes drinking this Black Bavarian, it was so friggin' good).

Amazing cheese:

Truly, it is the good land.

(Okay, really, I saw more of Milwaukee than this. But I didn't get pictures of it. So. Beer. Cheese. Until I can steal some landscape photos from my brother.)

Eye: Rearview Mirror

Rearview Mirror
Originally uploaded by Zhad_Squad

Taken in front of the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, MD.

A truly inspiring museum for works by self-taught artists, filled with whimsical creations ranging from art quilts to microscopic sculptures carved into pencil leads. You can't help but be inspired here.

Eye: Sculpture at SFSU

"Solid Silence"

Clustered together tightly, an invisible warmth hummed under the bound stones hours after the spring rains ceased. No longer just cold ore and accidental geometry, the rocks had new purpose, a greater meaning in their placement between the concrete walls.

They were alive, as alive as stones could be, beauty and meaning infused in their granite skin like rebar tattoos. They were art.

Quietly absorbed, quietly forgotten.

Mouth: The Tea Party

Three weeks flies by way too quickly. Here I am trying to regularly blog, and before I know it, my weekend off to visit my family turns into 20 days of "I'll sit down and write tomorrow."

In these 20 days, though, I've planned and executed a surprise Mother's Day trip across the state, finished my first semester-long painting class (which included a five-week painting and an 11x11 painting for my final exam, both due this past Monday), locked sound for my short film with my brilliant friend/sound designer, and put the finishing touches on a tea towel I've been embroidering off and on. Lots of accomplishments and endings! Pictures will be posted soon of the completed projects, now that I have time to set up some proper "photo shoots."

I do have a few pictures, though, of my ambush-trip home. Part of the surprise for my Mama was a reservation for two at a tea room we had long wanted to try, Julian Tea & Cottage Arts in Julian, CA.


I'll admit it now, I have a not-so-secret love of teatime and tea parties. One of my favorite things in the world is to sit back in a foofy little tea room with an endless pot of black tea and lots of delicate nibbles, pretending I'm a graceful lady for a couple hours. It's a nice escape from my hectic (and often graceless) pace, where I can just kick back among beautiful things with good company and relaaaaax. While slowly caffeinating myself to the gills. Pure bliss.



Though the tea room was a little on the small side for my druthers (especially with a rambunctious family at the table right next to us), the service was attentive and the food was divine: beatifully browned sausages wrapped in flaky philo dough, crispy cucumber sandwiches with a fresh dill spread, and fruit-sweetened cream cheese spread over locally-baked raisin/date bread, just to name a few of the dainties. Not to mention, the home-made pomegranate jelly, which was amazing on their bite-sized scones. It broke my heart to know they didn't sell that heavenly jam to go...but at least I know where to track it down now. Well worth the hour-long drive through the arid North County hills (not to mention the flight down from the Bay Area)!

Eye: The Arms of Central Park

"Canopy"

Central Park in the fall, the first she'd ever seen. The crisp sunlight threw dappled shapes onto the worn pavement through the trees, which sighed contentedly in the cool breeze. The first caress of winter had tinted the very edges of the leaves in brown lace, preparing them for their new, cold weather wardrobe.

She was not looking up, though, nor out at the park. She stared only at her traveling companion's denim-draped back, at the impatient feet briskly trotting away from her. The silence between them had grown as long as the tunnel of fresh green ahead; the chill encroaching as surely and steadily on their words as it was on the greenery.

It was only a matter of time before winter fell.

Eye: Sights of SoMa

"Street Gallery"

The artists came in the night, one by one. Each left their mark on the condemned wall, weaving name and style together as one. When the dawn came, the artists vanished, leaving only their epithets for the waking city.

A gallery of scaffolding, canvases of concrete, dreams as bold and fragile as a fine mist of paint.

Eye: Spider's Delight

"Abandoned Aloe"

Only the spiders kept vigil, shielding themselves from the crystalline rain under the plant's sturdy fronds. They knew it was only a matter of time before their home shriveled in this industrial wasteland, but to the tiny arachnids, the slow creak of decay would span generations, and even the husk of their organic palace would serve as monument to their own eternal survival.

Eye: Portland's April

"School Window"

The fog engulfed the old school like an afghan knit of cobwebs, softening the impact of the outside world until it was no more than a blunt whisper. Only the lone cherry blossom tree in the courtyard reminded the children what color was, what life awaited beyond the dusty windows...

...the fragile promise of sunlight, the hope of Spring's first kiss.

Eye: Far from Home

"Vegas, Brooklyn"

Come in...come in pull up a chair. The heat is swelling outside, choking throat and thought alike. Find yourself a cool, dark corner, and refresh yourself with iced, mint drinks and familiar songs. No one will bother you. We're all refugees from the Brooklyn summer here.