Goodbye to Summer

Day 264/365 - Goodbye to Summer, originally uploaded by sunmallia.

Was walking by the neighborhood park and saw the empty swings. In the summer months the park is full of kids and yesterday there was no one, guess everyone has already said their goodbyes to summer :(

Coit Tower and Telegraph Hill - San Francisco, CA

Day 257/365 - EXPLORE - Danke!, originally uploaded by sunmallia.

Coit Tower is a 210-foot (64 m) tower located in the Telegraph Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The tower, located in the city's Pioneer Park, was built in 1933 at the bequest of Lillie Hitchcock Coit to beautify the city of San Francisco; Lillie bequeathed one-third of her estate to the city of San Francisco "to be expended in an appropriate manner for the purpose of adding to the beauty of the city which I have always loved".[1]

The art deco tower, 210 feet (64 m) of unpainted reinforced concrete, was designed by architects Arthur Brown, Jr., and Henry Howard with murals by 26 different artists and numerous assistants

The tower was not designed to resemble a fire hose nozzle,[2] despite Lillie Hitchcock Coit's affinity with the San Francisco fire fighters of the day, in particular with Knickerbocker Engine Company Number 5.

Firey Friday

Day 252/365 - Firey Friday, originally uploaded by sunmallia.

Well I can’t say this has not been an exciting vacation!

Don’t know if you heard about the explosion in San Bruno, California, well that is my little town and I experienced the most frightening day of my life yesterday!

Yesterday Cody and I were preparing to do our Furry Friday photo when all of a sudden I heard a huge explosion and the whole house just shook and it felt like it would not stop. Then we ran outside and saw this huge cloud of smoke coming toward us with the strangest sound, lots of hissing and sizzling. I ran out to the front of the house to see what was going on and one of my neighbors told me they heard a plane had crashed into the homes on the other side of the street, we later found out it was a gas leak from an underground pipe. The sound of the explosion was one I have never heard it was like a hissing windy sound that was sucking in everything in its wake. The flames were as high as 150 feet and the smoke just started covering every thing I could see. My Aunt and Uncle were right at the explosion site and started running as soon as they heard the boom, got in their car and tried to get to me, it took them 45 minutes to drive less then a quarter of a mile as everyone was trying to get out. The fire fighters did not have water for 30 minutes as the explosion also blew out a water main so the planes are what saved us at the beginning. By some miracle the winds changed and the smoke started moving away from my house, my area is in the canyon where as my aunt and uncle are on top of the hill where the original explosion took place. Anyway I am rambling just excited to be back home, have electricity and have my family. You know they tell you to grab what is important in an emergency, well I figured out what is important to me as soon as we got the evacuate I got my dogs, my camera equipment and computer and some clothes, not an exercise I wanted to do but at least now I know what I can’t do without.

Pigeon Point Light House

Day 250/365, originally uploaded by sunmallia.

This is someplace I go to just clear my head. I just sit out by the lighthouse and watch and listen and for some reason it has a calming effect on me. It is good to have a place like this; I think we all need one sometimes and the lighthouse has really come in handy during times of my life when i just could not deal. Do you have a place like this too?

Relax

Day 249/365 - Learning, originally uploaded by sunmallia

Learning to relax! It is funny how hard it is for me to just kick back and relax. I am constantly on the go with one thing or another and to actually have the time to do nothing is hard for me to comprehend. So this week I am learning to chill :)

Uploaded by sunmallia on 7 Sep 10, 5.54AM PDT.


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Day 242/365 Blue on Blue and then some more Blue!

Day 242/365 Blue on Blue and then some more Blue!, originally uploaded by sunmallia.

Day 241/365 - Princess Cake

Day 241/365 - Princess Cake, originally uploaded by sunmallia.

This is a Princess Cake, or what is left of it anyway! This is the one cake I insist upon every year it is made up of a standard white cake mix with layers of fluffy whipped cream and raspberry jam, then covered again with whipped cream and a sheet of marzipan, then molded into a little dome shape. It makes me feel like a princess for a day, that and the tira I wear while eating it, ha ha ☺

So I think in 59 years I have learned these 5 things:

1.Don’t hold a grudge, it is not worth your time or energy
2.If the urge to twirl overtakes you, then you must twirl regardless of where you are
3.Never judge a book (person) by its cover, open and read it if you don’t you will have done yourself a great disservice.
4.Pay it forward, help those less fortunate then you, and believe me they will remember. When I was little we were helped by some wonderful people until we were able to get back on our feet and I have never forgotten and always keep then in my prayers
5.Take 15 minutes a day and just smile, you can do this in private or in public, although I must say the public one does frighten some people but that is their problem not yours.

Have a great day my friends, take a minute and enjoy your view. ☺

Dqy 240/365 - Wicked - Defying Gravity

Dqy 240/365, originally uploaded by sunmallia.

Went and saw Wicked yesterday "FINALLY"! It was  great if it comes your way run don't walk to see it. It had some great lessons in it and the ending was quite different then the one in the book, I cried like a baby at the end I was so happy:)

Elphaba is my hero, you can call me The Wicked Witch any day (and some do.....:)

Flying Away with a Good Book

Day 235/365 - DPS Assignment Books, originally uploaded by sunmallia.

Was watching a flock of sea gulls in flight yesterday and they reminded me of pages in a book, the more you read the more you fly :)

Dogs and their People

I had the pleasure of photographing the annual fund raiser (Mutt Strut) for the local shelter in my area this past weekend.  It was a very cold, windy and drizzly day but bless their hearts the dogs with their people were out there to strut their stuff and help raise money for the animals still waiting for a permanent home.  I am so happy to be able to photograph this event and I love love love to take photos of people with their pets, the faces of both pet and human always seem so happy and relaxed when they are together.  As I was editing my photos I did notice one funny thing, how many people have a characteristic of their pet, so I was wondering if subconsciously this is how the decision to choose a particular animal is made by some.  Here are just a couple of photos where I thought human and canine looked like they were cut from the same cloth.

I would love to know why did you choose your pet, what was the one special thing that you saw in those eyes that said this is the one.  Also do you think you look like your pet, I have 5 dogs and I think I look a bit like all of them :)

 Notice the shape of the mouth

 Dressed in colors similar to dogs coat

 Notice beard and smile

 Hair on human falls like ears on dog

 Dressed in simliar color as dogs coat and dog and human have same stance

 Look at their hair

Look at the mustache on man and dog

Day 58/365 - 2010

So today's chat is about letting go and letting yourself be a kid again. As adults we don't get to do that a lot as we are busy with day to day things like work, paying bills, taking care of people, etc. and we lose that little twinkle in our eyes that we had when we were a kid, we lose the ability to play. Gosh as a kid I used to love to play, at home, at the park, in the car, it was so easy to make up a game then.

Well this week I had a photo assignment on the Digital Photography School site and it was a beverage, take a pic of a beverage. Now this may not be the best pic submitted but I can assure you I had the most fun doing it.

John and I did it together, we first tried with water just to get our baring. Well we thought ok throw a small pebble in there and it should make the plop we want, so plop and nothing..... Then I told him this technique is called cookie splash so we can use a dog biscuit, now this was not the best idea as we have 5 dogs all of whom saw the box come and and wanted to know what the heck are you doing with my biscuits they should be in my mouth not that cup! So anyway we dropped the biscuit in, nothing..... So I said John stand on a chair and drop it from higher, nothing.... Then I spied an orange in the fruit bowl and bingo we had our bomb, it sprayed water all over the place. So we filled the cup to the top with coffee took a million pictures and finally came up with this! If you try, use lots of towels, wear a rain coat, get a mop, put the dogs out in the yard, or maybe not they like to play along too :)

It was great as it gave us a secret way to play, we had an excuse I had a project had to get it done so we HAD TO PLAY! So today if nothing else go play :)

Day 55/365 - 2010

I wanted to do a different take on tulips. Don't get me wrong I love all the soft images out their of this very beautiful flower, but a Tulip has so many folds and crevices and the light catches them in the most amazing way I wanted to really capture this using HDR. Now mind you I have never done an HDR photo before, I just did some light reading and as I always do dove in and hoped for the best. So this is what I got I know I know lots of room for improvement but I have a whole year to improve my skills so that is what I will be doing.

Da 51/365 - 2010

Went to Bodega Bay and had some seafood chowder at the Tides Restaurant. Bodega Bay is a beautiful little seaside town in Northern California, best known for the movie "The Birds", by Alfred Hitchock, to this day his movies send chills up my spine, oh and that voice of his scary!

I remember as a kid I used to watch his movies at the theater and spend most of the time with my hands covering my face or a sweater over my head, good story teller that Alfred and he did it without all the special effects they use in movies these days now that is a good director.

Day 45/365 - 2010

Walking along the creak I found this black walnut shell and it looked like there was a heart in it. I did not know how much of a heart until I took the photo. It is Mother Natures of way of saying Happy Valentine's Day, I'm just nuts about ya!

Day 44/365 - 2010

The French were bred to die for love They delight in fighting duels But I prefer a man who lives And gives expensive jewels A kiss on the hand may be quite continental But diamonds are a girl's best friend A kiss may be grand but it won't pay the rental On your humble flat, or help you at the automat Men grow cold as girls grow old And we all lose our charms in the end But square cut or pear shaped These rocks don't lose their shape Diamonds are a girl's best friend Tiffany's, Cartier Talk to me, Harry, Winston, tell me all about it There may come a time when a lass needs a lawyer But diamonds are a girl's best friend There may come a time when a hard boiled employer Thinks your awful nice But get that ice or else no dice He's your guy when stocks are high But beware when the start to descend It's then that those louses go back to their spouses Diamonds are a girl's best friend I've heard of affairs that are strictly platonic But diamonds are a girl's best friend And I think affairs that you must keep liaisonic Are better bets if little pets get big baggettes Time rolls on and youth is gone And you can't straighten up when you bend But stiff back or stiff knees You stand straight at Tiffany's Diamonds Diamonds I don't mean rhinestones But Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

Day 41/365 - 2010

"It is, in my view, the duty of an apple to be crisp and crunchable, but a pear should have such a texture as leads to silent consumption."
Edward Bunyard, 'The Anatomy of Dessert'

Day 40/365 - 2010

Was on a hike and could not believe my eyes when I saw this!

"Ladybug, Ladybug fly away home, your hose is on fire and your children are home alone"

Day 39/365 - 2010

"If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.” George Bernard Shaw quotes

Recipe by Paula Dean - Foodnetwork

Apple Strudel:

1/4 cup bourbon or apple juice 1/2 cup golden raisins 2 to 3 Granny Smith apples (about 1 pound), peeled, cored, halved, and thinly sliced 1/2 lemon, juiced 1 tablespoon lemon zest, finely chopped 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed 1/2 cup crushed shortbread cookies 1/4 cup chopped pecans 2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces 5 sheets phyllo dough from 1 pound package of frozen dough 2 tablespoons butter, melted, for brushing phyllo sheets, plus more if needed 1 tablespoon granulated sugar Confectioners' sugar Caramel sauce, purchased Glaze: 2 cups confectioners' sugar 3 1/2 tablespoons milk For the Strudel: Directions Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, pour the bourbon or apple juice over the raisins and microwave on high for 45 seconds. Let sit for 15 minutes. Combine the raisins, apples, lemon juice, lemon zest, cinnamon, brown sugar, cookie crumbs, pecans, and butter in a large bowl. Remove the phyllo dough from the box, unfold, and cover with a damp towel. Place 1 sheet of phyllo on the work surface and brush lightly with melted butter. Repeat with the remaining sheets, brushing each with melted butter, stacking when done, being sure to keep the unbuttered phyllo covered. Place the apple mixture on the nearest third of the phyllo stack, being sure to leave a 2-inch border. Gently lift the bottom edge of the phyllo stack to cover the filling and fold the side edges over. Continue to roll the stack away from you until the filling is completely sealed in and the seam is on the bottom. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Brush the top with melted butter and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown. Pour over the glaze and sprinkle with cinnamon and confectioners' sugar. Pass warm caramel sauce, to drizzle over the strudel. For the Glaze: Mix ingredients thoroughly. *Cook's Note: If too thick add a little bit of milk. If too thin add a little bit of confectioners' sugar.

Day 38/365

Save Now

Well folks sorry about this but I am just being silly today! John and I were playing with the Wii when John said, hey your little Mii person looks a bit like you, and I said yes I think you are right but the disturbing thing is I think I have a similar outfit.

So here we are Me and Mini Mii, lol, ha ha ha.....

Day 37/365 - 2010

Day 37/365 - Thought I would try my hand at a portrait. Could not decide if I liked the black and white or the color version. Not the best have lots of work to do on my portrait skills any suggestions anyone??

This is our friend Tim who is moving to Utah this week. The shelter will miss him so much and so will we. Tim is one of those good good souls, he has saved over 30 dogs that would probably have been euthanized had he not pulled them out and fostered them. Lucky dogs are those at the next shelter he will volunteer for. Bye Tim :(