...Happy Halloween.

Here's Halloween circa 1936. That's my Dad,the short one in the front with the striped "skirt", who at 9 years old doesn't look too happy with his costume. His mom is second from the left, his Dad, the last one on the right.

1969, with my brother. It's hard to believe I was the same age as Dad his Halloween photo.

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

...the "UN" common cold.

Adults shouldn't get colds, or acne for that matter, but that's another story.
Colds aren't pretty. They don't wear well on grownups. Our bright red noses aren't cute, no one is there with a tissue when we sneeze, or to make us homemade chicken soup. We usually still have to go to work where no one wants to be around us. We're looked at by our co- workers and friends as one big sneezing, coughing, Petri dish. Our desks and phones are victims of hourly Lysol attacks. Even if we do stay home, the trash still needs to be taken out, dishes done, animals fed...hardly any time to curl up under a blanket and watch the cartoon channel.
I've been sick for the past week. Landed on me like a tons of bricks. In the beginning, I always believe in the holistic approach. So out come the Chinese herbs, tinctures, herbal teas, and balms that help you to breath and build up that overworked, stress laden immune system. I go at it full force, every few hours faithfully taking the magic potions that will eventually make me well. That lasts for about a day and a half at best. And than there I am, standing in the cold/flu isle at the local drug store, where I've driven to in an outfit I would normally never step out of the house in. Of course, looking my loveliest I run into 2 people I know. (Ya kind of knew that had to happen) and after what seems like an eternity of choosing between 75 different options of remedies, all containing the same ingredients, each one promising better results than the next, I pick the one that I have to stand in line and show my drivers license for. Who knew those few extra milligrams of what ever it is that helps you breath can also be made into the newest street drug. Do they really think a 48 year old woman that can hardly breath is going to go home and concoct some dance club drug?! As I get ready to leave, armed with my antihistamine arsenal, I remember the most important last resort remedy. The one sure to fix me right up. "The nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever so you can rest medicine"...NYQUIL! Because by the third night those Chinese herbs have been pushed by the wayside and I want anything that's going to knock me right out. That night I crawl into bed, eyes swollen, nose bright red, hair not washed, and in a t-shirt from 1985. As I fill my NyQuil cup with the ruby elixir that will take me to dream land, a thought comes over me that only someone who lives on a major earthquake fault in California would appreciate... "Please God, don't let the big one happen tonight!"

...thoughts on creativity.

Sometimes being creative comes with very little effort, while at other times it means digging deep inside "that place" and coming up with nothing. Often times I feel that my creativity has to come out in the form of something new, something that no one has done before, a new pure idea that is born from "that place". Not true...being creative can also be an awareness of things that have come before, inspirations that spark a new interpretation, or sometimes, even in the form of imitation. I came across a great book filled with quotes from legendary women and this seemed to jump out at me when I needed it the most:

"You start by copying other people's paintings or music or whatever. You get all of those skills before you branch out. Really creative people have a fantastic ability to copy things and then combine them in new ways. And whether we're talking about genes or memes, recombination is the real heart of creativity."
-SUSAN BLACKMORE (1951-)
ENGLISH FREELANCE WRITER, LECTURER AND BROADCASTER

The photo above is from a mural painted as a ceiling trim in Nirvana Restaurant, San Miguel de Allende. I took this during appetizers at dinner with a friend. Always bring a camera, you never know what you'll find!

...MacArthur Place

We are very lucky here in the Bay Area to be so close to so many wonderful things. One of them is the wine country, and for me, especially the town of Sonoma. It is such a glorious place filled with all things that please the senses. One of those pleasures is MacArthur Place, an Inn and Spa just outside the town square. Come take a walk with me through the grounds. Every corner you turn has whimsical pieces of garden art or just a visual vignette to quiet your mind. I couldn't hope to post all the wonderful photos I took but wanted to share with you some of my favorites.

...lulalina.com

I haven't posted for a few days and wanted to let you all know why. I have been all consumed with designing my web-site. Being the creative control freak that I am, coupled with the fact that I really can't afford to have someone do it for me, here I am...square eyed and brain fried, but with a huge smile on my face because I really AM doing it on my own. Now I can say "hyperlink" and mean it! I will let you all know when we can pop the champagne and celebrate. Oh, and by the way, my desk is never that neat...that's the designer control freak at work!

...my poliwoggs.

Ever since I first saw these quirky little paper mache figures called Poliwoggs, I knew they had to be a part of my Halloween mantle. They gaze into my living room only one month out of the year and spend the rest of their lives wrapped in old tissue high up on a shelf in the Halloween box. But for the short time they have their freedom, they bring a smile to my face each time I pass them by.

...Dad's Birthday invitation.

Yesterday my father celebrated his 81st year on this earth. I can't begin to imagine what that must feel like, and I marvel at the things he has accomplished in his life. I get my sense of humor from my Dad and even though he is in the last stages of Parkinson's, I know that humor still lives somewhere deep within him. Every once in awhile I can still see it behind his eyes.



I thought I would share this invitation I did for his 80th birthday last year. I used a photo from his honeymoon, Miami Beach 1952. I'm sure when my mother looks at him today, she still sees the man she fell in love with all those years ago. Happy Birthday Dad, I love you.