Happy New Year 2012

If it's New Year's morning, it must be time for a Mimosa.

* * *

* * *

Happy New Year

Town and Country

Last weekend Will and I visited the country town of Julian, CA.Home to rolling hills and apple orchards and a small town out of the 1870's. We picked apples at the Raven Hill Orchard and had lunch at Soups and Such, visited the Pioneer Museum and a one room schoolhouse, we walked up to the hilltop cemetery, browsed the bookshop and art shops, all under a glorious blue sky.

On the way out we strolled those rolling hills in the Wildlife Sanctuary.Today I made a Granola Apple Crisp with the Empire apples we picked. It's topped with Apple Cinnamon Granola and Honey Crisp Pecans from the Julian Cider Mill.
More photos on Flickr

Ever Gentle on My Mind

There was something so deeply intimate about being there in Troy, going through my Uncle's space, a space now empty of his physical presence, and yet he was everywhere. In the look on Rusty's face, the notes left on the table, a book on the nightstand, boots kicked off and laying on the floor.His ashes are heavy in my arms. And just like he did with my Grandpa before him, with my bare hand I lift the ashes out and let them fall through my fingers to the gentle wind, to the tall grass, to the river rocks, and to the wild river.There's deep sorrow and a calming peace in doing so. He's where he wanted to be. And I look at the bend in the river and tears of joy might stain my face, and the summer sun might burn me till I'm blind. But not to where I cannot see him walking on the back roads, by the rivers of my memory, ever smilin', ever gentle on my mind.
Those song lyrics have been in my head and I take a moment to say goodbye before I rise from the riverside, and return to the others.

I Come From a Family of Fishermen

I've wanted to fish all summer long, and it seemed there was a reason this feeling consumed me. I come from a family of fishermen, says my Mom, and so it is with thoughts of my Grandpa fishing the rivers of northern California's Shasta county, with a bond so strong and a connection everlasting, that another member of those fishermen was dying.

I learned in July that my Uncle Jimmy had terminal cancer, and by Saturday morning, September 3, 2011, he was gone. Jim passed away, quietly, at home with my Grandma.
Thinking about it all summer long, Will and I were up early yesterday driving east to the San Gabriel River. The sun rising before me, tears in my eyes, and my fishermen on my mind.
I didn't catch any fish (this time). But I connected with my fishermen, and had my husband at my side.

Will and I stood on the banks of the river, casting our lines into the current, practicing more than expecting to catch anything more than twigs. And with the cool rushing water circling my legs and the warmth of the sun on my shoulders, I thought of my Grandpa and my Uncle Jimmy.

Jim was a mountain man living in northwest Montana along the Kootenai River. Smart, strong, a master craftsman, always with a dog by his side, sometimes troubled and made mean by drinking, yet loving and loved deeply. I will miss him in my life.
Rest in peace Jimmy.

OMGoats Are Cute

The goats are clearing the brush on the slope around and under Angel's Flight downtown. After going to a movie we thought we'd stop by and say "hay". They are just about about the cutest ever.More Goats on Flickr

What's Goin' On

This long weekend has been spent taking advantage of California's outdoor weather. A walk to the Silver Lake Farmer's Market always turns into photo ops.Exploring the nearby Big Tajunga Canyon was a very pleasant surprise. Yellow wildflowers exploding everywhere and a river running through it.

Weeks past we've been enjoying classics on the big screens of Los Anagles' grand theaters on Broadway.
As well as a jaunt out to Ojai for the Lavender Festival.

Whew. Summer's here.

The Wonders of the East

Just back from our whirlwind trip to Thailand and Cambodia, my husband and I were with a band of travelers, compliments of my super great boss. This trip was packed with so many beautiful and interesting destinations, and photography, no matter how stunning or ordinary, can't begin to capture the reality, beauty, or scale of the places we visited.

But that didn't stop me from blazing through my memory cards and snapping 2,217 images.
One of my favorite days happened when we broke away from the group, and with like-minded travelers Miles and Maryann (in the tuk-tuk ahead of us as we approach the gates of the Bayon Temple above), we ditched the luxury bus for a couple of tuk-tuks and hit the road for the countryside and some temples.

I've uploaded a selection to Flickr. Notes and captions still to come.