Thanksgiving on the Oregon Coast

The Oregon coast was actually quite beautiful and I thoroughly enjoyed the scenery.



...and then some fun pics of the giant driftwood log on Manhattan Beach.

Jon & Melinda: Total Swingers

San Francisco, CA, Nov. 2007


When I was younger, I used to go to the park and swing a lot. But then I grew up and didn't swing as much.

Jon and I found a little bit of an oasis from the busy downtown scene in San Francisco. After visiting the always bustling China Town, it was great to swing amongst the skyscrapers and blue sky with my head tilted back and my hair flying all over. There was this relatively empty park with swings, benches, and this really springy rubber floor. I wish I could remember the name. St. something.

Simple pleasures. That's what life's about. What fun.

The Espresso Machine (and more Melinda adventures)

I took this at Jon's aunt and uncle's home in Oakland/Berkeley (I believe the address is Oakland but they pay Berkeley utilities...or something like that). It was an amazing home. Anyway, I was absolutely excited and in awe of their fabulous home and all the fun things they had to shoot. Like the espresso machine above. To them, it was just their regular everyday countertop appliance, but to me it was a fun photo waiting to happen.

Fun and hazardous.

Okay. So I have no idea how to use an espresso machine.

And that black handle in the middle of the photo looked distracting...all protruding awkwardly outward and whatnot....

So I grabbed that black handle and twisted it to the right in order to gain a more "pleasing" angle. That big hunk of metal came completely off, FLEW out of my hand and rammed into one of the little brown cups before promptly stopping a short distance from the rest of its dismembered body.

My heart was beating. Oh my gosh. I broke something.

I froze, saucer-eyed, with my shoulders stiff and hunched. The sound of the little brown cup crashing against the green tile echoed in my ears. The noise had been so loud!!

Whew. I'll tell you what:

1) It's a good thing the owners weren't home.
And
2) That little brown ceramic cup must've been made of steel. Nothing broke.

Jon came in from the other room, "What'd you break?!!"

Silly me.

Note to self: those "handle-jiggy thingers" on espresso machines can come off.

Plane Series 3

Another installment of plane wing pics from my flight from Portland, OR to Oakland, CA.
Click on the pic to get a larger view and click your browser's "back" button to return to the blog.

Favorite Shot from CA (amongst many)

Jon and I stopped by Dean & Deluca while we were in Napa Valley. Dean & Deluca always reminds me of the show Felicity. I loved that show. Especially the first two seasons. I don't love a lot of shows (I barely ever watched Friends and only watched Seinfeld when others were watching it), but I absolutely loved Felicity. It made me smile and laugh out loud. I really identified with her. It was always a great story, always captivating, and always a good, meaningful time.

Berkeley Home

Some pics from the sweet home we stayed at in Berkeley, CA. I had so much fun enjoying the home that I didn't take as many pics as I should have. They had this great balcony in the front of the house and the backyard had three tiers of fabulous greenery and landscaping, perfect for watching the sun go down over the city. Oh, and the teenagers' rooms were full of color and fun decor. I love colored walls!

Front Hall

Dining Room

Living Room

Den, 2nd Living Area

Backyard

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm really not that big a fan of chocolate chip cookies but there's just something irresistible about fresh-baked, warm, chocolate chip cookies with the chocolate morsels all drippy...Ummmm!

Thanks again to Raylene for the awesome cookie rack.

Scrumptious Snacks

1 loaf Wild Oats Organic Pan Bigio Parisien Loaf
1 container Emerald Valley Greek Olive & Roasted Garlic Hummus
1 jar Bella Sun Luci Sun Dried Julienne Cut Tomatoes marinated in olive oil and herbs
Equals:
A quick and tasty, utterly scrumptious snack.

Chocolate Chunks & Pirouettes

Yum. That's all I have to say. Yum.