59/365: Fog Along the Bridge

59/365: Fog Along the Bridge, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

As I was finishing my run along Crissy Field, a line of fog was coming in along the Golden Gate. I'm not sure what atmospheric condition makes this happen, but I never get tired of seeing the fog come in and parallel the bridge in a line across the Golden Gate (which is also the name of the opening of the Bay as well as the name of the Bridge.)

58/365: Early Flower

58/365: Early Flower, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

The early flowers are coming out in Sonoma, even though we are still praying for more rain and we are expecting a plunge in temperatures next week. I hope this little guy survives a brief return to winter. Today at 70 degrees and sunny, it was ready for spring.

I was told the name of this flower and now I can't remember it, but I love the way it droops over and hangs like a chandelier. It seems to want to grow in areas of dappled shade or, at least, that's where I find it.

57/365: Tired Feets at the Gate

57/365: Tired Feets at the Gate, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

After a SEVEN WEEK hiatus -- which included 10 days out of country and more than a week with the flu, but also a lot of excuses -- I finally got off my butt and went running again. On my usual Crissy Field course, I was minutes slower than my previous time and couldn't even run the whole way. But at least I got out there. This is the end of my run. I had to document my feet because I couldn't run another step.

56/365: Freckle Nose

56/365: Freckle Nose, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

I'm always trying to get pictures of Oscar's freckly long nose. But this is a dog that is in constant motion. I can't even sneak up on him when he's asleep because he covers up his nose with his paws. But on this day, he came back from a long run at Fort Funston and posed quietly for pictures.

55/365: Ready for the Red Carpet

55/365: Ready for the Red Carpet, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

The dogs and I watched the Academy Awards and I couldn't resist swathing Lucy in pearls and Hermes silk for the occasion. For the record, they slept through most of it, except Oscar kept jumping up every time Jennifer Lawrence appeared on the screen. He's a huuuuuge fan!

54/365: Susi's Fabulous Quilt

54/365: Susi's Fabulous Quilt, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

This picture was possibly taken in the worst lighting and composition conditions possible, but I couldn't resist showing my friend, Susi, and her wonderful, whimsical quilt. It was an auction item for the Miraloma Pre-School fundraising auction and it sold almost immediately for the full bid price.

53/365: The Way to San Jose

53/365: The Way to San Jose, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

As I've explained on my blog, we've suddenly had a paradigm shift. Andy, who's been commuting from San Francisco to San Jose up to three hours a day for nearly 30 years, has decided he can't do it any more. So we've got a pad in San Jose and the terriers and I are doing the commuting -- between San Jose, San Francisco and Sonoma! It's a lot of culture shock, but I'm determined -- if I'm going to be here two or three days a week -- to find all the good things in San Jose. Silicon Valley has a reputation of being one big swath of office parks and malls, but in the older neighborhoods, the style of small one story bungalows featuring detached garages in the back, makes for miles and miles where you can walk tree and lawn lined streets without seeing a single parked car on the street.

The story here:

leftcoastcowboys.com/2013/02/22/the-way-to-san-jose/

Plus, if you scroll to the bottom of the post, you'll learn why the Germans might not know the way to San Jose. Because their version of this international hit translates to "The Coffee from San Jose is Hot."

52/365: Spring is Sprung

52/365: Spring is Sprung, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

Today I went scouting for running trails in San Jose and found, despite our unseasonably cold weather, that spring has sprung. At least down by Guadalupe River Trail.

51/365: Rosicrucian Museum

51/365: Rosicrucian Museum, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

I'm still in the 365 program. And I have been taking pictures. Just not uploading them. Why? Because we've had a paradigm shift around here. After 25 years of Andy commuting up to three hours a day back and forth to work, we've gotten a San Jose crash pad for him and the terriers and I are now the road warriors. It's been disconcerting -- and I'm always in one place and my card reader, laptop and chargers are in another -- but it promises to be an adventure. This, by the way, is the Rosicrucian Museum -- modeled on the Temple at Karnak. It houses the largest collection of Egyptian artifacts in the Western U.S. -- thanks to a shadowy group that is sort of like Masons with a love of Ancient Egypt. The dogs and I pass it on our walks -- we're still looking for a real dog park -- but we don't want to risk a mummy's curse by pooing on these lawns.

The story here: leftcoastcowboys.com/2013/02/20/the-great-terrier-road-show/

50/365: Dogs at the Dog House

50/365: Dogs at the Dog House, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

Still trying to explore my way through San Jose. I'm not finding much of old San Jose, it's all been plowed under with strip malls and shopping centers. But every now and then a bit of late Fifties or early Sixties, San Jose pops up. Who remembers Der Wienerschnitzel? I've passed two just within city limits. As a bonus, this one featured a guy with two dogs on a leash buying and feeding his pooches hot dogs. (FYI, does it bug anyone else that this hot dog chain is named after a famous pounded and breaded veal or pork dish that has nothing to do with wieners or hotdogs, but is a specialty of Vienna?)

49/365: Terrier Settee

49/365: Terrier Settee, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

One of the great things about the new San Jose place is that we bought some of the furniture from the previous owner. That saved us from any decorating (which we didn't want to do). But best of all, her decorating scheme featured a number of low settees that are easier for terriers to jump up on. Lucy is loving this one.

48/365: The Perfect Rosé

48/365: The Perfect Rosé, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

In our winemaking attempts, we had some early beginners luck with Rosé. We bought a bottle of our favorite Bandol and just kept blending our Grenache, Mourvedre and Cinsault until it tasted the same. The year after we couldn't recreate it -- possibly because we left it on the skins too long and got too much color and tannin. In 2011 our Rosé just wouldn't stop fizzing. It slowly fermented and fermented until we thought it would never be done. Today, we tasted it, thinking it would be something we'd have to pour out. And it was perfect! Dry, perfumed and with that elusive orange-y color (called "onion skin") that is the mark of a fine Bandol or Rhone style Rosé. (Never, ever pink.) This photo shows the color perfectly, but, note to self, polish waterspots off glasses before taking a picture.)

47/365: Faux Beam

47/365: Faux Beam, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

We are doing some construction on our land in Sonoma and we are having the building stuccoed with exposed beams. But we wanted an old sort of Mission look. The solution was buying old wood from a salvage place, which a local artisan (Pasha the Crazy Ukranian) has been distressing to look like it came from Junipero Serra's time. As a surprise for us, he did this little carving over the door beam with our initials.

46/365: Zigadenus

46/365: Zigadenus, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

The early wildflowers are starting to come up. Although they may be in for a shock since temps are expected to plummet again after some springlike weather. This is the Zigadenus, which is a lovely flower until you hear its other name: The Death Camas. Seems all parts of the plant are toxic, due to the presence of alkaloids. Grazing animals, such as sheep and cattle, may be affected and this or related species have caused human fatalities. So look, but don't touch.

45/365: Crissey Field

45/365: Crissey Field, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

I never get tired of this view.

44/365: Hobbit House

44/365: Hobbit House, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

I'm fascinated by the houses in my new San Jose neighborhood. Most of them are classic little California bungalows. But are plenty of fanciful takes on the basic theme. I thought this one looked very hobbity.

43/365: Officer Percival Memorial Vista Point

43/365: Officer Percival Memorial Vista Point, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

Those vista points and rest stops you see off highways are usually pretty unexciting. But I'm logging a lot of highway miles between Sonoma, San Francisco and San Jose. It's tough for me, but even tougher for the two terriers in crates who ride with me. We've plotted out all the key rest stops along the way. This is one of our favorites just off Highway 280 and overlooking Crystal Springs Reservoir. Lots of grass to roll in and some pretty good vistas.

42/365: The Moss is Free

42/365: The Moss is Free, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

We are finally doing some construction at our place in Sonoma. This is an interior wall -- one of the few stone things that wasn't built with our own rocks. The moss was free.

41/365: Faux Throw

41/365: Faux Throw, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

This is all I can manage today. My system is so discombobulated from getting so sick in Africa -- and then being doused with massive amounts of antibiotics -- that I've come down with a killer cold. Add to that, I'm in Sonoma where I have to keep stoking a woodstove to keep warm (too sick to drive back to San Francisco.) The only answer is a faux wolf throw and watching old movies through a slow Wi-Fi connection on the laptop.

40/365: Moving Rocks

40/365: Moving Rocks, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

We've got lots and lots of rocks in Sonoma. We build stuff with them. Unfortunately, they are never where you need them and sometimes we need a big crane to move them.

39/365: Rosé Clouds

39/365: Rosé Clouds, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

Is this what Homer meant by "The Rosy Fingered Dawn"? Except this was near sunset and I'd say the clouds were more appropriately Rosé colored.

38/365: Ranch Skies

38/365: Ranch Skies, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

Even after the excitement of my Africa trip, it was good to get back to the ranch in Sonoma -- especially since Sonoma looks a lot like parts of Tanzania. We had the same brilliant blue skies, but it was unseasonably cold. (That wasn't like Africa.)

37/365: Angry Hippo

37/365: Angry Hippo, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

We'll admit it: we are more than a little obsessed with San Jose's Rosicrucian Museum. Especially since we pass it on our 1 mile dog walk route. I'm not sure if dogs are actually allowed in the sculpture gardens that surround the museum. This hippo didn't seem pleased with the idea. He was even less pleased when Oscar wee'd on him.

36/365: Double Wee

36/365: Double Wee, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

We have a tiny little back yard in the new house in San Jose. So far the terriers are getting the best use out of it.

35/365: Line of Rams

35/365: Line of Rams, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

I'm fascinated by the Rosecrucian Museum in San Jose. I take the dogs past there on our regular walks and usually can't resist snapping a picture.

34/365: Sympathy Jetlag

34/365: Sympathy Jetlag, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

I'm the one who's jetlagged after a long and screwed up flight back to SAn Francisco from Africa. But little Oscar flopped down on the bed and joined me in sympathy jetlag.

33/365: First Champagne on the Last Flight

33/365: First Champagne on the Last Flight, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

Getting back from Africa was a 48 hour nightmare, starting from a KLM flight that took off, flew for an hour then turned back to Arusha and dumped us in an airport hotel. Then we were given new flights, only to find that I was being routed through Paris and my mother was routed through Amsterdam. After much anguish and the help of the gals at Ethiopian Airlines, we both got routed through Addis Ababa to Paris. Only to arrive in Paris and find out that my mother was expected to be in Amsterdam and there was no flight for her. Much pleading in high school French and we were finally put on the same plane. But there was only one Business Class seat and one Premium Economy. I know I'm going straight to Hell, but I sent my mother back to Economy since she always hates airline food and service no matter where she flies. And I sure needed that never ending champagne once we were on a flight I knew would finally take us back to San Francisco.

32/365: Trash to Cash

32/365: Trash to Cash, a photo by doglington on Flickr.

On our last full day in Tanzania, we visited Shanga, one of the few facilities in the country for training the handicapped. It's run on a shoestring, but that may be why it is successful. The deaf, the blind and people with various mobility issues use traditional looms to spin some of the best cloth items we saw in the country. The workers not only get training in making their crafts, but play a big role in the design of their artwork. But my favorite workshops were the outdoor forges where old bottles and broken glass were melted down and repurposed into glass beads, artwork, new glasses and jewelry. The workers were friendly but shy about having their pictures taken. So I took this picture of an old wheelbarrow -- probably reclaimed from somewhere -- and the sorted broken glass that will be pounded to small pieces, then melted down. If you find yourself in Arusha, do all your souvenir shopping at Shanga Workshops. It's a beautiful place with rolling green lawns where you can sip a beverage from their cafe and watch the work at the outdoor workshops.