Half moon sunset

(photo: sunset in Napa Valley)

Saturday photo

A grandson of our friends celebrated his 13^th birthday and

received a lot of socks and jerseys and some money.

See more Saturday Snapshots:

http://athomewithbooks.net/

Decision

Which corkscrew wine bottle opener do you want to use?

(photo: The Little People: part of the Corkscrew Collection of Brother Timothy on displayed at the Culinary Institute of America's Greystone facility, Napa Valley, CA.There are more than 1500 corkscrews.)

Thursday photo

(photo: at the Riverfront, downtown Napa,CA)

The greeter

Come and visit Napa Valley.

















(photo: sculpture of the Crusher at the Southern Crossing  greets visitors to Napa Valley) 

An offering

(photo: chocolate cake ice cream for our grandson's 16th birthday)

(summer photo: part of Diamond Peak ski slopes, Incline Village, NV.  Lake Tahoe on the background)

We are going up the mountain again for 5 days. My blog will be intermittent. My laptop is old and slow and has meagre virtual memory. I'll read, hope to jot a few notes and play a little bit of chess with someone who lives nearby.

Vineyards in September

Napa Valley in September. 
(photo taken from the picnic groove of Rutherford Hill Winery, Napa Valley, CA.)

Learning to dance

(photo:  The Cha Cha Cha, sculpture on the walkway on the Riverfront, downtown Napa, California. )

Cha Cha Cha by Robin Murez is embedded on the ground for our feet to explore: Welcome to an instructional map of dance steps!

Cha Cha Cha pays tribute to the cultural venues of Downtown Napa, such as The Napa Valley Opera House and Uptown Theater, as well as and the elegant, active character of Napa's vineyards, boutiques and galleries.

text-from the link: http://www.artscouncilnapavalley.org/artwalk/artwalk-2011/artists/robin_murez.shtml

Away for one week

Our friends from Canada are visiting us in Napa. I'll be away from cyberspace for the next one week.

(photo: taken at one of the antique sores in Amador City, Amador County,CA)

Monday photo

(photo: Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco,CA)

Sunday photo

(photo: some of the lanterns inside Holy Sepulchre Church, Jerusalem)

The Ruins

Ancient Library of Celsus at Ephesus

Designed by the Roman architect Vitruoya, the library was built in memory of Celsus Polemeanus, who was a Roman senator, General Governor of the Province of Asia, and a great lover of books. Celsus' son, Julius Aquila, began the construction in 110 AD. The library was completed by Julius Aquila's successors in 135 AD.

The interior of the library measures 10,92 by 16,72 meters and is covered with decorative marble.

Between 12,000 and 15,000 scrolls were housed in the library.

In 262, during the Gothic attacks, the interior of the library was burnt completely but the facade was not affected much.

(photos: I took these photos of the Library of Celsus and the crowd when Cheri and I visited Ephesus in September, 2011.I might have shown these photos before.)

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books.

text taken from 2 sources: http://architecture.about.com/od/ancientromanempire/ss/ephesus.htm

http://www.kusadasi.biz/ephesus/library.html

A matter of interpretation

A simple case of bow and arrow or is it?

(photo: a sculpture in San Francisco not far from the Ferry Building)

Landscape

(photo: a vineyard in Carneros, Napa Valley, California)

Recess

Recess 

A student can be shy or new

alone among the many

that no one notices and ignored.

At recess 2 children play

a game of Bring a Friend.

I will be the bridge.

I will be your reason.

They are studying arithmetic

how to add numbers.

Later on they may learn

friendship, love

or even infinity.

Food for thought

The vow

(photo: of a clock in our bedroom in the Plymouth House Inn B&B.)

Thought on Sunday

"Oh Lord, thou givest us everything, at the price of an effort."

-Leonardo da Vinci

(photo: of a young girl with her pink mitt raised up to catch a fly ball at SF Giants-Dodgers game yesterday).

Let's go to the ballgame

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books.

Today was sunny, cool and clear. Cheri and I  took the Vallejo Ferry to San Francisco, walked from the Ferry Building to the SF Giants stadium and watched the Giants -Dodgers game.

(photo above taken from the Embarcadero: a barge and sailboats on the bay.)
(photo below: SF Giants second baseman tagged out the Dodgers runner.)

Sketch

To sketch a clear thought

should I wait

for connections to develop

“a propagation of consequences”,

a necklace of pearls

for you?

A table and 2 empty chairs

Being and becoming
A couple arrived separately and left together holding hands.

2 people arrived together and left separately and one looked forlorn.

They are about to arrive at any moment.

Simply an empty table and 2 chairs.

(photo: on a sidewalk during a Tomato Fest in Amador City, Amador County, CA )

Distances

When I think of distances I often think of time. There are distances that look like crossing an abyss. If you are not in a hurry you may drive to New York.

It’s Wednesday, smile.

(photo: a street sign seen in Volcano, a village in Amador County, CA).

Cherish the time

Blessings come like a flock of birds. They can quickly fly away.

Cherish the time with the one you love. 

(photo: vineyards in Carneros, Napa Valley, CA)

Look for me

Look for me.

Simply a photo

Simply a photo.















(photo: a door of one antique shop in Amador City. the caption reads: Unattended children will be given an espresso and a free puppy)

Wine tasting

We returned home a few hours ago after spending 5 days in Amador County, the gold country, about 45 miles southeast of Sacramento, California. Amador County is home of some of the oldest zinfandel vines in California. We visited Karmere

Dillian, Cooper, Story,C.G. DiArie and Sera Fina wineries. We tasted excellent wines especially Zinfandel, Nebbiolo, Barbera, Syrah, and the not too common Mourvedre and Roussanne. There was no fee for wine tasting and everyone was friendly and very happy to see us.

In Plymouth we stayed at the Plymouth House Inn, a bed and breakfast inn,which is near the wineries in Shenandoah Valley.Sandra, the inn’s owner, has her antiques collections in all the bedrooms, dining room, lobby and on the grounds around the inn. She makes delicious gourmet breakfast.

We dined at the very fine restaurant, Taste, in Plymouth. Today before coming home we visited a small village, Volcano, and had lunch in Volcano Union Inn, in the outdoor patio. Another fine restaurant.

It was an enjoyable 5 days.

(photo: grapes at the Karmere winery.)