VW BOP! Bird Of Paradise in the bud vase

It’s good energy, good chi, just a good feeling to have something in your Volkswagon New Beetle bud vase. Doubly so if you create it yourself. No store bought artificial flowers for me. Today, I got the inspiration to sculpt my rendition of the bird of paradise flower out of fimo modeling clay. Earlier, we took a walk around the neighborhoods. Just one block away, on our way home, I had to stop and remark at some perfect blooms. That inspired me to sculpt this unusual plant for my bud vase. I made seven birds, but three look sweet here.

Bon Voyage, Eric

We sadly say good-bye to Eric with a party in the courtyard. Whoo-hoo, Eric’s leaving, let’s have a party! It’s only fitting as Eric is such a social and gregarious person. Here he is getting all social with Reba. She cozied up his coctail with fluffy cocktail coasters that slip over the base of the glass. We wish Eric all the best as he relocates to Las Vegas. Yeah, baby!

Resolutions and intentions

Happy New Year! I like the tradition of making a new year’s resolution, but it seldom resolves itself past the first month. This year I’ve spent more time thinking about what is lacking in my life. One word has profound reach: CONNECT. Connect with the earth when walking. Feel grounded, supported, and in touch with the moment. Connect with the breath. This is another way to bring yourself back to the moment. Feeling your breath expand the ribcage and fill the belly is very relaxing and calming. Connect with people. Make eye contact. Ask for help. Share experiences. Connect the dots, la la lala.

Snow in San Diego

It was chilly last week in San Diego. We turned on the three lava lamps to heat up the back room. That, four cats, and fleece blankets got us through the worst. Of course it wasn’t as bad as it could be. I didn’t see anyone having to scrape their car windshield with a credit card. We just had the illusion of snow.

In December, the jade plant decorates itself with small white star-shaped flowers. The jade plant is originally from South Africa, from an area with a climate very similar to that of Southern California. There, it can also flower in the spring or summer. Here, it just blankets itself in December.

Christmas morning

Merry Christmas everyone. Our neighbors gave us a stocking full of cat toys for the boys. We opened it up on Christmas eve. Balls that jingle, catnip mice that tingle the nose, but their favorite toy of all is the chenille and tails on an elastic string. Make it sail through the air and they’re all mesmerized by it. Cappuccino is perched, patiently waiting his turn.



On Christmas morning, we were awoken quite early to the sound of jingle bells. Honey, did you hear the cats playing with new toy last night? That was fine, kids are always excited on Christmas. We wanted to get up early to go to the San Diego Zoo to wish the animals a Merry Christmas. The new panda cub, Su Lin, is almost 5 months old. She comes out of her den by herself now and was out at 7:30am this morning, the volunteer said. Mom, Bai Yun, enjoys her bamboo while Su Lin is climbing all over the place. At one point she tumbled off the log and we all chuckled and then covered our mouths, because you really have to speak in hushed tones so as not to startle the pandas. The panda pup looks to be a little bigger than Cappuccino and just as fluffy. One, two, three, awwww.

Ocean Beach Christmas tree

We went down to OB to walk on the beach. We parked in the lot near dog beach to check out the excitement. There’s always something to bark about and that day was a french bulldog meetup. It’s just a riot to see more than ten of the same breed frolicing together. Scratch the little pug-nosed fellas and they grunt like a happy pot-bellied pig.

We walked south down the beach to the pier. I thought I was just connecting the soles of my feet with the sand, but we got a nice holiday surprise.

Each year, Ocean Beach decorates their giant tree on the ocean front near the pier. Perfectly harmless ornaments of inflatable toys decorate the branches. Of course a giant crane is needed, no bumble snow monster here to help out.

Rockin' out in Mission Gorge

We wanted to go for a hike, but saw that the tides were high, so we nixed a walk on the beach. Larry suggested Mission Trails Regional Park. We parked near the visitor’s center and walked visitor’s center loop trail. This is where you can see a portion of the San Diego river in this area where it’s not protected and preserved for area wildlife. We then took the path to the 1-mile-long “Rock Climber’s Loop Trail”.


This is a challenging trail which climbs some 400 feet by way of many switchbacks. At the “top” of the trail nicknamed “middle earth”, climbers may test their skills on giant columns of granite. With a fear of “splat”, I will not be challenging myself on this extreme sport. Rather, I turned around and paused, taking in the beautiful views of South Fortuna Mountain and the San Diego river basin.

Please don't eat birds

The San Diego Zoo is open every day, including holidays. So we went at 9:30 in the morning on Thanksgiving day. We wished all the birds a happy thanksgiving day, starting off with the very pink flamingos that are at the start of their new exhibit, Monkey trails and forest tails. There were smaller birds that looked like kiwis, but they were the same pink color. It must be the food, they must be sneaking the flamingo food that enhances the bird color. Indeed, you are what you eat.

The orangutans were very entertaining, two adults and a baby swinging on the trees and ropes, looking much like a barrel of monkeys. We walked to the back end of the park to visit the polar bears. Being thanksgiving, their enrichment was a pumpkin. We saw the shredded remains floating in the pool. Yes, pumpkin floats.

Happy Birthday, Larry!

Larry chose to walk the beach and take pictures at Torrey Pines and Del Mar for his birthday. We stopped off at Jimbo’s to get some lunch. Alas, they did not have the Lonestar sandwich available. I was going to explain carefully that this was Larry’s birthday, but when they don’t have the special ingredient, it doesn’t matter. We grabbed a french baguette and a big bottle of fruit juice instead. It was a beautiful day for a walk as you might imagine by the picture. We parked at Torrey Pines state beach and walked north to Del Mar where we snacked and rested on their little grassy park area. On the way back, Larry paused to photograph some surfers.

Adopt an attitude of gratitude

This Sunday morning, I did not visit my hospice family. The father’s health is failing and I wish to respect their privacy as a family in this difficult time. Per the mother’s wishes, I will pay at least one more visit to the family. They radiate much love and spirituality. It is these experiences that remind one to be thankful for their blessings and to adopt an attitude of gratitude.

We still woke up early. Thank you, kitty “alarm clocks” where the snooze button is to feed them. But they bring us such joy, thank you! We took a walk up University Avenue to Bread & Cie in Hillcrest. This is a very popular breakfast spot and this morning was no exception as there must have been forty people in front of us. They have a system down, taking our order and cashing us out while it is being filled. I enjoyed an espresso which allegedly has less caffiene than coffee. Some contest, I get all giddy on a thimble-full of java.

On our walk back, we stopped at the Hillcrest Farmer’s Market to pick up some produce. I admired all that the flower vendors were offering and chose a bouquet of red-orange sunflowers, dahlias, and marigolds. It’s beautiful to see people walking home with flowers to brighten their home. Today, I was the recipient of some smiles!

One block from home, we met an older gentleman and Winston, his terrier who may be the same age in dog years. At least I may assume that they have been with each other for a while as their gait was the same speed. We said “good mornings” and I crouched to scratch behind Winston’s ears. As we parted, the gentleman said good day and “Winston thanks you.” My pleasure!

At home, I was able to refer to my class notes and make three flower arrangements from the bouquet. Our sensei, teacher, would no doubt have a lot to critique on these, starting with me not exactly following the style of Moribana Inclining Form. Pictured here is my second attempt at an advanced Hana-isho form. I love how the red in the stem colors the water a light magenta. Many thanks for all the beauty and wonders that surround us.