Category: Potpourri

When I decided to move into my condo almost ten years ago, being able to walk out my door and hike a hill was one of my “must haves.”  Islay Hill is my walk-out-my-door hike.  A few years ago, the big field across the street from me began sprouting a new housing development.  What I looked forward to was not the additional traffic and changed scenery but the ability to hike Righetti Hill.  The trail was cut last fall…just before our mega-rains started!  Today, between the ground drying up a bit and the next downpour, I decided to hike Islay Hilll AND Righetti Hill. Of course, I ventured out with camera in hand!

A view of Righetti Hill in the foreground with, from the left, South Hills, Cerro San Luis, and Bishop Peak in the background

 

Approaching Islay Hill

 

Turkey vulture (I think!) flying over Islay Hill

 

“Moo With a View,” showing some wear, hangs out atop Islay Hill

 

Righetti Hill with its new trail

 

View of Islay Hill from Righetti Hill

 

Panorama photo of Islay Hill

 

Pano of South Hills, Cerro San Luis, and Bishop Peak at sunset

 

Sunset from Righetti Hill

 

Another sunset pic!

 

After spending a BUSY Chanukah with family and friends – eating lotsa latkes, lighting lotsa candles – I decided to RELAX today and take lotsa photos.  The LCD screen on my camera is in the shop for repair, so I’m practicing using my rental camera – same model but I had to re-set the settings…  This means, I have to re-learn what I’ve been practicing for nearly a year. 

With so many Christmas decorations out, I had a great focus to practice my…focus, aperture, shutter, ISO, etc!  With no time pressure to click the shutter, I returned to fully manual mode rather than aperture priority, as I’ve been shooting recently.  Nice to return to basics!

Here are my favorite captures from today’s photo walk (with no comments on the individual pics).

About an hour before sundown today, I grabbed my camera and walked the neighborhood.  It was a great opportunity to capture some images with end-of-sunlight colors.  Here are my favorites…

The golden light playing on the hills caught my attention.

Islay Hill

 

The hills framed by a bridge

 

Two windows reflecting the sunset.

 

 

Given it’s now December, many homes highlight the season with decorations.  Hanging from some trees – with a beautiful blue sky as background – are a couple of ornaments.

 

Yesterday, I combined two of my loves/avocations/hobbies/joys:  I hiked 15 miles and took photos along the way.

The hike:  For about ten years now, my friend Melanie and I walk a marathon each year.  When the pandemic arrived, we decided to create our own marathon since organized events were canceled.  With our combined schedules, it still makes sense for us to create our own challenge rather than participate in formal events.  This coming weekend (day depends on rain!), we will, once again, walk 26.2 miles.  To train, one weekend I made sure to walk 10 miles, the next weekend 15 miles, the following weekend 20 miles, and yesterday 15 miles.  I am SLOW – and I can do this!

The photos:  I’ve been frustrated lately with the quality of my photos, especially the lack of focus quality.  I re-read my camera’s manual, changed some settings, and captured photos during my 15 miler.  Culling through over 200 pictures, following are my 15 best attempts.  I figure one photo per mile – so 15 photos for 15 miles!

Heart hanging on a fence

 

While editing this photo of fall colors, I zoomed in and was surprised to find this bird perched in the tree

 

Bridges, such as this one, allow walkers to traverse creek beds while traveling on neighborhood trails

 

Although it is autumn, some leaves remain green throughout the year

 

Seen from the railroad trail linking my home to downtown SLO

 

Practicing focusing on moving subjects…bicyclist on the railroad trail approaching the Jennifer Street Bridge

 

Sculpture near the train station honoring railroad workers

 

 

Public art at the corner of Marsh and Higuera

 

The Marsh Street parking garage sports public art

 

Downtown San Luis Obispo Victorian home

 

View of the hills from the top of Cerro San Luis

 

Very dry Laguna Lake – WE NEED RAIN

 

I played around with Black & White – these three photos seemed to call for it!

View of the morros, Bishop Peak in the foreground, from the top of Cerro San Luis

 

Picnic table next to the railroad trail

 

The tunnel under the railroad tracks connecting two neighborhoods – when it rains (a lot), this tunnel is closed due to flooding

Today, being Thanksgiving, makes me think about GRATITUDE.  My personal values – Integrity, Gratitude, and Kindness – act as a compass to help guide me in the right direction.

For example, if I’m thinking about doing something or feeling a bit uncomfortable about an issue, I weigh it against my values.  Does the decision help me live with integrity – with wholeness, honesty, and completeness?  This is not to say that I meet this goal all of the time – I absolutely do not!  When I don’t, my stomach lurches and I know I’ve not acted with integrity.  When I pause before acting and consider my decision with integrity in mind, I most often make a much better choice.

Gratitude, the theme for Thanksgiving, is paramount in my mind right now.  I have so much to be grateful for.  My children are happy, independent, and kind adults.  (I used to say “young adults,” but at ages 28 and 31, I wonder if “young” still applies!)  I enjoy spending time with my partner; we have evolved to a warm, comfortable, caring, and fun point in our lives and our relationship.  His children and grandchildren add joy to my life.  I love being Nana Lisa to his three grandchildren; the third one arrived November 11!  I so appreciate the laughter, support, and fun of my friends.  With six kids in my family, my siblings add another layer of love, support, and humor to my amazing life.

In addition to the many people whom I love and appreciate, I am so grateful for my health and fitness.  I have the physical and, at times even more useful, mental ability to walk or hike many, many miles.  In preparation for Melanie’s and my annual walking marathon, I completed a 20 mile walk in the mountains three days ago.  In less than two weeks, it’ll be time for 26.2 (never forget the .2!) miles.

With my health and fitness, I am able to travel, explore photography, read, knit…such a full and wonderful life!  So much for me to appreciate!

Opening up my lens, however, makes me concerned for the world – elections, war, climate, diseases, … – there’s so much to be concerned about.

What makes me most grateful is being able to appreciate what IS good, what IS beautiful, what IS the best of humanity.  For all of the wonderful people, places, and pleasures that embellish my life, I am forever grateful.

Continuing my personal ritual of taking a long meditative walk on Yom Kippur, this morning I headed toward Morro Bay and Cayucos.  For me, the process involves eating lightly so I can walk without fainting, turning off electronics while walking (no podcasts or audiobooks to distract me or change my focus), and letting my mind wander to what inspires me.  Meandering while being surrounded by the natural rhythm of the ocean allows my mind to reflect on what nudges it.

Today, I felt a series of transitions.  San Luis Obispo was warm and sunny while Morro Bay was foggy and cool.  The sand changed from hot and soft to cold and wet.  The sounds vacillated between highway car noise and waves hitting the beach.

As I walked, my mind first focused on travel, the trips I’ve recently enjoyed and the upcoming adventures that await me.  Being the planner that I am, I already have a general idea of where I’d like to go in 2023.  🙂

Next, my mind wandered to photography and some creative projects I’m working on.  I mentally sketched out a few ideas and am anxious to get started on them.

While shuffling along the beach, I realized that the big recent transition in my life – retirement – allows me to travel more and stretch my creativity, hence my initial thoughts surrounding these two activities.  This big change in my life means there are times when my life is busy and other times when it is slow, times when I’m surrounded by family, friends, and community, and other times when I am alone, times when I feel accomplished and other times when I feel less fulfilled, times I believe I’m contributing and other times I wish I were doing more.

When I think of what fills my days as a retiree, I see a daily pattern of moving my body, doing some type of chore, and doing something fun and, often, social.  There are days when I give back to our community – for example, I usher at the Performing Arts Center and I donate blood (thank you, spinach!).  The “how can I make the world a better place” part of my life is still not what I want it to be.  From today’s Yom Kippur reflections, my biggest takeaway – my most important future task – is to figure out what I can do to help the greater good.  My hope is that during next year’s Yom Kippur walk, I’ll be able to reflect on how I contributed more to making our world a better place.  כן יהי רצון

Photo from April 2022 since I didn’t take any pictures today.

After taking over 2,500 photos during my recent adventure to Germany, Holland, Luxembourg, and Belgium, I selected the following 40 photos as a “photography showcase.”  Posted here without further comment!  🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was a very tough week.  On Wednesday, my father’s only sibling, his brother Bill, died – and on Friday, my mother’s only sibling, her sister Harlene, died.
Uncle Bill, almost age 77, was 11 years younger than my father, who died in 1989.  Uncle Bill had a tough life, dealing with growing up with difficult parents and fighting mental illness.  Although he graduated with a degree in English from Berkeley and worked for many years at the IRS, Uncle Bill struggled most of his life.  With few friends, no spouse, and no children, my brother Shawn and his wife Pamela became Uncle Bill’s primary emotional support with the rest of us siblings helping at times.  I admit it was tough accepting phone calls from Uncle Bill – aka, Uncle Eeyore.  Regardless, I feel sad about his death, caused by contracting covid at his assisted living facility.  Not only for the loss of the person but also the last generational linkage to my father.

Aunt Harlene, age 91, was exactly six years older than my mom, who died in 2009.  They were both born on March 4.  Aunt Harlene became an emotional shell of herself after Uncle Irv, her husband of over 60 years, died three years ago. Social, beautiful, and talented, Aunt Harlene was a special ed teacher and had three children and four grandchildren. The past seven or eight years, since she fell and broke her hip, have been sad and difficult for her. She was ready to go, so when she contracted covid, she told her children she was done. And she was.

Right after receiving the news of Aunt Harlene’s death, I picked up Emmett for an overnighter so his parents could drive down to SoCal to get Emmett’s big brother from sleepaway camp.  While having a fabulous – and, yes, exhausting – time with Emmett, memories kept flooding back…

• Emmett calls me “Nana,” the name his parents have given me.  He has three other grandmothers, one called Meme and the other two called Grandmama.  I love the name Nana!  It’s what I called my grandmothers and what my mother was called!  Hanging with Emmett, I thought about Nana Harlene and her grandchildren, one of whom is getting married next May.  Nana is a powerful and meaningful name in my family.
• Although I’ve lived in my condo for nine years, I had never been in the pool until this Friday when I took Emmett for a “swim.”  Who taught me to swim?  My Pop Pop Al, Uncle Bill’s father.  He built an apartment complex in Burbank with a pool and taught me to swim in that pool.
• While rocking Emmett at bedtime in the chair my mother – Nana Anne – bought me when Ben was born, I gazed upon two paintings hanging on my wall.  I don’t remember if Aunt Harlene or her father, Pop Pop Dave, gave them to me, but they’re artwork Pop Pop Dave and Nana Fay received for their wedding.

Uncle Bill (from Ben’s Bar Mitzvah)

 

Aunt Harlene and Uncle Irv (from a visit in 2012)

 

I considered camping this week in San Simeon – and decided not to.  Instead, I headed up Highway 1 today, thinking I’d get up to Cambria and the Elephant Seal Reserve. 

Squirrel!  I saw Harmony Headlands en route and chose to explore the coastal park – with my camera in hand.  Although the hike is not long – and the beginning trail from the road to the coast is a bit monotonous – once I saw the ocean, I was so happy I made this choice!  The fog rolled in and out, along with the waves.  Birds, flowers, bees delighted me.  Below are a few of my favorite photos from today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life as a retiree ROCKS! 

One of the best decisions I’ve ever made: RETIRING! In my Facebook memories at the end of every quarter, I see my countdown to break – e.g., “Two done, one to go.” With each memory, I feel the stress of grading, teaching, working…being BEHOLDEN. Then I reflect on life NOW. There’s so much more time and freedom to do what I want, when I want to do it. Spend time with family and friends, travel, read, photography, volunteer…BE. This moment in my life ROCKS!!!

Let me explain… I LOVED teaching.  I LOVED working with (most of) my students.  I LOVED mentoring students.  I LOVED the intellectual challenge of higher education.  HOWEVER, when I was done, I was DONE.  Before the pandemic, I would walk into my college and, simultaneously, hold two thoughts:  1) I love my job; and 2) I want to retire.  When COVID-19 hit and I had to transition to remote teaching, the joy of teaching dissipated.  I no longer had the pleasure of spontaneous authentic conversations with students and colleagues.  I no longer had the fun of truly connecting with others.  I no longer had the satisfaction of feeling like I made an impact on someone’s life.

With this as background, when the opportunity arose to retire I evaluated my financial position and submitted my retirement paperwork.  I have NEVER looked back!

Do I miss the day-to-day interaction with students?  Yes, if it could be BC (Before COVID).  Talking to friends who are still teaching, I know the world of education is forever changed.  This does not mean it is better or worse – just different.  This time, I had the privilege to choose which different I want for my life.

The different I have now:  TIME!  I have TIME to relax, breathe, hike, travel, explore – all with friends and family – or on my own. 

It is the FREEDOM that comes with retirement that I LOVE.

Some days are hard.  Especially hard are holidays when I expected to be surrounded by the nuclear family I thought I had help create.  Divorce and independent children changed that.  My children are launched and happily living their own lives.  Although I have a terrific partner and enjoy many of the benefits of his family, it’s still not the same.  Some days are fabulous and I feel completely loved and loving.  Other days are hard when, even surrounded by others, I feel alone.  Yesterday, Mother’s Day, was the latter.  I’m learning what my triggers are…mainly, family gatherings when I am not surrounded by those who I thought would be surrounding me.

I fully understand the privileges I have – health, family, friends, finances.  I also completely understand that there are so many people with so much less who deserve as much happiness, contentment, and, yes, privilege as I enjoy.  AND I also recognize that my feelings are real to me.  I love my family, I love my friends, I love my life.  And sometimes, life is just not as easy as it seems.