Thursday, July 2, 2009

Over the hill

A little bowing of the head, "a little folding of the hands," - a sunflower doesn't worship the sun for long. As soon as the flower is pollinated, the happy yellow petals wilt and shrivel, having completed their life's purpose of attracting the bees, and the sunflower starts looking intently at its toes.

The heads are now about eight inches across (I should actually measure and not just eyeball this), and a good number of the plants are at least seven feet tall.

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Monday, June 29, 2009

Day in Napa

Yesterday, by special invitation, I met with my daughter on her home turf, Napa, where the norm in most locations is not to indulge in air conditioning (i.e. not installed). Yesterday it would have been appreciated, but most days are so pleasant that the genuine locals tough it out on the relatively few hot days. Napa has changed so much in the 30 years since we lived in the valley, that not even one twinge of nostalgia assailed me.

We enjoyed a light but yummy meal at the Pica Pica Maize Kitchen (I will return to try additional options), a Venezuelan restaurant in the Oxbow Public Market, and followed up with a yummy cupcake from Kara's Cupcakes after a stroll along the river and through town. The poor little mall where the Quiltmaker (destination spot) operates (but not on Sundays) is struggling, as they are in many places. Or is that just California?

I've never seen hydrangeas this big. I want one!
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Saturday, June 27, 2009

Fortune cookies


The pruning of the willows has forced them into a more upright habit, leaving room for the essential fig in the middle, and making frequent trimming less critical.

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Latest fortune cookie fortunes:

Today is a good day for being with a companion.

A fond memory will soon lead to a renewed old friendship.

Better than usual, don't you think?

The people who write fortune cookie fortunes are quite staid, I would guess, though I do know there are more creative fortunes available, if creative is the term I should use -- judging by the cookies my students bought when we went to Fisherman's Wharf on a field trip. When you have a busload of sixth-grade students that suddenly becomes quiet (i.e. quiet enough so that you can carry on a conversation without shouting), something is afoot. It turns out the kids had bought a bag of XXX-rated fortune cookies and were passing the fortunes around. They were confiscated by another of the teachers, and my curiosity as to what the fortunes actually said has never been satisfied.

It would be fun to have a fortune cookie party - you have a fortune-writing marathon for 30 minutes or so, make your own fortune cookies, insert the fortunes, see if we're any better writers than the ones who get paid for it, who gets whose, and whether or not it's possible to remain friends afterwards.

Or I could have a fortune-writing contest here on my blog. All submissions would be available for vote as to which is the best, all eight of my regular readers could vote, and the winner would win, what? I don't know. A fortune cookie?

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