JFK, windstorms and Thanksgiving~~~~

Hello Sweet Things,

Again I'm being neglectful to my blog, now that I'm a contract player so to speak I'm more busy.

Right now I'm posting from my parents home, yes Sweet Things I'm back home for Thanksgiving and this time Joe is with me.

We're "bunking" in Mom's sewing room for privacy ;)  Dad purchased one of those inflatable mattresses so we do have comfort, but most of the time we are around the house, or taking Mom to a special shop she want to see, and also getting last minute things for Thanksgiving Dinner.

Dad has invited a few friends from his work who have no place to go for Thanksgiving and they are going to watch the games while Mom, Baby Sister and I are cooking the dinner.

The house feels very warm and welcoming now, each time I come back I am amazed at its transformation.

Dad told me that he's planning to retired in 2015,  I was surprised to hear him say that but he said that the numbers are right, he'll have a good medical plan in place, by that time my Sister will be married, and he and Ted have been doing a bit of Antiquing business on the side and he helps with the book keeping for Mom's business as well.  It seems that things Retro are pretty popular right now. 

Again I was concerned about his health but he said he's fine, he's just lining up "his ducks" and wants to relax a bit,  he did say that he will be doing some work with the firm on a part time basis.  But the major decisions will be left to others, he's already training a couple of staffers to take over, but he admitted it would take at least two years for them to know all the little "glitches" that could come up, that is why he'll still be working part time for a while.

Mom is happy about the idea, I asked aren't you worried about Dad being underfoot, and she said not a bit, he's helped out with figuring costs for her little business so she'd be able to charge a fair price.

I'm happy for them.

The other evening we talked about JFK, I wasn't born yet when he died, but Mom and Dad remembered it vividly.  I asked Dad to some day write down his feelings about that Day, and Mom too,  Dad said to me that when JFK died, the world changed, had lost its innocence, the concept of conspiracy theories began, but what he said was the worst feeling was that if someone could kill the President, then no one in the world was safe, he told me that it made his own father a harder person, a more controling person, and now he was thankful that the "church" that he was a member of at the time, did not go in for suicide like the Jim Jones cult.

Maybe, he said that is why programs and events and organizations are so into exploring the past, preserving it, maybe that's why a number of people long for a simplier, easier to understand time.  I said that it's like that title of a show  "Stop the World I want to get off!"   We reach a point in our lives where we've had enough and re-act by going backwards.  It made sense.

Dad had asked me if the windstorm in my area had done any damage and I said yes, trees uprooted, property damaged, power lines down.  We were fortunate this time, I didn't have a tree invade my living room like the last time.  But we did see things flying all over the place,  I found someone's beach towel smack up again my front door, and Heather and her parents were laughing they found some ladies bras (several) among their plants,  but still 2 people died in my area and a huge Eucalupytus Tree had fallen over near Lake Merritt,  Joe and I had driven over to see it and take pictures, it was huge.  And then we went and had breakfast at our favorite retro dinner Lake Merritt Bakery, it had re-opened after a fire.

I told Joe that I'm seeing too many changes and it was beginning to frighten me, the old bridge gone, that tree at the Lake and other places, Joe took my hand and said to me "That is why finding speical places are important, being a part of something historical is important, being better behaved people as a proper example to others is important.  Guiding young people to learn skills that all the eletronics cannot teach is important."   and I felt safe.

And now Mom is saying that I have to take her to the fabric store, she is still working on a bride's veil and the bride will be coming over this evening she wants crystal drops here and there on the veil.  The image is of a Snow Queen.  And the wedding gown is a masterpiece of velvet and soft heavy satin with crystal drops.

So to the store we go.

Kisses Sweet Things

Things sort of Normal and yet changes in my life~~~~

Hello Sweet Things,

I have been busy, and I've been neglecting my blog, but that is what happens when life interfers.

A friend of mine who use to work as a Librarian and is now retired, happily she says, told me that Library work is a series of interuptions, interupted by interuptions, multitasking required.

Well the Bart strike is long over, finally settled but the public is not happy with neither the Unions or Management, to the point where the Liut. Govenor Gavin Newsom was sitting at the table.  I have a suspection that he told them they better settle because the rumble is to pass a bill outlawing strikes by any public transit agencies, such a law is in a number of cities and states and it can happen here.  So they settled.  But I think such a bill will continue to be in the works, the damage is done.

The new bridge is now open, our old one is sitting to one side, a source of wonder to the people who use the new pedestrian walk to to walk up to it and take pictures, to see it from view they never saw unless they were on a tour boat,  I look at it when I take the transbay bus, I admire it, it is like an old steel worker, solid and as dependable as humanly possible, its hugeness and quiet power dwarfs the sleek lines of the new bridge, it is like a boxer that knows all the moves, can still do it but it has gone too many rounds and yet in its age still shows its power, it is not defeated, it can still take on the kid and still win.

But bit by bit it will be torn down, it will not be imploded, but dismantled piece by piece it will take years to remove it and yet during that time it will with its revits and steel beams still be a thing of wonder of the early 20th century.  Word is out that eventually you can buy pieces of it as a souviner.  I want a piece, to hold that power in my hands, that tiny fragment.

Joe and I had fun at the Vintage Fashion show, I found a few outfits that I like, as well as small accesories, Joe had fun purchasing two fedora's from one vendor who deals in men's fashions, and has taken Joe's measurements, he will call when he has several items in his size.  We drove up in one of the vintage cars we have, dressed in our vintage clothing,  there was a costume contest, music, food and drink, I love it.  I found some patterns for Mother that I think she'll enjoy.

Joe and his friend have finalized the purchase of the place they want to do car restoration and have made a deal with several people to rent space while they restore their cars, the extra money will come in handy, of course they had to go through all the safety things, insurance and such, and one of the cars that he's been working on has sold, the new owner will complete the body painting and finish up the interior, which is good.   So a hobby that will pay for itself as they say.   His friend will live in the upstairs apartment as a onsite caretaker and they are going to make sure no fire hazzards.

The house that Joe and I were looking at was taken off the market by the owners, they were planning to move out of state but whatever it was that they had planned on fell through and they are staying.  It's too bad because it would have been perfect.

Halloween has come and gone with quite a few trick or treaters, mostly little one's, there were several haunted houses being done by charities so the teens were going to that.  The little one's were so darling in their costumes, of course myself dressed as Maleficent and Joe dressed as Jafar was off putting for the tiniest, but we had fun.

And now we are on standard time, the nights come sooner, dawn comes at a time that seems normal.  Heather and her folks have invited us over for dinner several times and they are very nice people and doing much better than earlier in the year.  Heather is going for her Master's in art, but she is studying a form of art that I can only discribe as forensic reconstruction, by knowing the facial bone structure she can recreate a face, and from what her teacher has told her she is quite good at it.  She has discovered the joy and immediacy of oil pastels and is doing quick study sketches, she's been inspired by the California artist Jade Fong, espeically his portrait work but it is his landscapes he's best known for.  We shall see where this will lead her.

And I am still going to the Gunshows, the bill to remove the gun show from the Cal Palace was vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown, one of the few things he's done that's right.  Joe and I could not believe the number of families attending, with babies in strollers and little ones, all of them inquiring about security, and taking the gun tests, espeically a lot of women taking the tests with their husbands holding the babies, every one of them finding out what is the best way to protect themselves.   I've been noticing a change in the demographics of late, more families and less individuals and it is not just to prepare for the Zombie appocolypse, it was like a "war mentality"  they were very serious.

This morning it was foggy outside, Foggy!!! There was no fog in last night's forecast. Heather told me that this morning the little beast called "Baby" was puzzeled by it, thinking that the boogins hides in the fog, it might be right.


I stepped out onto the balcony and just enjoyed the fresh feeling of the air, that dampness that is not rain but surrounds you, in many ways I like it better than snow or rain.  I could just barely hear the sound of fog horns of the ships at anchor in the Bay, San Francisco was hidden by the foggy shroud.

Fog is mysterious, its effect creates mystery, its the stuff of old Film noirs and horror movies, it hides the imperfections of the city, of even my view of what I can see in a hazy, filmy dream like substance and creates a hidden distance, from which a mysterious figure could emerge, like Sam Spade, Philip Marlow, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, the hound of the Baskervilles or the blood thristy victorian serial killer,  Jack the Ripper.

It's the atmosphere of ships at dock, abandon wharfs, fog horns in the distance, gloomy castles, haunted houses that have a sad air, lonely cemeteries where strange beings rise up from hidden depths, and it's just perfect to curl up in front of a fireplace, with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book to read in the evening.

The down side of fog is the dangerous driving conditions, slippery sidewalks, catching cold. Oh well one can't have it all, come to think of it I do have a good murder mystery to read this evening.

And Joe has arrived, I'm glad I had the day off,  Joe asked if it were possible for me to make stew tonight and I have,  with french bread, a good red wine, a salad, and hot apple pie for dessert.  It's a good thing we both work out otherwise we'd be fat.

Kisses Sweet Things.