Outer Space, Oakland Style

Galaxy\
n., pl., -ies.

1. 1. Any of numerous large-scale aggregates of stars, gas, and dust that constitute the universe, containing an average of 100 billion (10¹¹) solar masses and ranging in diameter from 1,500 to 300,000 light-years. Also called nebula.
2. An assembly of brilliant, glamorous, or distinguished persons or things.
   

At the western edge of a remarkable little galaxy called Oakland, Esther's Orbit Room.

(p.s.)
your weekend is here...enjoy its music

First Light

after more than a week of rain, today's clear blue sky warms me to the core.
sunny scenes from my morning walk...enjoy!

Oh My Goodness, I've been Nominated!

Here I sit, at the breakfast table, perusing The Poppies , ready to cast my vote... all of a sudden I spot Roadside Photographs in the running for Favourite Photographer. Could that be me? Are there two Roadside Photographs out there???

I click the link, and oh my goodness, it is me... I've been nominated!

If you're so inclined, you can vote for me here (under the name Roadside Photographs.) I feel a bit silly asking for your vote, but I've never been nominated for anything before, and it's kind of fun!

I'm honored to see my (shop's) name among so many talented photographers -- I brought my photography to internetland just one year ago, and to find myself nominated for a Poppie already... well, it really fuels the inspiration and sense of "possibility" that gets me up and running each morning.

Thanks everyone!

One of the Many Reasons

I enjoy being awake!

Monday morning, rise and shine...

A Momentary Lapse of Winter

Today I'd like to trade the wind and rain for sunlight and blue.
Are you with me?

Simple Pleasures, no.2

I taught my niece to play Bella's Lullaby from Twlight on piano.
Today the right hand, tomorrow we learn the left.
The notes were interspersed with gleeful giggles and she's one excited little lady.

Made me remember that when I was a kid, my Aunt sat next to me on the piano bench and taught me to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
She marked with colorful crayon the keys I needed to play.

Twinkling Stars, Twilight... much the same, only different.

I hope You enjoy a most wonderful weekend...!

Realizing Winter, scene 2

I saw a young woman beside the stove, really a girl. She was dressed in a faded cotton skirt and waist. As I came close I saw that she carried a baby in a crooked arm and the baby was nursing, its head under her waist out of the cold. The mother moved about, poking the fire, shifting the rusty lids of the stove to make a greater draft, opening the oven door; and all the time the baby was nursing, but that didn't interfere with the mother's work, nor with the light quick gracefulness of her movements. There was something very precise and practiced in her movements. The orange fire flicked out of the cracks in the stove and threw dancing reflections on the tent.

I was close now and I could smell frying bacon and baking bread, the warmest, pleasantest odors I know. From the east the light grew swiftly. I came near to the stove and stretched my hands out to it and shivered all over when the warmth struck me...

-John Steinbeck, The Long Valley

Anniversary Sale + The Poppies!

Hello everyone, this week marks the one-year anniversary of my Etsy Shop.
In celebration, I'd love to give you a gift!
Through the end of this week, receive a free "Instant Roadtrip! Postcard Set" with the purchase of any print.

Thanks to each of you for helping to make the past year so wonderful. I truly appreciate your encouragement and support, and am very excited about this new year!

ALSO...

Have you heard about The Poppies?

Poppytalk Handmade is hosting an "online awards ceremony" celebrating Artists and the Handmade Community. Although today is the last day to nominate your favorites,
voting will take place January 14 -20. I've had a great time browsing the categories, checking out new artists and shops.

Enjoy!

Realizing Winter, scene 1

"The high grey-flannel fog of winter closed off the Salinas Valley from the sky and from all the rest of the world. On every side it sat like a lid on the mountains and made of the great valley a closed pot. On the broad, level land floor the gang plows bit deep and left the black earth shining like metal where the shares had cut. On the foothill ranches across the Salinas River, the yellow stubble fields seemed to be bathed in pale cold sunshine, but there was no sunshine in the valley now in December...It was a time of quiet and waiting..."

-John Steinbeck, The Long Valley

On the Up

This snapshot of Josh and me on our (former) rooftop makes me oh so happy.

Photographed on our final night in the loft, we enjoyed a sushi picnic dinner, wine,
and a sunset view. We moved outward and onward the following morning...

Photo by our dear friend Vicente Aello.

I hope you are enjoying a sweet, warm winter weekend.

The Big Night

Ok Fresno, we hope you're ready...
Details here and here.

Rainy Reflection

Dear Oakland,
Do you miss me as much as I miss you? It's been two weeks since I saw you last. After a very nice holiday in Southern California, I now find myself in a wintry white Central Valley. The weather here does feel more like the Winter I see in storybooks, and for that reason I feel like I'm on an adventure.


Still, I miss you. I remember that night in December, when it began to rain just as we circled the Lake. Your lights were so welcoming, I hardly noticed the rainwater tickling my toes.

Don't worry, I'll enjoy our days apart, and bring back plenty of photos to share. Who knows... if I let it, this cold valley fog may begin to feel welcoming too.

focus (optional)

enjoying a day of pure leisure, hope you are too...