A little rain goes a long way

Those hills that were a tinder box a few weeks ago are now amazingly green after just a few days' rain.  We actually had a genuine thunderstorm today!  Very cool.

Painting the night away

Canvas and bisque.  Canvas being the normal thing; bisque being pottery.  There's a pottery-painting place near me and some girlfriends and I decorated mugs.  This is after I'd been painting rice fields.  Lot's of painting going on!

First, some rice fields:

Then some mugs (the colors will be much darker after they've been fired and glazed):

 Mine of course is the PlayStation mug.

Roller Derby Friday night

Well, we decided to try something completely different for our Friday night so we went to the roller derby. It was the Damas de los Muertos vs. The Psychpathogens.  Jentropy and Sinnabar were the top scoring jammers.  I think. I only followed part of what was going on. But the halftime show was just as entertaining as the skating, and afterwards we went for tea and decided that if we were roller girls we'd be The Dysfunctions and our jersey numbers would be math references (like E). It got weirder from there.

New easel

Got a new easel today. Spur-of-the-moment purchase.  I've been wanting an H-frame for working on larger paintings (the metal one I have is great for small paintings but not what you want for anything biggish) and was spontaneously in an art store this afternoon.  Assembly required and only took about 45 minutes.  Didn't get to any actual painting this weekend, but the studio looks good!

Happy birthday Mike

In your honor I am having an evil dessert.

It didn't have a chance

Rice fields in progress

This one is pretty big, and going well so far.

Pi parades and Golden Gates

As everyone knows, Friday was Pi day (3.14).  A friend and I snuck out to the Exploratorium to take part in the pi parade.  I was digit 111: 5.  We proudly held our pi plates and paraded around the Exploratorium to the Pi Shrine (arriving at 1:59) then over to the pie tables where we had banana cream pie.  Then wandered back to the office proud to have taken part in this irrational event.

Saturday was more cruising the Blue Pony:  Across the Golden Gate bridge on amazingly clear day with fantastic views all around:  (Note: Ambient sound may be loud from the wind so watch your volume control!)  And yes, next time I'm making Carmen wash her windshield first. ;-)



Then up a wonderful winding road with views of trees and hills turning green.

Then on to Muir Beach overlook.  Beautiful clear day with outstanding views all the way out to The City.

Then back down the winding road to Sausalito (getting turned around only once) for a quick trip to Carmen's favorite earring store, then food!  The sun set, and the moon rose.  Awesome.

We went back over the Golden Gate bridge with the top down at night to see the bridge and the moon and stars... while wearing several layers of clothing.  Finally we relented and put the top up and drove the rest of the way home feeling a little locked in but much warmer.

A long but awesome day.

Saratoga Winery

Another California day, another ride in the pony.  This time through some lovely winding roads to the top of a hill to a winery.  Not one for wine myself, but the ride is awesome and the view is fabulous.  There's an amphitheater there and some great places to just sit and enjoy the clean air and take in the views.

Half Moon Bay

Pony ride to Half Moon Bay today.  Beautiful beach, cool cliffs, and it's pretty easy to tell which way the prevailing winds blow...

Looking up