Slightly Off Kilter

Treasures 2008_31

These are my Treasures for the past three weeks.

• Waking up with a kitty

• Watching a pigeon bringing twigs to build a nest, next door to the diner

• A periwinkle blue Mercedes convertble. Periwinkle was one of my favorite crayon colors as a child.

Treasures 2008_28

These are my Treasures for the past fortnight.

• The colorful lamp we found at a garage sale

• Yellow Happy face balloons at the car dealership

• a spiderweb stencil on a black PT cruiser

• The produce dept at the grocery store - fresh smells, bright colors.

Treasures 2008_26

These are my Treasures for the past fortnight.

• pastry hedgehogs at Dim Sum

• a trumpet tree — red trumpet vine growing 30-feet up through two hemlock trees

• someone's ringtone: the 1812 overture!

• 8-bit tarot

Treasures 2008_24

These are my Treasures for the past fortnight.

• Another customer at the diner was served a scrumptious-looking waffle with strawberries and a small Matterhorn of whipped cream. Oooooo.

• 3 ravens in our backyard, flapping from tree to tree. Bebop was entranced.

Treasures 2008_22

These are my Treasures for the past fortnight.

• A cooling breeze

• A soaring hawk

• Albioni's "Adagio"

Treasures 2008_20

These are my Treasures for the past fortnight.

• Rich, home from a long-weekend out-of-town trip.

• Toffee Banana

• Long John Silvers Seafood Shoppe - now just a few miles from my house!

• Positive feedback from some co-workers whose opinions I respect.

Treasures 2008_17

These are my Treasures for the past fortnight.

• Hot Pink iceplant, blooming in profusion, brilliant in the sun.

• Bright green shoelaces

• One white rose

Treasures 2008_15

These are my Treasures for the past fortnight.

• Squirrel making a tummy on Rich's desk, head under the monitor shelf, all upside down and fluffy. Rich says he does this a lot. I asked "How do you work?" Apparently it's difficult...(Rub the tummy!)

• A splendiferous magenta rhododendron

Treasures 2008_13

These are my Treasures for the past two weeks.

• Watching the kites and the parasails at Ocean Beach.

• The server is up! MySQL is running. My weblogs are back!

Treasures 2008_11

These are my Treasures for the past few weeks.

• We met a Shiba Inu - cute little doggie, out for a walk with her person past our house. Her name was Keiko. A week later, we met another one!

• A woman at the CalTrain, wearing a full-length chocolate-brown velvet skirt. Yumm.

Treasures 2008_07

These are my Treasures for the past week.

• A lovely springwarm day.

• Lunch at Los Panchos in the City. The woman who runs the place always remembers our order, even though we only come in every two or three months. How does she do that?

Treasures 2008_06

These are my Treasures for the past week.

• My glow-in-the-dark lightbulb "glowbrick".

Treasures 2008_05

These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Squirrel and Raven are working out how to play so that both of them enjoy it. Teddy Bear Fight!

• License plate: 2H2ODGS (the plate holder said "Portuguese Waterdogs")

Treasures 2008_04

These are my Treasures for the past two weeks.

• Lots of snuggles with the cats this week.

• Oooh. Aaah. Droooooool. The new MacBook Air is highly desirable.

• Bacon and tomato sandwiches on sourdough bread.

Treasures 2008_02

These are my Treasures for the past week.

• More rain (with less wind). I like rain, especially when I'm at home.

• Our server is working properly again.

• Mitten Rd in Burlingame. One of those great words: mitten.

Treasures 2007_52

These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Rain making diamonds in the gutter chain on our front porch

• Rain pattering on the sunroom roof.

• My co-worker's home-made peanut butter cups.

Treasures 2007_50

These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Camry odometer: 155555

• My new iPod Nano, nicely engraved with "TWiki Champion, November 2007" (with many thanks to the friend with the engraving rig.)

Treasures 2007_48

These are my Treasures for the past week.

• The stuffed animals at squishable.com

• The just-rising sun, a blaze-orange ball peeking over the horizon

• Now our grocery store has striped awnings!

Treasures 2007_47

These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Success at the Job! The new TWiki is up and running!

• A four-day weekend.Very relaxing.

Count Your Blessings

Irving Berlin, 1954

• Richard, my spouse and best friend
• Bebop, best fur buddy and Cat-in-Charge
• Mezzaluna, fluffy princess and looneycoon
• Squirrel, nap buddy and snugglepuss
• Raven, tummy meister and Monster-in-the-cave

Treasures 2007_46

These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Squirrel, snoring on my office floor. Bebop, on Saturday morning, bumping me. Snuggle the cat. Raven playing "monster in the cave". Mezzaluna being silly.

Treasures 2007_44,45

These are my Treasures for the past week.

• A snail on the front passenger window of the Camry one moring. There was enough condensation that I could follow his trail - up by the left rear tire, across the top of the back window, forward along the edge of the roof to the front passenger window, then down the window.

Treasures 2007_43

These are my Treasures for the past week.

• A bird! I held a bird. Such a soft little bird.

Bird!

At around 1pm, today, I heard one of my co-workers, Martin, say "That's a bird". Then another co-worker said "It is, it's a bird". I said "Where?" They said "Over here".

And there was a bird on the light fixture next to the wall. An Oregon junco. How did he get into the building.? Hey birdie, what are you doing in here? ...
       Continue reading "Bird!"

Treasures 2007_42

These are my Treasures for the past week.

The Halloween decorations at the house down the street.

Inflatable hearse (click for larger image)

Treasures 2007_41

These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Half a cherry pie - ruby red fruit and golden crust.
  Cherry isn't my favorite flavor of pie, but it Looks simply gorgeous.

• Dim sum with friends

Treasures 2007_40

These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Rain!

• Working from home; surrounded by fur. Cat by my left hand. Cat above the keyboard. This is the way Work should be.

Treasures 2007_39

These are my Treasures for the past week.

• The pile of golden pumpkins in front of the supermarket

• Hot red bean soup

Treasures 2007_38

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Thump! Large pink kitty toes on the shower door. Hi Bebop.

• Two pink blossoms on the miniature rose bush (after years with no flowers.)

Treasures 2007_37

The moment one gives close attention to any thing, even a blade of grass,
it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself. -- Henry Miller

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• An enjoyable time at the Craft Fair

• A red-tailed hawk, wafting over the freeway

Treasures 2007_36

Everyone's future is, in reality, an urn full of unknown treasures
from which all may draw unguessed prizes. - Lord Dunsany

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Sunrise - a blaze-orange incandescent disc in the sky; a blaze-orange shining ribbon on the bay. Never say that color isn't found in nature; it is... only not very often.

Treasures 2007_35

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• pelicans, pelicans, pelicans

• an otter in the water; seals on the rocks

• a bronzegoldredpiurplebluetealgree car. Nice paint job.

• a grey VW beetle, license SPYDRET with two fuzzy tennis-ball-sized stuffytoy spiders on the back ledge.

Treasures 2007_31

Good heavens, of what uncostly material is our earthly happiness composed...
if we only knew it.
What incomes have we not had from a flower,
and how unfailing are the dividends of the seasons.
-- James Russell Lowell

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• A friend at work gave me a rootbeer barrel hard candy. Yummm. I haven't had one of those in a long time.

Treasures 2007_29

Anecdotes and maxims are rich treasures to the man of the world, for he knows how to introduce the former at fit place in conversation. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Coming HOME after a Terrible Horrible Awful No-Good Very Bad Day

• "Mango Milkshake with Pearl" (bubble tea)

Treasures 2007_27

If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy,
if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you,
if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand,
rejoice, for your soul is alive. — Eleonora Duse

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• FIREWORKS (at Stanford)

Treasures 2007_26

That man is richest whose pleasures are cheapest. -- Henry David Thoreau

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Warm soft heaps of fluff (two sleepy cats) in the screen room.

• Sparrows living in the roof of the train station.

Treasures 2007_25

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Bebop and Squirrel, intent on a small moth that managed to get into their living room. Pounce!

Treasures 2007_24

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• A hawk, floating in the air, backstroking to hold position, watching for mice or lizards on the ground

• An egret, standing alongside 280, craning his neck (is that almost a pun?)

Treasures 2007_22

That we find a crystal or a poppy beautiful means that we are less alone, that we are more deeply inserted into existence than the course of a single life would lead us to believe. — John Berger, The Sense of Sight, 1980

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• A quiet 4-day holiday weekend.

• Being buzzed by a dragonfly in the grocery store parking lot. I just love dragon flies.

Treasures 2007_21

Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life. — Rachel Carson

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• My very best friend, Richard.

Treasures 2007_20

We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.

-- Cynthia Ozick

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• My Dad and Richard's Dad - each recently had surgery and both are recovering well.

Treasures 2007_18

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Family - My parents, sister, and brother-in-law. Rich's Dad and stepmother, brother and sister-in-law, brother-in-law, and nieces.

  May those who are healthy remain so.
  May those experiencing setbacks conquer these without complications.
  May those facing surgery regain their health quickly and without difficulty.

  Virtual hugs are yours. We're thinking of you!

Treasures 2007_17

Any man that walks the mead
In bud, or blade, or bloom, may find
A meaning suited to his mind. — Alfred Tennyson

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• The bag of magnetic rocks Rich bought at The Tech museum.

• a hummingbird, buzzing around the flowers on a small palm tree (outside the window at the chiropractor's office) - so close.

Treasures 2007_16

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Ravens in the nearby park, surfing the wind, obviously having a great time.

Treasures 2007_15

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• My new cubicle at the Job.

• Watching each day get light earlier and stay light later. It's almost summer.

Treasures 2007_13,14

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• More spring flowers including some lovely pink carnation-like blossoms

• A "conversation" with a teeny little bird, perhaps a type of Nuthatch? (chirp chirp)

• Relaxing on the couch, covered in cats

Treasures 2007_12

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Spring rain.

• A hawk, drifting over the parking lot as I waited for my afternoon shuttle bus.

Treasures 2007_11

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• DST

• Spring smells! So delightful

Treasures 2007_10

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Two woolly pompom dogs, waiting with their hooman in a car in front of Pet Club

• A patch of yellow & orange daffodils, in the midst of a larger patch of California poppies

Treasures 2007_09

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Waking in the night to the sound of rain. Listening to the rain till I fell asleep again.

• A nice soak in the hot tub.

• Snow on the top of Mt. Hamilton (and Spring down here at sea level).

Treasures 2007_08

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• A Monday Holiday

• A rainbow - seen and shared - north of the train station one morning. I stood and breathed chocolate and watched the rainbow.

Treasures 2007_07

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Geese! I saw a full V going by on Monday; only two today but close enough to see their black heads and white collars.

Treasures 2007_06

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Inhale! The train station has been redolent of chocolate this week, morning and afternoon. Breathe deeply. A fellow passenger said "Make you want a cookie...". That it does. Ahhhhhhh.

Treasures 2007_05

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Guittard dark chocolate; a co-worker brought in a 10 lb bar to share!

• Mini "two-bite" cupcakes - and sharing them with friends.

Treasures 2007_04

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Hot turkey sandwiches

• Self-referential inside jokes in books

Treasures 2007_03

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• A 3-day weekend

• Bacon and eggs and sourdough toast; the toast just the way I like it, and everything Yummmmmmm.

Treasures 2007_02

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• My fortune cookie: You find beauty in ordinary things. Do not lose this ability.

• Naps and snuggle time with cats

Treasures 2007_01

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• A tangerine sunrise

• Lots of love from Bebop when I arrived home after my first full day at the Job after a long wfh/holiday period. (I missed you. Hug me!)

Treasures 2006_44

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Interesting dreams

• Tiramisu with chocolate chunks

• Snuggles with kitties

• Rich coming home from an out-of-town trip

Treasures 2006_43

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• A "cream puff" 1955 Pontiac California Cruiser, creamy white over robin's egg blue. Gorgeous.

• The smell of autumn leaves

Treasures 2006_42

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Enlarging my quote collection.

• Writing a Perl script to give me a random email signature.

Treasures 2006_41

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Pumpkin patch - an "aerial" view of a pumpkin sales lot, as seen from the passing train. All those bright orange pumpkins, gleaming roundly.

Treasures 2006_40

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• The Suspicious Looking Device

• A black Scion xB with electric blue pinstriping. Ooooh! What color would look good with maroon?

Treasures 2006_39

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• A thin crescent moon over the ridge

• A tangerine sun, rising over the Bay - a bright orange disk above a pinkish orange layer, not so bright that we couldn't look at it. Awesome.

Treasures 2006_38

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Hyperbolic crochet cactii and kelp

  

Treasures 2006_37

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Getting over a cold (yech!)

• I think my toe has finally healed!

Treasures 2006_36

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• A Hello Kitty doll in full kimono, perched on the dashboard of a car parked next to me. I want one! (and I found one on eBay!)

• A brown, tan, and cream striped moth, quite handsomely colored

Treasures 2006_35

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Dragonflies, floating above the sidewalk.

• Almond Snickers bars

Treasures 2006_34

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• A goofy grape graffito - a large purple blob with goofy eyes and fangy teeth in a big grin; seen from the train

• A 19-early automobile, obviously well loved, painted a bright steel blue

Treasures 2006_33

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• A cute little mop dog in the car parked next to ours. What adorable ears!

• The white shirt with a strawberry plant design a woman was wearing in our local diner. There was a ladybug (as big as the strawberry!) on the leaf.

Treasures 2006_32

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Saturday! All day at home! Nowhere to go. Nothing pressing to do. And Saturday is more relaxing when I work from home the preceding Friday.

• The 3-storey Apple logos on the sides of Moscone West, in SF, for this week's Developer's conference.

Treasures 2006_31

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Bright red and yellow watermelons, sliced in halves and quarters, on display at the grocery store.

• Cool breezes.

Treasures 2006_30

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• A musical tattoo - a young man at the BART station with a staff of musical notes tattooed on his upper arm.

• Two ducks flying over as the shuttle drove away from the Workplace.

Treasures 2006_29

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Sign on a garage in Palo Alto: No parking except for wagons with horses

• Ground squirrels playing tag on the Stanford campus

Treasures 2006_28

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Four mousies at the feeder! Three little ones and a bug one.

• Bright yellow flowers on tall stalks... most interesting looking.

Treasures 2006_27

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Sidewalk graffiti in SF - "igneous rocks!"

• Fireworks

• A FOUR-day weekend (and only a 3-day work week). I got almost caught up and reasonably relaxed.

Treasures 2006_26

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Meeting a handsome, sleek, black short-haird kitty named Enders. I think Enders has some Siamese in his ancestry. He had a great profile. He was most curious and sociable.
Exploring the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park - all sorts of nifty tropical plants, huge pitcher plants, bright flowers, blooming water lilies, mosses, and ferns. The current special exhibition is the butterfly room where we were constantly accosted by gently fluttering flutterbies.

Treasures 2006_25

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• SATURDAY. Cats in my office. No job to go to. Nothing required of me.

• Catching up — on my email, the comics, my Journal, my weblog, my sleep!

• Napping with Squirrel.

Treasures 2006_24

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• A horse, with jockey, rounding the track at Bay Meadows as I went past on the train.

• The Jacaranda trees in bloom in Mountain View in a profusion of purple.

Treasures 2006_23

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Der Feedermaus (nose twitching)

• Our reconditioned flying gargoyle; Rich did a terrific repair job!

Treasures 2006_22

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• A beautifully maintained 1931 Chrysler sedan (model unknown).

• Reading an excellent and well-crafted book.

• Cinnamon toast.

Treasures 2006_21

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• Sighting a ground Squirrel sitting on the fence as I drove through Palo Alto.

• Snuggling with Bebop (his paws on my shoulder ala Kilroy).

Treasures 2006_20

Treasures are positive things that strike my fancy, that make me feel happy or thankful or interested. Treasures are memories encapsulated in just a few words. These are my Treasures for the past week.

• A good dinner, shared with Rich's Dad and Stepmother (who were passing through SF). Phyllo, spinach quiche, and my favorite datil...

• A bright magenta car