These last weeks have raced by but a common theme has been that of celebration. First there was a wonderful birthday party held by our Moldovan dance friends in Sacramento. Despite the blistering heat everyone partied and danced their feet off. Before the dust could settle we were speeding back to the cool comfort and gray skies of home to make a quick change for the next act -  a wedding celebration for a dear friend and colleague in the North Bay. It was a glorious afternoon filled with old friends and students now grown up with children of their own. The power of love was felt by all present and has not worn off yet. The bride's daughter is the talented Cynthia Stanley who created a beautiful solo dance performed to Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata enhanced by the sound of waves. It was a moment of pure beauty, harmony with the elements and a gift for all present. Cynthia has graciously allowed me to publish this photo here which captures just a brief but beautiful moment in her performance

The moment was the very definition of " "Dance like nobody's watching; love like you've never been hurt.
Sing like nobody's listening; live like it's heaven on earth."

May the dance never end!

Olympic Beading

Nothing like Olympic fever to inspire one to soar to new heights. While there is much to be said for training and preparation there is still the "just do it" theory of making things happen. Such was the case on Saturday. I had been visualizing a piece I wanted to make to wear  with some two tone agate I had purchased from Katie with Gemstones of Africa (she sells at the San Mateo Gem show) with an outfit on Sunday. Still I needed some items and had to be downtown to get my laptop upgraded. What a good excuse to make a side trip to Yone! The consultation started off with Sandra of course and then expanded to two other classmates with considerable experience and taste to match who just happened to drop by. If we tried to plan this it would never have happened. They loved the agate beads I wanted to work with and I was sorely tempted to buy an antique silver necklace to work into my piece. Reason prevailed (Hermon...I was so oooooooooooo tempted!) and at home I dug up a Tibetan piece I had been wanting to work with and before you know it my necklace was ready for its Sunday debut.

Freezing 4th of July

The Fourth of July conjures up sultry summer weather, picnics, tall cool drinks and of course fireworks. However, in our neck of the woods it works a little differently. It was freezing cold in Foster City which is usually quite warm. So yes...there is global warming (at least this year there was !). So instead of T-shirts and summer wear we were bundled up in parkas and hats!

It was worth the wait (although the traffic jam following took a great deal of rationalizing). Fireworks have such a magical  and primal quality ...no wonder they fascinate us.

The crowd responded with "Oohs" and "Aahs" accordingly.

The 4th of July is also the day my beautiful mother Pearl left this life. It was her favorite holiday and leave it to her to exit and give her family a chance to always have the day off in her memory (although a day does not go by that I do not think about her). Pearl - this salute is for you from number 1 Cat!

Sunrise, Sunset (or what a difference a week makes)

The saga of little NiuNiu comes to a most happy end. From the moment she was with her new guardian this dog stopped barking or acting out in any discernible way. It was love at first sight. After a quick trip to the vet (she checked out well but needed shots) she was licensed , flea treated (first time in a year) and groomed. The result speaks volumes (compare this photo to the one in my last post)  so all is well that ends well.  I took this photo when she came to observe the advanced obedience class on Sunday. I would encourage everyone to get involved in any way possible to help find homes for needy animals in these trying times.

NiuNiu is a New Girl!

While so much of the country suffers from triple digit heat, fires and storms we continue to be insulated by our natural air conditioning. The grass is always greener when it comes to weather and a little warmth (minus humidity thank you very much) would be most welcome now. A special moment of my day is watching the sunset from our window. It is always dramatic even when cloudy. That moment of transition that seems to take a long time and then is over before you know it applies to so many aspects of living. I have tried to capture these moments below. It is a blessing to be able to witness this splendor.

Take a moment to take in the sunrise (if you are up early enough) and no matter where you are make a point to catch the sunset everyday. Lev Tolstoy said if you want to be happy, BE. Watching sunrises and sunsets definitely works for me.

This weekend went to the dogs....literally. It also went to the discovery of a unique location found in the course of web surfing...but I digress. Coming back from Saturday morning errands I met a neighbor with her son and Bichon Frise NiuNiu. She disclosed that they were in the process of moving and the new apartment would not allow dogs so she was on her way to surrender NiuNiu to Animal Control. She had tried the SPCA but they were full up (as are most rescues currently due to the ongoing economic crisis this country faces). I pleaded with her to give me a few days to try to place NiuNiu. My goal was to sound out an obedience school classmate whose beloved  14 year old award winning obedience and agility dog succumbed suddenly to cancer two weeks ago. The owner has been inconsolable since but I just had a hunch....The good news is that little NiuNiu had a new home as of yesterday! My classmate took the plunge and brought NiuNiu into her life. Here is what she currently looks like. Will update this once she settles in with her new Mom and gets some additional grooming.

As for my other discovery....after living in San Francisco for 40 years (can't believe that number!) I thought I knew every nook and cranny of this amazing city....wrong. While surfing the web last week I landed on a design site with the most amazing photograph of a stairway located on Moraga between 15th and 16th Avenues (check out www.tiledsteps.org for more info about the project).

Who knew? I was so moved by the pictures that I had to go see it for myself which I did Saturday with husband and pooch in tow. The work just blew us away  as did the view looking down. Needless to say pooch had to start climbing the steps and at the half way mark posed for a close up to the amusement of other tourists doing the same things. With all the staircases in this town this is a project crying out to be duplicated to beautify our neighborhoods.

On a clear day.......

Always the center of attention!

Happy exploring all!

So another week has crept by and one of the more amusing moments was receiving this amazing zucchini on steroids from my friend. It will be transformed into ratatouille tonight courtesy of a recipe from my Epicurious app.  Could not help but ponder the miracle of growing vegetables and this one is truly just that.

While searching some other items today I was reminded of some video I had found a while back that is a wonderful example of authentic Roma dance performed by a Romanian group performing at a folk festival in Switzerland. Curtain up! Happy TGIF all!

ANTICIPATION! Tonight is Project 7 - Golden Links. Think we have our work cut out for us. Here's what I hope to achieve but will post my finished result tomorrow.

Also loved the amulet friendship bracelet project so much that I went ahead and made the black evil-eye version too.