Eden's Wanderings and Wonderings

12? I am hard up to find something for this theme! So, here are what I came up with. :)

No trees were harmed to put this "tree" up.

I did not go all out decorating for Christmas this year. I had this "tree" instead. It has 12 ornaments in it... all parts of "The Night Before Christmas"... after the holidays, I keep them all inside this container... See, it says, 12. :)

This is a collection of 12 photos I will be looking at in the next twelve months... a gift from a dear friend. I can invision Paris... every month.

Have a good weekend everyone!

I had a trying time finding a photo that fits into the "Bulky" theme. Here is a photo taken some years back... 4 years perhaps. I traveled with a group of educators, family, and friends to Paris and London area. Fun. Time to go back.

Stonehenge... has to be Bulky.

The local paper here has a practice of publishing travel photos if a copy of the newspaper is featured in the picture... hence the periodical that I am holding. :) (Do not call the fashion police... I am so mismatched... LOL)

Jiggly

Starfruit at an open market in Singapore. I think the starfruit is kind of jiggly once they are sliced...

Summer of 2009, my daughter, Tracey and I went on a trip to Asia. We visited Singapore. We enjoyed a day at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. There is an area that has the largest collection of orchids. The demonstration lab , visible to the public, shows the Shaker room where orchids get a start... a jiggly procedure.

Here we are at one of the orchid gardens. A second look at my photo... I am jiggly in the middle... LOL

On that same trip, we visited Hong Kong. While there we visited Lantau island where the biggest Buddha is located. If this were not made of metal, it would have been jiggly. :)

Up close.

From afar....

Have a great weekend, everyone. It is a 3-day weekend for me. YEAH!

Balanced

Prior to our (my daughter and I) visit to Asia this past summer, my daughter researched things she wanted to see, visit, and eat while in Singapore. Lazy me went along with all she wanted to do.... I enjoyed that way of traveling -have someone else plan everything. So one of the things that she really wanted to try while in Singapore was Chili Crab, a seafood dish that originated in Singapore. Thus the balanced crab - the life of which hang on a balance.

Ok, backtrack... on how we got to the crab.

One of the days spent in Singapore , we headed to the Merlion area, as we, actually she read it was one famous tourist spot.

Here it is.

My daughter took this photo of me. I tried to take one of hers in a similar shot.... but I failed (miserably) to get that effect. Wonder how much balancing was necessary to get his shot. :)

From the Merlion area, we took a cruise to see the sights from the water.... or of the water.

The boat had this Warning Sign. Each infraction looked like the moves involved lots of balancing. I was not going to try any of those shenanigans. LOL.

We decided to have lunch away along the way and we were on the hunt for Chili Crab, My two cousins were with us on this holiday.

So here we are. Poor Crab before... balancing to determine how much he or perhaps she was going to cost us.

Midway.... looking delicious... and balancing on its claws.

After.... :( he had to give up the ghost for us.

Cuddly? First thing that came to mind were my grandchildren... But you may get tired of seeing me post photos of my grandkids... (No eye-rolling please, LOL)

So I thought this may be a substitute.... Tarsiers....although I think my grandbabies are the most cuddly...

In any case, my daughter and I went to the island of Bohol in the Philippines this summer and saw some Tarsiers.

Philippine Tarsiers are endangered species endemic to the Philippines. Its name is derived from its elongated "tarsus" or ankle bone. They are nocturnal animals, are tiny, and the species make them one of the smallest primates, also making them difficult to spot. The average adult is about the size of a human fist.

The place that had the exhibit had a "Hands- off" policy, so cuddling was out of the question at that time... But don't they look cuddly? Seriously cuddly, in my opinion. :)

This was a bit of a challenge for me... or perhaps I am just lazy this week, since I am on spring break. So here are some (somewhat) vertical interpretations - my take on the theme. :)

Vetical interpretation of the Italian flag.... Taken during a visit to Little Italy in San Diego, California.

Golden verticals - Entrance to Sterling Vineyards - Napa, California.

Crowded verticals - tall buildings Hong Kong Harbor - great backdrop for a morning TaiChi Class.

Love the row of palm trees ... with Tracey doing her morning Tai Chi.

During a educational class visit to Ardenwood Farm here in Fremont, Ca. An irritated peacock went vertical on us... much to the delight of my school kids.

Did I really push the vertical theme a bit too far?????? :) I told you, it was a bit of a challenge.

Have I mentioned how much I liked the movie La Mission? It is very rare for me to go to a movie theater, sit down, and watch a movie. Perhaps once a year I go to see a movie. But I went to see La Mission! Twice!

I loved it... So when I found out that Peter Bratt and Benjamin Bratt were going to be Grand Marshalls at the San Francisco Carnaval, I headed for the city with a couple of friends.

I was expecting them to ride in one of the classic cars featured in the movie.

... and they did.

The Grand Marshalls - Peter and Benjamin

The co-star who played Benjamin's son in the movie. What a cutie!

Peter Bratt, writer and director of La Mission

The obiquitous press... :)

Benjamin got out of the car, walked over towards us and gave me some up-close face time!

Ok, now I am happy to go back to the barely-dressed parade participants dancing the Samba....

I thought I had photos of a glass of the bubbly (my first thought)... but could not find any... So the hunt went on, took a different direction, and here are a couple of finds...

My grandson, Mikey has a bubbly personality, for sure - Here is he enjoying a bubble bath -

... taking a peek into his bubbly self - :)

During the school year, one of our units of study is The Wind. At recess, the children have the opportunity to play with "The Wind". Here are some of our play things - Bubbles being one of them.

This week's photo prompt is SIX! Six? This is really a challenge. I spent time looking through my photo albums looking for Six... Then when I found one, I wanted to see if I had more... I do take to challenges well... LOL

Six palm trees - Samboan, Cebu, Philippines. (From last summer 2009 visit to the home country)

Six "tentacles" on a flower... Singapore Botanical Gardens - Summer 2009.

Six signs at Bubba Gumps Restaurant, Victoria Peak, Hongkong. Summer 2009.

Six arms on goddessees. Lantau Island - side trip Hongkong Summer 2009.

I am back after missing a couple of weeks of PhotoHunt. :) This week's prompt is Triangle.

Here are a few triangles found around the San Francisco Bay Area.

My daughter, Tracey, in Sausalito with a few sailboats in the background. No, Tracey is not the Triangle but the background has a few of them ...

A closer look at the triangle mid-sea.

Edible triangle... crepe restaurant in Fremont, my present hometown.

Public? I was challenged by this theme. My intial thought was "public spaces" - influenced by my daughter who is a landscape architect. Here are some -

Public Spaces in San Francisco, California -

Golden Gate Park.... taken when we visited the Birth of the Impressionists exhibit at the De Young Museum. This a small public space; a tiny section of the Golden Gate park.

And a few others to form a public collection. :)

Public Servant at the park

Farmers Market at the Ferry building - very public... where I spotted Joe Montana shopping with his family. is he a public figure?

A sample of Public Display of everything - at the Pride Parade in San Francisco.

Public Beach - Ok, I couldn't help myself. just wanted to include (republish) my grandsons at a public beach. :)

Colorful - Drawings? Paintings? Clothing? I was hoping to have some out of this world colorful photos... None of the above - Flowers, more flowers - this time from the Farmers' Market at the Ferry Building in San Francisco.

I was recently in San Francisco. I have always wanted to go to the Farmers Market at the Ferry Building but somehow never made it there until this summer.

There were many kinds of flowers at many stands... amidst vegetables, baked goods, shellfish.

Orchids of all kinds.

Tracey picked the bunches she wanted.

Here is a colorful purveyor of vegetables , colorful - personality-wise.

Some shades of oranges at the Farmers Market.

The next one came with this warning. :)

It was more orange in real "fish".

I decided to use this book for the today's theme.

Why? You might ask... The author wrote the book in the structure of japa mala - the prayerful meditation beads of India... which has 108 beads. So instead of the traditional books written and divided into chapters, this story is a string of 108 episodic tales.... divivided into 3 sections, Italy, India, and Indonesia...

Japa malas have a spare bead... making 109....

Here is a sample page showing the numerical tales...

Japa malas are supposed to be inspiration of the rosary beads...which Catholics use today. Here's mine.... :)

Here's a couple of "framed" photos...

Inside the gondola at Sterling Winery in Napa Valley. Celebrating my daughter, Tracey's birthday with a visit to Napa...

Taken at my high school reunion in San Francisco at Hotel des Arts. My back reflection is framed by the mirror on the wall.

Man, it has been too long since I updated this blog... I almost forgot how to do it!

Here is my entry for Stripes... Some vertical ones :) Can you see the stripes (with a zigzaggy one ;))

Miniature, huh? Search, search...hunt, hunt....

Here is a miniature wedding cake. :)

My youngest son got married this past weekend - 10.10.10. Instead of a huge wedding cake, they had cupcakes and a miniature wedding cake to cut for the cake cutting ceremony.

And for good measure, here's the newlywed couple. I really just wanted to include a picture of them. :)

Orange!

At this time of year, I thought Orange would be easy... so here are my "oranges" taken yesterday.

Our school PTA had a pumpkin patch near the Kindergarten playground. Each student was able to pick his or her own pumpkin to take home.

My class went to the pumpkin patch with their 6th grade buddies.

Not to let a teachable moment go by without a Math/ Science integrated lesson, we compared and contrasted pumpkin sizes, shapes, used our 5 senses in the lesson too... Well, we have not tasted yet...perhaps next week. :)

Monday, we will be measuring the circumference, height and weight of our class pumpkin... When Halloween comes, we will be "pumpkined out" LOL...

While it was dark outside, the wedding of Andy and Vicky was an event to remember... and absolutely one of bright and warm memories... The Dad of the bride's pride and love for his daughter counters the dark outside with bright smiles.

Andy and Vicky's wedding reception was inside a chartered yacht. We sailed in the dark night of the San Francisco Bay. But inside was pure warmth as shown in the pic (Not Mine) of the Daughter and Dad dance inside the yacht.

Please come back tomorrow as I post the photos of this wedding (got permission from the photographer).

Itchy? This is one difficult theme....So here is what I came up with.... It's the elementary teacher in me ...

Saw these written signs at my church. It made me think at how much I have to be thankful for...
"Thanks" in many languages....

I continue to be thankful for so many... my family, my health, my friends ... etc...

Here are some ways to say thanks -

(in my mother tongue -Pilipino and my adopted language - English)

The last one is a bit blurry.... sorry... it is actually a lot blurry... :)

I do not know all the languages represented... Do you have any others to add?

Since it is Christmas, and I did spend a few days with my granddalrlings in the city by the bay, I am posting some San Francisco Christmas circles.

This is the wreath on the inside of a window at Burger Bar... the home of the $60 hamburger. :) The view from this window was spectacular with the Christmas tree in Union Square and the ice skating rink that is put up for the holiday.

Beautiful circles above the light display outside of Bloomingdales.

Lastly, various circles, on the tree, on the background... with my granddarlings at the SF Marriott lobby.

After breakfast on our second day in the city, we headed over to the Children's Museum. I had not been there before... so I was in the exploring mood just as much as the boys were.

The children's Museum is located in the Yerba Buena Center which is only a block away from the Marriott we were staying.

The Zeum carousel met us at the entrance. We could not pass it up.

Inside the museum were many fun activities. I felt like a kid again...

Lego wall

Auntie Tracey and Mike working at the Digital Art Station

Can you guess which characters the children made out of clay. They produced an animated show. Izzy and Mikey creators, Auntie Tracey did the cinematography.

FUN!

Hands - I had to go way back to search for a photo that will somehow fit today's theme.

This is a sample of my students' holiday presents for their parents. I painted the children's palms (all 27 of them x two hands) .... and made imprints on linen paper. After the imprints dried - (a couple of nights after school), I matted the hand imprints, glued a hanging mechanism to the back of the matting and wrapped each one for the children to give to their parents....

The children made holiday cards to attach to their packages.

I hope the parents liked them. I had one who acknowledged it, said it was precious, and thanked me. I was glad.

Standing - Today's theme...I always agonize (ok, exaggerating!) when it comes to choosing photos that fit the theme. Maybe because I need photography lessons real bad! These photos are from my phone, so blurry is the word. But here goes...

My grandson, Liam had plans for the drinks I brought to serve during his belated 2nd birthday party, tomorrow, Sunday.

He pulled them into place... one next to each other....

The boxes of drinks became his "balance beam"....

Children always see FUN in ordinary things!!!

Burrata Making Class -

Last Super Bowl weekend, a group of online friends met in Paso Robles, California to go wine tasting, share meals together, enjoy other activities, and had great fun. One of those activities was a Burrata Class. A few signed up to learn how to make Burrata. The results were yummy... Here is some photo documents of the event.

Ingredients -

Some of the students -

A little of this, a bit of that.... :) ... not really, the teacher was "engineer-precise" with his methodology.... working in a most sterile looking cooking place!

Heat to a precise temperature...

Almost ready -

Perfect Mozzarella -

Fill in with a bit of marscapone and voila - burrata!

PhotoHunt - Mostly Black

Went to my closet... Yeah, mostly black there ... then red... (I need to change the ugly hanger collection though...to probably "mostly black" hangers...)

I also had this mis-matched socks.... mostly black... from my "Sock-ivore" clothes dryer ... (term borrowed from my daughter-in-law, Jessie.)

The only machine that came to mind when I saw this topic...

This came last Christmas and I am so thankful as I can not make decent coffee... :) Now, with the help of this machine, I have coffee - ready to go anytime.