Thursday, May 29, 2008

Only in California...


do cherries grow at the oil change shop.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Reflections on the Naked City

The Naked City is endlessly fascinating to me. From the food, architecture and most importantly the people. Several moments for me were especially poignant. Grand Central Station will always be a wonder of the modern world to me.
The Chrysler Building never ceases to amaze me. To me it is the pinnacle of art deco and one of the reasons I fell in love with Art Deco in the first place:
Another Art Deco building is the Beekman Tower Hotel. Great Views and a great example of Art Deco at its' best:

Last but not least is the Woolworth Building. To me it is one of the most imposing buildings in Manhattan. It just stand up, out, and about:
It is hard to not fall in love with the vibe that is the Naked City. But alas, Paso calls, after spending time with 8 million of my closets friends.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Yet another flight...


and all alone in exit row!

Japanese Comfort Food in Tribeca


Great japanese curry and Hoegaarden beer. Yum!

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

All Alone on the E Train

Over 8 million people in New York City and during rush hour I am the only one in this car on the E train.

Eerie...

Monday, May 19, 2008

Warp speed Mr. Sulu



Another Airport. Another Flight


And loud baby behind me again!

Monday, May 12, 2008

From Whiteboard to Reality

Several years ago the builders of this house took it upon themselves to design the landscaping. We started with some simple goals like drought resistant, deer resistant, and naturally offensive to fleas and ticks. We also wanted low maintenance, low overall water requirements, and last but not least it needed to blend in with the surrounding environment AND the house.

The photo of the whiteboard below was drawn in early 2006. The house is to scale as is the landscaping.


Mari Landscaping did a great job in taking this:

To this in Nov 07:



and finally, to this in May 08:

David Brown is going a great job and it shows not only in the work he did for me but in the reputation he continues to develop in North County.


And finally, a plug for Jeff Pipes of Pipestone Vineyards. Even tho he ran out of Zinfandel the Syrah 'almost' made up for it. ;-)

Jeff is doing some amazing work and I wanted to thank him and his wife for taking the time and sharing some of their experiences.

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Don't you know i'm loco...

One of the unintended benefits of this blog has been that it is a unique form of therapy for me. So imagine my pleasant surprise when I happened upon THIS article.

Another of the unintended benefits I have personally derived in this experience on the blogosphere is rediscovering how much I enjoy writing. In a way I can sense the new neural pathways being developed when I am attempt to find ways to communicate in writing landscaping projects, flooring work, owls keeping me awake at 2am, and the battles of the tarantula hawks vs. tarantulas.

So to the friends and associates who have been supportive during these most interesting times, I say many thanks. To the ones who have humored me and made me laugh and see things from a different perspective, thank you. And to the very special people who have stood by me during the moments when I actually may have lost my sanity, I owe you a debt I can never repay.