This stereographic photo viewer, or stereoscope, is on display at the Stevenson House in Monterey, California. Robert Louis Stevenson lived there in the latter part of 1879, and the house was one of several that my niece and I saw during our tour of the adobe buildings in […]
As Oliver Hardy once said to Mastercard; that’s another fine mess you’ve gotten me into. He didn’t actually say it to Mastercard, but he would have if he had my recent experience. To tell you this story, I have to provide a little background. I travel regularly from […]
In the last week I have gone from thinking “Oh, I’ll be OK” to “Oh, heck. I need an escape route.” There has been a rapid escalation in the number of cases of COVID-19 and, sadly, in the number of deaths both internationally and nationally. I have been […]
The building that houses Catholic Charities of Santa Clara has a magnificent main door on E. San Fernando Street in San Jose. This door does not get a lot of use, however. Most of the people coming and going from the building use a door at the side, […]
Will the San Jose Sharks play in an empty arena? That is the burning question of the day. Santa Clara County, where the Sharks play, is doing lots of sensible things to try to address the problems presented by COVID-19. They have encouraged people to work from home […]
Humans have invented amazing things, but some inventions are so ubiquitous that we overlook them. Today I am focussing my attention on one invention that owes everything to the ingenuity and industry of ancient civilizations. I am thinking about bricks. Ordinary, everyday, bricks. They have been around since 7000 […]
Last year, when it rained steadily for a few days, I had lots of snails on, under, and around my patio wall, trying not to drown. This year, when it rained in January, there were no snails. I commented on it to my roommate and wondered aloud if […]
In a week when the person most qualified for the US presidency withdrew from the race, it seems appropriate to draw your attention to a woman who should have much greater historical significance. San Jose State University has a marvelous library, named for Dr. Martin Luther King, and […]
The Mojmir Apartments building on South Third Street was built in 1922 and has been lovingly maintained. It is designated by the City of San Jose as a building of historical interest. The University of California’s website Calisphere describes the building as follows: The 1922 Mojmir Apartment building […]
The door to the Myth Lounge on Post Street in San Jose, CA, caught my eye. Its arched opening is reminiscent of church doorways, and the gray-stained woodgrain gives it an echo of a much more ancient building. I wondered if it had once seen a fire. To […]
My sister and I both enjoyed the lovely blossoms in the Japanese Friendship Garden in San Jose yesterday. The Japanese celebrate cherry blossoms as a metaphor for the graceful and ready acceptance of destiny and so there are several such trees in this garden. The transience and beauty of […]
What do the Wet’suwet’en First Nations blockades have to do with Alberta’s Budget 2020? Everything. The blockades are the rationale (flimsy as it is) for Bill 1, Critical Infrastructure Defence Act which the Kenney government will use to quell protests when Albertans experience the full impact of Kenney’s […]
Yesterday I discovered some new-to-me murals and a pocket dog park within one block of West Santa Clara Street between Almaden Avenue and San Pedro Street. I went into the dog park to take a picture of the mural and while there I made friends with Lucy the […]
Lake Cunningham Park in San Jose is just a few blocks from my sister’s home and a beautiful place to go for walks. We are both trying to maintain a regular walking schedule and to keep our step counts over 4,000. Yesterday we did that by walking around […]
While on a long layover in Toronto recently I discovered that the airport’s Paradies Lagardère stores have a Read and Return policy. You can buy a book and return it later at any of their airport stores (sometimes named Relay or Today) for a 50% refund. What a […]
My previous post described the train I took with some family members in 2017 on the Bluebell Railway from East Grinstead to Sheffield Park in England. The reason we were taking that train was, in part, to enjoy the nostalgia of riding on a steam train. Our destination, […]
In 2017, some UK family members and I enjoyed a ride on the Bluebell Railway. We were on one of several steam locomotives on a railway line that was closed by British Railways in 1955 but preserved by enthusiasts and still running today. We took the train from […]
I am a snowbird who travels south for the winter. When I get there I have a bird of paradise plant on my patio.
