Concert in the Park- Pacific Symphony

B and I spent Sunday evening at Pittsford Park. Every year they do a concert series here. We've only actually ever made it to the last, most grand concert. It is part of the Target Symphony in the Cities series which features none other than the Pacific Symphony.

Did everyone notice the full grown man sitting behind his gimongous dog? The dog was huge. Huge and slobbery.



Back to the concert. The fun actually starts around 5:30 when they have music related arts and crafts. I saw some fantastic handcrafted tambourines.

The gentleman in the middle is Carl St. Clair, the music director for the symphony. Here he teaches eager pupils the art of conducting.



Most of my pictures looked more like a movie about child zombies. I did catch a smile on this young man. He was focused and soaked up everything Mr. St. Clair said.



St. Clair is a fantastic teacher, in that eccentric music teacher kind of way. He made funny faces and large movements. He is celebrating his 20th year as the director and you can see in every gesture that his passion is as strong as ever.

If you are in the area and interested in seeing the Pacific Symphony try and make it to their Music For The Cure event benefiting the Susan G. Komen foundation.



These 2 sweeties were fading fast and nearly poked their daddy's eye out several times. Of course, I just stood and took pictures.

The little boy on the right was a ball of energy with the cutest little mohawk. His parents were equally adorable.



B and I had ridden our bikes down to the park. We found a nice spot on a hill to sit and relax as the Symphony took their places. It was very pretty sitting there under the trees.

Thats the stage to the right. My stage pictures were really craptastic but you get the idea.



These two were so adorable. Whenever she would drop her hand he would shift to be touching her again. I can't wait to adopt a dog someday. Someday when I grow up.



Oh my, is there anything more fun than children dancing? Dance, dance. Dance, dance. They were so into the music. I think songs from the King & I were playing at this point.



Not the boys though. They were too busy rolling down the hills and crashing into each other. It always helps if you have a good friend to give you that kick start.



You didn't think we would make it through an outing without eating something did you? Well, I wasn't going to but I had to support the local boy scout troop.

I only had a lick. OK maybe like 10 licks. But that was it. How many Weight Watcher points are 10 licks of soft serve?

~soft serve pictures provided by B, he did a great job!~



The music was beautiful. There is nothing like hearing music live.

We stayed and listened as the sun set behind the trees.

When was the last time you saw a concert or performance? Who did you see?

Gardena Obon Festival

Earlier in the month we went to the Gardena Obon Festival. I never posted the pictures because I thought that I might edit them in Picnik. But I have no idea what I'm doing and I'm lazy. :)

My plan is to distract you with cute children. How adorable are those little girls?!

The Obon Festival is the Buddhist "Festival of the Dead" or "Feast of Lanterns".

I will now hang my head in shame as I did not get a single picture of the lanterns.



This was actually the before picture. Then mom came over and gave a quick lesson on sitting like a lady.

I have a soft spot for kids in kimonos.

The Obon Festival may sound like a sad or somber festival but its not at all! It is thought that during this time each year the spirits of ancestors that have passed will come back to join their families again. Obon is a festival of welcoming and honoring the dead. Its a time to celebrate the homecoming of our families!



This Obon Festival is at the Gardena Buddhist Church. It is the largest in Southern California and happens to be my grandma's church. You know what all churches have in common?

Fantastic church lady food! And church man food, of course.



This is called Dango. Its basically fried-goodness. A batter of sorts. Its not sweet like a donut, more like a dense hushpuppy or fritter. I'd like to sound more knowledgeable but that's all I've got for you. You should have seen the line for this stuff!



The highlight of the Obon Festival is the Bon Odori. Hee, that sentence makes very little sense without explanation.

The Bon Odori is the cultural dance you can see in these pictures.



Each area of Japan has a different dance. This year there were over 1,000 dancers in Gardena!



I see a future Taiko drummer in the making. Unfortunately, we missed the Taiko performance. We could hear it in the distance but never made it over. Next year, we'll get there earlier. I was able to look up some of the performances here.



The members of the church and members of the community learn the dances in the few months before the celebration.

You don't have to be Buddhist or Japanese to be a part of the Obon Festival. Its is quite a community building event.

In the dances each of the movements have a meaning that are meant to soothe the spirits of those who have died as they travel back to their original homes.



Isn't she a doll?!

Various groups travel to each other's churches to participate in different Obons. Gardena had dancers from as far as Kona, Hawaii.



Some dress in the Yukata (light cotton kimono- please someone correct me if my informations is wrong), some in a t-shirt and shorts. This isn't a formal affair. You can just jump right in and mimic the repetitive movements.



This cutie is my niece Kate. She wouldn't let me take a picture but I caught her looking at her mom. Her younger sister is chubs.



See this gentleman. He had no idea what he was doing. You see, the lines of dancers go around in a big oval. Suddenly he just popped up and jumped in. He grabbed random people as he walked by and encouraged them to dance.



This flasher is my nephew Josh. B took this and I'm not sure what was going on here. Its a common kid thing, isn't it? He seems to be very serious. I wonder what kind of negotiations were being achieved.



Oh and this little one was so adorable I almost stole her. People frown on kidnapping, so i took pictures instead.

She is high-fiving my brother as she tells him quite a story. I couldn't say for sure what she was talking about as she was speaking Japanese. I don't speak Japanese.



I'm almost positive she is schooling him on the significane of lanterns to the Obon Festival. Lanterns are traditionally hung to help guide your ancestors home. White lanterns more specifically for those who have recently passed as it is thought they will need more help finding their way.

At the end of the festival the ancestor spirits must return to the world from which they came. In many areas a family member will light a lantern and float it down the river to help guide their loved ones home.

Or maybe she just liked the pretty lantern.

A Stranger in an SUV

About 2 years ago I was in the midst of my chemo experience.

I was bald but lucky enough to keep most of my eyelashes and eyebrows during that time.

I had a wig I wore at work. I never really felt comfortable in a wig. It didn't feel like the real me. So mostly I was bald or wore a hat or bandana.

Sometime around Christmas 2007 I was sitting in traffic at the "orange crush".

The orange crush is a horrid spot where 3 freeways merge and you feel like you may be destined to live out your days sitting there, creeping, gas, brake, gas, brake. As a frequent commuter I have a pet peeve regarding the courtesy of drivers in traffic.

You see, I wait patiently to merge. OK, not always, but semi-patiently.
My pet peeve is when someone tries to bypass the waiting line by driving up the side and forcing their way in ahead. Oh it happens. They just make up their own lane. Don't do that!

Didn't your momma teach you not to cut in line?!

I'm serious, it makes me mad.

I'm sorry, I'd like to take a moment for some deep breaths, possibly some chanting. OK, I feel better now.


On this particular day I had been sitting in traffic for about 40 minutes.

It was just starting to move when I noticed a white SUV creeping up the side.

What the heck is he doing?! We just merged into this lane and now he wants to get ahead of me?!

I turn to look at him and he is smiling.

Why is he smiling?!

And then something totally unexpected happened.

He gave me a thumbs up.

What is going on here?

He gently touched his head.

As a reaction I touched mine. I suddenly remembered I was bald.

I remembered that people notice a bald head.

I remembered that its a sign of what is going on in my life.

All this was just to give me a thumbs up?

I smiled back. I was still surprised.

He gave me another quick thumbs up as he pulled back into line.

A minute later I lost him in the sea of vehicles heading home.

I laughed, I clapped, I cried a little bit.

This man, this stranger in a SUV, saw me and wanted to show his support.

On a busy freeway, in the frustration of gridlock he looked over at me and thought of a gesture that would say "Hey good for you for rocking the bald head" or "You can do this, you can keep going" or "Whatever you are up against, people you don't even know are behind you"

I wish I had understood sooner what he was doing.

I wish I could have touched my heart to let him know what that thumbs up meant.

In reality I probably had more of a confused, blank look.

I like to think that he caught a glimpse of me beaming as he pulled back.

Wherever you are sir, I still think of you.

I will always remember the look on your face.

I will always remember the simple thumbs up you gave me and the huge impact it had.

Thank you.

Oh Bacon, how do I love thee?

Let me count the ways....

Last week I told you about the Orange County Fair that we went to.

But I left out my favorite thing.

Chocolate.Covered.Bacon.

Don't judge me! How could I not try such a thing?



So we walked up and I ordered. I heard the snickers and whispering voices behind me. "Eeeew, thats disgusting, I can't believe she is ordering that."

We were surprised when the vendor pulled a little chinese take-out box from the refrigerator behind him.



B and I love trying new foods. Earlier that day B had emailed me with an attachment of the vendor list from the fair along with some of the foods they would be serving.

There was no message on the email. There was no "Can't wait to go to the fair with you." or "Can't wait to take pictures of cute animals".

The e-mail was simply headed "plan of attack, ready, set, eat!!".

My B is a serious food lover.

My pick was the chocolate covered bacon.
I challenge you to wrap your minds around this.

Don't think of it as a greasy slab of bacon dipped in chocolate. Its not. Think of it as a chocolate bar with a crispy salty center.

Are you a fan of sweet and salty things? Chocolate covered pretzels? Its like that.



At the end you get a bit of bacon flavor.
Notice in the pictures there isn't any grease.

On top there are bits of kosher salt. In fact they give you extra salt for it.

I didn't salt it, I wouldn't do that. You know, I'm getting married in December and I don't want to gain any more weight. I wouldn't want to retain water.

I can officially say I've never met a piece of bacon I didn't like.

A little mellow on a busy day

Hello lovelies, doing a lot of running around today (like trying on my wedding dress for my first alterations consultation!). I also wanted to thank those who helped me format my blog so I could fit my pictures on here, I'm new to this whole blog thing and you are all very patient.

I found myself wishing for a day to do nothing but mellow out. So, I thought I'd share some mood mellowing videos with you.

This one I found on Loobylu's site. B and I are great fans of aquariums and this one is just amazing. I find it incredibly calming. I agree with Loobylu that the best way to watch this is to do the full screen version. (Just click on the icon in the bottom right hand corner next to vimeo- the one that looks like 4 arrows pointing to the corners)

Kuroshio Sea - 2nd largest aquarium tank in the world - (song is Please don't go by Barcelona) from Jon Rawlinson on Vimeo.
I love being able to see the people observing the aquarium. The videographer has an interesting website, his name is Jon Rawlinson.


This next one is of an artist called Priscilla Ahn. I heard her song in a round about sort of way and it took me a while to find out who she was. It wasn't until I found the videos I realized it was just her and one of those cool recording reverb things. Someone please tell me what that is called.

Priscilla Ahn - "Dream" from Paste Magazine on Vimeo.
I really can't remember the site I was on and it kills me. It was a site for a couple who do professional family videos. This song Dream was playing in the background. I just loved those videos, they had such a cinematic quality about them. I hope someday I'll come across that site again.

Don't you just lovely the quality of the videos on vimeo? If you aren't familiar with vimeo, get on and explore. Its not your youtube, its full of high quality videos and short films.

I'm almost done, I swear. Have I told you how much I love the rain? I've been yearning for a rainy day to cuddle up with a book. This forest may have come straight out of my fantasies.

Forest from JF on Vimeo.

What are you up to today?

The Sting-ray

This pretty purple girl is mine! She was a birthday present from B.

Do you notice the nifty 60's effect on the photos? Its seemed appropriate and these are officially the first photos I've gotten to edit.

Here is a comparison between the original and the 60's style picture. I couldn't decide what I liked better. I really like the style of the retro one but I missed the vivid purple of the bike.

So I'll be posting both, since I'm still learning here. I realize it makes the post sorta incohesive but we can just pretend we are in a time warp... and then back.. and then forward.. and then back...

So, about the bike. It all started at a bike shop in Sacramento when I spotted an original Schwinn Sting-ray called the Lemon Peeler. Anyone remember the Lemon Peeler with the 3 gear stick shift thingie? I love that bright yellow bicycle. But I will love her from afar.

Well the originals are quite expensive these days. Then B found out they were doing a limited time reproduction of the old sting-rays.

Don't you just love the banana seat?!

If it looks like a kids bike, keep in mind I'm only 4'11' and have 3 1/2 legs. What? I have 3 1/2 inch legs. I do not have extra appendages.

She is great for a nice ride by the beach. Of course, for every one time B pedals, I have to pedal 45 times.

I remember the first bike I ever got. It was a Strawberry Shortcake bike. I wish I still had that thing. It was Strawberry Shortcake before her new style of jeans and t-shirts. I was all about the OG.S.S. with her squishy hat, foofy dresses and green and white striped tights.

When I came out Christmas morning, Santa had left me that bike and it was standing in front of the Christmas tree. Ah, what a moment.

Do you remember your first bike?

The Orange County Fair

Last Thursday night B and I went to the Orange County Fair! Let me take you on a little tour of what we saw.

There were elephants to ride on! This was where we first walked in. Perhaps a sign of what I would look like if the fair were in town year round.



We got in just before sunset and some of the animals were settling down. Is that comfortable? It gives me a neck ache just looking at her.



Ladies, could you please line up for me? I'd like to take a picture.

Thanks so much, you look beautiful.



This guy was such a tease. He would come up to me and let me pet him but the minute I raised my camera he would look away.

Don't you play sly with me mister! I know your type!



Everywhere we turned we saw signs like these! Can you read that?! Deep fried white castle burgers?! Deep fried s'mores?! Can I help it if I totally giggle at the phrase Zucchini Weeni?

Actually we didn't notice until this very moment that there were frogs legs or I would have tried them. Has anyone had frogs legs before?



Just look at the size of that corn dog! I know the picture is blurry but it was the best I could do with him waving it around like a sword.



Oh and the donkeys. Its the first time I've seen donkeys up close. They are so pretty! They are soft and velvety looking with gorgeous black-lined eyes and seeing them made me think of the wonderful folks at Flat Creek Farm that also have donkeys.

Yes that was the best picture I could get. The donkey had an itch and who am I to stand in its way.



Look at this man. Are you a llama? Alpaca? Doesn't this gig have a dental plan? That is one heckuva underbite. Sexy hair though.



Here is another blurry one that I needed to share. Just look at that smile! What are you dreaming of Mr. Pig? A world without bacon? I can't believe I even just typed those words out... that would be a tragedy. Please forget you ever read that.

Back to Mr. Pig, don't we all wish we could sleep like that?

Just for giggles I thought I would share the original picture....



If you can't see the whole thing (the butt), click on the picture. This ladies and gentleman is why you need to pay attention when taking pictures. The most human-like quality of a pig if you ask me.



For you crafty folks I took a tour thru the Youth Building. These quilts were awesome!



In highschool I spent a couple summers here helping with displays and working in the activity section. This really meant doing crafts with the kids. Grueling work.

I so wanted to take this Halloween quilt home with me!



And how sweet is this tinkerbell costume! I think this post is starting to exceed my allotment of exclamation points!!



Of course, we spotted the Turkey Legs! They deserve capitalization.

I didn't take pictures of the other food B ate because it all looked the same. Fried and brown.



Oh and don't forget the corn! B likes his with butter. You may die when I tell you how I eat mine (while at the fair, not at home). 1. Take corn and open up 2. slather with a thin layer of mayo, yes mayo 3. shake parmesan cheese all over corn, feet, pants and anyone standing down wind 4. add garlic powder 5. add chili powder 6.. don't inhale while eating.

In closing, because I like to present nothing but my best side, I let B pick his favorite fair picture.



Yes, I will going back to Weight Watchers on Saturday.