All In One City

I hope you aren't getting tired of these photo tours of San Francisco. I saw so much that I wanted to share with you. Beauty and art were everywhere, but really no particular "San Francisco look". Instead, there are a thousand styles, and room for it all. See what I mean?

two views down a Mission District alley

at the Legion of Honor museum ~ in an alley in the Mission District

I stopped in the crosswalk to take this picture. A driver
yelled out of the window at me, "What are you doing lady?" I yelled back,
"I'm taking a picture. What do you think?" Bloggers. You can tell them anywhere.

sky views around the city

Cole Valley Victorian ~ Mission District apartment

So, which one is more your style?



All pictures taken by me in San Francisco, July 2009.

Another Unphotographable

In case you are new to this space, SOOJ means straight out of the journal. Unphotographable is s what I call the moments I try to capture with paper and pen when the camera fails me. Want to play along?

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Another unphotographable moment:

Richard Avedon exhibit - SF MOMA

Three pretty girls, probably late teens, very casually dressed in jeans and t-shirts. All of them standing in slack-jawed wonder gazing at Avedon's portrait of Marilyn Monroe. After a few silent seconds, they all reach into their pockets and pull out cameras and cell phones. Trying to capture a little bit of Marilyn for their own lives, a little bit of her incredible glamour.

They don't know yet that they have a beauty all their own.

Photograph by Richard Avedon. I wish you could see it as I did. Huge - like eight feet by eight feet. Huge.

My San Francisco, the Technicolor Version

Oh,what a city!!

Is that a perfectly iconic window or what?

street display in the Mission district

happy buildings

another SF icon



I do love this store's sign.

There is art everywhere you look.

Coming soon - the art of architecture, murals, and museums.

Speaking of colors - what is your own favorite colorful picture? Won't you leave me a link. And, while you're at it, tell me what's your favorite color and color combinations.

My San Francisco

the world's most beautiful bridge

down by the Wharf with Alcatraz in the background

the view as we left Mt. Tamalpias

shadows along the path

geometry inside the Conservatory of Flowers

lovely curves

one perfect waterlily at the Conservatory of Flowers

I didn't use a zoom lense, this seagull really isn't shy.

It doesn't get much better than this.

I showed you mine, now will you show me yours?

What have you been up to this summer?

The Sweetest Spot

We're home again. Deep sigh. I do love to travel, but there is no sweeter place than home. For the first time in three loooooooong weeks, we're all together and all alone again. Peace. Sweet, sweet peace.

Yes, our body clocks are all messed up - just look at the time stamp on this post. Yes, we have a pile of putting away to do. Yes, I have about a thousand pictures I want to share. Yes, there is a rather large pile of laundry waiting, and a trip to WalMart is definitely in order. Yes, I am dying to visit you and find out all I've been missing. Yes, I have about 23 posts bubbling in my brain. Yes, our cat is so happy we're home that she's bugging the fazoozle out of all of us. Still. It is so good to be home.

I snapped this photo about 7 minutes ago. Thought you might like a peek at Team Lawson and what we do when we should be sleeping, but can't. Just out of the frame you'll find my legs under the laptop and Jeffrey on the floor with a book and a pillow. In all the world, this place, exactly here, is the sweetest spot.

Unphotographable

I had so much to write about while I was in San Francisco that I ended up needing to buy a new journal. I know, what a hardship. The people-watching was excellent, and you know how much I love to people watch. One of the things I did while I enjoyed the city was write a collection of unphotographable moments. Like this one:

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Another Unphotographable:

Riding the N Judah - by 23rd Avenue

We just passed a big football-player-in-college looking guy sitting outside on a little bitty balcony. He was wearing a sweatshirt, shoulders hunched against the cold, drinking steaming coffee out of a mug. The balcony was only big enough for him, a tiny chair, and a minuscule table. The difference in scale should have been amusing, but he was so obviously enjoying his mini kingdom. Instead, he reminded me of Babar; somehow dignified and smile-inducing in his undersized chair and balcony.

Babar rare image found here. Wonderful books about his adventures found in a bookstore near you.

Brad-ish Adventures

Hello, all. We made it, and have been having a marvelous time!

If you recall, Thelma was the one who had the adventure with a very young Brad Pitt. Louise was the one with the gun. Being Thelma on our particular road trip, I feel obligated to report on all my own male-oriented adventures. You'll have to check with Robin on for anything gun related.

Just for you, a pictorial tour of my SF adventures with men:

I was winked at by a very handsome man.

I formed a crush on a stylish musician.

I was hit on by a blond man from Birmingham while walking around Union Square.

OK, he didn't look exactly like Brad. But, the rest was real - just ask the drunk who teased me about it afterward.

Even though I did not get to meet Brad Pitt, I did see Johnny Depp while I was at the Legion of Honor.

We'll be back in Oregon soon. I'm missing you all, and sending you love from beautiful San Francisco.

Photo credits: Bay Bridge as we crossed and The Winker by me. The Red Hot Skillet Lickin' Trombonist by Bird Tweets. Brad Pitt by anonymous paparazzi. Photograph of Paul Mounet by me, painting by Louis-Maurice Boutet de Moneval.

Simple Pleasures

Today, I'm joining Christina in celebrating the simple things. Won't you please play along?

a kiss

child's smile

birthday cake

playing Barbies

building with Legos

a new, swishy haircut

singing the birthday song

coins on the laundry room floor

reading Pride and Prejudice again

being surprised by a field of poppies

a good book and a long, quiet afternoon

the smell of laundry just in from the line

a warm towel when you get out of the bath

wearing rings on your fingers and rings on your toes

the sweaty goodness you feel after a hard game of basketball

taking a book to the park and ending up napping under a tree

the first moment when you take off your bra after a long day

cherries popped into your mouth straight from the tree

an entire evening with nothing to do but blog

ripe tomatoes, still warm from the sun

wearing sparkly, dangly earrings

the freckles across Sloane's nose

a totebag full of library books

bare feet in dew-damp grass

finding a great new lipstick

a surprise in the mailbox

a hatbox full of ribbons

crepe paper streamers

cherry red toenails

well-shined shoes

vintage bicycles

Pandora.com

French toast

brown eggs

mixtapes

parasols

love

!!

All the amazing photography is by Ennui and used with permission.

Just Call Me Thelma

The bags are packed, a picnic menu is planned, directions have been printed, wardrobe consultations have been conducted, a loose schedule has been established. Now, where did I put my darn scarf? Scratch that. Louise wore the scarf anyway.

I'm off to Oregon. Louise and I will be hitting the road Thursday morning headed for San Francisco. We're meeting up with another dynamic duo for Blog Camp, the SF version. I'll be checking in here from time to time. I hope to update you with some of our adventures.
We won't end quite like this. I promise.




All images from the movie Thelma and Louise.

Operation Paper

During my free week I've struck a nice balance between real productivity and lots of play. I've been scarce around your places, but I will return soon. I promise. This week I've enjoyed two girlfriend days with lots of shopping, and I celebrated the Fourth with my parents. The rest of the time I've been bouncing between projects at home. I've been puttering. I do love to putter. I alternate listening to a great book on tape, music to get you movin', or a movie for background noise. Do you putter? Do you have something playing to keep you company? What projects do you do during your puttering times?

I've been calling my biggest project of the week Operation Paper. You see, I love paper any way it comes. I could also have written a personal passions post about paper. Aside from its frequent beauty, what I love about paper is all the wonderful words, ideas, and images it can hold. Art paper, wrapping paper, odd sketches, scraps of doodles, old wallpaper, ATCs, old letters, notes passed in school, scrapbooking paper, my old journals, Sloane's old journals, new journals waiting for words, notecards, snail mail, old school art, paper copies of great emails, books, old photo albums, two boxes of loose family photographs, letters I need to respond to, studio photographs I never did anything with, a collection of vintage images, vintage ephemera, vintage books for some-day art projects, ticket stubs, memorabilia, inspiring catalogs, magazines, magazines, magazines... Collections of paper seem to sprout in all the the corners of my home, endlessly multiplying at night while we are all sleeping. By the end of today, it will be taken care of. Every bit of it will be sorted digitally with only a fraction of it taking up real time space. The rest will be donated, recycled, or stored appropriately. I've even found a place that will convert my boxes of photos into digital images. WAHOO!!

Now. How to keep the paper creep away?

1. I am ripping up my collections of magazines, scanning the pages I loved, and getting rid of the rest. Believe it or not, I have every issue of Real Simple - ever. The same for Victoria magazine and Mary Englebreit Home Companion. I also have a ton of Martha Stewart Living. Man! I am showing myself to be pretty obsessive, aren't I? It's just that such wonderful ideas, thoughts, and images are stored on all that paper. (Please note, I've done the rip and scan thing for my other magazines all along. I'm only just now willing to let go or Martha, Mary, and RS.)
2. I am catching up on scanning Sloane's old art and mailing it along with chatty letters to relatives and friends that might actually care.
3. I am giving away all those snapshots and studio pictures I never did mail to friends and family.
4. I am planning to use my plane time to catch up on all those owed letters.
5. I've added a line in the budget for all the postage I'm going to need.
6. I've made a commitment not to buy any more pretty paper, art paper, or gift wrap until I've made a substantial dent in my supply. Even at the amazing Urban Arts + Crafts in Kansas City, I made good on my promise. OK, I did buy two pieces of paper, but I've already got a project for them both.
7. I already told you about digitizing my photographs.
8. I've also created a notebook to organize the incoming paperwork for the future. Other than that notebook, I've got a plan in place for the rest of the clutter. I'll just have to be sure to keep up with it.

Phew! I just reread this post, and I am feeling pretty good about myself right now. I can't afford to get too smug, though. I have still got plenty to do. I'm off to the piles. I'll be thinking of you. Happy Sunday.



All the wonderful art in this post is by Amy Abshier Reyes and is used with persmission. Please visit Amy's blog to learn more about her and have a chance to win some of her wonderful artwork. If you're like me, when you visit her Etsy shop you'll have a hard time deciding which one to buy.