Nov 29 2011

Zoo Day With Mami

Spent a few hours walking around the San Diego Zoo with my mom today. Got her out of the house to get some exercise. Perfect day for it with the warm weather and no crowds. Highlight of the visit was seeing two tiny capybara, one which was only two weeks old and the other which was born yesterday. Also watched a 3D movie in the newly opened 4D theater by the upper access to the Skyfari. It was an environmental/conservation take on “Happy Feet” with original cast voices. The film itself was pretty good, the 3D was decent and the in-theater effects were ok, but I believe they should rethink their decision to charge extra to see it. At $6 per person ($5 for member) I don’t think they will get too many viewers. We had only seven people for our showing, although it was a light day and not too many people know the theater is there yet. Still, after paying the entrance fee and food being expensive, I think most people will just pass on this.

( z o o l o g i c a l   p i c s )

Nov 28 2011

Christmas Frustrations

What was supposed to be a fun-filled day of Christmas decorating with my friend, Sylvia, turned into a day spent driving to K-Mart, Costco, Sears, Walmart and Target looking for just the right style of Christmas lights that she was needing for this year’s decorations. At each location she got more frustrated by not finding what she wanted. By the time we finished with Target, her Christmas mood was almost completely gone. We were able to decorated a handrail with existing lights, garland and ribbon, so it wasn’t a complete waste. Plus, at least I got to hang out with long-time friends. I’m still hoping to be on their roof by this weekend.

( d e c o r   p i c s )

Nov 26 2011

Cats Again – Day Four

Fourth and final full day of cat-sitting for the neighbors. Today the focus was mainly on action shots with a few portraits thrown in. Slowly I’m getting to know what to expect and when with the cats. And slowly they are getting used to me shoving a camera into their personal spaces. But alas, tomorrow morning the adventure ends.

Nov 26 2011

One Year Down

One year ago today I sheepishly posted my very first blog entry. It was quite brief, highly uninteresting and dismissible at best. In the year since that first almost stillborn post my regular viewership has exploded, literally tripling from just one reader (me) to an astounding three readers (still, including me)! And more than one third of all comments on my blog, including my replies, have been spam. I can honestly say that after 1,107 posts the success of this blog is proceeding exactly as planned. The future looks dimly bright indeed!

Nov 25 2011

Cats Again – Day Three

Third day of watching the neighbors’ cats. All eight of them. All black. All large. All skittish. All rights reserved.

Nov 25 2011

Tumblr Win For A Day

Apparently my Cotton-headed Tamarin and Red-headed Rock Agama photos on my Tumblr blog were very popular today. No idea why the surge, but grateful for the interest. Probably a lot of cross-blogging going on. I guess I need to start adding more images.

Nature's Realm

Nov 25 2011

Starbucks With My Mom

Went for a post-Thanksgiving coffee trip to Starbucks with my mom today. Besides our beverages we also split a slice of delicious lemon loaf cake, which, unlike social media of late, never ceases to satisfy me.

 

Nov 24 2011

Cats Again – Day Two

Second full day of cat-sitting for the neighbors. Not much to share other than it started on a cloudy morning with the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV, which I didn’t even watch, and ended with a night version of the morning shot.

Nov 24 2011

Religious Insect

After our Thanksgiving dinner I noticed a praying mantis on the outside of our kitchen window screen. Not sure if he was praying to be asked in to join us in the holiday celebration or that he was eternally grateful for not being involved in our gathering and was perfectly happy eyeing us from the other side. Either way I was quite willing to bother it with my image-capturing hobby. And I’m uncomfortably certain that he’s looking right at me.

Nov 24 2011

Thanksgiving With The Family

Seven ninths of our immediate family plus three kittens assembled for our Thanksgiving meal of turkey (duh), mashed potatoes, corn, cranberry sauce, asparagus, broccoli and yams. Completely forgot to make the gravy and the dressing. At least we can make those later for all the leftover turkey. For dessert we enjoyed cupcakes and both apple and pumpkin pies. The day ended with a really nice, puffy cloud-filled sunset to the west. All in all a pretty decent Thanksgiving. The glass of red wine probably helped.

Naked turkey
The preparation
Inside the oven
Turkey’s done
Turkey bits
Ex-turkey
Mashed potatoes
Corn
Asparagus
Cranberry sauce
Broccoli
Marshmallow yams
My plate
The family
Apple pie
Pumpkin pie
Cupcakes
Gaggle of cats
Not fitting in
Ending sunset

Nov 24 2011

Cool, Free Christmas Music

Excellent Christmas music for free from Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors.

Nov 23 2011

Cats Again – Day One

First full day of cat-sitting for the neighbors once again. Pretty sunrise, a dead whale on the TV, cats everywhere…the usual stuff.

Nov 23 2011

Wonderful, These Videos Three

Three fantastic videos to share. The first two are color film videos from Disneyland in 1956, a year after it opened and the same year that my family escaped Soviet-oppressed Hungary, and the third is a must watch for appreciating every day we are alive.

Home Movies At DisneyLand – 1956 from Jeff Altman on Vimeo.

Home Movies At DisneyLand – 1956 **Part Two** from Jeff Altman on Vimeo.

Nov 20 2011

November Kitten Update

Went over to my brother Ozzie’s house to spend a little time playing with the kittens. Amazing how fast they’ve grown into miniature cats. His normal sized cat, Cody, really wasn’t that interested.

Nov 19 2011

A Birthday, A Wreath, A Movie, Couple Of Dogs, A Meal, A Sunset And A Coffee

Went to visit the Tapias today for Sylvia’s Xty Xth birthday. She was busy creating a couple of amazing wreaths made out of dyed corn husks while we watched her favorite Christmas movie, “Elf.” I watched the movie while petting both Lilo and Stitch’s tummies. Never was reciprocated. After a delicious home-made meal and the movie, we left during a beautiful sunset to get some holiday drinks from a nearby Starbucks. And we saw a blimp fly overhead that was lit completely lit from the inside. Those pictures didn’t turn out.

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