03.28.11
Posted in Just Me at 11:04 AM by Ann Hornbeck
Man, oh man, what a day yesterday! I joined other members of a MeetUp.com group for a Skyline Wilderness hike in Napa County. It ended up being a 10-mile hike through California Oak groves surrounded by beautiful meadows with old rock walls covered in bright green moss, across ancient boulders and up and down huge boulders that embraced a so-called stream that was literally roaring due to the amount of runoff California is experiencing from the high snow levels in Northern California. I must admit there were quite a few times when all of us pushed the envelope. Twice, one young woman was in tears, but what a trooper and how proud she must be feeling today! Tom Bold is the organizer and at 69, he was an amazing leader. One of the hikers was an outdoor enthusiast and photographer so he got some amazing shots, standing in rushing waters with his tripod carefully placed between boulders. And, he was the hero who would place his feet in the water to help people across the streams. We created our own trails at times to make our way down the “stream” to find better and safer crossings. Oh my, the things we did! I was a total tomboy as a child, but as I’ve aged, I try to be more careful – except yesterday! I see my self perched on the side of the hill, my walking stick poking into loose soil as I tried to shimmy up and over the ancient wall. Today, my body will rest. I will have lunch or dinner with a friend and that’s about it!
Here are a view pictures for your viewing pleasure.
Here are some videos. As you can see, I need a lot of lessons on filming using an iPhone! Thank goodness, the memories will live on!
Click IMG_0268 for some meditative sounds, including me at the end as I moved my camera before realizing it! Ha!
And, check out this oak grove: IMG_0248
Peace!
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03.24.11
Posted in Just Me at 8:20 PM by Ann Hornbeck
Click here to see: Anna saying good morning to the chicks!
Angie brought four baby chicks home today – a Buff Orpington, a Rhode Island Red, Barrod Rock, also known as Plymouth Rock, and an Ameraucana. It is amazing that every home within the city limits is now “allowed” to have hens in the yard. How cute they are! She set them up in Jack the Dog’s kennel and of course, under a heat lamp as they are very, very tiny – only two days old! Jack being a lab, a.k.a, a BIRD DOG, thinks that his Master brought them home strictly for his enjoyment. I do not expect Kona the Cat, who is 18 years old, will even give them a nod! I have already begun praying for the little buggers! We have a hoot owl in the redwood tree, Jack the Dog, the neighbor’s spaniel that is always and forever digging under the fence so he can poop in our yard, and of course, the raccoons, cats and other “neighborly beasts” that will sniff them out. I am guessing that this coming weekend, assuming we finally have a day without rain, will be centered around construction projects! I remember coming down the mountain from Snow Shoe, or maybe from Dolly Sods and stopping in a little historic town on our way back to my hometown. Doug and I went into a diner and the eggs were absolutely FABULOUS because they literally walked to the back yard and picked the eggs out of the coop. What did we expect!?! It’s funny how the new way is the old way. Sometimes I think we are actually waking up as a society, but it is still going to take a long time before we get it right. Every step gets us closer.
Ciao!
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03.21.11
Posted in Music, Poetry and Inspiration at 1:17 PM by Ann Hornbeck
Bo and Greg - this was the best concert yet, but I have only been to three!
Lucy and I grabbed the set list that was left on the rug after the show.
All weekend, I kept thinking and thinking about seeing Greg Brown. So, yesterday, I finally decided on the spur of the moment to drive to Berkeley to see him at the “Freight and Salvage.” I left my home at 4:00 pm and miraculously was parked and ready to walk across the street to get in line by 5:00 pm. I get to the venue and only two people are in line before me. They had tickets, I didn’t, but I decided to just stay where I was so I could at least get in the door and wait for SRO tickets. About 1/2 hour after I had settled in, a woman comes to the box office to pick up her tickets. She turns around and says, do any of you need a ticket – uh, yes, that would be me. When the doors opened at 7:00 pm, guess who was on the FRONT ROW again! Yes, me!!! It was a blast – the best concert of theirs that I have seen thus far. I sat next to this very nice couple and they posted their review of the concert on the Greg Brown Yahoo group, of which I am also a member. It’s a great group and believe me, there are a lot of fans! I know Greg has played at the Mountain Stage numerous times, so for you WV people, check out his calendar at www.gregbrown.org.
Here is the post on the Yahoo group from my new-found friends – enjoy!
“We just got back from a sold-out show at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley CA. One of the best Greg/Bo shows we’ve seen.
First set: Bo Ramsey, elegant in a pin stripe suit, playing elegant notes on a small body acoustic Gibson, maybe playing in Drop D or DADGAD (The following may not be the titles of the songs, but are our best guess):
Tell Me How
What’s goin’ Down
Shades of Grey
To Forget You
Jimmy Lee
Long, Long Time
555 X 2
“I’m happy to be here” (applause and hooting) “I’m Happy to be playing anywhere Greg Brown is…(smile)..he’s my friend.”
Greg Brown:
Canned Goods
Blue Car
Freak Flag
Fat Boy Blues
Let the Mystery Be (Iris Dement)
New song “Where you goin’ when you’re gone?”
Hard Time Killin’ Floor (Skip James)
Lately
Late Night Radio
You Drive Me Crazy
Mercy Mercy
Tender Hearted Child
Pray
Jesus and Elvis
China
If I’d Known
Bo Ramsey started the evening with his quiet, almost delicate guitar work and singing. Greg Brown was full of great humor and wonderful phrasing. Bo and Greg Brown are seamless together. Greg Brown just gets better and better, his deep gravelly voice and soulful delivery made the room come alive, the irony of a line like …”and if I had it all to do again, I am not sure I would…play the poet game.” …and still he’s playing the poet game, thankfully for us all.”
Peace!
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03.20.11
Posted in Politics at 9:31 AM by Ann Hornbeck
Today, heavy drops of water continue to fall to the earth creating a sheet of silver beads that become concentric circles before feeding and overfeeding the back yard. But, living in a desert region, it is all or nothing, so we take it as it comes. Such is life, especially if you want to maintain your sanity in what sometimes appears like an insane existence, but in reality, everything is exactly as it should be – perfectly perfect! I am bummed that I didn’t get tickets to see Greg Brown again at the Freight and Salvage. Now I am wondering if I should venture out to Berkeley and hang out in the pouring rain to see if I can get a SRO ticket. Sigh. Sometimes, life gets in the way, but how wonderful it all is! Yesterday was my oldest granddaughter’s birthday – 11 years old! Her birthday party was at the gym where they take lessons, so it was a great time for everyone as it was a private party. Even little Anna at two years old was jumping off the trampoline into the sea of foam! Of course, grandma had to turn away once in a while as too many daredevils made this old daredevil very nervous! I continue to check my iPhone at least four times a day to stay aware of recent events in Japan and Libya. What’s it all about, Alfie? I read an NPR piece on how the Japan tragedy is one of those “events in history that sear themselves into the world’s collective imagination.” I definitely agree with that. And regarding the Libyan assault, were there other ways to stop the violence? The game of war is definitely not for the faint of heart! I often reflect on the Vietnam War and Kent State. Yes, it was a turning point and total fear that caused the soldiers to fire upon the innocent crowd, but how would the U.S. react if a similar situation occurred here? I wonder, but hope we never have to experience it. I think the U.N. did the right thing, but I always hope for peaceful solutions. ”I’d love to change the world….”
Peace!
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03.14.11
Posted in Just Me at 11:47 AM by Ann Hornbeck
Today, I feel like a jetsetter after flying to L.A. with a friend early on Saturday a.m. and returning home at 2:30 a.m. on Sunday. What a weekend! The purpose was to meet up with Jayne Anne as she was doing a reading and book signing at the Long Beach Festival of Authors “Literary Women” event in Long Beach. Here are tidbits taken from the program, and what a list of great women: Elaine Showalter, who wrote “A Jury of Her Peers: American Women Writers from Anne Bradstreet to Annie Prouls,” a critic and feminist who has written numerous books and articles on cultural and social issues; Rae Armantrout, the author of “Versed” and the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award in 2010; Tatjana Soli, whose debut novel, “The Lotus Eaters,” a book that gave a women’s voice to the Vietnam War through the eyes and heart of a female photographer; Jennifer Haigh, the author of three novels – “The Condition,” “Baker Towers” and “Mrs. Kimble” and the recipient of the PEN/L.L.Winship Award for outstanding book by a New England author; Heidi Durrow, the author of “The Girl Who Fell from the Sky,” the winner of the Bellwether Prize for Literature of Social Change, and has numerous degrees and is an essayist for NPR; Linda Gordon, a professor of history at New Your University, her goal to bring large-scale historical development to life, and last but most-definitely not last, Jayne Anne Phillips, her most recent novel “Lark and Termite,” the winner of the Heartland Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award,, and the Prix de Medici Etranger, and a finalist for the 2009 National Book Award. This event began in 1982 and you can check out their website at www.literarywomen.org. So, me and my friend Diane were glad to do a little schmoozing with the event organizers afterwards, and we also got to have dinner with Jayne Anne and her friend Pam later in the evening. It was wonderful to see her and to catch up on our lives. The next morning, we did a good walk around the promenade and then drove to Manhattan Beach on our way to the airport. I love L.A., but Northern California is the place I love most – on the Left Coast! Our flight was supposed to leave at 3:30p.m, but it was 10:30 or 11:00 p.m. before we actually took off and after 2:00 a.m. before arriving home. But, it was well worth it. Prayers continuing for Japan and for all of us as this “disaster of epic proportions” continues to unravel. There are no words to describe the agony and pain and loss that so many are experiencing. But, we can make a difference through our love and our connectedness.
Peace.
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03.11.11
Posted in Politics at 7:49 PM by Ann Hornbeck
Today is a very sad day for Japan and across our world as a tsunami caused by a huge 8.9 magnitude earthquake devastated much of northeast Japan. The videos tell the story, but will never erase the memories of those who survived and lost many. Here in the Bay Area, we saw the effects of the tsunami in SF Bay, Half Moon Bay, Ocean Beach, Capitola and Crescent City to the north. Thank goodness it was minor in comparison. Tomorrow is an exciting day as I am flying to Long Beach to see Jayne Anne! I am flying stand-by, so wish me luck! Interesting that she arrived to the Left Coast to experience a possible tsunami. But, come to think of it, wherever she goes, there she is! She’s a shaker and a mover! I am trying to wind down for a pre-dawn rise, but right now there are 16 people in the house – 7 adults, two pre-teens, and the rest, children under the age of 4. Anna and Ben’s bedrooms are a disaster, but everyone is enjoying the moment. It’s funny, but I must admit, the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree! Break bread, drink wine, and bless every moment! Life sure is precious.
Peace, love and happiness!
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03.07.11
Posted in Just Me at 11:09 AM by Ann Hornbeck
Anna's birthday at the Discovery Museum
A full weekend for me and now glad to have some down time today. I ran on Friday and Saturday, and did a little shopping for birthday presents. And, yesterday, the family celebrated Anna’s 2nd birthday at the Discovery Museum in Fort Baker. This fort sits right below the Golden Gate bridge, and provided some really cool pictures of the bridge as the fog hung out, creating a soft visual of a San Francisco moment. WikiPedia Fact: “The weight of the roadway is hung from two cables that pass through the two main towers and are fixed in concrete at each end. Each cable is made of 27,572 strands of wire. There are 80,000 miles (129,000 km) of wire in the main cables. The bridge has approximately 1,200,000 total rivets.” Afterwards, we ate at The Spinnaker, a staple in Sausalito. Everyone was pretty exhausted upon arriving home! Today, I hope for a hike, but first things first as I must get my taxes ready for delivery to my tax person. Such is life! And how very special it is!
Peace!
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03.03.11
Posted in Politics at 7:58 PM by Ann Hornbeck
What a beautiful day it was – warmer weather as the day resolved itself to the evening skies, preparing for that which comes much later now as hints of spring and longer days most obvious and welcomed. Alas, the weekend will bring rain, as reservoirs near capacity and volumes of melting snow push ever forward, searching, seeking, and discovering its destiny among the rocks and riverbeds. My body expects routine, yet my mind requires rest from a long night prior, and a full day today. Robin’s birthday was spent at a wonderful restaurant in Sacramento with longtime, English friends joining the celebration. It was a great evening! Tomorrow, I will run and again on Saturday, followed by a hike on Sunday, weather permitting. I must remain active, acute, and open to possibilities. But for now, I will just be.
Peace!
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