The GGA Project -- Day #179 "Good Place to Grow Old, Young"

Somebody, man and I can't remember who!, mentioned the other day that there was one of these here in Hayward.  But I couldn't believe there was one of these here in Hayward, not least because there's no way there could be without my folks having known about it.  They're all over this sort of thing.


I learned of it (and darn it, who WAS it I was talking to?!  I hate when that happens) because we were discussing what a sad sad thing the koi pond down in San Jose is now.  It's everything you'd want in a koi pond EXCEPT THE KOI FISH!  I'm sure there's a story there, perhaps a very sad story, but I don't know yet what it is.  But this is not about the koi pond in San Jose.


This is about the fact that if you make a left onto a quiet little street off one of Hayward's main drags, make another left when that street ends, and another left at the Senior Center, you arrive where my Mama, the Monkey and I did for


Today's New Activity: Visiting Hayward's Japanese Friendship Garden, Complete with a Koi Fish Pond, Complete with Real Koi Fish

Wow.  What a peaceful and well-kept retreat.

Inspired by the beautiful photographs taken by my new friends at Outpost Sj, I decided to dust off the DSLR and take some black and white pictures.  I used to exclusively shoot in black and white when I was still using my film cameras, but I stopped when I started using a digital camera because I always felt the texture looked flat when compared to film.  I know that this is more a problem of my not knowing how to best use the camera's features than it not being possible (because I don't think that about good photographers' digital black and whites), but I was lazy about learning how.  Plus, I don't know, when Monkey was born I starting liking capturing him in color.

Sidenote: my wedding photographer told me (because I told him I wanted the grainy look of very high speed black and white film for some photos) that he always shoots in digital now, always in color, and does everything else to make a picture what he wants it to be using Photoshop after the fact.   I don't know if all professional photographers do it that way these days, but it's worth considering if you're seeking a look you haven't been able to capture so far in digital.

Anyway, I had fun today getting reacquainted with black and white.  It forces you to be much more cognizant of light and shadows and how something so obviously layered in real life can meld into one big blob of shapes in black and white photography.  Like, these trees, for example:

I still think the shapes are interesting, but the texture and layering are totally lost in black and white (I'm amazed by Ansel Adams.  I have never ever managed to take a decent picture of a tree in black and white).  And without the bright green of his shirt to grab your eye, Monkey the Explorer is lost in this picture:

But oh how nice it was to put some thought into the pictures I was taking instead of just snapping away like a tourist at Disneyland.  Digital photography has ruined me in that way.  It's so easy to take hundreds of pictures and just filter out later.  Next I'm going to revive my film camera so I can get back into the practice of really considering the possible outcomes of a photo before taking it.

But back to the garden...

There weren't many people there on a Wednesday morning, but isn't that how your want your Japanese garden to be: quiet and softly trodden upon?

There were a few little gazebo retreats to relax in, and all along the path there were memorials to take in.  Monkey loved this one.  This one he could climb on, which I didn't mind because it wasn't a memorial to the deceased but a celebration of a sister city friendship.  What a perfect place to house it!:

We spent a lot of time around the koi pond.

Dozens of those cute little turtles were kicking it on the base of this statue and the surrounding rocks, though you can't really make them out in the above picture.

Monkey loved peeking through the bridge's railings at the giant fish below.  He made wishes, throwing pennies and quarters with his Nana and me and just thoroughly enjoyed all the new scenery.  Some huge, bright orange dragon flies were zooming around too...how do they find these places?

We stopped into the senior center on the way out, where a small gift shop sells the arts and crafts made by the seniors there.  Some of the stuff was really cute, but this little purse definitely caught my eye:

Is it (for lack of a better term) Kosher to walk around with Jesus on your purse?!

The seniors we saw were pretty taken with the boy, and it made me think that every senior center should have an in-house preschool.  Children benefit so much from the love and wisdom of the elderly, and many elderly people just come to life when children are around.  That seems like the perfect marriage to me!  My Mom said she knew of one such place in Denver...I'm going to see if there are any around here.


All in all it was a wonderful morning.  It was nice to spend time with my Mama again this week, and every day off I have with my son is pure joy.  I'm also happy to have rediscovered my camera and look forward to putting the ultra-convenient mini-digital away now and then and making use of the other options.  Thanks for the inspiration, Outpost!

The GGA Project -- Day #165 "Threesome"

So in keeping with my family's stretch-your-birthday-into-a-weeklong-event tradition, tonight I was treated to dinner by my dear friends Nicole and Raul.  Since I am WAY over driving these days, Nicole was kind enough to drive up and meet me in Palo Alto after I dropped off Monkey, and Raul walked to the restaurant from the Caltrain station on his way home from work in San Francisco.  It was a good plan.


Since of course I wanted to try a new restaurant, I'd spent part of the afternoon reading Yelp reviews.  A word on that: I would never base all or even some of my decisions on reviews...any kind of reviews.  But Yelp can be helpful in so many ways.  You can find all the restaurant within a walking mile, sort them by type of cuisine, find links to their menus, discover their hours of operation and price ranges, and, yes, know before heading there whether or not the universal consensus is that they suck.


The other day my coworker asked me if I was "one of those people who write Yelp reviews."  He said he asked this based on the fact that whenever we have conversations about places to go, I cover all the major categories, including ease of parking, without his having to ask.  I was reminded of that this afternoon as I asked my brother 80 follow-up questions over the phone after he told me they just opened a Gray's Papaya down the street from his place and he'd gone there this afternoon for his first taste of NY dog (er, hot dog).  I guess, in a way, I do take something of a Yelper approach to dine out decisions these days.  I would hate it if the pre-informing kept me from trying something new and great, but I do feel like certain information is helpful to have before setting out. And while sometimes people can be overly harsh or demanding in their reviewing, I do find it to be the case that if--in over 100 reviews--the average rating for a restaurant is 3 stars or fewer, there are likely better options out there.


Which brings me to


Today's New Activity: Squished Together Dining at Osteria


Osteria is an Italian restaurant just one block off University Avenue in Palo Alto.  I didn't even read the reviews, just found their menus on a take out website and decided, based on one Yelp photo, that it would work.  When we got there I found it to be much smaller and the seating much more intimate than I'd expected.  But I kind of like that feel...for some reason that is how I picture restaurants in Little Italy, in New York to be.  Why do we need all sorts of space, anyway?


Raul had arrived some time before Nicole and I, so luckily when the host--who seemed a bit stressed and overwhelmed by the number of people waiting for tables (as was I on a random Wednesday evening--saw that the third part of Raul's party had arrived, he sat us right away.


This is definitely one of those places where the servers/host think it's so great, or their own tastes so refined, they have the right to attitude.  We saw the host sternly deny an elderly woman a table since her husband was still parking the car, and our own server, who did nothing to project a hint of friendliness, made it clear that Raul's Scampi Mediterranean choice was the only of the three of which he approved.  No matter...I wasn't there to have dinner with the host or our server.


I chose the Linguine al Pesto, which was excellent.

It was such a great experience to be out with these two, totally out-of-context.  For 10 years now I've been used to being out with them in or near downtown San Jose, and it's been a really long time since I've been out with them at all, especially without children, at a real grown-up restaurant.


My seat was facing the window, and as I watched all the other grownups walk by, and later, as we walked and passed by all the other packed-full restaurants on University Avenue, I daydreamed about how nice it would be to have the means to dine at all the nice restaurants, whenever I wanted.  The people inside looked vibrant, full of energy, bustling at (by then) 9pm on a Wednesday.  Or maybe that was my own projection.  And if so, I'll take it...it means that is inside me somewhere.


As I've mentioned here before, Nicole and Raul have been two steady and dependable constants in my life through a good share of ups and downs.  This year marked the 20th year of my friendship with Nicole (she was at the surprise 13th birthday party a friend through for me in the 8th grade!), and it just gets better as the time passes.


After dinner we ended up at Starbucks where we fell into a familiar pattern (by the way, I love how the word "familiar" finds its roots in "family"), Raul working on his laptop while Nicole and I talk Mommihood and friendship and new ideas and old flashbacks.  This time she was re-telling (by my request) the story of the customer who loved her when she worked at Starbucks (her first job when we moved to San Jose).  It's a wonder and a triumph of enduring friendship that I heard something new in that story this time around.


I consider it an absolute blessing, the fact that I'm sure to spend at least the next 33 years trading stories, new and recycled, with these true friends  :)

The GGA Project -- Day #112 "Floppyhatville"

One of the things I've loved about this project has been exploring the areas I thought I knew.  And today I got to know my former home city of San Jose a little bit better.  My best gal Kelsi had invited me to join her in checking out the annual fundraiser for the Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County.


Today's New Activity: Visiting the Gardener's Market


This was the coolest thing.  It was basically just a place for people to pick up starter plants for their garden (mostly tomatoes and peppers for some reason), and there were about a drillion different varieties to choose from.


I felt a little out-of-place among the market-goers, who were a predictable bunch of fifty-and sixty-somethings, definite NPR devotees in canvas hats, carrying reusable Trader Joe's bags.  Ok so basically that IS me, but I'm a younger version.  Also, I am firmly anti-A Prarie Home Companion, which I'm almost positive would be a unique stance among today's crowd.


Anyway, the sun was out, the people were friendly and helpful, and the available plants could be had for a steal .  Unfortunately we got there a little too late to get in on any tomato action, but there were plenty of peppers, each with its own little Hot or Not-type verdict--a rating from 0-10 in hotness listed on a sign above the variety, along with the pepper's characteristics and country of origin.

I ended up choosing three varieties of peppers, along with some French lavender, an ornamental pumpkin plant, and a flower called a "firework," in honor of the Katy Perry song my Ma's been singing to the baby  :)


The market took place at History San Jose, an outdoor museum of sorts that houses the historical Victorian homes moved from downtown San Jose to make room for the new City Hall.  It was fun to walk around there and see hints of a bunch of organizations I had no idea about, which were headquartered in the homes.  Poetry Center of San Jose was one I saw that I'd like to look into further, but really I could have spent the entire day there checking out organizations and reading about the history of the area, gardener's market or not.  I'll have to go back on a weekday, when everything is open.


Also, while Monkey and I were waiting for Kelsi to arrive, we visited the beautiful Japanese Friendship Garden, which is right there, along with Happy Hollow.

It's just all the way around a great place to take kids (even the minor league San Jose Giants' stadium is right across the street, along with an ice rink--a family could spend a week on those two blocks alone and not spend too much money in the process).  Monkey had a great time running around there, and little Max, Kelsi's son, was perfectly content to lie on the grass at the Botanical Garden after the market, just taking in the sun and making his baby noises.  It was a beautiful day, and I can't wait to get my little plants in their new homes :)