Mellow Yellow Monday - Night Scene in Malaga, Spain - November 29, 2010

Mellow Yellow Monday - Night Scene in Malaga, Spain - November 29, 2010

Malaga is a beautiful Andalusian city on Spain's Costa del Sol, on the shores of the

northern Mediterranean.  It is one of the world's oldest cities, founded by the Phoenicians

about 770 BC. 

Its moderate climate, even in the winter months, make it a very popular tourist

destination, along with its many historical and cultural venues.  The city is a showplace

of various architectures.   Having been occupied by the Moors and under the influences

of both Islam and Christianity, Malaga's churches and buildings reflect tht influence.

Pabo Picasso and Antonio Banderas are but two of the famous sons of Malaga. 

I regret not spending more than 24 hours here at the end of my Mediterranean cruise. 

We were at a lovely little hotel right near the heart of town which was so convenient to

everything and we needed, at the very least, another two days, to properly see the

historic sights and to enjoy Malaga's charm and ambiance.  If there is ever a next time,

I'll plan appropriately!!

Malaga Cathedral at night

I am participating in Mellow Yellow Monday - come join in the fun!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A1laga

Electronic Mayhem - It Doesn't Rain But It Pours - Sunday, November 28, 2010

I am definitely feeling better physically though I am still on this very restricted
diet until December 7th, after which I will have my colonscopy and, hopefully,
the findings from that will be such that I can, once again, resume a normal diet. 
It wasn't much fun spending eight hours cooking on Thanksgiving day and not
being able to eat all the goodies I prepared.  The boys, however, loved everything
and  have made certain the leftovers didn't linger long enough to tempt me.  Today,
I made turkey soup with the last of the bird and they finished everything else
that remained.  I just watched sadly and ate my chicken broth and noodles.

Somehow, I seem to still have a dark cloud hovering over my head.  In the last few days,
I've been having an electronic meltdown.  My very expensive laptop, has been going
haywire, and is giving me all sorts of error messages which should not be happening. I
really can't spare money to take it in to the doctor right now. 

However, the worst of all possibilities happened!  My desktop crashed completely. 
Not even the recovery disc was able to resurrect it and all my files, photo and otherwise,
are contained therein.   Fortunately, I did subscribe to Carbonite backup a few months
ago so I don't think all my information is lost forever - but, since my laptop says it is
full ( it should have plenty of room ), I can't put the files there.  It will all have to wait until
I can afford a new desk top and that may be months from now. 

Another wierd thing has been happening with my fancy Panasonic four extension
phone system which is only about six months old.  Suddenly, I can't access the
voice mail on any of the phones so my messages can't be retrieved, nor can I use
the phone book feature.  The phones are all fully charged.  It is so frustrating to be
at the mercy of these electronic devices on which we become so dependent.

For a little while, I am sad to say, I may be missing photos with my posts.  I have so
many pictures stored on my desktop, for months of blogs to come.  I guess one should
not come to depend on these computers so much but they become so totally essential
in our lives.  I have some essentials tasks coming up in the near future and all the work
pertinent to them is on that darn desk top.  Yikes!!

Watery Wednesday & Wordless Wednesday - Coming and Going at SFO - November 24, 2010

Watery Wednesday &  Wordless Wednesday - Coming and Going at SFO 

 November 24, 2010

I am participating in Watery Wednesday and Wordless Wednesday!

Join in the fun!

My World Tuesday, More Victorians, San Francisco, CA, USA, November 23, 2010

My World Tuesday, More Victorians, San Francisco, CA, USA, November 23, 2010

I just discoverd this meme and I hope I am not too late to post.  It looks wonderful,
with participants from all over the world so, take a look, friends and fellow bloggers,
I know you will like it and have much to share.

After leaving CA Pacific Medical Center yesterday morning, I drove around San
Francisco,up and down the hills and photographed more Victorians.  It was a gorgeous
day - no rain - though it has been pouring buckets today.  To make matters worse,
perhaps in sympathy with my ills, my desktop has been on the blink, making a clicking
sound, taking an eternity to load ( when it even will ) and causing me no end of grief
( haven't I had enough stress already ).  I do have a laptop but that has been persnickety,
too, of late.  Are the gods trying to tell me something?

At any rate, here are a few of the dazzling houses I saw yesterday with more to come in

the future....provided I ( and my computer ) don't get summoned to never never land.





This is my first time to post on My World Tuesday but I know I'll be back...check it out!!!

Sundays in My City - La Mediterranee, San Francisco - November 21, 2010

Sundays in My City - La Mediterranee, San Francisco - November 21, 2010

I moved to San Francisco in January of 1976.  Three years later, La Mediterranee

opened at its Fillmore Street location, serving its wonderful Middle Eastern

specialties.  Eventually, other locations opened but I frequented the Fillmore Street

locale most often.  If I had a doctor's visit at CA Pacific Medical Center, I would

inevitably schedule it around the lunch hour so I could stop by La Mediterranee for their

wonder Baba Ghanoush or a Middle Eastern Plate.  Once, when my son, Jeremy,

had badly sprained his ankle at football practice and we were headed for the CPMC

emergency room, I called and ordered food from La Mediterranee, knowing we would

be having a long night ahead of us.  Other patients waiting in the ER were very envious

when the wonderful smells emanated from our plates.

Friday, a friend drove me over for my appointment with my urologist.  After x-rays, I

got the go ahead to come back on Monday.  Edith and I had found a great parking

place only a block from La Mediterranee so I took her there for lunch.  Since there were

two of us, we splurged on their scrumptious Mediterranean Meza for two, with a

taste of most of their specialties.  I must confess, many of the items were not on my

no fiber diet.  I didn't figure indulging once in all this time would be a disaster.

Interior of La Mediterranee

There are many colorful dolls decorating the walls.

One of many bright tile table tops

My friend, Edith, perusing the menu - her first visit here

Only water this time....but my medicines are finally done so I'll

have wine again soon!

Dolmas, Mediterranean Potato Salad, and Levant Sanwiches

Baba Ghanoush, Tabuleh, Hummos

Lamb Lule

Chicken Cilicia, Spanakopita

The entire meal was fabulous.  Their fillo dough specialties are excellent - the chicken

cilicia has cinnamon spiced chicken with almonds, chickpeas and raisins, and the

spanakopita is a mixture of spinach, feta, almonds and onions.

For dessert, we had my favorite, datil amandra - a confection of dates and nuts, rolled

in fillo, served warm, topped with whipped cream.

How nice NOT to be in pain, for a change, and to be able to enjoy such a nice meal

with a good friend!

I am participating in Unknown Mami's Sundays in My City!

Check out the other participants and join in the fun.

Flash 55 Friday - Stoned - November 19, 2010

Flash 55 Friday - Stoned - November 19, 2010

My night was filled with awful pain,

I tossed and turned, tried not to groan,

But it mattered not what I did,

I was beaten down by a little stone.

It didn't pass but lies there still,

Somewhere along my urine's path,

So off I go to see relief,

In such pain, I feel no wrath.

Carmen Henesy

I am participating in Mr G's Flash 55 Friday

Alphabe Thursday - "I" is for Impossible - Felled by a Stone - November 18, 2010

Alphabe Thursday - "I" is for Impossible - Felled by a Stone - November 18, 2010

I woke up, early the morning of 17th, with incredible pain in my left flank and left lower
abdomen.  Being the lucky receptacle of numerous kidney stones, I was immediately
aware of the culprit/s causing the pain and, in fact, Dr. Yan had even given me a copy
of the CAT scan done during my recent hospitalization.  It showed  numerous stones.
She encouraged me to make  an appointment, in the near future, to see my urologist,
one of the premier stone specialists in the San Francisco area.

I got up to drive my youngest son, Jeremy, to the train station but, before I left, I faxed
a note, along with a copy of the report to Dr. Kahn.  I came home, fully intending to put
on my make up, and head to the ER at CPMC.  However, I was in real agony when I
got home, I really was in no state to drive so I took a Vicodin, praying for some relief and
crawled into bed.  Laying there, chanting, "Why me, Lord?", I did fall asleep until
awakened by the telephone an hour later.  It was a concerned Dr. Kahn, telling me he
wanted me to come to his office for immediate x-rays.  He also told me he was starting
his first of three surgeries for the day and was leaving the next morning for a week away.

I saw him briefly, he asked me to go to the ER for IVs and pain medication and he also
gave me a stronger pain medication to take at home.   He said he would read the x-ray
films later.  Well, I left ( had to move my car from the very expensive parking garage
which closed at 7PM ) but, when I couldn't find a parking space within three blocks of
the hospital, I drove on home, doubled up in pain.  I drank a liter of water, took on of his
prescribed pills, bundled up under my heated throw and slept until Dr. Kahn called at
9:30PM as he finished up his last surgery.  I felt much better but he told me there was
a 6mm stone lodged in the ureter which would be almost impossible to pass.  He said
it would "absolutely have to come out" or it could damage the ureter or kidney and
went on to explain a "minimally invasive" procedure ( I did not like the sound of that but
I do trust his competence ).  He said he was sending an email to his partner and to call
the office in the morning.  I went back to sleep and, amazingly, slept all night - and the
entire day today!!  Dr. Sharlip called about 10AM and said that, while it was highly
unlikely that I passed the stone, perhaps, I did.  I will see him tomorrow morning for
further x-rays and we'll go from there.  I ended up sleeping the entire day until 4PM this
afternoon.  I guess  being tortured by pain really takes its toll on the body.  And, yes,
I can truly say, the pain from kidney stones is more than the delivery of any of my three
sons and the last, Jeremy, at 9 pounds, 11 ounces, was no stroll in the park since I had
no anesthesia of any kind, not even an epidural.  At least, I know I'm done with childbirth
but with more than a dozen stones showing on x-rays, I live in dread!

I am participating in Jenny Matlock's alphabe Thursday!

Watery Wednesday & Wordless Wednesday - Pampas Grass in Pacifica, California - November 18, 2010

Watery Wednesday & Wordless Wednesday

Pampas Grass in Pacifica, California

November 18, 2010



I am participating in Watery Wednesday and Wordless Wednesday.

Check out the sites for more posts!

Mellow Yellow Monday #95 - Flowers - November 15, 2010

Mellow Yellow Monday #95 - Flowers - November 15, 2010

I am participating in Mellow Yellow Monday -

look at the site for more offerings!

Sundays in My City - Rufus Wainwright - November 14, 2010

Sundays in My City - Rufus Wainwright - November 14, 2010

I had had a rough week, getting sick the last day of October, being admitted to the

hospital on November 5th and staying at Seton Medical Center until the afternoon

of November 9th.  I had been invited to attend the Rufus Wainright concert at

Davies Symphony Hall on Friday, November 12th, along with my friend, Jo.  Though

I still was 100%, with my ankles and feet about the size of Dumbo's, I wasn't going to

miss such an occasion.  Rufus Wainright, a 37-year-old Canadian American singer

songwriter, was performing five Shakespearean sonnets as the solo vocalist, with

music he had written, accompanied by the San Francisco Symphony.  I knew him

best as the composer of "Sanssouci", a beautiful song which is the title album of a

dear friend and fabulous jazz singer, Sony Holland ( http://www.sonyholland.com/ ).  Our
seats were in the orchestra, only a few rows from the stage and, following his

performance, Rufus met for a question and answer session.  He is quite pleasant

and charming and multi-talented.

Following the concert, we stopped by a famous San Francisco eatery, Tommy's Joint.

I am on a very restricted diet for thirty days so I had to settle for a ham sandwich with

no condiments though I certainly looked longingly at all the other offerings.

With performances taking place both at Davies Symphony Hall and other venues in the

area, we had to park nearly three blocks away.  It was beautiful, though, seeing city hall

all lit up, complete with the tributes to the San Francisco Giants and their World Series

victory!

San Francisco City Hall

San Francisco's City Hall reopened in 1915, after being completely deystroyed in the
1906 earthquake.  It occupies two full city blocks and has the fifth largest dome in the
world, rising higher than that of the nation's capitol ( info from Wikipedia ).  Mayor
George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were assasinated here November 27,
1978.

City hall commerative to the Giant's winning the World Series

The statue of Three Heads and Six Arms

One of the three faces

In May of 2010, in honor of the sister city status between Shanghai, China and San

Francisco, famous Chinese artist, Zhang Huan, created a huge statue which was placed

in the Joseph L. Alioto Performing  Arts Piazza, across the street from City Hall.

I am participating in Unknown Mami's Sundays in my City - join in the fun!