John & Anne Wiley

2010/12/06

Sweet Pies

Filed under: Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,People,Random,Relationships,SB Region — John @ 00:27

Our delightful friends Nancy and Dave were over for a DVD a few nights ago, and in going through my photo folders just now a rush of sweet memories was triggered. Right now my mouth is watering from looking again at this.

0897 Sweet Fluffy Delight

0897 Sweet Fluffy Delight

As I recall, the four of us finished it off that night. Part of my diet plan for the holidaze. It was delicately-flavored meringue with whipped cream and fruit on top.

Guilty pleasure, not just because of the calories. See, we dearly love these two people and time with them is always a treat. At the same time they most often share hand-made chocolates,  home-made bread (lately including the chardonnay yeast sourdough they invented), and always some new insanely delicious treat. Back in the early days of psychology a guy named Pavlov found that ringing a bell when feeding a dog would soon lead to the dog salivating whenever the bell was rung. When we see them, or even think about them, I salivate. Am I a bad person? Does it help that when thinking of them, warm feelings of closeness and shared discovery spread through my consciousness with memories of delightful and meaningful conversation?

2010/12/04

Toothless

Filed under: Aviation,Happiness,Has Photos,SB Region,Tripp — John @ 06:56

Sometimes photos are toothless, like this one from my antique cellphone.

120310_005 Cell Sun

120310_005 Cell Sun

The sky was so magnificent, but all we had was the phone. It does give an impression, and the opalescent quality of the sky might be dimly similar to the impressionist historic paintings of smoky London.

The title of this post though, is about the fact there’s a tooth missing in my smile now. Today the dentist said it’s time to give up on trusty old number 21 (lower left, behind the “eye” tooth, 4th from the center). We’d already spent a great flying trip’s-worth of Tripp cash on it, so it took considerable convincing. When we saw the x-rays of how thoroughly the infection was eating away my jaw, we finally caved in (so to speak). I’m now one of those old geezers with gaps. Next we get to decide whether to waste even more Tripp bucks on an implant. Comments, advice and suggestions welcome. It sure would be more fun to fly, or at least spend the cash on some fancy Tripp toy. Tail strobe, flashing HID landing light, avionics upgrade, even a good part of a spiffy paint job. When our Tripp is happy, we’re happy. 🙂

2010/12/02

La Arcada Holiday

Filed under: Happiness,Has Photos,People,Random,SB Region — John @ 03:45

Every year about this time, the La Arcada next to the Art Museum has a mini festival with free music, food and fun. We went early and enjoyed it yet again, and though this year’s “santa” seemed a bit depressed there was still a long line of families waiting for their photo op. We started with a small jazz band doing seasonal favorites, then strolled past the fountain where kids were turning their backs on all the entertainment to play in the water and watch the fish & turtles.

3814 Free Fun

3814 Free Fun

Soon enough they’ll be ripping open a pile of gifts, and perhaps spending more time playing with the boxes and wrappings than the expensive toys. Past an acapella choir and another jazz band we enjoyed a choreographed performance by a lively group of girls.

3824 Girls Choir

3824 Girls Choir

2010/12/01

Quiet Water Walk

Filed under: Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Nature,Random,SB Region — John @ 22:51

Monday was a full week. After a busy morning and our especially glorious flight, we enjoyed a delightful walk at the beach and slough next to UCSB and then had a busy evening. So much variety, it seemed like much more than a day. The refreshings sights, sounds and smells of Goleta Beach accented the sunset over UCSB.

3770 UCSB Surf Mist Sunset

3770 UCSB Surf Mist Sunset

Turning back toward the airport, we explored the slough along Tecolotito Creek.

3795 Stillness

3795 Stillness

A reverent serenity washed over us in waves, walking, stopping to listen and watch, talking, pausing to contemplate…

2010/11/30

Fly High, Breathe Deep

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Nature,Random,SB Region — John @ 04:17

We used to drive Big Sur at least once a year, and on every trip we involuntarily did The Breath. The first few times we didn’t notice, but soon we began counting and I don’t recall any of our dozen or so drives that didn’t evoke at least half a dozen deep breaths. Few other drives do that for us, but many flights do. Today it would have been easy to hyperventilate. The air was relatively clear and calm, between the recent winds and storms, so we visited Point Conception. See if the full size of this view (or the larger one on my Photo Page) makes you do The Breath.

3630 Point Conception Light

3630 Point Conception Light

It worked for me again just now, but maybe because we had the full sensory overload there a couple of hours ago, and not just this little photo frame. Can you tell I love to fly? 🙂

3652 Spine To SB

3652 Spine To SB

We climbed higher, and the view back toward home looks like the backbone of a giant. Looking the other way, Point Arguello was equally scenic.

3651 Conception to Arguello

3651 Conception to Arguello

Given my recent posts, you know I took lots of rock photos flying the hills back home. No surprise perhaps, that I was also fascinated by the little arroyos and other terrain features like this spot probably familiar to surfers.

3653 Wrinkled Coast

3653 Wrinkled Coast

I’ll share more sometime soon, but want to go post a few larger favs to my Photo Page.

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