Harvest Festival Craft Show at Del Mar

Deinna and I attended the Harvest Festival Craft Show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on October 24 with our friends Jim and Pat Ray.

We ran it to this character going between the buildings.

Alley Cats

The other day we found the "Alley Cats" alley in El Cajon Ca. Located 1/2 block north of Main Street (the first alley)

The alley is decorated with, well, Cats!  Fat cats and silly cats.  Scardy cats and even some rats.  Singing cats and wild cats.  Cats at work and sexy cats.  Just about any old cat you can think of. 

 Just lots of cats!!

The paintings cover most of the walls, fences, trash bins, electric boxes, over some doors, and any other available space that suits the artists vision.

 

 

 

 

The alley is between the El Cajon courthouse and Magnolia street, behind Por Favor Mexican Restaurant whose entrance is on Main Street.  On the other side of the alley is the Art Museum of Olaf Weighorst.  Mostly wild west, some American Indian paintings - each painting has at least one horse.  El Cajon has some pretty cool stuff in little corners, if you look hard enough. 

 

 

 

 

All photos taken with my iPhone.

Acupuncture

Answers to the common questions:

1. from 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch
2. No, not really
3. 45 minutes to an hour
4. about 24
   

For the questions to the above answers, just keep reading.

Acupuncture is complex branch of ancient Chinese medicine, but its practical principles and methods are easily understood: fourteen major energy channels, called meridians, course through the human body, and Chi (pronounced chee) circulates via the meridians to all parts of the body. Chi is the vital force, the presence which separates the living from the dead. Its balanced, unimpeded flow, or balance, is critical to sound health.  Any misdirection, blockage or derangement of flow, or balance of Chi, may result in pain, dysfunction, and ill health. Through acupuncture needles, or other means, the acupuncturist stimulates certain points along the course of the meridians. This helps restore the normal balance and flow of Chi and sets the stage for the body to repair itself and maintain its own health. Do you have to believe in it for it to work?  My first acupuncturist told me "no, we also treat horses"!

Lisajeanne, at the Balance Center, begins my treatment with new, one-time use needles. Since the middle 1990's it is the law that only disposable needles may be used

The needles are inserted into a clear plastic tube and with a very controlled TAP, the needle is inserted into the correct meridian. Then the depth is adjusted.

Question #1

How deep are the needles inserted?

Question #2 Do they hurt?

Question #3

How long do they stay in?

Question #4

How many do they use? So, here I am as the final needle is inserted.  Now, she dims the lights, and with beautiful meditative music in the background, and I just lay back and relax, usually take a short nap.  The needles are telling my body to shape up and fly right.  I hope my body is listening. 
If you're in the San Diego area and are needing a tune-up, or have the urge to be a pin cushion, give Lisajeanne a call at:

The Balance Center
251 E Main Street
El Cajon Ca 92020
Phone (619) 440-4333
Lisajeanne Potyk L.Ac.


Photos by Deinna Adzima

A rose by any other name.........

Here is one of the nice things about living in San Diego Area, Deinna found this Rose blooming a few days ago.  The  summer garden has given up the last zucchini, tomatoes plants are on the compost pile. The only thing left are Jalapeno peppers, but the avocados are almost ready to be picked.









I did get a comment on how this was done. I just purchased the David Honl  (LINK) Lighting accessories kit and thought I would test drive it. The overhead SB800 has his 8" snoot on the strobe and the second SB800 Camera right has the 1/8" Grid, casting the spot on the background. So far I like his stuff.

Adobe Lightroom 3 Beta

Lightroom 3 Beta is ready for download, testing and Adobe is looking for input prior to it's formal release. If you have never used it here is your chance to test it for free. Remember this a BETA version, meaning it's for testing only until the final release.

From the Adobe Web Site:

What Is Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom software is a digital darkroom and efficient assistant designed for serious amateur and professional photographers. With Lightroom, you can organize, enhance, and showcase your images all from one fast and nimble application that’s available on Macintosh and Windows® platforms.

• Manage your growing photo collection in a visual library that makes it quick and easy to organize, find, and select your images.
• Get the absolute best from every shot—whether raw, JPEG, or TIFF—using state-of-the-art nondestructive editing tools.
• And when you're ready, showcase your images with the impact they deserve using customizable print layouts, powerful slideshows, web gallery creation tools, and connection to online photo sharing sites (may require third-party plug-ins).

Link to Adobe Site and download click HERE

Sunny Side up!

This morning Deinna asked me if she could make me breakfast. She asked, "How many eggs do you want?" I said, two. She cracked the first egg open and was surprised to see double yolks. We both replied that this was unusual. Then she cracked the second egg, and we were surprised to see that it also was a double yolker! These eggs were bought from the normal grocery store, where we seldom get two yolked eggs, much less two in the same carton, and then to see TWO in the same pan! Pretty cool.














Naturally, I said, "Stop the cooking! Wait for me to ge my camera." Yeah, she said, like how hard is that to do. So she took the pan off the burner and waited. Well, what can I say. I take advantage of all photographic opportunities. She laughed.

I'm on my way to the liquor store to buy a lottery ticket.

The Punkin' Patch

While in North County visiting the art show at Valley View Casino, we decided to make a quick trip to Bates Nut Farm ( 15954 Woods Valley Road, Valley Center, CA) to photograph a few Pumpkins for Halloween. We turned on to Woods Valley Road and joined a line of cars that was almost three miles long with an average speed of - oh, about 3 miles an hour! Lots of mostly stop, and then a little go. For the next 25 minutes I tried to convince Deinna all these cars could NOT be going for pumpkins, especially the limousine that we were following. Well, seems I was wrong! As the limo turned into the driveway at Bates Nut Farm, we could see that the parking area was nearly full and, as I was reminded frequently, every single car on that road turned into the farm. All we saw was an enormous amount of people amid acres and acres of pumpkins.






















The Sea of Orange.




























Rides with the Mule team.



































Pumpkins are just plain fun.





































The Scarecrow Contest.
























































All sizes and shapes, just load 'em into your wheelbarrow, have 'em weighed, and off you go.














Tractor and wagons rides too.