Jackie's Blog

Back in my blog "My picture came to me" (March 24, 2009) I talked about the first crow that came to visit me on the window sill at work- on the 16th floor of the building I work in downtown San Jose. Since then, I've seen them several more times and finally got used to these big black birds appearing right outside my office window. Today however, I got the most unexpected visitor, and was SO glad that my iPhone was nearby. I only managed to get one picture.. Someone told me later that the Peregrine Falcons are nesting near city hall.

This is my third day trying out a new way to commute to work for me. The Monterey Salinas Transit . It's another bus service, but with more comfortable buses and a WiFi connection, so I am actually typing this whilst on the bus on my laptop. It does mean that I have to bring my laptop but I can also catch up on my photos and my blog- it's a bit wobbly though!

Oh boy, a week behind and so much to catch up on... Firstly.. last weekend. The Sunday Friends Foundation . I spent a little over two hours at a wonderful "working alternative to charity". I have never been so impressed by a charity. "Sunday Friends provides a safe place where very low-income families come together with volunteers in a secular community setting. Children and their parents are provided opportunities to earn the things they need to promote self-reliance and a healthy, productive lifestyle. Through everyday activities, such as preparing healthy meals, writing letters to donors and making gifts for nursing home residents, they give back to their community as they develop self-sufficiency". They are everything they say they are. If you have the means to donate to any cause.. make it this one!

Dick is back after a week at Java One, so now our routines should be back to normal, and I might just get to post my pictures every day instead of once a week! Last week I seem to have taken pictures of my garden quite a lot! .. this one looks like a thistle, and has multiple heads. ...I have a new plant (whose name totally escapes me right now). It has beautiful flowers that the hummingbirds love. On Wednesday, I went for a walk in downtown San Jose and found that the Tied House brewery had closed! I later found out that they had decided to close the San Jose restaurant because it is too big. They have just kept their Mountain View branch. On Thursday the Luis Maria Peralta Adobe was hosting a school visit..

"This statue of Captain Thomas Fallon was commissioned in 1988. It memorializes the raising of the US Flag in San Jose in 1846, when California was still part of Mexico. Scheduled to be installed in 1990, the statue generated intense controversy. Supporters of the artwork believed it commemorated an important event in San Jose's history. Opponents of the statue responded that is represented a troubling moment in American History, when the United States used the Mexican-American war as a reason to annex California from Mexico. To address the arising from the controversy, the city appointed an Historic Art Advisory Committee.The committee recommended that the city's public art must represent all perspectives of the city's history. Four additional projects were recommended- artworks commemorating the Ohlone Way of Life, the life of Doctor Ernesto Galarza, the founding of the Pueblo, and the agricultural history of the valley.These works have been installed in various loca...

I have to have my hair cut every 5-6 weeks or it drives me nuts. Today I could stand it no more. With trusty iPhone in hand, I went to my favorite salon, one that I can go to at lunchtime as it is only a short walk from work...

Yesterday I was not in a very creative mood. It was a really busy day, so instead of going for a walk, I ate my lunch whilst sitting on the rooftop patio. I forget what a great view it is and how we see things from strange angles. So here is my one picture of the rooftop of the De Anza hotel..

It was another of those days when I found lots of small things to photograph, but just as I was walking back to the office I found this old painted sign- right next to the car park (parking lot) which probably offers the cheapest parking in downtown San Jose. All I can say is ... inflation!

Last night I went shopping to buy goodies for St. Pat's treats for work. I was later than I probably should have been but when I asked they admitted they had not much in the first place. I wondered whether it was the economy that they had not had much. So when I went on my wandering at lunchtime I paid attention to what everyone else was doing. I did see some people wearing green which seems to be traditional but there were very few shops with St. Pat's type deals- even restaurants. The only obvious ones were the Irish Pub and ironically I always think, the English pub. Then I started to wonder whether it is just more of a West coast thing. I know the hotspots for Irish immigrants were on the east coast- Boston, New York, and there is probably a big Irish population in San Francisco, but not in San Jose?

Today is Thursday, and the weekend is almost here. We have tidied the house and are almost ready to take off for the weekend after work tomorrow. We are both getting into work early so we can leave early afternoon and try to escape the rest of the traffic that is trying to leave the Bay area for the weekend. We are heading towards Healdsberg- in the middle of wine country, to visit friends and go barrel tasting over the weekend. I have days of blog entries to write as I probably won't get the time to over the weekend. Today was a day of plenty in terms of things to write and photograph, so here goes... Thursday- meet my favorite bus driver.. This cheerful chap greets me with a huge smile every day at 4:05 PM. Today he let me take his picture. He is always smiling and always gets us home on time. For Friday- Bus stop advert This ad appeared this week on the bus stop shelter and it bugs me! It is an ad sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services. What bugs me is that th...

Today I walked at lunchtime with my boss. She reminded me of the carousel in the park that we walk past. It was a very quick photo shoot, and I'd love to have more time to take some again in the future with my 35 mm camera. I even managed a reflection shot! I did have one thought though. The carousel is open during the day, and one person was manning the booth. The lights were all on, but the carousel was not moving and it was noisy. There must have been some kind of motor going. No children anywhere around. Much as I love this kind of thing it did seem to be a waste of money and I started to wonder who was paying for it. It is funny how these times bring those kind of questions to mind.

Each day I wonder how I will find something to take a photo of, but some days there is too much to chose from. Silly road signs, loaded bicycles, and reflections galore. Finally I found the one I really wanted but it did not turn out as well as I'd hoped. I went inside the Hotel Sainte Claire, an historic hotel near the convention center and they had a wonderful mail box inside. It had the original chute- still in use, and the original lock. For once I wished I had my 35 mm camera with me.