From these pictures it looks like I was the only one at Lou’s house that day. It was still a bit brisk so people stayed inside. However, I wanted to make sure I captured what I saw. I loved Lou’s backyard and historical home, but I was only able to stop by for a little while before heading downtown to help setup for the big gala for the shelter the same evening.
Saw a lot of friends at Oakland Pride, many of whom I had not seen since before Covid. Despite the way it might look in the pictures, it was very well attended. I was also pleased to read that the two competing Oakland pride events from last year had reached a detente, so they were consolidated this year.
We parked at a nearby lot and walked a few blocks through the City Plaza, which had some gorgeous architecture and murals. I also realized that the amazing oak tree in front of City Hall is the one featured in the Oakland logos. When I first saw the Corinthian columns, I didn’t even realize the ornate building next to me was City Hall.
We were really touched by the Breonna Taylor monument, which has its own history worth reading about.
One of the buildings reminds me so much of the Flat Iron building in New York City.
Vallejo is fortunate to be home to Obtanium Works. We got to meet the fabulous Kathy O’Hare, who gave us a tour of the INSIDE of this amazing vehicle, which has three full floors when assembled. One could write a book on its history, but one should check it out online or in person if one can. There are many other art vehicles that Obtainium has done, as she gave us some background of her life with her husband, Shannon O’Hare. What a treasure to have them as neighbors, and how good it is getting to know the artists on Pintado on Mare Island, along with our friends Manny Furtado and Steven Davis, both of whom were featured there as well.
So most of these images are from the INSIDE of the Neverwas Haul.
Snoopy “Side-eye” I think will be his nickname, as this is the second shady side-eye picture I took of him recently. He may look different in this one I groomed him recently (a new chore I’ve taken on). This highlights his brown undercoat spots.
Here is a recent unscripted side-eye from Dolores Park:
Featuring music that originated in Vallejo or from Vallejoans, we had a blast at this event, connecting with local volunteers and artists for a good cause and some important local history of inclusion and diversity. Fabulous Board President Liat Meitzenheimer is speaking during this portion.
Go Solano Rowing Club (SRC)! We are one of the whaleboat rowing clubs in Vallejo, which rows out of the amazing Glen Cove Marina, which is right down the hill from where Shando and I live. I’m going to miss the evening weekday rows until next year since the daylight hours are shortening. However, we do row on weekends year-round.
Some of these were taken from the second whaleboat of SRC, but I’m in the boat that pictures that are the subject of the photos. Having both out concurrently doesn’t happen too often, so that is a treat.
This month’s Art Walk in Vallejo (which is once a month year-round) was fun as usual. After our obligatory stop at Anchor Pantry for specialty grocery items, we had dinner with friends at Bambino’s. They were really busy, but the service was excellent. It was great to see Bill and Richard, who were visiting from SF.
I now have two remote-controlled spinners for the optical illusion ball in wire object and the metal globe with the repurposed license plate Vallejo sign. This gives some idea of our backyard porch view and part of our garden, with some cameos from a few dogs. You can hear the four water features going. They turn on courtesy of Alexa at sunrise and shut off when the lights come on at sunset, which is also when the solar lights illuminate the back garden areas. This is our sanctuary (especially during early Covid).
…in the making of this video, but I wanted to convince myself that it was alive, so I kept bumping it until it stretched its arms out to brace itself.
Under my gardening table I have a trash can that I use for convenience to discard things I can’t compost. I almost reached in to get one of the bamboo leaves that fell in there, only to see that it was a living bug! Lest you think I was making it up, here’s the juxtaposition from the bamboo area of our backyard and under the outdoor staircase where a lot of the dead bamboo leaves collect.
