A New Year's Hodgepodge

Happy New Year. I hope 2016 is the best for you. I want to thank you for reading anything that I have posted over the last year and hope it made you smile. Here is just a little hodgepodge of photos that I have taken that really didn't fit anything, so I hope you enjoy the hodgepodge of pics:

Got to love the Golden St. Warriors

The top of the Rotunda Building in Oakland

Lake Merritt in Oakland

In front of Oakland's historic Paramount Theater

Again, thanks for reading or looking at the stuff I post and Happy New Years to you and Godspeed.

Pacific Worlds at the Oakland Museum

I went to an exhibition at the Oakland Museum called Pacific Worlds which celebrated the vibrant historic and cultural relationships, past and present, between the Pacific Islands and California. It was really cool and I really enjoyed it. (Note:Most of the artifacts are undated but were collected in the early 1900's):

Bowl-Hawai'i

Outrigger Canoe-Papua New Guinea

Rings

Lintel for Haus-Papua New Guinea

House post-West Papua

Stone Money-Micronesia

Poi Pounder-Austral Islands

Armor-Micronesia

(Left to right) War Club, Paddle Club and Sword-Micronesia

Slit Gong Drum-Melanesia

Painted Barkcloth-Fiji

Pendant-Fiji

I am so glad that I got to see this exhibition before it goes away. 

Music Monday: New Year Songs

For this Music Monday, we are going to try to hit some New Year's Songs:

Have a Happy and Safe New Year.

A Visit to Applehill 2015

Going through pics that I have, I found out that that I have many blogs that I forgot about writing. Almost like they were lost. So, here is one. I visited the area in Northern California known as Applehill in early November. It is a great place to go and pick apples and look at beautiful scenery:

and of course apples:

and things made with apples:

Applehill is a great time to enjoy a day.

Walking Around Union Square at Xmas

Just some pics from walking around Union Square in San Francisco. It wasn't done up as in years past but it still looked nice:

On a street pole

The windows of Macy's

The tree inside of Nemian Marcus

The tree at Union Square

Got to love the chocolate R2D2 at the Fairmont

But I love the Charlie Brown Christmas Theme at Macy's:

Hope everybody has a Happy, Merry and Safe Christmas and thanks for reading any of this dribble I write.

Xmas Songs: My Favorites

Here is my favorite Xmas songs:

And my all-time favorite. I will give you the original version and the 2014 version:

Happy Christmas everyone.

Olive Oil and Chocolate

I had to hit two of my favorite places for holiday gift giving on a recent Saturday- The Victorine Valley Farms store for olive oil and the Ghiradelli Chocolate Factory Store.

First up, a look at the Victorine Valley Farms store which has some of the best olive oil in the world and other great goods:

And then there is Ghiradelli which in my mind makes the best chocolate in the world. Their peppermint bark (only sold during the holiday season) is to die for. It is the greatest:

And the ultimate:

It was a fun Saturday.