Succinctly Yours - Adventures and Food on the Escalator

Word of the week: ultimatum

Helicopter Wife

The Lopez family celebrated Jose’s weight loss by visiting Nature World Theme Park. Maria tried to keep an eagle eye on what he ate. 

(132) - Pat

Lapse In Self Control

Jose couldn't help himself. He grabbed a treat from his son’s backpack while on the escalator despite his wife’s ultimatum to stop snacking. 

(140) - Pat

Hopelessly Devoted to Food

Maria turned and smiled at her husband, thinking he was putting their camera back into son Pepe’s bag. In reality he was sneaking a Twinkie.

(140) - Pat

Down We Go to Who-Knows-What Adventure

I’m a little confused about where this tube goes, but they said something about making Soylent Green.

(101) - Jerry


Grandma's Goulash is hosting a microfiction meme called "Succinctly Yours," where you can write either a 140-character or 140-word micro-story based on the photo she posts and/or the word of the day, so you have plenty of room to be creative! Join the fun at Grandma's Goulash.

I did not know this about Bono!

Bono, born Paul David Hewson, is an Irish singer, musician, venture capitalist and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist and lyricist of the Dublin-based rock band U2 (info from Wikipedia). 

What I didn't know about him is that he believes the same thing about Jesus Christ as I do...surprise, surprise!  He believes that Jesus is the Messiah and only through faith in him can we have a personal one-to-one relationship with God and thus have eternal life after our days on earth are done.  This interview is an eye-opening look into Bono's core belief about Jesus:  Bono Interview: Grace Over Karma

I have a whole new respect for Bono.

Succinctly Yours - Poseur

Word of the week: hub

Me, Me, Me, It's All About Me

Sunny always wanted to be at the  hub of the Gorgeous Flowers Industry; thus the sunglasses.  She got lots of attention, most of it negative. 

(140) - Pat

Desperate for Attention

VanGoghFluffySunflower Sophia did not have seeds that were good for eating, so she compensated by looking glamorous in her Gucci glasses.

(137) - Pat

Who Do You Think You're Fooling?
“What a faker…You don’t even have eyes, Sunny! Who do, who do you think you’re fooling?!”*

(90) - Pat

Poseur Exposed
Wearing dark glasses still doesn’t make you a sunflower.

(56) - Jerry

*When I wrote "Who do you think you're fooling," it reminded me of the Paul Simon song, Loves Me Like A Rock." I still enjoy Simon and Garfunkel songs!

Loves Me Like A Rock 
by Paul Simon
When I was a little boy
And the Devil would call my name
I'd say "Now who do ...
Who do you think you're fooling?"
I'm a consecrated boy
Singer in a Sunday choir
My mama loves, she loves me
She gets down on her knees and hugs me
She loves me like a rock
She rocks me like the rock of ages
And she loves me

When I was grown to be a man
And the Devil would call my name
I'd say "Now who do . ..
Who do you think you're fooling?"
I'm a consummated man
I can snatch a little purity
My mama loves me, she loves me
She gets down on her knees and hugs me
She loves me like a rock
She rocks me like the rock of ages
And she loves me

If I was the President
And the Congress call my name
I'd say "Who do ...
Who do you think you're fooling?"
I've got the Presidential Seal
I'm up on the Presidential Podium
My mama loves me
She loves me
She gets down on her knees and hugs me
And she loves me like a rock
She rocks me like the rock of ages
And she loves me
She loves me, loves me, loves me, loves me


Grandma's Goulash is hosting a microfiction meme called "Succinctly Yours," where you can write either a 140-character or 140-word micro-story based on the photo she posts and/or the word of the day, so you have plenty of room to be creative! Join the fun at Grandma's Goulash.

Weekend Reflections in downtown Sacramento

I'm still posting pix from our outing in downtown Sacramento last Saturday. There's plenty of glass for interesting reflections there in downtown Sac.

There were lots of steel-and-glass surfaces in Sac'to for interesting reflections.

The Hyatt Hotel in Sac'to had some shiny letters on their sign which reflected the flower beds.

The Sacramento Convention Center sign reflected me and a tree as we awaited the musical Les Miserables.
Weekend Reflections is hosted by James each week beginning Friday at 11 AM Eastern Standard Time. That's 8 AM Pacific Standard Time my time. Click on the Weekend Reflections link to participate with your own reflection photos!

Skywatch over the California State Capitol Building

We were in Sacramento last Saturday to see a musical (Les Mis). We had time to wander around and in the CA State Capitol Building and adjoining Capitol Park before the afternoon show.

The main entrance to the Capitol Building

Close-up of the rotunda

This is the view from the main (west) entrance to the Capitol Building.  In the distance you can see the "golden" Tower Bridge which goes across the Sacramento River.  People were setting up for a fundraiser race to be held the following day.  The starting point was here at the Capitol Building, thus all the "stuff" on the grassy areas.

See other skies around the world at SkywatchFriday. Thank you, Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy for keeping up this site!

Blue Diamond Oven Roasted Mint Dark Chocolate Almonds

Being members of the Blue Diamond Almond Growers, we like to support our co-op, and we really like almonds. So before we went to the theater to see the musical Les Miserables on Saturday we stopped by the Blue Diamond store in Sacramento to buy almonds.  Since we are members of the exchange, we get a discount, so we stocked up on raw almonds and...

Blue Diamond Oven Roasted Mint Dark Chocolate Almonds...well, just one jar.  The store had dozens of flavors of almonds for us to sample...and we sampled a lot.  The mint dark chocolate ones were my absolute favorite, hands down.  Oh my goodness, they are good.

They are addictive!  They're minty, sweet, but not super-sweet, and chocolaty.  The crunchy coating is comprised of mint-flavored cocoa powder, sugar and other ingredients.  It's a very thin coating, so it doesn't add a lot of sugar...just enough to make them fantastic. If you ever see them in your local grocery store, grab one before they are all gone!

An afternoon at the theater and the CA State Capitol Building and Park

On Saturday Jerry and I had the pleasure of attending the musical "Les Miserable" at the Sacramento Community Center Theater, which is part of the Sacramento Convention Center.

We arrived in Sac two hours before the 2:00 performance, so we had time to have lunch and then meander through the California State Capitol Park and Capitol Building.  The convention center is just a couple of blocks away from the Capitol Building.

Four of the main characters are on the right...all phenomenal singers from around the country.  Peter Lockyer was particularly outstanding.

The performance was wonderful--great actor/singers, songs, orchestra, set and state-of-the-art backdrops.  A video was somehow being projected on the backdrop for backgrounds.  In the scene where Jean Valjean is carrying the wounded Marius through the sewers, the backdrop had an animated 3-dimensional-looking scene of a huge tunnel.  It was amazingly real looking, as if Valjean was actually running through the sewer tunnel.  This technique of the animated background had the same effect in other scenes--e.g., when the gendarme Javert, who was always trying to arrest Valjean, jumped off the bridge into the river.  It looked like he actually climbed over the bridge railing and jumped a long distance, arms and legs flailing.

I got teary-eyed at the very end when Jean Valjean (Peter Lockyer) sang a prayer just before he died.  In fact, I don't think there was a dry eye in the entire audience.  One of the phrases in that last song (called "Epilogue") was "It's the story of one who turned from hating, the man who only learned to love..."The following photos were taken before the performance as we visited the nearby areas.

Above:  A beautiful fountain in Cesar Chavez Park

In Capitol Park, which is on the east side of the Capitol Building, there is a sculpture of Father Junipero Serra, a Franciscan missionary from Spain who founded missions along the western side of California.  The photo above on the right is a sculpture of the state of California with all 21 missions that the Spanish missionaries established.  Part of the curriculum for 4th-graders in California covers the early Spanish settlements (missions).  Many teachers have their students each make a model of a California mission.  I helped Nathan and Ben make theirs and Jerry always told me that I got an A on "my" projects.  I was so glad when Tim's teacher didn't have the kids make models of missions.  It was fun, but it was a lot of work, especially since my children were not into arts and crafts.

A plaque honoring Father Junipero Serra

California is known for its oranges, so the huge, fruit-laden orange tree above is a tribute to that crop. Below it is (I think) a eucalyptus tree. Orange growers used to plant eucalyptus trees on the borders of their orchards to protect them from wind damage. They are drought-resistant, perfect for semi-arid southern California.

The California State Capitol Park is a lovely respite on a hot day…It was 90 degrees when we were there. It has a multitude of species of trees and shrubs as well as monuments, walkways, a stream, grass and benches. It’s a wonderful place sit and relax or eat a sack lunch, which is what people who work nearby do. The Viet Nam War memorial is a touching tribute to American soldiers who died there.In the photo above, Jerry is walking toward one of the park's magnolias. Their blossoms are huge, as you can see in the lower photo.

A view of the CA State Capitol Building's north side

Just below the rotunda of the CA State Capitol building is this marble sculpture of Columbus' last appeal to Queen Isabella of Spain. She eventually agreed to support his voyages to and exploration of the New World.  (Side note:  I learned this rhyme in the 1950s when I was in elementary school:  "In fourteen hundred and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue;" I don't know if kids in the U.S. are taught that any more.)  Carved in Florence, Italy, the statue was donated to the state in 1883 by local banker and philanthropist D.O. Mills (1825 - 1910).

As you can see from the inscription, Queen Isabella was wholeheartedly in favor of Christopher Columbus' plan and she promised her financial support.