Panoramic Yosemite

I’ve had an ongoing problem with taking pano shoots on my current iPhone, as well as on my previous one. I know the functionality is there because it offers the option. But it never seems to work. So forget that, macro is so much easier, and I can capture flowers up close and personal. And flowers, especially pretty ones, make me happy.

But I’m in Yosemite, and I need my pano shots to work. Today. My twelve year-old who is taller than me (which in 12 year-old speak means he knows more) nonchalantly flipped my phone over. What? I need to hold my phone in portrait mode to take a landscape pano? Really? Who would have thought? That’s what it says, Mum, give it a go.

Hmm. So technology. So 12 year-olds. So pano.

Headlines

Every morning on the way to school, my dad would buy his paper from the street vendor at one of the traffic intersections. If the traffic lights were green he would slow down, stick out his hand with the coins and the vendor would throw the paper inside. I would be in the front of the car sitting next to him. My dad would read the paper at every chance while smoking on his cigarette. Ah, the joys. It was the morning ritual.

In South Africa, the news headlines would be plastered along the street lamps every morning. So by the time you reached your destination, you had some idea of the current news. This was one of the things I missed when I arrived in Sydney. A few days passed and then I realized, I have no idea what the headlines are! There are no billboards.

Nowadays, I read my news online. Sometimes I get stuck on hot topics. I have two at the moment. The first is around Jacob Zuma and his friends the Guptas. Zuma is the president of South Africa, and has been judged (officially by the constitutional court) to have acted inconsistently with regards to the constitution. This ruling was made two weeks ago, and yet, he is still standing. Not resigned, not fired, nothing.

And my new hot topic is the Australian 60 Minutes Lebanon story. A team, including Tara Brown who I see every week on the Sunday evening episode, have been detained in Lebanon. They were attempting to reunite children taken by their Lebanese father with their Australian mother. They have had their passports taken, and are currently being detained (what were they thinking, grabbing children in a foreign country to give back to the mother?).

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/newspaper/

Cable Car Chillin’

We managed to track down the Painted Ladies this morning, and the Full House house, and then had ‘morning tea’ (Aussie speak for coffee at ten) at the Nook. Great coffee too I might add. And I can say the Nook has the most welcoming atmosphere, I didn’t want to leave. Coffee and service (eye candy, wink) not too bad either! 🙂 I captured their sign to remember them by.

And then I hung off the side of the cable car to see the crookedest street, because that’s how I roll, yay! 🙂

Biking the Bridge

We biked the bridge! And while I was cycling across I thought this must surely be one of my life’s best moments! It is breathtakingly beautiful. When I was growing up in apartheid South Africa, the US was a faraway place. Only a place you see on television. Out of reach for many of us in an isolated country. And here I am, biking the bridge. #madeit

We celebrated with cherry pie. Because we ain’t had no cherry pie before!

Giants or Dodgers?

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So this morning we set off on a day of exploration, and as we went on our way we were caught up in the crowds all dressed in orange. They were on the way to one place only, so we made an executive decision. If in Rome do as the Romans do, right? We managed to get four seats in a row, and watched our first ever game of baseball. The weather was bleak so we thought to buy our kids orange Giants sweatshirts. The vendor looked at me strangely when I asked for a kid-sized ‘jumper’ for my daughter. What? A jumper. You want a sweatshirt?, he asked. Yes, please. For her.
And more firsts! Garlic fries, who can say no?

Key question, who to support, Giants or Dodgers?

First Car

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My very first car was metallic green. It looked like the one featured here. I bought it in December 1997, and it was stolen in March 2000. It was recovered a few weeks later, completely stripped and hardly recognizable. The insurance company was resisting payment, it was one of those occasions I needed a man to stand up for me, my father took on the fight and they paid the next day. And so it goes, I had a similar incident last week, which I’m fairly certain if my husband had taken on, would have resulted in a different outcome. Or perhaps I am just not assertive enough. I think that is what it is!

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/green/

Future

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My future for the next two weeks, we’ve arrived 🙂

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/future/

Dock of the Bay

Otis Redding – Dock of the Bay Lyrics

Sittin’ in the mornin’ sun
I’ll be sittin’ when the evenin’ comes
Watchin’ the ships roll in
Then I watch ’em roll away again

I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Watchin’ the tide, roll away
Sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Wastin’ time

Left my home in Georgia
Headed far for Frisco Bay
I had nothin’ to live for
Looks like nothin’s gonna come my way

So I’m just gonna sit on the dock of the bay
Watchin’ the tide roll away
Sittin’ on the dock of the bay, wastin’ time

Looks like nothin’s gonna change
Everything, everything remains the same
I can’t do what ten people tell me to do
So I guess I’ll remain the same

I’m sittin’ here restin’ my bones
And this lonliness won’t leave me alone
It’s Two thousand miles I roamed
Just to make this dock my home

Now, I’m just gonna sit at the dock of the bay
Watchin’ the tide roll away
Oooo – wee, Sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Wastin’ time…

The Other Side

Will see you on the other side. Or not! May be limited posts for the next couple of weeks, will share happy snaps if I get that far!

All the best, dear friends!

Until then 💝 keep well xo.

Faraway Place

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In a not so far away time, I will be in a faraway place.

In a faraway land, far from home.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/faraway/