I hope these quotes and images leave you with a sense of wonder and inspiration for days to come.
Do you have a favorite that resonates with you?
Take good care, remember to breathe, and don’t forget to smile,
Lauren ❤️
© Lauren Scott, Baydreamerwrites.com – All rights reserved.
On March 4th, I shared the adventure in San Francisco my husband and I went on for his birthday in February. If you missed it and would like to check it out, here is the link: https://baydreamerwrites.com/2023/03/04/sun-on-the-city/
I’m sharing our fun and educational experience to give you insight into the fabulous museums in the iconic city and to focus on appreciating fine art. Not so much on our birthdays. I know some people would rather skip their birthdays altogether. But not me. I love to celebrate with family, friends, good wine and food, and once a year, yes, cake!
Life is so full of tragedy these days with yet another school shooting yesterday that we should truly live each day with every ounce of energy and joy because the fragility of tomorrow is no surprise. So, the good news is that we are alive to celebrate another year of life. That doesn’t mean our bodies won’t change as the years pass, but we can still “stop and smell the flowers” even with aches, pains, a few more wrinkles (laugh lines), and gray hairs. Sure beats the alternative, right??? So, here we go!
San Francisco sits “in our backyard” but we tend to venture west or north more often than south. Lately, we have changed our compass to relive some of the adventures from years ago. The de Young Museum was our next destination. Below is a brief description from Wikipedia:
The de Young Museum, formally the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, is a fine arts museum located in San Francisco, California. Located in Golden Gate Park, it is a component of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, along with the Legion of Honor. The de Young is named for early San Francisco newspaperman M. H. de Young.
The de Young showcases American art from the 17th through the 21st centuries, international contemporary art, textiles, and costumes, and art from the Americas, the Pacific and Africa. The deYoung Museum Collections include: American Art, African Art, Oceanic Art, Arts of the Americas, Costume and Textile Arts, Graphic Arts, Photography and Sculpture. Some of the collection is accessible online on the museum website and Google Arts and Culture.
As I mentioned on the 4th, time won’t allow me to caption each photo. So, I hope you enjoy the slideshow below of only a small amount of the art. My cell battery was beginning to conk out, so I had to give it a rest. Some pieces were awe-inspiring, some very moving, others fascinating. I was in awe of the tiny details in paintings and sculptures and the incredible talent and skill needed to achieve such fantastic artwork. The photos don’t do justice, but I hope you can see what a fabulous collection this museum offers:
Photos I took throughout the day…
“If you hear a voice within you say, ‘You cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.”
~ Vincent Van Gogh
The first photo above was taken from inside the museum, the three following were taken from the observatory on the 9th floor. This was another stunning day in the big city, sunny, cold, a bit windy, but with the umbrella of a clear, blue sky. The view from the observatory was spectacular!
The photos below were taken when we walked around the grounds. We wanted to ride the ferris wheel, but the line was a mile long. No patience to wait. The observatory is in the tall brown building on the 9th floor. That’s where you could hear everyone ooh and ahh at the stunning views of San Francisco and the museum surroundings.
The trees in the photo above are mostly London Plane and Scotch Elm, which are heavily cut back to give a very regular and formal appearance to the plaza.
I couldn’t leave out the pretty and unique flowers…
Selfie time and a bit windy. When we left the museum later in the afternoon, we drove to The Presidio in San Francisco and walked on the tunnel tops: The Presidio Tunnel Tops project creates San Francisco’s great escape – a 14-acre oasis at the center of the Presidio featuring views, nature, and play.
This was our first time on these tunnel tops and what an amazing oasis! You’ll see the playground for kids, the view of San Francisco Bay, Golden Gate Bridge, the highway beneath, and red Adirondack chairs that we parked ourselves on to enjoy the view. It was fun to see sailboats, yachts, wind surfers, and other water sports aficionados on the bay.
It was a “hair in face” day, but beautiful indeed! At the end of the day, who doesn’t like to go out for dinner? But we decided that after being out from morning until early evening and indulging in a great lunch on the cafe patio, staying in sounded nice and cozy. My hubby who is not a baker, made me my most favorite dessert, a homemade carrot cake (albeit with my supervision). And it was (still is) delicious! Although, most went into the freezer yesterday morning. Can’t eat it all week. 😁
I closed my eyes and thought of a wish before blowing out the candles, but honestly, I am so grateful for my life: for my husband, daughter and son, sisters, and friends for making this a special birthday. And for you in this wonderful blogging community!
❤️🙏🏻
Thanks for popping in and I hope you enjoyed the art, nature, and the importance of celebrating life! Keep celebrating!
Live Life!
Lauren 💝💝
© Lauren Scott, Baydreamerwrites.com – All rights reserved.
Last week, we spent the day in San Francisco celebrating my husband’s birthday. The weather has been very wet and cold, but we were blessed with a stunning day in the city. Yes, the temperature was crisp, but the sun shined, warming us like a blanket and creating lovely photos. Even though we’ve visited this iconic city numerous times, I can’t help but take more pictures, especially of the Golden Gate Bridge and the bay.
Our destination was The Legion of Honor (above top) which stands prominently above the Lincoln Park Golf Course. If you’re interested in learning about this fine art museum, I pulled the information below from Wikipedia:
The Legion of Honor displays a collection spanning more than 6,000 years of ancient and European art and houses the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts.
The Hall of Antiquities displays ancient works from Egypt, the Near East, Greece, and Rome, including sculptures, figurines, vessels, jewelry, and carved reliefs. Notable works include a 4,000-year-old carved wood figure of Seneb, an Egyptian royal scribe. The collection is supported in part by the Ancient Art Council, which offers a speakers program focusing on the ancient world.[7][8]
The museum contains a representative collection of European art, the largest portion of which is French. Its most distinguished collection is of sculpture by Auguste Rodin. Casts of some of his most famous works are on display, including one of The Thinker in the Court of Honor. Other artists in the collection include El Greco, Titian, Rubens, Rembrandt, Boucher, David, Tiepolo, Gainsborough and many of the Impressionists and post-Impressionists—Degas, Renoir, Monet, Pissarro, Seurat, Cézanne, van Gogh and others.
The museum’s collection of European Decorative Arts includes a gilded Spanish ceiling from c. 1500; numerous items of furniture, including Horace Walpole’s commode of 1763 from Strawberry Hill House, west of London; and three period rooms, including the Salon Doré from the Hôtel de La Trémoille, Paris, said to be the only complete example of a pre-Revolutionary Parisian salon to be displayed anywhere.[11][12]
The Bowles Porcelain Gallery displays an array of porcelain and pottery from England and continental Europe with a strong emphasis on the eighteenth century. Adjacent to the gallery is the Ceramic Study Center.[13]
The Contemporary Arts Program, which brings the work of living artists into dialogue with the building and the collections, was inaugurated in 2017 with an exhibition of more than 30 works by Urs Fischer installed throughout the museum.[14] Subsequent exhibitions have featured works and interventions by artists including Lynn Hershman Leeson,[15] Julian Schnabel,[16] Alexandre Singh,[17] and Wangechi Mutu.[18]
Situated off the northwest corner of the Legion grounds is the Holocaust Memorial, a sculptural group of white-painted bronze by George Segal installed in 1984. Although not part of the Legion’s collection, the sculpture is often seen by visitors to the museum.
The Legion of Honor has played a big part in films:
As much as I’d love to detail each photo, time won’t allow, so I hope you enjoy these visuals. The slideshow below presents only a fraction of the paintings, sculptures, furniture, architecture, porcelain, and silver.
We spent most of the day at the museum, but when we finished perusing each room, we walked around the grounds, enjoying the greenery of the Lincoln Park Golf Course (above photos). After leaving The Legion of Honor, we drove through Ocean Beach, pulled over to look at the view, and between the soothing colors of the ocean and that bright blue sky, we were in awe. More photos! And of course, a selfie was necessary, especially one of me sneaking in a kiss for the birthday boy.
As we were leaving and since I was driving, my hubby took some photos of the bridge (again, we can’t have too many). Then we took a slow drive through a picturesque coastal town and stopped at a cool bar on the bay and enjoyed the serenity from the stunning views of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco. Before we left this beautiful spot, we walked out on the pier for more photos. Because fog and wind pay frequent visits to San Francisco, we truly lucked out with the weather on this celebratory February day. So, when I think of an adjective to describe this Saturday in the city, the word that comes to mind is Glorious! Cheers!
I hope you enjoyed this little slice of San Francisco.
Thank you for stopping by and have a lovely weekend ahead. ❤️
© Lauren Scott, baydreamerwrites – All rights reserved.
All photos taken by me.
We live for the weekends! Last Saturday our jobs weren’t calling. Our schedule was ours to create. So, our day began with an early morning walk where the temperature was below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Cold and clear. Donned with beanies, warm coats, and gloves, we walked around the neighborhood, enjoying the show of the sky changing colors. And then the words below came to mind…
The sun slowly opens
its sleepy eyes
The neighborhood still breathes
soft breaths
Not a soul
Not a sound
We own this moment
This moment is ours
Tranquility flows through our veins
We exhale gratitude
Another miracle reveals itself
in the creation
of a new dawn
Next, we drove to a local ecological sanctuary filled with numerous trails, so hand in hand, we followed them, enjoying nature’s fabulous entertainment and taking pics along the way. The day was beautiful, sunny and cold, but absolutely glorious!
The rest of the day was filled with relaxation, motorcycle rides, 5:00 o’clock wine-ing, then Saturday night at the movies. Retirement is nearing, but until then, we welcome the welcoming weekends!
Hope you enjoyed and I wish you a great week and weekend ahead! ❤️
© Lauren Scott, baydreamerwrites – All rights reserved.
A few days ago, I was inspired by Marina’s post: https://marinakanavaki.com/2022/11/03/the-clouds-sometimes/. She is a dear, dear friend and a fabulous painter, photographer, and musician. And we share the same love of clouds, or truthfully, any artwork the sky chooses to display. So much that we agree we can never have too many photos! If you don’t know Marina, I hope you’ll pay her beautiful site a visit.
So, no poetry or story today, just photos from a morning walk – a sky that took my breath away…
Hope you enjoyed and I wish you a marvelous Monday!
~Lauren ❤️🧡💛
© Lauren Scott, baydreamerwrites.com – All rights reserved.
My husband, Matt, and I experienced one of the best times at our favorite campground in the Sierra Nevada mountains. We hiked on local trails, around the lake, swam, and simply relaxed in camp. Our campsite was lakeside and the water level was high, so the walk down the path to the sandy shore took about fifteen seconds. We’ve had similar sites before in the past, but this one was special because we could see that stunning body of water from every angle. We took in the serenity, putting a halt to the go, go, go mindset. It was nice to watch small sailboats, kayaks, and stand up paddle boards cruise the lake. Inspiration to write in my faithful journal that always accompanies me on our wilderness trips happened immediately. Our first sunset was the most spectacular sunset we have ever watched unfold, and I will post about it soon. I’m sharing a handful of the many, many photos below that we took:
For all you Ornithologists, we saw an abundance of birds such as an American Bald Eagle (incredible), a Scrub jay, California Quail, Finches, Diving Ducks, and Canadian Geese. Other creatures piqued our interest: a tiny lake frog and a bullfrog the size of a softball, lizards, squirrels, and chipmunks. Although my husband had hoped to see a black bear!
And below is a poem that formed on…
The First Morning
Our eyes open to chirps of our feathered campers
from high above in the fir trees, and occasionally,
we hear the rustle of a skittering squirrel.
The night before, every creature became silent
as darkness sank into the evening.
But in morning, when darkness has faded
and sunlight shines over the lake,
we walk the few steps down the trail
to the still water, nestle into our camp chairs
side by side, and slowly sip our caffeine indulgence.
We listen. Peace in the uttermost sense of the word.
Beautiful clouds drift by, prompting us to stroll upon them,
feel their softness, but then they move with the grace of a swan.
Ripples in the sand. Artwork in crystal-clear water.
And this is when we watch morning happen…
Lauren Scott ©
I hope you find your place of tranquility…like we did. ❤️
Stay safe and Be happy,
Lauren Scott © ❤️
I came across this old photo with one of my favorite quotes and advice that is truly timeless. In these times of instant gratification, choosing to follow Her advice would be calming to the mind and body...
Lauren Scott (c) ❤️
Photo: my children on one of our camping trips.
Baydreamer Writes ~ Lauren Scott, Author 