The beauty of a window
It’s there but you cannot see
Don’t touch
Let yourself believe
The beauty of love
It’s there but you cannot see
Don’t touch
Let your heart believe
Updated data on November 2013 residential real estate prices in the SF Bay Area here https://graphicrealestate.wordpress.com/sf-bay-area-housing-trends/ and November 2013 SF Bay Area employment trends here https://graphicrealestate.wordpress.com/bay-area-employment-trends/ for the data starved. It’s the 
year-end craziness so I’m a little outta focus. Enjoy the holidaze!
E Pluribus Unum: from many, One. A well-known phrase to Americans, E pluribus unum is found on the Great Seal of the United States. Whether you see it as meaning from many states we formed 
a single nation or from many nations we emerged as a single people: when I pass by the Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California, I am reminded of the many who gave in service to keep us as one nation, undivided. One great people. One great land full of promise.
2013 Sutter Creek Parade of Lights
Is Community like a common unity? People who live in the same area? People who share a common interest? Perhaps community is a group of people who share a unified body of thought? I will leave that up to the editors at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/community but I dig those M-W videos and, let’s face it, librarians rule!
This past weekend I found myself standing in the cold outside a small theater in Sutter Creek, California (http://www.suttercreektheater.com/). I was in town for a concert by Gypsy Soul but the street was clogged with people similarly waiting for the annual Parade of Lights. Community found me.
I shared the sidewalk with eager young children, shepherding parents and camera-clad grandparents. Throw in some marauding teenagers and you’ve got a community. Even more interesting were the smaller subsets of parade participants. The 4 H’ers, Kiwanis, Lions, horse wranglers, Scouts, bands, small businesses and dog lovers who lit up the night and made the parade a rural definition of community. Five separate groups of dog lovers made up a significant portion of the parade. Pug love! Now that’s community. Christmas lights on your German Shepherd? Happy Holidays!
Scenic Vista – CA State Route 74 (Palms to Pines)
California is a land of vistas. Many grand vistas. Mountains along the coast. A broad, flat central valley. Mountains along the eastern side of the state. No shortage of places to go up and look down. The highway between Palm Desert and Hemet, the Palms to Pines Highway (CA State Route 74), offers a number of exceptional photographic opportunities. Climbing out of the desert and heading west over the pass to Hemet you are greeted with a beautiful vista that seems to embrace the Pacific Ocean far to the west. Take it in the next time you’re in town.
The old saying goes, “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” I could not find a source for this well-known quote but, as the saying goes, “that’s baseball.”
After a recent dental visit I was trying to soothe the pain I was feeling and I found myself in a bookstore attempting to spend my way to health. I was looking for a book by Joseph Campbell but the only copy they had apparently vanished into thin air before I could tamp down the pain in my jaw. Always one to seek a good deal I was quickly drawn to the “Sale” table where I found a book on Edward Weston. He was a wonderful early photog and apparently an avid philanderer.
Joe’s Eggs & Slicer Ripoff
I soon found myself in the kitchen trying to replicate Eggs and Slicer from 1930 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/32357038@N08/8328574802/). I ended up with two shots. One a more direct ripoff and the other an homage. I miss the days of black and white film and the smell of developer at 68 degrees. I have yet to master the art of digital B&W. I will keep trying.
Joe’s Eggs and Slicer Homage
Sometimes an image is the best way to say welcome 
to the Holiday Season! Candles set the scene for me. It is a season of lights. May your season be bright!
Malagra Ridge, Pacifica, CA
Between January of 2011 and January of 2013 the Bay Area population increased by 1.9%. So, let’s say population growth is around 1% per year. You would, by inference, expect the labor force to grow by a similar percentage. Over the past year, however, the labor force has grown a paltry 0.3%. Where have the workers gone? What gives? (See SF Bay Area Employment Trends page above)
Employment has grown by 1.9% over the past year. That’s good. The unemployment rate has dropped, that’s good, too. But what about these numbers? Total employment has stabilized near the 12 month average. I hear talk of expansion coming out of the Silicon Valley but where is it? In September of 2012, the labor force and the number employed in the Bay Area both grew. This year, between September and October, the labor force and the number employed both contracted. Not really a positive trend even though the unemployment rate appears favorable. Go figure.
Setting Sun from Sharp Park, Pacifica, CA
While the setting sun painted the Pacific sky into a lovely picture last week the housing prices in the Bay Area were not as rosy. Median home prices squeaked out a small gain in October but sales volume remains low. The Bay Area median rose to $539,750 from $530,000 in September but it is still below the July 2013 peak of $562,000. Sales volume dropped nearly 4% from the same time last year. See the SF Bay Area Housing Trends page above for the details.
San Francisquito Creek (Little San Francisco according to one source). It is the dividing line between 
San Mateo County (left side of picture) and Santa Clara County (right side). The City of East Palo Alto is part of San Mateo County on the left and the City of Palo Alto on the right is part of Santa Clara County and the Silicon Valley. These two jurisdictions are divided by more than a creek. East Palo Alto has a median household income of $50,137 (Census data) while Palo Alto (think Stanford University) has a median household income of $122,532. Yup… households on right side of creek have 2.4 times more income than households on the left. It still pays to go to college.
 | Donna H on State of Mind |
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