Photos are not allowed at the special exhibits. So I took one that was not part of the special exhibits. Can you guess the artist name of painting below?

Impressionist Painting

The museum has other permanent collections and photo taking without flash is allowed. Below is a photo of Picasso’s The Orator Scuptor on Rodin’s Horse. I thought that was rather cute.

There are other French painters’ works on display in one of the galleries. Paintings from other European painters from different centuries were also in various galleries. British painter, Albert Moore’s Roses ca.1885 was also one of my favorites.

British Painter Albert Moore's Roses

In one of the galleries, there was a well-preserved mummy on display. I did not get a photo of it though – don’t like the coffin so much right now. The mummy was from hundreds of years ago and it was CT scanned at Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto to get images of the skull, dental and spinal structures. I did not write down the donor’s name but it was donated to the Legion of Honor. The mummy got to travel to be a special exhibit at other museums around the US.

Rodin’s Mother and Child piece was also my favorite. I cannot remember whether I saw that piece in Paris. It was a long time since I visited the City of Light.

Mother & Child by Rodin

I like the painting below but forgot the artist name. You could tell I am not quite a patron of the arts nor an artist to follow such works of arts in detail.

Painting of peaches, grapes and flowers

The day was delightfully peaceful and I did not speak for hours during the museum visit. I will do visits like that from time to time to recharge and get some staycation time. I enjoyed the Cafe’s Fig Tart with tea to conclude the visit. I ate it so fast I forgot to take a picture. It was pick up time. Thanks for reading. Have a great day!

A Coign of Vantage, 1895 by Dutch Painter Sr Lawrence Alma Tadema

My Father - Photo taken in HK cir. 1976

Be Thankful – Yes, say “Thank You” and “Please”.  He asked for help and he was grateful for the help. Thank you Daddy for everything a great father could possibly be.

Be Giving/Charitable – He was very charitable and giving. He loved to give and also receive. He helped many people and gave when he had lots of money and when he did not have a lot of money. Charity was in him.

Be Honest – Before he retired he had a small business and also paid all taxes due. Never tried to hide the income. That’s why he was left with so little profit after costs and taxes. He had a good time running the business though.

Get a good education –  My father believed in education and he made sure he drilled it into people he met. He made sure all his 7 children graduated from college and at least had 1 or more degrees. He picked me up from college late at night, 2 nights a week, for a year that I did not yet have a driver’s license. He was a proud father. He loved going to graduations (as much as going to parties) including his grand children’s whenever he could. He was a very proud grandfather.

Do not smoke – It’s all over the place why smoking is bad for human beings. I cannot understand why some people still smoke. Stop it. Don’t start smoking. It caused all kinds of respiratory illnesses and cancer. And a lot of pain. And it really killed!

NOTE:         Smoking kills!     DO NOT SMOKE!     REALLY NO SMOKING!

July 9th, 2010 – My father passed on at the hospital with respiratory failure after the battle with lung cancer for over 1 year. His lungs failed. He stopped smoking over 30 years ago, but still. May he rest peacefully in heaven.

Cupcake Cake from Safeway Bakery

This post is a tribute to my friends/co-workers who hosted a fond farewell for me last week at Cascal in downtown Mountain View on Castro at California streets in the Silicon Valley. I received wonderful gifts, a hand decorated apron, fresh bouquet flowers and a cake made out of cupcakes. That was so very kind and nice of my buddies. It was my 3rd time to depart from this company and it appeared as if I was making a habit out of it. These folks that I worked with are not only talented in their professions but also kind, hardworking and thoughtful. I was worried that they were working way too hard sacrificing their personal and family time not to mention their health and well-being for the sake of the company. Corporations cut back on employees and these folks are doing more work with less people. While many corporations CEO’s and senior executives made more money than ever, even in this economy, front line workers are putting more hours (with no additional pay) to get the work done without much recognition and reward. It’s not fair but those who are making millions of dollars are not going to give up making more money. They exercise their powers to the max to reward themselves and that is a fact of capitalism right now. So to my friends and co-workers, I would like to say Thank You! and also Take Care of yourselves!

Cascal restaurant features South American cuisines, and Friday nights are usually packed with lots of people for cocktails. We had red Sangria, white Sangria and mojito. I normally cannot drink much but I prepared for it by eating a bigger lunch that day and I was OK afterwards.  We had a sampler plate of tapas, beets with pear salad, grilled ahi tuna and paella. Everything was delicious. It was so wonderful to be able to spend some time with good friends. Cheers to friendships and good health!

As for me, I have started working on home remodeling tasks and finding temporary housing during this time so we don’t have to breathe dusty air. It will keep me busy for a while until the remodeling is done and we can move back and unpack. I am staying out of trouble friends! I will not be able to cook much (which I don’t do too well anyways) during this time. I will be blogging about restaurants that we visit, and it will still be about food and friends and family. I am just focusing on short-term goals and looking forward to the trip to Disney World in Florida and the Caribbean cruise that will follow. We also want to vacation in Asia or Europe depending on availability of time and resources and my daughter’s summer school schedules. Long term goals can take a nap right now….zzzzzz

What is (are) your favorite restaurant(s) in your neighborhood?