Asian Art Museum, San Francisco

Front entrance, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco

The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco could be thought of as the museum built by Avery Brundage.  Brundage is best remembered today as a devotee of 'amatuerism' which he promoted as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from the time of his admittance until his death in 1975. However, when coming through London in 1936 after the controversial Olympic Games hosted by Nazi Germany, he saw his first exhibition of Chinese art, and, according to him, he came away so enamored that "I've been broke ever since".  Over the next thirty years, he collected over 17,000 pieces of Asian art from all over the continent.  He was quick to offer for pieces being sold in distress before and after the second world war in both China and Japan.  He took advantage of the collapse of both the Chinese and Japanese economies to swell his collection.  He engaged a French scholar who was a visiting professor at the University of California as his curator and had a long standing agreement with him no piece was purchased unless they both agreed.  By 1960, he was keeping priceless pieces of Asian Art in shoe boxes under his beds.

The City of San Francisco was ultimately the big winner.  Brundage left his Asian Art collection to the City and it is currently housed (along with a few other pieces) in what is now entitled the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.  The current building housing the museum was built in 1917 as the library in the Civic Center Plaza.  It was designed after the great earthquake of 1906.  It still retains the 'grand staircase' so prevalent in art nouveau architecture.

The Grand Staircase - made entirely of marble including the carvings on the ceiling

In addition to a world class presentation of Asian Art, we got to see several seminal pieces owned by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.  The SFMOMA is currently closed for renovation, and they have loaned out pieces all around the United States as well as to all the other art museums scattered throughout San Francisco.  The exhibit currently at the Asian Art Museum is called "Gorgeous" and consists of 70 diverse works of art.  This exhibit blew me away with the depth and breadth of the art pieces.  There are pictures, of course, of my favorite pieces not only of the Gorgeous exhibition, but of the rest of the museum as well.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/115478608971584948192/albums/6030130396465498785?authkey=COvWqvKT7bi6Wg

Off to the Wine Country

One of the side trips we've both been anticipating is a jaunt into wine country.  The last time we did this (uh, 25 years ago), we enjoyed Sonoma County more than Napa Valley, so we headed out for four days of exploration around Healdsburg, California.  Drake volunteered to do the research for this trip.  There are more than one hundred wineries you can visit within 15 miles of Healdsburg.  If you rushed in, gulped a 'taste' and moved on, all you'd really have for your trouble is a bad wine hangover.  We set some criteria for our visit:  Affordable wines that have at least SOME distribution.  We started with a Food and Wine article in which they cataloged which wineries they thought were the best in the area.  We also knew going in that we wouldn't be joining any of the wineries 'wine clubs'.  When you have as many addresses as we have in a year, joining a 'wine club' is silly.   We also knew there were going to be some purchases made simply because we loved the wine and not everything we liked was going to be distributed.  Additionally, each wine region has what Drake refers to as 'sweet spots' for certain types of wines.  Don't go looking for sauvignon blanc in pinot noir country.  We did manage to wind up with a broad spectrum of wines with some of bottles falling into a 'special class' which we normally wouldn't be purchasing if we were shopping at Spec's or Safeway.  [That means they cost more than we normally would even think about paying.]  Funny story:  We asked at one winery if they distributed, and they said they did.  We asked,  "Who distributes for you in Texas?", and yep, the answer was "Specs". 

One nice thing about living in Berkeley is you don't have to slog through San Francisco to get to Sonoma.  We were within two hours drive of Healdsburg, so we lingered along the way.  The first little surprise was Petaluma.  It was a nice little town which is home to the Petaluma Creamery.  Shades of Blue Belle and Brennan!
 We stopped both to buy Spring Hill Cheese (a local dairy/cheese maker), and to EAT ICE CREAM!  I must say the peach ice cream  gives Blue Bell Peach a run for its money.  They also have their own cow statue, but Bell Bell edges Petaluma on the cow mascot front.

Healdsburg, California turns out to the the Eureka Springs of wine country.  It's built around a plaza in the center of town.  It was incorporated in 1867 when the 'plaza' was originally the downtown. Now, it's completely given  over to upscale shops, restaurants, inns, tasting rooms, clothing boutiques, book stores, concerts and galleries.  Everyone in town caters to the tourist/wine trade. Ten miles down the road is Windsor - let's just say Windsor is the home of Walmart, Home Depot, Target, and a real grocery store.  Curiously, every nice restaurant in Healdsburg was selling identical menus.  I suppose it had to do with the buzz phrase:  'farm to table' since not only is this a wine valley, but it's a farm valley too.   

   One of the biggest surprises of the visit was the marked contrast between the nascent Oregon wine industry and the mature California industry.  When we were in Oregon, the roads to get to the vineyards were gravel or dirt, and you had to follow tiny blue signs tacked to posts along the roadways.  By contrast, Sonoma county vineyards are all listed on a very nice road map and every road is paved.  The signage is highly visible with arrows!  The Oregon tasting rooms were usually wooden bars you stood at.  In California, there are

gorgeous gardens at every winery, terraces, lawns, outdoor tasting areas, indoor tasting areas, and you can make a reservations for 'food and wine pairings'.

We actually did three of these pairings:  One in Healdsburg at "Partake", which was a restaurant either serving a seven course dinner or a series of 'small plates' and offering wine pairing with each course or plate.  We had a wonderful time here.  We also did a luncheon at the J Vineyards.  We arrived expecting a real lunch with courses and wines.  Instead we got bites and lots and lots of wine.  We had to actually sit in the parking lot for over an hour, so Drake could safely drive!  I didn't enjoy this one much - too little food and too much wine.  I was miserably drunk/hung over for the rest of the evening, slept poorly because of it, and disgruntled at losing an evening.

The third tasting was an appetizer plate plus wine which we both enjoyed.  Drake was really looking forward to this winery because they make Pinot Noir.  As we drove up to the Copain Winery, we couldn't help but notice, there were no vines near the tasting room.  The hills around Berkeley look like this - long grass about two feet in length, all this blond color.  The Copain tasting room was sitting in the middle of these Sonoma  hills which are about 100 feet in elevation.  No wonder fires spread like mad here.  Anyway, it turns out that Copain grows all their grapes in the Alexander Valley up north and over 1000 feet higher in elevation than Sonoma county.  That's why they are making Pinot Noir which according to them needs the slightly cooler weather of higher elevation.  Fortunately, I smartened up and only drank a swallow of a much shallower pour than we got at the J Vineyards.  Copain was our last winery, and on our way back to Berkeley, we stopped at two other attractions  I really wanted to see.


I learned about Luther Burbank in the 4th grade.  What I remember is he fooled around with plants, and he was an agricultural hero.  It turns out my recollection just about sums him up.  Santa Rosa, California was his home and plant laboratory for 40 years.  California celebrates Arbor Day on his birthday.   Luther's goal was to increase the food supply for the world.  Just consider the potato he perfected:  We call it the "Russett", but it's actually the Burbank Russett potato.  It's the most widely eaten potato in the world.  That's just one of his food contributions.  He also loved beautiful flowers, and he worked on garden flowers.  His most famous flower is the Shasta Daisy.  This chart shows his 'big' successes.  His home and the gardens that surround it were his residence for most of the time he lived in Santa Rosa.  Naturally, it's a museum today.

The other famous Santa Rosa resident is Charles Schulz, the cartoonist and creator of "Peanuts", one of the longest running and most widely read comic strips in the world.  He lived and worked in Santa Rosa for more than 30 years, and wrote all his comic strips here.  Upon his death, a museum showcasing his work was built, and that's what we visited.

The museum was beautiful, well thought out, and combined both his written cartoon strips and his animated films.  We even got to see a visiting cartoonist working.  

As always, there are pictures -  Burbank's garden, the Peanuts Museum and the wine country around Sonoma.  

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/115478608971584948192/albums/6027469567058225457?authkey=CJOXh9HU6tzKNA

Finally, here's the list of wines we bought on our little junket:

Zinfandels

Balletto Winery – 2010 – Russian River Valley

Mauritson Winery – 2013 – Rockpile Ridge – Dry Creek

Dry Creek Winery – 2012 – “Old Vine” – Dry Creek Valley

Pinot Noir

Copain Winery – 2011 – “Les Voisins” – Anderson Valley

Lazy Creek Winery (Ferrani-Carano) – 2012 Lazy Day – Anderson Valley

Grenache

Quivira Winery – 2010 – Dry Creek Valley

Quivira Winery – 2011 – Dry Creek Valley

Sauvignon Blanc

Stonestreet Winery – 2011 – Terrace Ridge

Quivira Winery – 2012 – “Fig Tree” – Dry Creek Valley

  

Fume Blanc

Ferrari-Carano Winery – 2012 – Dry Creek Valley**

Chardonnay

Rued Winery – 2013 – Russian River Valley

Kendall Jackson Winery – (Jackson Estate) – 2011 – Seco Highlands

Copain Winery – 2012 – “Tous Ensemble” – Anderson Valley

Chenin Blanc

Dry Creek Winery – 2013 - Clarksburg

Rose

Lazy Creek Winery (Ferrani-Carano) – 2012 – Rose’ of Pinot Noir –

                                                                       Anderson Valley

Mauritson Winery – 2013 – “Rockpile” Rose – Rockpile Ridge – Dry Creek

** - We didn't actually buy this one on the trip - found it downstairs at Trader Joe's - knew we were going to visit this winery & bought it ahead of time.

Origins of the Moving Picture Industry

Our first California adventure was just a bit odd.  As most people know, California is the center of the motion picture industry not only in the USA, but also for most of the rest of the world.  We experienced the beginnings of the billion dollar industry Saturday night in Niles, California.   As the moving pictures captured more and more interest, the phenomena swept the country in the early 20th century, and first thousands and then millions of ordinary people spent their leisure time going to see what quickly became called 'the movies'.  The demand for product was intense since  initially each 'picture' was usually only a few minutes long could only be shown for a few days in the new movie houses before audiences would begin clamoring for different movies.

Chaplin is the second from the left on the first row.

The first moving picture camera was developed by Edison, and he zealously guarded his camera and patents to the point of sending thugs out to beat up and terrorize filmmakers to kick back a sum for just using cameras they had purchased.  Early films were made in New Jersey, New York and Chicago.  Even the very best cameras only worked with consistent quality in strong sunlight.  To escape Edison's thugs, and the winter weather of New York, New Jersey and Chicago, filmmakers began coming to sunny California.  Niles, California was the new home of Essanay Films out of Chicago.    (Essanay, the film company, which set up to make movies in Niles, was owned by a man named Shor and Broncho Billy Anderson - the first initials of their last names are how they named their film company.) Their first year in California, one of their feature players was a young Englishman straight from vaudeville called Charlie Chaplin.  They paid him $125 a week; a pretty good salary in 1914.  By 1915 he was so popular, he could command $500 a week.   The Tramp, one of his most famous films, was made his first year in Niles.  Five years after this beginning, Chaplin was able to write, direct, and star in his own films, and he made more than $500,000 pre-income tax dollars each year.  He was truly the movies first superstar.

In the background of the above picture is the building which today is the  Niles Silent Movie Theater,. This is a non-profit enterprise which shows two hours of silent films every Saturday night.  For $5.00 a ticket plus $1.00 snacks, you can sit on original hard wooden theater chairs, listen to a live piano

player, and watch cutting edge entertainment circa 1914.  This evening was interesting on several levels.  First, I've only seen a very limited number of silent movies on the 'big screen'.  Second, this was the kick-off to 'Chaplin Week' by this struggling non-profit which is valiantly trying to put their organization, their theater, and their projects into the 'big time' of film restoration and reclamation.  Third, this was film presentation interspersed with commentary by a silent film historian.  As Sarah quipped, it was just like TCM come to life with a Robert Osborne clone.  The film commentator was excellent, and we really enjoyed both him and the piano player who improvised her play as the films were running.  

However, it quickly became obvious the people running the organization are their own worst enemy.  The current project is to raise $30,000 to restore Chaplin's 1915 film, The Champ, made by Essanay Studios in Niles.  There were probably 200 people in attendance Saturday night, and the woman who is obviously the 'wheel' in the non-profit announced they had been given Broncho Billy Anderson's honorary Oscar.   As a fund raiser for the Chaplin film restoration, the 'wheel' carrying her TWO chihuahuas , announced, "During tonight's intermission for a $10 donation, you can have your picture taken with the Oscar.  Sarah and I looked at each other, and we both immediately thought, "Oh boy, I want to do THAT!"

Intermission comes, and we wander all over the place looking for where the pictures are being taken.  No soap.  Can't find anyone taking pictures.  I finally corralled one of the people who long-windedly insisted on giving us the history of the theater and the turn of the century film industry in Niles, prior to the start of the films, and asked,  "Where are you taking the Oscar pictures?"
"Oh, well, let's find Mike and see." (Mike was their photographer - a guy with a camera slung around his neck in a faded t-shirt and cargo shorts.)
"Mike, here's some people that want their picture taken with the Oscar."
"Bob, nobody told me in advance we were going to do this.  Let's just move some of these cameras out
of the way, and then we can get started.  I have to find a place to take the pictures."

Ten minutes later, after rearranging one of the 'rooms' of the museum, they were finally ready to take the pictures.  Turns out that I was the only person willing to ask about the pictures, and when they FINALLY started snapping the pictures, several other people formed a line and paid their $10.  That's Broncho Billy Anderson in the background behind Sarah - who was one of the first cowboy stars of the silent era.  I had no idea he actually was the owner of a film company.  That's a real Oscar.  According to Sarah, it was heavy coming in at about five or six pounds.  I guess if I had just shrugged off the picture, they wouldn't have raised a dime for their restoration from one of their biggest audiences.

It was a fun evening, but I must admit we left right after this picture was taken.  What had been billed as a two hour evening was already pushing three hours at the end of the intermission thanks to the lack of preparation of their opening remarks and their intermission fund raiser.  Plus, even with the pillows we brought, our bottoms were numb from those hard wooden chairs.

1967 Lives Again!

It all started with a blue leather recliner; actually, a two toned blue leather recliner.  Furnishing a house with cast off furniture is a challenge I take up with every new location.  It's one of my favorite things to do as we move around.  It is a treasure hunt.  This time, Drake really threw me a curve ball when he fell in love with the very first piece of furniture he saw:  a cobalt blue "Franklin" recliner.  Actually, half of it is four shades lighter.  We finally realized the reason the chair felt so wonderful to Drake was it had been re-stuffed and re-upholstered.  Little problem - the new blue leather doesn't exactly match the old blue vinyl, but....IT'S SO COMFORTABLE.  In fairness, I'm the one who spotted this $25 chair in the myriad of craiglistings, and the owner was one of the people willing to see me the first afternoon we arrived in town.

Now, I'm stuck with a cobalt blue/sky blue recliner.  Yes, sort of like those powder blue tuxes of the 1980's; such a train wreck, and you can't stop staring trying to decide if you like it or not.  When I found the blue plaid sofa, it seemed like kismet, or destiny, or let's face it, just one up-man-ship to show Drake I can rise to any occasion.  The sofa first attracted me because the Craigslist ad was written as if the sofa was talking.  A very unusual approach to be taken by a seller, and a bold one.  It enchanted me enough I kept coming back to it.  My original idea was to downplay the blue recliner by looking for a boring neutral microfiber or leather couch.   In an instance of insane reasoning, I thought I could melt the blue chair into the background by surrounding it with neutral pieces.  Yeah, in a 15 x 15 living area, that would be happening.

As I realized I needed to make the blue monster a 'feature', the more intrigued I became with the idea of creating the authentic post mid century modern look.  Now I have a living room not "from 1957 but from 1967.  It is not 'cool'; it is not 'hip', but it is comfortable and, by gum, it matches!  If you remember, matching was a hallmark of 1967 right down to the wallpaper.  Or, as Drake put it, "coordinated".  The rest of the furniture is pretty humdrum, but my California living room is a beacon of kitsch in a land of hipdom.  

Which Words are the Red Herrings?

I was hooked on smart phones after playing with Sarah's for 15 minutes.  She got the very first version as a gift from her then boyfriend's parents.  It didn't even take five minutes for me to understand what a powerful tool I was holding in my hand.  I had to wait until we hit the road before I got to have my very own.  Ironically, my new 'phone'  has a faster processor than the computer I'm currently typing on - oh, excuse me, keyboarding.  I still type and I also still listen to albums.

In addition to banking, searching, reserving, addressing, phoning, mapping, noting, tabulating, reading, listening and watching, I also play games.  I like Words with Friends (of course, I'm a retired English teacher), and I've played Word Solitaire for years - found the holiday version last Christmas.  I long ago completed through level 250.  Currently, I'm working my way up to some unknown level.  I just finished Level 319, and you have to understand after I finished 250 levels, they started counting again at "One".  I play Word Warp which is a word scramble game.  I'd like it better if the music wasn't so annoying.  Each game is timed, and there's a countdown musical theme if you haven't found the 'big' word.  You only move to the next level if you find the 'big word'.  The music makes you feel like there's a gun to your head.  Plus, I have the 16 game Solitaire Arcade, but I only play the Pyramid version.

I've found two new games which I really like.  They're both by the same company.  Seven Little Words which is fun, and a lot like answering crossword puzzle clues.  In each game there are seven clues and seven words that answer the clues.  I'm often asking Drake questions such as, "Nine letters, means severely annoyed," when I'm playing this game.  When I was in Texas, Jim and I watched the Rangers play as well as channel flipping to the NFL Draft between innings while Patsy and I simultaneously played Seven Little Words.  So, when the company offered their new game Red Herring for free, I was disposed to try it.

Well, let me tell you, it's even more fun than Seven Little Words.  Basically, you're shown 20 words and asked to make 3 categories of five words each.  The five words of the 20 words which DON'T belong in any of the three categories are the Red Herrings.  In the latest game - the categories were Colors of the Rainbow.  Mollusks, and -paint {warpaint, wetpaint, etc.}  Sounds easy EXCEPT they don't give you the names of the categories and there are lots of words with multiple meanings (Example:  "blind" - loss of sight, window covering, camouflaged hunting?).  For each game, you can choose your difficulty level: Easy, Normal, or Hard.  Hmmm.  Wonder how many psychologists it took to come up with those designations.  I'm hooked.

What I like about this game is it uses brain cells rather than finger motion.  Games which involve joy sticks, button punching, sliding, highlighting or any type of manual dexterity, and I'm an automatic loser. For pete's sake, I have trouble with left and right in the non-electronic world.  I can remember being humiliated by eight year old Ben Tuttle at the dawn of video games.  Even earlier, "Pong" gave me trouble.  Forget Pac Man, Donkey Kong or Mario Brothers.  If you had to jump it or click on it, I could never get past Level One.  I still can't.

Ah, but Red Herring is a thinking game.  It's just difficult enough at the "Hard" level to be challenging without making me give up in frustration.  If you have AirPlay, you can project it onto your TV, and it can be a group game.  No pens, pencils, dice, cards or special seats needed.  If you're a smart phoniac, check it out.  I will be playing during the upcoming 750 mile drive.  Next stop:  VEGAS and another game - Blackjack!              

I Wonder if Manners were the Same in 1927?

I've been reading books again.  Actually, I'm always reading at least two at a time and listening to another.  Usually, they are like most movies or painting or songs, pretty forgettable.  Currently, I'm reading two winners.  Ironically, they are both non-fiction which occupies only about 15% of my reading.  The first one I'd recommend is by Bill Bryson, an interesting writer who lived in England for many years, and upon returning to the USA has become my favorite observer of American life.  His choice of observation this time is the summer of 1927 which turned out to be a pivotal one in American history.  I'll just drop two names:  Charles Lindbergh and Babe Ruth.  This book is very readable (a hallmark of a Bryson book), and chock full of interesting observations based on historical facts.

The other volume is very slim, only 170 pages, and should be a 'must read' for Generation X, Y & soon to be Z.  Truthfully, it should be a must read for EVERYONE.  It's called Modern Manners, Tools to Take You to the Top.  The authors are Dorothea Johnson, founder of the Protocol School of Washington, and etiquette guru of The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Liv Tyler, actress, whose main claim to fame is her role as Arwen, the Elf Princess and as the granddaughter of Ms. Johnson.  The emphasis of this book is the first word of the title:  Modern.  I have fairly good manners - about a "B" on the traditional scale, and I picked up this book out of curiosity.  It is lively, and something I didn't really KNOW has caught my interest in every chapter.  Here's what I'm talking about.

Do you stand up when you meet someone?    Apparently, everyone should.  Women are no longer allowed to remain seated - new equality has changed this and many other manners women should practice.  Everyone knows that you should make eye contact when you talk to someone - duh - but, how about this:  Direct eye contact should occur between 40 and 60 percent of the time you are with a person - less than 40% and you appear disinterested and rude; more than 60% and you appear intimidating or doubtful.  ( I guess the other person gets to pick which you are!)

I also discovered there's a protocol for 'introductions' especially in a business setting.  The secret:  "May I introduce to you...  Apparently, the key are the words 'to you' after the word 'introduce' reminding you to introduce the junior to the senior, the woman to the man, the younger to the elder.  They suggest practicing the 'form' until it becomes second nature.  No kidding!  "Good morning Mr. Big Cheese.  May I introduce to you Mr. Little Guy, one of your minions."  (You should always give the boss 'context' since he/she spends very little time learning who's who.)

I loved the chapter on hand shaking.  Like English, apparently, the 'American handshake' is the international standard with a few differences depending on the culture.  For instance, in Switzerland you shake hands upon arriving and upon leaving.  (Did you get that SL?)  I loved the description of the limp fingered fish handshake favored by idiot women - this book calls it "the fingerella", and it's as big of a no-no as the finger crushing handshake.  The correctly mannered handshake is 'web to web' with two pumps.

Throughout the book they cite compelling reasons for using these modern manners.  Did you know that according to research conducted by Harvard, Carnegie and Stanford getting 'ahead' depends 15% on technical ability and knowledge and 85% on people skills.  I do so love a book that understands Americans are moved by money.   Want to get your dream job?  Learn when and how to write thank you notes in the business place.  (Yes, I said thank you notes.)   Did you know you're supposed to IMMEDIATELY write a thank you note to the person who interviews you for a job as well as anyone who helped you get the interview?  This book even talks about different styles of clothing and offers pictures of each type from office attire to black tie.  I suppose the ability to 'look correct' in a business/social situation is part of modern manners.  I wonder where tattoos fit in?  They even show place settings and discuss table manners.

There's a whole chapter on cell phones.  The manners involving these little devices are, from my personal observation, the least practiced.  You're not supposed to take or return phone calls, texts, tweets, etc. when you are face to face with someone!  Imagine that.  One of my friends just flat terminated a job interview when the interviewee actually 'checked' his phone for an incoming whatever during the job interview.  Hilarious.

 I must admit I'm a huge phone user when it's just Drake and I sitting together in a restaurant.  After reading this book, I think I might have to change my ways.  The book suggested a clever way to 'break' a group of friends from obsessive cell phone behavior when they are supposed to be socializing with one another.  It's called phone stacking.  At the restaurant, everyone stacks their phones in the center of the table, first one to reach for their buzzing phone, to check on a call or text pays the entire tab for the whole party.

I've discovered there are ways to enter and leave an elevator, open a door, and sit down in a chair at a table.  I've got about 30 pages left to read, and if it's as illuminating as the first 140 pages, I'll learn some more polish.  We all agree I can certainly use some buffing up.  If you want to improve your personal sheen, pick up this little book which, so helpfully, has an index.

Milestones

April 9th was our 43rd wedding anniversary.  Drake got me the  new iphone 5s, and we went out to dinner at the only great place on this side of town.  Days like this one get me thinking about milestones in my life.  The first thing that popped into my mind was this:  Anniversaries are  a traditional milestone like birthdays or holidays.  Milestone is one of those words that has completely changed in meaning over the centuries.  Originally, it was literally a stone placed by the side of the road to mark the number of miles to reach a specific destination.  I assume the stone was marked or chiseled with the number. These stones have morphed into mile markers on the sides of our roads, and we've changed the meaning to milestone.

There's nothing interesting about a stone by the side of the road.  The milestones I'm interested in are the ones that mark significant events in a person's life.  A wedding anniversary for us is a day for reflection of our life together, and thus after more than 40 years together, we revisit many milestones on this date.  The visit is sometimes nostalgic, fond, wry, painful, or with grimace.    After 45 years together, Drake and I know some milestones can't be so easily quantified.  Sometimes the most negative milestones have positive outcomes which are hidden from view. For example, the pain in my feet has let us have health insurance, so we could retire earlier than anticipated.  I think milestones are less interesting than the outcome they trigger. There are milestones whose outcomes lasts for years.  One of the best qualities of a successful marriage is having someone to endure with as well as celebrate with as you move through these milestone outcomes.

An example of an outcome determined by a milestone is parenting.  The simple milestone is the addition of a baby being added to your life.  The result of the milestone, or outcome is parenting.  Unanticipated milestones in your life when you're young often sometimes have disastrous outcomes.  That knowledge makes parents stiff with worry over rash, impetuous teen decisions.   Our early marriage could have easily (and probably should have had) a disastrous outcome.   Children gleefully mark anticipated milestones.  "It's only ten days until I'm seven!"

Each choice made in a lifetime changes life forever.  The trip you don't take.  The job you win.  The club you don't join.  The person you meet by chance.  I can avoid the 'if only I had' mentality because of the parallel multiple universe theories in science.  Somewhere in some parallel universe I'm sitting in a totally different house, in a different city, with more children, a different husband and a completely different life because I took alternative paths throughout my life.  Every choice you make has alternatives.  That's why I love the idea of multiple universes.  Important choices needs to be reasoned.  Us control freaks don't know any other way, but I'm never paralyzed with indecision because I don't believe there's only one right choice.  My other self in each of those other universes is just as happy as she wants to be.  I think of all those other parallel realities as the ultimate in free will.

Reflection makes life worth living.  Milestones are handy hooks to kick start that process. Anniversaries are a way to engage in important thoughts with the most important person in your life.  That nice bottle of wine we had with dinner didn't hurt the process any either.