when Occupy works

I've done very little for Occupy Bernal ~ a phone call and some emails to Wells
Fargo, but thanks to the real activists in our neighborhood, great progress has
been made. All I've ever wanted is for the banks to sit down and talk to the home
owners and try to renegotiate their loans.

Occupy Bernal is big on emails and I've copied two graphs here to illustrate why
I feel so good about this group this morning:

UPDATE: Wells Fargo finally cancelled the auction of Eric and John's home this morning. We'll still meet at the auction block at 1:45pm at City Hall, 400 Van Ness Ave, to celebrate and protest any other residential foreclosure auctions taking place today. Congratulations to Eric and John and thanks to everyone who helped out!

and

Wells Fargo is assembling a team of decision makers to work with us and to begin meeting in the next week or so. As a result, we have postponed – not canceled – the action at Alfredo Pedroza’s home.

If Wells Fargo enters into substantive and productive negotiations with us on these issues, we will consider halting actions against the bank as long as it remains productive for our foreclosure and eviction fighter members. We will resume actions in the event negotiations break down. We reserve the right to renew our action campaign on other aspects of our foreclosure demands, even if we reach an agreement with Wells Fargo on the above issues...

lunch in the gulch

fried oyster po' boy

sweet potato pancakes

fun and busy atmospher

I think this area is called Polk Gulch (Turk and Polk) and it isn't the most
attractive area of the city, but who cares during the day when you have
yummy food and great company? We had never been to Brenda's French
Creole Southern Food Restaurant, but Mrs. Plotnik visited often when
she was on jury duty, and we four had a fabulous time and even though
those pancakes look horrid, they were so very delicious, as was every
morsel of food. Sometimes Brenda has long lines, but luckily we were
hungry (haahahahahaha) and were there right before noon and scored
a table in the back where we could watch all the people, beignets,
po' boys, craw fish, oysters, shrimp, burgers, and on on on. What a
lovely lunch, thanks for arranging this, Great Plotnik.

stepping up to do what's right

Well, well, well ~ hoooooray and hallelujah to the five Supreme Court
justices, especially Chief Justice Roberts who joined the winning team
and ruled to uphold the meat of the health care law. Just like Social Security
and Medicare, the right wing will be fighting this for years and years. But
for today let's just enjoy this very special victory.

the sound of silence

It was so delightful to have lattes last week with Ginger here at Borderlands
Books and Cafe on Valencia Street. I'd like to see more signs like this in
coffee shops, restaurants, stores, buses, airports, etc. Wouldn't you?

ready for some cat news?

A new kitten named Boom

Thursday is unusually shy

Regina is my fave this week

Cayenne ~ Cody's (aka Thyme's) brother

It was pleasant having a few hours with the felines yesterday morning.
There have been a lot of adoptions but new kittens keep coming in
from all over the Bay Area. Inka has finally found a good home, I've
known her the entire time I've been at the SPCA, so that's good news.
The Blogmaid and I spent a lot of time catexting while I was playing
"aren't you a sweet kitty?" and she was WAH with Cody who loves
the computer keys the way some (not all) cats do.

I spent the afternoon planting pretty flowers so you know it was a fine day.

scenes from the homecoming

after the 6 hour plus drive

late afternoon ~ hello pretty city

tomatoes are thriving

basil and two parsleys

morning SF!

who loves a mystery?

Excellent, top notch, superb, engrossing, don't-talk-to-me-I'm-reading
and more! I don't want to give anything away (it would be so easy),
but a wife goes missing and guess who the suspect is. This is the
perfect summer read and I used my lovely LindaKindle® for Gone Girl
because it's just the BEST for travel and these cliff hanger type
novels. Having messed around with plots a bit, I have nothing but
admiration for a writer who can pull this off and keep the reader hooked
from the very first sentence. Finished with satisfaction yesterday afternoon
so it's time to pack up and return home today.

our second day of relaxin'

All quiet on the back deck

Salt water taffy for my work friends

Lunch outside in Carp

Heading to the beach

The beach in Carp ~ glorious weather

My solo Summerland walk

Yesterday was beautiful and lazy and we three humans and three canines
enjoyed ourselves immensely. Carpinteria and Pismo Beach are my two
favorite beach towns and of course the weather was outstanding so
we just talked and moved slowly and ate too much. I'm involved in a
fabulous mystery on my LindaKindle® and I'll tell you all about it
when life gets back to what might pass for normal.

back in Santa Barbara

Ginger and her 3 dogs at play

The blogger relaxing with Bliss

Ginger has added another dog (Shalley) since our last visit, but she just
adds to the fun because there is constant movement and lots of love
to spare. It is always so beautiful here in Summerland and if we aren't
talking, walking, eating, or beaching, there is always reading. So
fortunate to be here with not much to do but relax and enjoy life.

short road trip

Fried artichoke hearts ~ not like Rome, Italy

Lunch in Gilroy ~ not gourmet

Great long walk and stay in Monterey

We are heading to Santa Barbara for a couple of days and stopped one
night here in Monterey where we have so many, many lovely memories.
You remember that we were married at the Highlands Inn, do you not?
The top photo is from Archie's where we had dinner after two very
nice coastal walks. We often end up at assorted Black Bear Diners and
I don't know why, other than we've never had food poisoning in any
of them. So we stopped there in Gilroy for lunch and our salads were
almost acceptable. We are staying at the Holiday Inn Express and we
both slept well and are looking forward to Cinnamon Rolls in the
lobby with our fellow travelers whom we will ignore if possible.

Cody update ~ the Blogmaid reports that he was non-stop kitten the
entire day and was back in his own room at midnight when she emailed
me and the blog. Cat introductions seem to be going well, except for
Josie who was miffed. Dorf went back to his heating pad to think for awhile.
Ah, all that boundless energy...

my happy worlds collide

RR leaves home with empty carry cage

3 mo. old Thyme steals her heart

After lots more kitty cuddling the decision is made

My fuzzy photo of Blogmaid and RR signing the papers

Rick checks the chip for correct kitty

Coming home!

RR had set up his private room

Our cats are trained!

Ryan and Cody bond quickly

What a lovely time I had at the SPCA yesterday and a whole new adventure
awaits RR, Cody and family. Funny how love happens ~ RR did pet a lot of
kitties, but her first love was Cody (aka Thyme) and he is going to provide
tons of fun for everyone and just a little work and worry too. The Blogmaid
reports that the other two retirement cats haven't really noticed the noise in
the bathroom, but of course Cody is eager to get out and explore his new home
and we will have lots of stories to tell. All the beautiful photos are from
Kristin Blogmaid, with thanks. I had a wonderful experience and so
appreciate being included in this important family day. Mr. Blogmaid isn't
in any pictures, but he was there being sweet and patient and not at all
concerned when we pushed for two kitties. Ahem.

oh, such devine food

Monday or Tuesday nights only, so far...

Pasta topped with a poached egg for me

Trout for the guest of honor

Last night I treated Husbando to dinner for Father's Day. All 4 of his
children called on Sunday, and that was really quite nice, but we need
gourmet food, so we walked four blocks to the Hillside Pop-up to
feast and to enjoy this wonderful restaurant. The Plotniks will remember
when we dined with these chefs at 18th and Mission, and here they are
now in our very own nabe. We started with duck liver and cod
cakes, then the entrees and finally cheese and lemon ricotta dessert
with espresso.  Fixed price $32, so for these times in this city, not too
bad and besides, we are helping our neighbors. The Hillside was very
busy and is a huge success ~ great, great service, too!

the city at night

Photo courtesy of Telestar Logistics with thanks

I subscribe to the local Bernalwood Blog and they used this gorgeous shot
of SF from Bernal Hill last Saturday night. It's rare ~ clear, warm weather
here in June. The photographer went to the top of the hill with his camera
and tripod and probably used buttons, knobs and knurls that the rest of us
don't have on our cameras and as a result there are some truly stunning
shots. I like this one the best because I know those bushy trees in the
forefront so well from many walks and pictures using lesser cameras,
and always during the day.

But we can relax now because the fog has returned and the real summer
has begun. Beware new arrivals and tourists in shorts and tank tops.
Tee hee. Our natural air conditioning is here. Sigh.

my caturday morning

Last week's Adoptathon ~ huge success!

Ghandi

Endless supply of kittens

Big stretch for Sassy

View from 2nd floor cat condo

This week's fave for me ~ Leila

Gingham is pensive

Yesterday I ventured up to the 2nd floor to visit some cats because
there was a note on the white board stating that they needed attention. The
kittens come and go, every hallway has at least one condo with 2 or
3 and they go quickly. So I spend my time with the older cats and help
them learn that laps and purring equal adoption.

The SPCA cares for the staff too. They are quick with instant rewards,
like how many kittens and cats were adopted last weekend. I can't go
to the dog side because I know that one with big brown eyes would
follow me home, but I'm sure they communicate beautifully over there too.

back to that $15 burger

 OK, ok ~ here is what convinced us to spend so much money at the Mission Bowling Club...


Meat: It’s a generous 8-ounce patty, a mix of one part hanger steak, two parts brisket and three parts chuck, with a bit of additional fat. The meat is cut into cubes, salted and allowed to marinate for two days.  The grind is very important, says owner Anthony Myint.  First the kitchen grinds the tougher cuts — the brisket and hanger with the fat –  and then mixes that with the cubes of chuck and grinds the meat a second time. This adds texture and tenderizes the tougher cuts. Myint says: “As the strands of meat emerge from the grinder, we gather them, approximately in parallel formation, and then bundle, or torchon, them into a large log of ground meat.” Patties are then sliced from the log creating a smooth edge so that it is easier to sear in a very hot cast iron skillet, seasoned with beef fat. Once the patty is caramelized the meat is transferred to a  low heat griddle to finish cooking.
Topping: The meat is covered with Monterey Jack cheese, house-made caper aioli and caramelized onions.
Bun: It’s served on an Acme pan pain de mie bun. The top of the bun is trimmed so there’s not too much bread and the bun can be griddled easily.

It's not a Big Mac and it's worth every penny...

oh, forget the score

Everyone meets at the Willie Mays statue

Husbando and I had a fine time at the game yesterday and our seats
were HIGH up, and we could see everything. Ginger couldn't get
here, but I emailed her the bottom photo and I'm sure it was almost
like being at The Jewel. Pitcher Zito was not at his best, but we
still had a very pleasant time and enjoyed our hot dogs filled with
god knows what.

I overheard a woman tell her friend that when she lived in Fremont
there was nothing to do and after moving to SF there are too many
activities. But she was smiling and of course we both knew that she
made the right decision.

champions again

Congratulations to Matt Cain who pitched the first PERFECT Giants game
last night. Let's not forget that this was a team effort and imagine the pressure
on the other players not to drop a ball or miss a throw. Another sold out
game, so the fans were important too. How very exciting!

We are going to the day game today and Notthat feels that Zito will also
have a perfect game. (ahem) There is a BART problem (shutdown) and
Ginger is trying to wend her way over to SF from Pleasanton. She will do it,
I'm sure, but traffic is a huge mess. Prepare for another baseball post tomorrow.