Thursday, January 31, 2013

california cartwheels

The Blogmaid is a fabulous photographer and here is her picture of RR last
night down at "their" beach ~ the sun is setting and this is a beautiful time
of year for those of us who don't care for inconvenient weather. And, yes,
we'll pay for it come June, July and August. But for now, we enjoy.

Our trip to Sacramento was postponed from yesterday to today, due to car
problems ( NOT our trusty Ken, he'll be on the road in an hour or so). I
think you'll enjoy my report tomorrow morning.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

4000 Miles

Last Sunday night we went to ACT to see this one act play by Amy Herzog,
It's the story of a distraught young man (great acting by Reggie Gowland)
who travels from Washington State to NYC to visit his grandmother. Oh,
it's a bike trip and therein lies the story, well, one of the stories. It's an
excellent play and we recommend it ~ perhaps I would have "fixed" one
or two things, but 4000 Miles is well worth seeing. Unforgettable.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

two essentials

Galaxy needs a home ~ 6 months old

Daffys in January (as promised)
I have a long and detailed ToDo List, but I of course I fed the dogs and ear-
scratched the cats on a Monday morning. A nice way to start the week.
Today I work out at the Legion and tomorrow we head to Sacramento to
visit the Crocker Museum. I never seem to have any sit-and-stare time,
but that's OK by me. Happy Tuesday to my loyal readers!

Monday, January 28, 2013

okay, enough already

We had a little gathering here yesterday to officially end Birthday Week for
Husbando. Well, one or two more celebratory lunches, and that's It. Husbando
said yesterday that this now goes down as The BEST B.day Ever, but I will
still dig up some old photos one of these days. I wish I had this picture with
daffodils in the center of the table, but trust me, they were there. Maybe
a separate side photo for the Eastern readers. Imagine, daffys in January!
(Note the Blogmaid with RR photo on the top right, both even prettier than
Spring flowers, don't you think?)

Sunday, January 27, 2013

a three dog morning

These Doggie Diner guys pop up every once in awhile. This morning
they were on Cesar Chavez. They ALWAYS make me smile, must
be the bow ties, and the memories, of course.

Saturday, January 26, 2013

e-trash, but fun

I read The Lifeboat in about 5 hours while the rain pelted our little cottage
in Stinson Beach. The setting is on the ocean, two years after the Titanic
drowned. Another ship accident, but here we have 36 survivors adrift.
It's okay for Lindakindle® reading, but there are holes in the boat and
the plot. Fiction, pure fiction...

GWPE is going to be a blockbuster and 4 hours with close customer contact
was quite enough for me. Today I work in the stock room at the Legion and
then I get to meet the Blogmaid in Pathetica. A good day all around, for sure.

I will relive THE BEST BIRTHDAY one day soon, but I want to dig up
some photos from the dim, distant past. It was a surprise party and it
was terrific.

Friday, January 25, 2013

home again, home again

Grey day, but beautiful

Stinson Beach walk before take-off

Husbando's laundry duty
It was a quick, smooth ride home. Why is the return trip always so much shorter?
Husbando started on his overflowing laundry and I rested with an e-book and
then went food shopping and walking in the nabe. Then a phone call from work
and I negotiated for a 4-hour morning shift for today because re-entry might be
difficult after being lazy for so long. It was wonderful to get away, wonderful to
come home. Life, she be funny that way. Brace yourself for GWPE (Girl With
Pearl Earring) reports from the deYoung battlefield.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Olema, Pt. Reyes, rain...




That's a beautiful National Park Service Center at Pt. Reyes and if it hadn't
been raining, perhaps we would have done some REAL walking, but none
of us are the "let's walk in the rain" kind of people. Still it is such very
beautiful country and just driving up to Olema was a pleasure. Hardly
any traffic to speak of, so that was nice. The rest of the day was very
lazy, reading and eating, talking and laughing. Lots of "remember the
time?" and "what was the name of that guy?" chatter. Then take-out
dinner from Parkside Cafe, the only restaurant in town on this trip.
Husbando declared it "my second best birthday ever" and so that made
up for the rain and the problematic septic tank toilet. Home today!

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

lunch in Bolinas..

Bolinas memorial

Erected after the 911 tragedy

Crab pots in Bolinas

Bolinas art shot

Ditto

Back to Stinson

Polite request

Late afternoon Stinson walk

Stinson Beach display
We enjoyed our day immensely ~ short drive to Bolinas for sandwiches in
the sun at the Coast Cafe, this after walking up and down the short deserted
main street where the few old time residents eyed us with suspicion. This
place has not changed in 50 or so years. Everyone hangs at Smiley's Saloon,
but we wisely avoided that den of Bolinas sin.

Returned home to walk the hills here near the house and to catch up on
our reading. Ginger brought the Sunday NY Times and that takes FOREVER
to enjoy every word. How do people do it? What an investment in time,
but ideal for vacation sitting around.

Dinner back home at the relatively raucous Parkside Cafe where everyone
in Stinson enjoyed $9.95 pasta and an open mic night. We had pretty
good pulled pork and very fine salads and yummy banana creme pie.
Today a trip to Olema, after a walk or two and breakfast. Lazy day, not
exactly sunshine, but still quite cozy and relaxing.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

get us to the ocean!

Lunch in Tiburon

Sunrise from our back deck in Stinson

Lifeguard chairs for an unobstructed ocean view

The back deck

7am beach walk ~ glorious
I will include more Stinson photos later, but suffice it to say that this is an
adorable Cape Cod style cottage, big enough for the three of us with all the
confusing buttons and knobs that take the entire first day to figure out. No
TV (what?), but a comfy bed and great walking, large back deck and always
ocean just a few short blocks away. The ONE grocery store charges too
much for everything, the directions to the cottage were difficult, the drive
less than perfect; but now, day #2 and we three are very happy to be here.
Husbando is reading his chonny in the sun, Ginger is puttering in the kitchen
and I am recording our vacation. Today maybe a lunch trip to Bolinas and
then we must rest outdoors in the sunshine. Heaven...

Monday, January 21, 2013

two weeks of pure hype

...as the Blogmaid reminded me. The 49ers won yesterday, my those football
games are long. On Feb. 3rd we will be in the Super Bowl. I just can't get
all that excited about the whole thing, but maybe I will. Maybe...

This morning we are watching the Inaugural while we celebrate the b.day
of Husbando. We are heading up to Stinson Beach for a few days and we
look forward to sea air and a change of scene.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

our downtown Friday

Nespresso Cafe

World's most expensive latte

Our friend John signs the check
We had to DRESS on Friday because John and Mary were taking us to his
men's club for lunch. A whole different world with dark wood, no cell
phones, no doggie bags, ties for the men, too much food and Green
Goddess salad dressing. Old style, very pleasant and of course so nice
to be with these old friends again.

But first, since I was all gussied up, I had a latte at Nespresso. They serve
you, no standing in line. Paris prices. My latte was $6.50 and I can't
really justify that too often, can I? I met Husbando afterwards and had
to confess my "how much?" treat. Back to Starbucks...

So today I'm making Green Goddess salad dressing and will report in
about this later.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

game on

Husbando and I start feigning interest in football now that the 49ers are in
the playoffs. But really, it's a dumb and violent game and we just really don't
like it all that much. I'm glad I didn't marry someone who lives or dies with
the head-crashing brutality of football. Oh, and steroids? Legal in football
and not in baseball? I love this passage from Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk,
a truly wonderful novel. Here Billy meets the Dallas Cowboys:

They are huge. They could be a new species, or throwback to some lost
prehistoric age when humans the size of Clydesdales roamed the earth.
TV's toy-soldier scale doesn't do them justice, these blown-up versions of
the human frame with their beer-keg heads and redwood necks and arms
packing softball-sized bulges, plus something not quite right about their
faces, their eyes too close, or too far apart, a thumb-mashed puttiness to 
cheekbone and nose. All the parts are there but the whole is out of joint,
a hitch of proportion, of cranial size relative to facial scheme, as if by
achieving superhero scale the players have outstripped the blueprint of
the human face.

Friday, January 18, 2013

fish tails

sea perch
We have two exciting new Tiapos members: Linda and Randy! Photos will
appear one day soon, but of course you can read Linda's blog over there,
listed on the right. She is multi, multi-talented. It was a very special evening.

YOU CAUGHT IT (from a 2012 round robin prompt)

I used to like to fish as a child and I was even able to put wiggly bait on a
hook. I also removed the hook from the mouth of any fish that was slapping
its body around in a valiant effort to stay alive. It seemed okay then, even fun,
but now it just seems like killing another living thing, and that doesn't
appeal to me one bit.

We'd fish off the San Clemente pier every summer. My father, brother
and me . We'd rent the same home overlooking the ocean and it seems like
for one unbelievable month we'd all get along. Mother would fry the fresh
perch for us for dinner. She didn't like to eat fish and as I remember my father
would clean the catch and we would all say that it was the best, most
delicious fish in the world. When we weren't fishing my brother and I constantly
played in the surf and the only way they could get us out of the water was to
promise us ice cream cones on the way home. Magical summers.

Husbando and I went fishing too ~ the party salmon boats that go out here on the
San Francisco bay. It was fun then, getting up very early and being on a smelly
boat in the ocean and then actually catching the salmon. We'd go with friends
or Bill's children and a flask of brandy. The memories are good ones because
the thrill of catching big fish is amazing. But no more fishing for this woman,
I don't think I could look a fish in the eye.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

wednesday, in the park

We had an 8am staff meeting yesterday out at the deYoung. Check out the
green grass over there, it's white with frost. A real winter here in SF. This
makes it ideal walking weather, if one bundles up with too many wraps,
scarves, gloves. After the meeting I noodled around on my computer, rewriting
some work for Tiapos tonight and then I visited my friend Neti for a bit of
hi-tech consultation and very strong coffee time. A good day, all in all...

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

meriel, mary, mas and sam

Sam
We three old friends had lunch yesterday at Meriel's home in San Leandro.
It had been a few years, but of course it didn't seem like more than a week
since we'd been together. Meriel loves terriers and over the years she has
had just the BEST dogs (three that I know of) and probably that has more
to do with how she treats and trains them than it says of the dogs (all
"rescue dogs", by the way). Anyway, she cooked a delicious lunch and
we had a fine time catching up with each others' lives and discussing the
political situation. Of course we are all old lefties, so that helps, doesn't it?

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Ruby's first birthday

Tanya and her b.day girl

Adults in party hats

Papa Scott with Lucybelle (who is now p.g.)

Ruby and her loot

Cake from Dianda's!
I know, it looks warm and sunny, but it was actually a bit chilly up in Holly
Park where we gathered yesterday afternoon. But we had a good time
and since last I saw Ruby she has learned to walk and to smile. We all
think she has genius genes, of course. A truly wonderful afternoon!

Monday, January 14, 2013

back to class

Yesterday I took the first Sunday Salon write-a-thon and it was just what I needed.
Teacher Jane gave us these warm-up prompts, three minutes each. The prompts
are in bold:

first prompt ~

I remember the first class I took at the Writing Salon. I was a nervous wreck, but
very, very excited. At that time Jane lived in a tiny cottage on Moultrie in Bernal
Heights. We sat in the living room that Jane had decorated with spiked heel shoes
and a few hanging dresses. There was an old piano and lots of art without any
discernible theme. I was charmed beyond belief and already in love with the
process of writing. When Jane asked us (there were probably 12 students) to
describe her living room, all I could come up with was "it is funky." I was
tongue-tied, mortified and embarrassed when I had to read my few sentences.
I've come along way...

second prompt ~

I think these past ten years have been enhanced because of this writing
experience. Have these been perfect years? Oh, shit no, these have been
difficult years because of the whole aging thing, the work thing, the health
thing and more/more/more. But what therapy it is to write it all out and try
to be honest with myself and try to live life on life's terms. I'm sure that if
I didn't have my writing I would still be 10 fucking years older and 1000
times unhappier.

third prompt ~

I am a writer now. I actually call myself a writer, which is amazing.
I have a couple of things that I am working on and maybe someday I'll
submit one of them. I have been published twice, but the most important
thing to me, most likely, is that I have a blog and I write every single day.
I also continue to take Writing Salon courses and I meet with a group of
other writers every two weeks and we laugh and cry and write and read,
bitch and moan and care about each other and the words, always the words.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

the Local's Corner




We've both walked and bused by this restaurant many, many times. We like
the looks and the menu (mostly seafood), but it's a strange location at 23rd
and Bryant and so we just said, "maybe someday." Then the chronny food
critic listed Local's Corner as one of the 10 best new restaurants and we
said, "now!" So last Friday we ventured in for salad, smoked sturgeon
sandwich (me) and crab (!) pot pie for Husbando. A delicious lunch with
friendly service and a chance to look at the locals some more.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

an evening of laughter

We had a fabulous time at this "Work in Progress" at the Brava Theater on 24th St.
Eddie was not in drag, but he was very, very funny and he did a great job making
fun of Americans, the British, us, himself, religion, politics and the audience.
Speaking of which ~ we were a happy mixture of young, old, rich, poor (tickets
were only $30 each), but all worshipful. One sample line. "Speaking about
your election, and speaking as someone from The Rest of the World, may I say
'phew!'" (of course I paraphrased that.) Eddie worked hard too, 90 minutes of
constant movement and his own brand of unusual, glorious humor. Special
thanks to Gina who tipped us off about this!

Friday, January 11, 2013

a double walk day

our city on a cold, clear day
I met my friend Terri for coffee at the Mission Pie Shoppe and that was a pleasant
way to start the 2013 catch-up. Then in the afternoon I did a longer walk around
Noe Valley and Bernal Heights, stopping here at the little park on Coleridge to
admire the houses, hills and beautiful blue sky. Honestly, isn't this the best?

Thursday, January 10, 2013

a win for Mr. Blanco

Last March I posted Richard Blanco's poem about the Gulf Motel, I'm sure I found
it in the New Yorker. Well, imagine my delight to learn that this 44 y o Cuban-
American (who lives in Maine) was selected yesterday to be the inaugural poet.
He is the first openly gay poet to achieve such an honor and I will be glued to
the TV on January 21st, a Monday, as history is made. One of the great benefits
of blogging is that it is a personal search engine and it is so easy to do a one or
two word search and find just what I'm looking for ~ the when, the where, the WTF?

A friend reminded me that yesterday in the blog I insinuated that I'm terminally
upbeat and positive. Sheeeeeeesh, that might be the case in the blog, but the truth
is that anyone with an IQ over 57 realizes that life can be somewhat difficult from
time-to-time (day-to-day, minute-to-minute). Just for the record, I do try to keep
commano kleenex®-free even though I'm sure you all want to hear me bitch
and moan with colorful expletives. Anyway, so much for today's  Department
of Corrections. Onward...

Wednesday, January 09, 2013

the printed page

front cover

back cover

innards
Every year I have this blog printed by SharedBook and every year it gets more
expensive, but it's worth it. 2012 has a few more cats than necessary, but I do
love remembering all that we saw, did and thought. There are 288 pages filled
with the everyday life of a San Francisco woman who is usually grateful for
all of her blessings. Usually, I'm only human, you know. I've logged 2,900
posts over the years, trying to write something everyday, and for that I'm
proud. Last night, as we were drifting off to sleep, Husbando said that he loves
reading the hard copy of the blog because the writer is always so upbeat and
positive. That meant a lot to me...