the best cheap seats ever

We had nose bleed $13 seats here in the first row yesterday and my, what
a great game. Finally, a win! Perfect sunny weather, but not too warm. Ginger
met me at Starbucks early (11:15) so we had lots of time to chat and catch
up with our peculiar lives. I was tired and happy when I got back home
about dinner time, but it was one of those "I sure love this city!" kind of
days and we can't have too many of those.

summer outside the city

RR is having a horse and friend-filled summer. Glorious photo, thank
you Blogmaid...

so far, so good

I tried a sample of Casebook on my LindaKindle2 and I like it very
much. Mona Simpson is one of my favorite authors and you might
remember that she is the sister of Steve Jobs...both adopted out to
different families at an early age. She is one hell of a writer...

one charming film

The Lunchbox - the Mumbai lunchbox delivery service erroneously
delivers a young housewife's meal to a lonely widower and they
start exchanging notes. Since her husband doesn't give her the time
of day, nor appreciate her culinary skills, these two establish a
fantasy relationship and really, the movie is totally delightful.
(From your friends at Flix® and well worth renting.)

North Beach on Saturday

Soto Mare

Good grief, that whole area was packed yesterday afternoon. We usually go
during the week and not during tourist season (which is always now, it seems)
so we were surprised to see all the restaurants full at 4pm! Thankfully we
could take the #12 Folsom to/fro, so that made life so much easier. I forgot
to snap the steamed mussel photo until we were half way through, suffice it
to say, they were fabulous. Home in time to see the Dodgers win. Sigh.

it's been too long...

...since we heard from Mary in Bisbee. Here, from a recent email:

This morning after gym, I stopped by the coffee shop downtown and
spent some time talking with the old guys that I fondly think of as the 
Old Bull Shitters Club.  We discussed all the recent horror and sadness
in the world at length; and then decided we needed a little bit of news 
closer to home  - and so  one of the men read us the Bisbee Police Beat
report for the week.
For your information and edification - small town mountain news:
     There were the usual dogs running wild, skunks under houses, loud 
drunks in front of St. Elmos, javalinas trapped in yards, rattlesnakes 
behind computers, feral cat attacks, children throwing rocks, and then these bits:
 - A man called from Van Dyke Street stating he brought a woman with 
him back from Tucson, doesn't know her name or whereabouts, but 
knows that she owes him money.
- A person reported that a man was sitting on the recycle bins on Mason
Addition Road, then fell in and hit his head, causing bleeding on his face.
- A male subject, looking all beat up, loaded his backpack up with beer at 
Safeway and left the store.
- A subject on Barnett Road, upset over the gas company starting work 
early, brandished a weapon, then went back inside.
- A man wanted to file a complaint because he couldn't get his girlfriend out of his head.
And finally -
-  A caller on Spring Canyon stated he couldn't find his way out of Bisbee.
Hope you have a very fine weekend.
And now - for work in the dirt.
Mary

the Turkish Slave

Schiava Turca was painted in 1532 and will be on view starting
tomorrow at the Legion of Honor. I'm not enraptured by this kind
of art, but I'll read up on all the many theories surrounding the
artist (Francesco Mazzola, aka Parmigianino) and just the fact that
this piece hasn't ever been out of its home museum in Parma, makes it
special to a certain group of museum goers.

how could I have forgotten?

The Blogmaid taught me that "it always goes back to cats" and this week is
no exception. Here are a couple of matching kitties at the SPCA, I snapped
the photo on Monday, but got carried away with the inessentials of life -
you know - work, reading, movies, food, dentist, etc. Everyone knows that
two cats are waaaaaaaay better than one, same with dogs, I think. I'll
skip the children thing as I don't know jack about that...

fluff and nonsense

The Grand Budapest Hotel is out on DVD and although it is
enjoyable, it isn't great comedy if one likes Jon Stewart, Seinfeld,
John Oliver and Larry David. But we did chuckle once or twice
and it kept us from thinking about Malaysia Airlines, Israel, etc.
Tonight we go back to Season Two of Orphan Black. Heaven.

oh, it's for the young 'uns?

The Fault in our Stars is on my LindaKindle2 and I am really
engrossed. I didn't realize that John Green wrote it for the Young
Adult market until this morning, but do not let this discourage
you. Teens with cancer, sounds horrid, but this is written with
humor and even joy. It is a movie now, but we won't be seeing
it for quite awhile, knowing our movie history.

a walk in the park

Husbando dropped me off at GGPark yesterday morning because the Aids Walk
always makes parking impossible. So after my short (and tedious) four hour
shift I walked through the park to catch the #33 home. They raised $2 million
here yesterday and so, of course, all the inconvenience is worth it. Note the
grey skies and all the colorful people.

Carlini Day

Desi on her elegant paper bag

lunch outside at 1515 on North Main Street

We'll ignore my little faus pax (French) and just concentrate on the fact
that we had a really nice day with our old friend Rich in Walnut Creek
yesterday. He picked us up (belatedly) at the BART station and we
visited his lovely apartment and renewed our acquaintance with his
kitty Desi who has traveled all over the USA with this Wandering
Italian. We hope they are settled here FOREVER and we laughed
and talked and reminisced - perfect warm weather too. Welcome home,
Rev. Richard Alan!

three more by Neti

Fanny cat and me - waaaaaaaay back in the day

les fleures

woman in the sun room

The Fevered Brain remembers that first Neti painting which now hangs
in our dining room. Despite the tiresome subject matter, I do so love
this piece. We have two others by Neti, both now hanging in our living room.
Neti is simply one of our very favorite artists - sort of Matisse-like, no?

the butterfly, the noodles

1974 - Judy Chicago in Oakland

Shan Dong on 10th Street

Yesterday we met Ginger at the Oakland Museum to see the video of
"A Butterfly for Oakland" by Judy Chicago, one of our favorite feminist
artists. We stopped in the store so I could see my ex-boss, Mike, and
he recommended Shan Dong for lunch. Homemade noodles and
dumplings and truly one of the best Chinese restaurants that we have
ever been to. And cheap, cash only!

comfort food and drink

Lately I've been feeling some stress and I revert to these simple solutions -
cookies, coffee at Charlie's (preferably at an outside table staring at the park)
and then Husbando will make me the grilled cheese, using the panini maker
because we like those stripes. And walking helps, writing too. It's just
another phase (or passage?) and I can deal with anything that comes my way.
Today we head to the Oakland Museum and tonight is Tiapos. Life is good...

notecards by Neti

I've always been a HUGE fan of Neti's art - their home is filled with her
work and now she is making note cards and of course I love them. The
middle one isn't as brilliant as it should be, so she will be working on
the color. These are just three of her many, many creations. She, of course,
doesn't think that she is very talented, but we know the truth.

my new kitchen

old and cramped (pardon the fuzz) - only room for one

temporary - in old animal hospital

temporary - very little actual work space

brand new - lots of work space

new - well organized cupboards

Well, it isn't MY kitchen. The SPCA started the re-mo back in January and
yesterday I worked in this new space for the first time. So nice to have
enough room to stay organized and tidy. The temporary kitchen was in the
old and dilapidated animal hospital, next to the SPCA and one thing I did
learn there was that is was nice to work with other people. Funny, I do
like working alone, but people who love animals are easy to get along with
because really, we all have the same goal. Not like real work. Anyway,
I am happy in the brand new kitchen! And, so far, no mice...

two and too cute

This pair just arrived and they were acting like puppies. If you are looking
for small dogs (and not chihuahuas) I think these would be a good choice.
Izzy and Jazzy are their SPCA names, but everyone always seems to change
dog and cat names and that makes sense to me. Gotta rush, more tomorrow...

scenes from a night in Napa

Three tables alone for desserts - yum!

Many tables, all with white cloths

Full moon over red paper lantern lights

A cabbage goat stands on one of the many food tables

Thanks to the Great Plotniks for driving!

Barn dancing under lights

It was a very special time last night and my, all that delicious food. This is
a pot luck like no other because all the chefs in the wine country attend and
bring their best.  Maybe 300 people in this glorious setting? Every detail
remembered including regular and decaf coffee. Truly, a night to remember.
And yes, we stayed for the dancing. Again, so nice of the Plotniks to taxi us!

the zoo, the growth!

2008

2014

I know I have some photos of RR at the Lemur sign, but if I don't label
them well, it becomes too much of a task to find them when I'm in a bit
of a hurry this morning. The Blogmaid sent me this yesterday and I
at least located an old zoo photo so we can all do our "good grief, she is
growing so fast!" yelps of surprise and dismay. RR is 10 now and a
delight, enjoying her summer time off ~ reading and horses, beach
and friendships. 

my book project

Several years ago a friend asked me to list my favorite books and this
has been sitting on my pathetic brain and bugging me from time to
time. So in January of this year, I started writing down "the best of"
and I was going to stop at 10, then 20. Then about a month ago, I
found a little Booknotes journal that I started back in 2004. I wish I
had done this sooner. Remember Confessions of Max Tivoli? Snow?
Refuge? Veronica? I stopped writing in the little notebook in 2010,
but since then most of my purchases have been on Amazon and they keep
track for me (and for my government) and I'm amazed that I have
read so many fabulous books. Now this is a Big Project, but a good one...

we succumbed

We don't "do" sci fi, but after talking it over with a guy at work, we
decided to try Orphan Black, a BBC series about a young woman (above)
who has five clone sisters, maybe more. She is with her brother (who is
quite wonderful) in the scene above. I believe it is filmed in Canada and
has a huge fan base. Most are probably way younger than we are, but
the dialogue is terrific and the filming outstanding. We were a little lost
after Orange ended, so Black is the new Orange...for us.

one city block expands

San Francisco is busy building more and more housing for all the people
who want to live here. Above is one city block (4th St. between Folsom and
Harrison) and soon it will be wall-to-wall condos. All over the city, new
construction. I try to be positive, but how can we accommodate more and
more citizens who need public transportation and other city services?
The Manhattanization of SF - I've heard this for decades, but it is happening
faster now and yes, congestion is an ugly word.

trying and succeeding

Last Sunday morning Dancing Jen and I had coffee at La Boulange and she
allowed me to snap her tat which I love. She and I paid a gazillion $$$$
(each) to see Leonard Cohen in Oakland a few years ago and his "Bird
on a Wire" has always been one of my faves. In fact, just now, I removed
the French for Dummies CD and inserted The Essential Leonard Cohen
disc #1 - Suzanne, So Long Marianne (for Tanya), Famous Blue Raincoat...

like father, like son

We have been fans of Geoff Hoyle (right, above) for decades. On the left is
his son Dan, who is now also an extremely talented entertainer. Yesterday we
had a wonderful 80 minutes at the Marsh watching Each and Every Thing,
Dan's one man show about connecting with other human beings and trying
to stay in the present. The Great Plotnik talks and writes about how much
fun it used to be to travel and meet people, before the digital age. Now we
are all iPhone robots and yes, we miss so much. There is one scene when
Dan makes fun of his dad who used to let them watch one hour of TV a day
and Geoff proceeded to make pithy comments the entire time. Afterwards
we walked up to La Rondala for an early dinner and I didn't take out my
phone for almost one half hour. Honest!

some Vicious tv

Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi play a couple who have been together
for 48 years on Vicious, a funny new series that you'll find on PBS.
They snipe at each other, entertain their eccentric friends and so far,
so good. It's mean and old fashioned - Derek, for instance, has yet
to tell his mother the nature of their relationship and refers to Ian
as his "flatmate" when he talks to her on the phone. Enjoy!

bougainvillea and a latte

I failed to report on my two wonderful days off last week. I so appreciate
the walking now that I can see again (and better than before) and for some
reason these brilliant flowers on Precita were brighter than ever and I just
had to stop and snap a photo. Then a latte in the sunshine while I read my
little murder mystery on my LindaKindle2 - perfect days...

token flag waving

Here is our 4th of July candle - tradition! It's 7am and the sun is out, sky is
blue, so it portends a crazy day with lots of noise, too much drinking and
the kind of patriotism that sort of gets on my nerves. You know, the kind
where they block busloads of children from South America. Anyway, I'll
steer clear of politics and just be glad that I don't have to listen to pious
speeches about how fabulous America is. It is a wonderful country and a
whole lot better for the white and the rich. Enough, Stein - get to work, an
easy day out at the Legion of Honor with only my favorite fellow workers.

i-dinner with friends

Neti and Frank helped us celebrate the fact that I can see and cooked us
an amazing dinner, then presented the dessert, complete with my brown
eye. (The horse plate is just to let the Blogmaid know that I was thinking
about RR.) Then, driving home was amazing - it was the first time in
years that I could actually SEE in the dark. I was a hazard at night, before
the cataract surgery, if truth be known, and it must be. A sober hazard,
however, and not all drivers can say that...