dodgers clinch

Congrats to L.A. - here is Kate Capshaw who outpitched us (and his teammates
outplayed us) but that's baseball. Now the ups and downs of the post-season
for the Great Plotnik and his fellow fans, but it is sort of a relief to watch
others play their hearts out this year. (OK, when do pitchers and catchers
report to Arizona in 2016?)

walk-off win

The blue scumsucking Dodgers are here to rub our noses in their champagne,
to win the division and head for the playoffs. All they need is one game.
But it wasn't, thank God, last night. I went to bed at a decent hour when the
game was tied 2-2. I had my radio. At the bottom of every inning I'd jump
up and go to the back room to watch the TV. Then back to bed, fretting
about lack of sleep, work today, my Giants. And then, at the bottom of the
12th - with a few weak hits, we win! All "new kids" because most of our
regular high-priced players are made of fragile glass and are on the DL.
As painful as this was for Dodger fans, what fun! It's why we love this
damn game which deprives us of sleep and sanity. More tonight...

my trusty iPhone

Did I fool you? I stole this exquisite photo, but it was supposedly shot here in
SF close to our home. Who knows? Anyway, we moon-watched over at
the Great Plotniks and celebrated their 45th anniversary with gazpacho,
burgers, chips, salad and lemon pie. Wonderful evening indeed and the
moon made it extra special, once we found it, of course.

yup, it's a good one!

Quite a few friends have recommended The Boys in the Boat, so I
downloaded it onto my LindaKindle 2 and it's every bit as interesting
as advertised. Rowing is a sport I know little about, so it's well worth
learning new things, plus we know that these brave boys go to the
1936 Olympics in Germany and we guess that they win.

my kind of pope

Liberals love this joyful, caring man. I was raised as a Presbyterian and
my parents didn't trust Catholics, Jews, Baptists or really anyone outside
their small all-white conservative GOP circle. Now I'm officially an agnostic,
but this Pope gives me hope. His critics say he is "too political" but only
because he doesn't believe in their politics. I see that he genuinely cares
about the poor and wants us to be loving toward one another. Hmmmmm,
sounds like the Jesus I used to know and love. Sweet Papa Francis.

just hop on BART

Ginger prefers to come to the city (which she does almost every day) but
yesterday I went to P-town and my, this little city is growing too. Lots
of new condo construction, more traffic than I remember and always
about 10º warmer than SF. We had lunch inside an air conditioned
restaurant and talked of many things. Two long-time friends grateful for
our lives and each other.

Luminous Worlds at the LOH

I fear I forgot to tell you about this small exhibit up in Gallery One
at the Legion. Fifty fascinating works on paper including Turner,
Blake, Gainsborough and Dadd. These are fragile pieces and it is
rare to see them, so I urge you to visit. Through Nov. 29th.

an email from Kelsey

I worked with Kelsey at the museums and we bonded at once
even though she is decades younger than I am. You will love
Aisling's blog.  The Fevered Brain and I hate Pay Pal so I asked
for her address and am sending a check. Let me know if you
want that address. I don't know this young woman, but she is
now in my heart.

From Kelsey:

As most of you know my housemate Aisling has been fighting 
stage 4 cancer for about 2 1/2 years.  The disease has taken a 
few twists and turns but you should see this woman; she's 
fucking fabulous! She's radiant, positive and the best friend a 
person could ask for. She's also a fox. So inspirational. 

Her physical strength varies day by day and is not able to 

work, and the last thing we all want her to stress about is money!

Her biggest expenses are medicine, travel expenses and food.  

Things are a bit trying right now and she will be leaving in the 

winter back home to Ireland to heal and be with her family.  

I ask on her behalf to help support this special woman in my 

life through donation.

Donating is super easy. Just follow the link to her blog, and 

click the Heart.  All donations will be transferred directly to her.  

ANY donation big or small is appreciated!! Also, all who donate 

will receive a custom airbrushed DoMoney tee from my gallery.

PSYCH.

Her Link  

http://aislingsark.blogspot.com her link

Please feel free to forward this to anyone, co- workers, neighbors, 

friends and family you know, ya?

Really, whole heartedly thanks everyone for your support; 

we are truly nothing without each other

put this on your SF list...

We had lunch with the Great Plotniks yesterday here at the Presidio Social
Club - a first for all of us. It was a good idea and I'm glad I reserved a
table because the restaurant filled quickly. Love the decor and the food was
better than OK too. Meat loaf sandwiches, liver and onion for me and a
cubano sandwich for Birthday Barb. Everytime we go to the Presidio we
say, "we should come here more often." It is beautiful indeed.

finally

It's now 7pm and FINALLY a cool breeze has arrived and I have enough
energy to come downstairs and see what's what. Not much to worry about
down here and we did have a nice lunch with the Great Plotniks out at
the Presidio. Inside. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow after s-l-e-e-p tonight.

watch this

I didn't think I'd care much for the Brequet exhibit that opened yesterday
out at the Legion of Honor, but it was way better than I expected. Brequet
provided watches to the royalty in Europe in the 1800's and here we have
70 elegant timepieces to marvel over. Many of our first museum guests
were jewelers and people who know and truly appreciate these elegant pieces.

city sidewalks

How do I love SF? Let me count the ways...

(why I always carry my iPhone with camera)

you ask what I'm reading?

This is on my LindaKindle2 and I am really, really enjoying Euphoria.
It is supposed to be based on Margaret Mead and her work.  I love
the adventure and the three main characters who live in the wild as
they study the different groups of natives in far-off lands. It is fiction
and author Lily King has won quite a few awards for this work. 

Between Riverside and Crazy

Our ACT season opened yesterday with this amazing play by Stephen
Adly Guirgis. We have loved quite a few of his plays and this is no
exception. Between Riverside and Crazy tells the story of an ex-cop
(Carl Lumbly) and his family and friends. It's funny, sad and gritty ~ to
say the least. It's very NYC, exceedingly tense and dramatic. Go!

nine fun episodes

We just finished watching W1A from BBC about BBC. It's very
amusing and available to stream from the Flix®. We loved 2012
about planning for the Olympics and this is just as clever. After
some thinking we decided the title is the address of BBC. Thoughts?

where did this come from?

I have no idea how our fog became Karl, but he did, and some of us are
happy when he returns. This has been a relatively warm and fog-free
summer here in San Francisco and I miss seeing the tourists shivering
in their frilly tops and shorts.

lunch at Limon

Yesterday I met Dancing Jen and Shauna for lunch here on Valencia
Street and it was so wonderful catching up with all our news. The
food is excellent and reasonable too - a good meeting place. Then
I walked and enjoyed some much needed solo time before heading
home for a few tasks, a little writing, etc. Life is good, but you know that.

opened last July

Thursday was the first time that we had been on the new Doyle Drive and
my, it was quite wonderful and easy. For one thing they have strict 35 MPH
speed limits and there are two short and easy tunnels, then expansive views of
the Presidio and the bay before we smoothly reach the Golden Gate Bridge.
It had been difficult before, almost like a narrow freeway, horrible. Coming
home was also easy with clearly marked exits, posted in advance (what?) and
without the toll takers the cars zip through. Most locals have the FasTrac®
and visitors get billed for their toll as cameras snap our progress. I was not
looking forward to driving on our trip to Marin, but this could not have been
easier and we salute the progress.

across the bridge

It was a smooth ride yesterday over to Tiburon (quiet) and Sausalito
(packed with tourists) and then on to Fort Baker for a more peaceful
look out over the bay. Lovely lunch at Poggio in Sausalito, our
friends do love the food here, especially the fresh seafood. We dropped
them off about 3pm and then the long and difficult drive from Fish
Wharf to Bernal - it should take 20 minutes, but due to impossile
traffic it was about an hour. Oh, Friday afternoons in my city...
Today, back to normal - but it was such fun being with Olga and Sam again.

Karl, Crissy, calamari, petrale

note sliver of most-welcome fog under bridge

Olga and Sam were delighted with the fog yesterday and we had a great
walk at Crissy Field, then a little picnic and we met later for a fabulous
seafood dinner at Sam's Grill on Bush Street. A good old-fashioned SF
restaurant where we sat inside one of those wonderful "mafia" wooden booths.

where's Karl?

Dinner at Original Joe's in North Beach with Olga and Sam, old friends
who live in Albuquerque. "I miss the fog!" said Olga as we walked to
coffee and sweets after dinner. Then the sun began to set, cool breezes
from the bay worked their magic and the lights around SF turned on
gently and gradually. Lots of people out and about, walking slowly,
enjoying my city which never ever could possibly disappoint. It is
cooler today, so we head to Crissy Field to look for Karl the Fog and
to see the Golden Gate Bridge in all its glory.

guests from out-of-town(s)

Last night Ira and his wife Pat were here from L.A. and it was HOT
and I had to work, so we had a beer at our house and walked two
blocks down the street to the Precita Park Cafe. That was a very good
idea and the food was just fine and the service excellent. Lots of fun
catch-up, it has been more than 20 years since we have seen Ira and
we had not met Pat, his no longer new wife.

Today Olga and Sam arrive from Albuquerque. They love SF but it
is usually 60º when they visit. It is always around 60º here, but this is
a heat wave. It is not easy to sleep or do much of anything and of
course we do not have AC. They like to stay down at Fisherman's
Wharf, so at least it will be cooler there. Plans are up in the air, until
their plane is down on the ground.

lots of kitties this year

The animals don't know from Labor Day, but I've been posting about
rabbits and dogs, so I wanted to remind everyone that the SPCA has
lots and lots of healthy and adorable kittens and cats if your house
seems a bit empty and too clean. Come shopping!

the Sunday solution

It's too easy to stay home every Sunday, so yesterday we vowed to get
out for one small adventure each week. We walked Valencia Street which
changes every day. This wall art is in an alley right next to Community
Thrift, where we like to do some smart shopping. Beautiful, no?

it's the little things

I didn't report in after our Tiapos writing group last Thursday night,
but of course it was quite wonderful. I just wrote Jane asking for her
permission to publish this poem which I love so very much.

Caregiver

He looks like a normal guy. No one else is out on
the street, just him. He moves my car from Friday
to Monday, saving me from getting another ticket.

This is something he often does, two or three times
a week. I can see him in the fog, partly lit by
street lamps, before the blue morning glories open.

I can see him as he heads out to work in his whites --
that's what they call a housepainter's overalls. I can
see him, my beautiful phantom, with my eyes closed.

Jane Underwood

ten riveting episodes

Columbia during the bloody drug wars. Pablo Escobar and our DEA
and FBI and god knows who else was involved. Beautifully acted and
filmed in Columbia, but gruesome. Stream on the Flix® and marvel
at the dedication of all involved.

one morning ~ two cities

8:30 am Oakland Civic Center

10:15 - SF downtown

I had a very early (and easy) dental appointment yesterday so I walked
around Oakland before jumping on the PACKED Bart train. Oakland
is truly a pretty downtown and I have always loved any city in the
early morning hours as I observe people going to work, stopping for
coffee, rushing/rushing. Then crazy SF where I had some errands,
but first a latte at my favorite spacious coffee spot on Post Street. I
was home before noon for more tasks and errands, but refreshed from
my city-watching morning.

then and now

RR returned to school yesterday. The top photo isn't an official BTS
picture, I think she was doing a favor for her mother back then. But
cute, nonetheless. The bottom photo, however, is indeed the real
thing - Ryan Rosemary is back to school. She will have a GREAT year!

when is a dog...

...a service dog? Here we have a few from the Legion of Honor store
yesterday. It's OK with me since I love dogs, but I know that it gets
easier and easier to get a certificate and vests online now. The first thing
the human says when I approach to see the canine(s) is "she's a Service Dog,"
in an almost defensive manner. There, ponder this for a few minutes.

Monday at the SPCA

The rabbits seemed a lot happier this week and I had to wait until
they settled down before I snapped some more photos. They seem
to play together and that made me quite happy. Readers know that
RABBIT is appropriate for the first of the month, so you get to see
Slipper and friend again. The two cans were for Lucy, a medium
sized mixed breed dog who does not eat well - but she likes the
Fussie Cat food pictured above.