Tuesday, August 30, 2016

over and out


Last night we watched the final (enthralling) episode of The Night Of
on HBO. It was a GREAT ending and yes, we find out who killed the
beautiful young woman. John Turturo (above) is the colorful lawyer,
in over his head with this high profile case. So if you haven't already,
set aside time for this series of eight dramatic episodes.

Monday, August 29, 2016

here's an odd one


This one looks more like a slipper than a rabbit. He has very short black
ears and his fur is very fluffy. A staff member told me that this breed is
called the Lion Head Rabbit. He is also friendlier than most ~ came right
over to the window to get his picture taken. Yes, I wanted to pet him...

Sunday, August 28, 2016

one fine day


It was a treat just for me. I bought an expensive cheap balcony seat for
yesterday's Carole King Musical at the Orpheum Theatre and for almost
three hours I was awash in music and memories. Not just Carole ~ also The
Drifters, Shirelles, Righteous Brothers. Such fun. The sort-of-story of
Carole's life, but mostly it was about the music, more than 25 songs and
today I will play my old Tapestry CD and enjoy it all over again.

Saturday, August 27, 2016

my city in "summer"

Temperature Graph August 2016

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 Avg. Hi  Avg. Lo  Actual Hi  Actual Lo  Forecast Hi  Forecast Lo

Friday, August 26, 2016

on BART to Berkeley

Joan Brown's RAT

Arneson's TYPEWRITER (note fingernail keys)

Ginger is a member of the new Berkeley Museum so we met yesterday to
explore and have a couple of important coffee chats along the way. Yes, it's
worth seeing this Museum and I will return, but I'd like more of the local artists
(Diebenkorn, Thiebaud, Bischoff) than they currently have on display. The
entire downstairs floor is Chinese art ~ I don't know if it is permanent or not,
but I've seen better at the Asian Art Museum here in SF. But you know I'm a
snob and despite this hint of criticism, I will be back. Berkeley is something ELSE.

Thursday, August 25, 2016

how l-o-n-g until November?


This is the nastiest and worst presidential campaign ever. Everyone knows
that this blog loves HRC and I don't know how she can withstand the
absurd attacks from numb nuts Trump. I just want to go hide until my
ballot arrives in the mail, but of course I keep watching and reading and
getting all pissed off every single day. Grrrrrrrrrrrr. Be brave, Hillary...

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

yet another lunch


Gini and I were able to sit out in the patio at Starbelly (Market and 16th St.)
and she insisted on treating since I am newly retired. So far I've done VERY
nicely with this gifty-lunch celebration thing and I am grateful and also
in need of the gym today. I had the French toast with a side of b-a-c-o-n.
Gratitude...

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

reading and enjoying more


The Nest was a retirement gift and I am enjoying it thoroughly. GREAT
scenes of NYC and Brooklyn and really fun characters in this family
with four adult children bickering over money, as so many families do.
Yes, indeed I do recommend it!

Monday, August 22, 2016

balmy alley




It's been quite a few years since I've had the time and/or energy to walk in
Balmy Alley here in the Mission. It is still as fantastic and colorful as
ever and there were many appreciative art lovers with cameras. This all started
back in the 70's and thank goodness it just gets better.

Sunday, August 21, 2016

animal kingdom

Carlini's  cat Desi

Linda's fireflies

Anonymous

Thanks to three friends for these important photos for all to enjoy.

Saturday, August 20, 2016

do not miss this!


Stranger Things reminds me a lot of Stand By Me with a whimsical
touch of E.T.  A small town in Indiana back in the 80's. Winona Ryder
is a single mother raising two boys and suddenly weirdness arrives
in many forms. There are eight episodes on the Flix® but we can only
watch one at a time because the show is so INTENSE. 

Friday, August 19, 2016

green women & thai food


My retirement lunch yesterday was deeeee-lightful and I'm grateful to Linda
for treating me out here on Taraval-in-the-fog. We talked of many things
and I ate too much and had a really, really nice time. I recommend Vanida
Thai Kitchen to one and all.

Thursday, August 18, 2016

must we?


....discuss the baseball game yesterday? Argh, and we were there. Nice
front row seats and a solid 4 to zip score until the 5th inning when our
pitcher walked 3 or 4 in a row and suddenly, we lost. Our Giants have
not been doing well since the All Star break and yesterday was the
classic Bad Loss. The Pirates swept us, but as The Blogmaid said, "now
we can get HRC elected and not worry about that World Series and
Parade business." (something like that, apologies for the clumsy misquote)

But then last night was fun ~ Tiapos over at Doug's home and Suzy is
back from her arduous 18 day hike and she wrote about it. I shared a
retirement piece and Doug sang a new song, "she texted me goodbye"
and Blaze continued with her story and all in all, a lovely evening.
No one asked me about the Giants, thankfully.


Wednesday, August 17, 2016

lost and found


The found part is that I now have more time to read and I'm actually
thinking of investing in LindaKindle #3 at some point in the future.
There are a bunch of "lost girl" titles floating around and I decided to
sample this one first and I got hooked. So far it's the story of a woman
and her niece and a lovely old cottage on a lake in Minnesota. I think
it is very well written and The Lost Girls by Ms. Young is a find, in
my most humble opinion.

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

now it begins

OK, I've given myself one full month of no work, all play, and I have
enjoyed myself immensely. I love the freedom. Believe me, any of those
worries about "what will I do when I retire?" are gone. GONE. But
always, in the back of my mind, I remember Ellen and my promise
to finish the novel. Starting this afternoon I am back in the land of
Who Killed Seth? and I hereby pledge to write five pages a week
until the damn first draft is finished. But first, to the gym...

Monday, August 15, 2016

yet another party!




Had I known it was this much fun to retire and be the center of attention at
parties I would have done this earlier and more often. Last night was a warm
and glorious gathering at Pamela's in the Berkeley Hills. All the museum
special occasions start and end here, or so it seems. I am SO fortunate to
know these friends and to feel their love and good wishes. It was such
a delightful evening. Now I have two more Retirement Celebrations ~ one
with Linda this week and one with The Blogmaid in Pathetica.

Sunday, August 14, 2016

a pitcher of light


It all started in December in Paris in the 70's. The trees on the Champs
Elysees had lovely little white sparkle lights. Enchanting. Then when the
Blogmaid lived in Pathetica I would marvel at her clever decorative lighting.
"You and your lights," Husbando said when these new ones arrived from
Amazon last week. I plopped them into mom's water pitcher (not used in 20
years) and smiled happily. These Fairy Lights are battery operated and
yes, there will be more.

Saturday, August 13, 2016

another lunch OUT



Yesterday I met Neti here at the Mission Rock where we enjoyed calamari
and Thai chicken wings. It could not have been a prettier day, clear and
sunny, but not too warm. This retirement celebration lasts and lasts...hooooray.

Friday, August 12, 2016

he lost the bet


Husbando and I had one of those silly arguments and I won. He got to buy
lunch and he selected a new restaurant on Mission Street called El Buen
Comer. One time in Mexico we fell in love with chilaquiles which are
hard to find here in the USA, but they were here and very tasty. The woman
who owns El Buen Comer used to sell her food at BART stations, Farmer's
Markets, etc. so this is a lovely success story. Everything was exceedingly
fresh and we were both quite happy, especially me, since I was right (again).

Thursday, August 11, 2016

we know it's August


The Caprese salad only works on warm summer nights (rare in SF) when
the tomatoes are at their best and you have fresh basil on the back porch.
We always discuss whether to add vinegar and then decide NO, it's best
with olive oil only and some lightly toasted sourdough bread. Oh, I
almost forgot ~ tender, tasty Buffalo Mozzarella soaking in some sort
of liquid and not easy to slice. But necessary, you already know that.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

equal time


Here are just two of the many, many delightful cats available at the SPCA.
This is officially kitten season and it's just fun to watch them wrestle and
tumble about in their nicely furnished rooms, waiting to go home and
tear apart a few pieces of furniture and some hearts along the way.

Tuesday, August 09, 2016

straight outta Coalinga


This might be a record ~ 24 puppies were rescued from the Coalinga animal
shelter, which is really more like a holding cell as they have no money or
any of the many perks that our SPCA has. Each animal must be checked
out by a vet, then neutered and already, in less than a week, quite a few
have been adopted. This little guy has a "hold" already, waiting for his
final check-up before he goes into his forever home.

Sunday, August 07, 2016

SF in B&W

Foggy Night, Land's End


Yesterday Husbando and I went to the Leica store (and gallery) on Bush
Street to see and appreciate the more than 50 photos of our city by Fred
Lyon who is celebrating his 90th birthday with a new book and this
glorious exhibit. Beautiful, amazing black and white photos from many
corners of this unusual city. Free. Through October 22nd. Go.

Saturday, August 06, 2016

you'll like it


Ellen Page and Allison Janney star in Tallulah from our good friends at
Netflix. This film did not appeal at first because of the baby theme, but we
decided that the NYC setting might balance everything out. Actually the
kid was pretty amazing, as were the others in the cast. Well worth seeing
and recommended highly by Husbando and your erstwhile blogger.

Friday, August 05, 2016

make mine Moma

blue bathroom on 5th (I think) floor

Carlini (in grey) arranged the real people for this shot
Every time I visit the new museum I discover more and more things that I love,
like the way they designed it with huge windows to let in the natural light. I
am starting to learn where certain beloved artists hang their work and how to
visit Photography on the 3rd Floor early, before it gets really busy. Yesterday
Carlini asked me to introduce him to Moma and we had a fine tour, working
our way down from Floor 7 to lunch at Chipolte. A lovely day!

Thursday, August 04, 2016

a nanny in London

Thanks to Linda Davick for this recommendation. A lovely little romp
back in the 80's before computers and cell phones. Nina is a nanny and
writes her sister every night. Each character is peculiar in his/her own
way, even Nina. I guess it is now a TV show on BBC, but I'm enjoying
these short sisterly letters a lot because Ms. Stibbe says so much in
just a few words. Love, Nina is cleansing during election season...

Wednesday, August 03, 2016

Fromm Frisco with love


Yesterday Ginger took me on a tour of USF (Fulton and Stanyan) which is
home to the Fromm Institute where several of our friends attend classes.
It was deserted yesterday, but now I know how to return and how to meet G.
for coffee or lunch or just a walk around campus. Then we walked down to
the Sparrow on Haight Street for a lovely omelet lunch and more talk/talk.
Yes, do note the fog ~ it never burned off all day, but today there is already sun.
Hoooooooray.

Tuesday, August 02, 2016

daily walks



Part of my new routine is to make sure I walk everyday and as you all
know by now, the iPhone is just the best travel companion and helps me
notice all sorts of strange and wonderful details ~ big and small. Of course
I will be sharing many of them with you here in this blog.

Monday, August 01, 2016

the blue plate special

The Great Plotniks

mushroom pasta

Another celebration dinner ~ this one at the Blue Plate on Mission Street,
courtesy of Doug and Barb. Delicious food, too much, but that's OK,
how often do I retire? A wonderful time ~ we are so fortunate and grateful.