pandemic changes

People are moving out of SF and maybe, maybe rents will come down. I
hope so because then perhaps our homeless problem will lessen. I am
seeing For Rent signs for the first time here in years.

This year for Pride Weekend, the pink triangle over on Twin Peaks was
illuminated and we can barely see it in my poor photo above. But,
trust me, it is impressive.

Atlas and Ryan

RR's sister, Claire, took this fabulous photo the other day. Mutual love.

my neighborhood re-emerges

A little art, some music, lots of people wearing masks and keeping their
distance. Sort of. The park was full of kids, pets and my neighbors wearing
puffy winter garments. Karl the Fog has returned too, and that's OK. I'll
be ready for one of Charlie's veggie sandwiches next week, after the
crowds die down. And don't forget the latte!

you gotta love this city

I've been saving this photo ~ from my Valencia Street walk last
week. I mean, it's almost like she posed here by the flowers.

good walk, good talks

Yesterday I appreciated the now weekly Thursday walk over to The
Great Plotniks and I spotted this sign at Mitchell's, our favorite ice
cream store. Then another delightful outdoor lunch right next to the garden
where I now recognize the assorted butterflies and birds and which
plants are preferred. Lovely indeed.

two years with tears

Ah, Husbando ~ a special today-only shrine thing for Bill this morning. I
honor him. I miss him.

A lovely walk with the Blogmaid yesterday in Pathetica. I will carry on,
with a little help from my friends. Well, make that a LOT.

under the spreading Japanese maple tree

Neti, Pat and I social distanced last night in Pat's back yard and Neti
brought dim sum. I provided tea in the large Thermos. (See, I can cook.)
Also, I brought a bunch of old photos so Kleenex® were needed. Not
too many, we had a few laughs too. Picnics are so much easier because
anything goes and if it doesn't, so what?

SF ~ still surprising

Yesterday I met Terri for a walk and she introduced me to Ames Alley off
of Guerrero Steeet.  A little "art wall" and then that beautiful old tree in
the top photo. Terri says that this has been here forever. There are very
few alleys in our city, so I'm surprised to have missed this one. Happy
to have discovered it now though.

memories galore

It's easier to go through stuff now, two years after Husbando's death. He
left an audio tape about our 2005 trip to NYC to see Christo's Gates
in Central Park. The artist recently died and he too will be missed. In
the 70's we admired his Running Fence going from Sonoma down
through Marin. We stayed at our niece Jill's itty bitty apartment in
New York and it was such a wonderful vacation. I wanted to go back
this year, but the Big Apple will have to wait until 2021. 2022?

and one more thing...

I sing the praises of YouTube. Why? Nice of you to ask. Everything is on
here: how to open a Kirkland bottle of conditioner, how to operate the
milk frother, how to get the stuck back off a battery pack, plus all sorts
of cooking instructions and lots more. People are so generous with their
time and specific talents.

Then there is entertainment and education. Museums, theater, classes.
But maybe best of all, if I happen to have the blues (who me?), I go right
into Bloopers and wowza instant smiles, even a LOL. I like Seinfeld and
now Parks and Rec, news anchors who breakup unexpectedly and with
all the folks working from home we see assorted pushy kids and animals
and family members wandering in front of the camera. Ooooops.

fog and fireplace

Well, so much for real summer weather. The fog is thick this morning
and that's OK because I need some fireside poetry time. Here from the
11th (!) stanza of Galway Kinnell's poem inside his book of the same
name, When One Has Lived A Long Time Alone:

When one has lived a long time alone,

one wants to live again among men and women,

to return to that place where one's ties with the human

broke, where the disquiet of death and now also 

of history glimmers its firelight on faces...

Lovely poetry. But, hey, I am just fine. Worry not.

blogger re-emerges

Botanical Garden

I've been meeting friends everyday this past week. Always outside,
always with masks. My friend Marsha calls people who don't wear
them "MaskHoles" and we will see them in Tulsa tomorrow. Yesterday
after lunch with The Great Plotniks, right next to their glorious garden, I
met Gini at the Botanical Garden for another walk and talk. Lots of
outdoor beauty and so fortunate to have this beautiful real summer weather.

another "new" park

the old philosopher looks vague here

just one of the views

Yesterday I took a test run out to McLaren Park in preparation for my
Friday with Ginger. I had never been here, but it is a short drive from
Bernal Heights. Recently renovated and ready to be explored tomorrow.
Success and happiness and a gentle trail to follow.

I keep threatening

I really am tired of Facebook and I have considered dropping out often.
A few of my right wing relatives make me crazy and I am tempted to
destroy them with a few nasty words. But then I find a cool something
or other, such as the above, and I start up again and I'm still there. But
Facebook is a huge time waster, all in all.

some live theater (sort of)

The play begins right around King City, a place I know well from my trips
to Santa Barbara. Where 101 becomes The 101. North meets South, man
meets woman. Well done and I will join the SF Playhouse next Monday
night for another play reading. Almost 200 people watching last night,
people like me, starved for live theater.

my current SIP life

the pier at Crissy Field with GG Bridge 

Jacaranda trees add to the beauty of colorful SF

mutual adoration society

I Stay in Place. Daily walks and the back room with Annabelle. I did
splurge one morning with the fake fireplace before the fog rolled away.
Now that I am seeing friends for social distance meet-ups life is
easier and better. Today begins Week #14. Argh...

double the fun

I just started The Grammarians and I am loving it! Here is a
review from NPR:

Schine's 11th novel, is about two language-obsessed sisters — 
identical twins whose bible is Webster's New International 
Dictionary, Second Edition, which their adoring father, a 
philosophically inclined accountant who loathes numbers, 
buys for them when they are small.

that's our City Hall

I love how some things can get done so quickly sometimes. Black
Lives Matter now painted on Fulton Street, this shot from Laguna St.
by my friend Joe. Every city in America soon, or so I hope.

Thursdays on Sanchez Street

Doug and Barb feed me lunch out by their garden every Thursday. It is
a quiet and delightful time and we cover everything under the sun, in
the shade. How grateful I am to have wonderful friends.

Awwwwwwww

This documentary on Netflix is a loving story of the Guide Dogs for
the Blind over in Marin. We follow five puppies during their training
in Pick of the Litter. Spoiler alert: not every dog makes it, but every
dog is a total delight and finds a forever home quickly.

back to the Botanical Garden

Well, you can see that Neti, Pat and I had a delightful lunch meeting
yesterday. Nothing soothes like nature. We walked and talked and
noshed ~ six or so feet away from each other.

puzzle pride

I finished #4 on Saturday. Beautiful London. Go ahead, applaud. And
thanks for all the jigsaw loans, Blogmaid.

my early Sunday walk

The Great Highway is closed to cars at Lincoln

Fake taxi

Oh, what a morning!

I hit Ocean Beach yesterday morning before I had time to whine that it was
windy and cold. It was, also invigorating and just what I needed. Breathe.

this needed to be written...

...and posted on every refrigerator in America. Even in the White House (by
the kitchen staff, of course).

SF Botanical Gardens

The gardens reopened on Monday and it appears that the plant-loving staff
spent those long eleven weeks taking care of their beloved greens. Ginger
and I had coffee, muffin and a good walk here yesterday morning. It was
cool and breezy, but we found a secluded bench where we could watch
hundreds of kids run their legs off ~ relieved looking parents watching,
of course. Bathrooms open too, hooray.

another positive trend

Black women mayors in major cities in America. Not an easy job, for
anyone of any sex or color, so it's good to acknowledge their public
service. Our own Mayor London Breed mentions that being a women
means she has to pay more attention to what she will wear everyday than
a man would. Power to these women. Yes!

this got to me

On the national news last night ~ hospital workers take a knee to salute
the protesters in NYC. Maybe/maybe positive changes will happen in our
exhausted country.

the essential picnic

Pat and Marsha and two dogs in the Presidio. Then a nice man with three
dogs walked by and we had five wagging tails. It was a beautiful sunny
yesterday and we three women covered many topics (national and personal).
Pat and I managed to convince Marsha that she needs an Apple watch
since she too lives alone. Today is beautiful again and I SLEPT last
night and the whole world seems better. Is better.

circles, bubbles, hope

social distance chalk circles at Precita Park

I try to stay in my own little bubble here, but of course there is the real world
and always/always during protest marches here we get outside agitators. The
crimes and looting. Well, not during the Women's Marches ~ that says
something, doesn't it? Civil unrest will lead to a better tomorrow, or so we
all hope. But going through this process is quite horrible, unless one turns
off the TV and avoids the newspapers.

Here from an email I received yesterday from a volunteer friend at the
SPCA ~ to cheer us all:

I hear there are hardly any dogs in the shelter now, and Kelly says that she 
sees the ACAs taking out the dogs very often so that’s good. Adoptions are 
still high and the foster dept is very busy now. Dirk said that when they 
closed the shelter to volunteers, they put out a request for fosters and they  
got thousands of responses!!! Amazing! That’s good for the dogs! Also heard 
that Muttville’s adoptions were up 300%!!! I guess that’s the one good thing 
that’s happening—that and the Space X launch!

escape, escape

The main character (and narrator) in Eight Perfect Murders owns
a little bookstore. One needs a little death and mystery during a
difficult time in our real world. We head into Week #12 here in
our SIP (Stay In Place) world, but the Botanical Garden opens
this week. Hooray! Little by little...