ready, set, go...

 And December starts with a BANG as my new sister Jane and new nephew Tanner arrive at SFO in the afternoon. The Blogmaid is helping me with all of this and I am beyond grateful. Excited? Oh yes.

The English

 Here we have Emily Blunt as Lady Cornelia Locke in The English on Amazon Prime. This is an old fashioned Western series with some great acting and lots of action ~ horses, guns, cowboys. Also some very gentle scenes. Six episodes, give it a try...

birthday officially over

 This card from my youngest step son is now on the refrigerator. Yesterday was the final celebration at Starbelly with Joe and Pamela. How did I neglect to take a photo? Now full gear getting ready for my sister Jane and nephew Tanner who arrive on Thursday. Hooray!

a tad early this year

 I just sort of felt like getting into the spirit of the holidays yesterday and so I did. Every red and green item carries memories, all good ones. Well, I do remember the horror of retail work and am so, so glad that I don't have to do that anymore. 

as promised...

...here is the Thanksgiving group photo. The clever Blogmaid knows how to set up the camera on a tripod and get us all smiling and happy and we were. I will repeat myself, it was a lovely day indeed.

food, friendship and a walk by the ocean

 Oh, I do have a group photo from the Blogmaid, but I will save it for tomorrow. We had such a nice day and the traditional turkey dinner was fabulous. Beautiful weather ~ top photo is from the front of their home in Half Moon Bay, one block from seaside. Perfect. And what? Very little traffic. Grateful.

celebrations galore

 Yesterday RR turned 19. Wow. Today I will see her and the Blogmaid family around the Thanksgiving table. This morning I am using Husbando's coffee mug because we always loved this holiday and worked well together brining The Bird and mashing potatoes, etc. Then we would do the dishes and talk about our guests and fall into bed with smiles.

front row seats

 Ginger and I had our coffee here yesterday ~ the light on the ocean in Pacifica (aka Pathetica) this time of year is beyond beautiful. Dogs, surfers, walkers and old friends just sitting and staring. So lovely.

the next-to-final birthday lunch

 This hermit had quite a week of celebration thanks to friends near and far. Yesterday was dim sum out at Cheung Hing on Geary @ 27th with Jeanine, Pat and Neti. Now we can swing into holiday preparation ~ ready or not. Of course the highlight will be the arrival of my new sister,  Jane,  on Dec.1st. Yippee!

SFMO in the chapel

 The chapel at Mission Dolores is small and beautiful and last night Pat, Neti and I (the three widows) enjoyed the San Francisco Mandolin Orchestra there. An eclectic program including Beethoven's Violin Sonata and Glenn Miller's Moonlight Serenade. Delightful. 

Proxistant Vision

 This exhibit at the Museum of Craft and Design is the result of seven years of research and it is quite beautiful and way too technical for me. But I enjoyed lunch with my friend Ken before I joined the throng at the artist's talk as yesterday was opening day. Innovative and amazing ~ whoosh.

n the Senator's office

 Last night Neti and I attended the TRANS Aware Art Exhibit in state Senator Scott Wiener's office. Marsha's friend Luckey was showing three paintings and it was good to see him again. As you may have guessed, the guests were totally wonderful and we admired them almost more than the art. There is so much emphasis on crime and homelessness in SF and we need to be reminded that ours is a city that loves diversity and appreciates those who are different than we are. One fine evening!

Piccino in Dog Patch

 Lovely lunch here yesterday with Doug and Barb. Piccino has one of the nicest parklets ever so we were able to be outside to enjoy our fabulous pasta. My friends have been in Italy for about three weeks ~ a lot to catch up on before (yikes) Thanksgiving next week. FYI I have read that Dog Patch is the fastest growing nabe in SF currently. 

lunch at the hardware store

 Well...on the rooftop of Restoration Hardware in Marin. A lavish spot that reminds me why I don't like malls and/or sparkly chandeliers out of context. In any event, the book clubbers had a rousing good lunch here while discussing "Sooley" a book that I loved but not everyone did. That's ok. Gorgeous day as you can see and now I can say that I've been to the RH Rooftop in Marin. At the mall. 

noodles on Tuesday

 Lunch (top photo) in Japantown with Amy, Ginger's sister. Beef Udon. Yummmm. Pasta with shrimp at my neighbor's and last night Rob (bottom left) was the chef. That is son Evan who mirrors Rob and yet has Heidi's gentle spirit. In between noodles I had a latte and sweet on 24th Street, so it was a me-first day and a good one.

a fine organization

 It's impossible to find the big donation barrels since the Pandemic, so yesterday I dropped off canned goods and a check to the SF Food Bank which is about 8 minutes from my home. I didn't explore too much but there were friendly volunteers and parking and I left with a really warm feeling. 

how late it is, how late...

 No, I didn't clean house this morning, but I had to organize for the two Wonder Women who do come in every two weeks to do the dirty work. This is a big and worthwhile splurge, but I need to prepare things before they appear to work their magic. Does my little house really get dirty? Well, no, but Annabelle and I like to splurge and treat ourselves royally. We both hate housework. 

tradition rules

 Here is a goofy photo of Dancing Jen who met me for lunch yesterday at our old favorite John's Grill in downtown SF. So wonderful catching up with her busy life and appreciating our friendship.

my 2022 default restaurant

 Starbelly is about the half way point between Gini's home and mine. We both always find parking which is a miracle in this city. Yesterday we had French toast there again and of course I had my latte. Today I head downtown to another old favorite restaurant with another old favorite friend, Dancing Jen.

latte gratitude

 BE KIND. This is the back patio of the donut place up on 24th Street. A little chilly, but the walking and latte rewards were a couple of the everyday things I missed so much during the pandemic. I vow not to take the simple pleasures for granted again. 

scenes from my nabe

 After the most welcome rain. The woman in the middle of the street in the bottom photo is an artist, looking at and sketching the local coffee hangout in the top photo. When we moved here way back when, we had absolutely no idea how delightful this spot would become. These days when I open the garage door I need to plan on an extra five or ten minutes just to chat with people who live nearby. 

no red wave!

 

This political junkie started watching the results early last night filled with trepidation. Then, and then...maybe the tRump nightmare is fading? It was a far better mid-term election than many of us expected and President Biden is also breathing a sigh of relief. Whoosh.

to the polls, you sons of freedom

 And daughters. And vote-by-mail. One day the citizens will vote on their iPhones, but until then I have grown to appreciate the mail-in early option and now I will worry about the results, of course. We live in perilous times ~ funny, I remember my parents thinking that too. 

trash and tea

 Bottom photo first. I met Emma at Manny's for trash removal and then coffee and catch-up. There were so many of us that we old timers asked for, and received, a really easy almost spotless street. This movement is really catching on. Then home to change into clean clothes for the SF International Tea Festival down at the Ferry Building. Neti's friend Carmen (in blue) was our hostess and the 2nd floor was packed with tea and customers and I'm still not used to crowds so I didn't stay too long. But I was impressed with all the interest in tea and chai and yes, my coffee tastes exquisite this morning.

El Concierto

 

Yesterday Mr. and Ms. Blogmaid and Howard and I went to the fabulous Dia de los Muertos concert at the SF Symphony. Oh, what a fine time we had.  All the colors and costumes and then the glorious music, including an amazing trumpeter, Arturo Marquez. The enthusiastic conductor, Carlos Miguel Prieto, was born in Mexico and he was a total delight. A wonderful experience and I am reliving it now with a smile.

back, back, back...

 Here we go. Tonight we remember to set our clocks back one hour. Some of us do this reluctantly, some of us look forward to this return to original time. I prefer Daylight Savings time. I do appreciate all the electronic devices taking care of most of the work now, however. 

hmmmmm, thumbs down...

 Here from Wikipedia: The Banshees of Inisherin is a 2022 black comedy-drama film written and directed by Martin McDonagh. The film stars Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan . Well, the popcorn at Alamo Drafthouse was extra good and I needed the walk to/fro to meet Terri. This was a sad movie with a touch of Irish humor here and there, but really, too depressing to recommend. 

marigolds and memories

 Neti and I went to the Dia del Muerto celebration late yesterday afternoon to admire the wonderful altars and to hang photos of our loved ones on the clothes lines provided for this. (I took the five photos here on the bottom.) This was a new location very close to my home ~ San Bruno Park, aka Potrero del Sol. I love looking at all the mementos and pictures, listening to the music and poetry of the speeches and just imagining how much those who have left us would love this scene.