a poem for Wednesday

 

Poem with a Bleating Heart

Robert Wood Lynn

Once again it is fall all around us there are sports teams praying for god to smite their opponents which you know I love like I love the idea of god walking dripless out of the ocean a monster no one can be sure is here to protect or destroy our seaside cities and I love that we can scream whatever we want knowing it can be fixed later in the subtitles and I love the scrub pine for looking exactly how it sounds and I love memory for continuing to be the past with a leak in it somehow I love you a little better every day surprised by it each morning the way I am always surprised by how goats make the sound of drunks making goat noises

back to what passes for normal

 Sam and Luke left early for the airport and I mostly did laundry and put everything back in place yesterday. They were easy and considerate guests and it was great getting to know them better. The house painters return today so here we go again...

our full Sunday

 OK the blog won't arrange the photos correctly, but it was a lovely day indeed. Trash pick-up at Manny's, lunch over at Doug and Barb's (what a garden this year!) and then Heidi's soup for dinner with two desserts also contributed by friends. Samantha and Luke are true activists and perfect for our Northern California left wing politics. They leave this morning and will be missed by Annabelle and the now doting grandmother.

double doodles

 Meanwhile, back in Buffalo, NY, the campers' dog, Harlow, is staying with Rob and Sarah and Honey Stein whom you have met before. Samantha and Luke are finding some apartments that accept dogs and I think they plan to move here in August. An exciting new chapter in their lives, and mine. Yesterday they toured Palo Alto and I took care of some house stuff and sleep catch-up. Today? More fog, more activities here in SF.

Camp Mary Ann

 Sam and Luke were out most of the day and yes, the air mattress was "made" but I thought you  would enjoy the middle photo of my back room. Luke loved the Stanford campus and sat in on a law class, Sam found a job here in SF and they looked at an apartment in Pathetica. Grandma took them to dinner at United Dumpling up on Cortland, a restaurant I've been wanting to try and it was fabulous. Dumplings, noodles, soup, more dumplings and we were all full and happy and went to bed early. Annabelle is confused and was ultra cuddly last night. Life is good at this busy camp site. Today they continue to apartment hunt and I catch my breath.

another grand

 Meet Samantha, oldest daughter of youngest stepson, Rob. She and Luke are here in this very small house because they are exploring and preparing to move here from Cleveland. Luke will be going to Stanford Law Schoo and Sam is applying for work in the medical field. Fun days ahead ~ now to do grand mother stuff. Fresh orange juice anyone? 

best quiche EVER

 The book club met yesterday at Cote Quest Bistro on Baker Street to discuss Lessons in Chemistry and life in general. If everything works (and doesn't it always?) we will be heading up to Sonoma for next month's meeting. Madeline (Mad Rose) lives there and I already downloaded the book from Libby at the Library and will tell you all about it later. In the meantime, Grand daughter Samantha and her bf Luke arrive tonight. Busy days ahead.

another movie

 Here is Storm Reid the talented actor in Missing on Netflix. I really enjoyed this movie because the daughter here is searching for her mother who does not return from a vacation. Wonderful use of technology in the fast-paced plot. Yes, I am a TV addict.

another book club

 This one meets every two years so we can all relax. Heidi invited me to join last night and six of us discussed Foster which I posted about earlier. Wonderful book. I had NO idea that the movie The Quiet Girl is this very book. We all watched the movie last night before a lavish dinner and lively talk about the book and movie. A delightful evening. Hint ~ read the book first and you will enjoy the movie even more. 

friends, words and food

 A good day indeed over at Suzy's yesterday as we writers read our work and laughed with appreciation because we know that we need this kind of continuity and community in our lives. Alas Chef Sarah was ill and greatly missed. 

intense marine layer

 Yesterday in Pathetica ~ the sun was starting to peek through when we left in the early afternoon after lattes and (for me) a bagel at the Chit Chat. So nice being with the Blogmaid again and, as usual, we had much to talk about. Do NOT ask us about our walk because it was just waaaaay too foggy for that ambitious activity. Photos thanks to aforementioned Blogmaid.

the work continues

 These painters are detailed and thorough and so hard working. They arrive at 8am and leave after 6pm ~ non-stop. The back of the house is wood (bad wood) and the front is stucco and that won't take as long. Annabelle is finally curious after hiding during all the noisy sanding and prep work. We both want our quiet home back, but this is necessary. Sigh.

back to London ~ 1888

 Sherlock's sister Enola Holmes has returned to Netflix and yes, it's a fine mystery based on the Match Girls and those horrible working conditions. Thanks to the Blogmaid for alerting me that our favorite detective has returned. 

lunch with Suzy

 Back to historic John's Grill for steak sandwiches and chatter. We both have many happy memories here and yesterday we had lots to talk about: friends, travel, home redo and repair and our Fluf writing party at Suzy's on Sunday next. 

not every day

 Some days I just have to stop and appreciate all that I have. Monday was such a day when I had my latte and a sandwich down at Charlie's Cafe. Reading my New Yorker, fussing on my iPhone and looking out at my neighborhood filled with sunshine and really nice people.

oh oh oh

 Neighbor Heidi told me about this book and invited me to a casual book club at her home next week. "No time," I said and then she told me that Foster is a very small book and I read it quickly on my Linda-Kindle-4 and now I can't stop thinking about it. So powerful  Lordy.

confusion, surprises and great fun

 SF Playhouse did an outstanding job yesterday with Chinglish, all about an American who is trying to do business in China. We have all laughed about bad translations into English, but this play takes it further. David Henry Hwang is the playwright famous for M. Butterfly movie.

Just Do It

 I was amused to learn that the Just Do It line comes from some guy facing a death squad by a bunch of people with guns. True? Who knows? Anyway, I enjoyed AIR and the whole Michael Jordan Nike shoe story on Amazon Prime. There were a couple of unexpected (to me) twists and turns and I thought the acting was excellent. 

a taste of Peru

 Terri met me for lunch at Sanguchon on Valencia Street yesterday and we enjoyed delicious sandwiches and fries while sitting in the sun outside. Despite our brave Warrior talk the team lost last night so now we devote ourselves to the Giants and ignore the Lakers, as best we can.

dogs and friends

 I met Jen (and Charlie and Birdie) while walking in the nabe a few months ago. She is another gourmet cook and brought me a Japanese salmon creation (with potato salad and cucumber) for last night's dinner. It didn't photograph well, but trust me, it was delicious. I join her for l-o-n-g walks when convenient and we talk of many things... The top photo is from a neighborhood garage artist's studio and I really like his work.

who's on first?

 I hopped on the #12 Folsom yesterday to meet Amy for the first game of the season. It was cold and we didn't know any of the Giants and we lost big time. Call this fun? Well, yes, we had a great time with hot dogs, ice cream and chatter. Plus, the Warriors won last night so here we go again. (Almost forgot, an official selfie in the middle up there.)

about the news

 

I Don't Want to Hear Any Good News or Bad News

Elisa Gabbert

The other day I thought of an old enemy and smiled—not with malice, but with fondness. I felt like I missed her. Happiness and sadness are somehow alike; they both come in waves. Unhappiness is different, just a general malaise. A Hollywood ending is "an outcome in which all desirable results are achieved." But don't sad movies win more awards? It's so sad to have once been good at something. There's a fundamental uselessness to feeling sad about things that happened very far away or in the deep past. Whatever mechanisms are required to not be sad all the time mean that sometimes when you want to be sad, you can't. During the Middle Ages, "Poverty, wars, and local famines were so much a part of normal life that they were taken for granted and could therefore be faced in a sober and realistic manner." Sometimes I involuntarily smile when I hear bad news. Bad news makes me feel closer to people. Good news is bad news—sadly bad news is also bad news. I don't trust the news unless I can't understand it. News serves a social function more than anything else. Monks don't read the news. I read in the news that alcohol stimulates the immune system; ants are a liquid. I read that frogs don't actually just sit in a pot of water until they boil to death. (What kind of sicko would make that up?) I actually like talking about the weather. I actually like crying, it makes me feel better. If all possible worlds don't exist, we might actually live in a very unlikely world. It might not get more unlikely than this. Supposedly Joe Brainard said on his deathbed: "One good thing about dying. You don't have to go to any more poetry readings." Bad news: You can't actually save time. You'll just use it to do something else. You pretty much have to do one thing at a time, and in order. You could change your life. You could waste some time and be happy. I like to feel wistful before sleep, and sometimes I get in bed early just to lie there awake, feeling wistful. I procrastinate more than I used to, and worry less. It turns out, important stuff just gets done. I know it will get done. So it seems strange that I actually have to do it. Why do I have to make this future that already exists?

Day #1 of BFD project

 This house was last painted in 2008, and the winds/rain caused some damage this winter. Aldo and his two helpers began the prep work yesterday and I will be under siege for a month or maybe two. It is necessary and I'm happy with my choice of workers ~ they painted/repaired the house next door and I feel very comfortable with them. And as a bonus they weeded my garden yesterday ~ yayyy and thanks.

L & O

 Neti cooked liver and onion (with bacon and a side of potatoes) last night over at Pat's. We are about the only three people who really love this dish. Before dinner I took a lovely solo walk up and down Fillmore Street which was bustling with people, new stores and busy restaurants. One fine Sunday.

upheaval and changes

 The embattled artistic director is leaving the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and things are messy up in our beloved Ashland. Live theater everywhere is suffering, but this was an unusually difficult scene. I will still be going with John and Mary in September because the show must go on. 

Coronation Day 2023

 Thanks to the Blogmaid for the above and for the fact that I was up EARLY to watch some of this colorful celebration from London this morning. Annabelle enjoyed it too. Long live the King.

sea foam and flowers

I so needed a walk by the ocean yesterday and had a lovely, long stroll down in Pathetica. It was quiet and easy to park and I was the only customer in the Chit Chat Cafe. The Dubs pounced on the Lakers last night so all in all, a very good Thursday. 
 

Yay Keri Russell

A couple of grey, rainy days here so I hit Netflix with popcorn and a cup of tea in the sluggish afternoon hours. The Diplomat stars Keri Russell and we remember her fondly from the spy thriller The Americans and yes, Annabelle and I recommend this current drama set mostly in London, so far. Check it out.

a favorite poet

 

My Debt

Like all who believe in the senses, I was an accountant, copyist, statistician. Not registrar, witness. Permitted to touch the leaf of a thistle, the trembling work of a spider. To ponder the Hubble’s recordings. It did not matter if I believed in the party of particle or of wave, as I carried no weapon. It did not matter if I believed. I weighed ashes, actions, cities that glittered like rubies, on the scales I was given, calibrated in units of fear and amazement. I wrote the word it, the word is. I entered the debt that is owed to the real. Forgive, spine-covered leaf, soft-bodied spider, octopus lifting one curious tentacle back toward the hand of the diver that in such black ink I set down your flammable colors. ~ Jane Hirschfield

a favorite walk and (of course) a latte

 I like to celebrate having half sisters this late in life and yesterday I stopped at a favorite coffee shop during my long walk on Valencia Street. You can barely see the beautiful grey Victorian across the street in the top photo, but it is a pleasure to see from my table.