book club happiness

 Suze, Heidi, Shelley and me for a deep and lively discussion of The Correspondent yesterday. The food was acceptable and the camaraderie impressive. Karen was at the protest (yay!) and Laurence is in Jaipur, India, but we four enjoyed the day immensely. 

vegetables anyone?

 Words you will seldom read here. I COOKED yesterday. The book club is meeting at my home today and I made a huge vegetarian stew/soup all afternoon and then did dishes and sheesh, what a lot of work. Tons of chopping and stirring and I actually remembered how to put the Cuisinart® together. It will all work out and the book (The Correspondent) will ensure a good discussion. Food is secondary, right?

BIGGER than ever

 The next NO KINGS protest march will be huge. And it should be huge after the outrage in Minneapolis. And L.A. And Chicago. And Venezuela. And Davos. And no, we do not want Greenland or Iceland. So time to plan and prepare and this is what democracy looks like. Again. Still.

dog sitting Birdie

 

Jen with two dogs is taking one dog (Charli) to the vet up in Sonoma and I am with Birdie this morning. You can see how adorable she is. Miniature Schnauzers are love bugs but high maintenance. The Bird had her breakfast and is now preparing for her morning nap. Nice weather, as you can see.

Farmhouse rerun

 Yesterday was the belated birthday celebration for Joe and we enjoyed a FEAST of Thai dishes sitting outside in the sunshine while talking about everyone and everything. The Farmhouse menu is just so lovely and colorful and our sinuses were clean by the time lunch was over. That fried chicken in the bottom left corner beats KFC, in case you were wondering.

dinner with Ozzie

 ...and Heidi, Rob and Lily from Denver. Here is Ozzie appreciating the scarf that Amy gave me about a year ago. Who knew? It was a VERY good paella dinner with lots of happy conversation with me thinking at some point, "so glad I'm not young anymore." Lily is 35, by the way. A lovely evening for all, for sure.

meanwhile, in Cally (Calli?)

 Thanks for the photos from yesterday, Blogmaid. I neglected to ask for your permission. It was gorgeous here in SF too, but these are Half Moon Bay pictures. I love the wild bright yellow sour grass and of course the ocean is always a constant source of awe. I just texted Sis in Maryland and she is safe and cozy. We always worry about power during these snow storms and this one seems particularly rough.

KAWS ~ who? what?

 The best part of yesterday was lunch with Bev at the first floor cafe as I am not exactly a fan of KAWS (not his real name) who is a graffiti artist and a big deal with teen agers. And that's OK, all the museums need new blood. SF Moma is still my favorite museum, maybe because I never worked there? There were roaming and appreciative young people but I snapped these two bottom photos when the rooms were empty. All in all, despite the "art", it was a very good day.

Potstickers in Pathetica

 The Blogmaid introduced us to Tam's many years ago and I like this restaurant because it is spacious and welcoming and the food is good. I took Ken the Car down to Pacifica yesterday to hit the bank, the post office, Walgreen's and Safeway. Easy parking with fresh ocean air about a block away. My reward for running all these tedious errands was pot stickers and won ton soup and good people watching at Tam's.

Korean drama series

 For some reason I really like Korean dramas and many are available these days. Pro Bono features a judge who is forced to become a Pro Bono lawyer and of course there is laughter, tears and lots of legal suspense. Oh, and "unlikely" romance ~ yes! On the Flix® and aka Kdrama.

we honor Husbando

 Annabelle and I sang Happy Birthday Dear Bill this morning after lighting a candle. Then we watched our embarrassing president as he addressed the European leaders in Switzerland. Dear Bill would be infuriated by this jerk who loves Putin and Hitler. Lordy...

back to 1987

 I rented 84 Charing Cross Road on Prime TV the other night because the story is a favorite of Virginia Evans, the author of The Correspondent, which I recently finished. I have a couple of friends who prefer old movies, but I like the new stuff so I don't do this very often. It is a sweet movie, tender. Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins were excellent choices here, in my opinion.

Civil Rights Day

 A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way. -Martin Luther King Jr., civil-rights leader (15 Jan 1929-1968)

belated birthday celebration

 The Blogmaid wanted to see the Manet and Morisot exhibit out at the Legion for her 17-day-late bday commemoration so off we went to join a few thousand other people yesterday. But first a yummy lunch down at MY cafe and some good catch-up conversation. So nice of her to drive ~ a lovely day all around and a warm memory glow this morning.

Punjab? Pho?

 I've walked by this restaurant up on 24th Street a million times but yesterday the pho sign beckoned me. Punjab is large and eclectic with Chinese, Vietnamese and no Indian food, to my knowledge. The pho was hearty and reasonably priced and the service everso nice. Punjab has been in my nabe forever and I'm glad I belatedly discovered it yesterday on my walk. I will return.

almost hooked

 I watched one episode of Seven Dials last night and found it just pretty good. Helena Bonham Carter (not pictured) has never looked better, in my opinion. I will try again tonight. Beats watching ICE goons.

from the howl where we begin

Conversation

Amanda Gorman

@TheAmandaGorman

For Renee Nicole Good Killed by I.C.E. on January 7, 2026 by Amanda Gorman They say she is no more, That there her absence roars, Blood-blown like a rose. Iced wheels flinched & froze. Now, bare riot of candles, Dark fury of flowers, Pure howling of hymns. If for us she arose, Somewhere, in the pitched deep of our grief, Crouches our power, The howl where we begin, Straining upon the edge of the crooked crater Of the worst of what we’ve been. Change is only possible, & all the greater, When the labour & bitter anger of our neighbors Is moved by the love  & better angels of our nature. What they call death & void, We know is breath & voice;  In the end, gorgeously,  Endures our enormity.  You could believe departed to be the dawn When the blank night has so long stood. But our bright-fled angels will never be fully gone, When they forever are so fiercely Good.

morning productivity issue

 Some mornings my constant companion does not want me to use my MsBook Air, as you can see in the bottom photo. Then she relents reluctantly, top photo. We work things out, bur Annabelle rules.

ah, the irony

 The orange demented monster is hell bent on protecting the people who protest in Iran. Meanwhile the protesters in his own country are considered commie antifa scum. Sorrow. Anger. 

another WIN

 Meredith, Nicole and Heidi joined Annabelle and me to watch Nikki Glaser successfully host another Golden Globes last night. Pizza and salad and a few good laughs. And this was after the 49ers beat the Eagles. A lot to celebrate yesterday.

Ice Out!

 Several friends were down here at Ocean Beach yesterday to protest the killing of Renee Nicole Good last week in Minneapolis. California has a new law keeping the poorly trained secret federal agents from wearing face masks so maybe that will help. What a week it has been. More protests, soon, or so I hope.

drying out and rejoicing

 As of January 8, 2026, measurements showed virtually no dryness remaining, marking an "exceptionally wet period" that has filled the state's reservoirs to a healthy level. This news is the culmination of several years of strong rainfall.

The Golden State was first declared drought-free in years in 2023 after a winter deluge of storms and atmospheric rivers soaked the state in November and improved forecasts for 2025.

We have not had a similar scenario where there was not a single dry patch on that map for California since December 2000.

This means if you're younger than 25, you've always been living in a world where California is either entering or recovering from drought.

Current systemwide reservoir capacity sees seven of 12 major state-owned reservoirs at 75% or higher capacity.

let the impeachments begin

 This loathsome lying Kristi Noem gives women a bad name. She and her cutie pie outfits need to be out of work NOW. So embarrassing.

out of the blue (and red)

 This very cool journal was on my front porch yesterday afternoon. An unexpected Happy New Year's gift from Jesse, a man I met back in 2018 in grief group. We were a small group of cryers who bonded over our losses. We helped each other immensely and several of us stay in touch. Covid made meet-ups impossible, but still, friendships emerged. That's Bernal Hill on the front cover. So very nice.

North of North

 Thanks to Terri for recommending North of North to binge watch during these dreary January days and nights. Just what I need currently. A young Inuk mother hopes to reinvent herself in the small arctic town where everyone knows everyone's business. From the Canadian Broadcasting Company on Netflix.

five years ago

 Thugs. We were glued to our televisions that day. Jan. 6th. So much for law and order. And now here we are threatening the entire world order. God help us all...

goodbye 2025

 After leaving all the paperwork on the dining room table for two clutter-filled days I finally attacked it yesterday afternoon and it is now filed away and I am ready for Turbo Tax in a few weeks. The rain continues, but we soldier on...

for Sister Jane

 

Debt Ritual: Oysters

buy the oysters anywayeach night you spendin the city and not homein an apartment alonecosts upwards of fifty dollarsand for what it’s worthoysters are mostly labora man at a countercrushed ice this skillnot out of place in a Whitmanpoem what you wantin an oyster is immediacybrine of a small oceanand the time to occupythe texture and materialof this one moment of yourlife the brightness in the darkred leather banquettes ginand lemon silk suedeand weather the refractionsin the water it isn’t right exactlyto want what money has
~ Katie Naughton

lazy (but pretty) mornings

This was sunrise yesterday ~ purple haze. Sun reflecting off our skyscrapers. Rain then sun then more rain. One of my exercise gurus on Instagram warns me that sitting is the new smoking. And so I push myself out of the comfy chair and turn off the fireplace, displacing and displeasing Annabelle.
 

black eyed peas and...

 ...collard greens = good luck and prosperity in the New Year. An African tradition practiced by many including my neighbors and friends, Heidi and Rob. Their cat Ozzie joined us for dinner last night. Many friends and relatives reached out yesterday and we are all determined to have a better 2026. So many problems and sorrow, many stemming from the orange guy in Mar-a-lago.

and now it is 2026

 This seems like a very good year to continue to fight to save our Democracy, and so we shall. Happy New Year to one and all.  January already seems busy to me ~ off we go!