prep work

 I introduced Heidi to Robert's Corned Beef yesterday and she was, of course, impressed. Annabelle needs no introduction to table hopping, but she is locked out today. Thankfully it is cooler as I bustle about checking off To Do''s and worrying about silly details. 

belated, but that's ok

 I'm "doing" St. Pat's dinner here on Sunday. It is still hot and there is NO air conditioning in my tiny oven-like home. Getting lots of help, thankfully. Today Heidi and I buy the corned beef at Robert's. And bring up the extra table and sit in between. More later...

no longer silent

 Dolores Huerta (age 96) is finally able to talk about the ex-hero Cesar Chavez. This whole thing is sickening and now we scramble to change names (I'm guessing) on quite a few streets and buildings here in California where he led the Farmworkers Union back in the 70's. For shame, Cesar.

late lunch by the Bay

 Scott, Nancy and I went out to Mission Rock yesterday for a late lunch and some cool ocean breezes. The heat wave continues through Friday, or so they say. So nice to have family here for a few days and they were not missing the Chicago weather. 

BBQ weather here

 Doug and Barb invited me to their deck last night and the city was starting to cool down, thankfully. We are having an unusual heat spell this week. I tried a new fake beer and decided that O'Doul's is still the best. Their garden is a gorgeous jungle, the food was delicious and we chatted away until dark when I left to return to my hot house and hungry cat. (You can almost see Fred the squirrel in the garden photo.)

Oscar fun with pizza

 Like clockwork. Nicole, Meredith and Heidi joined me for the smooth, no-surprises Awards ceremony last night and we had a good time discussing the actors and what they were wearing. Conan does a fine job hosting, as did I.  The dishes were done and I was in bed by 9pm. Applause, please.

thank you and RIP

  I was sorry to see that Mark Bittner died on March 1. He cared for and wrote about the wild parrots here in San Francisco and his book (2005) and documentary were best sellers. The beautiful (and noisy and messy) wild parrots have proliferated in the City and we love them because they are another colorful part of the craziness that we celebrate here. Thank you, Mark.

and yes, more flowers

 The top photo is from yesterday's neighborhood walk and the bottom two are from my very own garden. I have no idea what these flowers are but they have NEVER bloomed like this. The gift of rain and now gorgeous sunshine.

more food, more family

 Last night we met Samantha and Luke at Daejo, the Korean restaurant in Japantown. Yes, we ate too much and enjoyed that delightful and unusual cuisine. You can see the cheese melting all over the stew in the bottom photo.  

my sunny city

 Step daughter, Nancy, and her husband, Scott, left a cold and rainy Illinois yesterday morning and all they wanted was sun. Success. We had a good walk at Fisherman's Wharf and an early dinner at the Crab House at Pier 39. Of course it's a "tourist place" but we were impressed and happy with the food and service. I look forward to taking Sister Jane to the Crab House on her next visit. The "kids" will be here for a week but plan to visit their daughter Ceci up in Nevada City for a few days. 

street art

 Hmmmmm, a little technical glitch on Blogspot this morning. Is this scene going to show up ok?  I snapped it on a walk last week. The plant growth locally is ferocious after all the rain and if this doesn't show I will just re-work it later. 

Imperial Tea Court

 This was a lovely lunch choice in the middle of the Ferry Building. Joe, Pamela and I had a good long lunch yesterday as we ate way too much and sipped delightful black mango tea. Really a perfect spot because we could hear each other talk as we chattered happily away. 

after all these years

 We saw M. Butterfly years ago and of course it no longer shocks. We have come a long way with gender fluidity and self-identification in our culture. This play was written in 1988, and we loved it then. To see it again yesterday was quite wonderful because of the acting, costumes and beautiful staging. And also we still don't quite understand China and The East and maybe we never will? SF Playhouse deserves a ton of appreciation for putting on this lovely drama. As I recall, B.D. Wong played the Butterfly decades ago. Yesterday it was the gorgeous and very talented Edric Young who studied at Stanford University.

let us celebrate

 March 8th is International Women's Day. I will wear this pin to the theater as I try to catch up with the time change today. Nice to sleep in this morning before fixing the clocks.

back in the Grove

 Pat spoiled me yesterday with coffee and snacks in her "backyard". Such a glorious day with gentle sun and no wind. We talked and talked and I came home refreshed and ready to take on the world. Friends do that for us, don't they?

your tech report

 The Blogmaid gifted me with this wonderful Apple watch maybe three or four years ago? It is a workhorse and I wear it every day. In the dental chair the other day I was fiddling with it and man, it can do way more than I knew. (As usual with all my devices.) Recently a green light has appeared on the back and this morning I asked Co-Pilot what was going on. Her/his reply:

The green light on the back of your Apple Watch is part of its heart‑rate sensor—it uses green LEDs to measure your pulse through a method called photoplethysmography. These lights turn on automatically whenever your watch is checking your heart rate, whether during workouts, background readings, or certain health features.

life in Israel now

 You already know that I hate everything about this war. Trump and Hegseth are such liars and so unconcerned about the loss of human life. I was relieved to hear from my friend Joseph Zitt who now lives in Israel He is a great writer and a very special human being.

Sunday, March 1, 12:11 AM

Update: I'm back upstairs in my apartment after yet another alarm, some sixteen hours later. We've had about twenty. I lost count when, somewhere around number seventeen, we had several in such close succession that I wasn't sure whether to count them as one or more.

The next to last one had the biggest booms that I've heard during the wars so far. A building in Tel Aviv took a direct hit. Media are showing an utterly destroyed building burning. Of course, they aren't saying exactly where it was.

I headed down the stairs to the shelter from my third-floor apartment the first few times, until my knees informed me that they weren't in a mood to do that again. I've been taking the elevator since then.

People in the shelters are tired, but in a generally upbeat mood. We've all been through this before, enough times that we can get down there quickly.

The shelter also serves the neighborhood. There are several new dogs coming in with their families. Each growls when others enter. One young girl repeatedly swings a sort of mermaid Barbie doll around by its hair, lets it fly in an unpredictable direction, then crawls across the floor to retrieve it. Her brother slithers between the legs of chairs as if going through a tunnel.

We've been ordered to stay in the shelters each time until we hear the All Clear announcements. Those rarely happen. People gradually wander out. Most, but not all, of the time, we have time to get back to our apartments before the next alarm sounds.

It's just past midnight now. I hope to get some sleep tonight, but I'll be ready to head downstairs again if needed.

—

Monday, March 2, 12:01 AM

The sirens continue, just about once every two hours, between 8 PM and 2 PM. Residents and neighbors tromp down to the shelter each time. While, in theory, anyone can sit anywhere, people keep landing in the same seats. I choose a white chair directly across from the entrance.

At around 11 PM, I hear the biggest booms ever. Later, I hear that an apartment block in Tel Aviv was hit.

one lovely movie

 Sentimental Value was on my Oscar must-see list and yesterday I rented it on Prime for a very rewarding afternoon with popcorn and complete absorption. I do recommend this film featuring Stellan Skarsgard and Renate Rinse ~ it's in Norwegian, Swedish and English, but with subtitles it is easy to follow. I loved the story line and and sister dynamics. Sweet.

out! at night!

 I met John and Mary (of Ashland fame) down on The Embarcadero for a lively presentation at The Commonwealth Club featuring Dan Hoyle, a local performer and story teller. Then dinner at Perry's and lots of good catch-up conversation. They took the ferry to/fro Oakland and we admired the Bay Bridge which is being re-lit this month. So beautiful! One forgets how nice it is to be out after dark...

and some grand noodles

 Samantha and Harlow dropped by yesterday afternoon and she taught me how to make Cup Noodles which are really quite tasty. Oh, she brought some of her homemade sour dough bread too and that is really excellent. Harlow was pooped after a beach run. Sam and Luke will be moving to Florida after he graduates this summer and I am trying to be a good sport and accept this. Tampa to be exact, we looked at a map ~ it is very far away. Sigh.

a grand dinner

 Granddaughter Samantha, her husband Luke and I had a fine dinner down at Precita Social last night. Luke graduates from Stanford Law School this summer and his career will be taking off. A very exciting time for these two wonderful people. Such good fortune that they landed here for three happy years.