coffee in the Grove

 Check out the wisteria in the bottom photo! Yesterday Pat Snyder and I discussed EVERYTHING and more in her beautiful Grove with totally perfect Spring weather. Today we protest in No Kings but yesterday was peaceful and necessary for my soul.

cats, coffee and baseball

 The top photo is of a very young kitten found by a neighbor (long story, only interesting to cat lovers) and my next door neighbor Cristina (seen here cuddling my girl, Annabelle) jumped in to save the day. Check out these $8 lattes that Terri and I sipped at Hedge, a relatively new spot that is getting lots of publicity. A bit too "I'm in the tech world and super cool" for the likes of me, but it was good to catch-up with Terri and prepare for the baseball game last night. Opening Day. Argh. Giants lost to the Yankees. At least the rest of the world saw our beautiful city and fine weather.

What is BIGFACE?

 Yesterday I met Terri for a latte ($9 and delicious!) at Jimmy Butler's pop-up coffee shop at Valencia and 22nd Street. We have no idea why it is called BIGFACE, but it is a fun and friendly place. Jimmy plays for the Warriors and is currently on crutches but fans keep coming in to soak up the atmosphere. The best part for me, of course, was catching up with Terri and I enjoyed my nice long walk in the lovely sunshine.

just take a break

 I spent yesterday afternoon taking care of tedious errands over on busy Mission Street and so I decided to stop for a decaf latte. This is a sort of seedy (not to be judgmental) coffee shop but these flowers grow wild on their back patio and I needed to center myself, as we used to say in yoga. We are deep into  Fogust but the afternoons are usually sunny and delightful. Usually.

good morning, Berkeley

 Lovely yesterday morning at the huge and comfy Caffe Strada (College and Bancroft) in Berkeley where I met Chef Sarah for coffee and chatter. I always forget how much I love this vibrant city with the beautiful old homes and amazing diversity of students and residents. It was an easy drive to/fro for me too. 

my easy Thursday

 Yesterday my goal was to fill the bird feeders at Doug and Barb's and having accomplished that colorful task in their lovely garden, I went to Target for some smart shopping and a latte with a cute cookie. Yes, I love Target.

another latte spot

Here is the view from Limoncello on Sutter Street. Red and green Italian flag. A perfect place to read my New Yorker and appreciate San Francisco as I walk the streets and wait for the sun to come out some day soon. Maybe.

 

simple pleasures

 The neighborhood cafe filled with people on a Saturday. A January New Yorker magazine. One delicious latte served just the way it should be. All this after a brisk walk in the sunshine. I have so much to be thankful for and yes, I am. 

my slow return to normal

 A walk and latte at one of my favorite spots on Van Ness across from the Post Office. The adrenaline is not pumping quite as fast now and I am sleeping better. So much excitement (and all good!) with the new sister and the visit and party and whoosh. 

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. 

back to normal (somewhat)

 The simple pleasure of sitting INSIDE a coffee shop reading the New Yorker and enjoying my latte. I said during the pandemic that I would never take this for granted again. I won't. This reward after a good neighborhood walk is such a treat.

perilous times

 I hadn't been inside Cafe La Boheme (aka Cafe Sticky) since before the pandemic, but yesterday I wanted a baklava with my latte. The owner asked me for my Vax card and ID and I thanked him because I have no desire to be indoors with the unvaccinated. The poor guy said he was exhausted from fighting with people who didn't agree with this sensible rule. Here, in San Francisco? I have given our citizens too much credit, it seems. Grrrrrrrr.

sun, book, coffee

 You can barely see the old man at his little table on the sidewalk outside one of my favorite coffee shops on South Van Ness, near the big post office. I sit across from him reading my New Yorker and drinking my latte. I sense his contentment as I appreciate my solitude and my life. 

simple pleasures

 Walking before the rain and being able to sit outside with my latte at this friendly coffee shop on Valencia Street. I took all of this for granted a year ago ~ human nature. 

another new toy

Yesterday Amazon delivered this electronic wonder, the iTeknic milk
frother. Guess who has been missing her afternoon latte? And I plan
to branch out a bit with tea and chai lattes. My kitchen counter is
spacious, thankfully, but getting more interesting lately.

1000 words

I was meeting Patrice here at my favorite coffee shop (well, one of
them) and I snapped this photo to send her. WOW, I thought ~ this
is so pretty with the pink and green and all. CafeSeventy8 is one
of my happy hangouts with lots of outdoor seating...29th and Tiffany,
right across from my Harvest cannabis store.

once is enough

The BART bus bridge

Bart is repairing tracks on the weekend so we all piled out at the West
Oakland Station and took buses to the 19th Street Station and that was
a drag, even though I was prepared for it. "How well organized," I thought
at first, trying to stay positive. "How icky and crowded and awful," I
came to realize vowing never to try this again. It added about 30 to 45
minutes to the usual smooth trip.

But once I got to Walnut Creek, Carlini took me for a delicious Bento Box
Japanese lunch and then we walked to this delightful coffee shop with all
these lovely sayings about KINDNESS. The name of the coffee place is
Bondadoso which means kindness, as you might have guessed. So I was
feeling mellow for my trip home until the young man in the bus bonked
me 13 times with his back pack. Grrrrrrr.

back to the past

The Coffee Cantata

Yesterday after studying the stars (how timely that two just collided a
million light years or so ago) I walked down to Haight Street and enjoyed
a delicious latte at Coffee Cantata. I'm pretty sure that this was the first
real coffee house in SF back in the days of free love, hippies and pot.
Today the Haight Ashbury is filled with tourists and druggies and very
expensive homes on the neighboring streets. The stores do a brisk
business selling beads, fringe clothing, boots and Frisco merchandise.

civic center calls

A new coffee spot (for me) down by City Hall. It's part of the Public
Utilities Department and it's named ACRE and yesterday I met my
friend Pamela there at Polk and Golden Gate. Good latte and even
better conversation - spacious and quiet, my kind of place.

Joe, Heath and Coffee

the ceramics

Blue Bottle

My museum friend Joe is off to Morocco, so he suggested we have coffee
here on 18th Street to say goodbye. The highly successful Blue Bottle
Coffee place is located right inside Heath Ceramics, a store I love immensely.
So, after my SPCA shift I walked down here and we had a delighful
time catching up on just about everything. Joe lives in Hayes Valley, but
he is enthralled with MY nabe and points out so many things that I take
for granted on a daily basis. Joe is an artist, so it all makes sense.