a good walk, then tea

 Heidi and I met for tea at Gini's yesterday. First I walked to/fro on Sacramento Street which is nice and flat (no hills) and features expensive stores and restaurants.  Their tree is beautiful and the tea was most welcome. I love their ancestor wall ~ always very interesting with a new baby addition this year.

it's brisk in Frisco

 I bundled up for a walk in the nabe yesterday afternoon. Cold, clean air. Lovely. Handy Jan worked for a while on some home projects ~ how lucky I am to have her in my life. Nothing too big or too small to ask of her. And today Doug and Barb will deliver folding chairs for the event next week, aka Thanksgiving. Our reward will be lunch and I already know that this will be another fine day.

Treat Street

 In the middle photo you can see me admiring the big white cat garage door art yesterday. Jen and her two dogs snapped this one and I took the other two. So beautiful. This kind of street art is something I did not see while driving around neighborhoods in Chicago. But maybe I just missed it? It's always such a happy surprise when artists share their work with us in the big, bold fashion.

Sunset Dunes

 We have a new park in this city of parks. Controversial, but everything here is always a battle and people who live down here do not like giving up their Great Highway and the car is still king. But hey, we have another park and it is really glorious despite the fog. There were a ton of people walking, biking, skating and just enjoying nature yesterday and I had a good walk too. So much space and all flat, clean bathrooms too and this park will just get better and better. Sunset Dunes was created for coastal conservation and sand dune restoration. I vote "yes" and I enjoyed my invigorating walk yesterday. San Francisco has 220 parks, every resident lives within a ten minute walk to a park. Amazing, really.

I got a feeling...

 Yesterday on my neighborhood walk I passed by this cheery scene outside a NOT fancy little residence and I just knew in my heart that I would like the person(s) who created this lovely, colorful front "yard". I bet you would like them too.

a walk in the nabe

 Greetings from this sparkler who was lounging in Bernal Heights on my walk with Jen and the two dogs yesterday. The sun was out after the rain and everything was clean and bright. In the morning I took a Zoom Tai Chi class which is a bit slow but probably good for me and I read the final New Yorker magazine of 2024, so all in all, a very fine Friday. More sun today ~ yay!

another new mural

 Yesterday I enjoyed a good long neighborhood walk to meet Terri for coffee up on Valencia Street. I needed that (the walk and the conversation) on a fine SF day. Getting back in the groove.

life resumes

 Yesterday Mayor Breed conceded and that was no fun. New Mayor Lurie has gobs of Levi® money but he will be okay, I hope. I took myself on a solo adventure to a brand new city park out at India Basin. Lovely. This was a black neighborhood and during WWII the ship building industry took over. These days there is a lot of new housing ~ block after block of condos and tall apartment buildings. And always, of course, our beautiful Bay.

flirty love bug

We all need some whimsy these days. Isn't this car with long eyelashes a delight? I spotted her on my walk the other afternoon. Very cool.

art in the neighborhood

 Jen with two dogs (bottom photo) and I happened upon an Open Studio yesterday on our walk between rain drops. Some whimsical work and the beautiful barber shop oil in the middle. This all in an art studio space that we never even knew existed. Dogs? Well behaved, phew.

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. 

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. 

13,146 steps

 It's been too long since I enjoyed (right word?) a really long walk, so yesterday I took off for Cortland Street and breakfast. Lots of hills, of course, and I was able to photograph the Bernal Heights rock which currently celebrates Ukraine. The huge stop sign on Cortland is on an apartment building and necessary the way some drivers zoom through our streets. A good day. 

almost too beautiful

 Yesterday Ginger and I had our walk and coffee down at Sutro Park on the edge of the world. We could see forever and the weather was perfect ~ not too hot, no wind. Delightful.

a sign in my neighborhood

 Walking, thinking, taking a photo here and there. Inspired.

blue skies, clean air

 Yesterday Ginger and I walked along the Marina Green and admired the odd fog "spray" at the bridge. We then had our coffee and sweet inside Fort Mason (top photo) where we snagged a picnic table in the sun. Slowly life is returning to our city. The day was topped off by a fine state of the union speech from President Biden last night. The Ukraine has brought America some togetherness, or so we hope.

powered by Los Gigantes

 It was not easy getting a photo of this huge billboard at 26th Street and Mission yesterday, what with the traffic and all. I think it was paid for by our valiant baseball team because orange and black are their colors and behind the white truck it reads, "powered by Los Gigantes". You can tell that I had a fine nabe walk, however, especially since Karl the fog finally burned off. Finally.

urban heaven

 During the Great Pandemic of 2020, I vowed never to take this simple pleasure for granted. A good walk with a latte reward, sitting outside in the sun reading The New Yorker and watching the world go by. Now I overtip to thank the essential workers for returning to take care of us. Very happy...

Saturday in photos (walk, latte, zoom)

 

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.