my day in carp

Pam 

the Carpinteria beach scene

Pam drove up from Whittier and we had a delicious breakfast at Esau's on
Linden Avenue. We had a lot of catch-up to do. Then I walked and read
my book and magazines and stared into the ocean. It was not too warm,
perfect weather actually. I had dinner outside at the Nugget on Carpinteria
Avenue and thoroughly enjoyed my day of happy nostalgia. I needed this.

fog (!) this morning

I'm out on my balcony here at the Best Western ~ already on my 2nd cup
of coffee. Above you see Marsha and her two dogs (Duca and Rosa)
and they are something. Marsha drove all day and she is down at the
Motel 6 with los animales. We had a great dinner (black cod) on the
porch of Zookers Carpinteria. Off to breakfast soon with Pam, my
friend who lives in Whittier.

heading south

By now you must know that I don't care much for small towns but an
exception must be made for Carpinteria, just south of Santa Barbara.
While the rest of the world heads north to Idaho or Montana to see
the eclipse, I will spend the weekend here. I'm driving with Marsha
and her two dogs and will write you tomorrow between walks and
lattes and friend visits.

this tasty website

Our friend and fellow writer is one of the chefs featured on Simple Feast.
There she is, Sarah Scott, right in with Jacques Pepin, Deborah Madison
and other luminaries. The recipes are unusual and intriguing. At some
point there will probably be a charge for this website, so I urge you to
check it out now while it is still free.

the Tartine event

Last night we celebrated Barb's birthday and ate waaaaaaay too much
great food and had a glorious time at Tartine Manufactory. Yum and
check out the clean plate club.

mini SF travel blog

Chinatown

The Mission

Last Sunday after lunch Dancing Jen and I were walking in Chinatown and god,

I do love that place. Even with wall-to-wall tourists this is such a wonderful

foreign land. The shop windows show items that we used to sell at the museum

stores, but for about one third of the price. There are smells of fish and noodles

and spices that I can’t identify.

When I worked at Borders (Post and Powell) I would walk in Chinatown about

once a week. I like being places where people don’t speak English. I feel the

same way about my Mission District and although it is gentrifying I can still

walk for many blocks and hear only Spanish. And here one smells that distinct

sizzling beef odor, mixed with onions and garlic ~ all ready to plop into a burrito. 

On Sundays in the Mission the Latino families go out to eat. Maybe after church?

They dress, especially the little girls with their sparkle shoes and fluffy dresses.

Bows in their hair. I can feel their excitement as they go into restaurants that are

practically empty during the week. Even the smallest restaurant that I never pay

any attention to is jam packed on Sunday. Happiness abounds.

take a moment

I had lunch with Ms. Puma last week. She reminds us to stop and smell
the roses and appreciate life.

avoiding Virginia

Three Scottish detectives

Man, nothing like a group of underprivileged neo-Nazi tiki torch carrying
southern boys to cause us to sit back and say, "What is happening here?"
Yesterday was so damn depressing.

So last night we played around on Acorn TV. We watched two episodes of
Loch Ness a mystery.  Beautiful country, just like Dancing Jen said.
This is about human monsters, not the famous one in the Loch. It's a
little over the top in some spots, but I think that's the American influence.

avoid politics

An anonymous blog contributor-maid sent me these photos. Wildlife seems
sane these days. I do love when cities and towns use goat herds to clean
up all the weeds ~ so logical and no batteries needed.

My current favorite line from Facebook: ELECT A CLOWN, GET A CIRCUS.

sons of arthritis

This was my favorite tee shirt at the baseball game on Wednesday.

the blue and the orange

Half the fans yesterday were rooting for the Cubs. The family in front of
us was great: father and one daughter were Giants, the mother and two
other girls were all decked out in blue for that Chicago team. The girls
in the photo had big view-blocking signs ~ one for SF, one for Chicago.
It was a fine game and we WON. Baseball solves a whole lot of problems.

retraction (damn)

Just like Fox News I am forced to take back my optimistic pronouncement
that Ginger found a home in SF. As you all know, real estate in this city
is c-r-a-z-y and there is no such thing as a Done Deal. So our friend is
back home in Pleasanton and this is her lovely abode there. Not bad, but
not The City. She will continue to take BART and stay away from all
big ugly malls and equally unattractive strip malls.

a treat from Tehran

The Salesman is free on Amazon Prime and it is excellent. I love seeing
how others live. The two pictured above are acting in Arthur Miller's
play, but the plot really revolves around them being forced to find a new
place to live in bustling Tehran. It's a mystery and gives the viewer a
lot to think about ~ desire and revenge to name just two.

welcome home

Our dear, forever friend Ginger just purchased a condo here in this lovely
old building on Laguna Street, a few blocks south of Geary. She sold
her place in Pleasanton where she spent most of her past nine years
going to/fro the BART station and avoiding Walmart. She too loves the
city and we are so happy that she will be back where she belongs.

tony belts it out

We did finally see the Tony Bennett statue last Thursday night when
we went for the awful meal. This was unveiled for his 90th birthday
in 2016 ~ right outside the Fairmont Hotel. Bronze, 8 ft. tall.
Yes, it looks like him. I saw him up close at Borders once and
I felt a bit in awe to tell the truth. Legend.

it's all about the umbrella

my strawberry something or other

bad music floats on the swimming pool

Our friend John loves the Tonga Room ~ past memories one can only guess.
Terrible food (but expensive) and horrible music. The rainstorm was the
best part. Management at the Fairmont wants to get rid of the Tonga Room
but it was busy with tourists and locals and there is SUCH an uproar when
they suggest closing it (again) that it keeps on going with its fake Hawaiian
decor. It was good seeing our friends again but hard to talk because of
the very loud music. Not our best SF experience.

yes, it's all pressed pulp

Whole villages filled with bridges, running water (blue lights), tiny
houses, hills and vales, stores and casinos. Lots of intricate little
ladders, towns and cities to ooooh and ahhhh over. Because it's the
Exploratorium there are no "do not touch" signs anywhere and we
guessed that there is a lot of re-gluing and oh-oh fix-ups every night
after the hordes of curious children. Nice to see some of our Amazon
boxes going into art. The Exploratorium is huge with coffee shops
and a fine restaurant and not once did we see a child with her/his
iPhone or computer. Only the adults (sigh).

down on the bay

our public promenade

friends on video ~ Ginger (rt.) and Blogger (left)

If I'm not in a hurry I always love to walk on the public promenade off of
the Embarcadero. It just feels like a new place to me ~ maybe Venice or
Lisbon. So I met Ginger at the Exploratorium yesterday and we had a
great time because she is a member and we got in free. I will show you
what we saw at a later time, but think Cardboard. Yes. Cardboard.

back to Saturday, if you will

We met here to catch the #25 to Treasure Island

The Sales Force building is on Fremont Street

We check the fog and the gigantic new Sales Force (what do they DO?)
building from our back window everyday. Sometimes it is in the fog, or
over it, or half and half. A new landmark and I had no idea where it
was until Saturday when I met Joe and Carlo down at Beale and Howard.
One cannot miss it from there. It was in the fog that morning, at least
the top 40 stories. The barista said it would be opening next year and
that explained why the coffee shop was so very large and comfortable.

when writers gather

Every summer, as you readers know by now, we head to Chef Sarah's to
eat w-a-y too much and read our work and talk. Life in Napa is wonderful
and so different from city living. We always miss Jane who loved the
warm weather and even warmer friendships.