did you say Spring?

 Hmmmm, no, Spring Forward into more grey skies and rain, I'm sorry to report. But now I can stay up until a "decent" hour and not get up at 5am, or so we hope. 

amongst the canisters

 I fell in love with the Aura Digital Frame when I was at Ginger Two's home in Santa Barbara. During the great rains last week I decided to treat myself to one from (of course) Amazon and this very morning, in less than an hour, I set it up. I can hear your applause. Maybe this will encourage me to spend more time chopping and cooking, but so far all I do is stand, stare and smile. 

rain, tea and TAR

 Cate Blanchett is fabulous as the very talented and driven orchestra conductor in TAR. Annabelle and I spent the afternoon in front of the TV while the storm pounded our poor Bay Area. We are safe and warm and hoping to dry out a bit now.

so much progress...

 ...so far to go. Yesterday we celebrated International Women's Day and one of my friends asked if men get the other 364 days. When I was growing up there were no women doctors, bus drivers, senators ~ only teachers, mothers, librarians and secretaries. So yes, we have come a long way. More!

Tuesday, in the Park

 These two young beauties had set up a photo shoot at the tulip garden in Golden Gate Park yesterday and I asked if I could take their picture ~ how fun is that? Ginger and I admired the tulips and then had a good walk and enjoyed our coffee at Stow Lake where these geese were looking for a handout. Blue sky!

don't be too doormatty

 Hmmmm, a fuzzy picture this morning, but no matter, I am enjoying Miss Buncle's Book for next week's book club meeting. It was written in 1934, and is a period piece about a small village and the small minded people who live there. The best-selling Scottish author, D.E. Stevenson, published more than 40 "light romantic novels" and today's subject line amused me when two women friends are having one of those deep discussions about love and marriage. 

Robin and Cormoran

 I already know this one-legged private detective and his assistant from the books by J.K. Rowling and this series on HBO is a total delight with an impressive cast and wonderful scenes of London. Yes, I am hooked and VERY happy with C.B. Strike.

tulips and theater

 It was packed downtown yesterday because there was a tulip give-away in Union Square. The bottom photo is in the BART station on my way home. Happy people who stood in line for a long time for their tulips. Not me. I did treat myself to The Headlands at ACT and enjoyed every minute of this play by a local playwright, Christopher Chen. A mystery and a good one. A very pleasant Saturday indeed.

when a storm hits the ship

 One review said "hilarious" and that is not true for me, but I am still thinking about Triangle of Sadness on HBO and yes, I am very glad that I watched it. Three very distinct acts and the final one was outstanding. Not enough Woody Harrelson, in my opinion, but he sure played the drunk captain realistically. I need to read more reviews about the ending, but I don't mind just living in this state of "Now what?" for a little while longer. (Hint: fast forward during messy 2nd act.)

what dog fennel?

 Dogpatch is a very cool, artistic SF neighborhood named after the dog fennel that grew there. Now what? Yesterday's lunch at Piccino was terrific ~ delicious pasta with all the extras. Doug and Barb are home from some travels and getting ready for some more, so I was able to book them for a couple of hours and we are now all up-to-date. Plus, sunshine!

Sargent and Spain

 Not very good photos here of this terrific exhibit out at the Legion of Honor. I picked Howard (who lives in Berkeley) up at BART and I drove us out to the end of San Francisco and introduced him to this fine old museum where I used to work. It was a beautiful sunny and clear day to see these oils and watercolors by John Singer Sargent who captured the beauty of Spain so impressively. On view through May 14 ~ go!

no rain today!

 Annabelle will be disappointed that I'm getting out and about today because there is already blue sky. The grey square above my kitty's neck is the dining room window highlighting yesterday's very grey sky. Ginger and I came back here to sit in front of the fire and listen to Creedence Clearwater oldies provided by my close friend Alexa. "Have You Ever Seen The Rain?" Oh, yes. And here's "A Bad Moon Rising."

guest brings dinner

 Nicole (from up the street) is one of my friends who likes to cook and considers it "therapy". I was not so blessed, but I do like to set the table. She brought chicken, risotto and broccolini (?) and all delicious. I did provide tea and Oreos and fireplace for our neighborly evening. We discussed many things, apu.

from Michael Moore to President Carter

 Yes, Michael Moore can be a royal pain in the ass, but I still get his emails and here is an excerpt from his latest LONG letter thanking President Carter who asked Michael to call him Jimmy and he never could until now. Jimmy Carter is a very fine man.

...I know that you’ve lovingly decided to spend your final days with your family. So I haven’t called or emailed or texted. If your family wants to read this to you because it’ll bring a smile, then great. But mostly I wanted to give the public a chance to join with me and thank you for what you have done for humanity and for this planet. Please take all this gratitude with you. Please know that you mattered to all of us, you made a huge difference, you fought for those who had the least, and for those deemed to be the last you did your best to make them first. 

Jimmy, we love you. 

that French feeling

 It's been years (decades!) since I've been to Le Central on Bush Street. Yesterday the most wonderful Dancing Jen treated me to a lavish lunch featuring escargot and one of the BEST burgers I have ever had. They actually honored the rare request, which is (ahem) rare these days. I loved the food and ambience, but of course our catch-up conversation was just what I needed. Merci, mon ami. (or like that)

finally ~ fireplace relief

 What a long, cold winter. I can't tell you how much we missed our fake gas fireplace that broke way back when. But now, hooray ~ with a lot of patience and $$$$ the new one was installed yesterday. Then, after the rain and wind, I went walking in the nabe and the air was beyond clean and clear. All in all, an almost perfect Friday. Today? I head downtown for lunch. Life is good, and that is an understatement.

for our March book club

 Another fun little piece of fiction, this one by D. E. Stevenson and not available on audio so I am reading Miss Buncle's Book and enjoying it. God knows we all need a bit of fluff in our lives. 

book talk at the Bottega

 I hosted the book club yesterday at the Bottega on Valencia Street so I could walk to/fro and I think the food there is excellent. We all enjoyed MY book, Miss Benson's Beetle and agreed that it was really an exciting and positive fictional account of a deep friendship between two disparate women. 

ferocious winds

 The ocean was roiling yesterday and it was impossibly windy, so Ginger and I stayed in the car and looked out at nature yesterday. The tulips are blooming in Golden Gate Park, but honestly it was too scary to park under any trees and we could barely open the car doors. So we had coffee and a snack inside the car and talked about everything and nothing. Brrrrrrrr. That spec in the photo is a guy on a surf board thing and his kite. I hope he is still alive today.

Damn, I can't see or hear you...