a poem for yesterday

...and today, and tomorrow.

Prayer

We bury our dead too quickly
In graves too new for tombstones,

Scooping dirt onto them
With shovels turned upside down

To show our world turned upside down.
We hurry them into the earth,

Keeping the casket closed,
As if we were too busy praying

And had no more to say to them.

David Caplan

In the World He Created According to His Will
The University of Georgia Press

goldbugs

This is an update on my new iPhone which is almost a month
old now. I'm gradually getting used to it and already it is
worth $150 because one night I sent a text to my friend
Linda and I closed with "goodnight." My fat, slow finger(s)
typed "goldbugs" and she was confused. Imagine.

What do I love most about this wee computer? I love being
in touch with everyone throughout the day. I can read
emails and send texts and every once in awhile I use the
very easy phone feature. By now you know that I dislike
the phone intensely, so texts and emails are my lifeline.
My youngest stepson was in hospital recently and we
could text throughout the day and I didn't worry about him.

I have so much to learn and one day I'll actually download
an app. But no rush, I'm happy with the basics.

it makes you wonder

This is not the happiest movie ever made. but it was excellent.
I'm a huge fan of Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams is quite
wonderful too. We've all seen love turn to hate in relationships
and it is fascinating to see a close-up here. Blue Valentine is
worth seeing, but I'm ready for a comedy now.

saved by a rookie

Or I could title this, "why I still love baseball." We were just
about to turn off the lackluster game last night when the
bases miraculously filled with no-can-hit Giants and the
new kid, Brandon Crawford, came to bat. "Not another
double play, please," Husbando and I muttered to each
other. and then WTF? He hits the Grand Salami ~ his
first game as a Major Leaguer. And here we're all depressed
because our star Buster Posey busted his leg and is out for
the season. Giants win, 5 to 4. Amazing and satisfying.
Welcome to our strange team, kid, have fun!

53 acres of California art

Surprising sculptures, including "I've been saved!"

Natural beauty too...

Little house of wine bottles

My all-time favorite artist, Joan Brown

A delightful Bischoff

Roy De Forest

Peacocks ~ gorgeous, loud, pushy and numerous

Resting on the front lawn

Inside the home

Everywhere ~ art!

We know Al Farrow from the deYoung ~
chapels and synagogues from bullets

Nine miles north to Yountville for lunch

Croque Madame for this madam

Lamb sausage sandwich and no, we
didn't finish the fries. Honest.

Rene di Rosa was a winemaker who collected art. Lots and lots
of unbelievable treasures. We have been to di Rosa before too,
but it's impossible to appreciate and retain all that is here, so
one needs to return every few years because it is just such a
magnificent experience. You have to take a tour, but it's nice
and casual and we were able to wander around on our own
most of the time. Mr. di Rosa died a few months ago, but the
Preserve will continue and if you haven't been, go!

have camera ~ will travel

Today we are heading up to Napa to the di Rosa gallery. I will have
a lot for tomorrow's show and tell session. Husbando, Ginger
and myself (with trusty Ken, the Toyota) along with some
sunshine and laughter. Lunch will be fancy and special, you
can count on that too.

And then, soon, you can ask me about Picasso. The de Young
is preparing for the installation and one can sense the excitement.
Another opening, another show...

we all need a little magic

Last night we watched The Illusionist, a beautifully drawn animated
film by the folks who gave us The Triplets of Belleville. This is the
story of an aging magician who keeps losing gigs to British pop
stars. He winds up in Edinburgh, Scotland with a young woman
and I won't spoil this for you, but it is so sweet and tender that you
will want to know the true story behind the movie either before
or after you watch it. Truly lovely...

joy and sorrow in the East Bay

Warm and wonderful

In the back garden!

View from the front deck

Yesterday I joined some friends at a charming home in the Berkeley
hills for a nice long and loving lunch for a dear woman who is
moving away. One of the worst things about residing in SF is that
it is impossible to live here ~ expensive, crowded, difficult. I
have lost so many friends to more welcoming locations. I should
get used to it, but I don't. I grieve when people leave, although it
is easier now that we have Facebook, blogs, cell phones. And yet..

You would love this cottage in the hills. Books and bookshelves,
a room just for a piano, all wooden walls, hundreds of photos
and beautiful artwork, fireplace (of course) and that feeling of
a lot of love and creativity everywhere. A memorable day with
Kleenex® and delicious food, too.

some say "beguiling"

Today I begin The Imperfectionists, a novel that's been
reviewed positively by friends and professional reviewers.
Tom Rachman is the first time author and it's all about
a small newspaper in Rome and the characters who
live and work there. I promise to review it when I
finish, or at least suggest that you might want to read
it (or not). I have the actual paperback book, not on
my beloved Lindakindle®,

fifteen years

It all seems to be colliding, this time business. This morning's
prompt was 15 Years, so I dug out my calendar to see what
in the Hell was going on back then. I have 30 years of my
work/play calendars and I seldom look at them, but today
1996 is invaluable.

• we were going to the Symphony then and I would doze
• dinner at Le Trou with Vera and Curt ~ he died several years ago
  
• g.dot Lindsay born
• working at B&N Colma (one of the worst in my retail career)
• first year anniversary for Lee and Kristin
• saw "The Matchmaker" at ACT ~ no memory of that play
• lots of games at Candlestick and the Giants did not win often

Yes, I won't do anything rash and I agree that old letters
and emails need to be saved. It just seems more complicated
in the electronic age. Or maybe that's just me. Sign me,
Conflicted.

blog comments rule!

It's so funny, I was actually thinking of dumping all of this stuff
on the old msBook G4 into the OWC storage unit. I was going
to ask Andrew if I need to do anything special to do that. I
have transferred some things (I think), but how about just
doing a one-fell-swoop back-up?

Then I read Karen's comment about the hard drive being
just more stuff taking over my life and I agree. How often
do I look up my old writing? Old emails? I thought that when
Michael died I'd be re-reading his emails, but that happens
rarely. Photos, yes, I do check those out on occasion.

I've written a lot about the time we had the garage sale
and sold all of our "valuables" for cold, hard cash. What
a relief that was! Since then we give frequently to Goodwill
and the Salvation Army and shred papers ferociously.
Living in the moment, a nice goal.

Hmmmmmm, much to ponder today while I practice
my customer service skills at the Legion of Honor.
Thanks, Karen and isn't it time for a SF visit?

other world computing

At the risk of turning this into a tech blog, here is the
back-up storage unit that I referred to yesterday. It's
so easy because I am reminded online somehow that
it's been 10 or 20 days since I last backed up. But
I don't think I'll need to use it because Andrew at the
Total Mac on Geary thinks msBook has a battery problem.
Still, nice to know I have everything in this small box,
just in case.

computers and facebook

This is a belated review of The Social Network which we
watched several weeks ago. I was somewhat disappointed,
but Jesse Eisenberg was terrific as Mark Zuckerberg. I read
a great article about this genius in the New Yorker and
admire him greatly. Who wouldn't? (Except those good
looking twins, of course.) Oh, I enjoyed seeing Harvard too.
I guess I wanted more character study in the movie. For
instance Mark walks in Golden Gate Park often and I've
probably seen him. Who knew?

Back to me. My laptop msMac is dead and I have to take
her in this afternoon. I'm using the s-l-o-w and reliable
msBook G4 and am happy to have her here. Lots of
memories on this old puter. And I want to pat myself on
the back as I have updated on the OWC Mercury Elite-
AL Pro every 20 days without fail. Atta girl!

the grieving process

Last night we went to the SF Playhouse to see Reborning, a
play about a young woman who creates baby dolls, specifically
to help those who have lost children. I know it sounds ghoulish,
but it really wasn't. She herself was abandoned at birth and
all of these threads are woven together skillfully in a fabulous
75 minute play with 3 exceedingly talented actors. The
playwright is Zayd Dohrn and this is the world premiere.
Oh, yes, I recommend it!

back to the jcm

The Jewish Contemporary Museum ~ Mission St. side

Yesterday Ginger and I "did" the JCM between lattes and lunch.
First to see Charlotte Salomon again and then upstairs for the
fabulous Gertrude (and Alice!) Stein exhibit. Lots of photos and
notes and artwork. I felt like I knew these women in a new and
more intimate way than I ever had before. Highly recommended!

speaking of street art

Of all places, we found this large mural in North Beach yesterday
while we were walking around and enjoying this colorful slice
of San Francisco. Because of the film the night before, we
appreciated the artwork more than we normally would have.

It was an almost-rainy day, then bright sunshine, so it made
for some fine walking. Our lunch at Capp's Corner wasn't
memorable, except to say "it's still here!" and to sort through
the many times in the past that we had eaten there.

We avoided most Bay to Breakers which was why I had
asked for this day off in the first place. And yes, we found
a pretty good parking spot. Amazing.

street art and artists

Of course in my nabe we call it graffiti. This is a fine film about
the strange underworld, mostly nighttime, lives of street artists.
Mr. Brainwash draws 4,000 to his opening in L.A. while
Bansky the stencil artist creates masterpieces in London.
We sell this DVD at our own museum stores and I use this
line when customers try to enter the exhibit the wrong way.
"No, you EXIT through the gift shop." I do recommend
this film and Hbo liked it a lot too.

old and rare treasures

The Magna Carta ~ 1215

Roman Mosaic tile floor - 300 AD

Don't miss these wonders out at the Legion of Honor. I spent
my lunch hour yesterday playing visitor and I especially want
to encourage you to see the floor that is large and almost perfect.
It was excavated in Lod, Israel in 1996. Delightful animals,
fish and Roman merchant ships ~ enchanting, truly.

just a quick post

What's fair? Not much in life, as we can see from this photo.

I'll be brief tonight because Jon Stewart is on now (well, the rerun),
but I do want to let you know that we had a great time at the
baseball game yesterday and it was a WIN. Beautiful sunshine,
great and cheap seats, Chicago hot dogs and garlic fries.

no flapping angel wings

I was not much interested in watching Hereafter because I
can't say that I believe in Heaven and I usually avoid movies
that promote the concept. But this film is better than OK,
it's actually quite good. Directed by Clint Eastwood, I
liked the pace of the movie and the visuals of SF, London
and Paris. Matt Damon and Cecile De France are excellent.
Half of one Kleenex®.