more stores like this, please

 I walked on Polk Street yesterday and discovered this most welcome sign for a little gift store. Of course I went in to show my appreciation. 

and a REAL theater too!

 Forgotten (almost) fun of being inside The Alamo, ordering a veggie burger and watching the big screen with the House of Gucci film. I met Terri for the noon show and we had time to catch-up and yes, it was delightful to watch this Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Camille Cottin (!), Jeremy Irons, Al Pacino (and more) cast of flashy characters. Plus a walk to/fro home made this a very fine Sunday. 

why do artists love books?

 Thank you to Susan B. (the Fevered Brain) for this totally delightful book that arrived as a happy surprise yesterday. The Art of Reading by Jamie Camplin and Maria Ranauro will stay right here by my fireplace to enjoy on a daily basis. It is full of beautiful artwork and well-researched information. Lovely.

Bombay in the 20's

 Ooooooh, I liked this one from the first paragraph. The Widows of Malabar Hill was recommended by Joe last Sunday and I jumped right in and yes, I have three or so books going at once. That's OK.

and home before dark

 Yesterday was a total delight with delicious food and such wonderful walking weather by the ocean. Thank you so much to the Blogmaid host and hostess and their family for including me.

Thanksgiving ~ today and yesterday

 We must and we do. I am heading down to Pumpkinville today and my, how thankful I am for this invitation. So many happy memories of this holiday ~ my favorite. Happy Thanksgiving dear friends and loyal blog readers. 

...and just like that (snap finger)

 RR, wonderful daughter of Mr. and Ms. Blogmaid, became an adult yesterday. Yes her 18th birthday and the world rejoices. Happy Birthday, dear Ryan!

mani/pedi time

 Here is my neighbor Cristina (Lynn's partner) getting Ms. Snugglebutt ready for Thanksgiving. Bill always called their home The International House of Women. Cristina was speaking Italian to my cat during this procedure and I'm pretty sure this is Annabelle's first language. All so easy and smooth.

the local Foreign Cinema

Another lovely birthday tradition and this time Joe and Pamela (of museum fame) treared me to food and gossip at Foreign Cinema, one of my favorite restaurants. I walked to/fro then came home for the Sunday paper and a nap. We celebrate in style. (Sometimes Blogspot has a glitch like yesterday ~ we apologize.)

 

yes, I'm watching

 Wowza, this is way better than I expected. Colin in Black and White is funny, sad and explains so beautifully how there is a separate system of everything for people of color. Colin Kaepernick grew up in Turlock with devoted white parents and then he began moving around in the real world and discovered the reality of life. Great acting too by Mary Louise Parker, Jaden Michael

yes, I'm listening

 State of Terror is read by Joan Allen and since I admire these two women authors so much, I know this will be a great book. I was gifted a subscription to scribd.com by Dancing Jen and so far, so good. 

based on a true story

 I've been wanting to have movie night with Queen Victoria and her devoted teacher Adbul for a long time and last night was perfect. Judi Dench plays the aged queen and we know she is always wonderful. I believe this was on Netflix, or maybe Amazon Prime? Well done, in any event.

a happy gathering indeed

 You can barely see my Book Club selection in the bottom photo ~ Bridget Jones' Diary from 1996. I thought it was time for a fun read. We had a delightful pot luck with way too many desserts (not for me) and it was a really, really nice day. The one pot easy pasta from Budget Bytes was so delicious that everyone wanted the recipe. Hooray. My little house in Bernal Heights is almost back to normal now. What is normal? Annabelle was, by the way, the best cat ever, as per usual. 

my productive Tuesday

 Yesterday Annabelle and I cleaned the house in preparation for the book club women today. I still have to make my Barely Edible Veggie Pasta and that won't take too long. I LOVED the first Daily Harvest concoction pictured here and just the right amount for me. Tomorrow you get to see the lavish table and of course you can't wait. 

TGI Over

 Pat and Neti treated me to dinner at Bambino's last night and thus endeth yet another birthday for this woman who is so fortunate with friends, flowers and greeting (many cat related) cards. Today back to the To Do List which I have ignored for a few days while being feted. 

Blogmaid Sunday

 I'd like to report that we walked up and down, back and forth, for hours. However I suggested to the Blogmaid that we have our lattes and just sit and talk at the Chit Chat Cafe in Pathetica. Very pleasant indeed. We did get to the second hand store and Safeway, so we weren't complete slugs. 

Dancing Jen Saturday

 This semi sort of vegetarian enjoyed a delicious steak sandwich sitting outside at John's Grill yesterday. Dear Dancing Jen picked up the check and we had a lovely time and yes, I am grateful and fortunate.

music for climate change

 Yes, I agree that it is a stretch, but Luckey invited me to this 11am concert Live! From Vienna and San Francisco: A Musical Call for Climate Action! yesterday at the SF Conservatory of Music where I had never been. It was a fine experience despite the usual technical difficulties with the Vienna hook-up. Vax cards were required and I was pleased about that. Classical and hip hop and a pleasant Friday.

testing, testing

Last week over a junk food kind of lunch with friends, Howard mentioned that he orders from Daily Harvest and appreciates the fruit smoothies and so yesterday I ordered and I included veggie bowls too. I do wish I liked to cook, but try though I may, I don't. We are what we eat and I need to do better and I will. The first delivery is next Tuesday and I will report in faithfully, as per usual.   

congratulations to Dave Pell

 I ordered this book from Amazon just to thank Dave Pell for his daily NextDraft free newsletter that keeps so many of us aware of the events of/in this crazy world. Please Scream Inside Your Heart is going to be a huge favorite of mine. I glanced at the first few pages and then decided to sit down and read a few more and I am totally hooked. Honestly, this book is funny, sad, brilliant and necessary.

staying cold and grounded (hopefully)

 Honestly, it is easy to feel a bit down when fall becomes winter, especially with the grey skies and that old Holiday Gotcha-by-the-throat feeling. And, of course, memories good and bad sometimes overwhelm. Let's have some words from Mr. S:

Blow Blow Thou Winter Wind

William Shakespeare

Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
  Thou art not so unkind
     As man’s ingratitude;
  Thy tooth is not so keen,
Because thou art not seen,
     Although thy breath be rude.
Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
  Then, heigh-ho, the holly!
     This life is most jolly.

  Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,
  That dost not bite so nigh
     As benefits forgot:
  Though thou the waters warp,
     Thy sting is not so sharp
     As friend remembered not.
Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho! unto the green holly...

 

Appears in As You Like It, Act II Scene VII.

this is why they march, there is no Planet B

 A Gas-tly Statistic

• The environmental campaign group Global Witness has analyzed the U.N.'s provisional list of named corporate attendees at the COP26 climate summit and found at least 503 lobbyists connected to over 100 coal, oil, and gas companies are present. The list includes people either directly affiliated with companies like Shell, Gazprom, and BP, and those attending as members of delegations and groups acting on behalf of the fossil fuel industry. 
• The lobbyists outnumber any delegation from a single country. They also outnumber the event's official Indigenous constituency by around two to one, and the number of delegates from the eight countries most affected by climate change over the last two decades: Puerto Rico, Myanmar, Haiti, the Philippines, Mozambique, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. 
• "The presence of hundreds of those being paid to push the toxic interests of polluting fossil fuel companies, will only increase the skepticism of climate activists who see these talks as more evidence of global leaders' dithering and delaying," said a Global Witness spokesman. The conference concludes November 12. (CNN)

2021 fiction ~ one list among many

 I have been reading The Judge's List ~ John Grisham is such a good story teller. I had no idea it was on one of the many BEST lists until I found this. Anyway, here we go:

FICTION

• The Judge's List by John Grisham. ... 
• Better off Dead by Lee Child; Andrew Child. ... 
• The Wish by Nicholas Sparks. ... 
• The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. ... 
• State of Terror by Louise Penny; Hillary Rodham Clinton. ... 
• Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. ... 
• Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty. ... 
• The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave.

a walk before the time (argh) change

 Terri and I met early (5pm) for dinner at Paprika last night. We could both walk home while it was still light, but now the clocks have been turned back and life is all topsy turvy. Delightful chicken paprikash and much needed catch-up conversation. Sunset tonight at 5:04 ~ Annabelle and I hate this.

now fully blog-endorsed

 I have watched six of the ten episodes of Maid on Netflix and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. The problems of homelessness and domestic violence can wear us all down, but there are always good and fine people to help when life gets bleak. 

Pastels: Color into Line

 This exhibit at the Legion of Honor has not received a lot of publicity, but my artist friends urged me to go and I had a lovely solo walk-around yesterday. Then, of course, a latte and a sweet in the delightful museum cafe filled with ghosts and memories and good lighting. 

better than mint condition

A new restaurant discovery for me in downtown SF. 54 Mint is in an alley behind the Old Mint and my friends John and Mary treated me to a delicious Italian dinner last night. We go way back and now that they have five grandchildren there was a whole lot a catching up as our worlds open back up again. A lovely evening and so happy to have a new (to me) restaurant.
 

Mr. Maybeck's Palace

 Ginger and I walked around the gorgeous Palace of Fine Arts yesterday morning and then settled on a bench to watch people, ducks and pigeons while we had our coffee and a sweet. This, as you well know by now, was built in 1915 for the Panama-Pacific Exposition. An amazing structure in a stunning setting.

Jeanine and the Jazz Man

 Last week at the art gallery reception in North Beach I fell in love with this oil painting by Neti's friend Jeanine. Yesterday I bought it and I have included a photo of the apartment that Jeanine shares with her husband, Pat. I rearranged some of the art here and my new boy friend is in a prime location in the dining room. We are both pleased with this arrangement.

Squid Games in Pumpkinville

 

Mr. and Ms. Blogmaid were the talk of Half Moon Bay in their Squid Game costumes yesterday. One too busy young mother asked if they were Sesame Street characters, but a lot of people knew who and what they were. Their dogs were good sports too. Thanks for providing this colorful post, Blogmaid!