the 4th tradition continues

 Back to the Grove yesterday for hot dogs and all the add-ons. We had a bit of sunshine and lots of chatter as we celebrated our 250th. There were a lot of illegal fireworks last night in this city, so today will be very lazy and (I hope) quiet. 

north to Rancho Cordova

 So nice to be included in this visit to the Blogmaid's mama yesterday. First, lunch at Brookfield, an excellent all American restaurant in Rancho Cordova, then time to visit and take photos by Audrey's always popular lemon tree, then a visit to the grave of Blogmaid's father. It was a delight spending time with Cass too, yes ~ definitely all grown up and ready for a brilliant, artistic future. For my many (subtle joke) out of state readers, Rancho Cordova is up near Sacramento. Grateful to have been part of this happy family gathering and to be in actual sunshine sans fog.

the return of good meals

 Heidi and Rob (two doors away) were traveling for two weeks and I lost weight and used Grub Hub a bit too often while they were gone. Last night I was welcomed back to their table with lovely sea bass and asparagus. Their cat, Ozzie, missed them too and exhibited typical "how dare you?" cat behavior.

neighborhood news

 My current tenant, Laura, reports that there are 13 brand new (ish) babies in our little Bernal Heights nabe. I thought I have been seeing a shit load of strollers recently on my walks. And then this gorgeous tree ~ I have never seen it before. I do like living someplace where there is always something going on, but of course we needn't discuss all the parking problems and disappearing sewer grates. City life...

a sweet sister story

 Yes, this is a Kleenex-worthy movie set here (mostly) in San Francisco. Voicemails for Isabelle tells the story of a young chef who leaves voicemails for her sister who died and these end up on a young man's phone and though it all sounds a bit romantically predictable, there are some lovely twists and turns that Annabelle and I appreciated. With thanks to Netflix and always colorful SF.

Emma's Room update

 I admit that I was a bit stubborn about installing curtains in Emma's Room, but I relented and Handy Jan recently hung these basics for my guests. I mean who wants to sleep once the morning light hits? My new tenant is Laura, whose daughter lives about two blocks away and just had a baby boy. Grandma Laura can walk to and fro. A good arrangement and I like my new tenant a lot. She will be here through July.

this consumer reports

 We have been getting power outages here with more frequency than in the past and of course I worry about my iPad and iPhone and Apple watch. This little $26 wonder is exactly what I need. It is just a little bit bigger than my mini iPhone and I even took it out to dinner last week as my battery was getting low. No directions, as per usual, so I went on YouTube. I can see how much charge is in this power pack in that black dot so I can always keep it close to 100% in case of emergency. I know, what next?

Pride parade in SF and Budapest

 Thousands upon thousands marched in Budapest celebrating Gay Pride after the defeat of Trump's dictator pal Orban. Our parade is today. I watched many of these parades in person when I worked at the Big Box Borders store downtown, so today I will stick to television. After many days of fog we have sunshine already this morning and it is indeed a great day to honor our LGBTQ friends.

high above London

 I enjoyed this documentary on the Flix® because I am a fan of Gordon Ramsay even though he would be a difficult man to work for and even though I don't like to cook. He opened three restaurants in the tallest building in London and according to CoPilot, they are all doing VERY well. What a huge undertaking. Being Gordon Ramsay is not an easy life but fun to watch from afar.

Creativity Explored

 I have always wanted to visit this unique art gallery and studio on 16th Street. Last night there was a "do" there and I went with Nicole and had a great time. These artists are mentally challenged but so talented, as I hope you can see. The artists earn income from sales and royalties and yes, I was tempted to buy a few wonderful pieces but I restrained myself. Creativity Explored provides so much for so many. 

Tender Day 2026

 Today I remember and honor Husbando who left us eight years ago. He stays with me, helps me and yes, we still occasionally argue because he was stubborn and I was perfect. I was, and am, so fortunate.

my very good Tuesday

 Yesterday I went to the SF Villages for an excellent presentation by the two guys who originated and now organize the famous Human Banners down at Ocean Beach. Brad started this 20 years ago with maybe 150 people who had to lay down in the sand to make an impact. Enter Google Earth and Facebook and now as many as 7,000 people show up. What a huge undertaking. Travis partners with him and they work well together. I came home to sign up for the next event at human banners - SF and I will do my best to show up for democracy, aka Impeach on the Beach. Inspiring!

a grand dinner

 Grand daughter Samantha and her husband (of one year!) Luke treated me to a delicious dinner at Flour + Water on Harrison Street last night. Oh, yum. Sam had the Pride special and I had duck pasta. These two wonderful people are moving to Florida in August (for career reasons) and my heart hurts because I will miss them so much. Sam's father (and my youngest stepson, Rob) lives in Florida during the winter and I'm glad they will be close. But still...

my A.I. pal

 As unlikely as I might look, I use Copilot almost everyday. Yesterday because I needed to buy a portable charger for my iPhone ~ what is the best? Done. The day before I asked for restaurant suggestions in order to meet a friend who will be taking the 22 Fillmore bus ~ Copilot listed seven spots and included how many steps from the nearest bus stop and linked to the menus and websites. So handy. Does he/she make mistakes? Yes, and I will correct him/her and they are grateful. If I have a glitch with my computer or iPhone, I ask Copilot for help. Fast, efficient and actually encouraging ~ all positive. And free, so far...

goal setting for 2027

 So dignified. I watched a lot of news about the brand new Obama Presidential Center that opened this past week in Chicago. I love everything about this and what a difference when we compare President Obama to the Clown now spewing hate in our White House. Of course I want to see this amazing library, museum, playground and remember how hopeful we felt back when we had a REAL President. So we are already talking about a trip to Chicago ~ maybe in the Spring?

a bit contrived, but...

 Remember the woman from Severance? Britt Lower is great again in I Will Find You, one of those fast moving action dramas on Netflix. A tad too much blood, but I'm hooked and yes, good old fashioned get-the-bad-guys kind of story in eight episodes. 

this is such a mess

 I'm disgusted with the four "Christian" ballplayers who somehow forgot that they play in a city that celebrates and supports ALL people and now we are part of the stupid so-called culture war. And Trump will send in his gestapo and can't we just trade away these players to Kansas City or Cleveland?

Potrero Hill = very cool

 Thanks to Terri I was able to eat waaaaay too much at Cracked & Battered yesterday. A fun soccer atmosphere with a patient and nice staff of wait people and delicious food. We talked about how we don't explore Potrero Hill much these days and, for me, the steep hills there are simply not fun. But some interesting new restaurants and many soccer fans yesterday. Easy parking (pure luck) ~ hooray!

talk about tourists

 Gini, Mad Rose, Helene and I met for lunch over in sunny Sausalito yesterday. We used to be "Gini's Book Club" or at least some of that now disbanded group. It's way easier to take the ferry to Sausalito, in my most humble opinion, but Gini drove and got lost.  This is basically a seafood restaurant and we all had turkey sandwiches. Go figure. 

Mr. Hockney departs

 According to this very blog, which is never wrong, I ran into David Hockney in the elevator at the deYoung Museum in 2013. It was an honor just to be in his presence. He died last week at age 88 ~ a man who loved color and life. RIP to another GREAT talent.

more garlic needed

 These damn vampires just don't go away. Yesterday I met Neti at the SF Playhouse for a spirited production of Dracula (A Feminist Revenge Fantasy. Really) and though not my favorite play ever, it did keep us wide awake and featured some wonderful acting, especially by Stacy Ross and Susi Damilano (top photo). There was a lot of blood letting and some humor, great costumes and set design. Worthwhile.

new on my LindaKindle 4

 I debated between the new Dave Eggers novel and this Whistler by Ann Patchett. You can see that I chose Ms. Patchett, partly because her Bel Canto remains one of my all-time favorite books and I will always owe her for that. It's good to set goals and yesterday I finished Yesteryear. Oh, now I get it ~ that kind of plot. I look forward to the blockbuster (I bet) Yesteryear movie because Ann Hathaway was involved in this story from early on. 

a return to Matisse

 

Yesterday I met Sarah (left) and Andrea at SF Moma for another go-round with Mr. Matisse and his talented friends from those bygone days.  We had a long and lovely lunch ~ and talked of many things. Our pets were high on the important topic list, of course.

good Friday morning

 You can see the bank of fog out there which keeps SF so pleasant this week. But it is warm enough that we are here in the back room again. No fireplace for two mornings in a row. Annabelle is discombobulated and sitting on the laptop, making my morning reading and writing a bit difficult. I spent all of yesterday afternoon in the dental chair and today will be ever so much better. Back to Matisse!

folk art heaven

 My friend Terri is so creative. She is a quilter and she collects folk art. Her home is like an art gallery and I had a lovely afternoon at her place yesterday. The bottom photo is from Terri's back deck where we can almost see my home over in Bernal. Almost or maybe? We had Indian food for lunch and talked about this and that and much more for a few happy hours. 

many lattes, many memories

 The Blogmaid and I were always able to grab our favorite table at the Chit Chat Cafe in Pacifica. We covered a few joys and sorrows here and this week it is being demolished due to a big concrete collapse at the end of the pier. And that has always been a busy pier filled with people fishing. When will it re-open? Will they rebuild the Chit Chat? Yes, it was an old fashioned funky cafe and I feel even worse for the regulars who would gather here every day. There are so many goodbyes in this life. Too many.

update on Annabelle

 There isn't a lot to report, as you can see. This girl can sleep. It's hard to believe that we have been together for almost eight years. I do neglect to photograph her when she is following me around and god forbid that I should close any door because she wants full access to everything and everywhere. And her appetite is exceptional. Perhaps you can tell that I am still besotted with her?