needles and pins

 Yes and hooray for acupuncture! After an internet breakdown (NOT my fault) this morning I found that my scheduled appointment with Dr. Sparrow and this ancient medical practice solved all sorts of physical and emotional upheavals. Soothing.

my life as a LANDLADY

 Time for you to meet Aristote (Ari) from Paris. So far, so good. Most of the neighbors have met him now and yesterday I suggested that he bike over to the Ramp and he loved that spot. Ari's English is terrific and really I am adapting to this situation way better than I thought I would. He works a few blocks away at a tech start-up and yesterday Annabelle finally warmed up to him. My life has changed in a week. Amazing.

No Kings. No Dictators.

 Cute sign thanks to Barb! We stood, we walked, we chanted. Terri, Suze, Heidi, Barb and I took BART to Market Street where we eventually met granddaughter Samantha and Luke. After marching for an hour or so we were ready for home. It's always good to see that we are NOT alone and there will me more protests because Trump is totally ruining this country. A demented and dangerous jerk. 

coffee in the Grove

 Check out the wisteria in the bottom photo! Yesterday Pat Snyder and I discussed EVERYTHING and more in her beautiful Grove with totally perfect Spring weather. Today we protest in No Kings but yesterday was peaceful and necessary for my soul.

first one kitten then...

 ...a jumble of kittens. Neighbor Cristina ended up rescuing seven from some construction sight, but they couldn't capture the mother so my friend is feeding them. She is getting help from cat loving friends and I am trying to keep my distance, except for a photo or twenty.

cats, coffee and baseball

 The top photo is of a very young kitten found by a neighbor (long story, only interesting to cat lovers) and my next door neighbor Cristina (seen here cuddling my girl, Annabelle) jumped in to save the day. Check out these $8 lattes that Terri and I sipped at Hedge, a relatively new spot that is getting lots of publicity. A bit too "I'm in the tech world and super cool" for the likes of me, but it was good to catch-up with Terri and prepare for the baseball game last night. Opening Day. Argh. Giants lost to the Yankees. At least the rest of the world saw our beautiful city and fine weather.

dinner with Lawrence

 Yesterday I had a good walk with Jen and the two pesky puppies and at the end she gifted me with this lovely pork dinner and fresh bok choy from their lettuce tree. It was quite nice to say goodbye to left over corned beef for awhile. When making friends it is a plus if they actually enjoy cooking. And sharing.

we have much to learn

 I have not been keeping up with baseball nor do I have any tickets for any of the games. I like to go early in the season while hope is still fresh...and the kids are still in school. So I will now start reading and memorizing names and numbers.

green afterglow

 Everyone pitched in to make yesterday a huge success. This morning I will put away the dishes and take a nap or two. Now I will make my notes for next year ~ I made a mistake or three and did a few things just right and all that will be recorded. I need to tell you also that I have a tenant in Emma's Room ~ I have not met him yet but I will do so at some point today. Life, she be strange, right?

ready, set, shamrock

 

We are prepared for dinner at 1pm today. I think. Hee is the Irish poem that Annabelle and I selected:

The Lake Isle of Innisfree   

WB Yeats

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,

And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;

Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,

And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,

Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;

There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,

And evening full of the linnet’s wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day

I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;

While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,

I hear it in the deep heart’s core. 

prep work

 I introduced Heidi to Robert's Corned Beef yesterday and she was, of course, impressed. Annabelle needs no introduction to table hopping, but she is locked out today. Thankfully it is cooler as I bustle about checking off To Do''s and worrying about silly details. 

belated, but that's ok

 I'm "doing" St. Pat's dinner here on Sunday. It is still hot and there is NO air conditioning in my tiny oven-like home. Getting lots of help, thankfully. Today Heidi and I buy the corned beef at Robert's. And bring up the extra table and sit in between. More later...

no longer silent

 Dolores Huerta (age 96) is finally able to talk about the ex-hero Cesar Chavez. This whole thing is sickening and now we scramble to change names (I'm guessing) on quite a few streets and buildings here in California where he led the Farmworkers Union back in the 70's. For shame, Cesar.

late lunch by the Bay

 Scott, Nancy and I went out to Mission Rock yesterday for a late lunch and some cool ocean breezes. The heat wave continues through Friday, or so they say. So nice to have family here for a few days and they were not missing the Chicago weather. 

BBQ weather here

 Doug and Barb invited me to their deck last night and the city was starting to cool down, thankfully. We are having an unusual heat spell this week. I tried a new fake beer and decided that O'Doul's is still the best. Their garden is a gorgeous jungle, the food was delicious and we chatted away until dark when I left to return to my hot house and hungry cat. (You can almost see Fred the squirrel in the garden photo.)

Oscar fun with pizza

 Like clockwork. Nicole, Meredith and Heidi joined me for the smooth, no-surprises Awards ceremony last night and we had a good time discussing the actors and what they were wearing. Conan does a fine job hosting, as did I.  The dishes were done and I was in bed by 9pm. Applause, please.

thank you and RIP

  I was sorry to see that Mark Bittner died on March 1. He cared for and wrote about the wild parrots here in San Francisco and his book (2005) and documentary were best sellers. The beautiful (and noisy and messy) wild parrots have proliferated in the City and we love them because they are another colorful part of the craziness that we celebrate here. Thank you, Mark.

and yes, more flowers

 The top photo is from yesterday's neighborhood walk and the bottom two are from my very own garden. I have no idea what these flowers are but they have NEVER bloomed like this. The gift of rain and now gorgeous sunshine.

more food, more family

 Last night we met Samantha and Luke at Daejo, the Korean restaurant in Japantown. Yes, we ate too much and enjoyed that delightful and unusual cuisine. You can see the cheese melting all over the stew in the bottom photo.  

my sunny city

 Step daughter, Nancy, and her husband, Scott, left a cold and rainy Illinois yesterday morning and all they wanted was sun. Success. We had a good walk at Fisherman's Wharf and an early dinner at the Crab House at Pier 39. Of course it's a "tourist place" but we were impressed and happy with the food and service. I look forward to taking Sister Jane to the Crab House on her next visit. The "kids" will be here for a week but plan to visit their daughter Ceci up in Nevada City for a few days. 

street art

 Hmmmmm, a little technical glitch on Blogspot this morning. Is this scene going to show up ok?  I snapped it on a walk last week. The plant growth locally is ferocious after all the rain and if this doesn't show I will just re-work it later. 

Imperial Tea Court

 This was a lovely lunch choice in the middle of the Ferry Building. Joe, Pamela and I had a good long lunch yesterday as we ate way too much and sipped delightful black mango tea. Really a perfect spot because we could hear each other talk as we chattered happily away. 

after all these years

 We saw M. Butterfly years ago and of course it no longer shocks. We have come a long way with gender fluidity and self-identification in our culture. This play was written in 1988, and we loved it then. To see it again yesterday was quite wonderful because of the acting, costumes and beautiful staging. And also we still don't quite understand China and The East and maybe we never will? SF Playhouse deserves a ton of appreciation for putting on this lovely drama. As I recall, B.D. Wong played the Butterfly decades ago. Yesterday it was the gorgeous and very talented Edric Young who studied at Stanford University.

let us celebrate

 March 8th is International Women's Day. I will wear this pin to the theater as I try to catch up with the time change today. Nice to sleep in this morning before fixing the clocks.

back in the Grove

 Pat spoiled me yesterday with coffee and snacks in her "backyard". Such a glorious day with gentle sun and no wind. We talked and talked and I came home refreshed and ready to take on the world. Friends do that for us, don't they?