oh, what a year

Our dear Frank died one year ago today. This will be a rough one for Neti
and I hope to see her tonight. When Pat called with the bad news last
year Bill and I clung to each other, both crying. We four had been friends
FOREVER and Frank used to pop over and trim our trees and he and Bill
would go to ball games sometimes and what a gentle man he was. And
greatly missed so very much. Sweet memories. RIP dear friend.

more from Lawrence

The Changing Light

The changing light
                 at San Francisco
       is none of your East Coast light
                none of your
                            pearly light of Paris
The light of San Francisco
                        is a sea light
                                       an island light
And the light of fog
                   blanketing the hills
          drifting in at night
                      through the Golden Gate
                                       to lie on the city at dawn
And then the halcyon late mornings
       after the fog burns off
            and the sun paints white houses
                                    with the sea light of Greece
                 with sharp clean shadows 
                       making the town look like
                                it had just been painted

But the wind comes up at four o'clock
                                     sweeping the hills

And then the veil of light of early evening

And then another scrim
                  when the new night fog
                                        floats in
And in that vale of light
                      the city drifts
                                    anchorless upon the ocean

~ Lawrence Ferlinghetti 2000

poetry and a platterfull

poet, artist, publisher and founder of City Lights

Neti's kitchen

My plate ~ delicious

SF poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti will be 100 years old. One of the reasons
I love this city is because it was SRO yesterday at the Main Library
auditorium as poets gathered to read their work and tell their favorite
Ferlinghetti stories. It was a delightful two hour event as we all
soaked in the words. As I clean out Bill's office I run into poems he
saved including a few from Lawrence. I will post some in the future.
This poet so loves our city too despite the fact that people nowadays are
"arriving with bags of money and no manners."

Then to Neti's for St. Pat's corned beef and cabbage prepared by
another Pat, another widow. Excellent. I made Bill's white sauce and
brought a mint ice cream cake from Mitchell's. A fine evening on
this holiday that Husbando loved ~ for the food, of course.

get thee to the swamp

I'm liking this bestseller, Where the Crawdads Sing which is set
in North Carolina and is an easy, almost predictable story of a
girl who loves her rough surroundings and also a boy or two.
She traveled with me on my LindaKindle4 during my city walk
yesterday. The weather is finally gorgeous here. Hooray.

back to Lovejoy's

tea and more tea

Yesterday Jennie and I had a fine lunch of sandwiches
and scones. We had the window table, very nice.

with sliced cucumbers

I realize this looks like a seedy Florida-type Trump kind of spa, but
inside it is spotlessly clean and features two pools and three different
saunas. Imperial is a Korean establishment and the 1.5 hour massage was
probably the best I've ever had, but of course it has been a few years.
The masseuse even shampooed my hair and covered my face with freshly
sliced cucumbers and milk. A wonderful experience at a reasonable
price and it is already in my calendar for a visit in May.

rays on the bay

Ferry Plaza ~ interior

Ferry Plaza ~ exterior

Farmshop stock photo ~ it was packed yesterday

All six women met for Book Club yesterday at Farmshop Restaurant in
Larkspur Landing. Two of us needed the sunshine and fresh air so we
took the ferry to/fro. Such a treat after so many rainy days here. We
sat outside and talked of many things, including books. Bill loved
walking along the Embarcadero and sitting in the sun for lunch and
he was in my heart yesterday. Not unusual, that.

back to Monday

I accepted a spontaneous dinner invitation to The Great Plotnik's on
Monday night ~ was that not generous of me? Check out their garden
after all the rain. Those are daffodils. I have weeds in my little back
yard and moss on the concrete. Roast pork carnitas with all the trimmings
including just right warm, soft tortillas and even pomegranate seeds.
But always the best part is being with loving friends and catching up on our
sometimes less than perfect lives. A wonderful evening, apu.

back to Sunday

I met Dancing Jen and Jon at Star (where Jen is royalty) for lunch. First I
checked out Portsmouth Square ~ this amazing always-packed park is a haven
for the many Chinese residents who live (I understand) in tiny, crowded nearby
apartments. This was the first public park in SF.  Older men and women
gather in separate groups to play various games. Above the men are setting
up cardboard boxes which have been left all stacked and neatly folded (by
whom?) around the square. Resourceful residents without electronic devices.

rainbow man

Here is the wonderful Mr. Blogmaid down at his front yard (the ocean)
in Half Moon Bay. I remember when Bill and I first met him and we
were happy and impressed with our Blogmaid's partner selection. He
loves animals too and together they own: three cats, one dog, two
horses. Oh, yes, they are doing a superior job raising the very special
RR who will be 16 in November. How did that happen? With love,
of course ~ and patience, humor, open communication, etc.

baby widow steps

I have to learn how to entertain as a single person. We had some great
dinner parties and I miss the sound of laughter and chatter around the
fireplace and dinner table. So last night we three not-so-merry widows
(Neti included) gathered here to celebrate Pat's belated birthday. I
loved getting the house all clean and setting a pretty table with the
GOOD stuff. I confess I did not cook a thing. Grub Hub delivered
dinner from the Green Papaya and Pat brought gelato and I had a
small chocolate cake from Safeway. I missed my partner but I still
had a wonderful time and so did my friends. I think the key for me
is not to stress about gourmet cuisine and just to enjoy my home
and my guests. Annabelle had a lovely evening too and we both slept
in peace until 6am this morning, which is so civilized compared to
the usual 5am cat wake-up alarm. The dishes are being done now,
in between writing-fireplace-time. Life is good, trust me here.

she's a good wife

Much better than I ever was, that's for sure. The Wife is for rent
on Amazon Prime and of course I loved it even though I found
some things really unbelievable during these times when women
are allowed to be so outspoken. Or human, I guess I mean. Glenn
Close is fabulous, but you already know that.

road tripping

Heath Ceramics

Yesterday Marsha and I and her two dogs drove to Novato on a small
errand and some women-talk time. Novato is simply too boring to snap
one photo, even the Starbucks lattes were dreary. But really nice to
get out of SF and no rain. The hills are lush and green all around the
Bay and that was such a treat.

When we returned to civilization I introduced Marsha and the dogs
to the Heath Ceramics factory on 20th Street ~ they had not been
here before. This was a nice day indeed and Annabelle was all ears
and appetite when I returned home to tell her everything.

Today is International Women's Day. Very special.

Hygge

Yesterday's daily writing exercise.

HYGGE (the prompt)

Hahahahaha. The prompt-creator Linda D. and I use CALM the 

meditation app or application, if you will. A daily way to help reduce 

stress and to stay quiet for ten (sometimes long) minutes. This was 

one of Tamara’s daily subjects and as you might know by now it 

refers to comfort and that wonderful feeling of being in the exact 

right place at the right time. This is a Danish word.

I call her Tammy sometimes, this woman who speaks to me everyday and

tells me to breathe and stay in the moment. I’m pretty good most days

and she has even spoken to me when a glorious nap is needed. She

lives in snow country and has an unfortunate way of ending some words

in a stronG G. Then I’m thinkinG, but I am no longer meditatinG. 

Is she Canadian?

Bill and I had our word for that wonderful feeling of well-being and 

experiencing extreme comfort with the one you love. Hoganward started 

for us forty years ago when we couldn’t complete some fucking crossword 

puzzle and just filled in the word. I have a vivid memory of driving around 

the lakes in upper New York state with Bill. “Hoganward.” we agreed.

You will be amused to learn that occasionally I walk away from Tammy

and my iPad while she is talkinG and breathinG. Fuck this ~ not a

Danish expression as far as I know. 

03/06/19

never forgotten

It's been three years since my teacher and dear friend Jane Underwood
died. While cleaning out my office I find I can't throw some things
away. Her comments on my work, of course, she is the reason that
I call myself a writer today. And more, I find a poem that Linda D.
and I both love that isn't in the book ~ here for you:

I Was Wrong

Sunlight bakes my thinning hair,
and through the open window
wafts a wig of balmy air.

Sixty years gone by, plus two. You'd
think I'd never felt the sun,
you'd think no other kiss or whisper
ever skimmed this skin.

A mockingbird takes on the dawn.
Repeat, repeat, he sings his stolen songs.
Repeat, repeat, from early morning on.

Timeless and alone at five a.m.,
he starts to sing himself to
us, the world, the universe.
He does this from atop
a barren pole.
Burst of sun, trill and chirp, another
day gone by. Things I thought
could never be enough, but are.

~ Jane Underwood

just us girls

Scott's stomach was acting up last night so Nancy and I had dinner
over at the Blue Plate. We were going to walk, but of course it was
still raining. Bill helped us find a great parking place and she said,
"Thanks, Dad." She is the best step daughter in the world and next
I will see her in June at another Wedding of the Century in Elgin,
Illinois. First I will "do" Chicago and relive more sweet memories.

today from Wordsmith

mondegreen

PRONUNCIATION:

(MON-di-green) 

MEANING:

noun: A word or phrase resulting from mishearing a word or phrase, 

especially in song lyrics.

Example: “The girl with colitis goes by” for “The girl with kaleidoscope 

eyes” (in the Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”).

ETYMOLOGY: coined by author Sylvia Wright when she misinterpreted

the line "laid him on the green” as “Lady Mondegreen” in the Scottish 

ballad “The Bonny Earl of Murray”. Earliest documented use: 1954.

USAGE:

“Sometimes in musical announcements, words lose their meaning, 

or are misheard, resulting in a delightful mondegreen. ... The audience 

thought Walter Love had said: ‘We are beginning tonight with Howard 

Ferguson’s overture ‘Fornication’.’” (instead of “Overture for an Occasion”).
Paul Clements; An Irishman’s Diary; Irish Times (Dublin); Oct 5, 2016.

“[Tim Minchin’s] elocution is so exquisite there’s not a mondegreen in earshot.”
Suzanne Simonot; Tim and Tom Show a HOTA Opening Act; The Gold 

Coast Bulletin (Southport, Australia); Mar 19, 2018. 

friends in matching vests

The Blogmaid and I coordinated our plaids yesterday and met at the movie
theater to see The Favourite because we both adore Olivia Coleman and
Ms. Maid is a huge fan of ANYTHING royal. This film did not get great
reviews but I thought it was delightful and fun and of course the costumes
are outstanding. And lots of rabbits to oooh and ahhhh over too.

well, why not?

We bought Waterford crystal back in the 80's on our trip to Ireland. I
still love the look and feel of it. I decided to start using it for everyday
orange juice, freshly squeezed, of course. (I often think of my friend
Susan who starts her Sundays with oj.) Little by little changes are being
made here in our home and I no longer feel disloyal. I do, however,
find that it helps to include outside eyes, such as my step Nancy saying,
"You have room in the pantry for this and you are going to need to clean
off the counters anyway for the re-mo." Got it, done. Thanks...

back to the kitchen

We returned to Home Depot to finalize the project and that felt really
great. So happy to have Nancy and Scott (and Clarice) working on
this. In about a month the project will probably be finished. In the
meantime, I've been re-organizing the kitchen and getting stuff OFF
the counter. My friend Linda D. writes that I needn't cook just because
I have a sparkling new counter top. Whoosh.

Nancy and Scott left to visit Ceci up north and I sat down (in the kitchen)
and did the taxes. This is our 8th year with Turbotax and it was pretty easy,
all in all. It's good to lead a simple life with very few cover-ups or collusions.