there's a large hotel

Today ~ view from our room

And here was yesterday. Rain, hail, ick. But we're off soon for a
long walk in the sunshine, in fact Husbando is ready to go and
I had better scamper. Thanks to the generosity of our friends
we are at the Marriott in Monterey (a wedding anniversary gift
certificate) and enjoying everything immensely. I don't have
time to write or straighten the photos from our hotel balcony,
but I know you'll be impressed by the dramatic difference and
I will write more when there is time. (Do not have sand dabs at
Rappa's on the Wharf, much better in Frisco. )

aging and dying = fun?

Well, yes, actually. I thought Vigil was the best of season so far
at ACT. It's the story of a man who visits his elderly aunt and even
though Olympia Dukakis only has about 7 short lines, her facial
expressions and body movements convey everything and more.
Of course it helps that our seats are in the second row so we could
study every little nuance. Our old ACT friend Marco Barricelli
has returned to play the greedy odd duck nephew who tries to hurry
Aunt Grace's death while feeding her butterscotch pudding and
telling her all the family secrets. Splurge! See this play...

bunting on opening day!

This is what it's all about ~ many thanks, dear blogmaid.

In other news, we have a bag in the hallway and we're packing up
for a few days down in Monterey. Leaving tomorrow. Of course
I'm taking MsBook, who was born to travel.

but what about the bunting?

Commano dispatched a reporter to The Jewel yesterday to
capture the flavor of Opening Day. It's been 10 years since
the new park began and I so clearly remember the excitement,
driving down to see it being constructed and then, finally,
the 2000 season. What a location. We had season tickets that
first year and they were horrible ~ all we saw were the butts
of fans getting yet another beer. They have improved everything
since then. But still, ten years? I thought about the blogmaid
often during the day as I (ahem) worked out at the Legion and
then I so enjoyed hearing the wrap-up of the game while driving
home. The Giants have 4 wins and 0 losses ~ amazing, isn't it?
Here from the blogmaid, girl sports reporter:

... I did have a good time and I was glad the Giants
pulled it out at the end. I loved seeing Jon in his tux 
and bow tie -- he got a brief appreciation on the
jumbotron before he came out to announce the players.
Sally and I both got goosebumps when the big bunch of
balloons was let go and the players came running out
en masse, accompanied by the booms of fireworks.
And the interplay by Jerry Rice and Steve Young was
great too -- so many memories from so many (of my)
lives today, and you were right there at the top.
I forgot you were working, but Bill sounded
pleased to hear from me...
Our seats were great and we were in the shade most 
of the time which was fine by both of us. The best 
thing of all -- no drunken Dodger fans anywhere
to be seen!

old friends and sunshine

Ken (not the car) at Books, Inc. in the Castro.

Elena and Shauna at Starbelly.

Yesterday I stopped in to visit Ken who was on his knees fixing some
cash register problem that seems to happen everyday in retail. I didn't
buy any books, surprise!

Next I met Elena and Shauna ~ we all worked together at the big box,
doing cash rec, scheduling, payroll, etc. Much laughter and tears in
the past, but it was all fun yesterday. I imparted the news that I had
heard at Passover ~ our minimum daily requirement for fruits and
vegetables has moved up from 5 to 9. Sorbet counted as one. We
all loved the service and food and convenience of Starbelly at 16th
and Market. And then I WALKED home ~ it took about an hour,
but it felt great and the weather was sunny and perfect.

five new kids on the blog

I decided to tackle the GLP (Great Link Project) yesterday and
added some new blogs to the list on the right. Partly for you, the
readers, partly for the bloggers, but mostly as an easy access
for me. These are blogs I check everyday and I hope you give
them a look-see. Of course I urge you to leave comments for
the writers, we live for comments. By alpha:

1. The All of It ~ my friend Susan who lives in Mexico for half the year, Sacramento for the other half.
   
2. Failing at Living ~ Ms. Gonick was one of my favorite columnists in the chronny.
3. Power in a Pony Tail ~ RR's half sister and the blogmaid's step dot.
4. SF Civic Center ~ a completely different look at our city by SF Mike. He has me hooked.
5. Writing to Survive ~ one of my Round Robin partners last session.

Of course I should be linking the above for you, but I had just
about enough of that high tech stuff yesterday.

team christian (sort of)

In our mixed (but otherwise perfect) marriage, the Easter celebration
is often overshadowed by the Passover and their 4 million traditions.
So last night we had a small dinner party with ham, scalloped potatoes
and TGP green beans for Barb and me. Frank is a Buddhist, but he likes
ham and conversation, especially while his wife is in Texas. And he
brought coconut ice cream to top off the v. pleasant evening. Yes,
our two Jews love ham too...

monday after dinner

This is Will, our outstanding poet.

The Great Plotnik played the piano for the reading.

See, this is what I thought I'd be doing 3 or 4 times a week when I
moved to San Francisco. Last night we went to the Bird & Beckett
bookstore for Will Walker's poetry reading from his book Wednesday
After Lunch. Will and Doug are in Tiapos (our writing group) and I
am spoiled there by all the great writing.

It's National Poetry Month and here is one of my favorite of Will's
poems from his book. He wrote this sitting out by MY bandstand
shell in Golden Gate Park. I so know the feeling, don't you?

CLEAN SLATE

You know no one. No one knows you.
You sit dumb on a park bench
by some unknown grove of nameless trees.
A small, unaccomplished brass band
plays a wistful march in the distance.

You feel the way a blackboard used to look
after you cleaned it with a fresh,
damp sponge. No streaks, no dust.
Just a little midnight hung on the wall.

the piece of moonless starless sky
you place over your eyes to nap,
a beanbag full of night. The interlude
stretches out into your waking day:

You are not dead, just out of life~
or living in a way that asks
only that you let life pass, that you sit,
quiet as those nearby trees, meditating
on the miracle of photosynthesis, its fruitful silence.

Will Walker
Wednesday After Lunch

finally...

To hell with this sunshine. Today at 4pm turn on your TV to ESPN2
or some other strange station to see our Giants in Houston. It's
Opening Day and all those happy Candlestick memories come
flooding back. Hope springs eternal ~ garlic fries, whisk brooms,
CDs with baseball music, peanuts, plaid blankets, pins, heavy
jackets and scarves, gloves, fog, joy and sorrow. Thinking of you
today, dear blogmaid, and all the happy times we had out at
the Stick. And then the Opening Day at The Jewel and that PHONE
CALL ~ who can ever forget that? Play ball, we're ready!

an easter gift to you

Isn't this lovely? RR has inherited her parents' love of words
and writing, I'm sure. Now she has her own little desk in
her bedroom. One of my all-time favorite RR photos and
there have been so many.

The deYoung is deserted. Come in and enjoy the art before
the French arrive. But first, Bouquets To Art, April 20th.
Birth of Impression begins May 22nd. Much excitement
in the air. Have a happy Easter Sunday, dear readers.

the joy of a good book

I had never heard of this book Disgrace or the movie either,
but it is a powerful story that takes place in South Africa. The
hero is a professor in his 50's who has an affair with a student
and he is fired. He goes to live with his daughter out on her
farm where the chickens come home to roost. Lots to think
about here...

Interestingly enough, I am reading more since I joined the
museums than I did at Borders, but I will say that I still miss
being surrounded by books and book people.

working like dawgs

This was taken last Sunday, the final day of Tut. From the left:
Rita, Lucy and Ms. Commano. I think I wore that tee shirt once
a week for the 9 months of the exhibit. I will not miss it.

I so enjoyed my 4 days off this past week. Lots and lots of
tasks and errands that I've been putting off for awhile. I have
done a lot of reading too, as well as gardening, ironing, walking
and the occasional (ahem) nap. Today back to the Legion.

getting to know eddie

One time, years ago, Eddie Izzard did an event at Borders. I
didn't know who he was and missed meeting him. I heard the
next day that he was really, really nice to the staff and the
customers (no easy feat) and after that I paid attention to
his name, rented his other DVDs, etc. And of course we loved
him in The Riches when he and his family were gypsies
playing the part of rich people. Good stuff.

Believe: The Eddie Izaard Story is a new documentary and well
worth seeing. He works constantly on his material and of
course we love watching him become the cross-dressing genius
for his performances. As we all know, the Brits (with or without
makeup) are just plain funnier than we Americans are. (Tea
Party members excluded ~ they are funny in a scary way.)

seder 2010

the leaders

the beautiful Chef P

the wine (sideways and much maligned)

the famous plate filled with bitter herbs, lamb bone, etc.

We had another perfectly delightful Passover dinner last night and
I do believe the food gets better every year. Even the Matzohs tasted
fresh and, of course, the guests and hosts always make it so terrific.
I never tire of hearing about Freedom and all the Jewish symbols and memories. Thank you Great Plotniks for such a special evening.

it must be spring...

Yesterday we bought 4 new deck chairs at Target and I reported to
the blogmaid this morning that the old tattered ones were picked
up before the sun set last night. SF has this wonderful natural
recycle program, like Chicago and NYC and maybe every large city?
We take bets on how long our throw-aways will remain in front
of the house.

Then today we bought a few plants. It took me years to learn not to
buy more than I wanted to plant. Alas they had sold OUT of Early
Girl tomatoes, the only kind that we can grow. So we'll go back in
a few days and I'll try not to purchase any more flowers. Maybe.

my wiggly friends

Just about a year ago I told you about our compost pile and the
hundreds of worms. The container is way too big for our small
gardening needs and we've offered it to neighbors who refuse
our generosity. (They grow their own...) Husbando refuses to
sit out front of the house with a card table and hand made sign
hoping to sell this really rich earth/food/dirt, so yesterday our
friend Ginger came over and packed up 10 pails (covered, of
course) for her new community garden plot in Pleasanton.
I thought you'd enjoy her your-worms-are-fine email:

You'll be surprised to hear that earthworms have little sense of loyalty and that yours have settled in to their new zip code with a minimum of stress. I don't know if I'd feel the same sense of ease if I'd taken a high speed race in a car trunk, but we're different species aren't we. As night falls, they've snuggled in for the night. Instead of a cup of tea, I gave them a warm water sprinkle and they wriggled in delight.

random sunday thoughts

In bullet form ~ of course:

• Today is Tut's final day and we are celebrating with a pot luck.
• We are both loving Breaking Bad, rent it!
• I had lunch outside in Golden Gate Park yesterday ~ heaven.
• Almost finished Cutting for Stone by Verghese. A great novel.
• No more Round Robin until next session. A relief, sort of...
• My To Do list for April is almost 2 pages. Daunting.
  
• We are both looking forward to the Passover celebration Tuesday night.
• I'm feeling v. proud of President Obama and Nancy Pelosi currently.
• We are going to Monterey for a vaca break in April. Hooooray.
• It's Palm Sunday and that used to be a big deal when I was growing up.

OK, on to blueberries and lunch packing and Willie Brown's great
column in the Sunday chronny.

first things first

Before The Impressionists arrive in May, we have baseball! I tried
to up/download a 2010 Giants' schedule for you, but there were issues.
Well, you can slide over there to the right and click on SF Giants. It
all starts on April 9th - Opening Day. I think our team is pretty good
this year, but I recall saying something like this at the end of March for
the past 15 years. One of my resolutions is to go to more games and I
believe we have a new Muni bus (#10) and I want to give that a test
before the season begins. I'll let you know ~ remember how I loved
Muni for the first week or so when I first took it to the deYoung back
in '08? Hmmmmmm, those days are long gone.

it holds up...

I'm not a huge fan of old movies and I never read a book twice
or watch something 22 times like some folks. Nothing wrong
with it, I'm just more of a "what's new?" kind of woman.

But I wanted to see Nashville again and we did last night. I loved
it in 1975, and although the scene where Keith Carradine sings
to Lilly Tomlin is still enticing, it wasn't quite as powerful
as I remembered. This was one of the first interwoven vignette
films ~ 24 characters in 5 days in the country music capital
of the world. It's a period piece, but still relevant today.

it's time for a change

I am sitting here looking at a bunch of forms that I need to read
and fill out for work. As mentioned before, my contract is up
and I am officially terminated as of March 29th. From all
indications I will be rehired sometime in May at the same job
and for the same amount of money, but until I see that contract,
I'm sort floating in a strange world.

In most respects I'm delighted to have some time off. It looks
like I'll be working 3 or 4 days a week on an "on call" basis.
I've been working on my new To Do list and it includes the
lovely clean-my-office, garden and maybe get dear Ellen
out of the garage where she is tied up. To my readers who
worry about our heroine skipping around and being illogical,
you'll have to get used to it. The author hasn't a clue either, as
we say in the mystery writing world.

Much of the paperwork has to do with Cobra. I'm here to
tell you that the Democrats have done one fine job with this.
I'm eligible for government assistance and the cost will be
affordable to me. I've "done" Cobra before and it was
exorbitant. Not so this time.