travel gone good

he guards the vineyard

from frontyard

colorful trees galore

wine makers

we love murgatroids

Whooooosh, it worked out just fine after US Air tossed us on United, to

a non-stop flight! We arrived 2 hours early and didn't even mind the dreaded

middle seats. Some itinerary confusion as dot-in-law expected us today, but

they are the most flexible people and we are enjoying our luxurious home

here in Elgin. (It was, by the way, not OUR error, but if it had been, they

still would be most hospitable.) We have two big rooms to spread out in

as their girls have left this very cozy nest, although Lauren came home to

cook for us last night. Their home is on an acre of land and they live

outdoors most of the time. Wonderful.

So different back here. I'll try to get some more tree shots, but it is definitely

the midwest and it is Fall. I'm living in my furry leopard vest. Slept well last

night and today we train to Chicago for maybe some art and a big splurge

lunch someplace special. 

wild blue yonder

We actually slept a few hours last night and now we are doing yoga and
having breakfast. Yesterday we packed and commented on how difficult it
is to leave really nice, hot, unusual SF weather. We gave away a lot of
tomatoes from our yard and made notes for our return, when we'll need to
do some fruit shopping and then a big trip to Costco ASAP. After all day
on assorted planes we will arrive in Chicago about 5 or 6pm, depending.
MsBook travels with me, of course, and the usual bunch of cords, knobs, knurls.

The one-eyed black & white dog is still at the SPCA, but she has a roomie
now and doesn't seem as forlorn. There are a lot of new volunteers and all
the dogs are getting good walks, hoooorayy! So I had a soothing Monday
morning, as usual. See you tomorrow from Illinois...

October ~ 10¢ a bag in SF

Yesterday when I warned a customer that we'd have to charge 10¢ a bag
she said it was "socialism" and I fear that I snorted derisively and did not
keep my big mouth closed. The policy starts today and of course I'm all
for it, but not looking forward to the reaction of a small subset of people
who have been spoiled, and of course I do understand that. So, thankfully,
I will miss the first week of this city-wide program and yes, we will all
carry our totes and get used to the new waste-not way of life.

We leave in the morning for our trip to Chicago and Pittsburgh, but I'll
try to drop in a post before the Super Shuttle arrives.

a girl named Lisa

Margaret is simply one of the best films ever about NYC, the teenage
years and the ironies of everyday life, especially, it seems, in a BIG city.
Anna Paguin is the star, but we also see Jennie Berlin, Matthew Broderick,
Mark Ruffalo and Matt Damon. The writer/director is Kenneth Lonergan
(You Can Count on Me) and we think he is brilliant. This movie was
produced in 2005, but due to some legal squabbling, it wasn't released
until this year. Here, from the New Yorker's review: Lonergan captures the
flamboyant expressivity and intellectual abstractions...that define the
urban bourgeoisie. And I just say, "Wowza" and "Flix® it!"

every 40 years or so

goodbye, old workhorse

hello, new beauty

Well, those Kenmore® appliances certainly do last. Our old stove was a
double oven and they don't make those anymore, so we'll be getting a
microwave too, for the first time. Joining this century, by golly. Husbando
had the nerve to ask me if I thought I'd feel more like cooking with the
new Kenmore and of course we all know the answer to that. And yes,
that was a rude question on his part. It has a self-cleaning oven so he won't
have to do that nasty chore anymore and thank God I never had to.

The Rock ~ finally

Now HOW long have we lived here? Never mind, because yesterday we finally
made it to Alcatraz. Husbando, Ginger and I had a terrific day and after a
little fog, the sun came out and warmed our hearts and hands. They do a
great job here, it's a National Park now and they have superb crowd control
and of course everyone told us to use the fine audio tour and we did. First we
watched the orientation video and that was excellent too. I don't know why we
waited so long to become tourists in our own backyard, but now finally we
can check this off our list. Next? Angel Island in 2012!

what am I reading?

Recommended by Linda, so I'm reading it on my LindaKindle! Bernadette
has disappeared and we are searching, searching for her. Takes place mostly
in Seattle, so that's an unusual setting. Lots of weirdness, just like real life.

a short poem for Wednesday

some books in our living room ~ who has time to read?

To Whom It May Concern

This book-panelled room is moving
at a great speed throughout the universe
(and this is the kind of statement
my panelled reviewers loathe).
I am not on any drug, even alcohol.
I am not hallucinating. (I suspect I am incapable of it.)
Everything is exactly as it is.
And this panelled room is moving
at a great speed throughout the universe.
Tom Marshall

The Essential Tom Marshall
The Porcupine's Quill

black & white Monday

Casanova

Cleo

I'm settling into my weekly SPCA routine nicely now.  A little time for a cat or
two and yesterday I met Cleo, the one-eyed dog. She is sweet and gentle and
I bet she'll find her forever home before next Monday. I hope so. The breakfasts
can be quite detailed with assorted specific foods and appetizer enhancements.
Sometimes the dogs get depressed and won't eat and everyone goes into the
"what's wrong?" mode, which of course I approve of. Today I deal with
people out at the Legion of Honor ~ a whole different ballgame, post-season or no.

no one exists alone

This play by Larry Kramer takes us back to 1981, and the beginning of AIDS,
or the gay plague, as it was first known. It is very, very powerful and let us
never forget the suffering, the tremendous fear and the countless funerals
during those first few horrid years. I (and most of the audience) had two
Kleenex® going by the end of the second act. The playwright admits that
he wrote The Normal Heart to make people cry ~ in 1985, it became the
longest-running hit that the NY The Public Theater ever produced. And now,
almost 30 years later, we finally get to see it and for some reason it's
just as timely as it was then, maybe more so. At ACT, see it!

our Giant peloteros!

Winning the NL West title at home last night

Baseball camps in the Dominican Republic

What a blast to win again ~ dancing radio announcers, 49er caps (sticking it
to the tiresome NFL) and happy fans, players and our big world of Giant
followers. We'll be out of town (gulp) for the beginning of the playoff season,
but the Blogmaid will text me (please) without surcease while we attend a
wedding and socialize with family in Chicago and Pittsburgh. Details to follow
~ needless to say. Checking my Imodium® supply is on the To Do list...

Earlier in the week we watched this Ballplayer film from the Flix®. My,
the corporations love saving money in the DR where little boys start training
at age 10 or so. July 2nd is the signing date and if they are over 16 they get
less money. Hence, they often lie about their age. If a kid signs with one of
our major league teams his parents go from poverty to wealth, so any
sacrifice is worth it. But it doesn't paint a pretty picture of our Great American
Pastime or the MLB, or you and me. Oh yes, we recommend the movie.

Charlie was found

Near the railroad tracks in Nebraska. I never saw him gussied up, so I'll keep
the photo of Charlie in the Giants orange and black. We hope he died instantly
and as the Blogmaid said, he would be shocked at the many Facebook friends
he had, 4,000 or so. I have only wonderful memories of Charlie, a good and
generous man who loved to travel alone, so he was doing what he so enjoyed.
Serious insomnia plagued him for the 20 plus years that we knew him
and now, we so hope, he rests in peace. Thank you for being there for us,
Charles and I'll bring the coffee when next we meet. It's my turn...

another SF museum

WMD: Remembering Sandanapalas ~ Robert Colescott

Museum of the African Diaspora

Ginger emailed me to be sure and catch the exhibit here down on
Mission near 3rd. I have my magic museum badge which allows me
free entrance and took advantage of it yesterday. MoAD is a delight
so I went to see two of my favorites ~ Joan Brown and Squeak
Carnwath. And I loved them, as always, but then I found this piece
by Robert Colescott and I just couldn't seem to leave it. Amazing.
Next I went down to the second floor into a completely dark room and
listened to authors reading about the lives of slaves ~ one was Maya
Angelou and that certainly was moving and profound. This particular
abstract exhibit ends in two days and yes, I highly recommend it.

dinner for four, please

When I was young (and not exceedingly bright) I liked the BIG parties
with too much food, music and booze. That could be true of all of us,
but I can only speak for me and besides, it's MY blog, so there. Now
I so look forward to close friends, good food and pleasant conversation.
I like puttering around the house all day getting strange corners and
shelves dusted, buying flowers, setting a blue table, crossing things off
my list and answering the doorbell after I put on my shoes. The Great
Plotniks came for dinner last night (putenesca, salad, many berry pie)
and it was every bit as delightful as I had anticipated all through the day. 

distracted and concerned

I can't seem to think about anything other than the fact that our friend
Charlie Dowd has gone missing from an Amtrak train. He was last seen
on Thursday, and they found his luggage and cell phone in his sleeper
room. His family is searching in the midwest currently with fears that
he might have fallen from the train, but let's try to stay positive. This is
when social media shines ~ there is a special Facebook page that his son
and daughter update constantly and there are almost 3,000 followers, many
in the small towns where the train stopped. Charlie could have been dis-
oriented from assorted medications or lack of sleep. In the 20 plus years
that I've known him, insomnia was a way of life for him. Strangers doing
their best to help, this is when my faith in humanity is restored. But, I am worried...

no more grey buildings!

A brand new paint job for the photo business on Bryant and Mariposa
(I think). I walk by it when I go to the SPCA and I finally stopped to
snap a few pictures. There are always other awe struck people out there
with their cameras and iPhones because it is such a spectacular sight. 
There, your treat for Tuesday.

a salute to creativity

First, thanks to Paul Madonna for letting me borrow (ahem) the above.  He
is celebrating his 600th strip and his email today inspires us all. I have loved
his drawings constantly for the nine years since he was first published.

Yesterday was a quite wonderful gathering of Round Robins and I'm glad
I went to talk, read and comment. Jane and about 10 of us, and I think we
all left with gratitude and justifiable pride. The Writing Salon has forced
me to keep writing and I have met some very special new friends along
the way. I'm one of millions who just would not write unless I am pushed
with deadlines and the necessary "rah, rah, you can do it!"

mostly from the sea

outside

inside

OK, back to salads today. Last night Jack took us to the Waterbar down
on the Embarcadero (at Harrison). It was wonderful ~ oysters, crab,
duck, steak, more. So pretty with the Bay Bridge in the background
and the cylindrical fish tanks right inside the restaurant. All very,
very nice and we felt spoiled in our own city.

very special indeed

Last night Husbando's friend Jack treated us to a lavish dinner at Quince on
Pacific Avenue. It's one of those famous restaurants where little plates of
unusual perfection keep appearing and waiters explain everything and you
aren't afraid to ask if you use a fork or a spoon. See the woman standing
over in the corner? That was our table, but it's not the sort of place where
you take flash photos, so I restrained myself. And it's quiet, so we could all
hear each other. Jack's woman friend Barbara is a writer and she and I had
lots to talk about as we ooooohed and ahhhhhhed over every morsel.

OK, the food (in no particular order here): rigatoni and rabbit, tomatoes
and figs, suckling pig, crab risotto, luscious lamb chops, sorbet for
dessert and the strongest and tastiest coffee imaginable.  I could not
restrain myself and was forced to pick up the lamb bone for one last
exquisite bite. I know better and yet I'm sure the chef was beaming in
the kitchen. Really, it was a glorious evening and the glow remains today.

thanks, Mr. Paley

Woman with a Veil by Matisse

There is a small new exhibit at the deYoung ~ A Taste for Modernism,
from the NY MoMa. There are only about 60 pieces but they include:
Cezanne, Picasso, Derain, Gauguin, Bonnard and Matisse. William S.
Paley founded CBS and he purchased paintings to hang in his apartment
and then bequeathed them to MoMa with the request that they travel
every eight (I think) years. We are lucky to have them here through
the end of 2012.