a perfect day in SF

 Thanks to the Blogmaid who got us all to and on the SF Love Tour Hippie Bus yesterday morning down at the Argonaut Hotel in Fisherman's Wharf. Doug and Barb took the back seats we all had a splendid two hour drive with people giving us the peace sign every two minutes as Cyrus, our guide, maneuvered all the hills and curves. He is a native and I did not have to correct him once. Today is rain, but the weather yesterday was magnificent. Lunch at the In/Out Burger at the Wharf and then my first ever basketball game at Chase Center last night. The Warriors won. A fabulous day. 

oh, what a day!

 Meet my sister Jane and nephew Tanner. Two wonderful people who are now such an important part of my life. More thanks to the Blogmaid for making this all happen and for driving us to/fro yesterday. More adventures today and wow, just wow. How fortunate am I? VERY.

wouldn't you know?

 Yup, much needed rain on the day of the arrival of my new sister and my new nephew. This will not dim our spirits, that's for sure. (It is supposed to stop raining any time now.)

ready, set, go...

 And December starts with a BANG as my new sister Jane and new nephew Tanner arrive at SFO in the afternoon. The Blogmaid is helping me with all of this and I am beyond grateful. Excited? Oh yes.

The English

 Here we have Emily Blunt as Lady Cornelia Locke in The English on Amazon Prime. This is an old fashioned Western series with some great acting and lots of action ~ horses, guns, cowboys. Also some very gentle scenes. Six episodes, give it a try...

birthday officially over

 This card from my youngest step son is now on the refrigerator. Yesterday was the final celebration at Starbelly with Joe and Pamela. How did I neglect to take a photo? Now full gear getting ready for my sister Jane and nephew Tanner who arrive on Thursday. Hooray!

a tad early this year

 I just sort of felt like getting into the spirit of the holidays yesterday and so I did. Every red and green item carries memories, all good ones. Well, I do remember the horror of retail work and am so, so glad that I don't have to do that anymore. 

as promised...

...here is the Thanksgiving group photo. The clever Blogmaid knows how to set up the camera on a tripod and get us all smiling and happy and we were. I will repeat myself, it was a lovely day indeed.

food, friendship and a walk by the ocean

 Oh, I do have a group photo from the Blogmaid, but I will save it for tomorrow. We had such a nice day and the traditional turkey dinner was fabulous. Beautiful weather ~ top photo is from the front of their home in Half Moon Bay, one block from seaside. Perfect. And what? Very little traffic. Grateful.

celebrations galore

 Yesterday RR turned 19. Wow. Today I will see her and the Blogmaid family around the Thanksgiving table. This morning I am using Husbando's coffee mug because we always loved this holiday and worked well together brining The Bird and mashing potatoes, etc. Then we would do the dishes and talk about our guests and fall into bed with smiles.

front row seats

 Ginger and I had our coffee here yesterday ~ the light on the ocean in Pacifica (aka Pathetica) this time of year is beyond beautiful. Dogs, surfers, walkers and old friends just sitting and staring. So lovely.

the next-to-final birthday lunch

 This hermit had quite a week of celebration thanks to friends near and far. Yesterday was dim sum out at Cheung Hing on Geary @ 27th with Jeanine, Pat and Neti. Now we can swing into holiday preparation ~ ready or not. Of course the highlight will be the arrival of my new sister,  Jane,  on Dec.1st. Yippee!

SFMO in the chapel

 The chapel at Mission Dolores is small and beautiful and last night Pat, Neti and I (the three widows) enjoyed the San Francisco Mandolin Orchestra there. An eclectic program including Beethoven's Violin Sonata and Glenn Miller's Moonlight Serenade. Delightful. 

Proxistant Vision

 This exhibit at the Museum of Craft and Design is the result of seven years of research and it is quite beautiful and way too technical for me. But I enjoyed lunch with my friend Ken before I joined the throng at the artist's talk as yesterday was opening day. Innovative and amazing ~ whoosh.

n the Senator's office

 Last night Neti and I attended the TRANS Aware Art Exhibit in state Senator Scott Wiener's office. Marsha's friend Luckey was showing three paintings and it was good to see him again. As you may have guessed, the guests were totally wonderful and we admired them almost more than the art. There is so much emphasis on crime and homelessness in SF and we need to be reminded that ours is a city that loves diversity and appreciates those who are different than we are. One fine evening!

Piccino in Dog Patch

 Lovely lunch here yesterday with Doug and Barb. Piccino has one of the nicest parklets ever so we were able to be outside to enjoy our fabulous pasta. My friends have been in Italy for about three weeks ~ a lot to catch up on before (yikes) Thanksgiving next week. FYI I have read that Dog Patch is the fastest growing nabe in SF currently. 

lunch at the hardware store

 Well...on the rooftop of Restoration Hardware in Marin. A lavish spot that reminds me why I don't like malls and/or sparkly chandeliers out of context. In any event, the book clubbers had a rousing good lunch here while discussing "Sooley" a book that I loved but not everyone did. That's ok. Gorgeous day as you can see and now I can say that I've been to the RH Rooftop in Marin. At the mall. 

noodles on Tuesday

 Lunch (top photo) in Japantown with Amy, Ginger's sister. Beef Udon. Yummmm. Pasta with shrimp at my neighbor's and last night Rob (bottom left) was the chef. That is son Evan who mirrors Rob and yet has Heidi's gentle spirit. In between noodles I had a latte and sweet on 24th Street, so it was a me-first day and a good one.

a fine organization

 It's impossible to find the big donation barrels since the Pandemic, so yesterday I dropped off canned goods and a check to the SF Food Bank which is about 8 minutes from my home. I didn't explore too much but there were friendly volunteers and parking and I left with a really warm feeling. 

how late it is, how late...

 No, I didn't clean house this morning, but I had to organize for the two Wonder Women who do come in every two weeks to do the dirty work. This is a big and worthwhile splurge, but I need to prepare things before they appear to work their magic. Does my little house really get dirty? Well, no, but Annabelle and I like to splurge and treat ourselves royally. We both hate housework.