Out of Touch for Awhile - December 15, 2013

I've been home nearly two weeks already but have not managed to find time to sit
down at this computer!  I've been making the rounds of doctors ( got my hip
injected - amazingly successful this time, knock on wood - just hope I'll have some
relief for a few months ).  Also, saw my dermatologist who "froze" the tiny
area on my nose that was a precancerous lesion.

Spent some quality time with dear friends and got to see some musical
favorites perform - Sony and Jerry Holland at the J. W. Marriott in San Francisco
and Margie Baker at her usual Sunday venue at the Burlingame Hyatt.  If you
haven't seen either, you should give yourselves a really wonderful Christmas
gift and spend a few hours enjoying both!!!

I finally got up to West Sacramento on December 8th and I've been totally
enchanted by my precious little granddaughter, Harper Ann Vukasinovic.  She
already has me wrapped around her little finger.  I am really impressed with
what wonderful parents my son, Alex, and his wife, Laura, are.  The household,
Taffy and Bucky included, is so loving and happy.

You can barely see her two little bottom teeth peeping through

Here she's wearing one of her Christmas outfits..and Taffy is nearby,

as always!  I bought her one for Christmas Eve that says,

"Waiting Up for Santa"

Harper is almost 20 lbs now - and still getting boobie 

milk but Laura makes fresh baby food for her...favorites

are pears, applesauce, yams, carrots.

She babbles and plays happily for long periods with

her doggie baby sitters near her and Nana and mom

working across the room, cooking.

One of her favorite spots is the laundry basket!!!

Bucky lets Harper pull ears, tail...whatever, without complaint!

I couldn't believe how quickly this cute little bug and I bonded.  I am really going

to miss her when I take off January 8th for my three week jaunt around the South.

I do plan to return to India, too, in June...but only for three months this time.  I

can't imagine missing too many months of my granddaughter's life.

Mellow Yellow Monday - A Great Birthday - October 4, 2010

Mellow Yellow Monday - A Great Birthday - October 4, 2010

There were only subtle bits of yellow for my birthday yesterday, slices of lemon at  a

meal, fans in the decor at Esperpento Restaurant, or other bits of yellow here and

there but I'm going to put my post in Mellow Yellow anyway.

It was a great day from start to finish.  I began it at the Hyatt Regency in Burlingame,

CA, listening to the fabulous Margie Baker sing jazz, blues, and music from the Great

American Songbook.  I didn't get a picture of her this time ( she hates having her picture

taken ) but the other musicians obliged!  Keithe was terrific on keyboard and Ken did

his usual great job on bass.  Royal delights on drums and he is so sweet!

I love this banner at the Sweetwater Cafe where the Hyatt  has their jazz brunch every

Sunday and where Margie Baker performs.  There is a hint of yellow in the leaves.

Keith at keyboards and Ken on bass

Royal on drums

Keith

For dinner, my family took me to San Francisco's Mission district to eat at a wonderful

Spanish restaurant, Esperpento.  The only one missing was my middle son, Alex, who

stayed in West Sacramento to study for a big calculus test tomorrow!  His wife, Laura,

who had run in a half marathon in the morning in San Jose, stayed in the area, to join

us for dinner which was so nice, even though she was bone weary and was suffering

from a bum knee ( no matter what, she is always beautiful! ). 

The food was fabulous at Esperpento and we had such a wonderful time in thiscrowded,

noisy Mission restaurant.

Wall decorations

We had to wait for Shawn and his friend, Dawn,  to arrive from Fairfield since he had

Air Force Reserves this weekend.  Of course, we put the time to good use with

appetizers. They were yummy - fried calamari, wonderful spicy potatoes, and

grilled artichokes.

Patatas Bravas

Grilled Artichokes

Fried calamari

Once Dawn and Shawn arrived, we ordered three of their grilled specialities, a seafood

platter, a vegetable platter, and their grilled meats - fabulous, all of them.

Me with my oldest son, Shawn, who will be 40 in December

Shawn with his lovely friend, Dawn

Time for a food shot - here's the grilled seafood!

Me with our family's only girl, my lovely daugher-in-law, Laura

( she looks like this after running a half marathon! )

My son, Jeremy, and his lovely girlfriend, Katie

( don't my sons choose beautiful girls! )

Jeremy will be 26 November 2nd and he HATES having

blog photos taken

Shawn's girlfriend, Dawn, who is a 911 dispatcher

Grilled meat platter

Grilled vegetables

This cake was such a wonderful surprise.  Those of you who know me well are aware of
my addiction to marzipan.  Katie went home to San Diego last week and brought this
cake back from there.  How she managed it on the flight - and got it home and to the
restaurant without my knowledge is beyond m!  I was so surprised when it came out
after the meal.  It was so delicious and was the most wonderful finale to a wonderful
birthday.  If you have to be sixty-six and you can't be in Rome, sharing a birthday with
the best sons and their lovely ladies and a marzipan cake is definitely the way to go!

Thank you, children, for this day - and for my plane ticket to my 45 year

nursing school reunion in New Orleans and for my Droid 2 phone ( I am

definitely keep up with the hip grannies - except I'm not a grannie yet ).

I am participating  in Mellow Yellow Monday - join us!!

Jazz, Burgers and Beer - Ritz Carlton, Half Moon Bay, CA

My friend, Margie Baker, the wonderful jazz singer, PhD, esteemed San Francisco retired teacher and educator, performs one Thursday a month at the Ritz Carlton at Half Moon Bay, California.  I've always wanted to see her in that venue but the Ritz is a little out of my price range, especially since my retirement.  Nonetheless, my friend, Silvia and I decided to go for their "Jazz, Burgers and Beer" event this past Thursday.  The Ritz offers this package for $19, including validated parking so we figured that wasn't too bad.  We'd sip and eat slowly, enjoy
great music for three hours, and enjoy the incredible ambiance.

I must say, this Ritz Carlton is one of the most beautiful I've seen.  It is perched on a bluff overlooking the Pacific coast of Half Moon Bay, about 25 miles south of San Francisco.  We went on a perfect day, just before sunset so, for our $19 each, we had magnificent views ( of course, the view could be had for no monetary outlay, compliments of the Creator - but the enhancement of a nice glass of wine and Margie Baker singing the blues made it truly beyond description! ).

One of many orchid displays

Part of the golf course, on the Pacific

Pacific sunset at the Ritz Carlton, Half Moon Bay, CA

Day is almost done

The gazebo, in the glow of the setting sun

The Ritz, as viewed from the Pacific Ocean side -

lounge is one the second floor with the wide windows

Silvia had fish and chips

I opted for fritto misto - a combination of calamari and shrimp

Our beloved, Margie Baker

Margie did three songs that really made me happy - "Georgia" ( of course, this GA girl always

likes to hear that and can she ever do this song justice! ) - "Basin Street Blues" ( Margie knows I went to nursing school in New Orleans - my friend, Shota Osaba, a fabulous jazz pianist who plays for Margie occasionally and is the one who introduced me to her, always plays this for me

but this is the first time I've heard her sing it - WOW! ) and my all time favorite, "At Last" ( in her wonderful voice that can reach out to the Pacific, Margie sang this so beautifully, it almost brought tears to my eyes!  Really, every song she sang was great but I love to hear her do blues.  It always makes me think of those nursing school days back in New Orleans. 

I just kept thinking that this woman, who taught the children of San Francisco for almost half a century, and traveled the world singing jazz, probably did more for world peace than half the U.N. negotiations and political struttings over the years.  I think music is a universal language that helps people communicate and understand each other and Margie Baker sure knows how to speak it!

Margie Baker

I am constantly reminded about how lucky I am to live in the San Francisco area.  Margie Baker is one of those reasons.  She is one of the incredible entertainers I've met through my friendship with Shota Osabe, one of the best jazz pianists around.  

Since his arrival in San Francisco in 1968, Shota has played with greats such as Liza Minnelli, Bob Hope and Dizzy Gillespi and many of our Bay area stars.  I first met him when he played for my favorite jazz diva, Sony Holland.  He accompanied her to Tokyo for her three month gig at the New York Bar at the Park Hyatt ( a real plus since he is Japanese and a native speaker! ).  Shota has two CDs of his own:  Happy Coat and Happy Count.

At any rate, Shota plays and does arrangements for a number of artists.  Margie Baker is one of them.  I first went to see her when Shota played keyboards for her at a San Francisco restaurant and jazz club called Shanghai 1930.  I fell in love with Margie, a delightful African American woman, over seventy, retired from the San Francisco school district with a doctorate in education!  Margie, originally from a small town in Texas, was born in poverty.  She moved here when her mother came to be a riveter during World War II building Navy ships.  Margie finished high school at fifteen, then went to UC Berkeley on a scholarship.  She finished up at San Francisco State and went to school nights for her masters and PhD.  

Margie always sang but she didn't begin singing professionally until 1973.  When a guitarist friend coaxed her out of the audience to sing at  Henri's Room at the San Francisco Hilton, she was immediately hired by Baron and Conrad Hilton who were in the audience.  She sang at Hiltons for the next twenty years.

Currently she sings at several San Francisco area locales, including Burlingame's Hyatt Regency where she performs at Sunday brunch.  That's where I saw her today.  I join the "family" table off to the side where the musicians gather during their breaks and delight in being able to chat with Margie and Shota.  Also, it is wonderful to be so close when this amazing lady belts out a sultry blues number, or sings a sexy samba, or gets the joint jumping with, "When the Saints 
Go Marching In."  

I usually forego the $38.00 brunch and just get a latte and have a couple of hours of wonderful
music to begin my Sunday.  One song I especially like that Margie sings is "I Want a Pig Foot
and a Bottle of Beer."  That one appears on her CD, "Margie Baker and Friends Live at Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society." 

All I know is that I leave the Hyatt on Sunday with a smile on my face, my toes tapping, ready to tackle just about anything, my aches and pains forgotten for a little while.  Thank you so much, Margie!  You are one hot tamale.

The delightful Margie Baker

Making music

Enjoying their work