Skywatch Friday, Season 5, Episode 17 - Low Clouds Over San Francisco - November 5, 2011

We've had a bit of rain in our beautiful city but, when the sun shines, the view
is glorious!

I am participating in Skywatch Friday - check out the

site and add your photo to join in the fun!



Trichick's Photohunt: Public - Saturday, October 15, 2011

This is a new photo meme for me.  Trichick assign's a theme each week for
you to supply an appropriate photo shot.  You can find info about this meme
at:  http://tnchicks.wordpress.com/original-photohunt/.  Today's topic is:
public.  Here's the photo I chose.

This lovely shot was taken at sunset from balcony of the Cliff House in San

Francisco as we waited at our seats for the lovely young bride to join her

waiting groom and my son, Jeremy, the best man and the whole entourage

of wedding attendants and excited guests.  It certainly was a public place

as the Cliff House is one of the city's most famous restaurants and, wth

this view, you can see why.  I loved the setting, especially, for the

beautiful sunset, with the moon peeking through.  What a way to begin

one's married life.

I am participating in Trichick's PhotoHunt - check out the site and join

in the fun!





Sexual Chocolate and Other Things - September 10, 2011

What a wonderful day I've had, quite varied, filled with laughter and too
much food.  Blame it all on Joanne Olivieri, aka Poetic Shutterbug.  We
were like raving maniacs, too, taking pictures of everything - meme mania,
you could call it.  Sort of like a game of, "I spy". 

At 9:30AM, I pulled up in front of Jo's place, shivering, still chilled by the
morning fog.  We headed toward Noe Valley, the sunniest part of San
Francisco, for breakfast at Toast Eatery.  It was a cute little spot, very
small, with tables crammed in, and filled with happy diners. 

Picture on the wall

Toast Eatery has a huge menu but Jo ordered her usual - waffles which she

deemed among the top three best she has had in the bay area.   I had a

fabulous Sicilan omelette with fresh and sun dried tomatoes, pesto,

spinach, onions and feta cheese. It came with two slices of wheat toast and

hash browns.  The huge cups of French dark roast coffee were excellent,

too.  I can' believe I didn't get pictures of the food.  I guess we were just

too busy eating.

From the cafe, we went down the street to get pictures of St. Paul's Church,

where Jo's mother went to church and school.  Sadly, because of the

homeless problem in San Francico, the church is kept locked except

for services.  Jo will have a much more comprehensive series of photos

of the church which I hope she will post on her blog, "Poetic Shutterbug".

St.Paul's Church, Church Street, Noe Valley, San Francisco, CA

The Noe Valley area is one of San Francisco's nicest.  It was developed in

the years after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and many samples of

classic Victorian and Edwardian architecture - for which our area is so

famous - can be seen here.  I like them because many of them are more

modest than their Pacific Heights counterparts - though Dolores Street,

one of the Noe Valley borders has some very large Victorians.

Next to St. Paul's, we saw an interesting bush with pink flowers and

unusual fruits ( ? ).  Maybe one of you will know the name since I do not!

Good Pink Saturday post!

As we walked about the neighborhood, Jo and I encountered several

people who stopped and chatted with us.  We loved the friendliness of

the area and we decided that, after we win the lottery, we'll buy one of

those cute little Victorians and we'll open up some kind of little shop.

Blue Monday here!

Here's another Pink Saturday one!

Blue Mondy, for sure!

Ruby Tuesday!

Mellow Yellow Monday, I think.

Actually, Jo and I liked this two flat house which was for sale.  We

figured we could each have our own separate living space but still

be close together.  Now, if only we could find a rich benefactor.  And

to make thing even nicer, it's less than half a block to Cafe Noeteca

Wine Bar!

Speaking of the Cafe Noeteca Wine Bar, after driving past the place for

nearly two years, Jo and I stopped in since we were walking in the

neighborhood.  I looked at my watch, saw that it was noon and said,

"It's 5PM somewhere in the world...time for a glass of wine!"  After

all, we'd walked about five blocks.

Flower box outside - Today's Flowers, Mellow Yellow, Ruby Tuesday

Ruby Tueday

Cafe Noeteca Wine Bar - has already garnered many awards

Lovely inteior

Weekend Reflectons

Everything inside Noeteca is beautifully arranged and welcoming  Here an

old dresser is set up with coffee fixings in an artful way.  Be sure to check

out its website:  http://www.noeteca.com

Cute reverse of sign from the inside

From the minute we passed this on entering, I knew what Jo was going to

order.  It didn't matter that we'd just finished a huge breakfast less than

an hour ago and she'd consumed two Belgian waffles!  We'd walked over

three blocks and the waffles weren't dessert!

The wine list at Noeteca was  excellent and had some selections that

were new to me.  I liked that there was a good choice of both California

and international wines and a few dessert choices as well.  I could get

no further, though, than one called Sexual Chocolate, a San Luis

Obispo blend of zinfandel and syrah made by Cal Poly viniculture

graduates.  In honor of my youngest son, Jeremy, who was a decathlete

there ( graduating with a BS in kinesiology ), I felt compelled to try

the Sexual Chocolate.  That was dessert enough for me ( though I did

take the tiniest taste of Jo's fabulous confection ).

Another nice thing about Noeteca ( actually, we found nothing that wasn't

nic ) is that they offer wine in a small pour  ( 3 oz ) as well as a full 6 oz

glass and, also, by the bottle.  With the small pour, you can build your

own flights.  They have weekday happy hours from 4PM and bottomless

mimosas on Saturday and Sunday from 11AM to 2PM.

Oh, yes, not only do the great guys of Noeteca think of their two legged

friends, they put a water dish outside for their four legged neighbors.  I

found this so delightful as this is, definitely, an area of well loved pets!

On our stroll back to the car, we passed a few candidates for Shadow Shot

Sunday.

Hibiscus shadows

Jasmine shadows

We also saw an interesting truck that might be good for Color Carnival.  I

am not sure what it represent.  It looks like something from San Francisco's

Museum of Modern Art.

We also passed a dahlia that must have been glorious a few weeks ago but is now

on its last legs ( like me ) though still prettyl

Ruby Tuesday

We made on last stop in the Mission District so I could show Jo the

beautiful Buddhist temple I had visited twice in the past month.  It is

a respite for the soul, an oasis of serenity in this chaotic world.  This  Buddha

is only one of several at the temple but He dominates this hall in which

He resides.

Ruby Tuesday

As we were nearing Jo's neighborhood, we passed this huge yellow trumpet

vine!  I wonder what people think as we start snapping away at their houses,

plants, pets, etc.  So far, no one has come after us with a shotgun.  There's

still time, though!

Mellow Yellow Monday

I apologize to everyone for not posting as much and for being much slower

reading blogs and replying to posts.  With my deadline fast approaching for

packing and moving out of this house ( October 15 ) and the trip to India

set for October 23rd, it is all getting away from me.  Please do understand

and know that I am not gone, just slower than usual.  Also, I am getting old!!

My 67th birthday is less than a month away.  I'll do better eventually and you

are always in my heart, even if you don't see me!

This post is quite comprehensive, covering many of my favorite memes -

Camera Critters, Sundays in My City, Mellow Yellow Monday, Pink

Pink Saturday, Color Carnival, Weekend Reflections, Ruby Tuesday, Shadow

Shot Sunday and Today's Flowers, Blue Monday, Pets Forever.

Sundays in My City - A Visit with Sandi Takemoto - September 4, 2011

In July of 1994, I sailed on the Royal Odyssey to Alaska.  During that cruise,

on a visit to one of the bars, I met a lovely  woman from Hawaii, Sandi Takemoto.

During that week, we met several times, exchanged phone numbers but never

 really stayed in touch.  Six months later, the first night of  a Sydney, Australia

to Auckland, New Zealand cruise as I was crossing the dining room to my table

on the Crown Odyssey, a voice called out to me.  Much to my delight and surprise,

it was Sandi Takemoto!  She and her mother were sailing with me and were staying

two days at the end of the cruise in Auckland - and so was I - and we would be at

the same hotel. 

On that cruise, Sandi and I spent  a great deal of time together and, every
evening, we ended up meeting in one of the bars for drinks. We also became
friends with an agricultural inspector from Christchurch wo also remains a
friend to this day.  Sandi lives on Oahu and, whenever I'm in Hawaii, I always
see her.  When I got an email last month, saying she was doing a cruise in
late August out of San Francisco, she wondered if I might pick her up at the
airport at 5:30AM and spend a few hours with her before she had to board the
ship at 11AM.  "No problem", I told her.  I wouldn't miss seeing a friend,
regardless of the hour.

I searched for a place with early morning breakfast, then we spent the next
few hours riding around and sightseeing and stopping at the Ferry Building's
Thursday Farmer's Market.  It was with a bit of  envy that I dropped her at
the pier for her NINETEEN day cruise to Mexico, through the Panama

Canal, and up the East Coast to New York!

For breakfast, I picked a place called the Ashley Cafe because it opened at

6AM and it had gotten good reviews.  I actually was a bit disappointed in it.

It was out in the Richmond District, parking was difficult at that time of the

morning and I didn't find it that great, especially in San Francisco with all its

superior eating places.

My omelet with red onions, mushrooms, spinach and feta cheese

As you can see, we were the only ones in there!

Lovely blue Victorian

Gingerbread on the Victorian

Beautiful dahlias in the garden of a Victorian home

San Francisco's Ferry Building, besides being the ferry terminal, is home to many

wonderful shops and restaurants and, on Thursdays and Saturdays, hosts a

wonderful farmer's market.  To be sure, its prices seem to be a bit higher

than the average farmer's market and, finding parking, is near impossible. 



My lovely friend, Sandi

Dahlias for sale

One of many food stalls at the Farmer's Market

Yummy!

Humanitarian kindness

Healthy bicycle rider in great form



More good eats

Sandi with Sinbad's and the Oakland Bay Bridge in the background

City view with date palms

Climbing halfway to the stars

Modern San Francisco home

I am participating in Unknown Mami's Sundays in My City -

check out the site and add your post to tell us about your city!