Sundays in My City - Homeward Bound in Seventeen Days: I Love You

Coastal Scene Near Pacifica, California

Well, really, it's hard to say where home is nowadays. I have spent about as much time in India as I have in California over the last three years.  If I could establish some sort of
residency, open a bank account, and get health insurance, I would actually live here most of the time and go home twice a year for two months.  Why? Mainly because it is affordable .. and I like this country. I have so many friends here, from youngsters to people my age, get very reasonable massage, can die here without spending a fortune for cremation and departure from this earth and they have some amazing, reasonably priced hospitals as well.  I can eat inexpensively, find someone to clean, cook, wash and iron for barely a dent
in my retirement income and participate in any number
of wonderful festivals that take place.  

The downside, of course, is that my three sons live in
California and so does my daughter-in-love, Laura, and my sweet granddaughter, Harper Ann,and the two granddogs.  In spite of Skype,not one of them seems predisposed to stay in touch with me that way - though, when I am in the U.S., my Indian friends always keep in touch  via those modalities or Viber, We Chat, etc.  I am a woman of the internet. Air fare is costly between the two countries, often $1000+ round trip and it is a long journey, sometimes 25 to 30 hours.

Jal Mahal, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

I've been very pensive the last week or so, acknowledging
that I am aging and may not be able to continue to keep up this international travel forever.  Words for a poem came to mind so here it is.

I Love You

The days rush by too quickly,

Minutes go so fast.

Those we love pass through our lives, 

The treasured times don't last.

Do we pause to cherish them,

While we have the chance?

Or does God take them from us,

While we look askance?

Three simple words, "I love you,"

Are not so hard to say,

We may feel them very often,

But not say them day by day.

I often feel the anguish of a friend,

And his overwhelming pain,

At the death of one most cherished,

And words cannot be said again.

The world would be much happier,

If we'd take time, now and then,

To tell our loved ones how we feel,

From family to special friend.

Carmen Henesy

November 12, 2014

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Look Up, Look Down Challenge, Week 52 - Follow the Signs - Thursday, August 14, 2014

This is one of my favorite signs of all time.  It's posted in a little fish and chips place,
Briitsh to the core, called Camelot in Pacifica, California where I have lived for part
of my life.  I've been in that area for all of the 35 years I've spent in the San Francisco
area and I just love its proximity to the Pacific ocean, though it can definitely be
engulfed in fog, at times.

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Orange You Glad It's Friday, #53 - Pacifica, California Sunset

On September 3rd, I'll be in India three months - with three more months to go.

So far, I haven't seen a sunset to rival this one back home in Pacifica, 

California.  Of course, we're finishing up a very rainy monsoon season so,

with the cloudy skies, I haven't seen many sunsets at all!

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Orange You Glad It's Friday, #53

for the first time.

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UE's Weekend Challenge - Seascape & Sundays in My City. May 19, 2013

This beautiful view is only about three miles from where I live, in Pacifica, 

California, next to - of all places - the Mussel Rock Transfer Station Disposal

Site ( the local dump ).  The daisies and wildflowers reseed themselves and,

every Spring and Summer, the hillside is a mass of spectacular blooms,  I 

think it is one of the prettiest spots I've ever seen.

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Sundays in My City

Outdoor Wednesday, # 215 -Looking Out at San Francisco Bay From the Hills of Daly City - February 20, 2013

This picture was taken on a nice sunny day from Wembley Drive in Daly City.
It runs almost to Skyline Drive which separates the city of Pacifica from Daly City,
both in San Mateo County.  From parts of Skyline Drive, you can actually see
San Francisco Bay on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other.  One thing 
I do miss when I'm living in India is my proximity to the ocean - especially when
 I'm living in places like Jaipur!

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Outdoor Wednesday #212, The Hills of Pacifica and Daly City, California - January 30, 2013

It really is so beautiful where I live less, than 3 miles from the Pacific Ocean.  On
foggy days, sometimes you can't see more than a few feet in front of you but, when 
the sun is shining, the water glistens in the distance and the hills are amazing!

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Skywatch Friday: Season 6, Episode 25 - Sunny Skies over Pacifica, California

At last, for the moment anyway, the rains have ceased over the

Pacific, just south of San Francisco.  Let's hope the weather  holds

for a dry New Year's Eve celebration.

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Skywatch Friday - Pacifica, California Sunset - December 6, 2012

I must admit, the one thing I did miss during my five months in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
was seeing the wonderful Pacific Ocean sunsets.  After living only 3 - 5 miles from the
ocean for the last 35 years, it is hard to adjust to being so far from the sea, no matter how
much I love the country of my heart.  I am spending as much time taking in my ocean 
views to sustain me when I won't have them again.

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Signs, Signs - Size Does Matter - September 20, 2012

I came across a new Thursday meme which looks like fun.  I've never 

participated before but I'm sure I'll return.  My sign photo is from Camelot

Fish and Chips in Pacifica, California.  Though I'd lived in the area for

over 20 years, I'd never eaten there.  I just happened to be at the post

office, in that neighborhood,  when the hungries hit me.  Other than all 

the calories, the fish and chips were delicious, close to what I had with 

my British friends in Rye.  I did have a Guinness with my meal but I 

opted out of the fried Mars Bar.

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Watery Wednesday #161 - Pacifica, CA - November 7, 2011

Pacifica. California is a beautiful spot on the northern California coast between
San Francisco and Half Moon Bay.  It is a small community of only about
40,000 people, resplendant on a sunny day with beautiful ocean views,
great seafood, fishing, surfing and a Mediterranean climate.  As often as not,
however, Pacifica is foggy and is famous for its annual Fog Fest.

The houses often seem to dip into the sea and, as a matter of fact, eroding
cliff sides have been a problem.  Real estate has crumbled into the ocean,
causing great headaches for owners and city engineers.

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Watery Wednesday #161 -

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Sundays in My City - A Golden Kimberlye Gold - August 7, 2011

I really had an indulgent Saturday!  My friend, Joanne Olivieri - aka Poetic
Shutterbug, treated me to the Picasso Exhibit at the De Young Museum in San

Francisco ( more about that in tomorrow's post ).  Afterwards, we stopped

at the Park Chalet for a late lunch and were delighted to find a four person

group playing old hits from the 60's and 70's.  We were applauding the

loudest!

Then, last night, I went to hear my friend, Kimberlye Gold, sing at a little

place about five miles from my home.  I'd never even heard of  A Grape In

The Fog - a perfect name for any place in Pacifica, which hosts a fog fest

every year!  Anyway, it's a cute little wine bar at Rockaway Beach where

I often go to eat at Nick's ( less often since my job ended, though! ). 

Kimberlye and her two musicians were terrific and I really enjoyed A Grape

In Fog.

Kimberlye has a terrific voice, whether she's singing rock and roll or one

of her own ballads, "Rope of Faith" from her CD, "Sycamore Street".  If

you'd like to hear a sampling, go to CD Baby at: 
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/kimberlye.  She really brought the house down

last night with her rendition of "Bobby McGee"!

Calvin Keanoola

The other two musicians were really good as well,  I am not very musically

oriented so I'm not even sure what you call the instrument the fellow in the

foreground was playing.  Of course, even I can recognize a violin.  Calvin

Keaoola ( no denying that lovely Hawaiian name ) which sounded

wonderful.

A Grape In The Fog, owned by Beth Lemke, is a small, intimate venue, made

all that much nicer by friendly wait staff.  I especially liked Ruth who was very

knowledgeable about all the wines on the menu ( a very nice variety of domestic

and imported ).  I stayed late, just chatting with her about the cafe, its menu and

musical offerings.

The menu had a nice selection of munchies - nuts, various cheeses, prosciutto,

salami, sandwiches, gumbo on Sundays, on Wednesdays, there are several

dinner choices, and there are even wine flights, which I always enjoy for

trying out new vintages.  The desserts on display looked very yummy though

I was able to forego them after lunching at the Park Chalet this afternoon.

Some nights, there is music or comedy for entertainment or you can take a stroll

a block away and watch the mesmerizing waves of the Pacific. Afterwards,

return to A Grape in the Fog for a glass of port and dessert.  The atmosphere

is warm and welcoming.

Wine flights

To find out the entertainment or sign up for the mailing list at A Grape in the Fog,

go to http://agitf.com/.

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Pacifica, California Sunrise - July 27, 2011

I am participating in Watery Wednesday #150 and Wordless Wednesday.

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Watery Wednesday #149 - My Area of Northern California - July 20, 2011

Well, I said farewell to my friend, Meaux, at 5:15AM at San Francisco International
Airport.  It's been a busy two weeks and we had a wonderful time.  We ate at a
variety of Asian restaurants - Thai, Sinaporean, Indian, Japananese and Chinese,
feasted on seafood and I did some cooking as well.

We managed to fit in a three day visit to my son and his wife in West Sacramento and
just spent a lot of time taking in the lovely scenery in my own area - when the summer
fog didn't interfere with visibility!  This is the time of year when fog is heaviest.  I really
don't mind it much - after all, that's San Francisco - except when I'm driving!

I took this picture of the Pacific and the pier in Pacifica on a wonderfully sunny day.
The location is less than five miles from my home and my son fishes from this pier, on
occasion.

About 8AM, my phone rang and I was delighted to hear the voice of my dear friend, 

Werner Bernhard, a forensic toxicologist at the Legal Institute of Medicine in Bern,

Switzerland.  He was calling to tell me he will be attending the meeting of the 

International Association of Forensic Toxicologists in San Francisco the end of 

September here in San Francisco and wanted to know if he could stay a few days with

me afterwards!  How wonderful!  I first met Werner in 1995 at another meeting here,

showed him about the city during his stay after and we have become dear friends.  I've

visited his home in Switzerland twice, his son has spent a month two different summers

here and become a friend of my son, Jeremy, and Jeremy has, subsequently, been a 

guest of the Bernhards in Switzerland twice for two lengthy stays.  It is just amazing how

friendships develop and prosper!

I am participating in that wonderful meme, Watery Wednesday #149 -

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Camera Critters #171 - Not Feeling Jumpy - July 16, 2011

My friend, Meaux, and I got back home to Daly City yesterday afternoon, to fog and
drizzle.  That didn't stop us from going out today for a wonderful lunch at Nick's at
Rockaway Beach where it continued overcast and misty.  The weather seemed to make
us even hungrier so we shared Nick's famous Dungeness crab sandwich AND a
fabulous seafood platter that had sauteed calamari, scallops, and prawns and fried sole,
scalone ( scallops and abalone ).

Before we went home, we stopped at our neighborhood grocery, Manila Market.  It
has all kinds of fresh fish and wonderful Oriental produce.  I had my camera in my purse
when I came across a plastic bin of live frogs that really broke my heart.  They were
all piled on top of each other, with the most pathetic looks on their faces.  If there were
some way I could have gotten away with it, I would have helped them make a break
for freedom!  There might have been a handsome prince or two in the bunch!

I am participating in  Camera Critters #171 .

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Sundays in My City - A Night With Kimberlye Gold - May 1, 2011

Last night, since a musician friend of  mine, Kimberlye Gold, was actually playing in
Pacifica, only about 3.5 miles from my house, there was no question that I'd go to hear
her perform.  I'd actually never seen her sing though I'd met her once for lunch and
have often listened to her CD, "Sycamore Street" - all songs she wrote, some composed
with a friend.

The place she was playing was called "The Longboard Margarita Bar" which is located
in Eureka Square.  When we pulled into the shopping center, it seemed totally desolate,
everything closed up for the weekend, not a car in sight ( Pacifica is a SMALL
community ).  Finally, when we rounded a corner, we did see a few cars and found
the place.

All in all, it's quite a nice bar, surfer theme, of course, but, hey, it IS Pacifica and a
lot of surfing goes on there. 

Now, Kimberlye isn't like my friend, Sony Holland, singing mostly the Great American

Songbook and sultry jazz.  Though she can sing any genre, her forte is rock and roll and

she can really belt it out and get the house jumping.  What was so much fun for my

friend, Robert and me, and for many of the other "seniors" in attendance last night,

was that Kimberlye and the Third Thursday Band did so many oldies - "I Heard It

Through the Grapevine", "Dock of  Bay", "Everybody Must Get Stoned", and

"Little Egypt", to name only a few. Interspersed in the mix, were Kimberlye's own

originals.  We were singing at the top of our lungs! And folks were dancing, albeit with

slightly less vigor than they did in the 60's!





Find more Kimberlye Gold songs at Myspace Music

While this isn't one of Kimberlye's rock and roll numbers, it is a favorite of mine.  You can

listen to other of her originals on her Myspace Music site by clicking above.



This is my good friend, Robert, a twenty year friend of one of my best forensic nurse

buddies.  He will often come out with me so I don't have to hit the bars alone ( not

that I mind doing that! ).

This is another Robert photo for Sherry who gave him this Jeff Beck shirt which he loves.



And, of course, what evening out would be complete without a picture of me with drink
in hand?  This is my Zombie margarita - in case you want to make one, it consisted of
El Tesoro Reposado tequila, Don Julio Anejo tequila, Patron Silver tequila, Citronage
Liquer, passionfruit and pineapple.  It was as yummy a drink as I've ever had.

I wasn't as crazy about my second drink - the Desert Heat Margarita which consisted
of Patron Silver tequla, Citronage Liquer, a little jalapeno and cucumber.  The
jalapeno was fine but, somehow, I didn't care for the cucumber in it.

We ordered and shared two of the bruschettas on the menu - and a hot
pastrami sandwich.  Let me just say, the pastrami could not even begin to compare
with Max's Diner!  The bruschettas were nice but nothing spectacular.  Their menu
also offered salads, hot dogs, pizzas on sourdough bread, nachos and other bar
munchies.

All in all, it was a fun evening.  I certainly hope Kimberlye plays there again.  It's
great to have a place only 3.5 miles from home.  Heck, it's close enough to take a
cab each way and not worry if I want to have three of those yummy Zombie
margaritas ( if only my budget allowed for that! ).  I didn't see any sugar daddy or
granddaddy types, sad to say!

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