Wire Hangers!

It's my birthday today!   Jim and Laura are visiting, and Jim walked down this morning with a broken wire hanger.    Now, who can get this reference?     It IS from a famous movie scene that Jim imitates, and we all laugh at, but you all have to guess as to why this has significance TODAY.

So we did some wine tasting today in Sonoma.  Went to Passacqua, which Matt recommended, and bought a good zin.  

Then we went to Dry Creek, and bought a fabulous Mariner, which is like a Bordelaise.  then went to Mazzocco.  where we bought another Zin!    Had fun driving around, then went to St. Helena.

We came back and cooked steaks, drank the wine!  I didn't do anything, everyone else did. It's been a really fun day.  Everyone called me, and I got a bunch of Happy Birthdays on Facebook, which seems so strange!   I've really enjoyed this day.     Got calls from Matt, Melisa, Adam, Sally and Trudi.   I love birthdays, don't you?

I got really nice gifts today too, from my loved ones.  Melisa always sends her gifts early, so we are sure to get them, but I don't open them til my birthday.    She is so good about that!   She got me a cute little bag, a stretchy top for layering, some really good tea, and some really nice earrings.  I really love the earrings as they look so nice on.   She bought me things with my travels in mind, so everything is portable.    Very thoughtful and appreciated.    And oh, her card was from this weird exhibit we saw together at the Des Moines art museum.     Dan got me biking shorts, a scarf, a foot massager little ball, hiking socks which I desperately need, and yes, flowers!    

Matt and Rachel are arranging a bottle of wine for me from their favorite winery in Sonoma.  I will pick it up, oh, what a shame, to have to return to wine country.

A lovely day!

Hot Jazz, Hot Balboa, Hot Food

We had Dan's brother, Jim and family to dinner tonight, his wife, LeAnn, and his daughter, Aura and her husband, John. We hadn't seen Aura since she was 13, and she's almost 29. It was so good to see her, and of course, Jim and LeAnn. We had the famous Lillian Bernard spaghetti (my mom's recipe) which Jim remembered having before. He wondered if that's all I can make!

We then went to Rancho Nicasio, which I've written about before, to see "Le Jazz Hot". They were really great! They played jazz guitar and violin in the style of Django Reinhart and Stephan Graphelli, so Dan was in heaven. They were wonderful! They looked quite urbane, but made great music.

What made it a magical night were these 4 couples next to us who all danced the night away. But they were spectacular dancers! Some were dressed up in 30's clothes, with chignon hairdos, and vintage dresses, the men in hats, suspenders, and spats. One of the couples was an attractive youngish woman , and the much older man was a short, Woody Allen looking guy, very nebbishy looking . But the best dancer I've ever seen! He was a joy to watch! He danced effortlessly. We just sat and watched them all, tried dancing ourselves once, but were truly outclasses, and it was so much fun to watch them! They brought their dancing shoes with them, changed at the door, carried their shoes in trunk cases.

I couldn't stand it, and went over to their table during the break. They told me they just go to dance clubs all the time, which apparently they have all over San Francisco. (Jim had told me this earlier) The older, short guy used to teach dancing. They all met at these clubs, became friends, and go out dancing together. Also, each of the couples met their mates dancing! When I told them i was from Michigan, one of the guys said that there is a huge, annual "Balboa" dance thing in Detroit every summer. Who knew! I later googled "Balboa", and indeed found that it is a dance from the 30's. It was so enjoyable to watch them all. Their dancing was joyful, yet intimate, with a hint of sexuality to it.   Go google it if you are curious!

The day before is so nice!

In the morning, went to the Cinema Club, although Dan didn't go, instead went to the airport to pick up Jim and Laura.  The movie was "Paris, 36."   It was interesting, sort of a low key "Moulin Rouge".   It was a French movie, and pretty good. 

I then drove with Jay back to Novato, and met Lindsey, Paula and Ken.  Jim and Laura and Dan were here then.  It was busy and hectic and fun.  

We all went to brunch at The Girl and the Fig, a wonderful restaurant in Sonoma, to celebrate my birthday a day early.   We had a lovely lunch, we ate outside, and felt like we belonged there.

We then came back to our condo for the chocolate cake I make for myself every birthday.  It was so nice to be with family members on, or even the day before, my birthday!  it doesn't usually happen.  Although I get to be with my friends, whom I miss dearly, I am rarely with family.   So we all really enjoyed being together.  I loved my gifts.  Jay got me a bracelet that is retro and really cool, Lindsey a shawl/scarf, which I love and she knows I've wanted.  Paula got me a cute tote.   I will open the rest of the gifts tomorrow.   It's so nice to feel loved, and I do!   Pat

The Jimmy Stewart Hike

I am sure most of you will be able to figure out Pat's title of this blog, especially since we are in San Francisco.

After I  went to jazzercize, and Dan took a bike ride, we thought we didn't get enough of our daily dose of exercise, and decided to take a hike in Mill Valley.   We chose a long walk up in the hills in the West Blithedale Canyon Park.   We took Gus with us, we were so happy we finally could.

But this walk!   It was quite scary, as the path was very narrow and steep, with a deep canyon very near the edge.   There were a few short bridges across in a few places, then a plank at another part, though this wasn't over anything steep.    Nearby, we saw a small little hut, and a teepee with  strange objects around, left by people who'd hiked up there.   (it was almost like geocaching)   We also found a labyrinth made out of stones, which Gus and Pat walked.   We found another path nearby , and I thought it was a flatter way down.    Dan did not, didn't think it was much of a path at all.   I went down it a bit by myself, with Gus following.  Well, this was very narrow, and hazardous.  I finally turned around when I saw that you had to walk over a plank over the canyon!    Yikes!  So we turned around and went the other way.   Pat

Pat was quite afraid that we were all going over the edge. It reminded me of the time in the glass elevator in Chicago, where a bouncing ball.....well I'm sure Jason remembers.

Any way it was another beautiful walk in a dark redwood forest that wasn't that long but was quite strenuous. Gus is back to his old self tromping up and down the path. It was his first big hike in a long time and he did great.

The day was the warmest since we have been here, somewhere in the 70's. I took a bike ride for an hour in the morning around Hamilton Field, which is the old Hamilton Air Force Base that has been redeveloped. 

We finished the day watching the NCAA tournament games, and enjoyed the Wisconsin win, and also the OSU loss.  MSU was quite impressive in its game also. They could have a great run in this tournament. Michigan squeaked out a win yesterday, but will have a tough time surviving against a very good Oklahoma team tomorrow. So far the tournament has been fun.

Dan

The Biking Road to Nowhere and The Turkey in the Straw

It's still the same day.  After golf, and my museum adventure, we decided to take a bike ride.   We've wanted to take this flat bike ride between Mill Valley and Sausalito that wasn't very long.  We loaded the bikes, and went on our way.    We are so happy about the warm, sunny weather, that we figure if we're tired, we'll just go to bed early.     This too was disappointing, we went over a marsh.   It was pretty smelly and muddy, and made me think of all those quicksand movies I'd seen when I was young.  (what are the names of some of those anyway?)

The path sort of just ended, and really, went nowhere.   I should mention this though--there are bike paths between all the towns in Marin, and probably beyond.  People bike everywhere,  it is a bit like Copenhagen.  (and can be as harrowing).  At one point on our road to nowhere, there were signs and maps to other bike rides, and they are all numbered, to Corte Madera, Sausalito, Tiburon, Larkspur, etc.    One reason why we wanted to do this bike ride is that every time we drive on 101 past this exit, we see many, many bicyclists, so we were very curious. 

We also have seen the turkeys a lot lately, and their chicks are now around too.   In fact, the Toms were in our backyard!    Gus was told to stay inside, and I got a close up.    They sort of own the road, by the way. They walk wherever they damn well please, and no one or animal seems to bother them.   A cat was just sitting there, didn't even chase them.

Oh, these clothes! And, oh, I feel like I'm in an Ikea!

Yesterday, both Dan and I played golf with Lindsey's mom, Paula, playing at a county golf course in Alameda. A nice little course, and we had a lot of fun. Neither Paula nor I are serious golfers, nor that good, so it was fun. We ate lunch at a wonderful Vietnamese restaurant that is right in town. Alameda is so compact and pretty; Jay and Lindsey can walk up to restaurants, movies, etc. and they love that.

Today, Dan played golf with his new friend, Fred, the couple we went out to dinner with. I went to the DeYoung Museum to see several exhibits, a flower exhibit, called "Blossoms to Art" and an Yves St. Laurent clothing exhibit.

The clothing exhibit was magnificant! I managed to take a few pictures before they told me it wasn't allowed, I honestly didn't know because cameras are allowed in the rest of the museum. So I have to describe some of the others. If you aren't interested in clothing, just skip ahead.

This was a large collection, and I overheard some women saying that YSL helped put it together before he died last year. It's the only U.S. city it will be in. My favorite clothes were ones with color. He was one of the first to pair unlikely colors together, like turquoise and peach. My favorite piece of all, and for those of you who know me, you will say, "Oh, that's so Pat", was an evening ensemble. The jacket was a flowing lime green silk with an irregular hem, the top of the gown was yellow silk that was one shouldered, the bottom of it was a beautiful shade of pink (I thought of you, Melisa) and the sash was a deep pink almost a fuschia. The shoes were lime suede, and peeked out of the dress. It was my favorite.
! The other part I really loved were the clothes he made to honor different artists, like Van Gogh, Picasso, Matisse, Mondrian and Braque. But he made clothes based on their paintings. The Van Gogh ones were jackets with the sunflowers embroided into it, with sequins all over,and the other one had iris's on it, in the same vivid colors of the paintings. The Matisse one was a long black skirt with the cut-out pattern we've all seen appliqued on. They were gorgeous!

I think a lot of the clothes were in his collection, but many of them were also made for Lauren Bacall, and my gal, Catherine DeNueve. (Dan teases me about Catherine, as she's my woman crush!) It was very enjoyable, and good to go alone, as Dan would not have liked it. Lindsey would, but she is working a lot, and won't get to it, I fear, as it's closing soon. But she should try.

The other exhibit, the "Blossoms to Art" were flower exhibits that were all over the museum. It was displays of art using flowers. I enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as the clothing, and would not have made a point to see it. However, I was certainly in the minority on that one because the rest of the museum was mobbed with women bumping into each other to take pictures of it all. It was mobbed! At one point, I could not move, as I was trying to get out of the museum. I got caught up in the museum, was going from room to room to get out! It was like being in Ikea!

I later did another stairway walk, this one in the Presidio. I used my trusty stairway walk book, but it was a confusing walk, plus, it wasn't very good. I would not rate it very high, it was disappointing.

Not the Cliffs of Moher, but Still, a Jolly Good Day! Also, Another Ethnic Group Heard From

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone, and Happy Birthday to our Laddie, Wally.  But do remember that Dan hates the song, "Danny Boy".  We took a road trip today to the Peninsula, and stopped at beaches at Half Moon Bay and Pacifica.

We were surprised at how cool these towns are--they really look like seaside towns, of the East Coast or of Southern California. The beaches were beautiful, full of surfers, nice waves, and sand. The Grey Whale Cove Beach is a potential lookout for whales, but it was so foggy, we could see very little. There are cliffs that drop directly into the ocean there, making it a bit hazardous to hike near!

We then went down to Half Moon Bay, and had a very nice lunch at Sam's Chowder House, famous for it's lobster sandwich. (which we didn't order!)y good, and we walked near there. We then stopped at Cowell Beach, but didn't go down the path because we had Gus with us and dogs weren't allowed. As it was a long walk to the beach, we didn't want to leave him that long.

We came back, and went to Boca's, to celebrate St. Paddy with a nice glass or 2 of a great Zin, Roshambo, 2006.

And a happy day to all ye lads and lassies!

On Sunday, we went into the city to see an exhibit at the Jewish Contemporary Museum.  The building itself is beautiful, and I later found out from a gal at jazzercize that it's known more for it's architecture rather than it's exhibits, which is apparently true of several new museums here.  There is some controversy about that too.   We saw an exhibit of Seder plates, as Passover is coming up.  It was quite interesting.   There were 80 artists displaying their take on the plates, very interesting.  Afterwards, we voted on our favorite.  My favorite was a Seder Plate made from CD's of contemporary Jewish Music---there were earphones nearby so you could hear the music.  As I was on my way for my standard bathroom stop, a young man stopped me and asked me if he could interview me for a video they will show at the museum.  The question he asked was "what are some of your favorite Passover memories?"    I answered that I had never celebrated Passover as a child, but began to do this when I was married the first time.   We always had non-Jews, family and friends at our Seders, and were very informal.    I carried on this tradition when I was single, and re-married, and always enjoyed it so much.    So it's become one of my favorite celebrations.  The other favorite memory is Jason and Dan making horseradish every year, and how we generally have to leave the house because it's so strong!   The interviewer smiled at this last bit, and when we finished, told me he has horseradish stories too!

A Day of Wine and Mustard

Today we went to the Napa Valley Mustard Festival food and wine "marketplace" at the Robert Mondavi Winery in Oakville.    I was surprised how elaborate it was!   This is a huge winery, and people were everywhere, in all the rooms---the hallways, the courtyard, garden, barrel rooms, halls, everywhere.  There were wine tastings all over too, from all the many vineyards in Napa, wine tasting tables everywhere!    We couldn't even give a count of how many vineyards were there.   There was food too, although not very much.  What there was, was excellent, Nimen Ranch cheeseburgers to pulled pork to homemade pizzas, cupcakes, snacks around too.   There were many artists there also, including Judy Theo, who is the artist whose prints I bought a few weeks ago in Sonoma.    Musicians, good musicians, were playing all over the place too, so you could just sit and listen to them.  You paid one price and got 5 food tickets and 8 wine tickets. 

It was a nice Napa event, very busy with people. Many of the wines were similar, though I did like the Merlot they were pouring from Robert Mondavi, Napa is always busy on weekends, and today was no exception, though traffic could have been much worse, it took us less than an hour to get back to Novato. Overall a very enjoyable day.

Dan

The Kim Novak Bike Ride, Meeting Jay and Lindsey, and Learning about Evolution in Wonderland

We had a relaxing day on Wednesday morning, then drove into Emeryville to meet Lindsey at Ikea. We are helping them buy a futon for their house, mostly for our future visits there, so she wanted our approval on what she liked. She got our approval! We then shopped near there, and waited for Jay to get out of work so we could all go to dinner together. It was nice and low key, nice to be with them as usual.

On Thursday, we drove up to Sonoma in the morning, as it is close, and it was a beautiful morning. We did some wine tastings in Glen Ellen. Not much, it's hard to do a wine tasting before 3:00 for me!

That evening, we drove into San Francisco for an event at the new Academy of Sciences called "NightLife." You pay $10 for a ticket, and it gives you entry into this new terrific museum. They have a bar and appetizers for sale, but also a free DJ and music, and a lecture. Well, it WAS a young group, we thought maybe 10% of the crowd was over 40! But again, like everything else here, no one cares, and it's not uncomfortable. We wanted to hear the lecture, which was by their science director, Dr. David Mindell, speaking on "Evolution and Solving Crimes." It was so-so, he did a pretty good job, explained alot of evolutionary science. I wanted to talk to him afterwards, but people were asking annoying questions, so we left. I wanted to talk to him because 1) he went to U of M, and 2) I wanted to mention Matt to him, since they are in the same field.

Actually, I got completely distracted (not hard for me) and kept texting Matt about some of the stuff he was lecturing on, like some of the terminology and ideas. I think Matt would have presented this better, by the way, and we really wished he were there! He did try to explain some of the concepts by using Lewis Carroll and his fascination with word play; I did enjoy this part, but I really can't explain it!

Before we went there, we stopped by our neighbor's art gallery. I will include a picture of Philip and his art gallery later, it is a beautiful gallery. We really like Philip, he is very nice, and he took us around the neighborhood where his gallery is, and introduced us to some restauranteurs and other shop owners. The flower shop woman made me a little corsage. Everyone likes Philip, as he is Mr. Friendly. As i had said earlier, his gallery is in a very posh part of San Francisco, so it was really fun.

On Friday, we did one of Dan's goals, we biked the Golden Gate Bridge. I have to say, it was more fun in theory than in actuality. It was very windy, but more than that, it was incredibly congested! It was a Friday, but it was fairly early, so we thought there wouldn't be many tourists. I think it's just always crowded. Actually, if any of you out there ever think about doing this, wait until 3:30 when they open up the other side just for bikes. That probably wouldn't have helped me, however, as I am a slow bicyclist, not entirely confident, and I get freaked out when I am constantly passed by others biking faster, I would still have been a bit nervous. Plus, I have trouble keeping straight, so I drive passerbys crazy. It would probably be like Copenhagen during a weekend!

We to parkwest side of the bridge, and carry our bikes down a STAIRWAY and then walk UNDER the bridge to bike on the east side! Yes, it was nerve wracking. It was a bit shaky, and of course, very noisy from all the traffic and cars above us. I don't usually react to bridges, but walking under it, and then riding on it was a bit nerve wracking. The bridge does sway, I will tell you that.

Oh, the Kim Novak reference, can you guess it? I won't tell you!

A Comment on Stairways

This is a quick comment.  As I re-read the recent blogs, I realized that the 2 hikes we took last week---the Pacheco Valley Walk and the Catarack Trail near Mt. Tam, both had high elevation.  One was 1000 ft. and the other was 800 ft.  But the difference in how strenuous they were seemed alot more than 200 ft.   I think it's because the Catarack Trail one had stairways on it.  True, they were rustic, just wood or rock, but it supports my theory that it's much easier to ascend a stairway than just a path.

Do you agree?

The Way They Play Golf in California

We went into the city today, first of all, for me to get a haircut.  I got it cut by Emily McKeever, a friend of Jason's from childhood days in Ann Arbor, who has moved out here.  She is actually very good friends with Lars.  Anyway, after my haircut, [which is very good  by the way], we played golf at Lincoln Park.

This course is beautiful--it is by the Legion of Honor, and the views from it are beautiful, views of the ocean, of Golden Gate Bridge, of the hills of the city.   Old cypress trees surround it.  It's a very old course, and very difficult---no tee boxes, narrow, uneven fairways, alot of long grass, but still so enjoyable.   And, it's not like we're good anyway, so who cares?

What I mean by the golf in California is that this golf course was on a walking path, so there were continually non-golfers on it.  People taking hikes, people just walking, people playing Frisbee with their dogs, people with the children, whatever. ! And none of the golfers cared.   When we were done with 9 holes, we drove our cart around the back nine, interrupting many golfers, and no one cared, no one cared at all.  "Oh, go on through"  "have a good time"

"don't worry about it" we'd hear over and over.   I really like this kind of golfThe course literally went around the Legion of Honor to the other side of the road, then it ambled back.  It was actually quite hard to follow, but hey, who cares!  Not the other golfers!

Memorable Walks

Of the many walks, hikes and marches that I have taken, a few stand out. The first was when I was about 12 years old. My brother Jerry, my sister Barbara and possibly our younger sister Chris, took a walk down the beach from Wilderness State Park on the Straits of Mackinac. For some reason we misjudged the length of the walk and were gone for hours. Our parents actually called the Park Rangers to look for us. We finally stumbled back into camp about six hours later, hungry and tired. My attempts to calm the younger children, always began with the phrase "it's just around the corner". After a while they became quite annoyed with me saying that.

The second was the march I took in the Air Force in basic training. It was May in Texas in the middle of a record heat wave. Temperatures reached 105f. One day we were lined up in the sun for vaccinations. The Air Force was using air guns, where they gave us several shots at once. If you flinched, you could get hurt and bleed. Some guys were passing out. This took at least an hour for our Squadron to be inoculated. We then marched five miles to a non air conditioned classroom where we took the aptitude tests that determined our job placements for the remainder of our time in the Air Force. Many guys took the opportunity to catch a short nap. We then marched back five miles to the barracks. That's military intelligence for you.

Today was also memorable. The hike was on the Pacheco Valley trail, otherwise known as Big Rock Trail. The five miles of the trail went up and down the mountain that is directly behind our condo. I thought it might be a somewhat strenuous trail that wound around the woods a little, and ended up in our courtyard. Little did I realize we were headed up to the top of the mountain. We were dressed appropriately but didn't bring a map or the GPS, so we had no idea how far we were going. As I looked ahead and saw the trail winding around, I did realize we were going to be walking a long way. At one point I did wonder if we had miscalculated where we would end up because of the direction the path took. My fear was we would end up in Marinwood, which was on the other side of the mountain. As we were ascending one of the highest points, we were passed by a guy on a mountain bike! About ten minutes later, he headed back down, and we stopped him to ask where in the Hell we were. He assured us that the trail split a short ways up the hill, and that if we kept to the left we would end up back in our neighborhood. If we went right, we would end up on the other side of the mountain in Marinwood. We soldiered on up the trail.

He was correct. The total walk took two hours and fifteen minutes, we walked five miles and ascended and descended 1000 ft. The hot tub by the community pool was a welcome reward.

Who knew we were staying so close to such a walk, with such a magnificent view of the Bay? We did forget the camera, so pictures are from my phone, but they did come out OK.
Dan

The Longest Walk, or I'm So Glad I didn't go to Jazzercize

We are stealing the title today from a book called "The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom " by Slavomir Rawicz. It's the story of a man who walks from Siberia back home to Poland to freedom. We think we know how he felt!

We took a hike suggested in the Marin Independent Journal, which is, by the way, a very good newspaper. The walk is behind and around our condo, in the Pacheco Valley. I have never taken such a strenuous hike! (and never hope to again!) It was probably 5 miles, but half of it was uphill, and the other half was downhill. To say it was steep is really an understatement! The elevation was 1000 ft from top to bottom. It was gorgeous! We actually walked up and down a mountain, and from the top could see all the way over the San Francisco Bay to Richmond. We could see the Petaluma Harbor on the way to Sonoma, we could see the bridge near Vallejo. (I don't know the name of it).

On the other side, we could see most of Novato. We don't know how high we were, because we didn't bring the GPS. We did, however, remember our walking sticks this time, which we've been continually forgetting on every other hike and walk.

There is only one other hike I remember that was as strenuous, and it was a climb, not a walk. When Jay was about 12 or so, Dan and I took him and his dear friend Peter to the Pierce Stocking Drive around the National Lakeshore in Leelanau, Michigan. For those who haven't been around there, it is a bit of heaven. Anyway, one of the stops was a 465 ft. dune that ended up in Lake Michigan. Jay and Peter hesitated not a minute, and ran down the steep dune into the water. Dan and I looked at each other, and impulsively followed, and Zeke, our former wonderful, HUGE golden lab, followed us. We playfully ran down the sand, then enjoyed the water. THEN, we had to climb up. Well, Jay and Peter just trotted right up, not even panting. Zeke tried to be a loyal dog and stay with us, but even he got impatient and made his way up. Dan and I took forever, we rested, we climbed, we rested, we crawled, we panted! Jay and Peter found it quite amusing. Well, we finally got to the top, but we have never forgotten that. Today's hike equals that.

To top it off, I had fallen yesterday while walking Gus, after this hoity toity woman chided us for not having him on a leash. She had a "grand champion" French Bulldog, and probably afraid Gus would stick his nose in her dog's royal rear end. Anyway, I was so annoyed at her snobbiness that I wasn't watching where I was going, and I tripped and fell, hurting me knee. So I knew I couldn't handle jazzercize today, but thought a walk would be fine, plus I bought a knee brace. Well, I think it's actually o.k., but it was a little extra handicap on this walk!

This is getting to be a bad pattern, by the way, as when I was in Sweden this summer, I tripped and sprained my ankle. Well, here is Dan's take on today's adventure. I am going to take a hot tub in the spa at our complex! (bring your bathing suits, Laura and Jim, and Jay, when you visit.) Pat

Family Day All Day

We've been feeling a bit lonely lately, so today was really nice.   It's sunday, a family day anyway.  for lunch, we were invited to this couple's house---they aren't really my relatives, they are my cousin Mickie's relatives on her father's side, and older than us.    He is from Chicago originally, was a lawyer and a judge here in Mill Valley.  There names are Sarah and Arne, and they live in Tiburon.   Mickie had given each of us the other ones' names, so we contacted each other.    It was lovely.  They live in a lovely condo, filled with beautiful art work, decorated beautifully, and very warm and inviting.  They are very nice;  Arne has had a stroke, and some of his memory is affected, but he was really pretty sharp.   Sarah is younger than he is, and delightful.  She is a writer,  is currently writing short stories  She is quick and bright, open and delightful.   We had a really nice lunch, it was nice to meet them.

We had to leave there early, however, because Jay and Linsdey were having her parents and us for dinner, to celebrate Paula and Ken's birthdays.   It was so nice!    Jay made delicious "short ribs of beef", although none of us thought they were actually short ribs.  We weren't sure what they were, but they were marinated and cooked wonderfully.  Lindsey made a wonderful salad, sweet and fresh, and a delicious almond torte.   It was sort of a Hawaiian food theme, as both of them are so clever with themes!    Aside from the good food, it felt so good to be there all together.  We are a new extended family, and it truly felt like that.    We toasted that, as well as being their first guests in their new place.   Lindsey's tummy is growing beautifully, as she now has a nice round bump, not too big, but noticeable.    Amazing how she grow everytime we see them. 

so, it was a really nice day, we felt so good and connected.  We had to bring Gus with us because of the length of time we'd be gone, but he can't come in the house because of their kitties, so he was outside.  He is getting used to that there, and was quite happy too.   We do miss friends, and the rest of our family alot.   Jim and Laura are coming out soon, and we are excited about that, wish the rest could be here too.   

And oh, he slept through the night!  yippee.

Waterfalls, stairways, and finally a sunny day

Friday we went for a hike on a trail around Alpine Reservoir .   We got there by driving through Fairfax, and then up some of the mountains.   We think that Mt. Tam is on the other side.  We took the Catarack Trail path , and walked almost all of it, through steep inclines, rustic steps, and narrow paths. It was an incline of 800 feet in .8 miles. Quite strenuous, but very beautiful waterfalls, and yes we had sunshine. Because of all the rain, the water in the hills is quite high. The reservoir at Nicasia is probably 10 feet higher than it was three weeks ago, and water is flowing all over the place, including down the drive in the front of our condo.

 It was nice go be out in dry weather.

We went to Il Dolce Vita in Petaluma for taste of wine, each of ordered a flight, Dan, Italian and Pat , Sonoma. We then went home and watched a horrible video, Tropic Thunder. I thought it was horrible. I couldn't even fall asleep it was so bad, I haven't slept well in three nights, because the dog keeps getting me up every two to three hours. He is much better and we are looking forward to tapering him off of the steroids.  Dan






Saturday we spent a nice sunny day in San Francisco, we took the ferry from Larkspur Landing to the Ferry building, where a Farmers Market is held on Tuesdays and Saturdays. It is filled with local farmers, and quite an active place. We then took a walk that was in Pat's book on Stairways. ( "Stairway Walks in San Francisco" by Adah Bakalinsky) Once again it was up and down, and we had a great hike.  We walked around Nob Hill, near the Mark Hopkins  and Huntington Park.  One of the spots on the hike was the Grace Cathedral, where they have a labyrinth.    There are rules to walking the Labyrith, you start on the outside and work your way in.   As you walk in, you begin to shed and release tension, to quiet your mind and open your heart.  In the center, you may stay to pray or meditate, or to receive guidance.   As you leave the way you entered, you feel strength and clarity.   Or so it is said.   We actually made a mistake and didn't start at the right place, plus we kept walking into each other, so I can't say we felt any of that!   But I enjoyed the center.

Lest you think we are getting too "New Age-y California Style", we later  ate lunch at Tommy's Joynt which was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network. I had a Corned Beef sandwich and Pat had a Roast Beef sandwich. It was excellent and reasonably priced. A true San Francisco Dive that has not changed since it was opened in 1947, which was a good year for beginnings. We then took the bus back to the Ferry Building and took the Ferry back to Larkspur. Dan

Our friends, the Kesler's came by our condo, with David and Elias, David's son for a short visit.  It was so great to see them, they had gone to Mt. Tam today, and we were all glad we were able to hook up.   Elias is almost the same age as Isaac, and a real cutie. Pat

Activities for the Mind and Spirit or "Yield for the Present"

We went to Book Passages in the afternoon to hear Thomas Friedman speak. It was, mobbed, but we managed to find a spot. He was really good--his presentation was merely his upcoming Sunday column, but he spent most of his time answering questions, good questions, I might add. He is more enjoyable in person than I thought he'd be, as he had a sense of humor, was clever, and of course, very intelligent and thoughtful. He mentioned that he does like Obama's economic and energy policies, thinks he's doing the right and necessary things. I thought that was great, and significant. He doesn't like his Afghanistan policies, however. One thing he said a was that we went to Afghanistan to get rid of the TERRORISTS, while we went to Iraq to get rid of TERRORISM. I found that to be a very important statement. He is afraid that Obama is confusing that. Interesting.

By the way,  he is describing the huge deficit in the above picture, he is NOT describing other things!   (perhaps some of you received the recent humorous email that's been going around contrasting Bush's and Obama's!)

Of course he talked about the economy, and again, likes what Obama is doing, couldn't make any other suggestions, other than to say the answers are "the banks, the banks, the banks", even though it isn't fair. Fairness isn't going to solve the problem, so we better get over it.

Later that night, we went back to Spirit Rock. This was a 2 hour workshop for therapists about the use of Cognitive Behavior Therapy in conjunction with Mindfulness and Humility Training to work with anxiety and anger in our clients. It was led by a Ph.D from Stanford, named Shani Robins.   He is also the founder of the Wisdom Therapy Institute.  He explained some of CBT's approach, as a successful means of lessening the degree of anxiety or anger, and then using the other training as a way towards resolution. I liked his theory a lot. CBT provides tools to deal with the degree of anxiety and anger, then, mindfulness helps us to stay in the present, which also lowers the level of anxiety. The Humility training helps us to transcend the ego, to see ourselves in connection with others and the whole universe. It focuses on gratitude and loving kindness.

I did really enjoy what he said, although I sort of put it together myself, as I didn't feel he presented it that well, or that he was all that challenging. He never really engaged the participants, though he tried. I want to learn more about Mindfulness, and Humility, and I think this may be a goal of mine this coming year. I was disappointed that he didn't mention more about that, he was too academic. We did start out with a guided meditation, but to be honest, I think that Dan and I do a better one. Still, I really enjoy going to this center, might want to return one more time. The sign on the way in, by the way, says, "YIELD TO THE PRESENT."

I think this may elicit some comments from our followers, and I hope it does, but I am struggling with the concepts I have learned here so far. It's a different approach than the therapy I have done, but I have done some of these same things without naming it. In same cases, it is very similar. Both Dan and I have done hypnosis, with guided imagery, and this creates an alpha state similar to meditation. My bias is quite entrenched in me, so in many ways, it actually interferes with this approach. I feel like I need to be challenged a little more in this area. On the other hand, I love the idea of expanding the spiritual, of transcending the ego, and certainly, of staying in the moment. Years ago, I had done a "gratitude journal" suggested in a book I had read called "Simple Abundance" and it truly helped me see things differently. Also, having survived a life threatening illness and procedure certainly helped me understand Mindfulness, staying in the present, and gratitude, but it's easy to forget those important lessens.

One more thing about this. I don't know if this will help you readers, but all of us are reacting to the economic disaster we are facing. Friedman talked about it today, and I mentioned it at the workshop. Though neither speaker had a "solution", both gave a helpful focus--Friedman said we need the banks, banks, banks, and the psychologist said we truly need to deal with the anxiety it produces by using Mindfulness, and yes, Humility Training. I feel quite anxious about the situation, as you all do, I am sure. I am truly trying to stay in the moment, to look outside at the flowering trees (you may have to look at the glistening snow!) to take a deep breathe and say that at this moment, I am HERE. I have love, warmth, safety and beauty.

Pat

Later, when I was taking Gus for a walk (yes, he can take a walk again) I noticed some wild iris, about to bloom, and also some Calla Lilies.  it reminded me of my favorite poem/haiku:

Dead my old fine hopes,

and dry my dreaming.

But!  

Still!

Iris, Blue Each Spring.

An Udderly Whale of Great Day, Deer

Another break in the rain, though not according to the weather. We hopped in the car and drove out to Point Reyes. We've been there before, but we never seemed to get as far as the Lighthouse, so today, we did. It was spectacular! The weather was perfect, sunny with clouds, but clear. On the way to the Lighthouse, there are many historical farms, that must have been homesteaded here in the 1850's. They are working dairy farms, with cows all over the place, including the road. We also saw deer all over the hilly pastures. But we saw many, many cows. At one point, Dan honked at them, as they were blocking the road, and they politely got over to the side so we could pass. He thanked them as we moved on, and they nodded.

We went to the Lighthouse, saw spectacular ocean vistas and waves, and actually saw the spouts of several whales! We were surprised, we didn't think we'd really see the whales. The Farallon Islands were fairly near, which is where the whale spotting trips go. There is a stairway to the Lighthouse, which was fortunately closed, because there was no way I would want to go down it, it is "equivalent to walking 30 stories." The vista was beautiful!

We then went to Cliff Beach where we saw Elephant Seals. They are beginning to leave on their journey north, but have had their babies, and waiting around a few more days or weeks. The babies were making a racket, wanting milk from their mommies! We had seen Elephant Whales years ago, at Ano Nuevo when they were mating, and this is one of the most fascinating places we've seen, but this was also really cool today.

We then stopped at South Beach, and saw huge waves coming into shore, so dramatic and forceful! This was really a wonderful day.

On the way home, we stopped at Point Reyes Station where the Cowgirl Creamery is, and we bought some of their cheese, as well as some Point Reyes Blue Cheese. Lest you be envious, don't be, it is NOT cheaper to buy it there! But we felt that we had probably met the cow that it came from.

A great day.

Pat

Time for Another Quiz

Well, it's time for another quiz, just so we keep you on your toes, and actually get some comments.   We are thinking no one is reading this anymore, as we have totally bored everyone to tears!

Anyway, here's today's quiz.   Dan is always asking, when people mention Third World Countries, "are there any SECOND world countries, you never hear about them."  So that is his question, which he has wondered for a long time.

We actually know the answer, as when we went out to dinner weeks ago with Jay and Lindsey at Aziza (see ***below) Jay looked it up on his trusty  IPhone.  (are YOU reading this, Ruth?)

So, he found out the answer, and thensome.

Do you know the answer?

*** The chef at Aziza was on Iron Chef America Sunday night, march 1st, and won the challenge!

Screw the Rain, I gotta Have a Stairway Walk! What Would Helen Mirren Say?

We took Gus to the vet this morning, and she was delighted with his progress! He is doing great, and we can start the prednisone taper, carefully. We are so happy, for Gus, and for the potential for some sleep now for us. I realized later that I had a mood change, I felt carefree, and thought perhaps this is relief about Gus.

We then saw a break in the light rain, and headed for Mill Valley for some stairway walks. These are Pat's obsession, as you all know, and she couldn't stand it any longer. It wasn't raining when we began, or, I should say, UNTIL we began, but it was a light rain, and the stairways were short. They were both in Mill Valley, hidden away, and really nice ones. We have a map of all the stairways and paths of Mill Valley, there are about 352, and no, I am not going to do all of them. The map also talks about the importance of the stairways; they are mostly all the old paths, by-ways and short cuts throughout the town, and the way for the townspeople of old to get around to the main roads, as it's so hilly there. It also mentions how important these paths are as an evacuation route in the event of a fire, or other disasters. So they really have a purpose.

The first one was called, the "Bernard Steps"! (this is my maiden name, if you all didn't know) So of course, we did that one, and Gus actually came with us. This was charming, as it was fairly narrow with railroad ties, I think. But what was unique were the little things on the side all the way up, that people must have left. I am including a picture of a few There were just things, like small Xmas stocking, a little Buzz Lightyear figure, ornaments, sayings, gnomes, etc.

The second walk was the "Madrona Walk." It was near the first one, and connected by a dead end street. It was completely different, but interesting in itself as it was hedged by bamboo trees. In one of the trees near the bottom, there was a stuffed Panda bear with an umbrella, sitting in his bamboo tree. As I was taking his picture, the owner of the house came up the steps. His name was Darryl, and he was so nice and friendly that I took his picture too. He told us that he had actually built these steps, which are brick. He gave us lots of history and information, and then asked us about Michigan, as he has to make a trip to Allen Park soon. So these cool things happen so often on these walks, and I find so much more than I expected.

I do like the stairway walks in San Francisco better, as they are longer, more involved, and one will lead to another around an entire neighborhood. It is so much fun to explore this way, and if the rain continues, I will just bring an umbrella, and be careful of it being slippery.

Later, we returned to Boca, a restaurant nearby that we really enjoy. On Tuesday nights, they have a happy hour in which you can get appetizers and a bottle of wine half price. They have excellent wines and excellent food, so we have been enjoying this.

We later went to a theater in San Rafael that is part of the California Film Institute where they have film festivals. This festival is "Almost British", and the film tonight was "The Age of Consent", a 1968 film with James Mason filmed in the Great Barrier Reef off of Queensland with a 35 mm. camera. The female lead was Helen Mirren, in her first film role. She was nude in quite a bit of it, by the way, and we wondered what she'd think of that now. The movie was really pretty corny, but it was fun. http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0063991/

It was practically sold out, we actually got the last 2 seats. San Rafael is quite lively, as once again, people get out and do stuff all the time.

Another Long and Winding Road to Memory, and a Unique Meal

This was a slow morning, doing laundry, errands, reading, jazzercizing, etc. Later on, we were going to meet Gloria and Mike, our Ann Arbor neighbor's sister and brother-in-law, in Yountville at Thomas Keller's unique restaurant, "Ad Hoc."

Dan wanted to try to find an old friend's place in Napa beforehand, so we left early to do that. This was where his friend from his Flint days, Mark had lived. Mark was a legend, a little man full of life and love and energy. Wherever he went, a party and fun followed. Mark moved out here in the late 70's, lived in a cottage in the hills above Napa. He died 21 years ago, while driving home in the steep, treacherous curves up the road to his house. I, Pat, met him once, but he is legendary.

Dan had been to his house, and thought he could remember where it was, but of course, that was about 30 years ago, and Napa has changed quite a bit. I finally texted Ruth, and she answered, good girl that she is! (she also is in love with her I-Phone and I think they are never parted) Anyway, we found the right road, went up it a ways, but didn't have time to explore more, and it was pretty far out.

We then met our friends for dinner at Ad Hoc.

I had eaten there, with them, last year, and really enjoyed it, and Dan did this year. There is a set menu, and that is what you eat. It's a Thomas Keller restaurant, so everything of course was excellent. They serve you the food in the cooking containers family style. The meal was Prime Rib, Clam Chowder, a Cheese course, and Pecan bars for desert. www.adhocrestaurant.com

Finally! Biking in Tiburon, New Friends , More Rain, and Another Move

Well, it is warming up and is dry and sunny. We were happy about that. We took a bike ride in the afternoon, in Tiburon. There is a really nice, paved, flat bike ride through the lovely town of Tiburon, right on the water. It goes all the way to Mill Valley; we biked along about 5-6 miles, it was really nice. The view is so beautiful from Tiburon. We had recently read that the ferry ride from Tiburon to Fisherman's Wharf is considered the 2nd most beautiful ferry ride in the world, according to the Travelers Writers Ass'n. (I can't remember what is first, I think it's in Hong Kong or Australia) Great to get outside and bike!

Later, we met another couple for dinner. Marcia is a woman I had met last year at Jazzercize, and had coffee with a few times. When I wrote her that I was returning, she said it would be hard to see me as she had been diagnosed with Lymphoma a few months before, and was undergoing chemotherapy. She emailed me earlier this week that she was in remission, and was therefore able to start her autologous bone marrow transplant soon, and would like to meet for lunch. So we had lunch today, then wanted our husbands to meet, so we had dinner together too. They are very nice, and of course, it's quite a coincidence that she is having a bmt. She found it helpful to talk to me, and we really bonded over this, of course. She starts the procedure on Monday. It's quite different than mine, though the recovery and the drugs they use are similar. We are wishing her the very best. Pat

Saturday, Jason and Lindsey made their final move. We went to Alameda to help, and then did some exploring of East Bay area, going through the tunnel to Orinda, then found some interesting things in Point Richmond. We then hung out at the condo.

Sunday, was the Sunday movie club in SFO. The movie was "The Black Balloon". It was a very realistic portrayal of family dynamics when a child with severe autism is part of the family. Acting was good, and the story line was real. The writer of the film grew up with 2 autistic brothers in her own family, so it was part auto-biographical. Toni Collette is starring in it, and we love her. We would both recommend it. On the way to the movie my windshield wiper broke. Try to find an auto parts store in the middle of San Francisco! It took a while, but we found one. It was a two minute fix, once I got the new blade. We then did our grocery shopping, and hung out at the condo.

Gus continues to improve and is still peeing incredible amounts every couple of hours. I think he and Pat are having a contest, and he is winning. I have been playing around with Twitter, and trying to figure out what use it is Twitter is an online thing. I've been hearing about it, and Scott Simon had Daniel Schorr sign up for it, so I thought it might be interesting. So far I don't quite get it. I know how to navigate it but I am searching for the usefullness of it for me.

Dan

Photo Update

I just realized that most of the pictures we have posted on Picasa were unlisted, and so you couldn't see them. I changed that, so now hundreds of new pictures are available for your viewing pleasure.

http://picasaweb.google.com/danklim1

Gus is Better

Gus is better! We got many comments and concerns about our doggie, so I thought I should tell you all that he is better. He is active, cheerful, begging for food again, and, most importantly, his paws are better. Jim VB sent some info too, including the theory that it can be exacerbated by a new environment or the sun. Well, it isn't the sun, we haven't had much, but it is  definitely a different environment out here.
He is on steroids, which is perking him up, and also, making him pee incredibly amounts! And, waking us up early in the morning to let him out. But he's better, and at least he's waking us up and not peeing all over the condo.

The above is of Dan putting the cream on his paws to keep them moist and soft.  The other is a picture of his paw that has improved, before there was a lot more white on it which is not good.

I am sure you are all thrilled by these shots!

A long and winding road to Mendocino and Zin Goes the Strings of My Heart

First I want to let people know that I changed some settings on the BLOG so that it might be easier to leave comments. We do enjoy hearing from people, so please try again. You should be able to leave a comment without registering as a follower. If you do register as a follower, you will get updates when we make changes, some people like that, others find it annoying. It is up to you.


Wednesday we had more rain, so we decided to take a trip up to Mendocino. It was a great drive. The road wound through moss covered huge Oak trees that looked spooky in the foggy day. Then, it wove through huge Redwood trees for about 50 miles.

When we got to the coast, it was spectacular, even though it was cloudy. The town of Booneville is surrounded by wineries, and we stopped at one tasting room, where we found a great Zinfadel at Zina Hyde Cunningham. We did a short tasting then headed to Mendocino.

The town of Mendocino was surprising to me. It is a cross between a New England village and an Old West town. The usual mix of clothing stores, art, and other Yuppie stuff was there, but few if any chain stores. Another unusual aspect was several water towers with wooden tanks that seem to gather rain water. http://www.mendocinoguide.com/

Pat found a staircase to the Ocean and had to walk it. It was a spectacular coastline. We bought a pair of binoculars at a discount binocular store, just in case we saw some whales. Got a pair of Nikon binoculars for $39. We then headed up to Fort Bragg. I have to admit I got a little confused and was thinking of Fort Bragg NC, not California, so i was expecting an Army base, either open or closed. Not so, it was a kind of sprawl town, with some California Victorian aspects to it. It looks better on the web site than it does in reality. http://www.fortbragg.com/.

We then stopped at one of our favorite stops, Healdsburg. It's a great place with a town square and shops restaurants etc. We ate at Zin restaurant. The restaurant was recommended by Paul G. We liked it a lot. Pat ordered the Chicken and Dumplings BluePlate special, and I ordered the Pork Chop. Both were excellent; the chicken was fork tender, in a wonderful sauce, and the pork chop was applewood smoked, tender and flavorful. We bought a bottle of Forchini wine, 2005, Proprietors Reserve. It is a Sonoma Zin of course, and really enjoyed it. See, we are turning into Northern Californians with our growing wine obsession.

www.zinrestaurant.com

You can see all the pictures on our Picasa web albums.

We returned to Novato in the rain. Water is still coming down from the hills.

Dan

  

Dan