this california bear looks out over the bay. well, the bay is over bear's right shoulder.
this is some of the view from the place where my friend was pet sitting. the place with mini. the house has an almost 360 degree view of the bay. from the front deck, the house overlooks sausalito, tiburon and angel island. one can see downtown sf, the bay bridge and the richmond bridge. from the back/side of the house one can see the golden gate and the point bonita lighthouse and the marin headlands. it's incredible! and so peaceful with all that water surrounding. so much blue passing through every shade.
the house perches atop the ridge across the highway from sausalito proper. and it really feels like a perch. like a birdhouse. i slept in a bed high up off of the floor. going to sleep i felt like i was on the tip of a triangle on top of another triangle on top of another triangle (the bed in the house on the hill). i am a bit afraid of heights, so the sensation was not entirely pleasant. i could almost feel myself swaying out over the ocean. tipping. but i gave in to the idea of falling and slept so soundly.
(since my camera is really on its last pink leg, the view photos don't do the view justice. the sky wasn't pink at all. both days it was blue, blue, blue. tried to adjust the photos in photoshop, but the pink is just too much.)
emporio rulli is an italian cafe, gelateria and wine shop with an old timey italian feel. there in the kitchen they make candy, tarts, gelato and many italian pastries. (the pastries were definitely better than the cookies.) the chocolate pastry above had a raspberry paste inside. so good! mmm m. oh and the coffee is delicious too.
this is mini, one of the fine dogs my friend liz is pet sitting. mini was rescued in baja from a dumpster. she was but a wee puppy. (how someone could leave this charmer {or any puppy} in a dumpster is beyond me.) when she was discovered, she was malnourished, but she is very spry and snappy now. look at and listen to how ferociously she attacks the snake. mini struts when she walks. her front legs are crooked, but that doesn't stop her! she is fantastically soft too. and likes to snuggle a lot. she also likes to stand on her hind legs, her front ones on your lap, and have you rub her back. she leans her head back then as far as she can and smiles.
i am making something very tall. pinky leon helps as usual. i will show you more in april. unfortunately i think i may have to seam rip a very, very, very, very long seam because it did not turn out right. found this video on emma's blog. you must listen to the sound too. the sound makes it.
1. if you want to stop getting credit card offers (for 5 years or forever!), check this out from the FTC. there's also a lot of info about stopping other kinds of junk mail here, but i don't know who sponsors this info. seems good though.
2. the usda is accepting public comment about GM alfalfa until this wednesday. here is the USDA email page. here is some wording from credo:
I am writing in regard to Docket APHIS-2007-0044, and I demand that the USDA reject Monsanto's application to market genetically engineered alfalfa. The USDA may not believe it matters if GE alfalfa contaminates organic and other non-GE crops, but I certainly do. Consumers must be able to avoid genetically engineered products. Farmers must be free of the threat of contamination and the USDA must not put organic farmers' livelihoods at risk. The USDA admits that approval of GE alfalfa will make transgenic contamination inevitable. This is unacceptable. Therefore, I urge you to reject Monsanto's application to sell genetically engineered alfalfa.
here is more info from credo on the matter. (you can also send your email through the credo site, but then you get added to email lists.)
having one of those especially clumsy days today. i've tripped twice—once catching myself on the kitchen sink with my elbow. have knocked several things over. gotten scratched by the cat (ok maybe that's not due to my clumsiness, but i did pet his tummy, so partial clumsiness, partial ornery kitty). and i made a bad soup from delicious ingredients. that is hard to do. hrmph.
in the few warm days we had last week, i started daydreaming about outdoor fika and picnics, complete with china and cloth napkins. this weekend i made these pink napkins for myself. the floral side is cut from a thrifted pillowcase. the other side(s) from left-over quilting fabric. i like to mix floral and geometric patterns.
i am not going to tell you where in the flat my cabbage photo was taken though. let's just say the turquoise walls (which are way more blue and bright in person) of a certain room seemed like they'd make a pretty background for the purple. (i hope my housemate and csa box sharer is not reading this.)
today i wrote a letter to one of my favorite authors to request permission to include some words of his in this book i'm compiling. the piece with his words in it is not by me, but the permission request "allowed" me to express my gratitude to him. (of course he is probably not the one reading the letter, but i wrote as though he would be reading it, and that felt quite nice.)
i seem to have done my grocery shopping in twos this week.
the dill and porter beer is for a dill bread i'm going to make right now! i had it at a friend's house and it was delicious. it requires no yeast. you can see the recipe here if you scroll down.
shari recommended the book driftless. i just finished it last night and really enjoyed it. lots of good characters and stories, so i'm passing along the recommendation.
a little over a week ago, i attended a talk about urban homesteading. if you're interested in urban homesteading, there are some good links in this review of the event.
practically the only color in the yard aside from grey. rain. rain. rain. i'm inside with a sniffly nose and some soup.
finished the lacuna yesterday. i didn't have high hopes after the bad review on fresh air. the historical/political part felt forced/preachy to me at times (and that's coming from the choir), but overall i really enjoyed the book. so many good descriptions and words and good dialogue. and i really liked the main character and the ending. flickrs cabin chickens and eggs i wouldn't mind some of this from miliken gardner etne
yesterday my friend jeff and i somewhat randomly ended up seeing a diane arbus exhibit in a gallery downtown. it was mostly work of hers that neither of us had seen before, all brilliant. how did she meet so many people?
pre gallery we stopped in at this hat store that was the size of a closet and mostly filled with fedoras. they specialize in handmade and california-made hats. very cool. i don't understand why hats aren't more back in fashion than they are. they're elegant, fun, spicy, functional. actually there were some nutty hats being sported by subjects in the diane arbus photos. one looked like a giant cabbage, and one had flopping layers. both worn by old ladies. i think the floppy one was fuzzy/furry too. or maybe it was felt. anyhow, talk about hats with character.
this is what i remember of the process (not a recipe)
buy a box (20 pounds) of bitter seville oranges at the farmers' market (talk about flowers, food, plans, shoes with three friends).
in a small, beautiful kitchen inside an apartment filled with treasures at every turn...
rinse oranges, wash jars, cut oranges in half, juice, save pips, save peels, scrape out white from peels (save both), cut scraped peels in half, scrape down even more (compost white parts), slice peels into thin strips. (laugh hard at the pain of all the scraping and the bossiness of the generous teacher-friend, consume adult beverages. pet sweetest visiting neighbor dog who watches the marmalading process patiently. marvel at labor of ancestors.)
boil juice and strips of peels with cheesecloth bag for a long time in a large, non-reactive pot (bag contains pips and first round of scrapings from peels), boil until pectin does its thing (while simmering, go down the street and eat some food {somewhat ravenously}).
return to the calm of the now heavily orange-scented apartment.
boil jars and lids for 15 minutes, air dry, funnel marmalade into jars, wipe jar rims so seals will be secure, put lids on, lower into boiling water, boil for 15 minutes, remove from bath, listen to lids popping (now sealed!). admire deep amber color and rows of filled jars, now cooling. clean stickiness from everywhere.
sleep deeply despite tugging burn in shoulder and neck.
gratefully enjoy beautiful marmalade on toast with cheese.
this one cow would honk-howl whenever it was feeling bothered—when people, dogs or horses passed by. neither rachael nor i had ever heard this sound from a cow before. definitely not a moo. i only got the very tail end of one of the howls on video.
and speaking of cows...
i've been enjoying watching cups (cooking up a story). farmers are such badasses. i've watched maybe eight of the short movies now. my favorites so far below.
i love this guy, anthony boutard. so charming. i like how he talks (with a smile in his voice) and what he has to say. note the gourd room.
about a farmer who had to also become a yarn producer/graphic designer/marketer/salesperson.
i think partially because i drank coffee (which i rarely do) at around 4:00 yesterday, i couldn't fall asleep last night. so i lay awake thinking about how fabulous general store is. general store is a lovely shop across town from me, right by the ocean. it is next to the aptly named trouble coffee shop. a tiny strip of awesomeness has opened in the outer sunset, which as far as i know, is relatively devoid of awesome stores. jen and bob and i went to general store for the first time yesterday.
i couldn't totally focus on the wares in the store because i was completely enamored with the store owner's dog, macie! part dog, part fox. look at her bushy fox tail. i have mentioned before which dogs i am particularly a sucker for. well add to the top of the list: very soft part dog, part fox dogs.
in addition to the macie distraction, i was also distracted/lulled by the cozy atmosphere and unintimidating vibe of the place. i kind of just wanted to live there. the freshly cut wood scent had its aromatherapy effect on me. (smelled a bit like my dad's garage where he did/does carpentry projects.) the store feels scandinavian to me, with the white walls and light wood. it is clean and spare, though there are many treasures to be found in various boxes. the store design also seems to have some other influences as well—a skater/surfer/california one, a modern art/design one, a DIY crafter/reuse one, a 70's one.
serena, the very nice co-owner, who was at the store, is an SF artist who has a gorgeous blog as well. you can see much better, non-blurry photos of the store there.
even though getting to general store is quite a commute for me, i know i will go out there again in 2010 to visit that foxy macie, to get a better look at the goodies being sold and to see the greenhouse they plan to open in the back yard!
their dog rolf is the sweetest and goofiest, but unfortunately he eats their other dog's (and his own) poo, which makes it very hard to snuggle with him. talk about bad breath.
