More Ho Ho Holidays

Feeling social after a night with friends at a Northern CA Grantmakers holiday party at the Asian Art Museum. Love the new sculpture and the Christmas tree at City Hall. And the break in the rain had me donning a fun skirt and go-go boots!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

New Version of Comfort Food

Who would have thought mac n cheese could be surpassed by Portuguese sausage, kale, a fried egg, sauerkraut and avocado.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Holidays in the "Gay-borhood"

Bows on the palm trees... must be Christmas on Market Street! It's a rainy Saturday morning, I just shopped Whole Foods for sustenance and now it's time to craft! Thoreau Center craft fair here I come!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Spicy

Baby it's cold outside! And a new favorite to warm the belly is almond milk with spices. Throw in nutmeg, cinnamon, a little ginger and even littler cloves and heat it for a few minutes on the stove.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Overheard on the MUNI Platform

The weather is inclement... (as they stand with water dripping off the end of their nose)... Everyone should know who the mayor of New York City is!... Embarcadero in 5 minutes...

It's a rainy Saturday evening in the City.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Android!

Excitement = buying a new Android phone from Sprint and being able to talk from anywhere in my apartment...

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Rough Day

After a week of heat that reddened my shoulders and brought sweat to my knees, it seems that Fall has fallen. Today, my shirt and jacket were too thin, my jeans too tight and cold, and my bare hair too wind blown.

I spent lunch eating Pluto's with friends talking about internships in Nicaragua, creating cross-enterprise collaborative relationships, and far away leadership seminars in paradise. One of my favorite things about living in San Francisco and working in a non-profit foundation is this -- having meaningful dream-filled conversations with colleagues that I call my friends.

Babies, the movie

Oh my lord, could there be four cuter babies in the world than those featured in the Babies movie?

At first, I thought San Francisco was a bad choice to represent the entire United States. But, the film makers did a good job of focusing the film mostly on transferable scenes that could take place in any major U.S. city and possibly some suburbs. The lack of dialogue, beautiful cinematography and quirk-filled scenes had me giggling and gasping.

The film highlighted some of the big differences between bringing up babies in four very diverse reaches of the globe: Mongolia, Namibia, Tokyo and the U.S. Especially poignant and memorable were the scenes where the mother of Ponijao, in Namibia, cleaned her baby's poop-butt with her bare hand and the Mongolian baby, Bayar, stood amongst a field full of huge elk.

Overall, it was an enjoyable way to spend a sleepy afternoon.

Hot hot hot

Four days of skirt weather. San Francisco summer has officially arrived. I'm baring red arms and cheeks. The city is up late, there are more people out walking around as I wait for the bus, all the faces are smiling. The backs of my knees are sweating and I couldn't be happier.

Out by Ocean Beach this evening, girls were wrapped in towels wearing flip flops as they waited for the N Judah. Java Beach's outdoor seating overflowed. Dads were strolling the strollers and chasing after giddy kids. Dogs looked somewhat confused but happy to be outside where the air was just a little cooler. The sunset was bright orange and pink.

Carnitas the GAPS Way

One of my very favorite things to throw together on nights when I'm over the whole cooking-every-night thing is carnitas. I buy the carnitas from Trader Joe's, throw them in a pan with squash and peppers and onions (or any other veggies I have on hand), spice them appropriately with chili powder, red hot pepper flakes, cumin and a good basic multi-spice, and pour it over the top of romaine lettuce. Then, I pour on some GAPS-friendly salsa, slice up some avocado and ripe tomato, and put about a half cup of sauerkraut on top. So quick and easy AND tasty!

Sausalito House Boats

Today was the 25th annual Sausalito House Boat Tour. From 900 to 4,000 square feet, (on average, 1,200 square feet), these people have figured out the best use of space ever! Check out some of my favorite houseboats of the 19 shown.

That is a 1930's full size Magic Chef stove, on the right! It belonged to the owner's parents and was a major feature of this 2,100 square foot living space. You can see from the entry way, through the kitchen to the bathroom.

This log home was built from a kit and was one of the steadier floaters we walked in. It felt rustic despite the fact it is less than 10 years old.

This little guy was laying on Kappas Green listening to the music and trying to catch some shade amongst the artwork.

Noise and Sun

In memory. It's September 11th. I'll never forget what this day means and honor those who lost loved ones 9 years ago.

As I walked to the Noe Valley Farmer's Market, this morning, I listened to a great podcast that was so appropriate. Called the Art of Noise, it was focused on noise, the lack of it, and how some artists and scientists have changed it into something beautiful. Noise is something that I tend to complain about, while still living in an urban environment and being unwilling to change that fact. Some of my favorite quotes were (with some minor paraphrasing): (1) I hate the noise but, love to hate the noise; (2) noise is really man-made, nature can't make noise, can it? and (3) being silent taught me patience.

This month, after unexpected days of fog and low cloud cover in August, we have had several days of sun and it has taught me that I thrive in sun. It reminds me of playing on the sidewalks of Sunnyvale that burned my bare feet, in the summers between grade school years. It reminds me of the scent of heat, what I used to call potato bugs or roly polys inching along the hot suburban sidewalk, riding my bike up and down my block for hours. And bliss. It reminds me of bliss. I'm just glad that summer is finally here...

Modern Art and Mime in the Sun

After 40 some odd days of fog and cold, we hit the sunshine today and it was wondrous! Ah, summer may finally be here at last!

Yesterday, I decided I would head to SFMOMA first thing and take in the Calder to Warhol exhibit featuring pieces from the new Fisher Collection. After much hullabaloo and at least two building designs that did not appease the Presidio community where the collection was originally to be housed, Don Fisher, the founder of Gap, just before passing away decided, to donate his collection to the SFMOMA for the next 100 years. Now, SFMOMA has found the right architect to add on to their building now standing on 3rd Street near Howard. And, until September 19th, there are two floors of the Fisher Collection on exhibit including several pieces in the roof garden (which may be one of my new favorite spots in the City). Some of my favorite pieces from this collection are the works by Agnes Martin, Chuck Close's Gwynne watercolor, and Jeff Wall's Tattoos & Shadows, a riff on Manet's Dejeuner sur L'Herbe.

After perusing Fisher, I walked down to the New Topographics photography exhibit which was an excellent collection of photographers who captured the new development going on in the United States especially the tract housing and industrial parks, in the seventies. I saw Stephen Shore speak awhile back at the San Francisco Art Institute and a few of his pieces were on show. Then, I walked down to see the 75th Anniversary exhibit which was a great gathering of works from so many great Bay Area artists among others. There are so many amazing connections that have been a part of making the SFMOMA what it is today!

The sun was blazing as I walked out the doors and I opted to pick up some food at Whole Foods and sit in Yerba Buena Gardens. It's such a beautiful park nestled among the high rises of downtown. And, it's YB Gardens Festival time and this weekend the SF Mime Troupe was featured doing Posibilidad or Death of the Worker. This was not your typical mime performance; there was singing and depiction of a telenovela and a social justice message! So San Francisco!

Poetry Near the Park

To support a colleague and friend of mine, I went to Duboce Park Cafe for a poetry reading. First, Duboce Park Cafe serves yummy organic salads topped with bacon, turkey and other delights.

The poetry reading was great! My colleague read from her chapbook that is coming out soon; several pieces my favorite of which is called Tales we Tell Our Children. The poet took this work and some of the others that she read to VONA this summer. And with her London accent, she read the revised work with brilliance as the N Judah clanged past the door of the cafe.

After she read, the mic was opened up to whomever wanted to read. At this point, another colleague decided to read her prose poem about her time spent working at Johns Hopkins hospital, in Baltimore, at the time when AIDS first came to our consciousness. I had a tear in my eye by the end. It was an evening filled with creativity.

Secret Garden - Mission

One of my favorite things to do is spend a weekend with my body-work practitioner who comes to San Francisco once a month from LA. She works out of a live-work loft on Potrero at 16th with a beautiful courtyard garden that seems to produce sunlight. The peaceful calm of the fountain and bursts of blooms betrays the noisy chaotic corner just outside the purple gate.

B* Bar and Books

Met up with a friend returning from magnificent, far off places, today. We went to lunch at B*Star Bar one of the Burma Superstar restaurants in the Richmond. Burma Superstar is one of my favorite places to lunch not too far from work and now, so is B*Star.

I ordered the soup and salad combo with tea leaf salad and butternut squash soup. So good I can't even handle it! The butternut squash soup is just the right amount of sweet and salt and the tea leaf salad is one of the best items on both B*Star and Burma Superstar's menus. It was also as gluten free as can be and GAPS friendly, since that is one of my current restaurant criteria.

Afterward, we went over to the new sweet clothing store on Clement, Seedstore. And, then wandered through Green Apple Books, the bookstore I don't frequent enough, looking for economics books. Then over to Toy Boat Dessert Cafe for apple cider and some of the most excellent people watching.

Hollow

On a walk to the beach today, a friend and I stumbled upon a sweet spot called Hollow. Yelpers and bloggers alike called this coffee and tchotchke shop a hidden gem and it most certainly is. Nestled sweetly between a driveway and a cigar store on Irving between 14th and 15th Avenues, this spot made me feel like I'd just wandered into Winnie the Pooh's house, only without the honey and with way more style than the bear ever had. It's only big enough for a couple tables for two in the window but, I could spend hours drinking Ritual Americanos and sniffing perfumes, looking at mother of pearl beauties, and chatting with the person behind the counter.

Layaly Middle Eastern Goodness

A friend and I wandered through the Presidio after work today and ended up coming out the 25th Avenue gate. Legs tired and very wind blown, we sat down to enjoy the deliciousness that was Layaly, on Clement. Apparently, this establishment recently changed management and according to my friend who had been there before, the food was definitely improved.

We started off with some Greek Shrimp, which does not appear on the menu online but, is fantastic! The sauce is something I'd like to try to replicate but, am not sure where to start. Then, we got some baba ghanoush which was also good. And, lastly, we ordered some kofta kebab served with veggies and rice.

One of the main reasons I liked this place was that even though there was pita and rice and other items that are not currently on my dietary regimen, I could eat most of the food and enjoyed it immensely. Now, that's what I call satisfying!

Movie to Calm an Upset Tummy

Lately, I've been sucked into watching episode after episode of the Wire, the HBO television series that was a sleeper hit earlier in the past decade. Although I've attempted to catch some funny sitcoms on Hulu, I haven't been happy with the selection aside from 30 Rock. But, this weekend, Netflix dropped the movie, The Darwin Awards, into my mailbox. It's pretty funny. And with some tummy trouble going on today, I preferred gut laughs over crime drama.

It has an excellent cast including Joseph Fiennes, Winona Ryder at her finest, Juliette Lewis, David Arquette, and plenty of other funny folks. The basic story line surrounds a quirky profiler with the SFPD who also happens to faint at the sight of blood and is obsessed with the Darwin Awards website. He is fired from his police post when he lets a murderer flee because he punches the perp in the nose then faints when his nose starts bleeding.

And, it continues with funny stories of stupid deaths around the United States including one where a drunk and high dude attempts to break into a Metallica concert and is smashed by a van. I liked the references to beat poets (Fiennes' character is named Burroughs), famous North Beach haunts (Vesuvio and City Lights are both featured), and all of San Francisco's musicians and actors. While not a standard comedy with slapstick humor and silly lines, I found myself giggling throughout at the stupidity and hilarity of humanity.

Tony Hsieh from Zappos on Commonwealth Podcast

Just click on Tony Hsieh's link to hear the podcast from Inforum. He's brilliant, nerdy and an 8 1/2 on the Zappo's weird scale. If I lived in Las Vegas, or wanted to, I might try to work at Zappo's.com.

On this podcast Mr. Hsieh talks about what makes Zappo's so good at customer service. The main point I picked up from the podcast is that he (and everyone else at Zappo's) believe that they don't need to up-sell every time they interact with a customer. In fact, he said the call center employees are trained not to try to sell more stuff to callers. I wish Wells Fargo would learn that this is customer service! Not what they are providing every time I call or walk into a branch and someone tries to force me into opening up another credit card...

Mr. Hsieh also believes that a happy employee will want to provide the best customer service. It's a truly novel idea and I hope it spreads.

Mozart in Berkeley

My oldest and a very dear friend and I went to see the Midsummer Mozart Festival in Berkeley tonight. The festival is the only one of its kind in North America to celebrate the wonderful Mozart. I especially liked it because the program we saw featured a ballet, two piano concerti, and two opera concert arias; all of the many facets of Mozart's creative genius.

The pianist, Seymour Lipkin, started off slow during the first half of the show on the Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major. Or, I just don't know my Mozart that well. Because after the intermission and bass concert arias, he knocked my socks off! For Piano Concerto No. 25 in C Major, his fingers skipped along the keys and my head bopped right along with them. He has been playing piano for a long time and wow, his hands can fly across those keys!

The bass singer, Jeremy Galyon, also blew me away. He had some funny hand gestures but, I have only seen one opera and he could have been performing as if he were in the operas, instead of on a stage surrounded by an orchestra.

At any rate, the beautiful music reminded me how much symphony soothes the soul and truly was enjoyable after so many days of confusion and turmoil.

Jewish Film at the Castro Theatre

The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival has started at the Castro Theatre and I enjoyed a pretty heavy Argentinian film as well as a great short project, yesterday.

Te Extraño is an Argentine film about the Disappeared, of whom many were Jewish. The family in this film were Ashkenazi and were victims of this terrible epidemic when their eldest son, Adrian, was disappeared mid-film. The film was multi-layered, focusing on family dynamics, cultural identity, and Jewish and Latino displacement.

The first I heard of the Disappeared was through Sting's protest song They Dance Alone (Cueca solo). This film made it much more real for me. The film-maker truthfully and eloquently tells this semi-autobiographical story through the main character, a high school aged Javier (Adrian's younger brother), who is sent to Mexico in order to protect him from the political situation in 1970's Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Local terror

In reading An Interrupted Life, the diaries of Etty Hillesum, a Jewish woman from Amsterdam who died in the Holocaust, this line stuck out for me:

"...That doesn't mean you have to be half-hearted; on the contrary, you must make a stand, wax indignant at times, try to get to the bottom of things. But indiscriminate hatred is the worst thing there is. It is a sickness of the soul..."

She then proceeds to describe her views of seeing a nation as an undifferentiated mob rather than individual people. I wonder if this man had seen photos of each individual he wished to harm in this terribly scary attempt at "revolution", if he would have stopped thinking of "us" as an undifferentiated mob of nameless faceless "left-wing conspirators" trying to take over the government.

The nation's polarization is scaring me.

Tourists in My Own Town

My second cousin and her friend came for a visit from Wisconsin, starting on July 15th and ending on July 20th. We had so much fun, being tourists, seeing all there is for tourists to see in San Francisco. It charged me up! Check out some pics from the five day excursion through every neighborhood, tourist trap, windy and steep street... Call it an Ode to San Francisco.

Brilliant Ladies

Tonight was a meeting of some of the same great minds that made Cinco de My Friend's House happen a couple months ago. Five (and then six over the phone for a bit) of us met up on Eddy Street to share delicious food and hear about this.

My social media expert friend told us stories of how she shared the Social Forum tour schedule via Twitter and showed us an iPhone video of her train ride cross country to Detroit. A second friend from work told us about another amazing female co-worker from the former Soviet Union who has overcome a lot and is a real role model. And yet another friend from work told us about one of her favorite workshops at the Forum where the presenters talked about something we all suffer from as individuals, "movement makers" and communities: historic amnesia. Some of my favorite quotes of the evening were:
-Let's build "beloved communities".
-"One thing I learned from my time at Burning Man was that we're all burning, you might as well BURN BRIGHT!"
-We have to remember what we're doing here because otherwise we get buried in the weeds.

There were more amazing quotes but, I couldn't write them all down. At any rate, it turned my week from a 5 up to at least a 9! What can't we do if we collaborate and talk to each other about how we want to be the change we see in the world.

Check out this taste of what sounded like an amazing Detroit!

This is just a sampling of what the two women who attended USSF were talking about when they shared their experiences:

USSF People's Movement Assemblies: Easy as ABC! from US Social Forum on Vimeo.

Fourth of July on the Lake

For the fourth, I went up to my parents place, soaked in the heat that San Francisco lacks, hit up the tiny farmer's market that only comes out in Summer, got my hair cut for $20, watched a boat parade filled with sitcom-themed putters and party boats, ate masses of food including delicious organic mini sliders, and watched with my mouth wide open as the fireworks shot over the lake and their sound ricocheted off the mountains. Now this is summer.

Compost

San Francisco is a city committed to zero waste. It's the first major city to offer composting pick up at homes and business and to actually institute a mandatory recycling and composting ordinance. All apartment dwellers, home owners and business owners are supposed to use the green bin for all food related waste. My building does not have a compost bin but, I refuse to be waylaid by this. Instead I store my compostables in my freezer until pick up day. Then I either throw my bags on the curb or in some neighbors' green bin...

Sunday Streets Mission

Checked out Sunday Streets in the Mission and took a stroll down Balmy Alley for some Mission flavored mural art.

Very Small Kitchen

With this GAPS diet, I do a lot more cooking than I used to do. Making meat broths, coconut and almond flour baked goods, whole meals with delicious cooked meat and seasonal vegetables. And, I do it all here...

Here's a sampling of some homemade chicken soup and coconut flour bread that I made, tonight.

Hottest Day of the Summer

It broke 85 degrees today and instead of heading out to lay (or slip and slide) in the grass at Dolores, Duboce or Golden Gate Park, I headed downtown in my CityCarshare to buy some organizational fixtures for my desk area from the Container Store. Instead of riding my bike along the Embarcadero or Ocean Beach, I put together green boxes and a rolling file and drawer organizer.

And, look how pretty they look!

Dinner and the Theatre

Tuesday night, I went on a friend date to a newish organic restaurant and the traveling production of In the Heights. Both fall onto my list of recommendations for things to do in San Francisco, this weekend.

Roots is an organic restaurant in the Orchard Garden Hotel right next to the gate to Chinatown. The chef is pretty awesome and whipped up a special item "off the menu" for my friend based on our waitstaff's recommendation. It was salmon with a jalapeno jus, if I remember correctly. We shared a fennel and baby greens salad and I had an outstanding Grilled Hanger Steak with grilled Delta asparagus in truffle oil... Anything with truffle oil makes me happy but, this dish was excellent. The only down/upside was that the menu said it came with caramelized onions which were actually deep fried red onions and likely had gluten all over them. But, damn they tasted delicious!

In the Heights got rave reviews from the SFgate critic and me! It is a new musical with latin flair. I enjoyed it from beginning to end and found myself smiling stupidly and shaking my hips in my chair on more than one occasion. And, one of the things I appreciated the most was the diversity of the audience. It's not often you go to a musical and have more than just old white people. My friend and I got seats in the mezzanine through Goldstar, which made the experience even better because we could see the stage in its entirety but, not from 3,000 feet in the air.

The male lead, Usnavi, was quite amazing and I swear, he just graduated from college and is living the dream (see him at the end of the video below). He rapped and riffed and danced from his soul. And, the Abuela Claudia character had the most amazing voice I've heard in awhile. Everyone did but, she could really belt it out and she had some truly heart felt numbers. This is one that I'll go see again next time it's in town.



Check out the Youtube video of rehearsals for the traveling cast.

Coconut Flour Summer Fruit Tartlet

Tonight I made a super yummy coconut flour, black berry and peach tartlet. This was the basis for the crust (scroll down to see the Coconut Flour Biscuit recipe) with some vanilla and honey. Then I cooked a peach on the stove until it got nice and soft and stirable, added a bit o' honey to it, then smeared it over the cooked biscuit crust. Then topped it off with whole blackberries and cooked it a little bit more. Oh my!

Walk in the Presidio

A dear friend met me at work so we could take a walk in the park that I work in. We headed out from the Main Parade Grounds, now mostly a parking lot, and walked into the woods climbing up the wooded hills to reach Inspiration Point lookout.


On the way we saw some beautiful bright native wild flowers and some rattle snake grass that I've never really taken the time to look at before. It's amazing!
We meandered through the trees, talking and sharing all the news of the moment, celebrating a splendid June evening with skies that stayed light nice and late.

Outerlands

There is a restaurant in the outer avenues of the Sunset neighborhood, just a few blocks from Ocean Beach, called Outerlands. One of my co-workers told me about it and another co-worker wanted it to be the location for her last supper with our team before she went on to brighter lands. So, I've tried it twice now.

The first time, I dragged a friend there on a Saturday expecting a magnificent brunch with crusty french toast made with the bread they are famous for. Instead, we found they only do brunch on Sundays so we were left with some unsatisfying sandwiches. Not that the bread wasn't aMAZing but, when you're expecting french toast and you get dry bread with meat, it's just not the same.

The second time was also not quite what I'd hoped for although it was a great place for my co-workers and I to enjoy our last supper all together. This time the food was less than perfect because of my GAPS diet regiment. When you're not eating any bread and you go someplace where that is their specialty, and they have a small menu, it's bound to be a bit difficult. But, I wholeheartedly enjoyed the spiced apple cider and the amazing asparagus dish with prosciutto and a cooked egg over the top of it. This was before I thought to bring my own dressing to restaurants, so my dressing-less salad was plain even with the delightful spark of fennel and citrus. And, there weren't any other items on the menu I could eat so the small plates felt really small. But, my colleagues noshed on olives, had bread pudding, and what looked like an amazingly decadent chocolate dessert. Check out these pics of the deliciousness!



Overall it is a restaurant with a neighborhood feel and a low-key beachy feeling about it. But, it's not the place for gluten-free dining. I will be back after my diet ends, though. I must have the brunch!

GAPS Diet Begins!

In an effort to manage some of my residual health issues I've seen a doctor who I trust and like who treats patients very differently than a standard MD. As such, he has prescribed the GAPS diet which I started a couple weeks ago and have been enjoying and struggling with ever since.

Some of the wonderful things about it are:
- it is the first thing to clear up some recurrent skin issues (other than steroids which only work for a time then fail)
- some of the foods I've made have been better than the standard bread and cheese fare I used to partake in
- it causes me to be very creative in the kitchen which has been fun!
- the baked goods I make from coconut flour and nuts are so good I don't miss cupcakes at all, sort of
- I love fresh and dried fruit which nicely replaces much of the sweet stuff I used to consume

Some of the hard parts about it are:
- dining out with friends outside of San Francisco is very difficult to do effectively because I live in a beautiful organic, locally bought food bubble
- dining out with friends in San Francisco almost always requires me to ask for something on the side
- with my massive sweet tooth, there are still many occasions when I want a Kara's cupcake...
- my work place is very much a food culture where we celebrate birthdays monthly with cakes and where breakfast pastries are brought in for meetings

More to come with recipes, observations, and general comments about my experience. In the meantime, check out a photo of my breakfast, above, with a muffin made from pecans, banana and honey and topped with honey ghee; a bowl of farmer's market fresh plums and apricots; and a bowl of eggs sunny side up with cooked onions and red peppers topped with avocado.

Day in the Park

My uncle and his partner came to San Francisco for a visit on their way to other Californian stops. I had the pleasure of spending the day with them in Golden Gate Park... First we hit up the deYoung for the Impressionist exhibit.















Then we walked out and there was a civic band playing at the Music Concourse bandshell. The park here reminds me of the Tuileries, in Paris.
















Then we enjoyed the Botanical Garden and all it has to offer on a sunny Sunday afternoon during Memorial Day weekend. After a break in the late afternoon, we walked down 17th Street to enjoy surf and turf at Catch. This place happily surprised me. Since I'm not a seafood eater, I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to provide the fresh seafood that my uncle desired while still providing myself with something enjoyable. Boy, was I wrong!

The Niman Ranch rib eye was delicious and they were happy to substitute grilled asparagus for the starch it came with. Being able to sit "outside" on the enclosed patio was also nice since the weather was beautiful! My guests had tuna tartar that they agreed was nicely done. Then, they enjoyed soulful seafood dishes including a mixed grill that they were pretty happy with, as well. Overall, the weekend was a success and I enjoyed myself immensely playing tour guide to two wonderful guests!

Point Reyes Birthday

Some friends and I headed to Point Reyes for a hike to the beach and a walk through Point Reyes Station for one of the gals' birthday.


We, of course, had to hit up Cowgirl Creamery and the adjacent little lunch counter. Fulton Valley Farms roast chicken is some of the best chicken I've ever had! We picnicked outside and enjoyed the warm weather and yummy nibbles.

Then we wandered up and down the main drag checking out Point Reyes Open Studios. We also joined the line for Bovine Bakery, checked out Toby's Feed Barn where some of us got farm fresh fruit and honey.
What a beautiful way to spend part of Memorial Day Weekend!

San Francisco Stairways

As I've mentioned before, my mom gave me a fantastic book on stairway walks in San Francisco. Inspired by the book and the few stairway walks I've taken, I've been snapping photos of the many stairways around San Francisco. Because San Francisco is built into so many hills and valleys, they are everywhere! Here are some snaps from around town...

Joice Street steps downtown off Pine Street

Steps up Lone Mountain, USF

Very LA-esque steps coming down Lone Mountain, USF

Steps at Alta Plaza Park, Pacific Heights

Steps in Golden Gate Park