Finally, finally took the girls to the pumpkin patch. And, they let us roam with Bruno. He had a field day, quite literally. Lots of pumpkins, dying sunflowers and critters. Bugs, mice etc. It's okay, it's a farm with lots of activity! The folks working there were great and we'll be back for whatever seasonal fun they have to offer.
Flower Pods. Now I can't remember what kind :(
Our Haul
El Jefe con Bruno
Went with my guy and my girls out to Canvas Ranch to see Tim & Deborah. They were our neighbours when I was a teenager. They were the first people to I knew to chuck the rat-race and go back to the farm.
We got to visit the baby cashmere goats and see minutes-old lambs. I don't need to tell you how flipping cute they all were.
I am going to help Deborah with some sewing projects.
::
Later in the afternoon DH took the girls down to the elementary school to shoot some hoops. E sprained her ankle at the b-ball game last week and has been unable to play or practice, so they just shot freethrows.
I, however went on a monumental, epic (for me) bike ride on my new SWOBO. Kicked my own butt, yessir.
Felt good & not too terribly sore today.
+
+
+
+
+
+
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= Bliss!!
But the rain crashed down like nobody's business. So we went to the art supply store instead. Glad the girls had a little credit left. I helped with the difference. Bought paint & tiny canvases and some new brushes. They spent the rest of the afternoon painting. And we went out for cocoa with my gift certificate from Peet's Coffe. It was a good Mother-Daughters day.
Bruno helped us wrap presents.
Our plan was to go to SF and visit Union Square with Grandma, but 2 out of 4 of us were unwilling to take our life in our hands in the mobs and rain. Whatevs! DH actually called me around 4 o'clock from work to find out where I was. He was so relieved that we hadn't gone to the City. He was worried about us driving in the rain. It was really crashing down with thunder & lightening. We don't get too many of those storms each year. But I had just put new tires on my car Friday so I was feeling invincible.
It boiled down to not having a good spot to park in the City (U.Sq. parking is easily $75/day) which would definitely eat into my ice-skating-and-cocoa money. Right? Maybe Friday. It's crazy to do it Chrismas Eve. But I like to see the lights and things before Christmas and not after. And this year I'm taking the Eve off. Blocked my schedule and I'm so glad I did it. It will make for an insane Wednesday and Thursday but it'll be so great to relax on Friday.
Not sure how relaxing Union Square will really be on Christmas Eve, but I'm jus there to enjoy the scenery so I don't really care!
There are no words to describe my love-affair with San Francisco. In Sonoma County, she's just 'The City'.
It's funny that I was feeling sorry for myself the other day and sighing over sfgirlbybay's blog and yesterday morning my husband said, 'What do you want to do today?'
'I don't know.'
'I think we should get dim sum.'
'Oh, really?'
'Yep.'
So that's what we did. Got bundled up & headed south. It was grey and fairly cold. Dim Sum warmed us right up. I ate tripe. I think it was pork tripe, much easier to chew and deal with than the usual honeycomb weirdness that I've experienced in, say, menudo. That tripe is wholly inedible as far as I'm concerned. And I doubt you could change my opinion. But I digress, this tripe was nice and it came with a nice marinade. I think next time we'll order it right off the bat & let the marinade soak it. I also ate teeny, tiny octopus. They were red. I don't know if they were born that way or if it's something that happens in the cooking process.
After that we wandered around in the car trying to decide what to do. Well, wouldn't you know it? We ended up on Haight. The thing I've always loved about that neighbourhood is how many little subcultures exist there. I always have so much fun looking at dogs, shoes & hair on Haight. Yesterday, unlike any other visit, I had my new camera. I asked if I could photograph people and their dogs etc. One guy wanted, like, five bucks to take a picture of his dog. I have to say it really wasn't a very cute dog, it just seemed like it had a good personality. Naturally, I declined his very generous offer!
Parked here, no meters. Sweet!
Funny little mopeds. My husband swears they have Kona bicycle pedals.
Cute, young shopper on Haight. And legs!
Sweet dog. His dad was on the phone. I motioned to my camera
and then to the dog. He smiled, nodded yes and told me the dog's
name which I did not catch. The dog was utterly uninterested in me...
The shoes of a cute and very sweet young punk rocker.
My daughter loves this scene on Steiner (?). Too bad it was so grey.
Katie the dog. Wouldn't take her eyes off her mom until she
handed me the baggie of treats. Lovely dog. I think pits are wonderful.
Dog walker who said, "HURRY!" when I asked if I could snap her pic.
Then, she was gone...
Despite the delightful array of colourful hair & tattoos one of things that I noticed was how many of the women-very eclectically styled and fashionable women- had utterly uncoloured hair. And you know what? They looked so beautiful. I've been struggling with what to do with my hair. I had a wonderful hairdresser, but no more... So, I've gone to other stylists and it turned out great, but to be honest I have a hard time justifying the expense & upkeep. I was reading Artful Blogging and looking at the photos of Andrea Lampman's blog Scout I have fallen in love with her hair. It's pretty much the exact same colour and texture as my own. Light brown/dark blonde with sun streaks. I began thinking that it was too boring because I'd grown up with such light blonde hair. But, you know what?, I spent so many years bleaching and dying my hair that I didn't really appreciate it. I'm totally into appreciating myself these days. Including my grey streak.
After our lovely visit on Haight we puttered via auto for a while longer trying to decide whether to stay or go..
After a 411 call looking for an ice cream parlour (Fenton's--my husband swore it was in SF. It's not, it's in Oakland) we called his sister at work for suggestions. One of her coworkers suggested Saint Francis Fountain. 24th & York. We drove from Steiner & 24th a long, long way into the Mission and almost to Potrero. Now, I used to live on 22nd and Bryant and never even ventured into this part of the Mission. The 'usual' part of the Mission was so scuzzy and smelly that I didn't go very often. Mostly to Rainbow Grocery, and I went up to Bryant & 20th to a little Mexican grocery for cheese, beans, tortillas etc. I don't know if the Saint Francis Fountain part of the Mission has always been cool or what, but dang! it was cool. Now I have a new favourite part of the City to visit. We put our names on the list & got seated. Then our little one had a total & complete meltdown. No idea why or what for. Just tears, tears, tears. We left before we got our orders taken or anything. I craved ice cream for the rest of the day. Needless to say it was a very quiet & tense ride home.
Update: Saw Waylon yesterday. So cute & sweet! The blanket was a hit. Or Stacy is a big faker. I'm going with the optimistic approach ;)
I changed my blog name and all of my links broke. No photos, no links. So I deleted the last three years of posts. Weird. All gone...
I have a renewed determination to get my projects done, documented & posted here. Of course, my camera is still a P.O.S. after all its abuse. Half the time it doesn't work. Nonetheless, I endeavor to persevere!
Look for the all-new & totally improved Tinuviel Kruse aka Oh My Stars! blog. I kept Oh My Stars because that's my Etsy name (ohmystars) and there's some continuity there. Otherwise, I hope it's all new & more betterer. Wish me luck!
