Friday Randomness
You know, I’ve been thinking about NaBloPoMo this year. Some years I have a theme, like A – Z, or book reviews. Other years I wing it. And there have been plenty of times over the last 20 years that I haven’t participated at all.
But these Friday Randomness posts are a whole lot of stupidness, and that is exactly the vibe I’m looking for this year. So I’ll be posting every day in November, and trying to read fellow NBPM blogs, and just putting my brain dump of stupidness into daily posts instead of combining them into one post a week. I plan to keep my posts short, too, because we’re all going to have a lot of reading to do. So, having said that, we’re at the point where I could easily have saved all of this content and used it in November, but I didn’t.
Friday, Ted and I went to see British rock band Wolf Alice at the Fox Theater in Oakland. It was fun, they were great, but wow, look at this beautiful depression era theater, isn’t it amazing?
Saturday we had evening plans in Petaluma, but Ted also wanted to meet up with a musician he has interviewed for his podcast who was in town. A Friday night concert, Saturday dinner, and Saturday chit chat was starting to feel overwhelming to me, so while he had his chat, I walked (CBWC!) around the North Beach neighborhood, which is a sunny, beautiful part of San Francisco. This is the largest of several Catholic Churches in the neighborhood, Saints Peter and Paul. Folks are relaxing in this little park, enjoying the sunshine and the airplanes above for Fleet Week. Due to the government shutdown we didn’t have the Blue Angels this year, so the star of the show was the Canadian Snow Birds. I got a few glimpses of them, but they were mostly closer to the water. I grabbed the amazing picture above from the SF Chronicle. The Chronicle is behind a paywall, but they have a free version, SF Gate, that has a lot of great pictures from the event. Mostly you don’t see the jets so much as hear them, unless you are down at the bay. But the few days prior to the event, they buzz the city while they practice. It’s a lot of fun, unless you have no idea what is going on. My first October in SF, they buzzed my neighborhood, and I was kind of terrified we were being attacked for a minute, but thankfully my friend Janet was with me and told me what was going on.
North Beach is historically an Italian neighborhood, full of restaurants and hip shops. Pizzerias and gelato shops and lots of cafes. It has a fun vibe.
I won’t say the neighborhood has a European vibe, but I will say that they try. I was getting hungry and it was going to be several hours before dinner, so I had a really tasty salted strachiatella gelato. I’ve never had that flavor before, it was delicious. I’m not a big chocolate chip ice cream fan, but this was super creamy, with really good chocolate shards.
I stopped and bought a book at a great bookstore, City Lights Books, and did not stop in and have a drink at a great bar across the path from it, Vesuvio. After book browsing (not long, crowded bookstore) and walking around the neighborhood, I finally joined Ted and his friend for a bit, then we left to go meet our friends for dinner.
Ted was born in Canada, and is a Canadian citizen. I realized something new this year, which is that Maya is a Canadian citizen too, since her father is. I’m not sure why that never occurred to me before, I guess because she doesn’t have any official paperwork, which she should get. We celebrated Thanksgiving on Sunday afternoon with a traditional turkey dinner. Since there were only 3 of us (two really, since Maya is vegetarian) we had a turkey breast instead of a whole turkey.
Speaking of turkey – the other day I decided to walk around the side streets of my busy neighborhood and see how many pomegranate trees I could find.
This street didn’t have any, but they had a small flock of turkeys.
This street didn’t have any, but there was a rope ladder up into a tree. No tree house, just the tree.
This street doesn’t have any, but they have a little lot of land with grape vines. I don’t think I’ve ever seen grapes, but I don’t come down this way often. I should make an effort next year and see what kind they are growing. Very pretty.
The next day I took a different path, and hit pay dirt. I have never seen a tree with so many pomegranates. I almost took some, but chickened out, since they are not really over the property line.
And right next door, this tree. We don’t eat a lot of pomegranates, but at least now I know where to look.
Another day I walked on our trail and found the Little Free Library there looking quite messy. On the one hand, what is wrong with people? On the other hand, it was pretty satisfying to clean it up.
You’ve likely heard about our upcoming statewide election, proposition 50. We voted. I hate the idea of it, but the whole ‘when they go low, we go high’ sure as hell isn’t working, we need to stand up and fight while we have something to fight for. So we voted yes. I love mail in voting.
This week’s kitty is Julia Gulia. She’s 2, and I know nothing more about her except that she’s lovely and very sweet, and so much easier to clean up after than kittens. Kitten people, hang in there, there is hope.
I have had this box for a couple of years. What the hell? Maya gave me a wallet a few years ago, and the packaging was so nice I wanted to find some use for it. But there was no use, so I posted it on Buy Nothing. Guess what? No one wanted it there either.
But then, I thought of a use for it. It’s now in the junk drawer, and holds batteries. Yay! I’ve been wanting to organize them somehow so they don’t roll around in there. I sorted through the drawer and got rid of several other things.
Just like writing on your blog consistently trains your brain to see things as blog fodder, my decluttering project is training my brain to look around and see things as keep/don’t keep, and if you’re going to keep it, have a reason.
38 Comments
Lisa’s Yarns
I love that neighborhood of SF. And I love how the neighborhoods all have kind of different vibes and are quite unique. I really need to take our boys there when they are older and can handle all the walking.
Happy Thanksgiving! That is my fave holiday so I would be happy to celebrate it twice.
Btw I had to make my blog private because of our lawsuit against the restaurant. I’m not posting much but if you want access, you can request it and I’ll grant you access.
J
Thanksgiving is indeed a wonderful holiday, so I too am very glad to celebrate it twice.
Yes, I would love to have access to your blog, and smart thinking about making it private for now. I hope you’re healing.
Lisa’s Yarns
I’m doing much better physically, as most of my burns have healed quite a bit. Only one is still open/requires bandaging. My RA has been terrible though because I had to hold off on getting my infusion until the burns healed enough so I’ve had a bunch of flares and I’m back on prednisone which makes my sleep even worse… And sleep is already bad because I have kind of acute PTSD from what happened… But I’m seeing a great therapist which has been super super helpful!
J
Oh no, I’m so sorry to hear that your RA is raging again! And of course you have PTSD after that. I am very glad to hear that you are on the mend, though. <3
nance
Okay, so:
1. I want that martini painting on my outside garage wall that faces my patio.
2. May I use your tree with rope ladder photo? I’d like to blow it up into a larger size and use it for wall art. It’s a wonderful photo!
3. I was able to take Theo on a stroller walk, and he picked out a book from our Little Free. He was so excited! The people whose yard the LF is in keep it so nice and neat, and even provide hand sanitizer inside.
4. I still owe you an email. Things here have been horridly busy and I am exhausted all the time.
5. Great reuse of the box!
J
In order…
1. It’s a great painting, I’ll bet you could recreate it pretty easily!
2. Oh, how flattering! Of course I would love it, and I hope it looks OK blown up.
3. FUN! I love that, I wish they had been a thing when Maya was little.
4. I will look forward to hearing from you. My email is 99.5% people wanting money. Either sales, spam, or politics.
5. Thank you! I was pretty happy about that myself.
Elisabeth
You saw so much this week, Julie!
I can’t imagine walking and spotting a pomegranate tree. That sounds positively exotic to me.
I also love the photo of the rope ladder leading…to nowhere in particular. It looks like something my kids would love to play on.
Good gelato is such a culinary delight. I enjoyed every stracciatella gelato I tried in Italy! It’s quite famous there and a regular go-to. Done well, it’s simply delicious.
J
The guy at the gelato store said I likely wouldn’t find it outside of the neighborhood, SF’s ‘Little Italy’. It was indeed delicious and I’m so glad I tried it!
I love seeing pomegranate trees in people’s yards, they look like Christmas ornaments.
ccr in MA
I was just reading along, enjoying your blog as usual, and then that last paragraph hit! Wow, some words of wisdom right there. I guess I needed to hear that today.
J
Well, I’m happy to hear that I sounded wise in all of my ramblings.
AC
I think you definitely have enough matieral to blog daily. And congrats on the Canadian connection. I knew that I liked you. It’s a bonus that Trump did not have the Snowbirds shot down.
J
OMG, could you imagine? UGH. It was fun to see the Snow Birds, though I only got a few glimpses.
Laura
The North Beach neighborhood looks incredible. A beautiful day but also some great finds — the gelato alone would be worth the visit. Love your photos!
J
It’s a great neighborhood for sure, and one that I always enjoy when we end up there.
Margaret
I went through some stuff (junk) on my counter and it looks way better. I’d been avoiding it because it had to do with my mom and I thought I should keep it. However, with her estate settled, there was no reason to have it around. I love the planes! We have the Blue Angels for SeaFair; John always goes up to watch them practice at Boeing Field but I don’t like the noise much. Plus, they scare me! They look like they’re so close to each other. What a lovely day you had in SF! I need to visit the city again.
J
Congrats on going through the piles on your counter. Going through my mom’s stuff is always hard, though it has gotten easier. I recently threw out all of the medical stuff from her last few months. Surely I don’t need to hang on to that anymore, she’s been gone for 17 years.
Yes, those airplanes sure are LOUD. I don’t really enjoy military exhibitions, but for some reason I like the airplanes.
Allison McCaskill
I read “these Friday posts are a whole lot of stupidness” and I was like oh no! I love the Friday posts! And then “and that is exactly the vibe I’m looking for” and I was like YES! Me too! I was also thinking my posts would be short (they often are anyway) and random (I think I did do A-Z one year, and I’ve done it every year since 2009 and only missed a few days when I was in Mexico and my connection wouldn’t work).
That IS a gorgeous theatre!
Gorgeous neighbourhood pics. You guys are so cosmopolitan. I love straciatella gelato precisely because it is chocolate shards and not chocolate chips – seems like a meaningless distinction, but is not.
How did I not know you MARRIED A CANADIAN!
Julia Gulia is gorgeous. I’m always baffled by the fact that black cats apparently don’t get adopted as much, because I love them.
I have a habit of keeping nice boxes too, and sometimes I find a use for them and sometimes my husband forces me to get rid of them. Which is probably a good thing.
J
Allison, my husband and his family moved to the US when he was 1, and he has been a US citizen since the early 70s. Canada changed their rules several years ago to say that anyone born there between certain years was automatically a citizen, which pulled him back into the fold. I asked him to get paperwork confirming it during Trump’s first presidency, when he cleared the streets in DC for his church photo op. He did, but COVID slowed it way down. He has paperwork, but not a passport. And our daughter hasn’t done more than send an email, I don’t think. She needs to get on that. I would love it if they both had citizenship papers and passports.
And yes, BLOG STUPIDNESS FOR THE WIN!
Birchie
North Beach is on my list for the next time I go to SF. I didn’t make it there in May, and I keep hearing so much about it.
Once thing that is true for me with blogging is that it does’t work to save blog ideas for later. I just end up overcomplicating them to the point where I end up not writing them. The better process is: (1) get idea and (2) write n’post! So I’m glad that you gave us everything you have today and I will look forward to getting the daily random in November.
J
We were pretty close to North Beach when we were at the Palace of Fine Arts. I considered taking you to North Beach, but parking can be a nightmare. Now I wish I had, it would have been a beautiful day for it! Also, you likely skirted the neighborhood on your Cable Car ride. Anyway, NEXT TIME! And I saw an oyster bar that had our name on it!
Suzanne
Julia Gulia – that’s funny.
I love your randomness posts and don’t find them in any way stupid. I am looking forward to your November posts!
I love your hunt for pomegranate trees and your findings.
J
Thanks Suzanne, I guess stupid was the wrong word. They’re sometimes ridiculous though, which is the vibe I’m going for most of the time.
I love looking for pomegranite trees, they’re so pretty! And there is one shrub/bush that sometimes has pomegranates. I was shocked the first time I saw one, I thought they only grew on trees, but I checked online, and yes, there are bushes too!
Tobia | craftaliciousme
Well that will be fun reading your daily “stupidness”.
Yeah for reusing nice packagaing for sorting through things and organizing stuff. I love that hack myself.
In awe of the pommegrant trees.
J
Aren’t they pretty! I love seeing them when I am out and about on my morning walks!
StephLove
What a fun neighborhood for excursions. I haven’t been to SF in ages.
Pretty cat. We have tabbies now but their predecessors were both black cats, one long-haired and one short. It’s a classic cat look. I hope she finds a home soon.
J
I hope so too! Apparently there were two more cats delivered the other day, but one has been adopted already. I like cats, but love dogs…I should find a dog place I could volunteer at…but then I would want to bring them home. I’m never tempted to bring a cat home, because my husband is very allergic and I can’t think of a good place for the stupid cat box.
ernie
Great photos. I enjoy going on your strolls around the neighborhoods with you. The theater is beautiful. As is the great picnic area/park with the amazing church in the background. Hooray for drawer organziation. I bought drawer organizers a few years ago and Wow, life changing. I’ve been amazed at how more on top of the drawer contents I am. Happy extra Thanksgiving to you and yours. I like your plan for NaPloBoMo. Have a great week.
J
Thank you Ernie!
Diane
My Husband has been suggesting quite vehemently for the past year that I get Canadian citizenship for the kids since I am Canadian. I’m feeling very overwhelmed by the idea. First off, my Canadian passport is expired and I think I need my birth certificate to get a new passport. But I don’t actually have my birth certificate. I’m sure there are ways, it just feels like a lot of work right now. Or maybe I’m an optimist and think that I’m not going to need to flee the country?
How gorgeous is that theatre! They don’t make theatres like that anymore, that’s for sure.
J
If you don’t have your birth certificate, it will definitely slow things down. But it has to be possible. In the US I think you would have to request it from your county of birth. I guess you’ll have to do something similar. I wish my daughter would do the work to get her paperwork, rather than just saying, ‘we need to move to Canada’ without any planning.
Nicole MacPherson
JULIA GULIA!!!!
OMG I am laughing so much, thinking about that movie.
That neighbourhood is so lovely! I enjoy noticing pretty things around us – this was great. Thanks J!
J
I’ll admit that I had to look up Julia Gulia!
DB Stewart
“trains your brain” EXACTLY.
Might hop on your bandwangon this November.
J
If you do, I hope you find it as satisfying as I have!
San
Oh yay, I am so happy to hear you’ll doing NaBloPoMo. You’ve probably – or maybe not – been wondering if I’ll be “hosting” again and I will tell you: I am…. I have no idea how I am going to pull this off (as I’ve been such a bad blogger this year), but I will certainly try! I am also planning on shorter posts! LOL
I love that you got to walk the North Beach neighborhood. I’ve been there many times and love the area. They have some great Italian restaurants there!
J
YAY! I’m glad to hear you will be hosting, and I know everyone would have understood if you didn’t. You might consider hosting but not participating if that makes sense?
Yeah, great restaurants in that area. And we had to leave to go to dinner in Petaluma, which was kind of meh pizza. Ted was not happy about that.
Stephany
Your reorganization of the LFL makes me very happy. I do the same thing when I see a disorganized LFL! They make me sad, lol.
Julia Gulia makes me laugh and she looks like a sweetheart!
Reusing that box for batteries is such a smart idea!
J
I love organizing the LFL. I organized this one again yesterday, though it wasn’t nearly as messy as when I took this picture.