Tuesday, September 30, 2014

I Forgot

I think I hurt the Sutro Tower's feelings by not posting Tower Monday yesterday.


See? It's being coy. It's OK, I get it. Some of us are sensitive beings. Our feelings get hurt quite easily, and we tend to draw into ourselves to retreat from the cold, cruel world. But then we remember how much love and passion we have for the bright and beautiful world around us, and we emerge from our hidy holes bigger, stronger and blinkier than ever, ready to dance and sing and throw our hands up in the air like we just don't care!

Until someone comments on how nice our hair looks, what with all of the shiny silver that's begun to bloom there.

Monday, September 29, 2014

I Love New England

I did something this weekend that I'm not super proud of, but it was delicious:


Yeah, I know. It wasn't that color when we brought it home. We are horrible, brutal people. Horrible, brutal, well fed people with bellies for of lobstery goodness. Even better, the chef and head sea-fooder was a real live Bostonian! And he made CHOWDER. And it was AMAZING. And now I have to POST THIS (watch the first video!).



Friday, September 26, 2014

Wild Honey Pie

One last bit of Rosh Hashanah for you alls--have a great weekend!


ps. I really miss reading the funnies in the paper. Thankfully, my thoughtful boss get the Chronicle, and knows how to make me laugh.

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Rocky Road To Dublin

TBT: Dublin, Ireland, June 2007. The Varros came to visit, and then we pointed at stuff. Go figure.


Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Circle I

Happy New Year to my MOT peeps! And to everyone else, Happy Wednesday! In some ways, Wednesday is a lot like the Rosh, or head, of the week-- it's sort of  the beginning of the week as the count down to Friday begins on Wednesday, and it's very celebratory in the sense that there is a commercial about it on You Tube, and the star of that commercial is a camel (any one who's worked with me in the last few years knows what's about to happen).



Here's to a sweet new year to all! Chag Sameach!

Monday, September 22, 2014

Catch Me I'm Falling

Happy Fall! Also known in San Francisco as summer. Tower Monday says so:


It's beautiful day, on the heels of a wonderful weekend, and I'm loving life right now. The weather helps, but a lot of the credit goes to the following people/places/things:

1. Max, my genius husband, who got us tickets to go see Richard Cheese at Bimbo's 365 next month!
2. Pancho Villa, who made the perfect chorizo super burrito for me last night!
3. Ira, who is in town for a couple of nights and keeping us smiling with his always charming presence!
4. The Zymogliphic Museum, who had a special last hurrah yesterday before they pack it up and head to Portland!
5. My brain, which has spent the last five years perfecting its handwriting so it could make a giant yet tasteful sign that reads "Tumors Not Welcome!"

Friday, September 19, 2014

Look Back And Crack

Happy workaversary to me! One year ago yesterday, I was overwhelmed with an intoxicating mixture of joy, freedom, excitement, and some very real fear:

"...as soon as I left the studio, the tears came and I couldn't hold them back. While I wandered around the Potrero Hill area, looking for the car I had parked this morning in a panicked frenzy, I cried. While I drove to the kiddo's soccer practice to catch the last 20 minutes of scrimmage, I cried. While a was getting attacked with leaps of love by the dogs, I cried. While I recounted the day's events to friends and family, I cried."

There was also the annual build-up of super crazy emotions associated with another anniversary which was fast approaching:

"...actively living my life as a regular person who does not make decisions solely based on how many more months a neuro-oncologist (and statistics in general) told her she likely had left to live. Four years ago. And, for the record, he was way, way off."

The shop has become a family, a home, and a happy place filled with characters, nicknames, and stories galore. This year has had its massively major ups and its too painful to think about lows. During the last year, I have grown as a parent, a wife, a friend, an artist, and as a whole person. There's no way I can know the details about how this post will look when I write it again in 2015, but I'm pretty sure it's going to be fucking awesome.

Have a great weekend everyone, and we'll talk in a few days when I celebrate another special milestone.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Here's To Never Growing Up

Happy Throw Back Thursday! Bask in the vintagey olde timeyness of the first time we met Little Baby Lilly, who is now nine years old:


Minneapolis, MN. May, 2006.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Little Pink Houses

Step into the not-so-way-back machine and join me on a voyage to July 4th, 2014...when the World Cup ruled the hearts and minds of nearly everyone around us.

Kid: Look at my face Daddy! It says USA!
Dad: It does! Do you know what USA means?
Kid: Yes. It means soccer.


Monday, September 15, 2014

Head Over Feet

Happy Tower Monday! Only feet today:


Apropos of feet, mine are unhappy (which is why I couldn't really name this post "Happy Feet", so I had to find a different foot themed song.). Remember my awesome sparkly red shoelaces? Well, they were attached to very flat converse low-tops so now I have plantar faciitis, AKA Holy Shit I Am SO OLD. These are the shoes that were recommended to me:


My feet are going to have to hurt A LOT more than that before I wear these shoes. No offence intended toward anyone in my family who might have very similar shoes (cough-dad-cough).

Thursday, September 11, 2014

My Hands

Another project in progress:


This one is pretty massive; I'm finally using the full 46" width of the loom. It's my biggest piece in many, many years and I've really been enjoying the process of reaching way back into my brian to find the skills I learned so long ago! Check back for progress updates in 6 months or so...

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

I Don't Want To Play Football

OK, so here are the AYSO soccer coach skills in which I am totally lacking:

1. Soccer playing aptitude of any sort.

2. Soccer playing skills of any sort.

3. Getting and maintaining the focus of 8 six-year-old boys for any amount of time, let alone for 90 minutes.

But there are other facets of coaching at which I naturally excel:

1. Kibitzing with the parents.

2. Telling everyone how great they are! That part is super easy!

3. Cutting orange slices!

I think I'm doing an OK job so far, based on my one-kid survey:


Volunteer AYSO coaching is tough and the pay sucks, but it's totally worth it. In spite of the anxiety and stress. We have a great group of kids and awesome parents, and the whole thing is starting to come together quite nicely. Go Green Ninjas!


Tuesday, September 09, 2014

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

How did you spend your time last night? I spent mine listening to these two jokers affectionately bicker with one other at the Orpheum:


It was just like that, but a thousand times better because it was live, loud, and I went with a super fun gal who knows her business when it comes to classy entertainment in SF. It was a neat mix of SHNSF members, hard-core Cyndi Lauper fans (lots of them!), and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (for reals!), and I had a total blast. Looking forward to seeing the actual show in December!

Monday, September 08, 2014

My Love

Happy Monday! You see that red sign, all the way to the right? Not the stop sign, the sign that says "CO" on it.


The rest of that sign says "FFEE BAR" and walking over there from the shop is one of my favorite parts of the work day. Self serve coffee that is just the way I like it--strong, strong, strong--and, if I'm feeling particularly indulgent, they always have bostocks. And that's all I have to say about that.

Coming up this week: I Can Soccer Coach, So Can You! and My Tablet And Phone Are Conspiring Against Me.

Friday, September 05, 2014

I Can See Clearly Now

I found this picture, and now Samson's extreme love of cats makes purrrrrrfect (HAHAHA) sense!


For his first three years of life, Samson had a very kid-friendly sidekick to crawl after and drool on. Miru was one in a million, and very soft and tactile in general. When he had one eye removed (cat tumor), his awesomeness increased ten fold. he passed away a few years ago, but his legacy lives on in the form of many books about cats, drawings of cats, t-shirts featuring cats, games centered around cats, and--if Samson had gotten his way this season--a soccer team called The Green Cats.

Thursday, September 04, 2014

Happy

Summer, 2000. My first multi-day backpacking trip! AKA my last multi-day backpacking trip!  Desolation Wilderness near Lake Tahoe with good ol' Nanna, good ol' Ozzy, and good ol' Dedi.


Tuesday, September 02, 2014

She's Not There

I'm guessing that things weren't quite this un-summery up here yesterday, considering how swelteringly hot it was down on the peninsula, but I'm probably dead wrong.


This week's installment of Sutro Tower Monday is brought to you by Tuesday, the three-day weekend's red-headed step-sister. Wow, that was a lot of hyphens.

The USS Ronald Reagan celebrated Labor Day by annexing the dog bed:


Resistance is futile, dog.