A Song, A Service & A Show!...

... On Sunday I actually slept in late, which is rare. 

Must have been that cushy bed.

It was nice but at the same time I was very disappointed

that we missed church services at Grace Cathedral. 

We decided to take a walk down to Chinatown,

 just a few blocks at the bottom of the hill. 

While standing in front of a little tea shop,

a big man in a black suit, bowler hat & a

big beautiful husky baritone voice came up to me & 

sang me a joyful spiritual song! 

Unfortunately I didn't get his picture. 

After that Hubby was inspired & decided we should

walk up California Street & go visit the Cathedral anyway. 

Walking up California street on the way up

took every butt muscle we have. But Surprise!

(no pun intended) It was worth it!

When we got there they were having a special

Asia- America service!

So I got a song, a service & a show!

 

 

 

Satyr-1, a street artist we met by the park.

Of course I had to stop & watch for a second.

 I can't wait to go back & see his work finished.

 

 

 

A pretty plant vendor's string gardens on the street. She

was shy & wouldn't let me take her picture.

Hey Tom Hanks I found Zoltar! That's Big! haha

(loved that movie)

 

A beautiful statue on California Street. Half way there.

Had to stop & get a picture just to rest for a second!

 

Grace Cathedral sits atop the highest hill in San Francisco.

A beautiful girl in kimono who did a Japanese dance,

part of the service in the Cathedral.

 

Taiko Drummers in the courtyard of the Cathedral.

After all the walking up & down hills,

and the beautiful Asian service;

Hubby said he was craving Japanese food!

So we popped into Sushi Toni

on the way back to our place and got a little bite.

 

 

Yum...nap time!

 

A Week in San Francisco...

... My BFFs gave me a week in the Nob Hill section of San Francisco for my birthday! They actually got the trip for free on a fluke, so I consider this trip a gift from God as well as from them!  God is great & so are they! I felt very blessed. We stayed at the Powell Place. It was beautiful, like our own little apartment but with all the perks of a fine hotel. Close to the top of the highest hills in the city, at the corner of Powell & California.  We got lots of exercise walking up & down the hills.
Our place was larger than imagined & nicer than expected. It had a bedroom, bath, spacious living room/ dining room & kitchen. It was at the back of the building (house) with a view of a garden (well treetops actually) just outside a big picture window. It was quiet with the exception of the ding ding ding -bell from the cable car that stopped at the top of of Powell Street.  The weather was so lovely & the trees just swayed the breeze into our place, along with the smell of steak, garlic & muffled laughter at night from nearby restaurants.  The staff there was so nice too. Here are a few of my favorite photos I took of "The City" while I was there... tomorrow I'll take you to Chinatown!

 

 

 

The Tadich Grill 

 

 

 

Powell at night

 

 

*****

The horrible plane crash in SF today came to my attention after my initial post. Heartfelt sympathies  go out to all those on board, & to the families of those that were lost.  It was a blessing from God that so many survived.  Another reminder to live everyday to the fullest.

A Fit to Knit!...

...why yes those are chopsticks from Chinatown! hahaha  Hubby & I have been staying in the Nob Hill district in San Francisco for week. We got take out in Chinatown for dinner & brought it back to our suite. I obviously ate mine with a fork!  Cast On is as far as I got before we jumped on a Cable Car & walked off dinner down at the Wharf. 
On Monday I had the day to myself & I walked downhill to Sutter St & hung out in the ArtFibers store for quite a while.  I bought some beautiful yarn and got lots of inspiration.  They let you knit or crochet with the yarn to try it out & will give you a swatch of it, which is so nice! Making a decision was hard but I ended up with the Majolica #5. It's a blend of 70% Merino wool & 30% silk and it feels like butta! I had my crochet hooks with me because I am working on my 3rd sweater made with this Chevron Pattern. I actually made one in a day on the way to San Simeon last month.

It's quick & easy & as you can see really flattering.  I didn't bring my knitting needles with me and I just couldn't risk going back to ArtFibers to buy another pair, which I don't need, & I know I wouldn't be able to resist the turquoise blue/green Majolica #6! It looks like beautiful mermaid yarn! I have been working on a freeform crochet piece in turquoise, blues & greens and it would be perfect for it.  We aren't leaving until Friday afternoon so I may wander back in there.  I planned to make this scarf with the new yarn.  An easy 1 Row pattern. They had a scarf in the store made with this pattern and had added some large pendant type beads to the ends of the rows. It was pretty!

Tomorrow is our last day before heading home. The only thing on our agenda for tomorrow is to pop into the Dick Blick store. I swear I hear Angels sing when I walk into an art supply store...then the devil attacks my pocketbook! hahaha  If you are having a fit to knit or crochet check out my Hooked & Needle Board & Great Granny Board on Pinterest  HERE you'll find some nice patterns & inspiration.

Surprise San Francisco!

Hubby woke up early. Made coffee and then woke me up. He was taking me on a surprise trip! He wouldn't tell me where we were going but it wasn't long before I figured out we were on our way to San Francisco. For what reason I had no idea. It wasn't until we were there that he told me his surprise. He had purchased tickets for the Picasso Exhibit at the De Young Museum. Such a sweet surprise! This was so special & sweet because walking through galleries & museums is not really his thing, however, sneaking a glimpse of him from across the gallery floor it was clear he was enjoying this exhibit too. Picasso, a surprise within a surprise really. The work smelled old, maybe it smelled like Paris. I loved the smell of it. Quite a few of the paintings appear unfinished. They are; but are they? Some appear somewhat sloppy. An unpainted portion of canvas just appears white in a print or photo so I until up close & personal I was unaware. What made him stop? Fear of ruining what he had already done? I've been there. Arrogance/Self importance? You get what you get & you don't throw a fit. Impatience? Indecisiveness? or total Freedom? I am still mentally digesting every piece I saw. It was inspirational. I can paint anything I want and in any color that I want and if it isn't pretty so what? I was really taken with his metal work, sculptures and collage pieces.

These are a few of the photos I snapped along the way.

Prayers Appreciated

I just found out that my mother had a "small" heart attack. They are telling me it's small. She's in ICU today but is doing fine right now. I got to talk to her for a bit. I will be leaving tomorrow for South Carolina. My son & I are driving. Prayers would be appreciated for my Mom and for our safe trip out there. I'm sure I will have lots to blog about when I get there and get home. If only I had a lap top you could take the trip with me. I'm sure I find lots of inspiration for new paintings along the way.

San Francisco this week was a really fun trip. I ate buffalo chili at Tommy's Joynt, went down the Wharf & Ghiradelli Square. It was super windy that day so we hopped in the car and drove around town looking at some of the places where my husband grew up and hit a gallery. His face was lit up showing me around town. We certainly grew up in different worlds. Tommy's Joynt was recently featured on Diner's, Drive-Ins & Dives. My husband used to go there when he was young and we had forgotten about the place until we saw it on the show. The food was awesome! Here are a few pictures as promised...

Just want to recognize and give a shout out to Cynmb at Etsy for including my purple angel in her beautiful purple Treasury and Sewmelody at Etsy for including my Rosey Angel in her wonderful colorful Treasury! Please check out their shops and Treasuries. It's so nice to be included!

I'll blog again when I get there!

Oh If You Could Hear Me Today...

... I sound like a sexy drag queen! LOL I called my son today and the kid that answered the phone said to him "I think it might be your mom but I'm not sure..." LOL I got it and it's awful. Coughing feels like razor blades in my chest. Ouch. Today I am feeling a little better but I was hoping I'd feel a lot better. I wanted to go to a life drawing session with a live model this morning. I didn't make it. I told my mom yesterday that I wanted to go. She asked if it was a male model. I told her yes. She said with a spark in her voice " Oh you'll be better! You'll be better tomorrow!" So honestly I think my mom will be more disappointed that I didn't go than I am. hahaha She's funny.

If you know me, you know I can't just sit and do nothing, so while I've been tangled in a blanket, with my pj's on, bare faced, hair barely brushed, in a recliner with tv tray by my side, I did lots of sketches and managed to make an easy crochet scarf. I'm not really crazy about the yarn. I probably should have used it for slippers instead but whatever. A scarf that normally would take me maybe 2 hours took 3 times that. I would pick it up, put it down, pick it up... It's just 5 rows of triple crochet & approx 2 yards long. It actually looks much better than the picture shows though.
When I have some energy back *zapped* I am going to be working on a few collage pieces on paper to submit for a gallery show in April. The theme will deal with the perils the news paper industry/print media are up against. I thought that was an interesting theme and I have a few ideas in my head. I don't do many pieces on paper so this will be a fun project. April is a busy month for me, lots of birthdays. My wedding anniversary is also in April and I whined the other day about how long it's been since we went to San Francisco, so my husband and I decided to go there for a couple of days for our anniversary. I can't wait. Maybe I'll wear my new scarf!

Angels & Daydreaming

A big Thank you to all those who commented and were concerned for me and my "kitchen nightmare"! That was so sweet.

Today I am babysitting my little Doodle Bug JJ. His mom and dad have a friend in from Chicago and they are taking her to San Francisco. When they were asking me where they should eat my mind wondered into Chinatown, The Wharf, North Beach/Little Italy, The Mission District, and now I am craving a trip to the City. Daydreaming about it. SF is only a 2 hour drive, so I can't believe it's been so long since I've been there. Every time I go I have so much fun. I hate going over the bridges to get there though and there is no getting out of going over one. I hate all bridges but especially the Bay Bridge and in almost 30 years I've only gone over the Golden Gate twice!

JJ is crawling now so I may lose a pound today or throw my back out. haha He's so darn sweet! He has a little cold but is still being an angel. It's hard not to constantly kiss him. I made him a little stuffed baby toy last night. I will not be showing a picture of it. My son and I were belly laughing at it last night and we decided that if I showed a picture of it right after the kitchen incident that you would all really think I've lost my mind. LOL But hey JJ likes it!

Last night I listed this sweet big brown eyed angel on Etsy.

Have a great weekend!

Christmas Day And The Nest is Empty

33 years with not one Christmas Day spent alone with just my husband until this year. (I was a teenager when I got married!) It feels strange and I will miss my kids but we'll have a good time together. We talked today about what we could do. We didn't decide. Go play in the snow with a piping hot Thermos of something good? Take the light rail to Old Sacramento? Go to the movies? We have never gone to the movies on Christmas Day like so many do. Stay in our pj's all day, watching Christmas movies & order Chinese food? Walk by the river all bundled up with the dogs in their cute little sweaters? Go have some crab on Fisherman's Wharf, ride the cable cars & soak in some of that wonderful San Francisco's Christmas spirit? ...hum...