Y2 – Day 203 – Pup in Arrowhead

Having a Fabulous time in Arrowhead with my cousin, G, (who I haven’t seen in ten years) from Argentina.  Of course, we are here with Cindi.  Puptarts were had in the village at Three Dog Bakery, another boat ride for Cindi on the Arrowhead Queen where she was first mate and slept awhile, she had a few treats while we ate at the Lake Arrowhead Resort and her very first time at the Lake beach after dark where dozens of pictures were taken for her photo shoot.Beet and Spinach PuptartsCindi at dinner.Cindi’s first evening lakefront beach stroll.

Y2 – Day 170 – The Corner Bookstore

In Blue Jay, CA, the San Bernardino County Library brings great literature, reading groups, literacy programs, audiovisuals and warmth to this tiny mountain community that spawns its population three fold after Memorial Day to Labor Day and caters all year long to the beginning, visiting, insatiable, or older reader.  Since I consider myself a part-timer, visiting with a beginner’s mind, greedy for well-placed words and more mature, all my needs are met.

But, to make it even more delectable, they have a room in the library called The Corner Bookstore located in the far right corner of the building.  No sooner did I drop off my groceries at the treehouse, walk Cindi on her well traversed back road, give us both a little snack and fill the bird feeder for our friends, I was off and running to the village’s treasury of bound and written thoughts.

Delightful and adventurous, I spent at least an hour perusing titles, opening up tomes and leisurely choosing titles.  Alas, I came home with two dozen goodies ranging from New York’s Real Housewife Carole Radziwill’s memoir, What Remains to Willa Cather’s classics, The Professor’s House and My Antonia to Edith Wharton’s famous, The House of Mirth to Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Nobel prize winner, One Hundred Years of Solitude and everything in between.

Time spent selecting, skimming and then purchasing these gems was delicious; secluded and companionless, yet intimately snuggled up with the writer.  Isn’t that what every reader craves?  Isn’t that what every writer wants; to sneak into bed with you, to enter your head, your thoughts and transfer a visual, an emotion or a human connection?

Perhaps no place in any community is so totally democratic as the town library.  The only entrance requirement is interest. – Lady Bird Johnson

 

Y2 – Day 167 – Reunion

How wonderful for people to re-unite and begin again.  Like in the airport scenes from the movie, Love Actually, all three of my grown children will be meeting up at San Francisco Airport tonight and I truly wish I could be a fly on the wall.

May their summer days be filled with learning, growing, sharing and laughing.  I know it will be filled with commuting, walking, eating and reading.  I know we have lived an intense, event filled and quality life, thus far.  How exciting for us as parents to behold our very own future in such good-hearted, intelligent, interesting and honest hands.

The beauty of old, mature, green trees never ceases to amaze me.  They enhance neighborhoods, they enrich our environment and they enliven the scenery.Martin Luther King Ave. in North Berkeley.

“Let him who would enjoy a good future waste none of his present.” – Roger Babson

Y2 – Day 166 – I Keep Eating

Well, it wasn’t enough to overindulge in Berkeley, it seems.  Last night, the love of my life and I dined at Fitness Grill in Yorba Linda where everything can become vegan and they even have a separate vegan menu with TEN items!! Lucky me.  Lucky for Cindi they had a patio and we packaged up some kibbles in a baggie and took her out to dinner too.

I started with an appetizer called Avocado Cocktail.  It could have used more lime/lemon/acid and salt.  Presentation was an 8 but chips were stale and seemed like they were from the bottom of a bag.  I have had this version of guacamole before, both out and made by ourselves and it could have used more care and soul but I was hungry so finish it, I did.My entree was a Stuffed Portobello with risotto, summer squash, onion, fresh tomatoes, green peas, olives and corn sitting on a light hummus sauce and sprinkled with chopped fresh cilantro and roasted slivered almonds.  The saffron was a bit overpowering which made it bitter but then you get used to the strength and it was fine.  The Portobello mushroom is a notorious meaty substitute for vegetarians.  The “risotto” looked more like a couscous.  It was creative and presented well though and was actually very tasty.

All things considered, we will be coming again to try out other dishes, perhaps their vegan pizza (I know I know – I seem to be on a roll).

Having the patio makes it welcoming to our party of two plus Cindi and piping out good ‘ole eighties music like The Cure, Morrissey, Depeche Mode and New Order on a continuous loop of hits and obscurities, didn’t hurt either.  Not to mention the availability of vegan fare.

Y2 – Day 165 – San Francisco

On the heels of reading Daughter of Fortune and Portrait in Sepia by Isabel Allende, where in San Francisco plays a dominant part, almost a character part in these fine researched historical novels, images spoke to me and reflected back.In the beginning, San Francisco was named Yerba Buena by the few non-natives who came to find their fortune here.

At the ferry market or port, the bygone era and European influences in architecture stand firm.  Notice the archways, the mirrored glass and the 245 foot clock tower modeled after a 12th century Spanish cathedral in Seville.

On the bayside is a re-constructed wharf, the floors are marbled mosaic and the center hall is completely lit by 660 feet of two storied skylights.

Today, after a massive reconstruction in 2003, the landmark is a location for vendors, restaurants, transportation, tourists and a fun place to shop and eat.  It is a celebration and a hub for food and history.

I can just see the characters in Allende’s books stepping onto the wooden Ferry building built in 1875.  I imagine the trains arriving from back east, the ships from the Far East and South America, pouring into the main gateway during the Gold Rush when Yerba Buena began to get populated and grew exponentially into San Francisco where commerce, infrastructure and culture supplanted the Wild West.

Y2 – Day 164 – Last Supper

My last vegan meal in Berkeley was preceded by THREE different vegan cupcakes.  Chocolate with Peanut Butter Frosting, Cocoa with Mocha Frosting and Ginger with Lemon Frosting from TWO different Bakeries.  I was pretty full but I couldn’t pass up a late night dinner with my son and girlfriend in North Berkeley at an incredible Italian eatery across from the Safeway. The name of the restaurant is Lo Coco’s and it was the best bread on the planet, served with a piquant olive oil.  It seems, after raving to our waiter, that his dad began the starter for the bread THIRTY years ago after arriving from Sicily.  It has a secret, special bacterial ingredient that crossed the Mediteranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean giving it its flavor and texture.  Tears?  The loaves are small and irregular, crispy and salty with a buttery crunch but no butter is used.  The success of the bread is due to the original starter that evolves and has matured and changed over the years.  I also ordered a small veggie pizza with no cheese.

I just drove back down a few hours ago.  Luckily, the owner’s son gave us a few extra loaves to bring down to OC and we just re-toasted them up and enjoyed them.  Not as fabulous as when they were fresh, dimly lit and eaten with M and J but it was nice to share with my husband, daughter and boyfriend and bring them a little taste of foodie heaven.

I am exhausted but sated.  Tomorrow, we become true empty nesters again.  All our chickadees will be together in the Bay area this summer and I love having family in Nor Cal so I can visit and have an excuse to eat like that again.

 

Y2 – Day 163 – Kindness in Berkeley

Enough cannot be said of the kindnesses I have encountered here during my stay in Berkeley.  From the gratitude of my children to the availability of neighbors to the invitations from young, intelligent and cheery new adults I have met, I am overwhelmed with appreciation.

Here is what I have picked up about this oasis of the Bay Area in my short stay in a residential neighborhood.

The residents are serious about their impact on the world and their environment.  They feel better walking or cycling than driving around even if they own a car (a hybrid of course), they compost, recycle and re-use.  As you walk down the sidewalk, – shoes, books, toys, furniture etc… is left for whomever needs or wants it.

You have to take your own bags everywhere you shop because unless it is a fancy gift at a boutique –  ordinary grocery, produce and Walgreens type of shopping requires you to carry your own re-usable sack.

It is a diverse, multi-cultural, multi-racial, ageless and vibrant community.  There is an openness here that you intuitively synchronize with or dislike according to your own lightness and comfort of being.

It is urban but not posh.  It is cosmopolitan but not chic.  It is filled with sophisticated scholars that know they have so much more to learn.  It is a world of readers, artists, workers, musicians, walkers and intellectuals with souls.  Every social, monetary, religious and political class co-exists in harmony.  The young and the old, the hetero and the homosexual, the poor and the elite – are living together inside a few miles of land, both city and residential.

It humbles everyone.  It feels balanced.  It somehow works.  The beat of this town’s drum lies low, its rhythm is steady, its tone is on the edge.  The sound, the look and the feel of Berkeley are remarkable, authentic, stable and explosive all at once.  The more I visit, the more I fall in love with its vibration.  The deeper I explore its streets, the deeper I pulsate with its inhabitants.  Experiencing the pizzazz of Berkeley is like combining a multifaceted lyric into one composition of a gemstone.Simple sidewalk chalk art speaks of the creative juice that stirs this city’s poetry – individuals in their own sphere of existence embracing each other.

Y2 – Day 162 – Gather

Berkeley, San Francisco, this entire Bay Area is a Foodie Paradise.  I found myself being whisked to Gather restaurant on Oxford St. on Sunday shortly after my arrival.  The menu clearly depicts Vegan fare with a V, so it is super easy to order off of.  Smart.  The menu occasionally changes to reflect what is freshest and in season and the dessert menu at this time of year with all the herbs and fruits – is different pretty much every day.

What I love about most Berkeley eateries is you can go with omnivores, gluten intolerants, vegans and primals to the same location.  Everyone is special.  No one is left out.  Very democratically, they cater to everyone’s tastes.  Everybody is happy and eats what they want and it is almost always delicious all around the heterogeneous table.

While my son enjoyed a Lucky Dog Ranch Burger with cheddar and fries and a spring mix salad, his girlfriend chose a sausage pizza (they have a wood burning oven) topped with braised leeks, potatoes, kale and thyme.

I ordered a vegan Spicy Tomato pizza with olives, capers, cashew puree, chili oil and parsley.

I consider myself a self-declared connoisseur of pizza dating back probably to my 10th birthday when I insisted on eating 10 slices of homemade various flavored pizzas to honor myself and my absolute favorite food in the world (and still is).

I have eaten and participated in making vegan, gluten free, non-vegan and low carb pizza in my life. I have dined on this humble and simple option in three different cities in Italy as a taste test, all over New York over countless times at different stages of my life, in Argentina  – a land of Italian immigrants with special dinners in my honor and pizza as the requested homemade meal and at world famous pizzerias and on every occasion I allow myself the luxury.  I have eaten it plain with tomatoes and basil, sometimes cheese, with onions and ham, with veggies, meats, white sauce, garlic and chicken, you name it.

Chef Sean Baker’s version was the best vegan pizza I ever had.  I did not expect that. The crust was thin as thin can be and the flavors were exploding and making sweet music in my mouth.  Crispy, fresh and resonant flavors melded into one memorable meal, making this vegan momma very grateful and pleased as punch.

The place was getting nods as people stopped their conversations, tried their dishes and came up for air to utter, “This is delicious.” in between bites.

Everyone was impressed so of course we ordered dessert.

Seed Almond Cake with Coconut Milk Ice Cream and assorted designer looking fruits prepared in gourmet fashion with Basil leaves.  Outrageous and spectacular to the human eye, it was even more surprisingly delectable to this human palate.  I ate the whole thing.

Naturally, I declined to overindulge the following day, but today is another day in good ole Foodie Heaven!  Good thing walking is the best and easiest way to get around from point A to point B here.

Y2 – Day 151 – NY connection

My daughter is staying past her school year to work and intern till June and was actually able to enjoy how exciting and important commencement at Columbia is for Seniors and how proud all of NYC is of them!Grounds and view of festivities!  All of New York appreciates the Columbian Grads by lighting up the Empire State in Columbia Blue and White that night. – Go Lions!  My daughter had the opportunity to visit the UN to attend the open debate about President Bashar al Assad of Syria.  France proposed the hearing to the UN Security Council.  As the president of the International Humane Society, working at Columbia Law School, interning at the International Criminal Courts, editing and managing the Columbian Economic Review, majoring in PolySci and Economics with a concentration in Modern European Violence – I am not sure from where she actually got the invite, but it was her first time and the assembly room looks just as stately as when I visited many, many, many moons ago.  A young woman in this arena, finishing with a 4.0 in her Junior year at an Ivy league, is no small vittles and as a fellow woman who dreamed of becoming an international war correspondent,  I admire her.

Afterwards, she texted that the Argentinean female ambassador was feisty and made their position on future international law crystal clear while China and Russia vetoed.  She said the Russian rep “came across looking like a petulant child, personally attacking France.”  She further stated she witnessed the French ambassador handling everything brilliantly and with style (of course- probably was wearing a fashionable scarf too).   

Tulips and all sorts of pretty flowers and plants at the green market in NYC where she shopped today.  Imagine a real life ‘Mary Tyler Moore’ moment in NYC!  I am so honored, have great respect for and am genuinely happy for this young generation!

Y2 – Day 150 – Silver Anniversary

It took years, tears and squashing of fears to get us two to finally be hitched at the Santa Ana courthouse, 25 years ago, today.  We were basically heathens and eloped.

We sped up Highway 1 North in a rented convertible that we had to switch out because the top would not come up when it inevitably rained on our excursion.  How we reacted, handled and proceeded from that disappointment has set the tone for our journey.

We took off that day, headed for San Francisco, via Pismo Beach and San Luis Obispo.  The Pacific Coast road lines the edge of California.  It skims by the beaches and climbs to the top of crags overlooking Big Sur. Like a roller coaster ride, the scene was set.

We have traveled together holding hands, heads leaning towards each other and touching,  occasionally banging into, thus far.

After many false starts, our ‘legal’ beginning, our ‘piece of paper’ became a commitment we were not about to take lightly and it led the way to a life filled with bliss.

With every setback, we trudged ahead and together.  With every turn, we changed course together, sometimes whining, always willing.  With every happy occurrence, we celebrated our good fortune, together.

Every tragedy helped us experience sorrow, grief, anger, remorse, surrender and acceptance in unison, touching each other’s hearts with care, carrying it lightly, while holding each other tight for dear life.  Every uplifting experience helped us experience joy, gratitude, forgiveness, empathy and compassion.  The moments in between have been held with a sense of humor, a sense of belonging and exquisite contentedness, I refer to as – bliss.

It has been our outlook together that has kept our sanity.  Having a mutual positive perspective of survival and hope brings two distrustful, negative and insecure people, at times, back into focus.  At any one or many points in time, we are all weak and flawed.  But to have someone next to you, who know you through and through, can lift and center you.  One spans the bridge for the other.  It has been our resolve and our luck, to face life on the same page, or at least in the same chapter.

Surely, the moments of despair, historical significance, time and physical changes have made us resilient but what deepened the meaning of life, and I speak for both of us I believe, has been our children.  To create a family and to have the product of your love continue beyond your existence is not praised or given worth enough.

We instinctively, humbly and sometimes clumsily (they don’t come with a reference manual and my husband wouldn’t read it anyway), welcomed, raised and support our offspring with love and some semblance of even-handedness between the two of us.  We became a family of five quickly and new challenges, decisions and discussions had to happen.  They are gifts to the world and creative, fruitful, heart-centered and interesting adults we admire, now.

Not every day has been spectacular but each day has been necessary.  There is a balance between difficult and smooth, up and down, the yin and the yang.  What remain true are the love and the need I have for and from my husband.

We have given 200% to ourselves, our lives, our home, our work, our play and our children.  We kept our pledge, through thick and thin.  I believe trust, respect, willingness, humor, flexibility and kindness are just as important as love in our intimate bonding of souls.  May the next 25 years be just as adventurous.

I could not have asked for a more decent, understanding or caring partner.

Happy Anniversary to Mr. Wonderful, the Duke of V.P., my Rock of Gibraltar, my hero, my angel and my tiger.  You have made me proud and more importantly you have made me laugh and feel like a woman who deserves to live life to the fullest.  Thank you.

I have known you forever and yet I have just met you.  I look forward to getting to know you even better, with all the endless facets in your prism that shine, color and enhance my world.

Happy Anniversary, Baby!

“There is only one happiness in life … to love and be loved.” – George Sand