Whew! We’re moving to Page 2
I left my heart in San Francisco.
Where’s yours?
Where’s yours?
Golden Gate Bridge, October 18, 2004
Welcome newcomers! Please introduce yourself
Come on in!
Coffee & Tea under the window, platters of treats on every table
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Newspapers are in their regular spot next to the door
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Please recommend (and unrecommend the Cafe & Lounge from yesterday)
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May the 4’s be with you
A great time was had at the cafe yesterday. Booman spent much of the evening here — he was a lively addition to the mix. And the live music was great!
Best of all, we had several new friends at the Cafe yesterday and last night. Let’s all remember that our cafe had it’s roots as the Official Welcome Wagon. And if you see a shy face lurking around, give them a hearty welcome!
Please, if you’re new to the group, introduce yourself — we can’t tell you’re here unless you do! And we’ve got a seat reserved at every table just for you.
Me: What’s our motto? Grandleezy really loud: FUN!!
With the structural changes complete at last, the Froggy Bottom Cafe/Lounge is more than twice as big as originally, while still – magically (you could say) — retaining an air of intimacy and warmth.
Also, the kitchen is well stocked and the waitstaff ready to take your order.
It’s good to see you!
but if you don’t mind, can you let us know from time to time how things are going with your sister?
Absolutely, it’s not nosy at all.
I can’t remember if I said, but she did open the letter from the mediator that set off that last panic. And the mediator said she’d better meet with them for a decision. But she also said that it seemed that all the items on the list pre-dated the final decree.
So the date for that is next week — and I’m glad it won’t be hanging over her head for too long.
She has made an appointment with her divorce attorney to get pre-mediation advice and review the documents.
But, she will get in touch with Legal Aid for the harrassment issues (!!)
I think that ultimately someone has to tell the x that he can’t keep doing this. And maybe this mediation session will be the time.
Anyway, she was still worried, but much calmer yesterday. She’s my youngest sister, and the one who was “my baby” and her panic always hits me hard. I can’t wait until her kids are grown so this stuff can stop completely.
Thanks for the update. I hope things turn out okay for her.
Ah, baby sisters. Can’t live with them, can’t live without them.
(and I am)
Ain’t it the truth!
Mine is actually scattered all over the country, yes in San Francisco, but also in with my siblings in New York, Virginia and Seattle.
It seems weird to me that kids as tightknit as us ended up scattered all over the country.
Morning all! It is a beautiful day here in Austin. Breezy, sunny, a few clouds white and puffy zipping here and there through the blue, must be at least 65 already and it sounds like an awesome day for the park with kiddos and bodes well for our planned trip at midnight out to try and catch some Taurid fireballs.
The firdge is still disassembled and off, the house is a complete and utter wreck, every single room (at least we’re consistent), husband and larger boy still asleep, smallest eating breakfast and watching a Blue’s Clues DVD. I am drinking coffee and trying to work myself into enough of a frenzy to go back inside (I’m on the deck) and become a human wrecking ball in reverse……
I’ll let you know how that works out!
😉
I love the idea of a human wrecking ball in reverse!
And you’ve reminded me — I’ve got a sink full of dishes to take care of. And it might as well be now, while the cafe is kind of quiet.
(Human wrecking balls get free coffee at this cafe, so come back when you’re ready for a break)
Yes, it is a great concept, isn’t it? Now how to make it a reality? One more cup of coffee perhaps….ah, I see boy the elder has moved from his bed out onto the couch by his brother…in to see if he’s ready for some breakfast. Happy dishing!
Dishes Done!
(4 rooms to go. HA!)
Goood lord, that was fast! All I managed to do in that time was get the bigger some cerea and refresh the coolers with new ice! I wish I had 10 people I could bribe to come and help with with the disaster area I call home — on days like today, I just look at the mess and am overwhelmed by the enormity of the task of even making a dent in it!
The hub says he wants to sleep ’til 10, maybe I am just not in reverse-wrecking-ball mode today….
Glad to hear you sounding in better spirits today.
Thanks, Indy, nothing keeps me down for too long….though I long for the day when I can completely cleanse myself of all of this doubt and frustration, for now, I content myself with compartmentalizing and going forward, baby as those steps may be.
Good morning Tribbers! It is a glorious and clear day in SoCal. I have the grandleezy for the weekend. Son and daughterinlaw decided at the last minute to drive up to Vegas to see U2. They wanted to hit the road to beat the LA traffic early so dropped grandleezy off at 2:30pm yesterday. My sweetie and I decided on Panda Express and a movie for our “girl’s night out”. During dinner the kids called. My grandleezy was talking to her mom on the cellphone when I hear her say when will you be at the airport? I told her don’t be silly, they are driving sweetie. She hands me the phone and Daughterinlaw tells me that the traffic was so bottlenecked they decided to turn around, go home and book flights and off they went to the airport. You just never know with those two.
Today I get to play Soccer grandma and then it is off for some fun. IWe have a little mantra that goes like this: Me: What’s are motto? Grandleezy really loud: FUN!! Hope you all have some fun today. Have a great weekend.
I’m pretty sure I’m going to want to steal this. Is that OK?
Absolutely Katie, steal away!
What a warm and welcoming diary this morning, kb. I was at the movies and missed last night’s cafe entirely. Sounds as if it was a blast. “Structural changes?” Twice as big? New friends?
Must go skim last night’s revels!
Hi, kansas!
Yes, yesterday was another 3 cafe day. I don’t know what’s gotten into us lately, but the comments kept getting better all day.
(I say “us” I was in lurk mode virtually all day)
Good morning, afternoon or whatever it is now.
If you hear stories of drunken shenanigans of last night, pass ’em on. Nobody got an eye put out so we did well.
Hi, rumi! So pleased to meet you. The world definitely needs more mystic poets. Hmm. That may sound a shade more ambiguous than I intended. I suppose it could be read either as: a) the world needs more poets who are mystic; or; b) the poets of the world are not as mystic as they might be. YOU are just the right mix, of course. (insert mystic smiley face here.)
I just got finished skimming last night’s threads and I loved the idea of making stuff up about people. Hell, the Republicans do it all the time!
Good morning all,
I’ve never been one to jump on a bandwagon but this is definitely the exception. It reminds me of a country hayride but a bit more radical.
I hope those are hayseeds I see floating in my coffee.
Let’s plan the slam!!
😉
If you want to practice, we could have Open Mike night tonight??
Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. We can learn as we go and discover what folks would enjoy sharing.
or should I, or should we let katiebird do it as the evening cafe? (I’m thinking the latter, but what do you all think?)
You have mail.
I think the place can fill up so quickly that it might be wise to plan on multiples from the beginning.
Grrr. Your email hasn’t gotten here yet, but I’ll keep checking. katiebird, do you want to do the first one or do you think we should keep the “open mikes” separate from the Cafe? rumi has a good point about the filling up quickly as of late….maybe you could just have a pointer in the Cafe to the opne mike diary?
I’m up for anything really!
Well, Saturday nights are pretty quiet. That’s why I’m always experimenting with attractions.
I’ve had Open Mike night about 1/2 the Saturday nights.
I think it would be great to have it in the regular cafe — but if it would bother you to have Off Topic chit-chat going on in the background, we should probably keep it separate.
For what it’s worth, I think all things in life are connected and therefore nothing is actually off-topic. The conversations around the words are some of the best inspiration. One thing I would suggest is possibly a main thread with links to others that are more oriented but conversation throughout. It might make it easier to navigate from one to another. If creative offerings are done as a main reply and related conversation kept under each as they pertain but this would just be a loose guideline if considered.
Ah, Well.
(picture me taking a giant step back as flashbacks to a recent experience with a photography fair streak across my eyes)
If you’re thinking of something that elaborate, we should probably find another host.
I mean, it sounds like a terrific idea. . . . .
(backing out to the kitchen)
Let’s just see what happens tonight and then we can learn from it for next time — you will be the hostess with the mostess katiebird, I think rumi’s loose guideline suggestion is a good one, but I don’t think anyone will get too bent out of shape if things just sort of happening in a random chaotic sort of way, at least tht’s how I feel about it….like I said, my attention will be split after 7:45 ET anyway, so it’s all good for me….
At about what time, do you think? That way I can have some things prpared to “seed” the place!
I’m thinking 7:30 or so for the evening cafe — sometimes I open it earlier.
But, I’m meeting a friend at 5 for coffee & I don’t think I’ll be ready to do it earlier than that.
Okies, well, I’ll have some stuff ready to post when you do open it and then everyone should be prepared for random football ranting!
😉
It sounds like another backstory that I don’t need to know. I didn’t mean to dump anything on you like that.
You are the chosen one, a forced volunteer of sorts, I think. One thing you won’t hear from me is criticism. I save that for the government that truly deserves it.
I say it will be a positive, entertaining experience this evening. Thanks for hostessing for us all.
No, I think you’d like it — We had a photography fair just about 1 month ago.
Here’s a link to the main page with links to the Photo Galleries
. . . . with the exception mentioned above.
How about I post & host. That way you guys can focus on being the
.
Will there be a theme of any kind, or just offerings, any and all?
I think offerings — any and all!
If we get swamped this week. We can consider a new format for the next time.
??
I think that would be excellent. I’m ready to help if needed.
Well, I’m up for it if rumi is, but I must warn you all that I will be watching the Va Tech Hokies v. the Miami Hurricanes live on TV tonight from Blacksburg, VA….my Hokies are 8-0 and must have all of my attention as they beat Miami, so I might be just a tad bit scattered, and my offereing may be interpspered with random football ranting (have i ever told you the story about the first time Ethan ever heard me yell? He was about 4 months old and I was watching football — scared the bejeezus out of the little bugger!!) but for open mike that’ll do, right?
I’m familiar with your Hokies record. You folks are the only loss on our record this year but at least we gave Louisville a warm welcome.
I give that a heartfelt woo-hoo and toss in a yeehaw just cause it feels good to say. A while ago I happened to surf for information on rap challenges on the internet and it was a different perspective. Some groups used it as a way to determine who would stay or leave a site when a disagreement had to be settled.
In the words of Steven Wright…It’s a small world, but I sure wouldn’t want to paint it.
,
I introduced myself briefly to you yesterday — but today you get a Host’s Welcome from me.
Hey!!!!
Thanks for the welcomes. I’ve been two steps behind you or in the wrong thread entirely.
Nice wagon you have here.
I’ve had a very nice walk that included extremely relaxed ducks gliding quietly on the lake (though no competition for Thursday’s cafe). Everything was so very quiet and peaceful this morning that I could hear individual leaves falling.
Quiet at Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park
That’s incredible!
That is is.
And note the clever ambiguity that will leave the newcomers thinking that this is where I took my walk.
The astute will notice that leave were unlikely to be falling in the scene pictured above </snark>
(sigh) leave = leaves
I’m not very good at snark.
Do you long for an edit button, too?…;)
That is a beautiful photo.
To the depths of my soul — if there was an edit function, all my posts would literally glow with wit and profundity (’cause I’d come back in a day or so to spiff ’em up).
n.t.
I always have plenty of grrrrr’s and d’oh!s after I hit submit.
Hi everyone, Katie, the cafe is lovely and you did such hard work in expanding it, what builders we are in this cafe business.
Breakfast feast you say…..yay, cause I am starving right now, so I’ll head on over to the ‘chuck wagon’ for some ‘vittles’.
Boy the cafe yestereday was quite something, I couldn’t participate much as I was gone most of the day but wowzer…..lots of gabbing.
Any shybies lurking around today, step on up for mojo and a hearty hello.
See you all in a bit, must go and find the food.
.
Can’t name just a single occasion, however
My heart never left creve coeur where I tried my first dance steps and winter ice skating with the 7th grade girl of my dreams.
A light year later, the ice melted when I visited Scheveningen Bowling on a blind date but was hijacked by a girl watching from a distance and had set her mind: “Gotcha”. Now 34 years later …
The geographic locations where we spend a wonderful holiday and wouldn’t mind settling permanently are Carmel Valley and close 2nd Santa Barbara in California, with the beautiful Pacific coastline.
In Europe, Paris – France – takes the top spot with Italy a fair 2nd, because of focus on culture, family life and the importance of relaxed atmosphere and appreciation of cuisine and attention for meals.
“Treason doth never prosper: what’s the reason?
For if it prosper, none dare call it treason.”
▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY
This sounds like a movie (or a Beatles song)
I love Carmel Valley. When I was a baby (in the early ’50s) my father went down there every weekend for a year or so to use a computer at some military facility down there (it was the closest computer available for his use).
Anyway, Mom and I would come along and I never forgot how wonderful it was! I later found out that it all happened before my 3rd birthday — yet I could remember it so clearly.
Now, a whole family of aunts, uncles and cousins live there — but I’m too far away for casual visiting.
Thanks for the pictures!
Good morning everybody, and happy Guy Fawkes Day to you. Remember, remember the fifth of November. I’ve always loved that my birthday is on the day that commemorates a bunch of revolutionaries who tried to blow up Parliament. What’s that you say? It commemorates their failure and hanging? Oh, well. It’s a great excuse for a bonfire!
Hey!…Happy Birthday. I hope it’s a good day for you.
Bonfires are fun.
Thanks, Rumi. Hey I was lurking in the back in the cafe last night and read your poems. Really good! I’m looking forward to seeing more.
Thank you. I’m glad you found something in them that spoke to you in any way. We’re planning to cut loose in alarming ways tonight. It should be fun.
Happy Birthday Lil!
Thank you, IndyLib.
lil!
Happy, Happy Birthday — I love Saturday birthdays!
Have you got plans?
In a little while I have to go to an open house at a high school where my daughter is applying. It’s all very well to leave your heart in San Francisco but hold on to your brain if you have school-aged kids in this town!
Then it’s on to her soccer game.
After that I hope to get in a hike in the Marin Headlands where a big piece of my heart lies, at the north end of that pretty bridge in the picture. Than, dinner in a fave restaurant.
So last month I ask my Dad, “Why did we live in Lucas Valley while you were working way down the peninsula? Wasn’t it like an hour drive each way?”
And he says, “Well, your mom was a Marin girl, I couldn’t ask her to move”.
Don’t ask how we ended up in Kansas, if we couldn’t move south of San Francisco.
Here are some photos from a drive between my Aunt’s house in Tam Valley and our Lucas Valley House:
(Almost all the photos were shot along the road that runs right behind the house (red dot) and to the left.)
I love the blending of urban areas with wilderness in Marin.
I’m very sorry — I didn’t realize the images were so big.
Please don’t feel bad. What a wonderful photo journey. Was it as lovely to grow up in West Marin as I think it would be?
I’m not exaggerating. You can see that the little community where I lived is surrounded by wilderness that can never be built on.
That drive was a year ago & it is virtually the same as in the 50s & 60s.
If we wanted to go to the store for a treat, it was a mile walk (or bike ride) there and a mile back. I don’t think there were very many overweight kids in our neighborhood. And what a deal — all that wilderness & just a bus ride into one of the greatest cities in the world!
Contrast that with the neighborhood we moved into in Kansas. I don’t at all mean to trash Kansas, I wouldn’t have stayed if I didn’t want. But, it wasn’t nearly as healthy physically.
a little north of there in Mendocino County. Here:
Ah, the only things I really need to live: a shack in the woods, my cat, and my saddle. The horse lives a little ways away. I could include a pic of her too, if you want.
I’d love to see a photo of your horse.
And if I could live within 100 miles of San Francisco — well maybe not inland (is that too picky considering how far inland I am now?)……
I’d love to see her. Pray tell whereabouts is the cabin? Another rather large piece of my heart is on Orr Springs Road.
You can ride to Orr Springs Road from there, although I haven’t. The cabin is in Reeves Canyon. I will post the picture of my horse further out in the thread.
Time Waits in Mendocino County:
Wow. That’s where I want to be.
Let’s blow up something (ever watch Mythbusters)!
Have a great b’day.
Thank you Andi! I don’t know Mythbusters — what do they blow up?
n.t.
It’s a show where they try to prove/disprove urban legends, myths, conventional wisdom — but everything they do seems to result in something getting blown up or destroyed in the process. It’s a hoot.
In the one katiebird mentions, they tested the urban legends of someone blowing themselves up on a toilet by throwing in a lit cigarette. My personal favorite was testing if someone could escape from prison by eroding the bars on the window with salsa.
I like it because they actually do bust some of those myths you take for granted.
Like do bodies really go flying when they’re hit with a bullet (no).
It sounds like my kind of show.
Oh, I love that froggy birthday cake. Thank you Kansas!
Happy Birthday librarylil!
Happy day back at ya super.
I all for blowing up the wreck that is the mess in every room of my house in honor of your day!!
What a good idea — I think I’ll blow up mine! Thanks brin.
Happy birthday lil!
Mine was yesterday.
Happy birthday to you too, ask! I don’t know about you but I like to celebrate all week.
I’m with you.
In any case, it’s my son’s birthday coming Tuesday so there will be some kind of celebration.
Aren’t kid’s birthdays just so much fun? I swear I’ve had more fun on my kids’ birthdays than my own of late!
The big 40 for me in March — I want a HUGE party! My slogan: I’m not getting older, part of me are just wearing out, but not the good parts!
😉
I’m on the 4th — great way for the spouse to remember my birthday: “I marched forth on March 4th!” 🙂
Hey my sister (the one married to the film editor, not the one mentioned at the top of the diary) had her birthday yesterday…
Happy late birthday ask — I’m sorry I missed it.
did you have fun?
Yep.
curly took me to a great Italian Restaurant.
I’m so glad to here it. I love birthdays.
Have you been to the new Cafe?
It’s 11:59am here on LI. Just time enough left for a late good morning to frogs far and wide :o)
My heart is scattered across the country in many fine and wonderous places, but if I had to choose one it would be at the house we used to rent on 8 wooded acres in the Catoctin Mountains (more like hills :o)) in Emmitsburg, Maryland. I never felt more at home than I did there alone in the woods. The first year there I learned a lot about preparing for winter, Yikes! But after that I enjoyed getting 7 or 8 cords of wood knocked down and split and stocking up on food for the days when there was no way to get down into town.
Great times and many wonderful memories. It was cool to know that Bill Clinton was just a couple of miles away at Camp David from time to time too.
Hi Super, I just have to mention that I lived (mostly)my first 17 years of life near Camp David on the Pa. side of the border in Salisbury, Pa. It was a very wonderous place from my perspective, especially the woods that were everywhere in that part of the country. Many fond memories of that time and all the adventures my sis and I had in the woods, ponds and creeks thereabouts.
I know Salisbury :o)
Being deeply interested in Civil War history I so loved being so close to Gettysburg just ten minutes up Rt.15. I spent days there over the four years that we lived there. Antietam and Sharpsburg were a half hour drive over to the west side of the Catoctins too. History everywhere.
My mother started this one but over the years I’ve evolved it into my own… It has become a favorite wherever I’ve served it.
INGREDIENTS
dump all into a large bowl of water, if they don’t float….don’t eat. My mother used to tell me to squeeze each one gently just to be safe. If it’s soft….don’t eat. Chop them in a food processor, do not puree.
cut sections into small pieces, seeds and white skin removed. NOTE: If you want to save time, use a can of Mandarine oranges instead. Save juice, use it as the cold liquid when making the Jello.
One large package or two small. You can use any “red” flavor but now they have a “cranberry” flavor which is perfect.
Crushed, one normal size can, drained. Save juice, use it as the cold liquid when making the Jello.
Or other sweetner. To taste. You may not need any with the pineapple and Mandarine oranges plus their juice (see below).
HOW TO DO IT:
Make the jello as directed BUT use the juice from the pineapple and Mandarine oranges for the cold part of the liquid, plus water to make up the required amount.
Add fruit one kind at a time and stir gently. There will be LOTS of fruit.
Add sweetener.
Put into your serving dish. Refrigerate over night.
SERVE:
Note: This will never “set up” into hard jello. Too many goodies in it. Serve as a yummie, beautiful side dish to the turkey dinner. And when any of your guests say they don’t like cranberries, shame them into “trying” it. They will love it.
ENJOY!!
ummmm, I’ve been looking for a good cranberry recipe.
I wonder if there is a way to pull all these recipes together so we don’t have to remember exactly which diary we read it in?
too much information, but I just have to share. My two year old, who is having his first weekend of “no diapers”, had taken off his underpants and was running around naka-butt (as we call it around here) and came outside to the deck and said “poop, poop!”
after a bit of searching for poop, we found that he has left a nice deposit on the tile floor in the living room — we showed him how poop goes in the potty (which he seems to have a mortal fear of “no poott–yyyyy, no, no!!” after a quick bath, he went off with new spiderman underpants to play marbles in a box (a game he loves lots) apprently he has gotten the hang of taking his penis OUT of his undies, ‘cuase he shortly thereafter, proudly displayed his pee in the box, with underwear totally dry…
Anyway, he is so cute now running around out here with nothing on but spiderman undies and chewing some bubble gum from his Halloween bag….it’s going to be a fun weekend!
My husband decided it would be a grand thing to teach him how to pee on a tree (he did this with eldest too…), so while the hub is showing him how to do it (walk to far reaches of yard, find tree, take out penis “see daddy has underwear too), the little guys stands there watching and pees in his new undies…
Ok, take second pair of undies into house, get thrid pair, elder son comes out and says “I found the rest of the poop” — take blankets sheet and pillow from couch and place in washer, with much disgust on six-year old’s part, “Quinn, this is GROSS, poop in the potty and everyone will be happier!” Quinn is oblivious and demands more Blue’s Clues….
I love that is warm enough for this in November … I am so much more relaxed about this than I was the first time around, I know that eventually, he WILL be potty trained, and until then, well, there will be many more days like this!
And I will be giggling all the way through!
That sounds like the title of a fun book.
Good morning all!
Check the Sitemeter (bottom, right of page). We’ll be hitting 1 million visitors within the next 4 hours.
Otherwise a beautiful day in the NY-area. Hitting 70+ again. Nice and sunny.
Why am so capable in some ways and completely unable to get the hang of the sitemeter?
I must not think in the way they graph or think in their categories, or something.
Could you post a screen shot and explanation for me? (I’m sure everyone else can look for themselves)
(please?)
VISITS
Total 998,379
Average Per Day 12,295
Average Visit Length 1:41
Last Hour 488
Today 3,092
This Week 86,067
PAGE VIEWS
Total 3,898,169
Average Per Day 28,771
Average Per Visit 2.3
Last Hour 1,313
Today 8,824
This Week 201,400
Good Heavens!
But Saturday sure brings down the average. As the Saturday Cafe host, what can I do to help that?
Local rock radio station just played recording of LBJ “I will not seek and I will not accept the nomination” speech, along with music of those times. Isn’t it spooky how far we have come and yet it seems like we’re still fighting the same damn wars? Progress in some ways… women’s roles come to mind… and so backwards in other ways.
It’s a beautiful fallish day here in Northern California, cool and clear at the moment. Have a good one everybody!
Here’s a photo from my first-ever, San Fran trip, this past September: