One of the first school assignments this time of year is “What I Did This Summer.” As a mom and sub, I’ve seen many of these essays and always enjoy them. So, motivated by the touch of fall in the air, I’ll try it too.
A high point was Flower Piano held in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. I wrote about it in my last post and have been silent since. Having too much fun:-)
Every Tuesday this summer we volunteered at the Redwood Food Bank free lunch distribution held at our local library. We would have been happy with a bigger turnout, but it was the first year and still very gratifying.
We saw a few great museum exhibits, including a major collection of J.M.W. Turner’s light-filled paintings at the De Young. However he was a person (did you see the recent biopic?!), his work is groundbreaking, stirring, even spiritual. It’s hard to imagine the Impressionists weren’t greatly inspired by him. And there is a yearning and passion in him that, however different they are, we also feel in Van Gogh.
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| Snow Storm, 1842 |
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| The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, 1834 |
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| The Grand Canal “from the Steps of the Hotel Europa,” 1842 |
From the sublime to…well, we do love fashion, don’t we? So we couldn’t miss the Brooklyn Museum Costume exhibit at the Legion of Honor. I was smitten by a timeless bias-cut gown by Madeleine Vionnet (I *think,* but if you know better, I’d love to know!).
There was a specially commissioned traveling box of “the most expensive shoes in the world.” Each pair required a deposit of $6000 in 1913 and I have to think that was the top of the market, as too soon thereafter came the start of WW1.
I visited my old town Half Moon Bay twice, for a yoga workshop at Enso Studio, and also a visit that included my favorite walk along the coastal bluffs. We took a lovely interlude at the Ritz-Carlton.
We saw Willie Nelson at the Greek Theater in Berkeley. That man is a powerhouse who never phones it in and has one of the best bands I’ve every seen. Little Sister plays a mean honky-tonk piano and the harmonica player gets you in the gut.
Alison Krause and Union Station opened for Willie on her birthday. The group has been together for twenty-four years and is very tight. We all had fun.
We put up a clothesline and are sleeping very well.
And watched our home-grown veggies turn red and so yummy!
Sometimes you really connect with someone. This is my Sicilian girlfriend 2C BC. We catch up every time I visit the Legion of Honor.
Part 2 soon.