Monica and friends

Last night, Monica performed a bunch of new songs at Cafe du Nord with an allegedly thrown-togther-at-the-last-minute band that sounded anything but.

Yoga

Going to yoga regularly is a bit tricky. First, you have to find a day and time that work for you. Then, and perhaps more importantly, you have to find an instructor you like.

When Catherine moved to Southern California six months ago, I stopped going to yoga. No one else worked for me the way she did. A couple days ago, I ran into her on the street. Literally. On Sunday, I was back in class.

Homemade Pickles

My grandma made the best dill pickles ever! She used beautiful old crocks and it seemed to be a very complicated and lengthy process. Seized by a moment of domesticity -- and a desire for killer pickles -- I found a recipe online for refrigerator pickles. They'll be ready to eat on Thursday.

Le Colonial

Lisa and I met last night at Le Colonial, a lovely Vietnamese restaurant near Union Square. The food was pretty good, but the ambiance was spectacular. I stayed WAY too late watching people dance. It was swing night. Who knew?

Searching on Sunday

On Sunday, Georgia and I decided to get in the car and head north on 101 until we found sun. We ended up hiking at China Camp State Park in San Rafael.


Then we headed to the beach where we found this neat-looking restaurant.


We shared a shrimp and cucumber sandwich and watermelon.


On a recommendation from Heidi, we then found ourselves at Chalet Basque. Georgia had mussels and I had a shrimp Caesar salad.

Summer in SF

Don't ever visit San Francisco in the summer. Really. July is the worst. It's cold and windy and foggy. The poor tourists show up wearing shorts, thinking, "Surely, it will clear up." It doesn't.

Georgia and I went up to San Anselmo, about 40 minutes north of here, to hang out with Elyse in the sun.



On the way home, as we drove back into the fog bank, I asked Georgia to try and capture the weather on film. It's pretty tough to do.

"New" Shoes

Lisa is an admitted shoe addict. She needed to thin out her inventory and, lucky for me, we wear the same size.

I got four "new" pair last night. Here's my favorite:

Paragon

Whew! Back to SF where I belong. Georgia and I met after work at Paragon, which is right across the street from the ballpark. We had more ahi -- good, but not as good as Luka's.

Luka's

I went out in Oakland for the first time last night. Mike and I caught up, he gave me sound financial advice and I inhaled a spicy ahi tuna tartare. Yum!

Rendition

I watched a really good movie the other night. It's called "Rendition," starring Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Saarsgard and some other great actors, and it's about the U.S. government's policy that allows it to transport terror suspects to foreign countries to interrogate them outside the confines of the Constitution.

After the movie, watch the "extra" documentary on the DVD. It's almost more compelling than the movie.

Monte Rio

Georgia and I took advantage of the long weekend and headed up to the Russian River. We rented this cute house in Monte Rio.




We spent a lot of time doing nothing.


Henry retrieved the tennis ball more times than we could count.


Gin preferred lounging in the hot sun.


So did her owner.

Haight Street Market

I often by produce at this great neighborhood market. The other day, I got to the counter with $15 worth of food and abruptly realized I had forgotten my wallet. "Do you live in the neighborhood," the clerk asked. "Yes," I replied. "Don't worry about it," she said. "Come back and pay for it whenever you can."

You can't do that at Safeway.

Gin and Peanut Butter

Believe it or not, I carried a nearly empty peanut butter jar home in my luggage.



Someone was VERY happy.