A Birthday Week

Song -Three Coins in the Fountain by The Four Aces

Last Sunday was my birthday and my family took me out to Peasant & the Pear in Danville for brunch.  It was delightful.....

And on Tuesday my friend Jill took me to Treasure Island for lunch at Mersea overlooking the San Francisco skyline. 

Mersea consists of several shipping container units with huge windows added.  They have Corn Hole  and other outdoor games as well as a full on bar and kitchen. Fun!

It was the perfect temperature for sitting outside because you never know with San Francisco!

On Saturday morning a truck backed into our driveway.......

After more than a month my garden fountain had arrived!!!

We knew it was coming as Mr. B had to build a foundation and get electricity to the area. You can see what this area previously looked like here - Constantly Evolving

I was very nervous when Mr. B's foundation looked so large.  At first I thought maybe we had made a big mistake and chose too large of a fountain because it was as tall as the pad is wide - yikes!

They carefully brought it in piece by piece.  Well that base doesn't look as big as the pad that the company suggested building, maybe it won't be too bad?

In went the pump, the tower and the top.  Then the rustic spouts went on and it was filled with water.

  I held my breath and......the sound was deep and soothing....it worked.....I loved it!

Within minutes of set up, a little hummingbird flew around the fountain inspecting it from every angle ( I think he loved it too!)  Tomorrow I will replant the white Iceberg roses around the base to soften it some and it will feel more like it's been in our yard for awhile. 

I can't wait for the rest of the birds to discover their new fountain!

"Rocks and water, etc., 

are words of God, and so are men.  

We all flow from one fountain Soul.  

All are expressions of one Love."

  -- John Muir

Called On Account of Rain

Song - All We Do - Oh Wonder - Cover by Sierra Eagleson


It's raining again here in California, so Mr. B and I decided to head to the art museum in San Francisco to see the Monet exhibit.  We timed it perfectly so we wouldn't get stuck in commuter traffic or the Giant's home opener traffic.  Off to the Legion of Honor! 

I showed the lady our online tickets, picked up our audio guides and went to walk in and saw.......

 ....this....

....and this.....oops.....that does not look like Monet!  It was a Rubens exhibit......did we miss it?
Nope.  I had the wrong museum!  So while we did take a quick peek at the Rubens show (not really our cup of tea) we quickly headed over to the deYoung to see Monet.

 Now that's better.......

 Just look at all the colors he used in this close-up........

The exhibit was titled - Monet: The Late Years and included about 50 pieces of art that he did from 1913-1926, where he spent most of his time at home in Giverny, his home near Paris France.

 He loved his garden and was passionate about his Lily Pond. He would often paint the same view at different times of the day to see how the colors changed.

 Once again, amazing color on top of color.

 In his later years he developed cataracts and eventually had surgery to correct his vision.  His palate changed from blues and greens to orange and yellows.

 But still powerful color....

 Also at the deYoung was a Gauguin exhibit that was interesting and is the first one at the Fine Arts Museum dedicated to the work of Paul Gauguin.

 He met and married his wife, a Danish women, Mette-Sophie Gad and they had five children.  After 11 years their marriage fell apart when Paul Gauguin decided to paint full time. 

This is a tiny portrait of his wife - about 3 x 4".

 Paul Gauguin - 1848-1904

 Similar to Monet, Gauguin had layer upon layer of color.

Amazing color in the water..... 

While Mr. B and I did get to see three amazing exhibits, we did miss our first home opener with the Giants in 19 years.  While returning home we saw the fireworks from the freeway and I had my camera ready for the fly-over (my favorite!) but alas we either missed it or they did not do it this year.

The only fly-over I saw was a big black crow flying over our car!

"I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers." 

--Claude Monet

Bye Bye Baby

Song - SF Giants Fight Song

You know what day it is?  It's TBT - Throw Back Thursday!

 Jill, John "The Count" Montefusco & me

Circa 1975

On September 29, 1976, Montefusco threw a no hitter for the 

SF Giants in a 9 - 0 victory verses the Atlanta Braves.

Jill and I used to go to many Giant games 
at Candlestick Park and occasionally 
hung out with the players.  

I guess we were Giant "groupies" -
we have some fun memories from that time....

....now we go to the games 
with our sweet husbands and behave!!!

"She asked me to tell her the three words that every girl wants to hear.  So I whispered, "Let's Go Giants" in her ear. 

- Someecards

It's Just Like Magic

....and we are in London!  Planes are an amazing contraption as they can bring you to an entirely different reality.  Everyone who knows me knows I hate, hate, hate to fly.  But it's so worth the fear & panic when you arrive safely at your destination!  

A whole new world opens up right before your very eyes.  

 

 

Leaving beautiful San Francisco behind on Monday night. 

 P

Circling the Thames & the London Eye!

 

From Heathrow we took the Heathrow Express train into London and arrived at Paddington Station.  From there we bumped around with our suitcases several blocks to our hotel nearby. 

 

After resting my tired toes and Mr. B's power nap, we decided to head over to Hyde Park & Kensington Gardens which really reinvigorated both of us.  Just people watching and being out in the fresh air and enjoying nature.  There were Cotton tail rabbits, Magpies, White Swans, Red Ringed Parrots, Doves, Ducks & loads of squirrels - some formal gardens and acres of open space for joggers, sun bathers & picnicking.  

 

 

The gardens in London are just lovely and are about on the same time schedule as mine at home. 

 

Here is a shot of a large sculpture framing Kensington Palace way, way in the background.  But what I really wanted to see was this lovely little statue of Peter Pan below.

 

The creator of Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie, commissioned Sir George Frampton to build the Peter Pan statue in 1902. It was erected in Kensington Gardens in 1912.

Tomorrow we take he train to Bath....see you then!

Boats, Planes and Bats

Song - Take Me Out to the Ball Game by Crazy Uke

On Monday morning, Mr. B and I drove over to the city and the first boat I noticed was "Little Toot".  I just love tug boats but I really don't know why. Just look at that massive ship it is guiding under the Bay Bridge.

And then we parked next to this little ship that I couldn't even fit on my camera from across the street. We met our good friends, Jodi and Chris at a restaurant near there.

And this is one of the last boats that I noticed.....quite the deal.  Hot tub, BBQ and cooler all while floating in McCovey's Cove.  And you probably guessed why we were in San Francisco.....it was the Giant's home opener!!!

The jets for the "fly over" circled while the cast of Hamilton sang the National Anthem.

A humongous flag was unfurled and you could feel the vibrations of the planes coming closer as the song ended.

And once they are over head and pass you by, the sound is deafening, exciting and fun!  Go Giants!

Let's Play Ball!

The usual cast of colorful characters were there.

Fans....

Hunter Pence without all of his hair.....

Buster Posey......

And.....see that bald head in a suit?

It's Barry Bonds back on the team as a special advisor to the CEO.

You just have to trust me on this one because I forgot to take his photo when he had a standing ovation so I looked through all of my fan photo's and this was all I could find....

Willie Mays and Willie McCovey, Kruk and Kype were there as well.

The Giant's won the opener 4-1 against the Arizona Diamondbacks!!!

Hooray!!!

Beautiful day with Mr. B and friends.  I even got a sunburn!

"Little League baseball is a good thing because it keeps the parents off of the streets."  -- Yogi Berra