It's Someone's Birthday.......

Song - When I'm Sixty Four by A Cappella Trudbol

And he is a Valentine Birthday Boy!!!  My Mr. B !

Oh my goodness....is this the cutest little buck-a-roo you ever saw? Definitely mine!

Beautiful eyes and dimples too!

Glad we didn't meet until after his REBEL years!

A protective, loving daddy with his first born son.

Chillin' out at the pool floating on Lake Como

Doing a little carpentry around the house.  What a handy guy!

Loves me, his boys and his doggies too! Kinda sounds like a country Western song.

He also loves breakfast in Paris!

Did you know that Mr. B was a TV sensation?  Yup!  He told Congress how to do it up right!

He was also a movie extra in "The Field of Dreams".......just kidding!

And he was voted as a favorite Superhero......only by me though!

But he really was a Knight....errr......I mean a good sport!

He is a keeper for sure!

Happy, Happy Birthday My Valentine!

"When I get older losing my hair
Many years from now
Will you still be sending me a valentine
Birthday greetings, bottle of wine?
If I'd been out till quarter to three
Would you lock the door?
Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I'm sixty-four? "

--by Paul McCartney

And Now for the Second Half....

Song - San Francisco by Scott McKenzie

After an evening of "Pipers", the next morning when waking in San Francisco Mr. B and I decided to venture out for breakfast.

We walked over to the Ferry Building but I just had to take a photo of this vintage street car from Milan, Italy that was built in 1928!  I didn't realize that SF has been refurbishing a whole fleet of vintage street cars.  You can read about them HERE!

It had stormed the night before but today the weather was beautiful.  It was also a Farmers Market day!

For lunch we chose to eat at The Cowgirl Creamery and this gentleman was making yummy plates of warm cheese on French bread.  That brown metal contraption has a heating element in the top, so when he slides the half wheel of cheese under it, the heat melts the cheese and then he slides the wheel out and scrapes the gooey, delicious cheese onto your plate! 

They have a stall of every kind of mushroom you might think of and then some! They also have shops with "pig parts", fresh Acme bread, Hog Island Oyster's, Stonehouse Olive Oil, coffee, tea, a real live book store (with our bud Taya working there!!), desserts and lots of restaurants to choose from. And best of all......delicious pork filled steamed buns! Mr. B and I brought two of those home for a late afternoon snack.....mmmmm!

And outside there were bushels of beautiful Kale.  As well as Gandhi walking through the market!

And a little jazz to sit in the sunshine and enjoy.

Mr. B and I kept looking at each other and saying "Why don't we do this more often?"

As you can probably tell, fun was had by all!



"East is East, and West is San Francisco." - O. Henry

A "Piper" Kinda Night

Song - The Pied Piper by Crispian St. Peters


Friday night I got to check off one more item on my 100 Things To Do Before I Die list!  Mr. B took me to the Palace Hotel in San Francisco to see Maxfield Parish's 1909 Mural of the "The Pied Piper of Hamelin".

So we had planned this trip several years ago but suddenly the hotel's management decided to auction off the painting and it was taken down off the wall at The Pied Piper Bar & Grill.  After the ownership was deluged with protests, they decided to refurbish the painting and in August of 2013 it was reinstalled!

The beautiful floral arrangement at the hotel's lobby

The stunning garden court

The entrance to the bar with a small bit of the painting showing

SIGH......

"The tale of The Pied Piper dates back to 1284 in the rat-infested town of Hamelin, Germany. The piper was hired by the townsfolk to lure the rats away to the river where they drowned. Upon his return, the townsfolk refused to pay him. Seeking revenge, the man played his pipe again, luring the children from the town, never to be seen again.

Dark stuff.

Enjoy your Manhattan." - From SF Weekley - By Rhys Alvarado

 So after a very yummy cocktail and appetizer we took a cab over to a Basque restaurant where we were meeting some of Mr. B's business friends.  The restaurant happened to be named "Piperade" and therefore the title of my blog - two pipers in one day!

Mr. B and Chef Gerald Hirigoyen

The chef came out mid-meal to see how we were enjoying our dinners.  Mr. B and he got to talking and found out we have Basque friends in common.  Small world and great food!!!


" San Francisco has only one drawback - 'tis hard to leave."
- Rudyard Kipling

The Mountains are Calling

Mr. B and I just returned from a few days in Yosemite.  We were participating in the Chef's week up there and by participating I mean - eating, watching demos, eating, dining, eating and taking in the quiet Winter beauty!

No snow, no rain, the Merced River looks like a trickling creek. But still, the cold beauty takes my breath away!

Yosemite Falls had some water and even some ice formed where the mist rises and freezes.  Can you see the white thingy in the center of the photo?

That's ice!

And on our morning drive around the Park we spotted this fellow.  I guess he thought he was a pedestrian!

He got tired of posing for photo's and decided to lay down for his close-up shot!

Everything was so quiet and serene.

Except for Mr. Raven who was noisy from dawn to dusk!

Came upon another Coyote who was listening at a mouse hole.  He was so patient and would cock his head from side to side while listening to activity inside the hole.

I was waiting for him to do a face plant!

We enjoyed learning about cheeses and how to taste them properly from Peggy & Sue founders of The Cowgirl Creamery!  Mmmmm......yum! They were both so funny!


 I told Mr. B that it was like spending the day in France where you get a plate of cheese any time of day!

Peggy

Sue

 

 

On the final day, Chef David Bazirgan from The Dirty Habit in SF showed us how to make scallops and soup.  I wouldn't mind him cooking my meals anytime!!!

While waiting for the evening's sun to set, I took a photo of Half Dome's reflection in the Merced River.

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike." --John Muir

Onward

On my painting blog/website is the final collage of my 28 paintings from the last 30 days.  I thought I would share it here as well.  The challenge was from Leslie Saeta - 30 Paintings in 30 Days.  We began with over 1400 artists and about 250 finished the challenge!

I missed two days because Mr. B and I took a little trip to Yosemite for a few days.  But today I painted one of the two missing and tomorrow I will paint the last one!

If you would like to see each painting close up, just go to my painting site - jeanettebaird.com

On some of the posts, I showed the process of painting these little gems!

My Fresh Air Mom!

Song - Mambo Italiano by Dean Martin

So I have this wonderful Italian mom who still likes to be involved in the lives of her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, a long lost cousin, her neighbors, her neighbors dogs or cats.....you get the picture. She likes to keep track of the pulse of the world!

She is especially happy if she has a baby or two or three on her lap.  Or one she can rock to sleep!

Mom has been concerned that I haven't gotten any fresh air or sunshine because I paint too much.  So even though my easel is 18" from a double French door that is kept open all day into my garden, it still isn't up to moms ideas of fresh air.

The other day my son's were home and the youngest said he was going to head back home because he was tired and needed a nap.  Mom said "Why don't you go jogging?"  Huh? 

OK.  Well meaning, very loving and caring.  But things should be done her way.....right? Must be the Italian in her, or maybe it's all moms?

So Mom - this is for you!  I took a walk the other day and brought my camera so I could document what was happening in the garden in January!

The Narcissus are blooming

The Lemons are happy with all of our winter sunshine

My Sweet Pea's are climbing - with a little help from me!

The Rosemary is blooming and fragrant

Moss is growing around the pool deck

My Rodde's are ready to sprout

Primroses are happily smiling everywhere - except my front walk where the dear have eaten them ;-(

The Veronica plants are blooming in the late day sun

My Camellia bushes are full

Even my lawn is full of weeds and dandelions

As I turn the corner into the side yard, I get a full scent of my huge Daphne bush

Little Grape Hyacinth's are multiplying everywhere

Spring Snowflake - a sure sign of Spring coming!

Star Magnolia

And finally my flowering Quince!

Hope you enjoyed this walk around my garden - Mom and friends!

And that fresh air did feel good!!!  I guess mom's sometimes know what they are talking about!

See.  Even as a little girl mom was happiest with a baby on her hip!