Let me preface this post by saying I feel appropriately guilty that a large portion of the US is suffering through some of the coldest, snowiest weather they've seen in years (I mean hells bells people, it snowed in Austin, TX for crying out loud) while I spent the weekend blissfully warm and frolicking in sunshine. The weather is clearly part of the magnetic pull the Bay Area has on people.
We had the doors and windows open here yesterday and today and the weather was stinking gorgeous! And today was downright shorts and tank top weather. I kid you not. Brace yourselves—it was 78° here today. It is February. Right?
When did Spring get here? Cherry blossoms at twilight.
Obviously, I wasn't the only one thinking shorts were called for today. Scoob and I were practically blinded at the sight of so many winter-white legs on display today.
But not mine. No sirree. You see, I remembered that it is indeed February, which means it's winter and I haven't shaved my legs since sometime in October. Probably. Maybe September. Could be August. In any case, I don't even know if I've got a new razor around to do the job, so my legs remain hairy and safely under wraps.
Though, if we'd been running errands in Berkeley today, I might have been tempted to join the hippy chicks with some braiding. You know, come to think of it, a layer of hair would probably mitigate the glare from my pale legs.
I could just call it a safety precaution. I didn't shave my legs because I didn't want to sear your retinas and make you see my legs every time you close your eyes. See, it's a public service. The sacrifices I make.
Can I just say I am sick of this March comes in like a lion stuff and am soooo ready for the lamb. So when today dawned sunny and clear with warm temperatures projected for the afternoon, Scoob and I hopped the first BART train out of town and headed to San Francisco. Okay, okay, so I wasn't up at dawn, but other than that, that's exactly how this day started.
We went to the Ferry Building and in addition to the regular Saturday arts and crafts market, we discovered that the farmers' market has started again. (yea!) Which meant lots of colorful photos for me!
Is there anything that says "spring is here" better than pussywillows?
A yellow poppy.
These tomatoes smelled so good. It was like we'd skipped spring and gone straight to summer. No photo trickery here—they were really that red! Kinda makes those tomatoes at Safeway look pretty pathetic.
We laughed when we spotted these mandarin oranges because I really could have used them for last night's dinner. Instead, I used tangelos.
Orchids
One lonely red cabbage.
Red tulips. There was this cute little kid taking pictures of me while I was focused on the tulips.
There were lots of great dried fruits (I loved the persimmons and now wish I had bought some) and tons of free samples. In fact, Scoob kept walking back and forth in front of this one stand that was handing out samples of almond brittle with dark chocolate. It was embarrassing, though in his defense, it was really good. So I bought him a small 4 oz. bag of it so we could get on with our day, otherwise I think he would have kept it up until they either closed up shop for the day or he ate everything they had.
And then there were these guys…
And the pièce de résistance—the Jugtown Pirates.
Scoob knows how much I love bluegrass, and even though anything remotely "twangy" is like nails on a blackboard to him, he stopped so I could listen. The Jugtown Pirates sing in 3-part harmony and the mandolin player can really pick and the bass player had this great slap-style thing going on and they were all just so into it. You could really tell they love what they're doing and well, they all just rocked! In fact, I plunked down $5 of Scoob's money right then and there to buy their CD and haven't been able to stop listening to it since we got home. (Oh, and I friended them on Facebook. Yeah, I'm a geek.)
So, for your listening pleasure, this is the most recent and best sound-quality video I could find of them online. The acoustics at the Montgomery BART station aren't half bad. I especially like how they respond to the BART authority around 3:40 when she tells them to quiet down.
You be the trumpet and I'll be the kazoo
We were going to have lunch at Mastrelli's Deli in the Ferry Building only to discover they'd closed that location and were back at their original Molinari & Sons location in North Beach. It was such a nice day we decided to make the walk. Molinari's is an old-world Italian delicatessen that has been curing meats in San Francisco since 1896.
We grabbed a sandwich and headed over to the park at Washington Square and ate a delicious lunch in the shade in front of the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral. Scoob and I relaxed and watched a couple out playing catch with their young son, while a boyfriend tried (unsuccessfully) to teach his girlfriend how to throw a football. And it seemed like everyone had a dog that needed walking in the sunshine today.
From there we started to make our round about way back to the BART station, passing through Chinatown.
Where Scoob bought me this little bowl:
I've been wanting a pretty, small dish or something to put my rings and earrings in when I shower, wash up, do doody duty (cat boxes), and such. And now I have one. Yea! I like the pattern—vine-y and organic mother nature-y without being over-the-top feminine. (Kind of like the carpet pattern you were talking about JD.)
Then we wandered the Embarcadero Shopping Center. Massive, massive shopping center people. Did it mention it was massive? Just a bit of retail overload for someone who doesn't really get into shopping all that much. Though I did manage to thoroughly embarrass Scoob in Victoria Secret. That was fun. Heh.
We ended up eating dinner cafeteria-style at the shopping center, but let me tell you, even the mall food in San Francisco is outstanding! I had a yummy spinach salad from a salad bar while Scoob rustled up a half sandwich and potato salad somewhere else. Which reminds me, I need to see if I can find that restaurant's recipe for potato salad because Scoob said it was one of the best he'd ever had. Not quite as good as Mom's in my opinion, but still very yummy.
