Sonoma Part Two: Gundlach Bundschu

Our second stop in Sonoma was Gundlach Bundschu. Another great winery that is 160 years old. Great wine, but the location/venue is really fabulous, and super dog friendly!!

Dick and I tasted a flight if the reserve wine on their patio and had a small lunch of salami, olives, and bread (and cheese for me).

Wallace made himself very comfy on the patio while we had lunch. We had a really nice walk around the grounds after.

Rain in SF in August!!!

It was been warm and super humid the last few days. We just started to get some nice showers, which is wonderful and already cooling down the temps.

SF Summer rain! How nice!!

Sam's in Tiburon

Wallace and I drove to Sam's in Tiburon today to meet Dick and his sailing friends for lunch. Dick sent me a message about an hour before from the boat telling me that they were planning to sail to Sam's and dock for lunch and invited me to join them. Sam's has a couple of docks off their restaurant and a beautiful outdoor patio that is dog friendly, so I decided to bring Wallace with me.

We had a great time! We arrived slightly after Dick arrived on the boat, so we didn't get to see them dock, but we were able to walk them back to the boat after lunch to see the boat and watch them take off.

Oh, and Wallace met a little baby girl whose parents asked him to take a photo with. As far as I know, this was the first time Wallace has met a baby. He was really good with her.

I realized as I was driving that I've never driven to Tiburon before. I've only ever walked there from San Francisco. 😉 It was a beautiful day and was nice to drive there on a less busy day without traffic.

Something's Not Right Here

It's bedtime. I had the lights dimmed in the bedroom and asked Wallace to go home to his crate. Ever the good dog, he went right in, but I noticed he didn't go all the way to the back of his crate like he usually does. When I turned up the lights, I discovered why: there was a kitten in the back of his crate. 😺

We voted!!

Went down to SF City Hall to vote today!!

Happy Anniversary!!!

Eleven years ago, I said "I Do" to the man who brings joy and love to my heart. Last night, just after midnight, he surprised me with the most beautiful card/love letter - it made me cry. Our life together has been a wonderful adventure, and I'm so happy to be spending our happily ever after with you, Dick Craddock. I love you with all my heart. Happy Anniversary!! ❤️

Happy Birthday, Dick!!

Happy Birthday to the love of my life, the man who brings joy to my heart every day. I love you, Dick Craddock. Here's to life, here's to love, and here's to you. ❤️

Today's Birthday celebration consisted of:

Golf- possibly the best game Dick has ever had!

Fort Funston- a gorgeous day to take our dog back to the beach

Dinner- a fabulous meal at L'Ardoise, one of our favorite restaurants in San Francisco.

Beautiful Day for Golf

Such a gorgeous day, and we both had a great round of golf! Yay!!

72 Jars of Plum Jam

2016 Plumpacalypse Total:

Seventy-two 12-oz Jars of Plum Jam

120 cups of raw fruit
40 cups of sugar
61.25 oz of pectin

Five batches made over seven days.

Visiting my Alma Mater

Dick and I had breakfast this morning in my old neighborhood (Polk Street/Nob Hill).

After breakfast, we drove around a bit, then decided to visit my old art school, The San Francisco Art Institute.

It's a beautiful day today, which made the views from the rooftop even more amazing.

I was pretty nostalgic today, which had never really hit me before. It's been over 20 since I attended school there. What struck us both is how much of both the school, and the surrounding area hasn't changed at all. That was quite refreshing, given how much change/construction has happened in so many parts of San Francisco.


The Diego Rivera Fresco, painted for the Art Institute in 1931


Info about the mural


heading down towards some of the studios


Dick, on the rooftop deck, in front of the original building and the old tower


I used to joke that our tuition money went towards these views!


another side of the panoramic view - the Bay and Alacatraz


looking down at part of the campus and the Walter MacBean Gallery


just like old times


more views


The digital media center - built in 1995, my first semester, and a large part of the reason why I applied to go to SFAI.

Gina, spreading the kindness

On Wednesday, I wrote about how I was participating in glassybaby's Random Act of Kindness Day. The idea is that each person who receives it enjoys the kindness for one day before passing it on for someone else to enjoy, creating a chain of kindness.

I passed along the kindness glassybaby to Gina yesterday.

Here's what she posted about it last night:

Happy Random Act of Kindness Day!!

Happy Random Acts of Kindness Day!!

I was selected by glassybaby to start one of twenty chains of kindness!!

They sent me a lovely kit yesterday which included a beautiful "kindness" glassybaby, a box of votive candles, and a tracker.

The idea is that each person who receives it enjoys the kindness for one day before passing it on for someone else to enjoy, creating a chain of kindness.

Today, the kindness glassybaby is lit in Downtown Bellevue. Who knows where it will end up tomorrow!!

You can follow the chain of kindness at #alittlekindness.

Valentine's Dessert

Yum!
Tonight I baked the Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cake that Gina gave out at her Favorite Things party last November.

I had it in my freezer, and thought tonight would be the perfect night to enjoy it.

Hot Cakes is a local company/storefront in Seattle, but we can also buy these in the freezer section of Whole Foods.

I know they are available in select grocery stores around the country. If you find them, I'd recommend giving them a try.

BTW: the Hot Cakes Molten Cakes have an entire Theo Chocolate Bar in them! Oh, my!! This would explain why I can never eat more than half of one. Soooo yummy!!

Thanks, Gina!!

Traditional Southern New Year's Day Meal

We will be out celebrating Nicole's birthday tonight, so we prepared our traditional Southern New Year's Day Meal for lunch today.

Country Ham (or any pork) symbolizes forward progress. Collard Greens symbolize money, and black eye peas symbolize luck.

2015 was a bit of a mixed-bag. We had many great times, but also some significant lows, too.

Here's to a healthy and prosperous 2016!!

Good Morning!

We were greeted by a rainbow over the Snoqualmie Falls this morning.