hidden city

I'm all moved in to the new casa and loving my very much shorter commute! I will be happier still when I get all these boxes sorted out. I'm finding that there are a lot of things I must've packed out of sheer exhaustion (or I've had a shift in values), because as I open boxes, I think "Ew, I don't even like this thing - straight into the Goodwill pile with you!"

Apparently, my new little town of Point Richmond is also referred to as "the Hidden City" - when Tom and Laura visited me on Sunday, we strolled downtown and had an EXCELLENT meal at the Hidden City Cafe. As it turns out, the Pixar crowd enjoyed the cafe too (back when they were located in P.R.) and they put it into the movie Monsters, Inc., which I have now pushed to the top of my Netflix queue so I can check that out!

I had a Niman Ranch roast beef hash with horseradish sauce and eggs, Laura was able to select a 'vegan special' (which prompted her to tell the waiter that "Kate is allowed to stay here") and Tom had some great-looking eggs and bacon. The OJ was fresh-squeezed, too.

"Is that France or Mexico?" we asked the waiter, pointing to a large flag on the rear wall.

"France," he said, "Well, actually, that's a wall."



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Today I am grateful that enough crazy drama is settled that I could notice the geese on the bay this morning as I drove to work;
I am grateful for the kind lovely people at my work;
I am grateful that tonight there is a nice little meeting just one block from my new house;
Today I ask God to let me focus on the next right thing.
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Great local raptor photography from Glenn Nevill: http://www.raptor-gallery.com/

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Great foodie-licious blog entry from one of my FAVES, Anthony Bourdain: http://blog.ruhlman.com/2007/02/guest_blogging_.html

all that is yum, amid the yuck

While the logistics of yesterday drove me to curse and pound my futile little fists on the steering wheel of my shamefully gas-guzzling SUV, the other joys of the day were extraordinary.

Could not get Internet connection at my Napa Fed-Ex Kinko's (on a day when I was telecommuting) and it took me about 1/2 hour to get someone to tell me why and realize that I had to drive at least an hour away to get to a working T-Mobile HotSpot. Headed to Petaluma, since I was having lunch there with a friend there later and hoping that the Fed-Ex Kinko's there would let me connect. After a 1/2 hour futzing about discovering that there was no hot-spot and that their "lap-net" service was hosed, finally logged on using one of their desktops at a steep 25 cents per minute. Oy vey.

Trekked over to the new PRBO offices to meet with my old friend Claire Peaslee. The new facility is just stunning - a nice clean library, an amazing wet lab, computer classroom, lofty ceilings, a beautiful view of Shollenberger Park. Just wow.

We had lunch at a place called "Della Fattoria" and it was a very happy surprise. Warm colors, comfortable small dining room, incredible organic, high-quality food. I had, for example, a stew with sweet potato, onion, big white beans, duck and pork. It was scumptious. And it was soul-filling to talk with Claire and get caught up. She's doing some very intriguing things with a thing called Action Theater, which I'll have to learn more about.

We found parking right in front of the restaurant, first stroke of luck. Then, when I ordered my stew, the gal at the counter relayed to her fellow server, "Ok, that's it for the duck. No more orders for duck." So second stroke of luck was getting that last morsel of duckiness in my stew. Third stroke was that the place was just emptying out when we got there but then a huge line formed behind us.

Petaluma has changed so much over just the past year! I like the architecture of the new riverfront condos and such. I think it is respectful of the rural area, echoing farm buildings, while being exciting and contemporary.

So after going back to my computer at Petaluma's FedEx-Kinko's and racking up another big connectivity charge, I finally was done with work for the day and could take my dog to Petaluma's fine dog park (also out near Shollenberger.) It was freezing cold and blowy, very unusual for the bay area. So a bit more yuck occurred here as my dog decided that she had no intention of returning to captivity in the vehicle. I chased her for about 15 minutes, teeth chattering and muttered curses flying, before I got a leash on her again. She didn't look the slightest bit abashed. Plus, when I put her back in the car (I have to lift her due to her leg injuries), I got that dead thing she rolled in all over my hands and had to smell that all the way back to Napa.

Claire is going to be doing a naturalist talk on this Saturday's "West Coast Live", which they'll be broadcasting live from the SF Ferry Building. I think I'll be listening as I drive around Oakland neighborhoods looking at apartments for rent. It would be fun to go to the show, but I think I can't spare the time.

Tomorrow my escrow is supposed to close. Finally. Please please let it be so. It was originally to close on December 21 and it has been pushed out twice due to the buyers' inability to get their financing processed. Very frustrating.

Very sad news for a Marin girl

Mrs. T has passed on to the big tippy glider in the sky. She was such a wonderful part of my childhood education and opened up a lifelong interest in the natural world!

CBS has some nice video of her at work with kids.