Of Hats, Flowers, French Fries, Friends, Trees and Party Lights

 

Yes! 

Blog posts have lagged lately, because sometimes, writers have to pay more attention to living than to writing about their lives, and that's my excuse. Part of the interruption has been due to joyful visits from faraway friends, part from lots of work assignments (yay — interviews with Tim Curry and Baayork Lee!) and part from pesky health issues that demanded attention but finally are fading. (I'm fine.) 

Here's the story about that marvelous hat pictured above.

Playwright, teacher and friend Mariah Richardson popped in for a visit from St. Louis one day in June, and in discussions about either aging or politics (both are fraught), I mentioned that artist and activist Mary Engelbreit had devised a hat with a perfect full sentence on it — "No." — and I was trying to decide whether to buy the white one or the black one. 

After we gabbed for hours and she left, Mariah made the decision for me, and 10 days later the perfect hat arrived. I was so excited that I immediately ordered one for a friend. 

I've also been busy gardening on my 13th floor balcony. Decades ago, my friend Gail dubbed me the Accidental Microwaver (with apologies to Anne Tyler) because I was befuddled about how to use the one in the newspaper's lunchroom. I got good at that, but as recorded in earlier blogs here, I am an Accidental Gardener. I doubt everything I do when it comes to raising geraniums (aphids got them), succulents (high winds and days of rain did them in) and my ginkgo tree, which dutifully leafs out every year about a month after I declare it dead. 

Two years ago, I dropped some California poppy seeds into the ginkgo's large pot, and had poppies galore. (See above.) This spring, I decided to buy some soil, buy some seeds and grow more poppies in my beautiful blue pot. I followed the directions exactly as written on the seed package. Here's how it went this time:

And that was that. No actual poppy flowers ever emerged. Sigh. Maybe next year. 

Speaking of greenery, San Francisco restaurants have a plethora of amazing salads on their menus, and sometimes I opt for a fancy salad instead of a sandwich or even pizza. As I eat in more often than not, DoorDash kindly brings me what I'm in the mood for, and a delivery order from a Greek restaurant I'd not previously tried offered a surprise: French fries mixed in with the greens, other vegetables and chicken that I most often prefer. 

The salad was lots of fun, but as we all know, French fries are best when devoured immediately, when they are hot and crispy. I had to toss some of them. Still, not sorry. It's important to Try New Things, right? 

In Other News, as they say on television, I attended a memorial picnic with family and friends to honor the passing of a woman who welcomed me with open arms when I moved to San Francisco 15 years ago. 

A longtime friend of my daughter-in-law's mother, Denise was fun and feisty and very hard to book a lunch date with, as so often she was either out and about with her beloved grandkids, cooking family dinners, holding school reunions on her fabulous two-story deck at her home, off on a mission of mercy visiting friends who were housebound or standing in line at the post office to mail books or seasonal chocolates to other friends in need. 

Still, we did make time for lots of lunches and we also spent hours and hours binge-watching favorite shows and keeping up with the latest gossip abut the actors. The picnic was held at California's magnificent Samuel P. Taylor State Park. At one point, sitting peacefully by the creek, thinking about how much I miss Denise and staring up through the redwood branches, I took this picture:

This time of year, as the light fades earlier and earlier, I've been thinking of ways to "lighten up." That doesn't mean I will stop calling Congressional reps to voice my opinion (you can do it, too) on the issues of the day or that I will put away my "No." hat or stop arguing politics with people who share all my beliefs about the trouble this country is in, but to balance all that, I'm looking for good books and movies to lift my spirits. 

For example, smack in the middle of reading "Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist," a biography about this charismatic genius by Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, I put down the book and watched the movie version of the ebullient "In the Heights." 

Since seeing the latest (and allegedly last) Downton Abbey movie, I've started dropping in on the Crawleys way back in Season One, and that's fun! (I would have lost the bet had I been asked to guess how early Poor Mr. Pamuk made his brief appearance.) I've also caught up on "The Gilded Age," and loved the comment in Season 3 about all those rich people in New York City parading around as though they were at court in France. 

I'm also upping my theater game, and already bought a ticket for a stage production of "Hamnet," coming here next spring. Yes, I'll see the movie too, as I loved Maggie O'Farrell's book. And later this week, I'll see a local production at SF Playhouse of "Noises Off," the only farce I've ever thoroughly enjoyed.  

Also, with a lot of help from my family, the latest version of party lights on the balcony has been installed. Every evening, I am amazed at just how festive they make me feel.  

Here's to light in your life!