A new day

Okay, that's out. Now I just have to suck it up and get on with life. So, what's more "life" than love, food and travel?

Thanksgiving this year was in San Francisco. We go somewhere new each year (next year might be Florida) since there are birthdays and the holiday to celebrate. Someday, we'll have it home in Seattle again, but I have no complaints about this year's activities!

We arrived on Monday and went to see a dear friend who welcomed us with a fire blazing in the fireplace, wine and delicious food and wonderful company. She apologized for keeping it simple - just chicken and veggies and potatoes, but isn't that perfect? After all, it was a week that was bound to be filled with the abundant and exotic, so a simple meal was exactly what we needed (and enjoyed). Another friend was with us, and kept the conversation interesting and even drove us back to our hotel. That's not as easy as it sounds in SF! It was a great night grazing and talking - the perfect way to start the vacation.

The next day, we wandered the city and tired ourselves out. We should have gone to the new Jewish museum, but I needed a nap before our excursion to North Beach for dinner with friends who were coming in from out of town. They live about 45 minutes from BART, and then it takes them an hour to get into the city, so it's not something they do often. I think it was as much fun for them as it was for us to visit that beautiful place.

We did a quick scan of our options for dinner in North Beach, and settled on an unusual choice. We went to Mangarosa (http://www.mangarosasf.com/), which is a Brazilian/Italian restaurant. The food was great and the company even better, but we didn't see any dancers on the bar! We took the cable car up Powell and back, so we could hop off at the street where my MIL and BIL were staying, and had the chance to visit with them a bit before we said good night. We could have hopped on the cable car again to get down to our hotel, but we just walked. The weather was mild, and walking DOWN Powell St is easy.

The next day was my MIL's birthday. We tried to visit the Jewish Museum, but it was closed - as was SFMOMA, so we just walked around the Ferry Plaza building and had lunch there. What a fabulous place! There was a stall there that sold nothing but mushrooms - tons of different kinds of fresh and dried mushrooms. There's a mushroom galette recipe (http://smittenkitchen.com/2006/10/when-the-funk-hits-the-fan/) that I've been longing to try, but haven't done so, yet. I'm not a pie crust maven, so I have been hesitant to try it.

Anyway, it was birthday-day, so we went to see the movie, Australia. There's no denying that Hugh Jackman is gorgeous, and the child actor was so beautiful that I loved seeing his face fill the screen. The movie, though, is a very, very, very long melodrama. It's the kind of movie that you'd expect to generate a hiss from the audience whenever the villain comes on screen. I took a break midway in the film, and then came back when the WWII action started. If you're going to have a long movie, at least blow things up!

After the movie, we took a break to share some wine in our hotel room, and then went do dinner at The House (http://www.thehse.com/). We opted for multiple appetizers and two entrees for 4 people. That worked out perfectly! We had hamachi with capers and avocado, grilled calamari with bonita flakes, rib eye steak perfectly cooked medium rare, black cod that was so good it was sweet, crab cakes for which the presentation was more like a volcano than any crab cake plate I've ever seen, and a butter lettuce salad with walnuts and gorgonzola cheese and one with a wonderful vinegrette that had broiled chicken livers (my MIL's favorite). All that with a Nagy2 Pinot Noir that was outstanding, and a bargain compared to the Willamette Valley Pinot Noir on the menu. Crowded and noisy, but the restaurant was still a wonderful success.

Thursday, I grabbed an Italian coffee at Bellini's right near the hotel, and then we took BART up to Pleasant Hill for an old-fashioned Thanksgiving dinner. It was wonderful spending time with my sister and her family. I don't get enough time with her, but cherish the time we do have. Dinner was great, and the wine was ever-flowing. I made a chocolate dessert, the recipe for which I got from Claudia at (http://www.cookeatfret.com/) and my sister made a birthday cake for her husband whose birthday fell on the perfect day this year, and my MIL made a wonderful pumpkin pecan "dump cake". I have to get the recipe for that one, since it looked incredibly easy and everyone commented on it. That's the best kind of recipe - more kudos than work!

Friday, we had breakfast at Sears (http://www.searsfinefood.com/). Sears is associated with appliances for me - or was until I went to this wonderful place in SF that's been in business since 1938. I had a veggie omelet, my DH tried their signature pancakes, and I had a bite - they were fabulous! My MIL had an omelet, too, and my BIL had a club sandwich that looked fantastic.

After that, my DH and I took off for Santa Rosa to stay with friends. We had leftovers - a real treat for those who travel during Thanksgiving, and have no leftovers of their own - and played a game called Sequence. It was fun chatting and laughing and playing. What a lovely couple they are, and their home is so cozy and warm. Their "city" is just the right size, too. We walked around their downtown the next day, stopped for breakfast at a friendly deli, and window shopped while we caught up on what's happening in our lives. I only met them after my DH and I started dating, but love them now like I've known them forever.

Finally, on Saturday, we took off for our last "event" of the trip. We went to visit my cousin and her family - including my Godmother!! - in Sonoma. WOW! Their house is beautiful, but their spirits and warmth are even more so. Seeing my Godmother in such good health and spirits made my week! We had a blast seeing them, and I hope we stay in closer touch from now on.

When we got back to the city, my DH and I were tired - but not too tired to head to Transporter 3. Yippee!! It was fantastic! Transporter was great; Transporter 2 was silly; Transporter 3 got it right. It was tense and fun - though the choppy direction which seems de rigeur these days in action films was a bit much. I like watching Stratham do his martial arts thing, and the cuts were a little distracting.

Next day was BART to bus to airport and home. Whew! We made it. I was a little dazed on Monday at work, but it was a great trip. I'll come back and edit this to add some links, fix spelling errors, etc. but want to get this posted now after my "down" post yesterday.

There are good things in life. I just have to keep praying, hoping, and plugging along.