postcard collection: bodega bay

We drove a couple of hours north of the city for a spontaneous overnight trip. This coastal area is ridiculously scenic...

i would really like a cupcake

...to go with my tea. With sprinkles please.

However, there are no cupcakes on the premises. Instead I'm making a big pot of white bean soup for dinner. Not satisfying now, but hopefully will be later. *Sigh.*

sentries

(I've walked by this address many times and have never really noticed...)

what day is it again?

Rainy cold Monday, and we both had the day off due to the MLK holiday. After making sure J's brother caught bart to the airport, we walked around downtown a bit and did some window shopping. There was also a coffee break in there too.

coffee am/pm

When friends visit, there's always a good excuse to have more coffee.

stroll

After a couple of weeks of rainy winter weather, a beautiful weekend here...

From top: - banana-colored Vespa - urban jungle - coffee shop and blue chairs

outside of safeway

ride 'em alligator!

orange/stripe for monday

6:50pm, romi boutique window

window shopping

Nijiya Market is one of my favorite places to browse in Japantown. There are other Japanese food markets, but I think this is the largest in the area. Sometimes we'll stop by to pick up groceries, but more often than not, I like to walk through and just look at things. Lots of interesting, colorful packaging and other things to check out...

From top:

• izumidai sashimi (tilapia?)
• udon, deliciousness
• asian pear from Tottori, Japan / tea selection / rice
• more tea? pine needle tea?

downpour

It's been raining cats and dogs and elephants over the past few days. In a different part of the country, this would be a blizzard; as it is, "winter storm" translates to wind and rain here in the Bay Area (though higher elevations are indeed seeing lots of snow). Excitement since Friday has included the scaffolding blowing off of buildings in a couple of areas of the city; bus, ferry, bart service and flights from SFO all suspended or delayed at various times; bridges closed after a couple of trucks were blown over; the zoo closed because there were lots of tree branches down that might contribute to animal escape (!); huge waves and beach erosion in areas south of the city. Not a fun couple of days, especially for people without power or with tree limbs crashing through their roofs, but very exciting. It's a good time to stay inside and work on rearranging the bookshelves.

happy new year!

I hope you all had restful and entertaining holidays... There's currently a little bustling going on behind the scenes here. Regular postings will resume shortly, with a bit of a dust-off and a fanci-fied look to go with the new year... please stay tuned...