christmas in the city

Christmas in the city

no fires, no barbeques

gween

These hens and chicks are our home's current plant occupants. Look at those little guys grow! I'm optimistic...!

I seem to have either some moisture in my camera, or a smudge on something somewhere, resulting in a gauzy effect in my recent photos (for the most part, not there in real life).

union square, friday 6pm

From top:

• road work, Market St.
• Stockton St.
• woman on bike, window-shopping en route (how I wish these images had turned out better)
• Macy's window, set-up by elves in progress
• ever-present flower stand
• worker's strike at the Grand Hyatt

back to school shopping @ the j-pop center

The New People complex has opened in Japantown, featuring a movie theater, design and fashion boutiques, and a top-floor gallery. Good people-watching. The place to go for your Harajuku fashion needs.

sf street food festival

A fundraiser for La Cocina, the San Francisco Street Food Festival happened today in the Mission, featuring both street food vendors and other restaurants and bars. Yes, it was super-crowded, and yes, the lines were very long; however, the divide-and-conquer method seemed to produce good results. I think the key to the afternoon was to chill out and enjoy the weather and people-watching while standing on line. My patience was rewarded with creme brulée from the infamous Creme Brulée Cart (see after the jump).

(Next... bacon-wrapped hotdogs!)

overcast

From top:

• Garden @ the Art Institute of Chicago
• Old Town, Chicago
• CELLspace, SF
• SFO
• Bucktown
• 4th of July, Ghirardelli Square

festivities

Happy Holiday weekend! Last night we headed down to the water by Ghirardelli Square to watch fireworks. There were tons of people there, as you'd expect, plus dogs, kids, blankets, glow sticks, etc. Over closer to Fisherman's Wharf there was a band playing, covering punkish/80's hits in a decidedly Lite-rock style. They wrapped up shortly after we got there, and the 'official' pre-fireworks soundtrack included (old) Madonna and Bell Biv Devoe's Poison, which the crowd *loved* and apparently knew all of the words to. We managed to score a good seat on the brick wall around the shore, and our only complaint of the whole night was that we didn't bring a hot beverage and maybe a blanket.

In this photo, a group of kayakers is mulling around by the docks before heading further out to watch the fireworks. I really like the lights on the kayaks. (And I think the fuzziness of this shot actually adds to it.) For some excellent shots of the fireworks themselves, check out Jaeha's images...

neighborhood citrus

Fly Bar and Restaurant, in the Tenderloin

commercial st. alley

8.30 am, optimistically awaiting lunch and sunshine.

at-at walkers on the horizon*

Through a dirty BART window, on the way to Berkeley via Oakland.

* The urban legend, you decide

larkin & clay

Vacant church on the corner of Larkin & Clay Sts.

a weekend worth of summer

The temp in the city climbed into the 90's this weekend. As really warm weather here is kinda rare, and you can never know when it will happen or how long it will last, you have to take full advantage of it while you can...

Staying cool.

No wetsuit! Warm day, but still...brrr.

This guy kid was catching crabs off the jetty with his family. Here he's showing us the size of the fish they had been putting in the nets. They also used chicken legs (!). The dungeness crabs were thrown back though; it's mating season, and signs all around warn of a big fine for catching and keeping them. We learned that dungeness crabs have white-tipped claws, while other types have dark-tipped claws. That's how you know which to keep and which to toss back in the water.

This seal and his seal friend were lurking near the crab nets. They'd surface every once in awhile to check things out and take advantage of the free snacks. You can't tell from the photo, but this guy was *big.* He and the yellow-capped swimmer seemed to be on the same trajectory, and we were wondering what would happen if they crossed paths. Didn't happen though.

There's a crab in the green bucket, plucked from beneath the rocks. Much screaming ensued. Very awesome.

The beach just north of Ghiradelli Square: we've never seen it this crowded!

thank you

Thank you summer-y weather for showing up and letting us all dig out our sandals and warm-weather clothes, even if only for three days or so.

Thank you bagel place for giving me a discount on coffee when I bring in my mug.

Thank you Twitter for just being you.

Thank you ArtPrize for starting an interesting conversation about GR (and art).

maximize

...your roasty weekend. Sunscreen, water, these running shoes were made for walking.

reasonable

Dogpatch; Fillmore street; F-taco, d-town