Look Up!

Gorgeous ceilings draw the eye and lift my spirit at these library branches around San Francisco.

*Preamble: Dear friends, because I have never mastered the art of minimalism, whether in my writing or my decor style, Substack has helpfully notified me that this post (and ditto for all my posts) is “too long for email.” All that means is that it will get cut off in email format. If you’d like to read all my riveting words, click to read it in Substack. (Easier on a computer than a phone.) Thank you!*

Now onward!

When life seems ugly and everything around you is loud and plastic and garish and hurts your eyes, and you start wishing you lived in the Old Days, even though you know the Old Days were actually the Bad Days in so many ways and you don’t really want that… when you feel like this, go to the library and look up.

Today I’m just dropping in photos of some of the beautiful ceilings at libraries around San Francisco.

My friend Meredith is a children’s librarian at the library with the top-left ceiling, the West Portal branch. How she gets any work done is beyond me. (Meredith is also a children’s book author! This is her book!)

(And lest someone accuse me of bias toward the older buildings [OKAY TRUE], let me point out that the Visitacion Valley library [top middle], which I adore, is one of the newer ones, completed in 2011.)

On the topic of the charm of older buildings, my friend Jasmine (author of a delightful picture book biography of Jane Austen), shares my love for the reboot of All Creatures Great and Small and has a theory as to why this show is so pleasing to the eyes (and soul). It takes place in the early 40s, just ever so barely before plastic was introduced and took over our lives and made everything ugly. There. I’m done being snobby about Old Things, but every time I think of this I nod emphatically and I’ve been looking for the right time to share it.

Outside the library world, here’s what’s been going on lately:

Checked out: What I’m reading
Re-read of The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be by Farley Mowat, one of my childhood favorites.

Also, to mentally prepare for our trip to Scotland, am re-visiting this, which takes places in Edinburgh,

and reading this, for the first time, set in the Scottish Highlands.

From the 790s - Hobbies
For Christmas my sister-in-law Kimmie gave us this custom paint-by-number. Such a clever gift! My other sister-in-law Emily gave me this adorable puzzle. I just put the last piece in today.

Paint-by-number in process, and done; tea puzzle completed!

And I finally sat down and finished this sweet, petite quilt I started years ago. (The fun part of quilting is choosing the fabrics and piecing them together in a pleasing way. The tedious parts are the backing, the actual quilting [stitching through all the layers over and over in long straight or curvy lines] and the binding.)

Audio-Visual: What we’re watching
This short but horrifying video showing how destructive it is when deep sea trawlers dredge up the ocean floors, which CLEARLY should be ILLEGAL. Am vowing to try harder to steer clear of non-sustainable seafood.

Also this amazing mini documentary about prison inmates making quilts for children in foster care (get ready to cry).

And, for something light, The Residence, a quirky comedy/mystery set in the White House.

From the 641s - Cooking
I’ve been food journaling. No, make that cooking journaling! Last fall, I decided to start jotting down what I cook, which is a huge part of my identity and our family life, and thus possibly/questionably worth recording for posterity and my children’s future enjoyment (???). Also, the journal itself was a gift from my third sister-in-law, Maria. I AM BLESSED WITH GENEROUS SISTERS-IN-LAW WITH AMAZING TASTE!

And this was last night’s dinner: Grilled chicken with peach and plum barbecue sauce (loosely based on this recipe), and salad with roasted yellow beets, blue cheese, and pistachios.

Problem Shelf (Aside: This is where library staff puts returned books that come in damaged; then they add a warning note to the patron’s record. Yikes, right?)
Obnoxious do-gooder rant: I love our neighborhood, but there can be A LOT OF TRASH on the commercial corridor streets. Lately I’ve been picking up trash once or twice a week. (I make sure not to do it with Cate, so as not to cause lasting trauma.) San Francisco peeps: Join me! San Francisco government: Get it together and throw some money at this issue!

My grabber and bag of trash

Starred review - A little good news
Everett finagled a job as a staff photographer for his daily college paper, The California Aggie! I’m so proud of him.

Cate finished her AP tests! This is us celebrating after her first exam. (Aside: The fire alarm went off when she was 3/4 done with her second exam, so they had to invalidate all tests and reschedule it for a week later. SUCH a bummer.)

From the 910s - Travel
My parents are off drinking spritzes and cappuccinos in Italy! Forthwith, an unauthorized travelogue of their trip.

After a few days in Ferrara visiting our expat family members,

they spent ten days in a town called Brisighella. That might have been a tad too long, they confessed, but they were chipper about it. Unexpected escapades took place, one involving an ambulance and a cracked rib, and another the local fire brigade. Still: chipper about it! These are the things that make great stories for posterity.

There was a wild boar festival in Brisighella, where they ate yummy things like braised wild boar on creamy polenta.

Then, on to a town in the Alps called Bassano del Grappa. This was the hoped-for Perfect Italian Town! They have an apartment overlooking the river, and it is lovely.

Also, one day there was a medieval festival. What more can you ask for?

Meanwhile, stateside, Alex and I went hiking with our friends Maya and Gary in West Marin. It was beautiful. We poked around the minuscule village of Point Reyes Station. It is the Perfect Californian Town! BUT—no braised wild boar or medieval festival.

Seasonal Display
We have two Cecile Brunner climbing roses and they’re just the most rewarding things, requiring minimal care and giving back in spades about twice a year. (If you don’t have a Cecile Brunner yet, get one! They’re everywhere. They’re like the Granny Smith of roses but I still love them.)

That’s it for now! Hope you’re all having a good week! (And no pressure, but if you feel like giving me a heart or even leaving a comment, you will make me feel warm and cozy and loved!)