Distance: Major PT/Yoga/Pedal
The New Yorker has a way of saying it best.
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Kindred Cartoon Spirit (Sometimes) --- Day 7/7
Walk: No, Cleaning Up the Office
Distance: Major PT/Yoga/Pedal
Distance: Major PT/Yoga/Pedal
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Good Gole-y --- Day 7/6
Walk: Union Square, Legion of Honor
Distance: A few blocks, drove new car which Ciwt is beginning to really like (including automatic transmission even😊)
Say what you will about traditional art and furniture making, every time Ciwt encounters this huge cabinet at the Legion of Honor she is awed. It was made in Paris @1650 by Pierre Gole the premiere
cabinet maker in all of France and Cabinet Maker to Louis IV. It would have been impossible to be more highly regarded than that.
The massiveness gives the cabinet grand presence, but what is truly remarkable is that it is elaborately carved from ebony. That is like carving in exquisite detail from diamond - and with hand held and relatively primitive tools. Unfortunately for security reasons the cabinet doors cannot be opened in the museum. If they were open viewers would see more than thirty drawers and, incredibly, a theatrical tableau with gilt-bronze characters enacting the Judgement of Solomon, before a green gemstone background.
Distance: A few blocks, drove new car which Ciwt is beginning to really like (including automatic transmission even😊)
Say what you will about traditional art and furniture making, every time Ciwt encounters this huge cabinet at the Legion of Honor she is awed. It was made in Paris @1650 by Pierre Gole the premiere
cabinet maker in all of France and Cabinet Maker to Louis IV. It would have been impossible to be more highly regarded than that.
The massiveness gives the cabinet grand presence, but what is truly remarkable is that it is elaborately carved from ebony. That is like carving in exquisite detail from diamond - and with hand held and relatively primitive tools. Unfortunately for security reasons the cabinet doors cannot be opened in the museum. If they were open viewers would see more than thirty drawers and, incredibly, a theatrical tableau with gilt-bronze characters enacting the Judgement of Solomon, before a green gemstone background.
Monday, February 26, 2018
Fort Enrichment --- Day 7/5
Walk: Monday Home Stuff and Research for Tour
Distance: A few Up/Down, PT, Pedaling, Yoga
Distance: A few Up/Down, PT, Pedaling, Yoga
Barracks Room, Fort Winfield Scott (est. 1912, San Francisco Presidio) (Ciwt photo)
Pretty gloomy, yes? This room would have had bunks or cots for at least 12 men, and the sturdy trees out their window probably would have been a few feet high if they had been planted at all.
Still is gloomy. When the Army's Artillary Coast Division - which was headquarted in Fort Scott - was terminated in 1950, the men just clicked their heels together, marched out and left all 22 buildings as is. 
Architecturally this was bad news, but the wildlife around Fort Scott's virtually unattended parade grounds were delighted
. Gophers dig holes galore which unearth rodents and other prey for a variety of owls who are stalked by eager cayotes and maybe a few foxes. Meanwhile the birds chirp. Apparently it is quite a hunting party at daybreak. And the Presidio Trust wants to keep it that way: wild and natural.
. Gophers dig holes galore which unearth rodents and other prey for a variety of owls who are stalked by eager cayotes and maybe a few foxes. Meanwhile the birds chirp. Apparently it is quite a hunting party at daybreak. And the Presidio Trust wants to keep it that way: wild and natural.
This month the Presidio Trust began seeking proposals for "..a once in a generation opportunity to make a place for change in the world" from "organizations interested in and capable of revitalizing the site as a campus addressing contemporary environment and/or social challenges."
Last weekend Ciwt toured the gorgeous site, and realized the extent to which "capable of" is key to the operation. Any number of organizations and causes would be interested in an iconic, historical campus contiguous to the Golden Gate Bridge, but which ones can take on such a project? Whoever it is will be responsible for tackling virtually everything: electricity, plumbing, handicap accessability, architectural retrofitting and restoration, environmentally friendly parking just for openers,.And through it all they will be required to work within the Presidio's strict historical structure guidelines and likely City, County and State permits as well.
Ciwt thinks this is exciting. Often she laments the enormous new wealth around San Franciso for its impact on traffic, congestion, construction, cost of housing and general quality of life in San Francisco. But, this undertaking seems different, and the Fort Winfield Scott project is definitely going to take an organization with that kind of wealth. (Preliminary estimates are $200 million just for infrastructure). She's optimistic the right new tenant will show up and sincerely hopes whoever it is has Vision even more vast, promising and good for the world than their wealth
Sunday, February 25, 2018
'The Workshop' is Work --- Day 7/4
Walk: Cinema Club (L'Atelier or The Workshop), Japantown
Distance: 2.3 miles, Yoga
Somehow Ciwt never quite appreciates the Frenchiness of many French movies. Today's Cinema Club selection, The Workshop, was no exception. It's a disjointed political commentary/ thriller/etc about today's disaffected (and more) French youth. It has good acting and many excellent scenes and (spoiler alert) even a happyish ending, but there were too many blanks for Ciwt. Probably they needed to be filled in with Frenchy/Camus/Existential sensibilities, but instead Ciwt looked at her watch or gave up striving for a connection and waited for the next scene. But the plot tension, cinematography and acting kept her in her seat, so she thinks 'Give it a try.' N'est Pas?
Distance: 2.3 miles, Yoga
Somehow Ciwt never quite appreciates the Frenchiness of many French movies. Today's Cinema Club selection, The Workshop, was no exception. It's a disjointed political commentary/ thriller/etc about today's disaffected (and more) French youth. It has good acting and many excellent scenes and (spoiler alert) even a happyish ending, but there were too many blanks for Ciwt. Probably they needed to be filled in with Frenchy/Camus/Existential sensibilities, but instead Ciwt looked at her watch or gave up striving for a connection and waited for the next scene. But the plot tension, cinematography and acting kept her in her seat, so she thinks 'Give it a try.' N'est Pas?
Saturday, February 24, 2018
Street Art in the 'Hood --- Day 7/3
Walk: Fort Scott Presidio
Distance: 1.2 miles
Not just a Hopscotch grid. Ciwt thinks kids are pretty talented these days.
Distance: 1.2 miles
Not just a Hopscotch grid. Ciwt thinks kids are pretty talented these days.
Friday, February 23, 2018
Overlooked No More --- Day 7/3
Walk: Fillmore Hood
Distance: 2.3 miles, PT
What a once in a lifetime treat it was to see a show of over 60 earlyWayne Thiebaud paintings gathered and exhibited on the UC Davis* campus where he was a founding faculty member and professor from 1960 to 1991.
Once upon a time nobody had seen Wayne Thiebaud's now iconic gleamingly frosted cakes, luscious ice cream perfectly perched on cones, colorful gumballs without a single one missing from the globe,
candied apples, decorative suckers, unsliced bread loaves all ready to be taken out of their cases. That is, they had seen the objects all over - at bakeries, truck stops, delis from coast to USA coast. But they hadn't seen them painted in their pure, alluring, neon and pastel colored glory.
And once upon a time nobody, most of all denizens of the art establishment, had a clue what to make of Wayne Thiebaud and his paintings of American delights. Some tried to call him a Pop Artist, some dealers went with Realist or tried other categories. But he didn't fit; his iconography was new.
Others tried to write about him but kept being confounded. Then in 1962 before an early individual show he himself made a still definitive statement about his art. In part he said Each era produces its own stilllife...I try to find things to paint I feel have been overlooked...My interest in painting is tradional and modest: I hope that it may allow ourselves to see ourselves looking at ourselves. At the end of his statement he concluded: Of course, I hope the paintings speak better for themselves than I do.
Ciwt (among many others) feels that artist's early hope has certainly been realized. Wayne Thiebaud is now in his late 90's, still traditional and modest, never self-promoting or signing on with an aggressive dealer who (if they could have made him) would have had him cranking out work after work after work. He's also one of the country's most learned scholars and admirers of art history. That history is embedded in his art and Ciwt (among many others) is sure critics and the public will come to value more completely the deep intelligence, technical proficiency and bedrock love of art and life behind those dazzling but confounding images.
*Manetti Shrem Museum, Wayne Thiebaud | 1958–1968
Distance: 2.3 miles, PT
What a once in a lifetime treat it was to see a show of over 60 earlyWayne Thiebaud paintings gathered and exhibited on the UC Davis* campus where he was a founding faculty member and professor from 1960 to 1991.
Once upon a time nobody had seen Wayne Thiebaud's now iconic gleamingly frosted cakes, luscious ice cream perfectly perched on cones, colorful gumballs without a single one missing from the globe,
candied apples, decorative suckers, unsliced bread loaves all ready to be taken out of their cases. That is, they had seen the objects all over - at bakeries, truck stops, delis from coast to USA coast. But they hadn't seen them painted in their pure, alluring, neon and pastel colored glory.
And once upon a time nobody, most of all denizens of the art establishment, had a clue what to make of Wayne Thiebaud and his paintings of American delights. Some tried to call him a Pop Artist, some dealers went with Realist or tried other categories. But he didn't fit; his iconography was new.
Others tried to write about him but kept being confounded. Then in 1962 before an early individual show he himself made a still definitive statement about his art. In part he said Each era produces its own stilllife...I try to find things to paint I feel have been overlooked...My interest in painting is tradional and modest: I hope that it may allow ourselves to see ourselves looking at ourselves. At the end of his statement he concluded: Of course, I hope the paintings speak better for themselves than I do.
Ciwt (among many others) feels that artist's early hope has certainly been realized. Wayne Thiebaud is now in his late 90's, still traditional and modest, never self-promoting or signing on with an aggressive dealer who (if they could have made him) would have had him cranking out work after work after work. He's also one of the country's most learned scholars and admirers of art history. That history is embedded in his art and Ciwt (among many others) is sure critics and the public will come to value more completely the deep intelligence, technical proficiency and bedrock love of art and life behind those dazzling but confounding images.
*Manetti Shrem Museum, Wayne Thiebaud | 1958–1968
Thursday, February 22, 2018
Which Pie for You? --- Day 7/2
Walk: Marin Driving Day
Distance: 6 blocks, PT, Yoga
At the Manetti Shrem Museum's Deeelicious Wayne Thiebaud show yesterday, Ciwt's friends began asking which of these two 'Pie' paintings from the early 1960's each one of us preferred.
How about you?
The arrangement of pies is nearly identical but the background colors were slightly changed by Thiebaud. And by doing that, he changed the mood of each painting. For what it was worth, it turned out all the women chose the one with the lighter background (top) and the men all chose the darker background (bottom).
And we were all hungry for dessert on the drive back from Davis to San Francisco.
Distance: 6 blocks, PT, Yoga
How about you?
The arrangement of pies is nearly identical but the background colors were slightly changed by Thiebaud. And by doing that, he changed the mood of each painting. For what it was worth, it turned out all the women chose the one with the lighter background (top) and the men all chose the darker background (bottom).
And we were all hungry for dessert on the drive back from Davis to San Francisco.
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
A New CIWT Year Begins --- Day 7/1
Walk: Manetti Shrem Museum (Thiebaud Show)
Distance: 1.5 miles, some Yoga and PT
Distance: 1.5 miles, some Yoga and PT
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
Goodbye CIWT Year Six --- Day 6/365
Walk: PGCC Reading Group (The Alice Network)
Distance: Not far/still cold (Inside too as old windows make room for new)
Distance: Not far/still cold (Inside too as old windows make room for new)
Monday, February 19, 2018
Sunday, February 18, 2018
Pretty Little Jailers --- Day 6/363
Walk: Very windy and cold. Inside today.
Distance: PT, Yoga, Pedal
So when Ciwt was under 'house arrest' with her knee injury she spent months dreaming of complete freedom. It was a vague but perfect zone: maybe she would whisk around the world, take road trips at the drop of the hat, wake up in the morning, drive to SFO and just get on a plane to wherever she wanted to go that day.
After she got out and about, she somehow forgot about her upcoming round the world excursions and slowly started dropping in on local pet adoption shelters. "Just to look." The looking had its pitfalls because (like most people) she started to sympathize with cat after cat who looked at her with "Save Me" eyes. So, to create boundaries for herself, she made a list of the qualities she wanted in a cat (bonded pair of females actually) - a list so demanding there was no way the perfect cats would show up. So Ciwt had her cake and ate it too: Her vague perfect freedom world and her unfulfillable cat list.
But then it happened 😕: a beautiful bonded pair of soft, healthy, friendly females showed up at one of the shelters with every quality on Ciwt's list (except being declawed which is actually outlawed in the Bay Area - for good reasons). Temporarily oblivious to her future round the world excursions, Ciwt drove her new car over to the shelter within hours of the cats' arrival, adopted them on the spot and whisked them home.
Then she watched them happily settling in (and tracking litter) to the nooks and crannies that had been all (cleanly) Ciwt's. The nooks and crannies that also contained all Ciwt's international adventures, spur of the moment excursions and road trips. It has been three weeks; the cats seem to be adjusting easily and Ciwt is slowly (sadly) letting go of her chimerical* future life.
Articles abound about the shelter transition for cats, but humans go through our transitions too.
*Chimera: 2. a thing that is hoped or wished for but in fact is illusory or impossible to achieve.
Distance: PT, Yoga, Pedal
So when Ciwt was under 'house arrest' with her knee injury she spent months dreaming of complete freedom. It was a vague but perfect zone: maybe she would whisk around the world, take road trips at the drop of the hat, wake up in the morning, drive to SFO and just get on a plane to wherever she wanted to go that day.
After she got out and about, she somehow forgot about her upcoming round the world excursions and slowly started dropping in on local pet adoption shelters. "Just to look." The looking had its pitfalls because (like most people) she started to sympathize with cat after cat who looked at her with "Save Me" eyes. So, to create boundaries for herself, she made a list of the qualities she wanted in a cat (bonded pair of females actually) - a list so demanding there was no way the perfect cats would show up. So Ciwt had her cake and ate it too: Her vague perfect freedom world and her unfulfillable cat list.
But then it happened 😕: a beautiful bonded pair of soft, healthy, friendly females showed up at one of the shelters with every quality on Ciwt's list (except being declawed which is actually outlawed in the Bay Area - for good reasons). Temporarily oblivious to her future round the world excursions, Ciwt drove her new car over to the shelter within hours of the cats' arrival, adopted them on the spot and whisked them home.
Then she watched them happily settling in (and tracking litter) to the nooks and crannies that had been all (cleanly) Ciwt's. The nooks and crannies that also contained all Ciwt's international adventures, spur of the moment excursions and road trips. It has been three weeks; the cats seem to be adjusting easily and Ciwt is slowly (sadly) letting go of her chimerical* future life.
Articles abound about the shelter transition for cats, but humans go through our transitions too.
*Chimera: 2. a thing that is hoped or wished for but in fact is illusory or impossible to achieve.
Saturday, February 17, 2018
Reading Like Mad . --- Day 6/362
Walk: No
Distance: A few blocks
Busy finishing The Alice Network for book club (and fighting with Google about image downloads).
Distance: A few blocks
Busy finishing The Alice Network for book club (and fighting with Google about image downloads).
Friday, February 16, 2018
Strong Panther --- Day 6/361
Walk: PGCC, Kabuki Theater (Black Panther)
Distance: 2.5 miles, PT, hit small bucket of balls
Terrific score, rich visuals (scenery and cast), pretty discernable story, high audience and screen energy. Ciwt really enjoyed Black Panther.
Distance: 2.5 miles, PT, hit small bucket of balls
Terrific score, rich visuals (scenery and cast), pretty discernable story, high audience and screen energy. Ciwt really enjoyed Black Panther.
Thursday, February 15, 2018
Wha the **#^*## --- DAY 6/360
Walk: Hood, Marin Driving, Union Square
Distance: 2.5 miles
Computer (or Ciwt) gone mad. Tomorrow..
Distance: 2.5 miles
Computer (or Ciwt) gone mad. Tomorrow..
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
Not Woo Woo* ---- Day 6/359
Walk: SMMC, PGCC (Bridge)
Distance: 1 mile, a little PT
Today CIWT met with some hospital people considering instituting a Yoga program for in- and out-patients as well as doctors and staff. More and more the medical community and federal health regulators are becoming aware of and even supportive of Eastern practices like yoga, meditation, acupuncture as true healing modalities, alternatives to medications and inclusions in insurance benefits. YES.
*And much more wellness oriented and much less expensive.
Distance: 1 mile, a little PT
Today CIWT met with some hospital people considering instituting a Yoga program for in- and out-patients as well as doctors and staff. More and more the medical community and federal health regulators are becoming aware of and even supportive of Eastern practices like yoga, meditation, acupuncture as true healing modalities, alternatives to medications and inclusions in insurance benefits. YES.
*And much more wellness oriented and much less expensive.
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
Yesterday's Gone --- Day 6/358
Walk: PGCC Golf, SF Playhouse (Born Yesterday)
Distance: 1 mile, golf lesson, PT
Home from an entertaing revival of Born Yesterday to find cats purring on Ciwt's MacBook keys. Oh well, not much to say anyway and its late. Catch you tomorrow..
Distance: 1 mile, golf lesson, PT
Home from an entertaing revival of Born Yesterday to find cats purring on Ciwt's MacBook keys. Oh well, not much to say anyway and its late. Catch you tomorrow..
Monday, February 12, 2018
At Home with 3 Control Freaks --- Day 6/357
Walk: Monday Errands
Distance: 1.6 miles, PT, Yoga
Ciwt is not a big fan of surprises. But turns out she's way ahead of her new little cats who had their first unexpected encounter with their home groomer today. Peace is now being negotiated.
Distance: 1.6 miles, PT, Yoga
Ciwt is not a big fan of surprises. But turns out she's way ahead of her new little cats who had their first unexpected encounter with their home groomer today. Peace is now being negotiated.
Sunday, February 11, 2018
Winds and Cyclones --- Day 6/356
Walk: Cinema Club (Leaning Into the Wind), PGCC, Goldsworthy in Presidio
Distance: 1.8 miles
Distance: 1.8 miles
As much as Ciwt likes Andy Goldsworthy's sculpture - and actually gives tours of the local ones in the Presidio - she started looking at her watch half hour into this second documentary* about him and his work. Very beautiful and arty, but too long and only for art buffs in her opinion. Meanwhile there is the riveting energy of the Olympics - strong, fresh and gut wrenching when any athlete from any country makes a mistake. Each one of them is leaning into a physical, emotional, psychological as well as national cyclone.
*Rivers and Tides was the first
Saturday, February 10, 2018
Observing, Internationally --- Day 6/355
Walk: Opera Plaza Cinema (Oscar Nominated Shorts: Live Action), Clay Theater (Oscar Nominated Shorts: Animation)
Distance: 3 miles, PT
5 Oscar Nominated Live Action movies from all over the world, Same for 8 Oscar Nominated Animated movies, Olympic skating and snowboarding competions: Today Ciwt has been an international observer.
Distance: 3 miles, PT
5 Oscar Nominated Live Action movies from all over the world, Same for 8 Oscar Nominated Animated movies, Olympic skating and snowboarding competions: Today Ciwt has been an international observer.
Friday, February 9, 2018
Autopilot Can't Come Soon Enough --- Day 6/354
Walk: PGCC 9 Holes of Golf
Distance: 2.5 miles, PT, Yoga
Distance: 2.5 miles, PT, Yoga
Ciwt's head is exhausted from her golf game today. 
Thursday, February 8, 2018
Golfing Queen --- Day 6/353
Walk: Fillmore Hood
Distance: 2 miles
So Ciwt was hoping her knee doctor would take golf permanently off the list of sports she was allowed to 'play.' But, no, he cleared her for her sport nemesis so tomorrow out onto the course she'll go. In a cart no less.
Distance: 2 miles
So Ciwt was hoping her knee doctor would take golf permanently off the list of sports she was allowed to 'play.' But, no, he cleared her for her sport nemesis so tomorrow out onto the course she'll go. In a cart no less.
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
Post-Vet --- Day 6/352
Walk: SPCASF
Distance: 6 blocks, PT, Yoga
Ciwt will sleep well tonight after surviving her cats' first trip to the vet. They will too.
Distance: 6 blocks, PT, Yoga
Ciwt will sleep well tonight after surviving her cats' first trip to the vet. They will too.
Tuesday, February 6, 2018
Preparing for Battle --- Day 6/351
Walk: Union Square, PGCC
Distance: 1. miles, PT, hit balls
Tomorrow Ciwt takes her life in her hands and her two new cats into the vet for their initial check up.
One of her darling little girls was so proficient at popping out of the shelter's carrier that they finally gave up and lent Ciwt a cage to take her home. Wish Ciwt luck getting her into her new, top of the line carrier and to the vet. And fingers crossed her sister is still cooperative.
Distance: 1. miles, PT, hit balls
Tomorrow Ciwt takes her life in her hands and her two new cats into the vet for their initial check up.
One of her darling little girls was so proficient at popping out of the shelter's carrier that they finally gave up and lent Ciwt a cage to take her home. Wish Ciwt luck getting her into her new, top of the line carrier and to the vet. And fingers crossed her sister is still cooperative.
Monday, February 5, 2018
Very Deer --- Day 6/350
Walk: PGCC, Pretty Nails
Distance: 2 miles, hit small bucket of balls
What is it about nail salons? A family of plastic deer with soft coats, a couple of roosters, orchids and a few other come on's in the window. Why in the world are they there? And the look continues inside. After 5 months Ciwt's hands and yoga toes couldn't have cared less about the decorating and felt (and were) renewed.
Distance: 2 miles, hit small bucket of balls
Sunday, February 4, 2018
What's the Opposite of Helicopter? --- Day 6/249
Walk: PGCC for Super Bowl
Distance: 2 miles, PT
Distance: 2 miles, PT
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| Eagles fans stand in 5 degree snowy Minneapolis waiting to go in to watch their team win Super Bowl
Best Super Bowl Ciwt can remember. Partly because it was a terrific game with lots of scoring and partly because she was in warm, sunny San Francisco watching it. The gentlemen in the picture above are toasty compared with Ciwt and her friends waiting for the school bus in howling sub-zero blizzards. Our parents were not the helicopter type. Probably no Minnesota parents of Ciwt's vintage were. If the bus was coming or chores needed to be done or they just wanted you out of the house, out you went no matter what the weather. And, wonderously she thinks now, all the children survived.
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Saturday, February 3, 2018
Cats With No Names ----- Day 6/348
Walk: No, home staring at cats and hoping
Distance: 0, PT, Yoga, Pedal
Distance: 0, PT, Yoga, Pedal
Ciwt remembers one or two times in her life when she asked new parent's or pet owner's the name of their new arrival, and they answered "We haven't settled on a name yet." Privately Ciwt thought this was absolutely preposterous. But in the 'comes around/goes around' department, six days into it she's the one with nameless new companions.
You may have noticed her cats are virtually identical and at this point so are their nice personalities. Anyway names would be useless because Ciwt still wouldn't know for sure which one she was looking at.
She's thinking Tawny for one that (vaguely from the right angle) seems to have a bit more tan and Lady Grie or Argentee for the one that is more silver (if you really look). The grey one is the hardest. Unlike dogs, so far the cats don't particularly care, but at the beginning of the week the vet will care when Ciwt takes them in for their introductory appointment.
Friday, February 2, 2018
Home Essentials --- Day 6/347
Walk; SFMOMA (Rauschenberg, Bourgeois, Evans)
Distance: 2 miles, PT, Pedal
Distance: 2 miles, PT, Pedal
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| Near Perfection: Matisse, New Yorker, Two New Cat Sisters |
Thursday, February 1, 2018
Lost and Found --- Day 6/346
Walk: Forgot: So busy reentering the world and not getting lost in the East Bay
Distance: 0, except for a few PT exercises forgot workout as well
Ciwt always considers herself fortunate when she gets home from the East Bay. Direction challenged to begin with and then confronted with a wacky road system where roads randomly dead end and highways have off-ramps but no corresponding on-ramps, she always manages to get lost. Luckily Ciwt's East Bay excursion today ended in Berkeley back at Susan Brooks' studio where she could let go of all her frustrations over getting lost again! by enjoying laughs at Susan's small "Objects of Desire and Mirth."
Distance: 0, except for a few PT exercises forgot workout as well
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| Susan Brooks, Objects of Desire and Mirth and Paintings Assemblage |
Ciwt always considers herself fortunate when she gets home from the East Bay. Direction challenged to begin with and then confronted with a wacky road system where roads randomly dead end and highways have off-ramps but no corresponding on-ramps, she always manages to get lost. Luckily Ciwt's East Bay excursion today ended in Berkeley back at Susan Brooks' studio where she could let go of all her frustrations over getting lost again! by enjoying laughs at Susan's small "Objects of Desire and Mirth."
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| Artist's hands and O of D&M |