A+ Birdwatching --- Day 13/24

Walk: Hood

Distance: 3 miles
 

So today Ciwt was walking by the little park next door which, it turns out, is known among birdwatchers as one of the best.  It is also a major home base for growing flocks of red headed parakeets (which are mistakenly though understandably called Wild Parrots).  Bright green and chattery they swirl around the park neighborhood, landing here and there for a while on trees and rooftops.  You feel lucky if you see them in flight or for a moment on their temporary perches.

But not today.  Ciwt heard the usual squacking but assumed the parakeets were hidden in some trees.  Then she looked up to her left and saw a bunch of them just hanging out on a bare limbed wintering tree.  Maybe the birds would stay for a moment longer and she could have a closer look, so she climbed up the stairs and saw several people with their iphone cameras pointed at the birds.  Surely the birds would fly away any moment with all these people around.

No, they stayed put, still squaking and flitting around, but right there.  Beautiful, antic and fun to watch.

 

Now this is the kind of bird watching that appeals to Ciwt!

Survivor Guilt --- Day 13/23

Walk: Hood 

Distance: 2 miles

As most of Ciwt's readers know, the 49ers survived as victors in yesterday's playoff game against the Detroit Lions.  We're relieved and happy out here, but there is no overturned cars joyous celebration.  To get to the Super Bowl, the 49ers had to dash the hopes of a team beloved in many areas of the country - including the Bay Area.  Lots of people out here are either from Detroit or spent many years rooting for the franchise and many of them were in the stands yesterday. 

When the Lions came to play San Francisco it was their first Super Bowl opportunity since the franchise began as the Portsmouth (Ohio) Spartans in 1930.  And they almost did it!  So close; they were fired up with energy and played beautifully.  So beautifully, at half time Ciwt congratulated her friend who grew up near Detroit and said she would happily cheer for the Lions in the Super Bowl. But as Yogi Berra said: It's not over till its over....

Most fans out here were mindful of the 49ers' difficult task as spoilers.  Those who weren't were reminded in sympathetic columns by our local sportswriters.  As long time sports writer Ann Killian wrote before the game: They (the 49ers) are the villians in this script.  And after the game, she acknowledged both the sensational playing of the 49ers in the second half and some of the coaching errors that changed the Lions' momentum.*

Survivor guilt:  If the 49ers beat the Lions, it would be inevitable.  They did....

*If you are interested to read her pre- and post-game columns, here is a link: https://www.sfchronicle.com/author/ann-killion/

Where Are the Dogs? --- Day 13/22

Walk: Lafayette Park Dog Run

Distance: 2 miles

So one of Ciwt's favorite and most heart warming outings is walking to the park across the street to watch the dogs cavort with each other, their owners socialize and think about whether to get a dog herself.  

Midday today she headed out, and when she reached the dog area of the park (really it all is), this is what she saw:

Empty!?!

No dogs or owners: 

Then she realized: Playoff Football Games! Apparently the whole park crowd was absorbed in the play and the dogs were staring patiently at their owners.  She turned around and went in to her place to watch herself

New Season, New Artistic Director, New Ballet, New Era(?) --- Day 12/21

Walk: SF Ballet

Distance: 3 miles

So Sf Ballet's 91st season has begun out here and it is definitely not your grandmother's - or mother's or sister's - ballet.  At least today's performance and world premiere of  Mere Mortals wasn't.  

The stage: mostly black, empty except for a huge AI video screen.

The music: Synthesized electronic combined with full orchestra. Very loud aural roller coaster.

The costumes: broad shouldered coats and capes; shiny latex body suits.

The dancing: Full gallop writhing, undulating, spinning, completely in sync with each other and the music for 1 hour, 15 minutes. Simply superb.  Then curtain and home.

The story: Not sure, something to do with Pandora, Prometheus, Hope.

Audience Reactions:  LOTS of standing, clapping, whistling, "Bravos" from the likes of Ciwt.  On the other hand, the man sitting next to Ciwt sat silent, motionless and staring throughout the performance and beyond.  Then still staring straight ahead, stood and said out loud "Well, that's one I'll never see again."

Wright Good Fiction --- Days 13/19 & 20

Walks: AMC Kabuki (American Fiction)

Distances: 3 miles

So, Ciwt found the movie American Fiction so intelligent and well acted, she went once and then returned the next day.  What role can't Jeffrey Wright excel in?

Blood from a Stone --- Days 13/17 & 18

Walks: Marin Errands    AMC Metreon

Distances: 3 miles    6.5 miles

So Ciwt can certainly see why Emma Stone has been winning all this year's movie awards and should absolutely recive the Best Actress Oscar.  Her performance in Poor Things is astounding -  breathing vitality into a scientifically cold, cynical, raunchy but very well done movie.

Moving On With LUGG --- Day 13/16

Walk: Public Storage

Distance: 3 miles

Bye, Bye 43+ Years of Stuff

So San Francisco has a service called LUGG that has been invaluable to Ciwt in her moves out and in and out.  You can call them and request nearly instant service, and, with bells on, they come through.  

For instance, today Ciwt woke up finally ready to let go of a lot of things - furniture,etc - she was done with but still holding on to.  So she hurried her fingers to the LUGG app and chose the option of a small van with two men in less than 30 minutes. And in 15 minutes they were at her home.  Things from there were loaded into the van first, then it was off to Public Storage for the rest.  Two hours later the stuff was on to new homes and Ciwt was home and free.  Yay, LUGG or whatever similar services her readers may have where they live.

Only Your Hairdresser Knows --- Day 13/15

Walk: Hood

Distance: 4.5 miles

Pooh with Peace Plant

Over time Ciwt's hairdresser has given her a couple of meaningful gifts - besides great haircuts.

At various times she learned that Ciwt did yoga and that her nickname growing up was Pooh.  So a few years ago when Ciwt moved she surprised her with a sweet Peace plant in an adorable black pot.  And this week Ciwt received a nearly original copy of Winnie the Pooh which her hairdresser had found at a garage sale.  So thoughtful.

Final Touches --- Day 13/14

Walk: AMC Kabuki (All of Us Strangers)

Distance: 3 miles

A few finishing touch notes from Ciwt on the de Young's current Fashioning San Francisco: A Century of Style.  

*  The de Young has tied the fashion in the exhibit to historical events, places and people in San Francisco which adds a level of interest and brings the clothes on display alive for Bay Area locals as well as visitors. It celebrates not only fashion artistry, but also San Franciscans’ role in harnessing it: the women who wore it, the philanthropists who supported it, the city that nourished it. The rooms of the exhibition are built around iconic locales in the city: Early fashion is displayed in a facsimile of the Palace of Fine Arts, the little black dress is found in Grace Cathedral, the ballgowns festoon the Opera House. In many ways the exhibition a love letter to the city and its residents.

**

Christian Dior, Junon (above) and Venus (below), Fall-Winter 1949

Among the many gorgeous haute courture gowns on display two that rise to the eye as the most superior were actually never worn.  They are Christian Dior and were brought from France to the exclusive Union Square department store I Magnin.  But, instead of selling them, I. Magnin immediately designated them as 'museum pieces' saying "They represent the absolute pinnacle of creativity and draftsmanship."

(This is the official story, but Ciwt secretly wonders if the gowns were simply too high priced even for the wealthiest San Francisco buyers. Or if there was some concern about a fashion war over who would be allowed to purchase them). 

In any case, the gowns glow with freshness and artistry and are a delight to the eye).  

***

As might be expected in the Bay Area, there is a high tech touch to the exhibition.  Through some sort of Artificial Intelligence (AI for those in the know), visitors can stand in front of mirrors and suddenly be wearing a few selected gown and outfits, all fitted to their particular sizes and shapes.  

Ciwt assumed this would be tricky and work only for the most tech savvy.  But not so.  Even Ciwt could easily step into the gowns.  She just stood on a round pad across from the mirror, and voila, there she was all dressed up and ready to go to the ball.

Retail RX --- Day 13/13

Walk: de Young Museum, Hood

Distances: 5 miles

Callot Sisters (Marie, Marthe, Regina, Josephine), (French, active 1845-1927), Ensemble bodice and Skirt, ca 1908, silk.  Worn in San Francisco by Ethel W. Sperry Crocker (1851-1934)

Not that many years after the 1849 Gold Rush, the sparsely built territory named Yerba Buena with no more than 1000 residents had become a cosmopolitan city, renamed San Francisco. The population had exploded to over 400,000 with a constant stream of national and international visitors.  It was home to elegant restaurants and hotels as well as an opera house, a museum, a grand park and a multitude of social and cultural events.  Luxurious department stores located mostly on Union Square were busy meeting demands for dresses and gowns imported from New York and especially from France.

But the catastrophic 1906 earthquake and fire effectively destroyed the city and certainly downtown retail activity. How did the new San Franciscans respond?  Well, in the midst of rubble, lawlessness, still burning fires, gerry built shelters, that disperate group of resilient, visionary, ambitious, entrepreneurial, often flamboyant souls, acted instantly.  Within weeks! retail was back in business.  The store owners banded together, quickly erected a temporary shopping district, made arrangements for the delivery of French-made clothes, and affluent San Franciscans got themselves downtown through the rubble strewn streets to purchase them.  This, dear readers, was Retail Therapy, San Francisco style.

Who 'Invented' the Little Black Dress? --- Days 13/10,11 & 12

Walks: Hood, de Young Museum (Fashioning San Francisco Exhibition) - both days

Distances: 3 miles 2 miles, 4 miles

Jean Patou (French, 1887-1938), House of Patou (estab. 1914), Afternoon Dress ca 1926, silk crepe

 Worn in San Francisco by Imogen Abbott Mendoza (American, 1894-1989) 

If you were like Ciwt, you guessed Coco Chanel as the 'inventor' of the little black dress. But she learned differently at yesterday's Press Preview of the de Young's Fashioning San Francisco exhibition. Turns out the French Houses of Premet and Patou designed the earliest versions: calf length, straight, easy to move in, very little adornment. Some of the dress's immediate popularity was related to ease of wear and resonance with the style demands the early 1900's.  Women were increasingly out of the home with many in the work force.  They needed affordable, easy to wear garments. In addition World War I began in 1914 and widows were expected to wear black, the color of mourning, for four years.  Added to all this, the little black dress could be and was styled in numerous becoming ways. Ie, women looked good in it and enjoyed wearing it.

We weren't entirely wrong about our Coco Chanel guess though.  In 1926 Chanel made a landmark contribution to the black dress by publishing a picture of a short, simple black dress in a 1926 American Vogue. In the issue the highly influential and widely read Vogue called the dress "Chanel's Ford" because it was simple and accessible for women of all social classes.  And many sources do credit her with being the inventor of the dress.

PS   If Ciwt had been shopping for a little black dress in the 1920's, she might have at least tried on this elegant version:  

Louise Boulinger (Fr. 1878 - 1950, active 1923-1939), American Copy of Louise Boulanger Evening Ensemble, silk crepe with glass rhinestones 

 

 

Memo to Self --- Days 13/8 & 9

Walks: Hood Shopping

Distances: 3.5, 5.5 miles

More often than she cares to admit Ciwt finds herself thinking about her old home.  So quaint, so cozy, poor Ciwt.

Then she gets a delivery at her new home for 1.8 years like the one leaning against her wall above.  It is 10' tall and weighs 43 pounds.  The doorman helped her put it into the elevator, but when she reached her floor she couldn't budge it.  Noticing the elevator hadn't returned, the doorman came up to her floor and took the cumbersome bundle (it's a carpet) into her place. The whole process took no longer than 10 minutes.

When he had left (with a voluntary thank you tip from relieved Ciwt), she remembered other things about her old place.  Specifically the 73 stairs from the sidewalk to her unit.  If this delivery had been made there, it is questionable the driver would have even brought it to the downstairs front door.  If he had, she would have had to call a service like Lugg to carry it up the stairs. Since today is a holiday, they might be closed so the bundle would be outside overnight.  And then there is the matter of the neighborhood crimes around here these days......

Memo to self: No more Poooor Ciwt.  Life without 73 stairs and with the added luxuries of a doorman and elevator is wonderfully liveable.
 

Review or Movie? --- Day 13/7

Walk: AMC Kabuki

Distance: 2 rainy windy miles

Ciwt has a habit of not reading any reviews before seeing a movie.  She does pay attention to Rotten Tomatoes and word of mouth.  So when she heard Sandra Huller, who was so outstanding in Anatomy of a Fall, was equally as good in The Zone of Interest she put that movie on her list.

It took a while to get to San Francisco, arriving yesterday. Ciwt went today.  And, oh my. Oh. My.  Maybe she should have read a couple of reviews.

Sandra Huller was indeed impeccably excellent - as was the whole movie.  An impeccable portrayal of the banal, soulless efficiency of pure evil.  The movie is methodically chilling, disturbing and unremitting; no fantastical events or remotely pretty music. You know precisely what is happening and there's no place to divert your attention.  It you are prepared for this, this presentation of the Nazi death camps, go because The Zone of Interest is an excellent some say masterpiece production.  If not but you're curious, Ciwt suggests just reading a few reviews.

Oh, It's January --- Days 13/5 & 6

Walks: Hood

Distance: 5 miles each

Ciwt had forgotten how kind of blah January can be.  Good for things like weeding through closets, making some home decorating decisions, grooming cats, figuring out how to have old furniture hauled away, yawning, sleeping, wearing mittens, generally getting tasks done.  But no good for CIWT readers looking for any interesting entries.  

Crack Pot --- Days 13/2-4

 Walks: Legion of Honor Museum, Marin Shopping

Distances: Average 3.5 miles

Bouke de Vries (English), Memories in Porcelain

  
So Ciwt would be excellent at the first stage of Bouke de Vries' work: breaking the porcelain.

When she's done that, she has sometimes tried to used Super Glue to 'restore' the piece.  Tried and failed so she has sadly discarded the 'useless' shards.

But to de Vries, those broken fragments, represent a new life for the pieces.  He sees what he calls 'beauty in destruction' and makes them into new and original 'memory vessels.' Yes, the porcelains have lost their original flawlessness, but de Vries finds a new model for finding value in ceramic objects - whether broken, intact or reassemble.

Lucky 13 and Ciwt! --- Day 13/1!!

 Walk: Legion of Honor (Botticelli x 2), AMC Kabuki (Ferrari x 2)

Distance: 2.5 miles

Who would have thought it?  Certainly not Ciwt who - thirteen years ago today - challenged herself to write an entry every day for a year. CIWT began as a chore, then, thanks to time and her wonderful readers, it has become a friend and a chore not to check in with an entry.   Thank you, CIWT and readers wherever you are.  You make such a difference.

On Wings of Genius --- Day 12/365

Walk: AMC Kabuki

Distance: 2 miles

There is creative genius - and then there is Hayao Miyazaki. His mesmerizing animated movie The Boy and the Heron had Ciwt riveted from beginning to end - including the must-stay-for song over the end credits.  Ths in spite of the fact that she often didn't entirely understand what she was looking at. Doesn't matter.  Probably Miyazaki is the only one who does; it's his poem.

Perfect 100 --- Day 12/364

Walk: Hood

Distance: 5 miles

So, Ciwt is a little tired at the end of today.  She decided to get rid of 100 pieces of clothing from her closets.  You know how that goes: try on, debate, remember when you bought it, maybe how much it cost, closing eyes and stuffing it in the donation bag.  Kind of an exhausting walk down memory lane, but all the space feels great.

Save $30 on CIWT --- Day 12/363

Walk: Marin Drive, then Union Square

Distance: 2 miles 

So, Ciwt will now save you the $10 surcharge on top of the $20 entry fee (Total: $30)  to see artist Yayoi Kusuma's Infinity Rooms at SFMOMA.

The Rooms are sold out on line so she needed to purchase her ticket several months in advance. When she got to her time slot the line wasn't bad, although she heard that people the day before had waited an hour beyond their entry time.  

She was given a little introductory lecture about basically what to expect, then her group of 12 was escorted to the door of the first Room and let into the first Mirrored Infinity Room:

 

Then after the allowed two minutes, her group was let out of that Room and taken to the second one titled Infinite Love.

Two minutes later she was let out, and her $30 experience was complete.  

She can't recall being particularly moved except to be glad she hadn't decided to take in the Rooms in L.A. at the Broad Museum where the lines (of mostly teenagers) was hours long but the 'timed' admission was free.

Now, Pink --- Day 12/362

 

Walk: SFMOMA (Infinity Mirror Room)

Distance: 4 miles

Ciwt read somewhere that pink is a healing color, also believed to represent love, compassion and inner peace.  So she has begun 2024 with an abundance of it around her home.  

Things That Have Never Been --- Day 12/361

Walk: Hood & Presidio

Distance: 5 miles