Gin Goes to the Vet

Ginger's been rather stressed out since our move. Today we went to see the vet who thinks Gin's lost some cognitive ability (doggie dimentia) and is having trouble adapting to her new environment. She pants, whimpers, hides and digs in the carpet.


Some suggested remedies: valerian, "dog-appeasing" pheromones, melatonin, kava kava and ... yes ... Xanax.

Doggie Anxiety

This is St. John's Wort. Isn't it lovely?


Gin's been very anxious since our move. She pants excessively, sleeps in the closet when I'm not home and digs in the carpet. Poor girl. I've started giving her St. John's Wort. We'll see if it works.

Tenderloin National Forest

Thanks to Liz for introducing Linda and me to this beautiful art/green space right around the corner from my apartment. It's designed to draw attention to the lack of green growing things in a neighborhood that's home to an estimated 7,000 kids.

Grand Cafe

One of the great things about a new neighborhood is checking out all the places you've never been to or never heard of. The Grand Cafe is one of those. It's inside the Hotel Monaco and it's absolutely gorgeous. Beth and I enjoyed a bottle of wine and a cheese plate there.

Lunch with Holden ...

... and his mom.




As you can see, Holden is quite an expressive little man. Despite his small size, he's also a big eater!

Alcatraz at Night

I hadn't been to Alcatraz in several years. Molly had never been, so we took the Monday night tour. Very cool.


The view of the city on the ferry ride across the Bay.


The city from the Rock. When the wind was blowing in the right direction, the prisoners could hear people celebrating - especially on New Year's Eve.

Dottie's True Blue Cafe

This place must be in all the tour books because usually there's a crazy line out the door and down the block, but Molly and I lucked out. I took Monday off and we started the day sharing a yummy spinach, corn and feta frittata. We sat at the counter and had a very colorful experience.


Watching the chef and his helper work together like a well-oiled machine was fascinating.