Bad surprise. Took Dad to Max's for a nice breakfast, but soon thereafter he took a tumble which colored the rest of the day. Stayed home and stood watch per doctor's orders. The second bad surpise, that ocurred earlier was finding out Dad's treatment has been extended by a week :-(. Had dinner with Linda at the Wild Fox and caught up with a friend of ours, Jaison.

Routine with surprises. Toran and Aurelia are just so cute, I had to post another picture from yesterday's Muir Woods adventure at the left. Dad's treatment was very quick this morning, and he was doing well, so I spent nearly a normal schedule at work. We didn't try any new things, I cooked at home making him a mini-quiche (frozen) for breakfast and some spelt linguine with broccoli, onions and ham for dinner (left over linguine freshened up). I spoke at length to my Aunt Dorothy, now 90 years old, and packing up boxes to move from Yakima to Sequim to be closer to her grandsons and son-in-law. Good timing as she's moving over the weekend, and I got her new address/phone #. She repeated to me that she's adopting me as a daughter now since we're both 'orphans' in the sense that my Mom's gone and her daughter's gone and we've been like family since before I was born. It's even more of a complex relationship than that, but enough for this post. Found out a friend has been diagnosed with breast cancer, a plague in Marin to be sure. We're in a great circle of women who hang together so I hope she'll find comfort in our friendship and varied life experiences we've all had of the tough as well as the fun.

Muir Woods. After the usual hospital/chemo scene (Dad's last day of chemo!!!), and a bit of a nap, we met Jo-Ann, Toran and Aurelia for a lovely walk through Muir Woods. I snapped Toran and Aurelia in a hollow tree along the pathway. Toran wanted Auntie Anna to choose a dinner location, and she thought Joe's Taco Lounge may be just the thing. And as usual with kids, although he said he wanted tacos, once he was there there wasn't a thing on the menu he was interested in having. We had a good time anyway.

Lazy day. Slept in, started the new Harry Potter book... met Linda, Yalda & Olivia for lunch at the Red Grape in Sonoma. Was disappointed that Erika couldn't make it up for a visit... Caught up on editing ECTV site. (I'm the Chief Editor of the Earth Changes TV webpage for the Front Page: Breaking Sections, gives me something to do in the wee hours when I can't sleep). Picked up Dad and heard an enthusiastic tale of his weekend at home. His lady friend apparently liked the surprise gift of chocolates that Dad asked me to help pick out on Friday.

Mt. Tamalpais. A free day to myself! And what do I do? Fill it with friends, or a friend. After some creative photography sessions, Daniel and I went to the very top of Mt. Tamalpais, with a stop at my favorite picnic area. Going to the very top meant climbing rocks like a goat, but the view is well worth it. I had to take a photo of the elevation, and of some flowers placed on my car that Daniel rescued from the side of a cliff. We stayed until nearly sunset... see one of the photos I took from the top:

We lingered so long because of the breathtaking beauty, and watching the fog roll in... there was an interesting effect of one of the fingers that came through the Golden Gate first - a little leader piece appeared in the form of an angel at the head of Angel Island, wispily, and then broke up.

We missed timing for dinner, but went to see a movie that had it's world premier last night at the "Lark" in Larkspur. The film was a work of love and only cost $25K to film. "The Aviary" was very refreshing and original. And now I need some refreshment, so I'm off to Zzzland.

Rigolo. A darling French cafe on California in Laurel Village. The offerings are very French style, and it has an ambient charm. Dad had the French toast which was a little round of brioche permeated with egg and softly baked surrounded by a fruit compote. He raved. I tried the Croque Madam, which was a brioche topped with prosciutto, bechamel and guyere and a fried egg with fresh fruit as a side (choice of potatoes, breakfast meat or fruit). They serve breakfast and lunch as well. You order from the counter and wait while they cook... Rigolo means "a little funny" in French, but there's nothing funny about their delicious offerings.

Dad was feeling so chipper, he decided to go home for the weekend. So we stopped and had dinner at a charming place "Tador of Spain" in San Rafael. It's a tapas place so new I can't find reviews anywhere. I enjoyed trying a white sangria with the tastes.

Nook. What a charming place. On the corner of Hyde and Jackson on Nob Hill, it truly is tucked in a nook. Contrary to my previous notes about parking being easier in difficult districts in early morning, this was difficult, and it is very hilly. However, taking the Hyde street Cable Car would be perfect for getting here. The breakfast menu is somewhat limited, mostly bagels, pastries and a couple hot items. My Dad tried the waffles, looked good and he was complimentary. I tried the breakfast wrap which was supposed to contain eggs, ham, beans and avocado, and it was toasted on the top, not just wrapped, and sliced decoratively with a side of lush greens. It was without avocado, but still good. Free Wi-Fi advertised too.

Sweet Ginger. Dad was feeling peppy this eveing and wanted to go out to a new place... so we went to Sausalito to a gem of a Japanese restaurant. Although it's been ages since I've been there, it is still as good. The miso bass had a melt-in-your-mouth texture and was perfectly flavored.

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Dad's 85th Birthday. Dad's first treat was being able to sleep in... then after appointments at USCF, we went to see Happy Endings in Mill Valley and dined at the little French bakery next door, Champagne.

Happy Endings turned out to be a real shocker in the sense of I was expecting something that my 85 year old father could enjoy.... read the SF Chronicle review I read before choosing it:

"Filmmaker Don Roos cares desperately about the confused souls populating his extremely pleasurable and heartfelt new film. He divines the past, present and future of an eclectic group, including Lisa Kudrow as an emotional basket case, Maggie Gyllenhaal as a scam artist and Tom Arnold as the rich guy she's trying to scam. The underrated Arnold is a standout in a large cast without a single misguided performance. It’s not giving anything away to say that this sweet and uplifting film ends happily. "

Quote my Dad: "That film was AWFUL".. the first thing out of his mouth as we left the theater. Later, "Boy, was that an odd film". I'm scringing... sorry Dad. I'm sure he'd never seen the likes of it in his life. It IS a well-crafted film, and it is unique and interesting, but it's really a modern sophisticates film, not an old-fashioned, elderly man's kind of film.

The staff at Champagne made up for it by treating my Dad royally and lighting a candle on his French triple chocolate mousse cake.

Fred's Coffee Shop. Spectacularly awful. It wasn't even a shadow of its rave reviews. Immediately wanted to consume a bottle of Chitosan! The waitress recommended their French Toast. Imagine thickish slices of French toast, soaked 100% through with the egg batter, then coated in Pennsylvania Dutch Funnel Cake batter and fried in lots of oil till it's dark and crispy. Two diagonally cut pieces baked together in a foamy, oily sea of batter. There was a photo of smiling Fred on the wall, he passed on in the '80s'. Wonder what it was like under his management?

Monday again. Chemo day.. and extra doctor's appointments, and I had to coordinate my car in the mix. Yes, I've loved my sassy red Prius so much that I've already worn out a set of tires! So I dropped Dad off for the radiation, and zoomed over to SF Toyota for 4 new tires and alignment. They gave me a complimentary rental car, and I zoomed back to the hospital and found parking, and got back in time to lead Dad to the bloodwork room. The car was finished about half-way through the infusion, so it worked for me to return the rental, pick up my car, and meet Dad in the pick-up circle in front of the hosptial. So goes the days of my life right now, but only 9 left of Dad's intensive treatment!

So for dinner I used some left over grilled wild coho salmon and made a fresh pizza with it and capers and mediterranean cheeses as topping to a fresh yeast pizza dough. Grilled artichokes for veggies, and some whole peach sorbet for dessert.

Birthday Bookend Celebration. My Dad turns 85 on Wednesday, which is a difficult day to round up friends to celebrate together, so we're doing weekend bookend celebrations, with perhaps just he and I celebrating on the actual day. Today we're going to a corner art garden in Sonoma that we pass all the time and had no idea it was a 'destination' with people traveling from abroad just to see it. It's called the "Cornerstone Festival of Gardens" and the feature I've noticed most passing on the road is the tall blue tree, yes blue, the one at the head of this entry.

...so we went! What a lovely garden and galleries. We truly enjoyed the day. Wish I had an extra $30K or so for some of the more fantastic sculptures. I guess I'd better add in some for a house with a garden to display them as well! My MegaMillions Friday ticket was NOT the winner however (I got a free one as a promotion).

We started the morning with my now famous breakfast pizza and I used some special china with leafed-gold wheat fronds decorating it. My first neighbor here gave me this special set of china when she was moving out to be closer to her grandchildern in So. Cal. She said she noticed I have a lot of events, and thought I could use them. At that time I was the Group Leader for RESULTS Marin, lobbying for the elimination of hunger worst aspects of poverty, and I had frequent partner planning sessions for press conferences, lobbying and letter writing campaigns. The words seemed to flow better with some warm drinks and hot raspberry turnovers or the like served on the gift of this nice set after that. The china has matching teacups which sit in a little circle on the side of the plate. This morning my Dad commented on how nice it was to keep having morning surprises like this. We had a good Breakfast Tea (Republic of Tea) along with the pizza.

After enjoying the Cornerstone Festival of Gardens, I picked up a birthday cake at a delightful little bakery in Sonoma, Scandia Bakery. An 'Entirely Chocolate' cake with a Happy Birthday Charles written in yellow and and 8 and 5 candle spots for when we were ready to light.

We took the cake to Rin's Thai where Linda, Yalda, Olivia and I celebrated Dad's 85th kick-off week! Erika is coming up next weekend to celebrate, so truly there will be fun bookends for Dad. OH! and Dad reported, with a sparkle in his eye, that one of his favorite lady friends gave him a KISS while he was home picking up his mail! Now what's to beat that??!

Hibiscus. I fell in love again with the deep ruby red color and fresh taste of Imperial Tea Court's Iced Red Hibiscus tea. I opened the bag of fresh loose-leaf tea this morning to attempt to make it myself for the first time. Looked beautiful brewing in my clear glass teapot, and I found it has some health benefits as well! I've enjoyed Ten-Ren's bagged version before, but the loose-leaf version is definitely better.

From BBC News: "An extract from the hibiscus flower could have the same heart health benefits as red wine and tea, researchers suggest. A team from the Chung Shan Medical University in Taiwan says the flower contains antioxidants that help control cholesterol levels.

Hibiscus sabdariffa L , which is grown in China, India and Taiwan is used as a traditional remedy to treat high blood pressure and liver disorders. The researchers found it contains antioxidants that are known to reduce the dangerous build up of fats inside the arteries."

S&B Golden Curry. Today I stayed in and watched Dad who seemed to be feeling the effects of last week's treatment. He felt well enough to get up in the late afternoon and wanted to do something, and certainly I was ready by then too! We went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, what a darling movie.

After the movie I was inspired to make some mild Japanese curry, using the old standard S&B Golden Curry sauce kit. I used sirloin tips, carrots, Dutch yellow potatoes, and panoche sweet onions for the contents.

Mama's on Washington Square. I'm discovering the delights of morning. I've always considered myself a night person. It's so hard to close your eyes when there are so many visual temptations right there when you are wide awake. In the morning however, you must rise through those dreams fading and beckoning you to stay there chasing their wispy tails. That dreamworld where there are no limits, and you don't remember that you don't remember. What delight is there to opening your eyes like wooden blinds suddenly, with a little audible 'clap'? Something compelling must be right there, or so drawing that you take that vision with you into the dream world and chase it out into the morning light.

Well, I'm finding the counterbalance to the moonlight that I love to see casting a bright path across the waves in front of my house. While waiting for Dad to do that 'one more thing' before chasing out the door, I've noticed again how in the very early morning, while the pink still remains on sky, that hundreds of fishes make concentric circles form while feeding, all across the water. It's beautiful.

In the morning, there is free parking! And spaces to be found in the most difficult neighborhoods! And those fabulous breakfast places are accessible without waiting for 45 minutes.

This morning, we ventured into Mama's on Washington Square in North Beach. It doesn't open until 8 a.m., and there was a line forming around the building outside, even on a weekday. But we were early enough to get in the second order group. Mama's has crowd control under control so that the diners can enjoy the experience of eating without being crowded by those waiting in line. The control person makes sure the line stays to a certain point in the counter before letting more people in. You order at the counter, and CASH only! Interestingly, they don't give you a number, but the waitstaff has no problem finding you wherever you choose to sit. Hmmmm... Dad ordered the Washington Square omelet, a fluffy one filled with Italian sausage, tomatoes, ham and hot pepper jack cheese. I tried one of their famous specialties, Apple Pan Dore. Thin (1/4" thick) slices of French baguette sliced lengthwise, coated with egg, fried and covered in sauteed yet crispy fresh apples and a light lemon butter sauce. Fantastic!

STAY AWAY FROM CROCK-POT CLASSICS. Yuck. I thought I'd be clever and start dinner the easy way in a crockpot in the morning, using this new product. We tried the chicken and dumplings. Soupy, mushy and terrible. This 'new' product could not possibly stay on the market long.

With just a little more planning I'm sure I could make my mother's homestyle chicken and dumplings in the crockpot. Cook some fresh organic chicken in a nice sauce on low all day then add fresh veggies for 15 minutes, then add freshly made dumplings to the top and continue cooking another 15-20 minutes on high. Mom's dumplings were just her famous southern biscuit recipe made a little more stiff and without sugar (the tiny bit of sugar is for browning, and dumplings don't need to brown).

Shin. So lucky that a friend shuttled my father and watched out for him today while I took care of car maintenance and work. Enjoyed dinner at Shin's in Larkspur, a small Japanese restaurant in a strip mall. They need to work a bit on presentation, but the food was good. Can't find any photos on the web...

Left over Ella's for breakfast today at home. Dad wasn't feeling so well, so I stayed in with him all day. We saw a great Netflix, The Thomas Crowne Affair. The glider scene has me yearning for some piloting time...

Ella's. Well Monday was an all-day chemo day, with no exciting culinary adventures, but Tuesday we discovered a new breakfast spot - Ella's - on the corner of Presidio and California. Ella's subtitle is "Neo Classical American Cooking", and it was really a delight. Dad had a short stack, which consisted of 2, 1/2" thick, luncheon plate diameter buttermilk pancakes. I was pursuaded to try the chicken hash, which was excellent, and I took half home in a bag because of the too-generous portions. The service was friendly and attentive and atmosphere quite pleasant.

Sunday in Mill Valley. Today was a stay at home and catch up on housework/paperwork kind of day... I made a lunch of a lovely fresh organic stacked vegetable dish with all the veggies from Oak Hill Farm I bought yesterday, and for dinner I grilled wild salmon on the deck, with grilled baby artichokes and kinpira gobo (written about at length in an earlier post). Dad seems to want to help so much, and so I have been looking for things he can help with. He was so delighted to even shred a pile of papers for me, said he needs to be able to contribute something in order to feel better about himself. I have to get over the feeling of it being terrible to ask my elderly and convalescing father to do anything, as it seems to be a positive outlet for him. Tomorrow starts week four for Dad and is a long chemo day, so no exciting breakfast out.

The Fig Cafe. I visited Linda yesterday afternoon, while my Dad caught up with his friends at the Wine Country House where he has been living until recently. We caught up and went to Oak Hill Farm to the Red Barn, where we discussed organic edibles. I knew that strawberries were the worst at holding pesticide residues in the fruit family, but it was news to me that celery holds the same dubious reputation in the veggie family. I bought some beautiful yellow and green summer squash and leeks. After a leisurely talk and dreamweaving about tea rooms and salons, we went to the Fig Cafe in Glen Ellen for dinner. We sat in the booth just under the painting of cherries spilling out above. We had a lovely thin-crust pizza and ho-hum desserts. I liked my arugula and fig salad, but Linda wasn't crazy about her chopped variety.

A lemony favorite summer recipe.

Lemon Pepper Linguine with Artichoke Hearts


Ingredients

1 14-ounce (400g) can artichoke hearts
1/2 cup (340g) black olives, sliced
2 Tbsp (30mL) olive oil
2 Tbsp (30mL) lemon juice
2 cloves garlic minced
1/8 tsp (0.25g) crushed red pepper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound (455g) lemon pepper linguine

Directions

Drain artichoke hearts, reserving juice. Coarsely chop artichokes and combine with 2 Tbsp (30mL) reserved juice, olives, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, red pepper, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour.

Cook linguine according to package directions. Toss pasta with artichoke mixture. Serve immediately with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.