December - Ginko Gold reins down in front of the house again.

Woke up to this view from my window.after last night's long-awaited rain storm. Soon there'll be a steady stream of leaf admirers from toddlers and moms to mission tourists taking selfies.

Yucca blossoms for a late summer feast

So I have a garden which has seen very little water in months. No matter, the plant that thrives on parched soils to the rescue. The Yucca. Once it was a little sprout oddity potted in the corner of my San Francisco office on the 7th floor of Embarcadero 4. But they're prolific just about everywhere in California and down south to who knows where. Fast forward some 30 years and the towering beast in my small garden, with a trunk 10 feet in circumference now overwhelms everything in it's shadow. How was I to know it actually presents a drought year bonanza. What drew my attention to the culinary potential of these impressive-looking flowers was a very ethnic indian lady selling various wares on the street corner near my house.
Beside her, piles of these seasonal beauties. A quick search online and I find all sorts of recipe ideas from just about everywhere. Just the kind of challenge I like and What the Hell, I have a skyline full of em. Getting up the wonky ladder and then dangling precariously with a pole saw is one of the ridiculous Cavalier stunts I pull off regularly, sometimes catching the projectile in mid air. Today was another successful catch, but don't do this at home. Now to the kitchen. Recommended approach for Newbies is an omelette, chefs say it's like artichoke. Texturally it's true, although mine was softer and no surprise stringy bits. The flavor was less pronounced however. By dinner time I was feeling adventurous and went for the pasta concept, so I prepped the yucca by sautéing in butter and and onions and bounced in two cups of prepared Putanesca sauce from Trader Joes. Result? Really pleased.

Venice beach CA. buzzing through the Walk Streets.

Apart from the exotic locals, there's a wealth of pampered gardens and still one or two of the non-cherried out, original shanty beach homes from the 20's and earlier.

Aquatic Park - a little bit of Zihuatanejo in San Francisco

Amazing it's taken me so long to do a photo dump of my favorite place - I simple can't overstate how much pleasure I've found in this little gem of a venue. There's something so solid and personal about the place and I feel some kind of ownership nowadays.

The personalities and stories of the regulars, built up over years are vibrant, the seals and sea lions are even in on the act but that's for another time.

I think we were sitting right about here

Our 3 week trip to Mexico. DF. Puebla. Oaxaca. Puerto Escondido.
Stage 1- distrito federal, zocalo, thunderstorms, organistas and chicken soup in Sanborns.
Contrast that to the barely attended Museo Antropologia in the Reforma which is so sprawling and spaced out.

Chile Chicken Relleno with creamy almond nut sauce and pomegranate

Puerto Escondido
Puerto Angel

Island Bait Shop and Beach Ball

Alas all gone since 1980? along with Muffin the Mule and other sultry enticements

Who wouldn't be teased into casting your luck to the waves with treasures like this to be hauled up. This photo from Ryde Pier head was taken decades after the glory days: 1950, my closest venue for boyhood fun and adventure, with miles of beach combing options running East and West as far as the eye could see, and in those days we had good eyes.

Matson Lines Aloha Hawaii menu 1948

This image alone would probably suck me into a cruise despite my abhorrence of the very idea. Some awesome babes laying leis on the guys from another island. Whatever, but I've hung onto this thing for years - and still like it.

In 1940, Eugene Savage completed, nine 8'x 4' murals for the Matson Shipping Lines. They were not used until1 1948 - after the war - when nine-color lithographed menu covers based on these designs appeared on the company’s flagship LURLINE. 

More Songs from the midnight hour (more like 3am) and the J&B amber filter.

Hidden gems, reveal yourself!
There's some great stuff here I hasten to add.
Roy's rich, resonant tenor baritone has been loosely compared to some of the other late night giants.

1980 - 1983 - 1983 - 1988 - 1989
These will be added as and when I find a way to digitize from my currently
non-existent technology.  1980 and 1983 for starters.

A little trick to ease that stressed out neck.

Required Equipment:

Door handle > Hand towel > Sturdy twine > Carpet.
Set up:
Neatly roll towel into tube and firmly tie the twine around the 2 ends forming a noose.
Here's the fussy bit : the bottom loop of the folded towel should just clear the floor by a couple of inches when it dangles freely from the door handle.
So, having done a quick test, you're ready to securely attach the end of the twine to the door knob.
If it's not secure you could thump your head on the floor.
Now all you need to do is cradle your head in the noose and slide your body away from the door to create a comfortable tension. Try about 20 minutes and then slowly raise up and resume your day.

Storm over Bernal Hill

First off – scramble up on the flat roof – which view says it best?
A boom of thunder!!! and what seems an existence later, the eerie broken needle of lightning.

Bernal Hill South West view

It's a bit of a puff scrambling up the goat trail but the 360 reward is pretty nice. For the less ambitious or dog walkers with a handful of barkers its easy to drive and park near the top.