One month, time's flying!

We've been here for one month today. Its been one of the fastest months I can remember in a long time, too. I'm trying to keep time going at a slow pace, but often I find it gets away from me.

Last I left you, I believe we were falling asleep under the stars, realizing how lucky we were? Yes, that's it! As great as that weekend was, it ended with a sobering phone call from a good friend who was calling to let me know that they lost someone very close to them. The funeral would be held on the east coast on August 9 and I knew I had to get home to be there to support my friend and their family. It was a whirlwind trip because it was last minute. I flew to NJ on Friday morning and stayed at our place in Jersey City that night. It was so weird being back there since I hadn't prepared myself to be back for 3+ months. Our place was so welcoming to me and sleeping in our dreamy bed was beyond wonderful. I loved being back for 1 night even if the circumstance that I was back for wasn't a good one.

That Friday night at home happened to coincide with a visit from our good friend Mat who was in from Panama. A small group ended up getting together for dinner in the city to welcome Mat and since I was home, I got to join them. It was nice to catch up with some of my good friends for a few hours in the city. It was funny for me being back in NY too. It was a warm night and everyone was out buzzing around. San Francisco has a comforting laid back feel, but Manhattan has this strong electric vibrant feel that I've never felt from another city. I felt it when I was there on Friday night.

After dinner, I wanted to head home since it would be an early morning the next day. I also wanted to go through our mail that our kind neighbors have been bringing in daily for us, go through our DVR and delete all of our shows (something we forgot to do before we left!) and finally, pack more warm clothes to bring back to California.....yes, it is downright chilly out here at times, but I'm not complaining! On the walk from the restaurant to the PATH to head back to Jersey City, I realized how easy it is walk around NYC versus San Francisco just based on the hills. It is so darn flat where we live on the east coast. It took no time for my aggressive weaving in and out of people to kick in during that walk too! ;)

The funeral was Saturday morning, so I was up and out early to head to the location in Philadelphia. As with any funeral, it was heart breaking, but I knew I did the right thing by coming home to support my good friend. Attending a funeral also tends to put your own life into perspective, making you realize that you never know when your time is up. This got me thinking about everything I am thankful for on the drive back home from the funeral. Its easy to take life for granted, but its so important to remember how precious and short it is.

My whirlwind trip was a little over 36 hours on the east coast. I raced home from the funeral to get back to our place in Jersey City. I had to pack my stuff up and hop in a cab to get on a flight going back to the west coast by 7pm Saturday night.

Months ago, we had planned for my mom to visit and since she was coming out on Sunday, 8/10, I had to be back here in SF. My flight back was smooth and before I knew it, I was back at the airport picking my mom up on Sunday. She was here visiting with us for 4 nights and 5 days. We kept pretty busy during her stay too. We usually started the day out with a leisurely morning with coffee. One day we went to an open house and shopped the 24th street shops in Noe Valley. Another day, our friend Ken was nice enough to lend us his car so we did a driving tour of the city. Growing up, we used to come out here every summer for my parents business so my mom had done most of the touristy things that she had wanted to do. This trip, we drove up to Twin Peaks and got to see the city just before the fog rolled in.....

.....We drove through Golden Gate Park.....

....walked through the Haight/Ashbury section...

...attended Tina's birthday party in Dolores Park...

....went to Alamo Square Park...


and took the ferry over to Sausalito for the afternoon...

My mom, Bonnie Mason, also got to take her pic by Mason street at Fisherman's Wharf....

We had many great meals, the best being from The Franciscan Crab restaurant where I got this huge, delish crab....


.....It was a really fun 4 days with my mom. We haven't been able to hang out like that in years and we really had a good time together.

After my mom left last Thursday, I became a couch potato for the day. Jimmy had scheduled a poker game with the guys that night, which he ended up winning, woohoo. The next thing we knew, the weekend was upon us again. Friday night, we bailed on our original happy hour plans to see Pineapple Express and then do some shopping. The rest of the weekend included some baking for orders, and then a potluck dinner at Ken's place on Saturday. He bought his loft in Oakland 1 year ago and decided to throw a party to celebrate his 1 year anniversary there. It was a great turnout and there was so much yummy comfort food. I had some of the best homemade sangria too, but cut myself off before things turned ugly which was best for everyone attending. Sunday included an early morning of brunch and pedi's with a few lady friends. I've been wanting to get a pedi desperately but didn't' know where to go. We ended up going to Lavende in a part of town I had never heard before until Sunday - Gulch? Who knew! Anyway, it was nice to be pampered and the pedi was decent. Though, it definitely made me miss my go to pedi place in Hoboken - As U Wish. No one does a pedi quite like Skyy!!

This has been a quiet week so far, though the start of my one of my favorite pathetic trashy reality shows started last night - The Hills. Mariah came over and we cooked turkey tacos for dinner as we anxiously awaited the start of the new season...then we busted out the champagne! Oh yes, the start of the season didn't disappoint!

Tonight, our friends leave for Thailand for 2 weeks and they are letting us borrow their car while they are gone. After we drop them off at the airport at 11pm, its all ours! We've got all sorts of big plans to explore the city and stock up on goods from the big stores as well as take some trips outside of the city. We need to pick up the RV and drop it off at a service center for routine maintenance and the much needed body repair (see previous blog post titled: Duct Tape! Is there anything it can't fix?!) Two companies came out to the storage facility to take a look at it, however, neither wanted to touch the job to repair the siding. Oh boy, I just hope we can find someone to fix the Four Winds.

Both of the pets are doing well. Sebastian still loves to soak up the breezes while sitting in the window. His favorite spot is the chair in the guest room which you can find him in 91% of the time. The rest of the time, he can be found in his kitty condo in the front bay window. 24th street is extremely busy and loud so there is always something there for him to watch.

Daisy is starting to make friends in the new 'hood at the park up the street. We have a great dog run in Van Vorst park in Jersey City, however, this little park up the block puts the Jersey City park to shame. Its a much larger space and its all grass. Daisy is definitely in doggie heaven here. We're pretty happy here ourselves.

Let's hope that continues starting August 25. You see, one of the reasons the San Francisco stay worked out so well was to also escape the loud construction happening right next door to our place in Jersey City. They're building a huge 54 unit hi-rise that will take approx 2 years to complete. We left just as they were finishing the pile driving so they are still pretty early on in the process. We figured we'd get some peace and quiet during our stay in San Francisco until I received the following excerpt of an email yesterday:

"We hope that everything so far has been ok during your stay. I am emailing because as you may or may not know, the tenant in the unit next to yours has just moved out. We will be having some reconstruction/remodeling done in the unit, beginning next Monday, August 25th. The construction company will work during normal business hours, Monday through Friday for the next few months. We are hoping that they do not cause too much of a disturbance and apologize in advance for any inconveniences. Please feel free to email or call with any concerns. Thank you!"

I guess all we can do is laugh about that one and hope for the best. Construction just seems to follow us.

I know, I’m being a blog hog! I keep trying to get Jimmy to blog, telling him we must be letting you down by not having blogged in over a week, ha! I decided since there is so much to write about that I would just dig in and do it, so here we go.

Our second week was much like our first week. We continued to explore our neighborhood and get more comfortable with the transportation system as well as attend some fun activities.

In the last week and half since I blogged, Jimmy played golf with our friend Cassidy while Daisy and I decided to explore new streets. This time, we took a left out of our place on 24^th and took it all of the way up to Grand View. The last hill up there had my lungs screaming, but when I got to the top and saw the view and caught my breath, I felt great....see....

Daisy on the other hand could have taken this hill in 10 seconds like it was nothing. I notice she gets the tongue wag going on the uphills, but otherwise, the hills don’t really seem to phase her!

Our walk eventually led us to Dolores Park which was Daisy’s first time there.

Those that know this park know how big it is. Those that know Daisy know how much she loves to run. Since I was by myself, I decided to keep Daisy on leash just so I didn’t have to chase her all over this park in the event she would just tear off. I figured I’d come back another time with Jimmy to test that one out.

During our walks, I enjoy taking pictures of the different houses I like in the area. Some have true SF Victorian Charm...

...while others are....BRIGHT!

Keep checking THIS LINK to see updated pics from our walks.

We got back from our 3 mile urban hike and Daisy passed out for most of the afternoon. I waited for Jimmy to get home from golf so we could head over to North Beach to Cobb’s Comedy Club to see Kevin Nealon do stand up. We were hoping to meet up for happy hour with our friend Gil who just returned from a trip around the world. Unfortunately traffic on the bay bridge held Jimmy up and when he got back to our place, we had to head right to the comedy club.

We met up with a small group at Cobb's and headed in to get a table. We ordered drinks, some food and next thing we knew, the show was starting. Two people who were both on Last Comic Standing opened for Kevin Nealon. The first guy was ok, the second girl was really funny, though very raunchy and Kevin Nealon was good. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen comedy so it was good to get out and do that. Funny enough, we’re planning on returning to Cobb’s again tomorrow night to see Patton Oswalt, who I’ve never seen before.

The next day, Jimmy and I took on the Church Street hills and headed to Dolores Park with Daisy to let her run crazy. We made sure to find the dog play area and we unhooked her leash. She went tearing off in our general area greeting all of the dogs one by one. In the first 5 minutes she managed to spill over someone’s coffee that was next to them as well as step on a sunbather’s head, all while running passed them. Oh Daisy!

On Saturday, we headed about 2 ½ hours north of the city to hang at a lake for the afternoon for a friend’s birthday. They had rented a boat and were waterskiing and tubing…in costume, oh yes! There were some funny costumes in the group, for sure. Being out on the boat for a bit was so nice, though I didn’t tube or ski! It was a gorgeous warm summer day and the breeze on the lake felt great.

There was a shallow beach area that we brought Daisy in. Jimmy figured that if he went into the water, that Daisy would follow and eventually start doggie paddling. She never actually swam when we brought her to that pond in Salt Lake City so we were wondering if she was actually a swimmer or not. Sure enough, Jimmy was right…the deeper he went, the more she’d follow, eventually moving into a full on doggie paddle.

Once she got used to it, she was unstoppable. We got a tennis ball and threw it out for her to fetch.

She had so much fun swimming, even if she did resemble a sea otter.

After the afternoon at the lake we went camping nearby. I haven’t camped in years and boy did I miss it. It is so much fun living out of a tent and walking around with dirty feet. Nothing beats it! We got set up around dinner time and then enjoyed watching a beautiful sunset. The setting of the sun led to one of the starriest skies that I’ve seen in awhile. At a point, I stood up on a small hill not far from our campsite taking in the stars. I tried to remember all of the constellations I learned in high school astronomy with little luck. I looked for so long to try to see a shooting star but think I was trying too hard. Everyone around me saw a handful of them while I was always looking in another direction. Still, standing under the stars, being out in the middle of nowhere with only the insects providing the music brought over a serene feeling. At that moment I felt so lucky to be taking in this wondrous slice of nature and to be breathing in the fresh mountain air. This feeling carried into the night and was still felt before I drifted off to sleep looking up through the top of our tent with millions of stars above it......to be continued.....

*~Jennie~*