what?

what?, originally uploaded by spacedog.

well with all my extra time. i have rediscovered my knitting gene. and tired of making only scarves ingrid showed me a trick.. a turtleneck scarf that wraps around and seals.. anyone want one.. thanks to jacob for the circular needles..

oolong

oolong, originally uploaded by spacedog.

each pot of tea at samovar comes with a unique set up. for this oolong tea you set the pellets in a strainer inside the cup and pour hot water over the tea leaves and steep for 45 seconds. the pot was cast iron and the tea was light but strong.

tea drinker

tea drinker, originally uploaded by spacedog.

sipping some hot oolong tea, ingrid takes over camera duties. cant remember if i enjoyed the green tea or oolong better? all i remember were the instructions to let the oolong tea steep for 45 seconds. potent stuff..

dessert kisses

dessert kisses, originally uploaded by spacedog.

what is she eating?? a red bean puff covered in seasame seeds. this dessert comes fresh from chinatown everyday. we thought dirty things and i am sure the other patrons were starng at ingrid's facial expressions.

tea server

tea server, originally uploaded by spacedog.

samovar staff are very knowledgeable in tea facts and jonas is no exception. ingrid selected the english breakfast with milk and honey and i the ryoku cha with milk and honey. he told us if you swish around green tea in yr mouth it fights plaque!

tour popeye

tour popeye, originally uploaded by spacedog.

i like this pic because ingrid looks very boy. and the person walking down the block is random too. who to look at first? see how much popeye takes over a body after five weeks of lifting heavy musical equipment?

crumpet muncher

crumpet muncher, originally uploaded by spacedog.

well ingrid came back to sf from five weeks driving back and forth across america with her awesome band Boyskout. and i decided since she likes tea we would go to samovar. ingrid asked our server what a crumpet was and i shouted out "nooks and crannies" and yes said the server, "like an english muffin good for soaking up butter" yummmmm

say ahhhh

say ahhhh, originally uploaded by spacedog.

well here we see more posing post strangers with candy meal time. yeah amy sedaris kept us laughing off dinner calories. best meal i've had since my move to san francisco. big props to lake merritt, oakland!

i think i killed it

i think i killed it, originally uploaded by spacedog.

my first tofurkey carving, hell my first tofurkey. soft and filled with stuffing and it tasted nothing like real yummy turkey but i love what my vegetarian friends cook for me. they called me dad of the orphans.

orphan TG

orphan TG, originally uploaded by spacedog.

clockwise: vegan dumplings, strawberries, brussel sprouts, cranberry sauce, mint sauce and horseradish, potatoes, parsnips, turnips, carrots, onions, tofurkey, stuffing, stringbeans, salad, candied yams.

dumpling and veggies

dumpling and veggies, originally uploaded by spacedog.

the veggies are steaming and gravy stirring and dumplings sauteeing. charlee breaks out another camera for action shots. almost time to eat.

wishbone?

wishbone?, originally uploaded by spacedog.

the tofurkey came with this wishbone that looked like beef jerkey and was already broken. whats the point i say? we never tasted the soy product as the candles melted all over it.

pumpkin eyes, cherry nose

pumpkin eyes, cherry nose, originally uploaded by spacedog.

ooh i had to post this photo cause these pies tasted as good as they look. thanks to texasreceipes.com for grandmas cherry pie filing hints. amy taught me to see faces in day to day life.

pie topper

pie topper, originally uploaded by spacedog.

here charlee prepares to cover the cherry pie that i made... after baking we noticed that i didnt properly pinch the edges, resulting in a bit of curling but damn good pie anyhow.

baker charlee

baker charlee, originally uploaded by spacedog.

well thanks to miss charlee i had a real thanksgiving, orphan style. this was charlee making a pumpkin pie filling that turned into enough for two pies. walk the line was playing in the background for our cooking pleasure.

tessa, ari, adele

tessa, ari, adele, originally uploaded by spacedog.

well i should have zoomed in. but i was dancing. thats tessa politt on bass, ari up on vocals/bird calls, adele on guitar and anna on drums. no photoed was holly, paul cook's daughter (sex pistol's drummer). the show was good. not great. but they did save vindictive for last which made the crowd go wild. so wild that they played it twice. quote of the night was after ari poured water down her skirt: "my pompom needed to cool off, its hot down there"

tussle

tussle, originally uploaded by spacedog.

tussle are 4 piece from san francisco who throw out the Liquid Liquid/Konk jams for the modern day hipsters.. last time i saw them play in a art space in williamburg with four drummer and no sequencers.. oh well a bit more Silver Apples moog sounds and spacey dubbed out light show.. they invited an audience member on stage to play cowbell.. fear the reaper?

the best BLING shop

the best BLING shop, originally uploaded by spacedog.

spider stopped on broadway in oakland and laughed. i hung back and saw why.. GOLD TEETH MASTER. THE BEST BLING SHOP. oh oakland why do you close everything so early like jersey city. a suburb and cheaper and full of abandoned buildings and random shops.

hello kitty cake

hello kitty cake, originally uploaded by spacedog.

this photo for sophie who cant seem to find kitty cakes in henley! i cut off pikachu cause kitty rocks silent style sans mouth.. her lunch box with stars and the flowers were too much to pass her by with a snap.. moshi moshi!

cyclops and waldo

cyclops and waldo, originally uploaded by spacedog.

walking down harrison street.. only a few blocks from the Wiii line of geeks i saw this painting.. where's waldo.. my doppleganger i suppose. and cyclops in red pants.. SOMA never looked so good..at there feet lay pils of shoes and debris.. where in the world is carmen sandiego?

Wii campout

Wii campout, originally uploaded by spacedog.

well i had read about the playstation 3 lines but who knew i would walk right by one.. yes it was mostly boys playing video games in sleepbags and i did get yelled at. the line wrapped around the best buy building and it was almost midnight on a saturday night..

sun sets in the peaks

sun sets in the peaks, originally uploaded by spacedog.

walked up alvarado street to drop off a record at a friend house and had to remember this sunset.. facing twin peaks the sky was the brightest neon pink/purple sea of lava i've ever seen.

tallest palm

tallest palm, originally uploaded by spacedog.

i knew this photo wouldnt convey the hight of the palm tree. but jesse pointed this tall palm far surpassing the roofs of the larget victorians on dolores st. how old could it be?

lost and found baby food

lost and found baby food, originally uploaded by spacedog.

ok this was too much.. in that same morning stroll i thought i was dreaming this photo up.. but no a pile of unwanted baby food.. in the mission you can get free shoes, books and food...

lost and found books

lost and found books, originally uploaded by spacedog.

continuing the walk down dolores street i came up a child of god.. no i came upon some free books including "the exhibitionist" and some agatha christie. i didnt take any!

lost and found shoes

lost and found shoes, originally uploaded by spacedog.

on my walk to dolores park i spied three groupings of left objects. this was the first. a grouping of shoes left on the front stair to a giant historically landmarked building. i like the galoshes i the lower right hand corner.

snow white

sleeping beauty, originally uploaded by spacedog.

well i did not snap any halloween photos cause i didnt want to take my camera to the parties i went to.. but sitting outside dolores park cafe with daria the friday before halloween we spied a mini snow white and her mom..

propaganda

propaganda, originally uploaded by spacedog.

sitting on the corner of 19th and valencia the skeleton lady liberty holds a bush of lies book and a nazi ballot box battery? not sure where this came from or where it went but for a few hours it stopped walkers and started conversations... this is san francisco..

de young safety pin

de young safety pin, originally uploaded by spacedog.

a giant diaper pin by claus oldenburg sits in the sculpture garden at the de Young musuem. larger than life and in front of a palm tree the pin command yr attention mainly because its open poised for attack!

genius? misogynist? alcoholic?

genius? misogynist? alcoholic?, originally uploaded by spacedog.

le tirge was singing bout cassevettes but their lyrics also describe jack kerouac.. the alley behind city lights is his street. filled with murals and graffiti honoring the cult beat author/poet..

city lights sign

city lights sign, originally uploaded by spacedog.

touristy but olde.. city lights is located on the corner of chinatown and north beach aka little italy. much like new york chinatown is spreading into little italy which is literally across the street and up the hill.. next to city lights is vesuvios, the old beat bar.. and across the street is specs where i got a beer and read some burroughs..

city lights stairs

city lights stairs, originally uploaded by spacedog.

well i finally got my roll of film developed from my august trip to sf, and here we are at City Lights.. started by Lawrence Ferlinghetti way back in 1953. the year my mom was born. up these stairs is the poetry room of course and i picked up a copy of frank o'hara's lunch poems as sophie did back in 2001..

new orleans lart

new orleans lart, originally uploaded by spacedog.

lart looks so mischevious in this photo.. perfect, seeing as she just sneaked her champagne glass out of the wine bar and was sipping spanish sparkling wine on the street.. carefree and laughing until we heard screams behind us. it was the waiter yelling "hey you" and i told lart we have to split up. so she walks away and i turn around to face the charges. the waiter hands me lart's passport saying she left it at the table. i thank him and go find lart laughing out loud..

fugazi's house!

fugazi's house!, originally uploaded by spacedog.

walking downtown for the first time made me so homesick for new york. although none of the buildings are as tall as nyc skyscrapers they are all made of stone unlike the houses in the mission and it felt like walking down broadway from 14th st to houston.. but far less shops and people. downtown closes early like LA.. fugazi! what does it mean? well the first floor houses London Wine Bar.. America's Oldest Wine Bar. of course we went in and had a glass of wine before relazing we were gonna miss Shortbus if we didnt haul ass...

lower 24th st

lower 24th st, originally uploaded by spacedog.

after my job interview at sugarloaf coffee i walked up 24th street from bryant to mission and was overwhelmed with the historically kitsch buildings.. from sweet smelling mexican bakeries to pupusaria usulutan to this bright record store that was closed.., if yr coming to sf talk a long walk down 24th street sampling the foods and coffee and architecture..

tartine lunch

tartine lunch, originally uploaded by spacedog.

yowzers! thanks to lisa for warning me about the super nyc-esque cafe tartine on 18th and guerrero. the coffee is strong and self serve, the place is always packed and the food oh the food. olive bread with guyere cheese, ham and cheese croissants, baby little salad, picked carrots and the most amazing pressed oily sandwiches. i felt like a rabbit with the long carrots and the leafy greens sans fork. hunting for a table was stressful but thanks to a sweet lady we scored a spot outside in the warm sf shade.

dream tea

dream tea, originally uploaded by spacedog.

and here is the tea lady who prepared our dream tea from water, ginger root, lemon juice, mint leaves and honey. she had this little metal canister which she fed twigs that smelled clean when she burned them and had a switch that controlled the flame level.. hot and tasty!

wish/dream writin

wish/dream writin, originally uploaded by spacedog.

once we entered the small bright tent the woman whose installation this was told us to write a dream or doubt down that would then be placed in a fire that was used to boil water for our dream tea. jamie dicatate while jeremy wrote down "happy and healthy"...

tent signs

tent signs, originally uploaded by spacedog.

well we saw the signs and the white tent coming off the wall with sticks in jars of rocks as supports.. enter to drink your dreams and doubts. so we did...

mural

mural, originally uploaded by spacedog.

eagle. woman. bombs. skulls. lady liberty? red white and black. i like this mural the best. your interpretation?

street fair

street fair, originally uploaded by spacedog.

a street fair to celebrat the sycamore street art murals between valencia and mission. the locals artists have been painting the murals on this street since last month. i think its an everyday project. whenever i walk by they have the ladder out and punk music blasting and a crew of cute kids. the center of the fair was a performance space where it got too crowded to cross because bands were playing so we didnt get to see the food stands!

fancy park sitter

fancy park sitter, originally uploaded by spacedog.

again for sophie. female fashion at its highest in dolores park.. fancy brick leather boots and leaf print dress. her friend who sat down to quickly was sf bike rider with cuffed jeans and black hoodie.. cute but typical..

lioness

lioness, originally uploaded by spacedog.

roar! this over dressed lady is pouncing her man who was reading a mauve book that matched her outfit.. we thought this looked scandalous and i had to be the voyeur once more.. the courting didnt get much heavier than this but the sun makes people do wicked wicked things..

jamie wobble

jamie wobble, originally uploaded by spacedog.

beginner wobbles are always funny. describing how to wobble is even better.. this is jamie.. he heard of my wobbleheads and wanted to try it out.. this is photo 3 and the lips are off center which is good, but lack of jowls cheats jamie from full wobblehead potential..

fruit shelf view

fruit shelf view, originally uploaded by spacedog.

just look at that view.. this is what i see everyday, and it still floor me. the bluest skies and palm trees and green grass.. welcome to the fruit shelf of dolores park, so called because of the gay that go tanning every day in speedos.. shame they hog this area with their greasy bodies, this is the finest view of sf in the park!

jew face

jew face, originally uploaded by spacedog.

i've walked by this building many times on my way to dolores park.. its on 19th between valencia and guerrero.. amy from janam tea in jersey city went to england with her mum recently and snapped a bunch of building face photos. fitting as amy is jewish and this is a pretty mosaic face.. the tiles actually reminded me of the doorway tiles amy glued to the doorways at janam.. how i miss our morning tea time and gossip..

moz

moz, originally uploaded by spacedog.

well we know morrissey aka moz has hordes of latin american fans, so seeing this silkscreened on a priority mail sticker in the heart of the mission wasnt too shocking. seeing it posted outside a bikeshop made even more sense. viva hate!

safety pin

safety pin, originally uploaded by spacedog.

the muni ride to berkely wasnt too horrible. i sat across from this man, notice the extra large real safety pin in his ear.. he was traveling from england and kept cursing about missing his connecting train/flight.. faux hawk and dressed in black head to toe!

school girl

school girl, originally uploaded by spacedog.

again i dont do the whole sneaky photos of kids thing well, and after a bunch of shots in minus a flash and sun this was the best one.. so you can see this was no ordinary school kid.. the tin toy story lunchbox and striped socks over blue stockings(NYC!), a black messenger bag and grey cardigan.. sophie eat yr heart out!

strawberry shortcake

strawberry shortcake, originally uploaded by spacedog.

no one for taking pics of unassuming children.. but how cool is this kid sporting strawberry shortcake. i must have snapped four different shots and this was the best one. damn red pole.