A QUICK RETURN TO BERKELEY & SAN FRANCISCO, CA.

This was our first trip back to the Bay Area since moving just shy of a year ago (a year has already gone by?!?!?)  Just like I thought it would be, it was bittersweet.  That place is just so full of magic.  The fresh air, ocean, colors, light, smells, plants, food...they are all just too delicious.  It was so, so special to be back, if only for a short while.  Very glad we got to spend time with as many friends as possible before we headed to Palo Alto for a work conference for Raf.  We had a few days in Berkeley and some San Francisco in between.  A little slice of heaven for a week.  Did I mention that walking into the produce section of my favorite grocery store (Berkeley Bowl) brought tears of joy to my eyes (and that like a couple of true crunchy folks we did two days in a row of acupuncture at our favorite community acupuncture clinic)?  :-)

A neighborhood fave: Berkeley Rose Garden

Republic of V, a new vegan shop in Berkeley.

Farmer's market rainbow.

The next few photos are from one of my favorite walk routes in the Berkeley Hills:

Hobbit-door entryway.

Birds of paradise.

Just a girl with some good light, shadows, and a backpack ;).

One of our favorite gardens in Berkeley.

Eucalyptus grove on campus.

Favorite palm tree in Berkeley.  Lots of sitting/journaling/thinking happened there.

So vivid!

Succulents for days!

Breathtaking view of Berkeley (with the fog rolling in at sunset) from a friend's roof.

Hike break at Tilden/Lake Anza with our dear buddy Dorothy.

Sweet pals Dave, Bridget, and Inna on the hike too!

Lake Anza.

Tilden <3.

Obviously Bumblebee thought my name was too boring.

 I only took one picture in Palo Alto:

Chillaxing at the pool in Palo Alto.

My friend Angela's apartment in San Francisco is so inspiring!  I love having creative friends!!  I could have walked around admiring her cool stuff/art for hours:

Kitchen wall.

Hallway with one of her beautiful photos blown up on the wall.

Kitchen bar cart.

Angela's office window.

Cool nook, creepy doll!  :)

Kitchen light.

I met up with some lady pals in San Francisco for a mini-adventure.  We came across some funny street art along the way:

Amazing!

Truth, haha.

Some sweet friends!

One last stop before the airport:  Coyote Point County Recreation Area for some views and ocean air before a long flight to Germany!  (more to come on that soon...)

SF in the distance.

One last look up into the eucalyptus trees.

MORE KIDDO ARTWORK!

SO much fun to see what these kids come up with and to share their art!  I have a pretty cool job...  :)

Landscape painting with winter tree, age 4.

Abstract painting, age 4.

Van Gogh inspired collage, age 4.

Recycled materials sculpture, age 5.

Recycled materials sculpture, age 5.

Oaxacan folk art inspired animal drawing, age 4.

Oaxacan folk art inspired animal drawing, age 4.

Carnivale inspired mask, age 4.

Watercolor painting, age 12.

Drawing/watercolor painting, age 10.

Observational drawing/watercolor, age 4.

Surrealist drawing game, age 8.

Oaxacan folk art inspired animal drawing, age 8.

Monet inspired painting/collage, age 4.

Monet inspired painting/collage, age 4.

Monet inspired painting/collage, age 4.

Paper sculpture, age 4.

Paper sculpture, age 4.

Matisse inspired paper cut collage, age 8.

Matisse inspired paper cut collage, age 8.

Observational drawing/watercolor, age 8.

Observational drawing/watercolor, age 8.

Self portrait (with candy background!), age 8.

Self portrait (with Manhattan background), age 8.

Oaxacan folk art inspired animal drawing, age 8.

Matisse inspired paper cut collage, age 5.

BROOKLYN, ALMOST SPRING-LIKE.

Gowanus canal.

Pretty row houses.

A view from Prospect Park.

Raf :)

Smith Street, sunny day.

Backyard flowers!

Our nectarine tree.  Very curious if it will grow fruit...

The days have been very slowly warming up and everything is starting to bloom.  I have been looking forward to seeing what pops up in our backyard ever since we moved in.  The man who lived here (for 9 years) before us was a Californian and a serious gardener.  Apparently he planted a ton of flowering trees and shrubs, all timed for continuous blooms.  For now we are enjoying a handful of daffodils, a couple of hyacinth, the cherry tree, and whatever the bush two photos up is.  So lovely!

PROSPECT PARK SATURDAY.

Tall grasses around the lake.

Last Saturday we had the tiniest taste of spring weather: warm in the sun, chilly in the shade and a bit windy.  We decided to celebrate by walking to and around Prospect Park.  We stopped at the new (and first) Brooklyn Whole Foods to pick up some lunch, then strolled through the beautiful neighborhood of Park Slope before heading into the park.  We walked around for a bit, choosing a winding path we had never taken before, and pulled over to a bench to eat.  Afterwards we played frisbee for a bit and then continued on to one of the lakes for a look around before heading home.  There was just the smallest amount of ice left, and the ducks and seagulls were resting on it, while basking in the sun.  It got really cold the next few days, but one nice day sure gave us hope that warmer days are just around the bend!

Raf, lakeside.

One of the many lovely streets in Park Slope.

CRAZY CAT LADY.

I may have become a cat lover over the past few years.  It might have something to do with the guy I live with.  I guess I've thought of myself as a "dog person" for as long as I can remember.  We always had cats and dogs on my farm where I grew up, but I suppose I felt a bit more connected to the dogs.   But since meeting Raf (aka the Cat Whisperer), I've actually become really fond of discovering the personalities of cats.  They have SUCH personalities!  We had a few favorites in Berkeley -- one in particular (who happened to just let herself into our apartment through an open window whenever she wanted to say hello) we were really sad to leave behind (we miss you Orange Kitty!).  We definitely didn't expect to have feline pals in NYC.  However, our backyard (and our whole neighborhood of backyards) is somewhat of a sanctuary for approximately 12+ semi-wild cats.  There is an actual crazy cat lady who feeds them and has had some of them either spayed or neutered.  We don't feed them, but sometimes give them water (we make it warm so they can have their "kitten tea" in the morning), and Raf made a little shelter for them (see below), because we have had some incredibly cold days this winter.  This cast of characters are so unbelievably entertaining.  I'm not even kidding, some days it is impossible to get anything done.
They are just such funny personalities, and at this point we know exactly how they all fit into their little cat society out there.  We have even named them:  Noodles (name courtesy of our awesome upstairs neighbors), Tiny Noodles, Fluffy Noodles, Other Noodles, Beady, Brother (formerly Beady's Brother), Big Beady, Punk, Cookies, Mr. Fuzz, Jewels, Tubbers, and New One.  Seriously.

Drinking kitten tea, watching People TV.

Isn't Punk intimidating, yet beautiful?  :)

So cuddly.

Mr. Fuzz

Kitten shelter.

My sweet guy shoveled for them!