If you're visiting San Francisco

You may want to visit Britex Fabrics. I really am feeling the need to go there myself. Except I am afraid, very afraid.  I need button or a frog or some type of decidedly exotic closure for a bag.  I barely escaped the urge to take up a new hobby myself the last time I was there buying fringe for a pillow.  I fear I may start buying yarn and try to learn to knit.  They had imported Italian yarn, all feathery and textury. You have been forewarned.

Saturday Still Life

Hydrangeas on washi. When I was a little girl, I would spend my allowance on pottery animals from Soko Hardware in San Francisco (I think the small ones cost a quarter and the bigger ones 50 cents). I still love Soko Hardware and hardware stores in general.

I usually don't cut my hydrangea blossoms preferring to enjoy them on the bush. But with the schizophrenic weather we're having this year, last week 106, today in the 70's and rain, I figure they won't last very long outside either.I love this little washi covered tin. We looked at these as possible favors filled with candy for my sister's wedding but opted for something else.

San Francisco Flower and Garden Show

These are some of my favorite things from the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show.

These was the booth of Mediterranean Pots . The owner is from Spain and goes back to find them. They vary in age up to 120 years old and have had many uses in their life. They were absolutely gorgeous and used in a lot of the exhibit gardens.
I think that this was my favorite exhibit garden. It was a little other world. Like Science Fiction world. We last came to this show in 2005 and this has to be my all time favorite garden by Studio Replica, Inc. . I meant to return to their booth to get some cast eucalyptus stepping stones for my own landscaping, but after 7 hours on my feet, I kinda pooped out. That just means I'll have to make a future trip to Petaluma. Darn.

I couldn't resist buying some succulents to add to my collection as they were a common theme in many of the exhibits here. And combined with other strange looking foliage.

We had to take a break as the show covered about 5 acres, so we parked ourselves in front of the booth for Filoli Gardens and looked at this lovely arrangement of tullips, hyacinths and daffies for a while. I also managed to buy a lovely clock and some plaques from artist Angus Macaulay which he signed, some pretty wild looking poppies from Annie's Annuals and a sort of hydroponic gardening starter kit so I can grow my own organic lettuce. Then we loaded up, drove to Japantown to do even more shopping, especially at Kinokuniya, the always interesting bookstore, where I had to buy some books on Japanese quilting, had a nice tempura dinner then drove home. Whew. Now, if the weather would only cooperate, I could get all my plants settled and the yard going. Are you listening weather?

A Perfect San Francisco Day

Instead of doing all the things I need to be doing in the yard. I decided to go to San Francisco for the day. I have been meaning to go to the Legion of Honor to see the special exhibit on Marie-Antoinette and her hideaway, the Petite Trianon at Versailles. This was the next to last weekend of the show. In my opinion, the Legion of Honor is the finest museum on the West Coast. I only limit it to the West Coast because I have not been to the East Coast.

Tucked away up in the avenues are Rodin sculptures, Roman antiquities, china and the finest collection of European art I have seen outside of Europe. I went one day when my dad was in the hospital for two weeks after he had open heart surgery. In the mid-week when it first opened, it was like my own, personal private museum. Small and intimate. So when we made our plans to go, I wanted to be there when the doors first opened. That didn't quite happen. We got their about eleven and the place was cooking. I guess lots of people wanted to see Marie-Antoinette before she left town.
This is the view of the Golden Gate Bridge from near where we parked.

After we saw the special exhibit and the regular exhibits, we went here for a late lunch.
I had my favorite sandwich, fresh dungeness crab on sliced sourdough bread with cheese melted on top while we gazed at the view from our table. They have amazingly happy waiters here. I can't imagine why.

This is Ocean Beach and all I wanted to do after lunch was to lay down in the sand and take a nap. The day was absolutely gorgeous. Then, the fog started to roll in. Being native San Franciscans, we knew it was time to make our exit. Can you find the windmill in the photo? Oh yeah, it's there, part of Golden Gate Park.