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Today’s first: Yoga Exhibition kickoff at Asian Art Museum with Aleka – experience was cool. Company was priceless.
I am continually amazed during this lifetime when I find my path crossed with another ‘being’ who’s energy feels so aligned my core being. A truly fresh breath of air and reminder that we are a teeny tiny part of an unfathomable whole..
Awesome encounter with yogi Peter and wife, Ariel..
Bhangra dancers put the icing on the cake:
view from above:
SFFD FIRE MUSEUM & SAFETY LEARNING CENTER (first shared with Teena*)
655 Presidio Avenue (Get Directions)
San Francisco, CA 94115-2424
*In the below pic is Teena Berman. I am fortunate to know this woman, there is something special about this woman. She exudes a rare confidence without arrogance, a vibe that inspires me to follow my own heart and be my authentic self. Stoked that she joined in on today’s venture.
ADMISSION IS FREE!
Donations are Appreciated!
Museum Hours:
Thursday through Sunday 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM as staffing permits
Click here for a CURRENT STAFFING SCHEDULE.
As the museum is staffed by volunteers,
please call to verify open hours prior to your visit.
Phone During Museum Hours: 415-563-4630
After Hours Voicemail: 415-558-3546
Daily Schedule for the Firemen,back in the day.. (goodness reminded me of my US Naval Academy days!)
interesting history:
Historical Review
1849-1974
SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT HISTORY
A stranger viewing the seal of the City of San Francisco might ascribe the Phoenix thereon to the tragic fire of 1906. But the “fire bird” had been chosen over fifty years earlier to commemorate the very birth of the City.
In April 1848, the community of San Francisco consisted of less than two hundred buildings and had a population numbering about one thousand. Yet, by the close of 1849, due to the gold strike, it was estimated the population numbered close to twenty-five thousand, and was growing by about four thousand immigrants per month.
There was no such thing as a home to be found; scarcely even a proper house could be seen. Both dwellings and places of business were either common canvas tents or rough board shanties erected helter-skelter every which way, with little regard for life safety or fire hazard. This conglomeration of structures could truly be called “The Combustible City.”
The heart of San Francisco was destroyed by fire six times in a period of eighteen months. Yet, each time, following the example of its mythical symbol, the City had risen anew from its smoldering ruins.
Goodness gracious how the time flies. Today’s ‘never done that’: Tacos at Joe’s with new and awesome on many fronts friend, Brandi
HISTORY:
Born to the tough streets and hard-scrabble youth of South Philly, Joe turned itinerant bohemian, a lifestyle that took him across the country in search of like minded long-hairs and fellow experimenters in consciousness. He escaped across the border to Mexico, in order to avoid the Vietnam draft, when his tales of chemical ingestion and questionable sexuality didn’t earn him the free pass he was seeking. Legend has it during this time he circumnavigated Lake Chapala backwards on a donkey, and although modern geography would cast doubt on this tale, one thing is certain; he returned home with a life-long love for the character and cuisine of the Mexican people.
In 1992 he signed the lease on 382 Miller, which had been for 40 years or so a greasy-spoon breakfast diner. Months of manual labor revealed a terra cotta cement floor under layers of linoleum tile, brick walls under layers of paint, and a beautiful wood-beamed ceiling behind the sagging acoustic tiles. Joe’s designing wife Marni scoured local church rummage sales and the Marin City flea market for religious iconography and kitschy Mexican tchotchkas, and with the help of some good paint and a lot of Christmas lights, transformed the space into a shrine to all things Mexican.
The original menu was an homage to the street cart food vendors of the towns he loved to visit, most notably Puerto Vallarta (the fish taco) and San Miguel de Allende (the pasilla chile). There was also a considerable amount of culinary influence from our original kitchen staff, who to this day continue to be largely from the Yucatan area of Mexico, and these flavors and concepts have blended together to make the menu as you know it today.
The result was Joe’s Taco Lounge and Salsaria which is now run by Joe’s son, Gabriel, who has been deftly carrying the torch since Joe passed away in 2003. We’ve been serving fine food at fair prices for nearly 2 decades thanks in no small part to the support of our local community and for that we extend our gratitude.
China Brotsky Art Gallery: Healing Spirit Boats “open your heart and take the journey”.
fascinating what one can encounter when they pop their head around the corner..
Thoreau Center for Sustainability San Francisco is a thriving 150,000 square foot nonprofit center located in the historic Presidio, a national park in San Francisco, California. Comprising 12 buildings, the environmentally and financially sustainable facility houses over 60 nonprofits working for a healthy environment and a just world. Through Thoreau Center’s program development office, these organizations are encouraged to participate in community-building activities and information sharing. The center is designed to incorporate both green building principles and historic preservation.
Dedicated to social, cultural and environmental sustainability, Thoreau Centers are named after the American writer and naturalist Henry David Thoreau. As America’s first notable naturalist, Thoreau believed in the importance of democracy and advocated living in harmony with nature.
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| Leo becoming a Spirit Boatist |
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| Almost done with 4 decades showing here |
Working with dramatic light, Leo and I are busy in the studio hanging my 65 boats as the installation
“Autoboat
ography”.
This will be a large installation- 14′ wide x 7′ tall featured in the China Brotsky Gallery as part of my Shaman Show.
10 boats are hung in a row to represent a decade of my life.
They are very lightweight and seem to float in the air but are in reality, hung with fishing line and secured with little lead balls that are called shot weights and have taken a long time to affix. For many years, I have wanted to see a large grouping of small white boats in some arrangement. I was not sure how this would develop. But when I was asked to show my work in conjunction with Connie Grauds’ non-profit, the Living Shaman Museum, the whole idea jelled for me as a chance to tell a story. -Jennifer Ewing
Kristine Mays, “breathing life into wire”:
Formed from hundreds of individual pieces of wire, Kristine Mays has developed a way of expressing the human form through wire.
“My artwork is about time, memory, and the emotions that are stirred when we pause and reflect. The work points to the soul and spirit, transporting the viewer into another place. It’s about reconnecting to a deeper purpose – seeing beyond the stuff of the moment, beyond the superficial and into the being — the soul and spirit of our lives. There are many dichotomies in my work. I transform hard rigid wire into soft flowing movement. I create the outer shell, the exterior of a human being, but provoke you to see what’s within. With metal wire I have timelessly captured a fleeting moment that I hope will last for decades. As an artist I am very aware of the impermanence of life. Memories and the way we have loved one another far outweigh our status or possessions — and yet sometimes a simple dress might trigger a memory from the past, allowing us to visit that which has imprinted our lives.”
Kristine Mays has been an exhibiting artist since 1993. She has raised thousands of dollars for AIDS research through the sale of her work. Collectors of her work include an eclectic mix of people, with her work displayed in many Bay Area homes and private collections throughout the USA.
More info about the artist: http://www.kristinemays.com
Paddleboard from Seatrek to Bar Bocce – have paddled out from Seatrek a ton, never pulled up on beach at Bar Bocce, fun on a holiday..
beach start from seatrek:
en route on water to bar bocce:
arrival bar:
my life story – when I fly solo I meet the coolest people ever. Taylor and Olivia
(two pro cyclists who get paid to travel around europe and the U.S. racing road bikes.), plus
Taylor’s folks visiting from Utah:
Bar was happening:
route home:
Today’s emotional lesson: GET OUT. On the calendar was a hike to Alamere Falls with awesome friend Katy, but goodness my legs woke up screaming at me for overusage this morning. After a couple early morning clients I suggested a plan B to KK, she was super cool with respecting not only my legs need to rest, but her own bod’s craving to run.. off to the dipsea trail she went. This had me get home from work in the city with accountability to no one. I sat at my computer stressed a bit on what to do as a ‘first’ today and just felt this deep seeded awareness that I had to get out of the chair and out into the world. What ensued was magical. Met the aforementioned cyclist folks, soaked in a fun first and then post paddle had a wildly serendipitous encounter on the beach. Funny how life likes to play you a beautiful tune when you let go and sit still long enough to listen..
that’s all she wrote for today. LIVE IN THE MOMENT!
PARADISE BEACH PARK
From Highway 101 in Mill Valley, take the East Blithedale Avenue/Tiburon Boulevard exit east on Tiburon Boulevard, turn left at Trestle Glen Boulevard, turn right at Paradise Drive, and follow to the park entrance on the left. The street address is 3450 Paradise Drive.
Today’s first was shooting pool with Al at a local billiard joint (have shot pool before, but never at Smitty’s) pic at end of this post. Ended up finding a more intriguing first – taking an online “Personality Assessment” test – pretty cool. (surprisingly felt accurate, good to read about your weaknesses and strengths)
“Your True Self Revealed”: www.personaldna.com
About You: Animated Inventor
• Your imagination, self-reliance, openness to new things, and appreciation for utility combine to make you an INVENTOR.
• You have the confidence to make your visions into reality, and you are willing to consider many alternatives to get that done.
• The full spectrum of possibilities in the world intrigues you—you’re not limited by pre-conceived notions of how things should be.
• Problem-solving is a specialty of yours, owing to your persistence, curiosity, and understanding of how things work.
• Your vision allows you to identify what’s missing from a given situation, and your creativity allows you to fill in the gaps.
• Your awareness of how things function gives you the ability to come up with new uses for common objects.
• It is more interesting for you to pursue excitement than it is to get caught up in a routine.
• Although understanding details is not difficult for you, you specialize in seeing the bigger picture and don’t get caught up in specifics.
• You tend to more proactive than reactive—you don’t just wait for things to come to you.
• You’re not afraid to let your emotions guide you, and you’re generally considerate of others’ feelings as well.
• Never one to be found in chic boutiques or trendy clothing stores, you take an extremely practical approach to getting dressed.
If you want to be different: Try applying your creativity to more artistic arenas, and letting your imagination take less practical forms.
how you relate to others: you are animated
• You are outgoing, comfortable with others, and up for anything, which makes you ANIMATED.
• Some people find crowds and parties exhausting, but not you! You are able to be yourself in many situations.
• Sometimes it is hard for you to understand why others feel the way they do, but that doesn’t stop you from trusting them or having faith that they are good people.
• You know the world is complicated and that there is often more than one side to a story, so you are careful not to make judgments about others too hastily.
• You would rather experience the world than sit back and observe it—you are not one to sit on the sidelines.
• You are an independent thinker and don’t get too worried about how others might perceive you—you are not self-conscious about being the active, engaged person that you are.
• Although you have a keen understanding of different people’s life circumstances, you occasionally have trouble seeing why people get so upset and emotional about things—they should just lighten up and have fun!
• In addition to having faith in the world, you have faith in the people around you—you trust others to do the right thing and to be honest.
If you want to be different: Remember that time alone can be just as fulfilling as time spent with others—take some time for yourself and you might find that there are many things in your inner world that are just as compelling as the world outside your window.
• Your open-mindedness about the ways of world gives you an understanding of people’s differences, but that knowledge doesn’t always translate into sympathy. Don’t be afraid to let your trust and understanding influence your feelings.
*Billiards at Smitty’s:
Today’s first: Threw an anonymous card and 20 dollar bill in an envelope and left it on a stranger’s car. Why not!? Gotta share some love on Valentine’s Day. Have thought about doing something like this before, not sure why it took me so long to do so.
*NO clue who this car belongs to! hope someone who will pay it forward 🙂 
Today’s First:
Another reminder that there are new, amazing experiences to be had all around us. All we need to do is be THAT much more alive and awake to witness and soak in the beauty..
Deciding on my first today was nagging my soul, felt the need to have a wild first – blaze a trail, acquire a new random skill, learn something admirable – and yet reality of work responsibilities and managing ‘life’ in general rained on my livin’ the dream parade. But as we all know rain allows for rainbows. And I found one in my own backyard when I allowed a pause during my commute home. I must have passed this “mill valley candleworks” sign one hundred times since moving into this in-law 3 months ago and somehow had still to cross its paths during business hours. Boy was my nose grateful for the walk in today.. aromatherapy soothes the soul! Meeting the Father/Daughter team behind this family owned and operated store was the most memorable part of this experience. I am single, 32, family across the country on the east coast.. hence I can be a bit mushy when it comes to familial relations. (absence makes the heart grow fonder?!) Really though, today reaffirmed WHO YOU ARE WITH is just as or more important as what you do.
Father and Daughter Owners/Operators: Riana and Micheal – so friendly and knowledgeable.
You can have a look in the back where they make the candles.. pretty awesome..
yep.. that’s what it’s all about..
GET FIT WITH KATE