Unraveling

Sex on the Beach

Hot Damn! Under the full moon, at high tide, on Alameda's Crown Beach from midnight to 1:35 a.m.  On the Solstice. I went out with Jody, a colleague from work.  We are Grunion Greeters.  We were lookin' for spawning grunion and we found 'em!  And they were having it...sex on the beach. Hot Damn!

If you are unfamiliar with grunion, they are a small silvery fish found only along the coast of southern California and northern Baja California.  And they are legendary in southern California for the remarkable spawning spectacle that occurs shortly after high tide on full moon and new moon nights from March through September.  Hundreds, even thousands of them come out of the water completely to lay their eggs in the wet sand of the beach.  And then hundreds or thousands more of them deposit sperm on the sand that filters down with the next wave and fertilizes the eggs.  This phenomenon draws hundreds and thousands of spectators and grunion hunters to SoCal beaches in the middle of the night.

So what were we doing on a NoCal beach?  And on the Bay?  I'm glad you asked. It's kinda hard to differentiate between grunion, topsmelt and jacksmelt so they are often taken for latter two, which are present in San Francisco Bay in far larger numbers.  But grunion have been observed in the Bay during several recent fish studies. So it follows that they must be spawning here, but nobody's seen it happening. That is, nobody until the 2005 Grunion Greeters, of which I am one, came along. We counted 53 tonight, not impressive by SoCal standards, but some other Grunion Greeters saw none. It helps that I was out with someone who knew what to look for and where to look, and once I got the hang of it, I could easily see the difference between the gleam on the waves and the gleam of a tiny silverside fish flailing about on the sand. I even saw a female in the classic egg-laying pose.  Jody took photos but those little buggers are fast and make photography difficult.  If any of them are good, I'll post them. I could go on and on but...there's a website that explains the grunion phenomenon much better than I can. 

Let's just say we went, we watched, and we saw sex on the beach. Under the full moon. On the solstice.

Cool.

Sometimes I Just Can't Manage

So this morning I'm walking with the wiener dog, and I see this woman out with her cat. The cat is on a leash. And the woman has a brush. And she's brushing the cat. At 6:30 a.m. On the sidewalk. In front of her house. How focused. How controlled. How tidy.

My life is not so tidy. Clouds of dog hair accumulate around furniture legs between weekly cleaning lady visits. Clothing I can't decide whether to keep or toss is strewn around an empty bedroom.  A pile of papers I should have gone through before we left for Europe waits for me in the other empty bedroom, along with empty boxes and bags I haven't simply tossed.  Not to mention the yarn stash in the closet or the boxes of fabric languishing in the basement, or my desk at work. Out of sight, out of mind? Not exactly.

I am plagued by my inability to keep up with life. Here it is, a month since I went on vacation and I'm still trying to finish posting about it. Work was unbelievably tense last week. Work in progress was postponed to deal with an Important Crisis and it's been awfully hard to catch up this week. Sometimes I just can't manage. It feels like I'm careening down a very steep hill, just barely in control and going faster and faster all the time.

And I am almost always late.

It feels like I haven't blogged about the present in weeks.  But I've posted twelve times since we got back from our vacation, so maybe I'm not doing so bad after all. In an effort to catch up on the blog, what follows is the Cliff's Notes version of Life Since We Returned From Roma.

Knitting Highlights:

1. Knitting nite at Jill's last week (hooray! there's another one next week!).

2. Shopping for yarn with Coffeeshop Jeanne at Article Pract.  She bought beautiful Be Sweet mohair in the Tomato colorway and gorgeous Lantern Moon needles.  I bought red Rowan Calmer to make Nothin' but a T.

3. Shopping for yarn with Mom at Stash.  We'd finished shopping at Ellen Hauptli's studio sale and were on our way home, when I did a grand u-turn in the middle of The Alameda (right by Janine's house) and headed back like we were caught in the Mother Ship's tractor beam.  Mom needed a simple project - mindless knitting - to balance out the more complex sweater she's working on (a UFO from we don't know how many years ago).  Just the merest hint of "shall we go?" and I'm on my way.  Mom bought some beautiful red yarn to make a scarf.  The moment she saw it, she wanted it.  That's the way to buy yarn.  I bought nothin'.  But one of the staff recognized me from my blog! Made my day.  Heck, made my weekend.

4. Starting and finishing this skinny scarf for Eva in a week. For details see Finished! 

Knitting Lowlights:

1. Casting on the Landscape Shawl and knitting a couple inches into the second pattern change, only to lose count...drop a stitch...try to fix...try to rip...break the yarn...ARGH! The danged lace-weight merino sticks to itself almost as badly as mohair. ARGH! It's off the needles and set aside for a time of better self esteem.

2. Not getting gauge with the Calmer yet.

3. Trying to make another felted hat like The Red One.  Using different yarn.  Having to do math to find the right gauge.  Not having enough time to figure it out.

Major Highlight:

I was on TV on May 27 and 29.  A five-minute interview with Doug McConnel for Bay Area Backroads, a product of one of our local unafilliated stations. The interview, about Middle Harbor Shoreline Park, was filmed in February, and I'd been nervous about it ever since. Needn't have been. The producer told me they weren't in the business of making me look bad and they were right. And the park looked magnificent.  Joanna saw the show. Mom and Dad were so proud. And yesterday morning, instead of saying, "G'mornin'," one of the anonymous regulars I pass on my walk back from the Royal said, "I saw you on TV! You were great. Nice show."  The next time we see each other we'll probably revert to, "G'mornin'."

OK,  so I guess I can manage after all.  It's just sometimes it feels...well I explained that already.

What an amazing reaction to seeing a woman brushing a cat on a leash, eh?

Owenland 2

Heidelberg is a lot like Berkeley. 
Only quainter. 

The neighborhood Owen lived in for most of his year abroad is quite similar to ours, with trees and houses of similar size.

And the columbine was in bloom:

This is the gate of Schiller International University, where Owen lived in the dorm.

It's probably the largest building in the neighborhood.  L-shaped with really pretty yard.

Inside, there's a coffee machine.  You can get your coffee extra hell...

"That's extra cream, Mom..."

And across the street?

I believe Owen called this a "ghetto Russian" car.

We stopped in at Getrankeland

It's where Students Who Can buy their beer in cases:

But let me tell you about the yarn shops in Heidelberg.  Apparently yarn shops in Germany are frequent and good, as in every town has at least one.  Both that I visited in Heidelberg had plenty, plenty of things I wanted to buy.

At the one on the Hauptstrasse, I found this:

Yes, silk sock yarn, or rather 20% silk blended with 55% Merino and 25% nylon.
It's so soft.

Also picked up  this:

Because it looked fun.  100% microfiber.  Unlike me.  Go figure.

Then, at the Wollstube, which was in Owen's neighborhood:

I found this:


What can I say?  It was a sock yarn kind of day.

After yarn shopping it was time to hightail it to the train station with a bag full'o yarn.

And say goodbye to the boyo...

Not tearful, but just a little wistful.

Not long after the train left the station, Ron said, "Ok, now you're talkin'," as a young lady with a refreshment cart came down the aisle.

Notice the beer bottle looming in the lower left hand corner?   Ron says,  "Ah!"

Next: Return to Roma, in which we get an eyefull of art and culture.

Owenland I

Destination: Heidelberg.  We flew to Frankfurt via Alitalia and then took the train from Frankfurt to Heidelberg.  I'd like to mention that we had the best food I've ever had in an airport at Roma's Leonardo Da Vinci Airport (aka Fiumicino).  Salad, Antipasto (prosciutto & shaved parmesan), fresh strawberries, and a chicken dish with artichokes and potatoes.  Delicious!  And while we're handing out kudos, train service in Germany is excellent.  Frequent trains, easy access (right at the airport!), good connections.  Wish we had that out here on the West Coast.

One of the first things we noticed: the legion of scooters in Roma is a legion of bicycles in Heidelberg.  This is one of two bicycle parking areas at the Hauptbanhof (train station).

Our hotel was just down the street.

Heidelberg is a very pretty city.  We saw little of it the first night we were there because it was already dark. The Schloss (castle) is the dominant feature, as it sits on a hill above the old town.  Our first foray into Owenland was a steak dinner at his favorite Italian restaurant.  No one blinked an eye when we said, "Grazie" instead of "Danke."

The next day, Owen met us at our hotel and took us to Bismarckplatz, to meet my cousin Uwe and his wife Kathi.  I previously told you that Uwe's grandfather was my grandfather's brother.  My mom has corrected me: Uwe's grandmother was the sister of my grandfather. Tante Helena.  I was more excited about meeting Uwe than I thought I would be.   And Owen knew who they were before they  came towards us. "That's them," he said, and he was right.   Owen had an itinerary all set out for us and led us up the Hauptstrasse and through the Old Town to Vetter, a brewery in the center of town.

Here, we had lunch.

And what a lunch it was.  Schnitzel, wurst, potatoes, and bier. Owen ordered for Ron and me.  We each had a mug of thick, brown bier. Sweet, and 33% alchohol. Enough to make your head swim. And for himself:

He ordered a liter.  And drank it.  Because he could.

Here we all are in Vetter:

That's Uwe on the far left and Kathi on the far right.

After lunch, we headed up to the Schloss.  It's a beautiful, baroque castle high up on the hill above the city.

Heidelberg was attacked by the French in 1689, 1693, and 1764, and the castle burned each time.  These events are celebrated several times a year (I think in June, July and September) with an extravagant fireworks show that simulates the burning castle.  Parts of the castle are in ruins.

And even though ruined, they're beautiful.

We ran into one of Owen's teachers in the courtyard.

And there were plenty of interesting architectural features to see.

Inside the castle, we saw the Grosses Fass, two humongous wine barrels.  The one on the bottom is, in fact, the largest ever wooden barrel to be filled with wine.  It can hold 221,000 liters of wine.

Wow.

More pretty architecture.

All the while, Uwe and Owen were deep in converstation in German.

Uwe was really impressed with Owen's German. I was pretty impressed with Uwe's English. After all, he grew up in East Germany under the Soviets.  Before the Berlin wall was toppled.  I'd say he does pretty well.  Way better than I do in German. At one point he asked us what "Actually" means. Apparently, Owen and I say it often.  Actually, I have stopped my self from actually writing it several times in this post.

Looking back at the castle from the gardens.


And walking back, Ron noticed that the trees in the castle garden are numbered:

How German is that?

Here's the view of Heidelberg from the castel.

The river is really pretty.

And Heiligenberg, or "holy hill" across the River Neckar from the castle.  It's the highest point above the city.  We climbed up there later in the day.

Actually, Uwe and Kathi drove us up there in their car, but we did climb this tower:

To see this view of the castle:

Uwe and Kathi are pretty cute aren't they?

Matter of fact, so are we:

A little higher up the hill is the Thingstatte, an amphitheater built by the Nazis in 1935.

It can hold 8,000 people.

Higher still on Heiligenberg is a ruined monastery which is, I guess, what gives the hill its holy status.  It's the highest point on the hill and it was abandoned in 1500.

We'd had a pretty full day of sightseeing by then and a nice visit with Uwe and Kathi.  They had to head back to their home in Eisenach (they had work the next day), so they dropped us at our hotel before we visited Owen's new digs.  He lived in a dorm for most of his stay in Heidelberg, but now he's living with a family, to practice his German. We headed out in a taxi, past the U.S. military base, to meet his them.  They live in a house not unlike our own.  We had a lovely visit with Inge and her two sons Jens, and Kae.  Great food, interesting multilingual conversation, nice wine.

Too bad we only took one photo.

Next: Owenland II, in which we wander the city and find YARN!

I Love Secrets!

OK, not to brag or anything, but I've already received a package from my Secret Pal.  It came Wednesday. And she's obviously already read my blog because she knows about my Vacanze Romane and...well, look:

Pretty much hit the color scheme right on with the yarn, don't you think?
Yarn and a couple of nice-smelling candles and a Cape Cod postcard.
Thank you so much, Secret Pal!  What a nice way to get introduced to someone!

You've been waiting patiently for the next installment of our trip, but it's been an unbelievably tense week at work.  Exhausting, trying to rise above the fray.  And yesterday?  Nearly lost it.  Twice.  Let's just say it's a good thing it's Friday.

And Vicki, take a look at my morning sky:

It's been cold and rainy in Northern California all week.  The rain is unusual in June, but the fog, a thick layer of which rolled in through the Golden Gate last night,  is part of the San Francisco Bay's "natural air conditioning" system.  Just so ya know.

Coming soon:  Owenland, I promise.

Your Virtual Vacanze Romane III

In which we shop for food, eat, and travel to classic touristic destinations...

Oh my goodness!  Campo dei Fiori (literally "field of flowers") is a six-days-a-week, 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. farmer's market in central Roma. Just a hop, skip and a jump from where we are staying.  Do we like it?

I think so.
Ron was quite taken with this stall: I Specie  (spices)

As soon as Ron displayed an interest, the vendor swooped in.

Sniff this, buddy.  Smells divine, no?  Yup.  Ron  quickly developed a plan for dinner and we picked up all the ingredients.  One stop shopping. Outdoors.  In Roma.  We loved it!

Then, we dropped our purchases off at the apartment and headed out for St. Peter's Basilica.

Owen really wanted his photo taken in St. Peter's Square.

But the square quickly filled with pelligrini - pilgrims - and the entrance to the basilica was blocked until they were able to enter.

Owen is not a fan of waiting in line - and it was hot, so we opted for a visit to Castel Sant' Angelo, the tomb of Hadrian, which became the papal fortress.

What an interesting place.  I'd never been inside and I liked having the opportunity to see it.   Cool.  Literally, the stone walls are thick and there's a spiral walkway up inside the fortress.  Past dungeons and other unexplained inner structures.  And, please, is this door not amazing?

Also, the view alone was worth the price of admission. (you already know I like to get high)...

The angel on top of the Castel.

Our strategy was to have a snack, or a beverage often.  Food, libations, and just plain  sitting down makes it much more easy to handle touristic endeavours.  Thank goodness the Castel had a nice cafe where we found gelato and coffee....

After our snack, we enjoyed the view towards St. Peter's.

And then we headed back that way.  The pellegrini had entered the Basilica and were in the midst of a special mass.  We didn't even get near them, but we could hear everything and, believe me, we felt we were in a spiritual place.

The ceiling of the basilica is awesome.

One of countless awesome ceilings to be seen in Roma.  Not The Most Awesome Ceiling, but certainly awesome in its own right.

We did not stay long.  Owen's kind of a been there, done that guy.  But we did stop and photograph the Swiss Guard outside the basilica.  They are the Secret Service of the Vatican.  But they're not very incognito in these outfits.

One of the most impressive things on the Roman streetscape is the proliferation of motor scooters.  Oh my goodness, there are zillions!

At every stoplight, they work their way up to the front.  Then when the light changes, they take off!  Zoom!  Zoom!  Zoom!

When you think about it, scooters make sense in Roma.  After all, could you park a car on this street?

We took Owen around to several other sights, but he's a sensible guy.  He doesn't want to overdo it.  So we headed back to the apartment for a rest and Ron made us a delicous veal roast, rubbed with the spices from Campo dei Fiori, and served with potatoes and green beans.  Yum!

And friends, it's a small world.  Look what we found in our apartment.  Matches from Baywolf, a local Oakland, CA restaurant.  Yup.  Small world.

The next day, we started out at Torre Argentino, Roman ruins at Largo Argentino, that have become a cat sanctuary.  Feral cats abound in Roma, and this spot is dedicated to them. They have benefactresses (yes, it's usually middle-aged women) who feed them.

And they all look pretty good.

Not such a bad life, when you think of it.

Then we caught a cab for the Colosseo.  Another site I'd never been inside.  We caught a tour that bypassed the major lines.  I think it was worth it. We got a nice introduction to the site and it didn't take too long to get in.

Owen wanted his photo taken at the same place Eva had hers taken when she was here in 2002.  I think this is the right place.

He took our photo, too.

The Forum, is awesome, pillaged and ruined as it is.  Awesome.

And, apparently, a spot for bridal couples to have their photos taken.

Horses ass.  Ok, I saw it and I couldn't resist.

We rounded out the touristic day, by having dinner at Osteria Enoteca al Bric, an excellent non-pretentious restaurant on Via del Pellegrino.  If you are ever in Roma, this restaurant is definitely worth visiting.

Doesn't look like much, eh? But after I read Rick Steve's descripton to Ron and Owen, they both wanted to try it.  We weren't disappointed.  In fact, it was by far the best recommendation we had for anywhere in Roma.  Here, Ron is perusing the wine list:

Check it out.  It's a book, baby.

Next: Heidelberg.  In which we go to Owenland and experience The Student Life.

Ciao!

Satisfaction

There is something so satisfying about donning your pajamas on Saturday evening and not removing them until Monday morning.  I watched Being Julia by myself (wowie! Annette Bening is fantastic!) and The American Astronaut (a gritty indie space western) with Eva.  I finished Ron's scarf.  I started a new scarf for Eva (skinny, with Summer Tweed from the stash).  I did the dishes.  I blogged.  I ate & napped & hugged my girlie.  And I didn't leave home for 36 hours.  Honestly?  If I didn't schedule down time and stick to the schedule, I'd run myself ragged.  All the time.  This is what makes International Pajama Day such an essential part of my life.

This morning it is cool and clear.  The same winds that are whipping up wildfires in Contra Costa county make it possible to see the Golden Gate Bridge from my street.  It's back to the grindstone for me and a full week it is, too.  But right now?  I think I'll take a little break outside and enjoy the clarity that the wind has brought us.

Later today: more virtual Vacanze Romane.

Your Virtual Vacanze Romane II

On our second day in Roma, we were awakened by someone fiddling with the lock on the door of our apartment-for-a-day.  It was the maid, who'd come to clean up after us and it was AAAACK!!! noon.   We'd arranged to meet the landlord of our intended apartment at noon! AAAACK!!! We both felt drugged by fourteen hours of sleep but managed to 1) tell the maid to come back in "un hora" and 2) decide that Ron should stay and pack and I should go meet the landlord.  I threw on clothes and ran through central Roma.  Managed to get there by 12:20. Not too bad.  And the landlord was a smiling, accommodating young man who was not at all upset and quickly showed me around the loft apartment. Here's the street door:

and here's what it looks like on the inside:

After we got settled in, we headed across the street for lunch:

Best. Lasagne. Ever.

Oh, there is too much to tell about Roma and never enough time.  But, you know, the best times were spent wandering and looking. Up the winding side streets:

Via del Corso (one of the main shopping streets):

Oh. My. God. The SHOES:

Piazza del Popolo:

Through the Villa Borghese:

Then past the old Roman wall (Via Veneto is on the other side):

We had a lovely glass of wine and a little snack at a cafe in the Villa Borghese.  But mostly we walked in a big circle, stopping every couple of hours for some kind of snack, headed towards the train station in time to meet Owen's 9:08 p.m. train from the airport.  He was on it! And then it was time to head to Da Bafetto and PIZZA (it's just a hop, skip and jump from our apartment).

What a nice opportunity to knit in public!  The waiter told me that knitting was for grandmas.

Then the pizza came and Owen dug in with gusto:


YUM!

Thus Endeth our second day in Roma.

Tomorrow: days three and four, a whirlwind tour of touristic attractions and delicious meals.

Truly International

Ok, Ok, I know I'm supposed to be blogging about Rome, but honestly, I've been spending the day with Eva and trying get photos in order.  So, tomorrow - ok?

Plus, I had to get ready for International Pajama Day and this time...I have international pajamas.

That's right.

These ones are Italian pigiami, from Roma.

And these ones are German schlafanzug, from Heidelberg.

And Eva brought these lovely Chinese silk pajamas back for her mommy.

So, please join us tomorrow.  Send photos if you participate.  I promise to use some of my relaxation time to continue blogging about Roma.

International Pajama Day V
Sunday, June 5
All day
Stay at home and relax!

SP V

Yup.  Signed up for Secret Pal V.  Go here for the answers to the questions:  Download for_my_secret_pal.doc

I know, I know.  I'm supposed to be posting about Rome.  later this afternoon...