Fresh Sourdough Bread from San Francisco

This happened last year but it’s totally worth mentioning—Raymond’s naturally fermented, handmade sourdough is seriously WONDERFUL. It’s soft and chewy with just the right bite from the sourdough. Num num. When I can eat bread again THIS IS HAPPENING.

The bakery is close to the San Francisco international airport so it’s easy for Adam to grab some bread before he flies home. We just gotta figure out how to get him to carry it on instead of getting nervous and shoving it into his luggage.

If you visit in person, they take cash only. The bakery also told Adam they do ship, so click here for the contact information and back story. (Ack! I wish I could do their website and social media for them!)

Learning and Marching

Following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers, the United States and other parts of the world screamed in outrage. The Black Lives Matter movement has gained such momentum, people are talking about it everywhere. They're posting opinions and images, calling for change, sharing their personal stories, changing business practices, shopping habits, and marching in protest to name a few.

I’m glad people are outraged and spreading the message seemingly further that it has gotten in the past. Things are too far from where they should be and we MUST make corrections and do better.

Image Credit: The female Lead on Instagram, it is a repost of a post.

I simply can’t disagree with the words written here.

I’m still listening, and learning, and discovering ways I can make a difference and carry on a dialogue about it. But this I know:

RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IS WRONG, and must stop. The Lord said, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” We are ALL God’s children, therefore we must stand up next to our brothers and sisters who are hurting, tired, afraid, and overlooked, add our voices to theirs and call for change, and then do what’s necessary to help those changes come to fruition. A rising tide lifts all boats. Dismantling systemic racism benefits everyone.

Mo took Zuki and Malaika (who wanted to go despite the risks) to a protest and wrote:
“June 4th, my mother turned 70. She grew up and struggled under Apartheid in South Africa. And here we are 70 years later.... Her grand babies on the other side of the world, still fighting for their humanity. Let that sink in.”

Natalie found some time to go on her own too! Protesting together as a family with a toddler is hard.

I wanted to to add my voice to the outcry too, but because I’m still compromised, I felt going into the city wasn’t a smart option for me. However, my friend found a local, family friendly protest and invited me! We made posters and went together.

“Have hope and optimism for the future! May we continue to listen, learn and act—change is happening. Black lives matter!"

Hayden wrote, “Stan, Michael, and I, plus close to 300 other people went to a GREAT peaceful protest today in Cameron Park. They had excellent speakers, voting registration, free snacks and water, and links for petitions. We will help bring change. BLACK LIVES MATTER!”

Dad wrote, “We were honored to be led in protest by Stevante Clark, brother to Stephon Clark, shot by Sacramento police in March 2018 at age 22."

And later said, “I wore this armband today to represent my beautiful granddaughters.”

Plants of Yesteryear

Last summer I excitedly planned a “look" and bought a few plants to put into two giant planters Nick gave me. For now, they live on both corners of the back patio.

I’m really into purples, whites, and greens in a garden so for a “Thriller” I chose Purple Fountain Grass. For a “filler” Spanish Lavender, and for a “spiller” Potato Vines both green and a black.

The spilling nature of potato vines is quite lovely. I’ve used them before and they look wonderful in containers but they do have to be watered every single day in the heat of the summer. Gah! But look how pretty.
By the end of summer the Purple Fountain Grass had grown far bigger than I expected. (It choked out the Spanish Lavender, so I removed those and put them into pots.)

The Blackie Sweet Potato Vine didn’t flourish like I’d hoped. In my experience it has never grown as well as the green. But it could also be that I had amended the soil for the lavender and the Blackie didn’t like it.

In all, I learned a lot (which is always the case with plants) and was happy to have these to look out at last year. Ok, to STARE at quite often.

This year, due to the stay-at-home policies, I haven't planned or planted anything yet. (I long to wander the isles of lovely, growing things.) I did notice however, that the planters stopped draining and one smelled like manure. So I had to tip them over and do some investigating.

 I was VERY surprised to find this!

The roots had grown down through the drain hole and spread out like a carpet! There was NO pulling them out by hand. They were crowded in tight!

A long skewer ended up being just the right tool to push in, break up the roots, and then the open loop was useful to hook and pull the roots out. It was actually a lot of work.

And voila! This year I plan to put mesh...or some kind of loose fabric over the hole before filling the planter with dirt. Hopefully that will work to inhibit the clogging.

Oh! and let’s not forget what last year’s back porch looked like! I have pictures of all my little potted porch gardens since we got married. They are fun to look back at from time to time. Truly, gardening is one of my favorite things to do.

Fourteen Passed Us By

We knew our anniversary was coming, but on the actual day we both forgot until around 4:00. Because we can’t really do anything anyway—can’t go anywhere (COVID-19), and can’t even prepare a fun meal (my restricted diet)—we both decided to say “Happy Anniversary,” kiss, and move on with the day. We may celebrate later. I’m surprised how easy it was to let it go.

These are some never before seen pictures that my friend Ann took with a lomography camera. (This type of camera often leaks in light which effects the exposure on the film. A quality now purposefully given to digital photographs during editing.)
Above: This photo received a dual exposure. See the ghosting of the twinkle lights over the table? Magic. And that’s what I wanted the reception to feel like. I LOVE how this photo came out.

Happy 14th my Love. Here’s to hoping we make it through the pandemic, and things go back to “normal" so we can keep on keepin’ on!