San Francisco

What a day I had, it was an early start as I decided to get the bus into the city instead of drive.  It was nice to be on the bus and enjoy the scenery around me instead of concentrating on driving or riding.

The bus was full of commuters on their way to work, I love to people watch.  They all had their routines, a couple of girls....and guys...gave themselves total make overs during the trip and by the time we got to the city they looked absolutely fabulous, I would have loved to have taken before and after photos!  Others were reading books, newspapers or workstuff and the rest had earphones in or staring out the window.

Its great being on the bus, you can see right into people's cars!  My god there are some messy cars out there and its amazing what people have on their laps!

Anyway I get into the city and its pretty windy but the sun is trying to shine between the tall buildings, I walk on the sunny side of the streets to keep warm.  I head down to the Castro from Union Square and on my way I stop at City Hall, outside there are some farmer's markets and at one particular stall there is an extremely long line so I walk over to see what they are selling.  I hear chickens squawking and initially I think they are selling fresh eggs as I see some cartons thrown around the stall, then I realize there are hundreds of live chickens crammed into plastic crates.  There are about 5 people working this stall, as I look more closely I see a chicken taken out of a crate then stuffed into a brown paper bag and given to someone in line!  This guy must have seen the shock and confusion on my face, he wandered over and told me its fresh meat! I was appalled! How could this be happening, dont we have laws against this?  Are these chickens going to be given a humane death? Where are they going to get killed....in someone's kitchen?  Will this stall be selling pigs and cows next month?  I had to stop my thought process before I got too upset.  The guy who kindly informed me of what was going on thought it was animal cruelty and I had to agree with him!  Does Gavin Newsom, the mayor, know about this?  How could he not, its happening right outside his office!  I bought a veggie samosa and continued moving.

I went into City Hall, checked out Harvey and the area where everyone was getting married until prop 8 put a stop to that .......for now.  I tried to find Gavin's office so I could tell him about the chickens but I was out of luck.

I walked around the Castro, had a coffee and looked across the street at Harvey's old camera shop, now a gift shop called 'given'.  My mind wandered back to the time Harvey was alive and what it must have been like around the shop and the little apartment upstairs where he lived, there was always some activity going on....but that's another story in itself.

I went into Stompers, the boot store, I wanted to buy some new motorcycle boots but couldn't decide between the engineer style or the harness style.  I was disappointed that they didn't carry women's sizes and the men's size that fit me were a bit wide around the heel so I will try to find a place where I can actually try on a women's size as they come in a slimmer fit. 

I looked and looked and touched and stroked the police officer's boots.....my god they are beautiful, I asked to try them on but they didn't have my size, I told the guy just to give me the smallest size he had......out came a mens size 11!  Who cares, I slipped my foot into them and it was like...........Lord have Mercy!  I just sat there with those boots on, my eyes rolling back into my head....I'm surprised the guy didn't tell me to 'get a room', he must have thought I was bonkers!  I reluctantly removed the boots, peeling them off gently like silk stockings, thanked the guy for his time and continued on my way. 

It was lovely and sunny now so I walked up to North Beach and had a delicious lunch and a glass of red wine then walked through China town....fascinating what you find there!

Had a couple of beers at Lefty O'Doules then caught the bus home, it was nice to be able to doze on the bus listening to my music and thinking what a great day I had.

I always try to do something extremely physically challenging on my birthday, it helps me appreciate the physical challenge my mother was enduring as she was labouring and giving birth to me on this day. 

Today I calculated I walked about 14.5 miles around the city and quite a few arm lifts at O'Doules!!  I certainly did have a physical workout as I had a wee bit of trouble getting up out of my seat at the end of the bus journey!  I soaked in a warm bath with essential oils and started to feel better, thank you mum for getting us both through labour.........I love you.

Happy Birthday

Yup, it's my birthday tomorrow and I'm looking down the barrel at.......mmm......can't quite see those numbers, where's my specs? Oh, there they are, Oo my knees!  Be a darlin' bring my walker over and help me up.

I'm going to head off into San Francisco, one of my favourite cities. It's going to be my last visit for a while so I'm going to be a real tourist, I'm going to forget I've ever been there before and I'll soak up all it has to offer.

I'll walk over the bridge, wander through Chinatown, browse through the nic nac shops and have a chat with the girls in the Castro over lunch, have a beer at O'Doules, pop up to Ghirardelli square and have some ice cream smothered in warm chocolate sauce, of course I have to check out Harvey Milk at City hall and pay my respects to him, see what the SF MoMA store has to offer, so much to see.......oh what a city, I love it.

in the saddle

I've had a fantastic day.  I went out for a gorgeous motorcycle ride through the wine country around Sonoma County, it's spectacular, even more so on my bike!  The vines are looking nice, lush green with beautifully forming leaves, the uniform and precise layout of the vineyards over the rolling hills is a sight to see, I will never tire of it.

I love riding my bike, there is a feeling of such camaraderie among bikers on the roads and there were heaps of us out there today enjoying the weather.  I've only been riding for a couple of years, I bought my bike when I was in LA but didn't ride it much down there, the traffic was horrendous and the drivers rude and inconsiderate, always in a rush so I just pottered around the side streets, sometimes even those little trips were life threatening and confidence shattering!  Since I moved up to Northern California I have spent alot more time on my bike venturing out further than the side streets!!  I have a great riding buddy and my riding skills have improved so much since we've been riding together, she's a great mate!

I've always had a fascination with motorcycles so a few years ago I completed the motorcycling course which I really enjoyed, I got my motorcycle licence and couldn't wait to buy my first bike, I was hooked!  Well the purchase didn't happen until a couple of years ago. I decided I had waited long enough and life was too short to watch the bikers go by without me so I went and bought a bike!  It's has been one of the best things I've done for myself.  I can't describe the feeling when I am on my bike, I could say all the usual things like it gives me a sense of freedom, I love to feel the wind in my face, it gives me independence blah, blah, blah, but they're not the words that really describe it for me, I guess I'll just have to keep on riding and maybe one day the words will come to me and if they don't then only I will know how I feel.

So if anyone is thinking of getting a bike then go get one, its a whole new world when you're in the saddle and if you, or anyone, is telling you you're too old, it's unsafe, it's not for women, you're too short, you're too tall, you're not strong enough...then tell those voices to 'go stick it' and take yourself off to do the motorcycle course and on the way home after the course get yourself a bike!

The time is right

Its not long until July 14th, the day I return home to Brisbane, Australia.  I have been planning this move for 5 years and there was always 'something' that delayed the trip...guess the time wasn't right until now.

Me and my dog, Elbert, left Brisbane in 1996 to live in Vancouver, Canada.  I had this notion in my head that I was going to marry k.d. Lang.....to this date I still haven't met her!  That's funny. 

I enjoyed Vancouver alot, Bert was so funny experiencing snow for the first time, he adapted very well and was tunneling with his nose and having a ball in no time, but I couldn't work out why I felt so 'down', that's when I discovered seasonal affective disorder, not something that is common in Australia!!  So Bert and I took frequent trips down south to be in the sunshine and absorb the warmth!  We travelled around the Southwest of America in our lime green VW camper van who I named 'Dolores'.  We visited some spectacular areas on our travels, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, Idaho to name a few.  The most memorable for me was Yellowstone National Park, I had never been so close to that kind of wildlife before, it was amazing.  Bert was very curious of his 4 legged mates that were roaming around the vast park.  We appreciated the safety of Dolores, especially when we woke in the morning surrounded by huge moose, or bison wandering aimlessly pass the window or the howl of wolves or coyotes in the night!  I am truly grateful for that opportunity, we had a great time and I am so glad I got to experience it with my best mate.  Bert had to be put to sleep on July 6th  2003, 4 weeks before his 13th birthday.  That was the hardest decision I have ever had to make in my life so far, it broke my heart.  I often wonder if he enjoyed our travels as much as I did, he never said much but he was always by my side with his unconditional love, a love I had never experienced before and have never experienced since.....and not once did he ever say 'I love you'.  When I get sad about missing him I remind myself that I had the luxury of a wonderful best friend that many never get the chance to experience, and I feel very privileged.

So, after Bert passed away I decided I would go live in California for a while, save some money and return home shortly afterwards........time flies, that was nearly 6 years ago!  I lived in LA for almost 4 years when I realised how unhappy I was, so I decided to head up to the San Francisco area where everything felt much better.  It is amazing what you can tolerate without knowing and its not until 'its' gone that you ask yourself how you ever put up with that. 

Well the time is now right for me to return to Australia.  I am excited about the move and apprehensive too, its been a long time since I lived in Brisbane, friends have moved on, got different interests, married, had kids, government has changed, population is up, the city is bigger etc etc.  I've made some great friends in Canada and America who I will miss dearly but will never forget, they know they are always welcome in my home in Australia and I would love for them to visit so I can show them my beautiful country as they have shown me theirs.

So the countdown is on........2 months and 19 days to go

Woolly Breasts

This is for all my 'midwifery and nursey mates', those that have just had a baby and anyone else who might get a kick from this!

I had a laugh imagining how someone came up with this idea.....it appears it originated in Australia.....there must have been alot of beer drinking that night!  How can anyone keep a straight face when using these to demonstrate breast feeding?  It is very considerate that they come in all sizes and colours.......for more life like demos!

Click on the title to get the link to the article. 

Progress

I'm happy I've made some progress on my blog. I've been playing around with links, gadgets and photos and rearranged everything a million times......and I'm not done yet!

Let's get started

Well here I am, blogging.....I'm bloody blogging. This is all new to me so hang in there with me while I arrange this site, post blogs and upload photos and stuff. Its never too late to try something new and I'm going to have a blast figuring it all out!

Happy Birthday to my blog.