A Thousand Miles.......

 Some great SF images and a super song from Vanessa Carlton...

thank you, Ben, Noah, and Lane.. enjoy...

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A Little Voting

 Gentle Friends, we got our ballots in the mail the other day...

... then voted yesterday and...

... will drive down to drop it off at the Department of Elections... 

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We've been getting our Ballots and voting through the mail for well over 20 years and never had a problem... didn't expect one this year no matter how some officials tried to screw up a system that works....  oh well, I always vote and encourage everyone to get out and Vote!

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That's about it for today's sports fans.  We've got some blue skies today, the first time in a couple of weeks so things here by the Bay are looking up!!  Thanks for stopping by do stop again. Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!

edgar

A Little Bar-B-Que

Gentle Friends, Saturday afternoon the folks the manage our apartment building hosted a "Kick Off the Summer Pool Party." The weather was typically Summer in San Francisco.... which means bright and sunny with cold gale force winds and a temp hovering in the mid-50's.... a perfect day if you ask me!!  Here are some snaps...

 ... Mindy enjoying some of the roasted corn...

 ... mostly we were hanging out just eating and talking...

 ... eventually, some brave folks got in the pool, and even with our pool being heated (which is the only way you could swim in SF) it was only a few of the bravest to hit the water...  that's Tracy our resident manager in the unicorn float!!  It was a lot of fun meeting some new people that have moved in and just a really lovely day!!  Thanks, Tracy!!

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That's about it for today sports fans, thanks for stopping by do stop again !!

Take care,

edgar

A Crazy Little View

Gentle Friends, I thought you might be interested in a lovely Penthouse "move in" ready......  click HERE to see something extraordinary!!!  It's located on top of this building....

....I'm sure they would take a cheque!!

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On that expensive note, have a super Valentine's Weekend!!!

Take care,

edgar

Playin' Softball

Gentle Friends....Sunday after Mass were the last two softball games of the season.  Rico, along with Ernie and Matt are cheerleaders for the F-Liners part of the SFGSL - (San Francisco Gay Softball League) and the tradition with the team they come in drag for the last game..........

.... Matt made the outfits and from left to right.... Ernie, Rico and Matt........

... not only do the cheerleaders do "dress up" but the team does also.......

.... all the teams in the League have sponsors and the F-Liners is sponsored by The Edge, a bar in the Castro.... 

... even though they played the two best teams int he league, they did a great job and had a super day out on the field in the sun!!!

......  the entire team .....  it was a great afternoon with lots of sun.....

 I am still burned a bit and red faced.

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That's about ti for today sports fans, thanks for stopping by do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

Lovin' My Chi's!!!!!!!!!

Gentle Friends, I saw this and thought I would share.......

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Hope you're having a great Sunday....

it's bright and sunny with a wonderful cool breeze here by the Bay, in the low 60's!!

Take care,

edgar

Visiting the de Young Museum

Gentle Friends, our (Rico took off also) loooong weekend started off with a good breakfast.......

                         

.... we tried a new to us place in our neighborhood called "Griddle Fresh."
 I am a great lover of Eggs Benedict so......

.... that's what I had, it came with the hash browns, which were done to perfection, golden brown and super crunchy.  This Benedict was particularly good in that the "bacon" was a thicker than usual piece and quite juicy.....

.... Rico went for the Noe Valley Omelet, and since there was some avocado on it I am told it was pretty terrific!!  We have been by this place frequently but never stopped as there is usually such a gigantic line out front waiting to get in we would rather go somewhere else than wait, but looking forward we may just wait next time!!

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My goal for the "weekend" was to get to a couple of current temporary Museum Exhibitions.  The one that I knew was closing soon was at the de Young in Golden Gate Park.  Quite an ugly building, new, but ugly - they have some great shows, that we usually miss - but I was bound dammed and determined to get to this one........  here's a shot of the Museum.....

.......a closeup of the fountain in the Music Concourse between the Museum and the California Academy of Science.....

.... this is a stage area to the left of the fountain in The Spreckles Temple of Music or just "The Bandshell".....  HERE is more info about the music Concourse.........

.... the show I wanted to see was called "Botticelli to Braque."  I was totally interested in seeing the Botticelli, as he is and has been one of my favorite painters ever.....

The 55 paintings in the exhibition span a period of more than 400 years (1490–1932) and include some of the greatest holdings of the Scottish National Gallery, Scottish National Portrait Gallery and Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art—the three institutions that comprise the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh.  Other artists include the Renaissance masters Titian and Paolo Veronese; the 17th-century painters El Greco, Diego Velázquez, Sir Anthony van Dyck, Frans Hals, Jan Lievens, Rembrandt van Rijn and Johannes Vermeer; and such 19th-century figures as Camille Pissarro, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, John Singer Sargent, Paul Gauguin and Paul Cézanne. The exhibition will also feature celebrated Scottish painters Allan Ramsay and Sir Henry Raeburn...

Sandro Botticelli, "The Virgin Adoring the Sleeping Christ Child, 1490.

 ( HERE's some great info about this Scottish acquisition and the painting....)
 which has not been exhibited outside of Scotland for more than 150 years.
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Another of my favorite painters is Sargent - and here is the lovely one that was in the show.....

John Singer Sargent, "Lady Agnew of Lochnaw (1865-1932)

 (Here's some great info on this painting)
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I do love a great portrait and when three lovelies appear together it's even better..... 

Joshua Reynolds "The Ladies Waldgrave" -  1780-81 

.........this large scale informal group portrait of the Waldgrave sisters - The eldest sister, Laura, seated center, winds a card with silk thread from a skein held by Elizabeth, at left, while Horatia, the youngest, embroiders netting stretched in a tambour frame.  I found two different stories behind the commission of the painting.....  1)Since they were the grandnieces of Horace Walpole he had it painted for his country house, Strawberry hill... OR..... 2) it was commissioned by their mother Maria Walpole with a view of attracting potential suitors for these girls as all of them were unmarried when it was painted - so who knows why, but who cares it's a wonderful painting!!!

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After the paintings we headed up the tower to see some views.......

.... looking down into the Concourse of Music and the Academy of Science....

That about does it for the visit to the de Young and the gorgeous paintings there..... I do hope you enjoyed it.  Come back soon as I have two more posts about the weekend coming up!!
 Thanks for stopping!!!

Take care,
edgar

St Ignatius Church, The Carmelite Chapel and Monastery of Cristo Rey and Sts. Peter and Paul Church (Lots of Snaps)

Gentle Friends, the last three places we visited I'll wrap up in today's post.  After St Dominic's we headed out to St Ignatius Church.  Built by the Jesuits it is the fifth and grandest St Ignatius yet built.  Architect Charles Devlin starting drawing pans for this church in 1909.  It was built between 1910 and 1914, and dedicated on August 2, 1914 - this landmark sits on a hill at the corner of Fulton Street and Parker Avenue - the towers can be seen from most of the city.

Often referred to as “Jesuit Baroque,” the architectural style of St. Ignatius Church is eclectic, drawing inspiration from the Italian and Spanish Baroque, the works of Sir Christopher Wren and Greek and Roman classical principles.

.... the general layout of the nave is based on the ancient Roman Basilica, or law court building.  The focus of the nave is the sanctuary, which here takes the form of a semicircular, semi-domed space, or apse.    This space is separated from the nave by the chancel arch springing from grouped free-standing columns.  The centerpiece of the sanctuary, the ploychromed white oak baldacchino or canopy over the High Altar was added in 1949, as was the altar itself, along with the marble floor and communion rail...........

Joseph chapel has a graceful carved reredos bearing a Carrara marble statue of the saint

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Across Parker Avenue on the  Corner is the Monastery.....  the compound was built in 1927 and exemplifies the Spanish Revival architecture common to the 1920's......  The chapel itself is much more ornate, featuring heavily carved stone columns and other details.

.....  the 20 Carmelite nuns of the Monastery of Cristo Rey are cloistered and lead a secluded life of prayer, contemplation and penance.  They abstain from meat year-round and do not leave the monastery compound except for medical treatment.  They alternate praying the devine office in English and Spanish, as they are bilingual due to their history.  The community was originally founded in Guadalajara, Mexico in 1695, and relocated to California in 1927 as a result of religious persecution.  In more recent years they merged with the Carmelite's from a monastery in Kensington, California which closed.

......  we got there after Mass was over and the incense was still lingering in the air and let me get these great snaps of the nave and sanctuary.....  above the altar is a baldachin with Solomonic columns, reminiscent of the baldachin in St Peter's Basilica in Rome.  On the wall behind the altar is a sculpture in high relief of a windswept Jesus with outstretched arms in front of a golden aureola and accompanied by putti.....

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The last Church we visited was over in North Beach, Sts Peter and Paul Church.

Saints Peter and Paul Church was originally located at the intersection of Filbert Street and Grant Avenue. Built in 1884, the church was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire. A second smaller edifice was built at the site. Construction of the current house of worship began in 1913 and was finished in 1924

The church is served by a group of Salesian clergymen sent to minister the parish's large Italian immigrant population.  Some of the highlights are: the High Altar carved from Italian Carrara marble, the gorgeous stained glass windows, a replica of Michelangelo's Pieta and the twin spires that are 191 feet tall.

... the is a replica of the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in one of the side chapels....

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That wraps up our playing tourist and seeing some of the larger Churches here in the City.  I hope you enjoyed it - thanks for stopping by do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

Our visit to St. Dominic's

Gentle Friends, we left the Mission and drove over to the Western Addition.............Here's a little info about the WA......." historically, the Western Addition was first platted during the 1850's as a result of the Van Ness ordinance (The Van Ness Ordinance was the city’s first effort at formal city planning. It included plans to divide land into lots and blocks, out of which sites were to be reserved for schoolhouses, hospitals, fire engine houses, parks, and other public establishments) This large tract encompassed some 500 Blocks running west from Larkin Street (the City's previous western boundary) to Divisadaro.  Hence the name Western Addition.  The area was initially used for small-scale farming, but following the invention of the cable car during the 1870's, the WA developed as a Victorian streetcar suburb.  It survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake with its Victorian style buildings intact"

....... the Parish was established by the Dominican order in 1873, and the current church ( the fourth St Dominic's church), is built in the the English/French Gothic style, was begun in 1923 and finished in 1928......

.... looking up the nave towards the High Altar and Choir.....

.....  the choir with altar, and pulpit and the soaring arches, notice the lovely beamed ceiling ....

... the beautiful High Altar designed by Arnold Constable...... 

with Crucifix and the 12 apostles....

.... looking from the choir back down the nave ....  always some work going on repairing and retrofitting......

.... the stain glass windows are really lovely...... in the north facing transept is this window showing notable Dominican's...  

.......this one is in the south facing transept..... the window shows the Twelve Apostles (as Dominicans)......

......  and one of the three main windows from the Lady Chapel....

.......there are lots of statues and altars, but I thought the Pieta was especially  nice....

........ one of the highlights of St Dominic's is the Shrine of Saint Jude Thaddeus - the Patron of impossible cases........

That wraps up today's post - thanks for stopping by, do stop in again!!
 I also wanted to wish you all "Kung Hei Fat Choy!!!"

Take care,

edgar