i interviewed chef/owner hubert keller many years ago and still remember him telling me that his ideal day off is spent riding his motorcycle in west marin. random.

anyway, i'm seriously jazzed and not eating a morsel till I get there!

the last time I got thrown a bone like this was in july at gary danko.

i consider gd to be the gastronomic pinnacle of san francisco. we had five course meals with many delights including a lobster avocado salad with meyer lemon tarragon vinaigrette, the stellar cheese cart that is the stuff of danko legend, glazed oysters with caviar, and the most exquisite piece of fish dish i've ever tasted — branzini served with sorrel gnocchi, romano beans and fried capers. truly amazing. branzini is a european sea bass, btw, in case you wondered (i had to ask). every course was masterfully paired with wine.

lobster avocado salad with shaved fennel at gary danko.

i was disappointed with my dessert choice, but that was totally on me. ignoring the fact that i'm not a fan of apricots, i ordered the apricot tart with pistachio frangipane and pistachio ice cream. i was seduced by pistachio frangipane.

not to worry, they also served us a plate of petit fours, which were heavenly and this trio of yumminess

dessert porn.

after, we walked it off on polk street, stopping at cresta's, a favorite local hangout of ours in the days when we hung out. we visited with rory the bartender and a few familiar faces, then headed out to catch a taxi.

we were looking pretty good — dan in a coat and tie, me in a new clingy, gray dress that parker insisted i buy and high heeled boots.

a white limo pulled up and asked if we wanted a ride. i declined and said we were waiting for a taxi.

where are you going?"

"shrader and hayes"

"i'll take you there for twelve bucks"

done.

this beats the pants off yellow cab.

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• August 23, 2010 -- first week at preschool, laurel hill nursery school, sf
• August 17, 2010 -- first day of kindergarten at new traditions, san francisco, ca
• July 28, 2010 -- in praise of two-year-olds

completely against his wishes, roman began school last wednesday.

for the past few weeks, i've been talking enthusiastically about laurel hill, reminding him of the children he knew there and how cool the bike deck is and the outdoor train and the playhouse and his teacher tim in blue room.

it didn't fly.

"hey nino, do you want to go to laurel hill? you can bring snacks and drive little cars and climb the dome!!!"

"no."

"but you like it there, you had so much fun when we picked up parker!!"

after a while i began to feel cheap. like a used car salesman.

"i want to say wit you, mama."

as it is a co-op, he started on my first work day. he played and seemed to have a good time but he kept me in his periphery at all times. when i had to work in the kitchen, a no kids' zone, he totally lost it and i had to trade duties with somebody.

i picked up a shift for another mom and worked the next day also, to help ease the transition. this time he was on me like velcro.

then came the day of reckoning.

on friday, he was to be picked up by my friend catherine with son francis in tow, (who was adapting marvelously to preschool, i might add), to work her co-op shift that morning. a former school teacher, she came prepared. at 8:25 she arrived armed with chocolate milk and a little black harley-davidson motorcyle. roman is a total freak for motorcyles and can readily spot a harley down the block from his carseat. (and, yes, that does freak me out a little.)

in the morning he expressed his reluctance.

"one more kissy, mama," he pleaded as eased him out the door, my heart dissolving. "mama, one more kissy. one more kissy, mama," he said over and over in his deep, throaty voice that was cracking like my heart.

if i didn't have my cleaning lady arriving at 8:30, there is no question that i would have kept him home, perhaps forever. but i had to let magdelena in and walk the girls to kindergarten around the corner.

cramming him into the carseat i felt like meryl making sophie's choice. i shoved, cajoled and ultimately strapped him in, red-faced, arch-backed and  bucking.

but just as i pulled away and closed the door, he realized what he had. chocolate milk and a harley. sweet! he pulled it together.

three hours and two reassuring text messages later, catherine's black volvo wagon pulled into our driveway. i was sitting on the stoop.

i walked around to open his door. his face was beaming.

"mama, i had a good time at school. cath-in gayme a holley!"

You might like these...

• September 2, 2010 -- la dolce vida — gary danko and fleur de lys, san francisco
• August 17, 2010 -- first day of kindergarten at new traditions, san francisco, ca
• July 28, 2010 -- in praise of two-year-olds

mrs. brown's k/1 class, new traditions, san francisco.

i call her my small companion. i call her lots of things — my assistant, my sous-chef, my buddy, my servant, my baby girl. but mostly she's my small companion.

she comes with me everywhere — the chiropractor, trader joe's, the toilet. she begs to sleep in my bed, makes books for me, writes me poems, draws me stacks of pictures.

we watch project runway and american idol together, have slumber parties together upstairs in my office, and eat pop chips at "our table" at the royal gourmet cafe on geary. we adore each other.

that is not to say that she isn't a feisty, sassy, independent lass, which she totally is.

today, i walked my small companion, my baby girl, to her first day of school. it really hit my last night when i was filling out the forms and packing her new little lunch bag that we bought during our extravagant shopping spree last month. i felt a loneliness that only she can fill, even though she was sleeping peacefully down the hall.

wearing a new purple dress, red trench, black leggings and boots, she was escorted by her dad, brother, and me to her new school a block away.  we stopped first at sacred grounds, our local coffee shop where we met up with her friend una and dad richard, and quinn with mommy allison. they have known each other since the "music together" debacle in '06. it is so cool that they are in kindergarten together. the same class, no less. they've known each other for as long as they can remember.

we crossed over to the school, took photos, then delivered the trio to mrs. brown's kindergarten class in room #1. parker was quiet, almost solemn though she has shown no sign of nerves in the past six months. she put her arms around my legs in a defiant, possessive way for a moment, then found her spot in the classroom and never looked back.

parker's first day of kindergarten, new traditions, sf.

You might like these...

• September 2, 2010 -- la dolce vida — gary danko and fleur de lys, san francisco
• August 23, 2010 -- first week at preschool, laurel hill nursery school, sf
• July 28, 2010 -- in praise of two-year-olds

i'm here for blogher which concluded last night with a few rockin' parties. after two days of sessions, parties, keynotes, and networking, my brain feels like it might explode. i've met a ton of fascinating women and thoroughly enjoyed myself, even if i wasn't invited to martha stewart's party where i'm told she played ping pong on a black granite table and gave out tons of good swag.

my highlights

• meeting and partying with the exuberant and gorgeous jonna stark of babe in babeland
• repeatedly running into samantha rose and her mom susan swartz and having dinner and wine with them last night at the glamorous americano restaurant
• finally hooking up with cat lincoln of the clever girls collective (thanks to the twitter app on my iphone)
• the amazing, inspirational blogher voices of the year
• the closing keynote with feminist powerhouses marie wilson, gloria feldt, and simran sethi
• the humor writing session with lizz winstead and jessica bern

and now i get to play in new york for two days

You might like these...

• September 2, 2010 -- la dolce vida — gary danko and fleur de lys, san francisco
• August 23, 2010 -- first week at preschool, laurel hill nursery school, sf
• August 17, 2010 -- first day of kindergarten at new traditions, san francisco, ca

ok, the tantrums like the one roman pitched outside on the crowded sidewalk in front of bi-rite creamery – prostrate on a filthy doorstep with both legs flailing because his sister asked to taste his ice cream – are a particularly uncomfortable for all involved, but i assert that the cuteness factor can nearly cancel out the badness. maybe with the exception of cat torture.

but i just love this phase. specifically, i get a kick out of the language development. parker virtually emerged from the womb articulate and conversant. so, with roman (who refers to himself as a "little dude"), it is so funny and adorable to witness his communication gaffes as he tries to master language.

up until a month ago he would say "key-cuz" instead of "because," and to the stifled laughter of adults, he still refers to things that are crunchy as "cuntz," and to clocks as cocks. he named his favorite stuffed toy, a monster, "cheese."

this morning he was in rare form. apparently, dan left out a swag bag from the doug stanhope party at the montreal just for laughs festival. roman, an early riser who often entertains himself solo with matchbox cars and the fisher-price town salvaged from my childhood, rose at 5:30am and found the goody bag and my "good" scissors.

he was particularly animated when he woke me by drooling into my mouth. when i got into the front room, there were bits of shreddings over the couch. among the detritus were, slivers of band-aids, a packet of blistex, a bright orange condom, and an empty sample pack of jolt "caffeine energy" gum. he had eaten it. two pieces of caffeine gum. and he was totally hilarious.

ok, bad parenting aside, you have to laugh at that shit.

You might like these...

• September 2, 2010 -- la dolce vida — gary danko and fleur de lys, san francisco
• August 23, 2010 -- first week at preschool, laurel hill nursery school, sf
• August 17, 2010 -- first day of kindergarten at new traditions, san francisco, ca

with the exception of the teasing and torment that exists between a five-year-old girl and her two-year-old brother, we've had a good time. well, that, and bedtime. which completely sucks. still.

parker had lango spanish immersion camp all week over in noe valley, which is much sunnier than the panhandle where we live, so we spent a lot of time in the the southern part of the city. we met nairem for a"pignic" (a parker term) at dolores beach one hot, sunny afternoon, then went to bi-rite creamery for ice cream and tartine for coffee. lango was cool, i'd sign her up again, and i hope to enroll her during the school year. we've been successful with our summer camp choices, which according to what i've heard, is kinda rare...

another day, we wandered down valencia street, stopping for baby burritos at el toro. it takes a good thirty minutes to get down a city block with roman but people were so friendly, everyone marveling at his white blonde curls and baby blues. the new trees planted along valencia by the friends of the urban forest are surrounded by groovy brass grates with little dia de las muertas-inspired dancing skeletons welded into the design. very charming. very mission. near the roxie theater, roman was hit and knocked down by an errant skateboarder who scooped him up and put him back on his feet, apologizing profusely.

***

we went to the san francisco zoo one foggy afternoon and were mesmerized by the old, clearly pissed off but truly magnificent lion. we were able to get up close to him, incarcerated behind iron bars in the dank lion house. he lumbered up to the bars roared twice, unhinging his massive jaw and letting out the most amazing sound that vibrated and reverberated across the empty building. roman was totally blown away. i felt profound awe and sadness.

***

i took parker school shopping after camp last friday. she will be a styly little kindergartner shod in high black boots and brown uggs, and decked in  short dresses with tights, an orange hoodie, black skinny jeans, a red trench, and a paisley skirt. i'm quite sure i'll cry.

***

we've had a lot of visitors including megan, angela and layne, and uncle funny who picked up noodles from the citrus club. we also went to a couple of fun parties including a woo-woo barbecue in san rafael. the woo-woos are members of our burning man party crew from back in the day – some of us have kids and mortgages now, some i haven't laid eyes on in years. it was a great reunion. yesterday there was a star wars-themed birthday party for one of the pre-k crew at parkside square park in the outer sunset and today, deirdre and faichra hosted a lavish party at their beautiful home in the richmond. i met one of the owners of the uber-swank bourbon & branch, his lovely wife and baby jack there.

***

we hung out at the library and checked out mary poppins, the lion the witch and the wardrobe, the secret garden (really sweet film), and an annoying elmo flick. we made french toast with strawberries and whipped cream and delicious basil pesto.

good times, great summer days with my babies, but now this mama is ready for a break!

You might like these...

• September 2, 2010 -- la dolce vida — gary danko and fleur de lys, san francisco
• August 23, 2010 -- first week at preschool, laurel hill nursery school, sf
• August 17, 2010 -- first day of kindergarten at new traditions, san francisco, ca

we came up here after an fantastic 4th of july that included me running a 5k in the morning sponsored by leap (law enforcement against prohibition – essentially cops who want to "legalize it"). at the end of the race they served ice cream, how stoner friendly!

this was followed by the 16th annual billy carter softball game, then a groovy party at the littlefield home in the marina. tim hooked up an inflatable pool on the back deck to his washing machine and pumped it full of hot water for the kids. there was a pinata, sparklers, great food, and plenty of adult beverages.

after dark we headed out with glowsticks to the marina green for the miraculously-not-fogged-in fireworks display over the bay. good times.

last night dan and i went out for drinks and apps on the sonoma square and to see get him to the greek, the russell brand flick. now, after swimming and biking, we're kicking back chez dion.

here we are sitting in front of the glamorous ledson hotel on a rare child-free evening.

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• July 11, 2007 -- a taste of the good life
• November 27, 2009 -- gratitude — a thanksgiving post

but today, i'm patting myself on the back because i survived four nights camping with two two-year-olds, sleeping on dirt in a bag in startling proximity to a foraging black bear. and, i had fun!

how did this come about, one might ask.

well, we didn't have it in the budget for summer on cape cod this year, but i knew it would be necessary to get the family out of the fog to remember that summertime, everywhere else north of the equator, means sunshine and warmth, beaches and barefeet, ice cream and corn-on-the-cob.

so, when a friend offered us a campsite reservation at dl bliss state park, i jumped on it despite the fact that we own not one iota of camping gear. not even a tent. unless you count parker's ladybug tent. fortunately, we have good and generous friends and family, and after a few phone calls we were totally hooked up. plus, michael read was joining us with his adorable blonde girls, (malena-four, sylvia-two) and traveling kitchen. we were good to go.

the subaru packed to the gills, we left on father's day around noon. i had packed, shopped, and strategized gear acquistion for more than a week. the ride up was peaceful, the kids slept much of it and we arrived at a beautiful site just up a small hill from a sandy beach on the shore of the lake.

dl bliss state park is slightly north of emerald bay, one of the prettiest spots on lovely lake tahoe. the site had a grill, fire pit, food locker, running water nearby, and clean bathrooms with hot showers.

we enjoyed three nights of gorgeous sunsets, campfires, s'mores and jiffy pop, and celebrated michael's birthday with mojitos, champagne, chicken teriyaki, corn-on-the-cob, and a lemon cake. days were spent basking in the warm sun and plunging in the refreshingly chilly lake water, riding bikes or putzing and lounging around the campsite. or for roman, playing taxi cab in the front seat of the subaru. the girls got along famously–instant bffs. definite bliss.

but, the state park folks mean it when they warn you about the tenacity of the resident bear population – food needs to be locked away unless you are in the midst of preparing it lest you get slapped with a thousand dollar fine or worse, mauled by smokey. leave nothing with odors in your car, including toiletries and diapers, put away any garbage in locked bins.

and sure enough, just after twilight on our last night, we heard a screech for a nearby camper's whistle and others clanging pans. bear! i looked up  to see the hulking silhouette of a magnificent black bear lumbering on the edge of camp.

ok, next time, maybe a resort...

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our mothers actually are sisters, so we have known each other since we were born, almost exactly one year apart.  we share a history, some family dysfunction, physical resemblance, similar senses of humor, and can finish each others' sentences. the only thing that sucks about our relationship is the 3,000 mile distance between boston and san francisco.

last november we met in nyc for a long weekend to celebrate our birthdays. we left the kids and men behind and had an amazing weekend roaming around in the west village, chelsea, the village, and the upper east side.

this time she came west and arrived here late thursday night. i had been wanting to explore calistoga for friscomama and uptake.com as its been some time since i've been there, and it has long remained my favorite town in napa. i love the funky unpretentiousness of it. it is an unapologetic western frontier town that feels frozen in time.

here you will find plenty of authentico mexican restaurants but no $350 prix-fixe french laundries or exorbitantly-priced tasting rooms like elsewhere in napa valley. not that there's anything wrong with the french laundry. i'm sure thomas keller does a bang-up job and i would be beyond delighted to dine there.

oh, and then there is the water. calistoga's healing thermal springs are rightfully the stuff of legend.

i was invited to spend the night at the brannan cottage inn by the gracious proprietors doug and judy cook, so we cruised out of town directly after parker's pre-k graduation party.

the adorable gingerbread victorian with a white picket fence was built in 1860 by sam brannan, an entrepreneur, gold speculator, and publisher who profited by the healing properties of the nearby mineral water and the hot springs.

we arrived just in time for wine and cheese served in the parlor. i tasted a delicious cheddar marbled with porter ale and sipped a crisp lake county chardonnay from  guenoc winery while we mingled with doug, judy and the other guests. judy divulged that the periwinkle room is rumored to be haunted by a benign presence, which of course, totally intrigued me.

our accommodations were in the comfortable lavender suite, with a private entrance and a sitting area with fireplace and day bed. perfect for megan and her dog juneau who arrived a bit later.

not only is brannan cottage inn dog friendly, but the well-appointed suites are a great option if you're traveling with kids. but don't get me wrong, i was quite content not to have my little darlings along! but, there is a large landscaped lawn to romp around, with adirondack chairs, enclosed by the picket fence.

breakfast was tasty french toast with chicken and gouda sausage enjoyed outside on the sunny patio. after, we went on our separate ways – jules got a pedicure, megan walked juneau, and i went to check out the wine sensory experience at the w.h. smith tasting room.

i had no idea what to expect when i arrived and was greeted by t'anne and a table full of mysterious black glasses. each glass contained the essence of a aromas associated with wine and it was my job to guess what they were. ok, i was admittedly a bit hungover from last night's wine at calistoga inn and not really up for a quiz at 10am, but as soon as i began, i was so compelled to figure out all of the different scents and see how i measured up. some were easy – anise, mint, coffee but the fruits had me puzzled and i guess most of them incorrectly. i did ok overall, according to t'anne and she then poured some wines for me to taste. it was a really cool experiment and left me wanting to train my nose for better enjoyment of the wine tasting process.

we came back and lounged on the lawn for a bit – it was so relaxing on the lawn in the balmy calistoga afternoon. the evening before we talked about staying another night – and it turned out we almost had to! we were set to leave – megan and juneau in the range rover heading to sonoma, jules and i to go across the street for massages and the mineral pool at indian springs. i jumped in the subaru, turned the key. nothing. completely dead. fortunately megan had jumper cables and our wonderful host doug patiently hooked them up for the three clueless blondes, and we were on our way to lunch at v. sattui winery.

i can't wait to return in september!!

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• May 25, 2009 -- long weekend letdown

i moped around glumly, chastising myself for not making it happen once again, especially because this year it's in nyc. later, i retreated upstairs to my office to work on some queries for sf select, my travel book that publishes in the fall. on my desk was an envelope with my name on it. inside was an order confirmation for blogher 2010 purchased on the sly by my wonderful husband. i'm going!! i couldn't be more thrilled! thanks, baby. you rock!

***

i'm hanging out at progressive grounds coffee house in bernal heights. cute place. crunchy, friendly, with a patio, mitchell's ice cream, hipsters, locals, lesbians, and lilting spanish accents. i rarely get to this side of town, but it is such a sweet neighborhood and the weather is often sunnier and warmer where we live in nopa on the edge of the fog break.

so, what am i doing here? well, parker graduated from pre-k last week, (sniffle, sniffle – but i miraculously managed to hold my shit together during the ceremony), so we signed her up for a park & rec summer camp for a week so we wouldn't have to listen to her complain about how bored she is. at least this week. i was a little trepidatious as it approached since i/she didn't know anyone else going and i have no experience with urban park & rec type camp stuff. i grew up in the suburbs. camp for me is always associated with woods, gymp and white kids not rec centers, concrete and multiculturalism.

all for naught. she had a good time yesterday exploring the area, going to the playground and playing kickball and capture the flag. today they are going to see monsters versus the aliens. she sauntered off in her fearlessly independent way, just waiting for me to disappear. i thought i had a few more years before she was embarrassed to be seen with her mother, but nope. by the end of the week she'll be asking me to drop her off a block away.

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• August 8, 2010 -- new york city, baby!