These last weeks have raced by but a common theme has been that of celebration. First there was a wonderful birthday party held by our Moldovan dance friends in Sacramento. Despite the blistering heat everyone partied and danced their feet off. Before the dust could settle we were speeding back to the cool comfort and gray skies of home to make a quick change for the next act -  a wedding celebration for a dear friend and colleague in the North Bay. It was a glorious afternoon filled with old friends and students now grown up with children of their own. The power of love was felt by all present and has not worn off yet. The bride's daughter is the talented Cynthia Stanley who created a beautiful solo dance performed to Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata enhanced by the sound of waves. It was a moment of pure beauty, harmony with the elements and a gift for all present. Cynthia has graciously allowed me to publish this photo here which captures just a brief but beautiful moment in her performance

The moment was the very definition of " "Dance like nobody's watching; love like you've never been hurt.
Sing like nobody's listening; live like it's heaven on earth."

May the dance never end!

Olympic Beading

Nothing like Olympic fever to inspire one to soar to new heights. While there is much to be said for training and preparation there is still the "just do it" theory of making things happen. Such was the case on Saturday. I had been visualizing a piece I wanted to make to wear  with some two tone agate I had purchased from Katie with Gemstones of Africa (she sells at the San Mateo Gem show) with an outfit on Sunday. Still I needed some items and had to be downtown to get my laptop upgraded. What a good excuse to make a side trip to Yone! The consultation started off with Sandra of course and then expanded to two other classmates with considerable experience and taste to match who just happened to drop by. If we tried to plan this it would never have happened. They loved the agate beads I wanted to work with and I was sorely tempted to buy an antique silver necklace to work into my piece. Reason prevailed (Hermon...I was so oooooooooooo tempted!) and at home I dug up a Tibetan piece I had been wanting to work with and before you know it my necklace was ready for its Sunday debut.

Freezing 4th of July

The Fourth of July conjures up sultry summer weather, picnics, tall cool drinks and of course fireworks. However, in our neck of the woods it works a little differently. It was freezing cold in Foster City which is usually quite warm. So yes...there is global warming (at least this year there was !). So instead of T-shirts and summer wear we were bundled up in parkas and hats!

It was worth the wait (although the traffic jam following took a great deal of rationalizing). Fireworks have such a magical  and primal quality ...no wonder they fascinate us.

The crowd responded with "Oohs" and "Aahs" accordingly.

The 4th of July is also the day my beautiful mother Pearl left this life. It was her favorite holiday and leave it to her to exit and give her family a chance to always have the day off in her memory (although a day does not go by that I do not think about her). Pearl - this salute is for you from number 1 Cat!

Sunrise, Sunset (or what a difference a week makes)

The saga of little NiuNiu comes to a most happy end. From the moment she was with her new guardian this dog stopped barking or acting out in any discernible way. It was love at first sight. After a quick trip to the vet (she checked out well but needed shots) she was licensed , flea treated (first time in a year) and groomed. The result speaks volumes (compare this photo to the one in my last post)  so all is well that ends well.  I took this photo when she came to observe the advanced obedience class on Sunday. I would encourage everyone to get involved in any way possible to help find homes for needy animals in these trying times.

NiuNiu is a New Girl!

While so much of the country suffers from triple digit heat, fires and storms we continue to be insulated by our natural air conditioning. The grass is always greener when it comes to weather and a little warmth (minus humidity thank you very much) would be most welcome now. A special moment of my day is watching the sunset from our window. It is always dramatic even when cloudy. That moment of transition that seems to take a long time and then is over before you know it applies to so many aspects of living. I have tried to capture these moments below. It is a blessing to be able to witness this splendor.

Take a moment to take in the sunrise (if you are up early enough) and no matter where you are make a point to catch the sunset everyday. Lev Tolstoy said if you want to be happy, BE. Watching sunrises and sunsets definitely works for me.

This weekend went to the dogs....literally. It also went to the discovery of a unique location found in the course of web surfing...but I digress. Coming back from Saturday morning errands I met a neighbor with her son and Bichon Frise NiuNiu. She disclosed that they were in the process of moving and the new apartment would not allow dogs so she was on her way to surrender NiuNiu to Animal Control. She had tried the SPCA but they were full up (as are most rescues currently due to the ongoing economic crisis this country faces). I pleaded with her to give me a few days to try to place NiuNiu. My goal was to sound out an obedience school classmate whose beloved  14 year old award winning obedience and agility dog succumbed suddenly to cancer two weeks ago. The owner has been inconsolable since but I just had a hunch....The good news is that little NiuNiu had a new home as of yesterday! My classmate took the plunge and brought NiuNiu into her life. Here is what she currently looks like. Will update this once she settles in with her new Mom and gets some additional grooming.

As for my other discovery....after living in San Francisco for 40 years (can't believe that number!) I thought I knew every nook and cranny of this amazing city....wrong. While surfing the web last week I landed on a design site with the most amazing photograph of a stairway located on Moraga between 15th and 16th Avenues (check out www.tiledsteps.org for more info about the project).

Who knew? I was so moved by the pictures that I had to go see it for myself which I did Saturday with husband and pooch in tow. The work just blew us away  as did the view looking down. Needless to say pooch had to start climbing the steps and at the half way mark posed for a close up to the amusement of other tourists doing the same things. With all the staircases in this town this is a project crying out to be duplicated to beautify our neighborhoods.

On a clear day.......

Always the center of attention!

Happy exploring all!

So another week has crept by and one of the more amusing moments was receiving this amazing zucchini on steroids from my friend. It will be transformed into ratatouille tonight courtesy of a recipe from my Epicurious app.  Could not help but ponder the miracle of growing vegetables and this one is truly just that.

While searching some other items today I was reminded of some video I had found a while back that is a wonderful example of authentic Roma dance performed by a Romanian group performing at a folk festival in Switzerland. Curtain up! Happy TGIF all!

ANTICIPATION! Tonight is Project 7 - Golden Links. Think we have our work cut out for us. Here's what I hope to achieve but will post my finished result tomorrow.

Also loved the amulet friendship bracelet project so much that I went ahead and made the black evil-eye version too.

San Francisco was blessed with ideal weather (with the exception of the last day) during the US Open. With all the traffic though Saturday was a great day to head downtown and check out the North Beach Fair with a stop of course at Yone. Grant Street and Washington Square Park were jam packed.

The park almost looked like a mini-Woodstock. Next we checked out Cafe Prague - a little slice of Europe tucked away off of Battery Street on 424 Merchant. On the weekend there's no traffic so sitting outside was lovely and their beer selection is all Czech.

After quenching our thirst I went home and prepared this wonderful recipe courtesy of my brother. Bon appétit!

CHICKEN WITH ROSEMARY AND PEPPADEW PEPPERS

8          small skinless, boneless chicken thighs (2 pounds)

            Salt and freshly ground pepper

All-purpose flour, for dusting

½         cup extra-virgin olive oil8 garlic cloves, halved lengthwise and lightly smashed

4          large rosemary springs broken into 2-inch pieces

2          cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth

2          tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2          tablespoons unsalted butter

½         cup Peppadew peppers or other picked peppers, sliced

                           

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and dust with flour, In a large skillet, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the chicken and cook over high heat turning once, until browned and crusty on both sides. About 10 minutes. Add the garlic and rosemary and cook for 3 minutes, until the garlic is lightly browned. Transfer the chicken to a platter, leaving the rosemary and garlic in the skillet

Add the stock to the skillet an cook over high heat, scraping up any browned bits, until reduced by half about 5 minutes. Add the lemon uice and butter and swirl until emulsified.  Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the skillet. Add the peppers and cook, turning the chicken until coated in the sauce, about 3 minutes. Transfer the chicken and sauce to the platter and serve.

Serve with crusty bread.

For best results use a cast iron frying pan.

Note: Peppadew peppers can be found at Bev Mo stores.

This week's project with Sandra was so much fun and I know I will be making many of these amulet friendship bracelets going forward. We learned knotting techniques and tricks of the trade to stop the nylon cord from unraveling. I opted to make the blue version shown below but invested in a black version (picture not up yet) that features an evil eye amulet in lieu of the cross. Sandra did a wonderful job researching the many associations attributed to the cross pre-Christianity so I got a history lesson in the bargain. It makes me realize that when it comes to fashion and design "everything old is new again".  The touch of bead chain Sandra added definitely gave the finished piece a modern edge.This class built on many techniques we have been learning: working with tools properly, working with jump rings and now we added working with magnetic closures. Definitely took patience - those magnets are strong! The history lesson continued about the Czech vintage wood beads we used which came from a pre-World War II supply successfully hidden from the Nazi's. I will think of my dear departed friend Paul Zenter, a courageous survivor of Theresienstadt when I wear these.

“Simple Elegance” was the name for Sandra’s project last week and it was aptly titled as we learned to create a strand of pearls using knotting technique to string them. The pearls were Japanese vintage  and quite lovely.  Still elegance is never really that simple and neither is knotting pearls as I discovered. Still once I got my knotting mojo working spacing seemed to flow. This first piece is uneven and my plan is to take it apart and redo it until I have the desired result. Practice does make perfect so back to my awl and string. The Russians have a saying that the first blini never comes out. I suspect that extends to pearl stringing as well! Sorry about the sideways photo, my learning curve on blogger is not up to speed just yet. Trust me the original photo is vertical....just can't figure it out....yet.

This past Sunday we were so fortunate to have our good friend Vadim Kolpakov come through San Francisco on the start of a  coast-to-coast tour. Vadim heads up the ensemble Via Romen specializing in Romani music with a twist. He is one of the most accomplished 7 string guitar players in the world. In fact  Madonna knows a good thing when she sees it which is why he toured with her in her "Sticky and Sweet" Show.  Via Romen has a channel on YouTube and their music is available on Amazon and the ITunes store so start listening! Here's a little video to get you started....Those of you in NYC can catch the action this Saturday June 9th at the Millennium Theater in Brooklyn. Spread the word.

Dja Devlesa!

My brother is on a tear and here is his latest creation which I just love. Has that 60's thing going on in a fresh new way.

Time for some new eye candy and a quick mention that my previous posts can be viewed at http://mountian.typepad.com. For those of you joining me now I have been studying beading with Sandra Fish the gifted designer for Yone Beads located at 478 Union Street in San Francisco, Each class is centered on a design to teach us new concepts. I can't believe I made this Color Burst project after only four classes! The white beads are vintage Japanese beads and the rings are Indian vintage glass and I am still trying to figure out how they were made so will have to consult with my brother on that. There were multiple steps to create the finished illusion. Each time I bead I am reminded of the importance of patience, perseverance, having a plan and then making it happen.

Welcome to my blog and my first real post on this new and beautiful site thanks to blog desginer extraordinaire Karen Valentine. Karen came highly recommended by Artistic Affaire pal Charlene and now I know why!  It only  took two years to get here as I puttered around some other blog sites, Attending Kim Caldwell's wonderful "Affaire at Tiffany's" event this May in Los Angeles was the final push.

So how did Karen arrive at this design? First a story. Years ago I found myself outside of Paris attending a company conference. Over the weekend there was an enormous flea market that was an annual event in the town. As I made way up and down the charming street with my good friend Lise from Canada,  all of a sudden I spied an oil painting and knew instantly it was Russian. The piece was signed by an artist who passed away in the late 70's. The title "Girlfriends" showed two young girls, one in peasant garb, the other in school uniform, pouring over a book together. I loved the literacy message but also the intimacy in the shared experience. As I cast about for a way to brand myself with this blog all of a sudden this painting took on new meaning. A few clicks of my iPhone camera later and Karen was busy at work making this a reality by incorporating it into the title art of this site. For those who visit this site I look forward to sharing ideas, experiences,  information and a few precious moments with you  tête  à tête.

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog! I hope you will come back and visit me soon as I have so much to share with you! Have a wonderful day!