Autumn in San Francisco

It is October 31st--the end of the month. It is. It is Halloween. It is the night we turn the clocks back. It is officially fall. I love fall--it is the time of year I was born which may predispose me to having a certain feeling when the crispness hits the air. Though of course in SF it was 70 degrees today and absolutely beautiful. But the leaves, some leaves, do change here. NOTHING like the east coast of course, where I grew up, which has such a distinct smell, taste and feel and always seems to evoke such strong sensory responses. trick or treating, fear of nair sprayed in our hair, macintosh apples --you really cannot get mac apples in No Cal that have the same taste.

The places here that I feel fall are (1) my backyard and our fish pond (2) the sculpture garden at Golden Gate Park (3) the pop-up pumpkin patch on 7th avenue and (4) the ice plants out at ocean beach and the beautiful hues they take on as they play off the sand and sky.

And pumpkins of course and halloween candy which I quietly raid after the kids go to bed--though the plastic pumpkins do stay up on top of our fridge year round--gently warming all the left over candy that no one really wanted--

I do love a good orange though--and the rough hewn reds and greens that I use on my plates...

Outerlands

A beautiful fall day in San Francisco means a beautiful summer day anywhere else. Fall is our summer and though we relish these fog free days and warm nights, there is always a hint of the latent chill in the air. For me, a warm day means one thing: the beach. I love the beach. It is and has always been a huge part of my life-it is absolute liberation. I run out at Ocean Beach regularly and derive much inspiration for my work from the random sightings and findings out there. What the waves carry in from all over the world and find its way into the sand--dissident objects pieced together-birds flocking, imprints left in the sand of footprints and others left behind, the wires that connect the rustic wood fence posts along the path, random pieces of hardware lying about. It all finds its way onto a plate design in some way.

My new favorite obsession is a small strip of Judah out by 45th ave, blocks from the beach. Within this block and a half is one wonderful grocery store-- Other Avenue Foodstore, (http://www.otheravenuescoop.com/) an amazing raw food restaurant --Judalicious--that has the best hummous and purslane sandwiches EVER and then the new small jewel of a spot--Outerlands (http://www.outerlandssf.blogspot.com/). Named after what this part of the city used to be called, this sweet spot has a vibe all its own. From the Andy Goldsworthy inspired driftwood interior to the hearty fish stew and crusty loaves of bread baked in house, this is special. Yesterday, I drove myself out from my place in the Inner Sunset to meet two of my favorite gals--Margie and Dana-who themselves, create wonderment in the kitchen at Woodwards Garden (http://www.woodwardsgarden.com/). We sat ourselves down to a sweet meal of grilled gruyere,heirloom tomato and mushrooms, fresh greens and a feeling of contentment. The driftwood so inspires me--and also was screaming--"put a plate on the dark wood table and feel the aged turquoise combo!"

So here is my little lazy susan--smack dab in the middle of Outerlands, out by the beach.