My excellent Birthday Weekend
Jan. 10th, 2013 10:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rowanfI had a really wonderful birthday weekend. On Saturday we went to have lunch with Brigid, Fiona and Daniel at the Fish Market in Palo Alto. It was really nice to see them and we got an update on Fiona's research which is always interesting. (She is tracking the hybrid area between coastal and inland scrub jays.) And we heard about the biotech start-up Daniel is working for. It was really nice to see them both. Everyone seems happy and healthy.
Then we stopped by Ru & Lise's open house. We visited with various folks and ate wonderful food.
By then my spoons were pretty low, so after a rest, Russell took off to Moosemas at Eclectia without me. He had a great time (but told me that the rain and bad traffic on Hwy 17 would have made me tell him to turn around so just as well I didn't try to go!). Being a Daja & Buddy party though, he brought me home a rainbow Bahia band and tied it on with the traditional three knots. Lembranca do Senhor do Bonfim da Bahia, axe o! Very excited to add three wishes to my birthday celebration.
For my birthday meal I had decided to go to Spenger's Fish House in Berkeley for their Sunday brunch. I had seen it back in October when we stopped in for a light lunch and decided I had to try it! I had reservations for 12 but that morning several dear friends called to say they were just too sick to make it. Having had the cold that is going around, I entirely understand. We had a nice table of seven, which is a good size for a single conversation. And the food was good, the conversation excellent. I ate fresh dungeness crab, salmon, tri-tip, fried oysters and strawberries and a "Hangtown fry" which is an omelet made with bacon, fried oysters, spinach and cheese. It was amazing and I am told that it originated during the Gold Rush and has been a San Francisco standard for 160 years. How had I missed out on that?!?! I need to find someplace in the South Bay that makes them! We were constrained by the 2pm CoG meeting and so folks had to leave. The only bad note dining there was the slowness of our wait staff in getting us the check.
Before brunch Russell and I wandered around a bit (we were way early) and learned about the Berkeley Station area which used to be an Ohlone village. There are a couple of lovely murals there, one of an Ohlone in a tule boat and one of people from all eras of California history getting off an Amtrak train. Way fun. After brunch Russell and I stopped by Don & Anna's so Anna could give me some anti-scarring silicon pads. We visited with Don a bit but then put the top down on the convertible and went driving down Grizzly Peak along the ridges. It was a bit grey for that, but it what I really wanted to do and at least the rain stopped for awhile. We stopped at various overlooks and admired the grey but shiny bay with its bridges. It was the sort of weather where the human eye sees much but cameras fail to capture the beauty.
We got home around 4pm and I kinda collapsed. Getting a cold right as I was getting off convalescence really knocked me out.
Then we stopped by Ru & Lise's open house. We visited with various folks and ate wonderful food.
By then my spoons were pretty low, so after a rest, Russell took off to Moosemas at Eclectia without me. He had a great time (but told me that the rain and bad traffic on Hwy 17 would have made me tell him to turn around so just as well I didn't try to go!). Being a Daja & Buddy party though, he brought me home a rainbow Bahia band and tied it on with the traditional three knots. Lembranca do Senhor do Bonfim da Bahia, axe o! Very excited to add three wishes to my birthday celebration.
For my birthday meal I had decided to go to Spenger's Fish House in Berkeley for their Sunday brunch. I had seen it back in October when we stopped in for a light lunch and decided I had to try it! I had reservations for 12 but that morning several dear friends called to say they were just too sick to make it. Having had the cold that is going around, I entirely understand. We had a nice table of seven, which is a good size for a single conversation. And the food was good, the conversation excellent. I ate fresh dungeness crab, salmon, tri-tip, fried oysters and strawberries and a "Hangtown fry" which is an omelet made with bacon, fried oysters, spinach and cheese. It was amazing and I am told that it originated during the Gold Rush and has been a San Francisco standard for 160 years. How had I missed out on that?!?! I need to find someplace in the South Bay that makes them! We were constrained by the 2pm CoG meeting and so folks had to leave. The only bad note dining there was the slowness of our wait staff in getting us the check.
Before brunch Russell and I wandered around a bit (we were way early) and learned about the Berkeley Station area which used to be an Ohlone village. There are a couple of lovely murals there, one of an Ohlone in a tule boat and one of people from all eras of California history getting off an Amtrak train. Way fun. After brunch Russell and I stopped by Don & Anna's so Anna could give me some anti-scarring silicon pads. We visited with Don a bit but then put the top down on the convertible and went driving down Grizzly Peak along the ridges. It was a bit grey for that, but it what I really wanted to do and at least the rain stopped for awhile. We stopped at various overlooks and admired the grey but shiny bay with its bridges. It was the sort of weather where the human eye sees much but cameras fail to capture the beauty.
We got home around 4pm and I kinda collapsed. Getting a cold right as I was getting off convalescence really knocked me out.
