an afternoon well spent

 

We gathered yesterday afternoon in my neighbor Paula's very small kitchen for the third annual making of the stuffed grape leaves. Paula gets the credit for gathering the materials, grape leaves from Alameda and Oakland picked in the morning. This year she added stuffed zucchini to the menu. Marilyn, Mike and I chopped, Paula directed, and then I stuffed the grape leaves, Marilyn had the honors of the zucchini. I was commended for remembering the correct technique from last year.

Brooks added his tabouli, and Mike his ground lamb kebobs.
Then we added Ann, Paula's mom, who provided the final course of melon and kiwi fruit sorbet.

I was so full I could hardly walk home, good thing home is close. Ann remembered the Golden Gate Bridge opening. She was in high school, living in San Francisco. They gave all the kids a school holiday and let them walk on the bridge.
I had leftovers for lunch today. Looking forward to the fourth annual.

75 years old

Hard to imagine the passing of the last 25 years. The 50th anniversary only seems like a short time ago. We marked that by going out on the exact day and walking on the bridge, missing the crazy crowds of the official celebration. We will celebrate the 75th later and miss this years crowds. But we will celebrate.
My brother was born in 1937, my parents were young then and lived in San Francisco. A time awaiting another world war. The average cost of a new house was $4,100. Amelia Earhart disappeared attempting a round the world flight. Former King of England King Edward VIII married Wallis Warfield Simpson. Of "Mice and Men" was published. The Hindeburg burst into flames. All of these facts courtesy of the internet. You would have had to go to the library and do research to get facts like these in 1937. Today I only have to do a Google search.
It was only after going to the California Historical Society this week that I became aware how controversial the bridge building was. I suppose something as majestic as the "international orange" bridge that has always been spanning the gate in my lifetime, is hard to picture as an environmental mistake. And I can't really see another choice of color. But there was much debate.
So here's to your anniversary Golden Gate Bridge. Don't know if I will make your 100th celebration.

a field trip

Went down to the ferry terminal to catch the boat to San Francisco.

We weren't alone. 

The Potomac was out for a cruise.

On our way to the California Historical Society, we couldn't pass up this shot.

We had a three stop plan for the day. The Golden Gate Bridge exhibit at the California Historical Society was first. Followed by Photography in Mexico at SFMOMA (where we did eat lunch too), and then on to Scott Nichols Gallery for Dorthea Lange and the Golden Gate Bridge 75th Anniversary.  We ended our day with a large dose of Peets coffee at the Ferry Building waiting for the ferry home. Tired feet, but great day. I love being a tourist in San Francisco.

lost and found

Quite awhile ago I realized I had lost a hat. Now I don't usually lose things, misplace maybe, but not lose. But after scouring every possible location I had given up and decided this hat was gone, must have slipped out of my pocket. I was cleaning out a glue pot on the edge of the concrete and weeds in front of the shop yesterday and I noticed something squished into the ground. I looked closer. It was my hat! Now this poor hat had been out in the rain, sun, and probably backed over by a car more than once. But I'm carefully picking out the stickers, and I've cleaned the button, and have decided the unique pattern caused by the fading (it was folded up) just gives it character. And my knitting has held up fine, not one broken stitch. I may have to give it a bit of a wash, but it will go back into the collection. And next time I put it in a pocket I will be careful that it not one it can fall out of.

wow

Tom was born in the year this piano was made. His fully restored 1928 Mason Hamlin is leaving our shop this week to go home and be played. And played some more. He is very happy. His mother was a music teacher and she bought this piano used from someone in Ross in 1940 or so. His son and his daughter came into the shop to hear him play and he told me he was very happy he did this restoration. He just kept saying "wow". The piano definitely deserves the "wow".

a new tent

Long overdue, the Retties have a new tent. Today was the introduction to setting it up. Always better to make the first setup in the backyard when it's not raining. We needed a new tent three years ago, but haven't found one that we liked. We seam sealed our old one over and over, but the last trip in the rain produced a puddle between the two us, and perfect or not we had to make a leap and get a new one. So we redeemed all of our LL Bean coupons (and then some) and here it is. I have to modify a tarp to use as a foot print and we will be all set. We hope.

a party

The Taylor Avenue gardens hosted another garden party this year.
There was entertainment, and hats of all sorts.

 Raffle tickets were sold. And food and drink were plentiful.

 We all had a good time.... even if a little tired by the end.

the mason plays

Hiding behind the white butcher paper our 1924 Mason Hamlin is coming alive. We have all spent hours and hours on this creature and I think we are all falling in love. Dan, who is playing, said this is what he is waiting for to come into his life. He plays well, hopefully someday he will have one. We work mostly on Steinways, but I think we all have a secret love for the Masons. There is something about their sound, that is different, deeper and richer.
Douglas has spent the better part of the week voicing this piano, thinking it was almost ready but not totally satisfided. I suggested Dan play it, and he stand back and listen. He was surprisingly pleased. It is ready to have the lid installed before final adjustments. But there is great joy for all of us when we get to this point in a project. Somehow, it all makes sense. And just standing back and listening somehow soothes the soul, lowers the blood pressure, and makes us all happy.

thoughts

I am removing old key bushings from a 1940 Mason Hamlin BB. In fact the keys have of date of 1938 stamped somewhere on them, so it must have taken awhile to leave the factory. I really enjoy this job because of it's mindless nature, allowing my mind to wander. What was the world like when this piano left the factory? Who has worked on and played this piano? Were there many parties over the past years? I say this because when getting an intimate look at the inside of a piano you see evidence of liquid spills. I like to think that at least there were good times that caused the stains. But if I ever own a piano, don't get near it will a drink in your hand.
This job was the first work I ever did on a piano, and I have refined my technique, mainly adding the little squeeze bottle to my tool drawer. You mix water with a little wallpaper remover and keep wetting the felt, soaking off the old hide glue that holds it into the key button. Hopefully it is hide glue. Occasionally you run into another glue (which I think may actually have been the case with my Mason here) which is a pvc based and tends to be gooier and harder to remove. I use a clothes steamer as well going over the holes several times. Then with my trusty exacto knife and hemostats I pull out the felt. All the while thinking about what I am going to have for lunch or will the Giants defense get it together. The day goes by.

sunscreen

On our recent trip we realized we both had old, and therefore dead sunscreen. So we went into Mammoth to Rite Aid and walked into linear feet by linear feet of sunscreen. So many choices. Me, I wanted basic 15 spf. I actually like getting tan, and my skin will do so over time. My family genetics is to have heart attacks before the skin cancer gets you. Mike was looking for something waterproof in a 45 spf. Now if you read any literature you will know that nothing over 45 has any effect, so those numbers with 70 to 100 are all for naught. And 15 seems to be getting rare. We are turning into a pasty white bunch. The mind boggling array of choices made me almost decide I would just wear a long sleeve shirt but I persevered and came out of the store with an unscented, unobnoxious, unnamebrand, spf15. Mike had to settle for a spf 50. My 15 worked quite well, as I could witness the areas I neglected to cover had a rather rosy tinge to them.