It's been more than two months since I last posted. Yes, yes...I've been busy that's true. But who hasn't?

I did, by the way, enjoy a couple beers and some nachos with Mr. Rob St. Amant on a warm evening in early August as mentioned in my last, brief post. I am quite delinquent in reporting on the mini OS meet-up (Nikki Stern, unfortunately, was unable to make it). As you can see from his posts and as I confirmed in person, Rob is a compelling guy whose knowledge and interests have a very wide range. We had a fun couple of hours chatting at the pub there on Market Street in Philly. Thanks again, Rob, for the great conversation and for feeding my parking meter. I don't know why that new-fangled thing kept rejecting my credit card.

In other news, I was thinking the other night about the last few months and what has occured during that time and decided I should break the post silence and remind myself and anyone else who might care that I do indeed enjoy this community of Open Salon. So, I asked myself, why not share a little and jot down what I've been up to?

As such, a précis of my recent activity now follows...

My daughter, after a busy summer of visiting relatives, day camps, sailing lessons, tennis lessons, the ubiquitous karate lessons, swimming in grandpa's pool, bike rides, summer reading, sleep-overs and even some time to be bored,  started the 5th grade during the first week of September. And she celebrated her 11th birthday a few weeks back as the fair Angela lovingly mentioned in her last post. My kid has now settled into the school routine and, like most kids her age this time of year, is looking forward to Halloween and, though it has so far been mostly through oblique references, has her eye on Christmas.

In other child-related activity, aside from my participation in most of the above, I began building my daughter a doll house. A sweeping project that has taken much longer to complete than originally anticipated. It seems like it's been months...oh right; it has been, since she and I sat down at the kitchen table to design it. She was quite specific with some of her requirements, kid-like vague with many others, but we at last settled on a floor plan, I sketched up a front elevation and construction began. The thing is now up and under roof and so just this past weekend we finally headed out to the craft store to purchase paint, flooring and wall paper.  Fortunately the bill's tally, while nothing to sneeze at, was significantly less than what one might spend at Home Depot buying the appropriate equivalent items for a full scale house and it, in fact, all fit comfortably within our shopping cart with plenty of room to spare. We still have exterior finishes to worry about, but we'll get to that eventually. I hold the note on it but she assures me her lemonade stand earnings will be enough to cover the mortgage and utilities.

In 30 years it'll be hers free and clear!

In addition, I spent much of August and September paying for the severe lack of attention paid to my yard earlier during the summer. Speaking of notes I'm certain my long-suffering neighbors, secretly convinced my home had been abandoned and was in the hands of the Illuminati through their control of the banks, were wondering if I'd ever get around to saving what's left of their property values. To their delight or chagrin, depending on who you ask, I made my presence known and at last committed myself (figuratively speaking) to spend many weekends both pulling and wacking weeds, mowing what may or may not be grass, pruning shrubs and generally working diligently towards bringing my little tax parcel to within shouting distance of the community's restrictive covenants regarding property maintenance. Though the implements of destruction (apologies to Arlo Guthrie) I used to wrest control of the out-of-control flora conspired against me with flat tires, broken belts, disintigrating fuel lines and burned out motors, I am now able to comfortably walk the grounds of the Smithery Compound without the need for a vat of Calamine Lotion or GPS.

Oh, and I read Jonathan Franzen's novel, Freedom, too. It was pretty good.

"Who cares about all that stuff... what about Angela!?" you may be asking at this point. Perhaps you go on to say, "You two have used so much server space writing about how much you love each other, where's that update?"

Ah, thank you for asking; the truth is I've saved the best for last.

The only thing that has changed with Angela and me is that we are more devoted to each to other than ever. As you may have guessed from her absence from OS she has been extremely busy but she is well and we talk on the phone every day in addition to frequent emails and texts.

We had an absolutely fabulous time in the City By The Bay in the late-middle of August. There is a whole  post to be written describing the shenanigins that took place on that trip having to do with my best friend's wife. Quit your winking and nudging;  twern't that type o' shenanigins. It was a bit of a prank and the story of it is pretty fucking funny so I'll try to get down to writing about that soon. 

But as for the beautiful Angela, she was waiting for me just past the security gate at San Francisco International Airport after my much-delayed flight across the country (thanks for nothing, AirTran). No sight I can imagine could have been more welcome than what my eyes beheld when I saw her standing there (apologies to the Beatles). 

The large window in our room high in the tower of the Fairmont Hotel at Nob Hill looked to the north. Far to left was the Golden Gate Bridge, obscured by fog most afternoons. Also within view were Alcatraz Island, Coit Tower, the Bay Bridge and lots of little tiny cars and people. The room itself was gorgeous and, thanks to Angela's deft negotiating skills, was occupied by us for far below its going rate. Prior to my trip out there and further explaining my MIA status from OS, I made another candle holder to commorate our time together in that great city. It is pictured below on the window sill our our hotel room.

See Coit Tower out there?

On our first night together we had dinner at Fleur de Lys.  Never before have I had a dining experience like this...a four course dinner with wine pairings for each course. Incredible food and the best dinner companion a man could hope for; we had much to talk about and the conversation was both intimate and lively.  Angela was in a stunning black dress and simply radiant. Fellas, there are no words to describe what it was like to sit across the table from this woman.

During our days there we did touristy things like walk the steep streets around the hotel, spent some time exploring Chinatown and we nearly crashed a party at a ritzy house over by the Palace of Fine Arts but chickened out at the last minute. We also took a windy boat ride to Alcatraz and walked up some amazing stair cases past the gorgeous hillside homes below Coit Tower.

In addition to spending time in the city itself, we day tripped north to Napa which was beautiful and, while world famous for the wineries in its vicinity (at which several we partook of their offerings), it should also be known for, in this visitor's humble opinion, Joe's Downtown Brewery and the magnificent garlic fries to be had there. And believe me, we had them. Mmm...très bon! At our last winery stop of the day, we walked under low hanging oak trees and through a lovely garden, treating our palettes to a  sparkling white and committing a minor crime. On another day in Sausalito we spent the morning checking out the shops and had a lunch of modestly presented yet tasty fish and chips enjoyed on a sidewalk table. That afternoon we ran up a surprisingly large bar tab at a waterfront restaurant in Tiburon. 

It had to end all too quickly and I was forced to endure another of AirTran's flying bus rides back here to the east coast. Like each of the proceeding times we've had together, this trip was uniquely beautiful in its experience. The fantastic memories are fresh and soon I will return as I cannot bear to be away from her for very long. Next month we'll be bundled up and taking in the low rumble of Pacific waves while sipping wine on the beach near an undisclosed little town we both love.

~~~~~

Thank you for reading. I hope to be here on OS commenting and posting more often as fall begins in earnest with changing leaves and cooler air.

~xoxoxo~