Uncle Jeff

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Uncle Jeff (K's brother) came to visit Syd today. He brought a video which featured road trip visits to Salvation Mountain in Calipatria, CA and Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village in Simi Valley, CA. The Bottle Village looks like a place right up our alley to visit on a future Southern California trip.

We were treated to a home-made lasagne dinner made by Keith. The lasagne was two days in the making. After the delicious meal, Syd, Keith and Jeff made some creations with the anchor blocks.



Sydney's cork collection was used in this structure.

After School

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Syd's second day of school went well. Syd's feeling good as she has not yet received homework! We took a trip to the library after school which is a block away from school and got our library cards.



New buddies, Keziah and Giovanna.

Lafayette Elementary School

Monday, August 27, 2007

Syd's first day at school.



The day starts in the playground with the Pledge of Allegiance and school announcements before going to the classrooms.



Syd's teacher, Mr. Drum. It happens to be his first year at Lafayette as well.



Syd met a new buddy, Giovanna, who is standing behind her.

Sutro Baths

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Here are some shots of Sutro Baths which is another site within walking distance of home. What was once the place for swimming in luxury, it is now for the birds.

Camp Montage

August 16-23, 2007

Keith was commissioned to work on Camp Montage's art installation for Burning Man 2007. His friend RJ required new wooden frames and special window box frames with lights. Check out the Camp Montage site to see the artwork which are collages of pictures from previous Burning Man events. Syd took a partial picture of one collage.

Uncle Ted

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Uncle Ted (V's brother) came to visit Syd today. After a walk on the beach and to the Dutch Windmill at Golden Gate park, we settled down to an evening of Keith's fresh pasta dinner and Ted's dvds. He brought the Dark Crystal and Samurai Jack dvds.



As we did not get to watch all of the Samurai Jack episodes in one night, we borrowed the dvds. Now we are hooked! We're gonna have to borrow Ted's second season dvds.

"Back to the past, back to the past, with Sam-uuu- rai Jack!"

Indonesian Festival

Saturday, August 11, 2007

I took a break from work and unpacking by visiting one of the many fairs and festivals in town. The Indonesian Festival was held in Union Square this year.





I loved listening to this gamelan orchestra live!

DMV and City Hall

Thursday, August 9, 2007

If you ever have to go to the DMV, prepare to spend the whole day there! In order to convert my Connecticut license to California I had to take a written test and eye exam. What a difference compared to when we moved to Connecticut. To convert from CA to CT all that was required was Social Security card ID and proof of residency.

However before getting into the long line for the test, valid identification certificates were required. If you have a name change due to marriage, the marriage certificate is required. Blah! Being that I did not have that certificate in hand, Syd and I had to take a trip to SF City Hall for an official copy.

Inside San Francisco City Hall.



Balcony site of where Keith and I got married 16 years ago in December.



Syd disturbs some pigeons as we walk back to the DMV.



Also on our route to the DMV we spotted this Dragon head. Such red lips.



When we got back to the DMV, Syd and I settled down for a loooooooong wait. Fortunately, I was able to take the tests a half hour before closing. There were a lot of people behind me who would have to come back the next day. Whew!

Keith warned me about the test so I took a few sample tests online beforehand. Both Keith and I passed the written tests with one wrong. A passing grade is 6 or fewer errors.

Sample question: It is illegal for a person 21 years of age or older to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) that is ___ or higher?

a. 0.08% - eight hundredths of one percent
b. 0.10% - one tenth of one percent
c. 0.05% - five hundredths of one percent

Sutro Heights

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Today found Keith and Syd at the San Francisco Unified School District headquarters. Syd had to go through an admission process to get placed into an elementary school. Fortunately, Syd was able to capture the last slot open for the school in our residential district, Lafayette Elementary.

The enrollment counselor referred Keith to a music school in our area, Community Music Center, that offers violin lessons and opportunities for small and large ensemble group playing.

Syd at the bottom of our front stairs.



View of Dutch Windmill at Golden Gate park from our corner.



View of Ocean Beach from our corner.



In the afternoon, we took a walk up a path to Sutro Heights Park from the house.





View from atop Sutro Heights of the Great Highway along the coast.



Pelican pod in flight.



View from atop Sutro Heights of the Camera Obscura.



Camera Obscura behind the Cliff House.



Sutro Baths



Keith's favorite corvidae - the raven.

Outer Richmond

Monday, August 6, 2007

So actually, we're in the outer Richmond district of San Francisco. Just out of reach from the Tsunami zone.

Sign at the bottom of the hill.



We started the week with getting our office and finance stuff in order. Keith and Syd got their Muni passes and took the bus to the DMV. Keith had to take a written test and eye exam to get his California license. Syd obtained her California ID. Meanwhile, I stayed at home to work via virtual office. I gotta get to the DMV sometime soon.

The landscaper came by to continue working on the front of the house. He managed to get flagstone set into place. Now, it awaits some plantings. The backyard is also still pending. So pictures of these areas will come later.

At the end of the day we went out for an evening stroll on the beach.

Ocean Beach - Move In

Wednesday to Saturday, August 1-4, 2007

Partial view of the house front.



Not many pictures on move-in day as Keith and I were hot and heavy into unloading the trailer and van. When we arrived on the scene at about 9am, painters from yesterday were there again. More finishing touches, I guess. They departed after about 2 hours later. So, we proceeded to unload boxes and go about our business.

Fortunately, the painters were around to help us unload the last item in the trailer which was the heaviest and biggest -- Keith's woodworking lathe. It was a bit scary when the trailer jumped off its stand as the lathe was lifted out. We thought the trailer was going to roll down the hill. Boy did we scurry about to put stoppers in back of the wheels with rocks or wood in reach. Oh, I forgot to mention the house is located at the top of a hill. Luckily, the trailer stayed in place as the lathe was manuevered into the garage.

Grandma came over in the afternoon to fetch Sydney for the weekend. This was a tremendous help to us as we would not be able to tend to Syd with all the moving and organizing of the place.

The comcast cable guy showed up to connect our internet, phone and tv later in the afternoon. So we are set with communication. Email us if we haven't already sent you our updated contact info.

Thursday found us at the ABF location in San Jose. We spent half of the day emptying the contents of three relocubes into the trailer and van. Yay! It all fit and only one trip was required. We forgot to bring our hats and sunscreen for this session of moving so the heat of the day really got to us.

After re-energizing with some lunch, we headed back up to San Francisco. My brother, Ted, was sitting on our front steps ready to help us unload. With his help, we got the job done in two hours. With everything unloaded and in the garage, we took the rest of the afternoon off.

Friday was shopping day. Costco and Office Depot were the spots to hit in South San Francisco. We focused on getting the home office setup with desks and computers. We also organized the boxes in the garage so that we could park the car inside.

Saturday was another moving stuff day. This time Keith's brother, Jeff, helped with moving furniture and boxes from the garage into the house. Again, with his help we got the job done in no time. The rest of the day was spent hanging with Jeff.