AS TIME GOES BY...

...THINGS CHANGE, AS NOW OBSERVED FROM MY CROW'S NEST HERE ON THE BLOCK. BUT REFERENCES OFTEN LINGER LONG AFTER THE ORIGINS ARE GONE. NAMES OF HOUSES ARE ONE OF THOSE SIGNIFICANT REFERENCES: THE SOOYS', THE GORINS', THE KEMPNERS', AND SO ON. NONE OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE HERE ANYMORE. BUT MANY OTHERS ARE, FROM THE EARLY 1960s AND BEFORE. NEW FAMILIES AND RESIDENTS TRICKLE IN OVER THE YEARS AND OTHERS FILTER OUT, SOMETIMES LITTLE BY LITTLE AND OTHER TIMES WITH PLANNED PRECISION. 

WHAT STAYS PRETTY MUCH THE SAME? THE BLOCKNESS OF THE BLOCK. IT REALLY IS A KIND OF ISLAND, MORE OR LESS SELF CONTAINED. NOT LIKE IT WAS, THOUGH. NO ONE PLAYS KICKBALL OR BASEBALL IN THE STREET ANYMORE, AND THE WHITE SQUARES PAINTED AS BASES ARE EITHER PAVED OVER OR COVERED NIGHT AND DAY BY CARS. AND FORGET ABOUT ONE-FOOT-OFF-THE GUTTER.

ONE MORE TIME

AND THAT'S IT. Guess what I'm writing about? The marriage equity drama being replayed(again)in California. I think we've been married twice before...at least? Well, the first time was Domestic Partners -- still kinda radical. The 2d time was dissolved without our say-so by our native state. So this is 3d time lucky, more or less? If this one doesn't maintain its legality we're going for the shacking up for eternity. It's just too exhausting trying to keep track: Are we married? When were we married? When were we unwillingly un-married? We're too old for this, and too boring, really. So please let us be lumpy old moms who tear up at little things and ask for just a little dignity and a big piece of paper.

Painting the House

The scaffolding is down. From the front of The House. It was a challenging time for the denizens: dodging paint and people when having to take dogs out for their "needs"; negotiating the complex schedule of the painters with Aged Parent; translating English to Spanish for AP because, well, you can imagine. But the painters were lovely & apparently have experience of querulous old people. A stellar example.

Grey in My Soul

Grey here. Grey there. Inside and out. But heading over the bridge to the north may brighten things up. On all fronts.

Sheets

Percale. 100% cotton. Old and washed many times over to the point of beautiful smoothness. They also go to the corner laundry for washing, where they are ironed. Heavenly. This is another perk about living here to be remembered when the un-perky things rise up to challenge one. So far not too many un-perks, at least not ones that weren't anticipated and considered before embarking on this voyage. I love the sheets.

A Certain Vinegar Is an Internet Scam

Didn't you know? This is the lowdown from Aged Parent: any vinegar other than an ancient bottle of white Heinz vinegar must be a health scam from the Internet. We are talking Mrs. Bragg's here. But why argue? Why not just appreciate the sociology involved in the dialogue? It's a new approach to one's daily life. And it is very surprisingly not hard. Truly.

It's been such a long time since I could putter around (terminology from Long-Dead Parent) in the garden—but today I got to: deadhead roses, pull some weeds, sweep up leaves and crud. Felt so good! Dogs also puttered around. I even cut some hydrangea to bring into the house (having cleared permission from Aged Parent), and they do look lovely. The roses desperately needing cleaning up, so maybe we'll have some new blossoms soon to bring in as well. Aged Parent is very appreciative of the flowers now indoors.

AP is also is having more and more fun with the cats. Tom has wormed his way into her heart by being cozy on her lap—not at all surprising; he's pretty shameless. And lovey. But Ducky has her qualities as well: a reticent, elegant charm, nothing so forward as her transparent boy toy. She also is appreciated for her qualities by AP.

Little White Room

The damned cat is trying to block my screen. Pity me. But this is a wonderful little office in the front of the house -- the little white room with two windows and white curtains, overlooking The Block. There are way more cars here than ever there were in the 1960s. Probably an obvious observation. Still, do people now have more cars per household? Likely.

And all the strangers who bring their dogs up Our Block to run them in the Presidio. Never heard of that way back when. No one took one's dogs with intent out to run somewhere. All dogs just ran around, bothering people and children, depositing feces at will, and that is undoubtedly the reason for the current state of dog laws. With reason. I do not object; I just comment from a historical perspective.

This little room I lay in with a tragic pneumonia in 4th grade when my mother came in late at night to check on me and to parenthetically report that Reagan had won the CA election for governor. Now I'm dating myself. You can do the math. But the ingredients are interesting: Reagan, pneumonia, 4th grade. Funny combo but fairly typical for a childhood memory. This little room is connected to a big bedroom, also in the front of the house, through a door. Probably these were the main rooms, because the big room is connected to what was probably the Very Modern bathroom on this floor. So the little white room was a nursery? I think so. Makes sense. Given that the house was built in 1904 there may well be no original plans in City Hall -- didn't CH burn in the fire in '06? Anyway, old plans can only be fun.