It's a Ponderful Life --- Days 14/78-52

 Walks: A Few Hood; A Few Rain Days Off

Distance: Hoods: 4 miles, Rain: n/a

Once again Ciwt (aka Pooh in her youth) is pondering.  What to write about?  All her rooms piled high with furniture while her place is painted? No. That she's already started to wonder about another color? No.  The economy?  Certainly not.  Her cats, her back, the Gene Hackman marathon she's sharing with a friend, local storms?   All rejects.

Please hand in, dear readers.  She's been in this ponder empty place before, so, anon, she'll be back with new gems - or entries at least.

Now, About Mint --- Day 14/77

Walk: Hood

Distance: 5 miles

Aren't I Cute?

So Ciwt is learning about all sorts of things as she puts her new home together.  Mint for instance.

Trader Joe's had  $2.50 pots of the cute, refreshing  little herb for sale the other day.  So Ciwt bought one, brought it home and planted it in the new garden she's trying to invent.  Her first.  

Later in the day she decided to read a bit about fresh little mint and was shocked to find gardeners dread it.  Turns out it is completely invasive and will run like mad wherever it is planted crowding out anything in its path.  

So she quickly dug it up, and brought it safely inside where she will enjoy it until it outgrows whatever pot she puts it in.

Life in Purple --- Day 14/76

Walk: Hood

Distance: 5.5 miles

Reader Quiz:  There is one particular difference between these two bedroom pictures which is on Ciwt's mind these days.  Can you figure out what it is?

No, not the bed frames, or the different colored pillows.  If you guessed the color of the walls, you are exactly right!  And also looking at the reason Ciwt decided to have her home repainted.

The top wall color is called Calm.  Every room was painted in it when Ciwt bought her new place, and gradually she began to notice that Calm became purpler and browner as the day went on.  And her mood moved from calm to less spirited even to gloomy.  

Here for instance is Calm in her actual bedroom: 

Obviously her cats are so engrossed by whatever bird is outside the glass that they don't notice Calm has turned the room quite drab.  But, not so Ciwt. 

So, she is giving the color in the bottom photo a try.  Its name is Swiss Coffee and Ciwt's fingers are crossed.

Where'd That Hour Go? --- Days 14/72-75

Walks: Hood, SF Ballet, TBD

Distances: 3 miles, 5 miles, TBD

So, this morning it took Ciwt 1 hour and 10 minutes to feed her two cats?!?  From there it took her minus one hour to turn on her computer.  Needless to say this was very disorienting for Ciwt until she realized - finally! - last night was 'spring forward' night.

In the marvelous olden days, local newspapers would start warning readers days ahead that they would be changing their clocks soon, and the day before the warnings were near banner headlines. Another tradition lost and lamented at Ciwt's home.

Her Daylight Savings Hero friend on the other hand never, ever forgets And has her clocks synchronized to the nanosecond.  Here for the future is how it is done according to her system:

       You walk around to each clock with iphone in hand.

        When the new minute shows, you immediately set the clock.

        The remaining seconds allow you time to get to your next clock.

        Repear until all your clocks are synchronized.

Maybe Ciwt will try that when 'Fall Back' comes around.  If she remembers..... 

Private Thoughts --- Days 14/71

Walks/Lopes: Presidio and Hood

Distances: 2.5 miles, 7 miles

Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle

Caspar David Friedrich (German,1774-1840), The Moon Rising to the Seashore, 1822, o/c

So Ciwt was just spending time on line with the wonderful current show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Caspar David Friedrich: The Soul of Nature.  And when she went to our local paper's website, it seemed to her The Chronicle's photographer, Carlos Avila Gonzalez, today captured much of the same moody, contemplative romantism in his photograph above.

Spring Fever Off and On --- Day 14/70

Walk: Sloat Garden Center

Distance: 5 miles

Sandro Botticelli, Primavera, late 1470's or early 1480's, tempura on panel

So spring is coming and going out here and probably where you live.  One day there's sun which makes Ciwt want to wander the Headlands just across the Golden Gate Bridge, but the next day (or hour) cold, wind and rain make her relieved she isn't caught in some glen or forest far from home.  

Luckily art lovers like Ciwt can escape from the vissitudes of spring and get lost in Sandro Botticelli's Primavera, which has remained one of the most popular paintings in Western art for centuries.

Oscar End Notes --- Day 14/69

Walk: Hood, Sloat Garden Center

Distance: 4.5 miles

To Ciwt's eyes all celebrity attendees - men and women - at last night's Oscars are to be applauded for their attire which was appropriately formal and respectful.  That said, she did have some personal favorites.

Selena Gomez

Halle Berry

Michele Yeoh

She enjoyed several variations on the classic tuxedo which echoed their personal style while remaining tasteful.

Colman Domingo

Jeff Goldblum

Unfortunately a few choices just didn't work for her:

Zoe Saldana

Yasmin Finney

Omar Apollo

It's the veil.  

Timothee Chalamet
Very Timothee and he rocked it so Ciwt was torn between Best Dressed or this category.  Your choice.

Ciwt's Absolute Favorite Oscar!!!! (with nods to Kieran Culkin)

FLOW

Decisions Are In --- Days 14/60-68

Walks: Hood and arround home sticking Samplize paint samples on wall after wall

Distances: 4 miles average

 

So, when it comes to choosing paint colors, some - probably many - people think "Whatever' and go with the first off-white neutral they see.  Then there are the Ciwt types who order hundreds of paper samples to stick on her walls and actually paints several possible colors in strategic places if she can find room between the papee samples.  Then looks at all of them day and night, morning and afternoon until her painter finally says "I must have a date!"

And that date is Tomorrow 😨  So, Ciwt finally, finally decided "Whatever" and will go for now with an off-white neutral that works better than the off-white neutral (that turned purple brown in many rooms) the place came with. 

So that decision is in and tonight the Oscar winner decisions will be announced.  The BIG decision for Ciwt was whether to watch the Academy Awards since she wasn't particularly drawn to many of this year's contenders.  But she has been an Oscar regular for at least 50 years, so that became a non-decision and you can picture her in front of her TV watching Oscar tonight.   

Here are her personal hopefuls: FLOW 🐈🐈,Timothee Chalamet (but Adrian Brody will - and deserves to- win), Fernanda Torres (I'm Still Here), Kiernan Culkin (A Real Pain), Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Pérez), Gorgeous clothes, good emcee job by Conan O'Brien, short but riveting speeches, maybe a glitch here and there. 

Now, with all those creative decisions finally behind Ciwt, her readers should be able to look forward to more daily entries.