Day 16, Sundown --- Days 13/209-212

Walks: Errands galore 

Distances: Average 3.5 miles

End of 16th day in Ciwt's new place, and it is starting to look like a pleasant place to spend time instead of a storage place for boxes.  

Stage One: Finis! --- Days 13/201-208

Walks: Up and down hall, up and down stairs, ripping boxes, carrying stuff, plus hood errands

Distances:  Average 3.5 miles

Every single box emptied!!   Now where to put the things in Ciwt's new home?  

Stage Two begins   ....

Didn't Laugh, Didn't Cry, Didn't Care for Evita --- Days 13/199-200

Walk: SF Playhouse (Evita)

Distance: 5 miles

Ciwt was happy for the opportunity to get away from all her boxes for a few hours today. Thus ends her review of a local playhouse's production of Evita.

Plus La Change.... --- Days 13/190-198

Walks: Up, Down, Round About Old Home then New Home

Distances: 3 miles average

Ciwt's old home:  

Ciwt's new home: 

Even a Monkey.... --- Day 13/189

Walk: Not far; home packing

Distance: 1.5 miles

It seems to Ciwt her move is going as slow as Lucy's 'horse.'  Meanwhile her painter and handyman are working at top speed to get things ready for Wednesday's move.  

Taming Metal --- Day 13/188

Walk: Small errands and organizing for move

Distance: 2 miles 

An art installation featuring wire-mesh sculptures by the Italian artist Carolina Capaccioli is seen on the lake at Parc Montsouris in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, France, on July 1, 2024

So, Ciwt was taken by this photograph of a current art show in Paris.  Not knowing the artist, she surfed the net and found what seems to be the artist's statement (and that she might now be using a different professional name since the statement was written in 2002).

Capaccioli Daniela

It is in Lombardy, in Monza near Milan, that Daniela Capaccioli takes her first steps. Her whole childhood oscillated between Lombardy and Tuscany. As a child, she is already unwillingly a budding artist: having a gift and a taste for observing people, things, and places, she draws tirelessly.
Then, little by little, she quickly experimented with the working of clay. As shy as she is a dreamer, she loves to think that emptiness is inhabited and that solitude is full of discreet and silent presences like thoughtful shadows. This attraction towards the discovery of the invisible in the space that surrounds us leads her to choose scenography as the first stage of her artistic training. Stage art thus allows her to make tangible what the emotional eye perceives.

She dedicates herself to sculpture modeling terracotta figures, deepening the techniques related to clay, and working with ceramics. These artistic paths are taught to her by the sculptors Beatrice Koster and Eugene N'Sonde, the plaster casts specialist Sebastien Nobile and the potters Annick Guillon and Thierry Fouquet.
But it is on the occasion of an exhibition entitled "The body and the air" (2002) that Daniela Capaccioli, led by Beatrice Koster, discovers a particular talent: that of giving body to the wire mesh, of making it malleable like clay.

Taming the metal to provide lightness and meaning is today the ultimate art she has chosen to share with the world.

July 4: So Much to Celebrate, Day and Night --- Day 13/187

Walk: Hood

Distance: 3 miles

Happy Birthday, USA

Movement --- Day 13/186

Walk: Hood

Distance: 4 miles

Edgas Degas (French 1834-1917), The Dance Class, 1874, o/c, 32.7 x 30 "

So, as she packs up for her move, Ciwt thinks of Edgar Degas's paintings of ballet, another type of movement altogether.  In this one, The Dance Class, some twenty-four young ballerinas and their mothers wait in a rehearsal room of the old Paris Opera while a dancer executes an 'attitude' for her examination. Held by the Metropolitan Museum in New York, along with a varient in Paris's Musee d'Orsay is considered his most ambitious of the many he devoted to the theme of dance.. 

Degas's love of the Paris Opera, the Palais Garnier, and his many visits to its shows and rehearsal rooms is well known.  But not many know that Degas himself loved to dance. He is famously quoted about people calling him 'the painter of dancing girls' as saying 'It has never occurred to them that my chief interest in dancers lies in rendering movement and painting pretty clothes.'

Animaliere Extraordinaire --- Day 13/185

Walk: Errands

Distance: 5 miles

Rosa Bonheur, Two Rabbits, 1840, Musée des Beaux Arts, Bordeaux, France.

If asked to name famous 19th Century French women artists, Ciwt would answer Mary Cassat and Berthe Morisot.  Period.  To her knowledge, these are the only two of great acclaim both in their lifetimes and today.

But, what does Ciwt know?  In fact, as Ciwt just learned, Rosa Bonheur was widely considered the most famous woman artist of the 19th century.  And, though French, her paintings and sculptures were sought after by collectors from all over the world, particularly England.

This makes sense to Ciwt. It is often said the English love their animals above all, and Rosa Bonheur was one of the greatest animalieres, artists of animals, of her time.  Witness the painting of two rabbits above, which was accepted by the all important French Salon jury when she was only 19 years old.  and, because she was a woman and thus unable to be accepted at art schools, arrived at through her own study with guidance from her artist father, Oscar Raymond Bonheur.

Rosa Bonheur, The Horse Fair, 1852–1855, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, NY, USA.*

Bonheur's attention to animal detail was legendary at the highest levels. For instance, she had always wanted to paint a horse fair. She loved horses and had been studying them for a long time. So when the English Duke of Morny approached her to commission a painting, Bonheur saw this as her opportunity.  She might not have painted many horses before this, but she diligently studied every part of the anatomy of live exemplars at the local fair and showed him sketches of proposed The Horse Fair.  Even so, the Duke was not confident she could render a good result given her lack of experience painting horses and canceled his commission. Nevertheless, Bonheur completed in 1855 and presented it at the Salon where it was widely received.

The Duke regretted his choice once he saw the painting’s international success and heard that Queen Victoria herself admired it. Unfortunately for him, when he tried to rectify his mistake, The Horse Fair had already sold to Cornelius Vanderbilt II who donated it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1887.

* It is a magnificent 8' x 16' if you have an opportunity to visit it in New York - to google a larger version.

Don't Let the Plot Get in the Way --- Day 13/184

Walk: AMC Kabuki 8 (Horizon)

Distance: 3.5 miles

Well, the plot and acting definitely don't stand in the way of the scenery.  But it is breathtaking.  As gorgeous as the wide open, mountainous west can be.  Ciwt can look at that land forever - which it seemed like in the theater.  If three hours of Western US scenery isn't for you, Ciwt thinks don't bother - with this part one or the next three after that.

Always Mesmerized --- Day 13/183

Walk: Chouquet's Brunch

Distance: 3 miles

Edward Hopper, Nighthawks, 1942, oil on canvas,  Art Institute of Chicago,

For some reason* Edward Hopper's iconic and most famous painting is on Ciwt's mind today. No matter how many times she - or any viewer - looks at it, it captivates her and continues to ask her questions she can't answer for sure.  Are the diners finding a place of calm and comfort in this diner?  Are they brooding, feeling isolated?  Are the man and woman a couple?  What are they talking about - if they are having a conversation?  Always she comes up with more questions than answers.  And always she is filled with admiration and wonder for Hopper's ability to create such a masterpiece.

* Maybe because she is re-watching The Sopranos these days - also an American masterpiece.

Mann With The Golden Brush --- Day 13/182

Walk: Hood

Distance: Not far; nursing aching feet

Signs can set the tone for an entire establishment's dining experience. So in this city of numerous, often famous bars and restaurants, talented sign painters are in great demand.  And at the moment none more so than Manny Fabregas.  

In fact, his signs are so finely crafted you see people stop just to admire them and take pictures.  Many of his originals are in gold leaf, an eye catching medium historically associated with fine craft.  But  Manny's signs take beautifully scripted gold leaf to yet another level: often they are the only ones still shining when the San Francisco fog rolls into our neighborhoods. 

Nope, Not Today --- Days 13/176-181

Walks: Back and forth, back and forth between 2 homes

Distances: average 3 miles

Darn!

So Ciwt would love to be on her way to her new home so she could begin to make it her own and to be out of her current home - so she could sell it.  But, no, instead she has become a "master" electrician, painter, handyman, decorator/designer and other new talents.  She had forgotten there is usually a bunch of  property preparation jobs necessary before moving while walls, etc are easily accessible.  Luckily those jobs are small ones in her new place that passed all inspections with flying colors.  Still, she has needed to communicate in all sorts of  'to the trade' languages that are completely new to her.  

Sorry, dear readers, no way is any of this interesting to you.  The good news: moving day, July 10 is around the corner, she will be moving into one of the few properties around San Francisco with no deferred maintenance - and new CIWT topics are on the horizon.

Where Have You Been All Week?! --- Days 13/168-175

Walks: Title company, Old Home, New Home, Comcast, Errands, errands

Distances: average 4.5

Ciwt on a calm day recently

So, if you're wondering where Ciwt has been all week, probaably she has mentioned that the real estate market in San Francisco is so thin you have to pounce  when something you like comes along.  Then you have to go at top speed to get out of your old place and into the new SO you can put the old place on the market

Meanwhile contacting all the moving people, the post office, utilities, oh and family, friends and loyal CIWT readers.   

Hello, Home --- Day 13/167

Walk: Empty New Home 

Distance: 3 miles

So today was Ciwt's final walk through/sign off on her new home.  After the realtors left, it was just her, some flowers she had brought, a foyer table included in the sale, shades and light.

Huh? --- Days 13/165 & 166

Walks: Hood and Past New Home

Distances: 5 miles

So, salmonlike, Ciwt swam upstream to open houses for decades looking for the one that felt as much like home as her one for 41 years.  Her wish list was very short and exacting and her hope level was ebbing near to rock bottom. Then, a month ago, it happened!  She walked in and knew instantly This was home.

And as of two days ago, it is.  How does she feel now about this long and now successful quest?  

Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  Her new home is still in some 'idea' place in her mind; not real.  Not sad. More like stunned.

She knows it is light-filled, gracious, quietly elegant, in 'her' exact neighborhood.  She even knows a couple of her neighbors who are the best possible.  

Tomorrow she will actually go into it.  (Her contract gave the sellers time to move out).  Then probably her home will begin moving from idea to actual in her mind.

Some part of her senses, that many/most people have a similar Wha??? (non)feeling when a long worked for finish line is all at once behind them.  

Bouquets to Bouquets --- Days 13/162, 3 & 4

Walks: deYoung Museum (Bouquets to Art), Hood/Presidio

Distances: 5 miles average

So, the deYoung Museum's annual fund raiser is Bouquets to Art in which local floral experts echo the look and feel of designated paintings with live designs.  No simple task in general and even less simple in the details.  

The designers must conceive of their creations months in advance then find sources and order the flowers, vases and any other accessories. Then comes the nerve wracking wait to see that all these things arrive on time and in excellent condition. If all this happens on time (big if), it is on to the arrangement stage.  The most incomprehensible to Ciwt part of the artistic process comes next: Keeping the arrangement healthy, vibrant, and flawless during 1. the trip to the museum (often long and through unpredictable traffic) and 2. the entire one week event.  Anyone who has ever brought a small bunch of cut flowers home from Trader Joe's or other places knows how how they look a week later, even with daily pinching, cutting, re-watering.  Imagine doing this in the drafts created by crowds walking by and standing within inches and the fluxuating temperaturesof vast museum rooms.  Ciwt is a wreck just thinking about it.

So kudos to the talented designers and welcome to a few pictures of the 40th Annual Bouquets to Art.

 

Countdown, 10, 9, 7 oops, 8..... --- Days 12/160 & 161

Walks: Banks, Title Companies, Etc

Distances: 4 & 6 miles

Sorry to be boring, wonderful readers.  Ciwt is in the final days before closing on her New Home! so she has been living at her computer e-signing, importing, wire transfering  - all those scary things she knows nothing about but has to get Exactly right.  Ie, no typos - come on😕

How It Is Done --- Days 13/158 & 159

Walk: No, too cold; No cold and windy again, Drive to ACT for The Lehman Trilogy

Distance: .5 miles, 1.2 miles

John Heffernan (Henry Lehman), Howard W. Overshown (Emanuel Lehman), and Aaron Krohn (Mayer Lehman) in 'The Lehman Trilogy' at A.C.T.’s Toni Rembe Theater

Now, that's how it's done!  Actors playing multiple parts, changing into different sexes, ages, people before your very eyes so seamlessly that the audience goes right along with them.  And that's how a minimal set and perfectly attuned music can enhance a play.  So spare, so succinct and synced, The Lehman Trilogy Ciwt saw yesterday at our ACT Theater was poetry in live motion.

San Francisco has waited five years since the National Theatre's staging of The Lehman Trilogy transferred to the U.S. and opened at the Park Avenue Armory on March 22, 2019.  A long time but the play is not the least bit dated and, Ciwt assumes, just as good as that first New York performance.  So Ciwt thinks, if you ever have an opportunity to see The Lehman Trilogy, take it. and she may go again before it leaves town for many more years.

Back Five Days and Almost Home --- Days 13/153-157

Walks:  Cold, Windy Hood 💨

Distances: 4.5 miles average

So Ciwt is back from glorious, just right Midwestern summer weather and many friends and family to her two cat friends and down jacket summer here in San Francisco.  But maybe good that friends and weather aren't calling her outside because she's needed to be in and near her computer, phone and calculator.  

The reason?  Announcement!:  Ciwt has bought a new home and will be moving soon.  After she crunches the tight numbers, prepares forms for bankers and title companies, calls insurance and utility companies, interviews movers and generally stays one step ahead of anxiety. Rest assured, more on her new place in many future CIWTs

She did have one outing away from counting and calling, and it turned out to be highly entertaining and a movie she recommends.  She saw it before it started on Netflix yesterday and, because she Loves the whole theater experience, she encourages you to see it there.  In any event, if you are in the mood for a new spin on rom com-thriller, go to Hit Man - which is much better than the posters indicate.

And Now Home --- Day 13/152

 

Ciwt's very smooth flight landing safely at SFO

Ciwt Hosts a Family Brunch --- Day 13/151

 

Other Side of the River for Brunch --- Day 13/150

 

Minneapolis, site of Ciwt's school and many other places of her youth

Home Town, oops City --- Day 13/149

 

Day small home town which is now officially a city

Reunion Lunch --- Day 13/148

 

Lunching with classmates in St. Paul on the banks of the Mississippi (which begins just above it)

Off Goes Ciwt --- Day 13/147

 

She's Off to land of her childhood

Walking and Packing --- Day 13/146

Walk: deYoung Museum

Distance: 6.3 miles

Conservatory of Flowers, Golden Gate Park.

So Ciwt took a long walk to Golden Gate Park today in anticipation of sitting at SFO, on her plane ride and in her rental car for a 5 day trip to her childhood home. 

Then home to pack non-San Francisco summer clothes, whatever they are. Out here we wear down in the summer months.

See you back on CIWT in a week.  Have a good one.

No LIves More Important --- Days 13/144 & 145

Walks: Hood

Distances: 4 miles average

Memorial Day 2024 at the San Francisco National Cemetery:Each flag individually placed, each fallen soldier individually honored.

Fury Flurry with Vehicles --- Days 13/141, 142 & 143

Lopes/Walks: Her old hood 💚again and again 

Distances: 5 miles average

Ciwt was desperate to get away from flailing away at transmitting (hopefully) documents on her computer.  So she spun a bottle around the blockbuster summer movie fare and came up with Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.  This was her first Mad Max which may explain why she didn't understand much of the nonstop brutal action. But her fellow audience members clapped quite loudly at the end, so it must be a very good sequel?/prequel?/whatever.  Because she's still a car person, she was entertained by the many over the top vehicle creations and guesses the production people in charge of coming up with them must have had a blast.   

In Your Dreams and Beyond --- Days 13/138, 139 & 140

 Lope-Walks: Hood and Presidio

:Distances:  4.6 miles, 4.9 miles, 5 miles

Definitely an elusive project, but Ciwt may be zeroing in on hers.

Then of course there's this part ...and many, many others.   

Hoping to Lose --- Day 13/137

Walk: Hood (Not Bay to Breakers - party pooper that is Ciwt)

Distance: 5.5 miles

San Francisco Bay to Breakers 2024 

Clearly fun is the goal for most in this 111 year old, (extremely challenging for actual running - not costume - competitors) San Francisco tradition.