Cute Critters --- Day 14/287

Walk: No, Marin Driving Day

Distance: n/a but pt

Cute Critters entry in CIWT Neighborhood Halloween Decorating Contest 2025 (NHDC25)

Early Start! --- Day 14/286

Walk: Hood

3.5 miles

Could this be?  On her September 28 walk Ciwt thought she might have spotted the first entry in her Annual Neighborhood Halloween Decorating Contest 2025. 

And, sure enough, it was.  Some neighbor had gotten an early start!

And what an extensive detailed beauty it is!

Whole House plus Yard Entry

Too soon to know.  But Ciwt thinks there is a

very good chance it will be a winner!!

Autumn with (Continuing) Appreciation --- Day 14/285

Walk: Hood, Presidio

Distance: 3.5 miles

Alfred Sisley, Le bois des Roches, Veneux-Nadon, 1880, oil on canvas

When autumn arrives, Ciwt's mind goes to memories of many walks through the gorgeous gold, red and orange foliage surrounding her Connecticut College Arboretum.

But Alfred Sisley's painting reminds her of other Autumn walks and moods, nature's and her own.  And the myriad quotes of gifted writers who love(d) Autumn as much as she does.  But, like her, cannot fully capture its complex beauty.  

Wishing you dark, magical moments of peace as we begin our slow march towards the ending of this calendar year. Here are a few quotes for autumn lovers to savor:

"In a fast-paced world, autumn encourages us to slow down, take stock of our lives, and savor the present moment. It’s a time to let go of what no longer serves us, to celebrate the abundance we’ve received, and to prepare for the quieter, more introspective season of winter."  --  Anonymous

• “I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house.” ― Nathaniel Hawthorne

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• “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” — L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

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• “Autumn is the season to find contentment at home by paying attention to what we already have.” — Unknown

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• “Is not this a true Autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love- that makes life and nature harmonize.” – George Eliot

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• Autumn wins you best by this its mute appeal to sympathy for its decay.” – Robert Browning

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• “In Autumn, more can change than just the leaves.” – Louise M

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• “Autumn is the season to find contentment at home by paying attention to what we already have.” – Unknown

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• “Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go.” – Unknown

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• “I hope I can be the Autumn leaf, who looked at the sky and lived. And when it was time to leave, gracefully it knew life was a gift.” – Dodinsky

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• As long as autumn lasts, I shall not have hands, canvas and colours enough to paint the beautiful things I see – Vincent Van Gogh

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• There are two times of the year: autumn and waiting for autumn – Unknown

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• I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers – L.M Montgomery

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• Be easy, Take your time. You are coming home. To yourself. – The Becoming, Wing
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• I felt in need of a great pilgrimage so I sat still for three days. – Hafiz

Fall is a Good Time for Pink Flowered Chairs --- Day 14/284

Walk: Hood, Presidio

Distance: 3.5 miles

“Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go.” – Anonymous 

If  it is time but you are still struggling with letting go of some of your things, maybe Ciwt's flowered chairs story will give you heart.

Above is Andy, Ciwt's gardener at her old home and now at her new one just a block and a half away.  And there going into his truck are Ciwt's flowered chairs which were with her even longer (a good 50 years).  

She wants to say 'beloved' flowered chairs but, truth be told, they always ruled whatever roost Ciwt was occupying.  Comfortable but a clunky shape out of proportion to her couch.  Fabulous Brunschweig fabric which was dominating and demanded that everything else around it had to bow to it.  Plus the chairs couldn't be recovered because 1. the fabric was disconinued and 2. over the years the price of Brunschweig fabrics increased exponentially (presently @$500 a yard 😱).  Oh, and her 6 cats over the years all loved them and scratched at will.

Basically the chairs in their fabric ran Ciwt's life.  But could she get rid of them?  No!  Some part of her got strongly attached so on they went until Ciwt's last move when she finally came to her senses.  The chairs, that fabric were Not going to run the show one more time in her new place.

Still, they were moved over and sat in Ciwt's new storeroom.  Then, finally, this fall she was ready to simply let go.  This, just when Andy had moved his aging mother to San Francisco and was thrilled to be able to give her comfortable chairs enjoy sitting in.    

Nice!  And, Whew!!!  Watching the chairs and 'fabulous' fabric leave, she finally got they were just stuff.  And now her storeroom is empty.

Old home for 43 years: Notice special seating for cats and 'matching' painting (which Ciwt has now sold)

PS - A few weeks later, Ciwt learned from Andy that 1. his mother Loves the chairs and 2. he has an upholster friends who has volunteered to recover them for her.  Another life for her chairs has begun.  Nice.

 

Clockback Orange --- Days 14/282 and 283

Walks: Hood/Presidio

Distances: 3.5 miles

The day the sky turned San Francisco orange was right in the middle of covid when the city was hushed for months on end.  Most people were inside as a way of life, and there was an eerie sense of unseen community knowing everyone was sharing some version of  "What now?".  (Even the gull looks a bit perplexed).

Noodling to Health --- Days 14/275-282

Walks: Slowly or Not at all depending Hood and Presidio

Distances: Whatever she could manage

Nice to be back to health!   Ciwt finally got Covid. No fun but she cheered herself there with a few uplifting visuals and words.  For instance:

1. The Waldorf Astoria Renovation

2. Colman Domingo wearing just about anything.  The man was born to grace clothes. 

3. Stuffed Animal Sleepover at the SF Main Library

4.  The great Meryl Streep's advice to her actor daughter, Louisa Jacobson, (and all actors really).

"Mom once gave me terrific advice about honoring the truth as an actress. She said, 'A lot of acting is a great, deep belief—like religious faith—in what you are doing and in the character you’re playing,'" Jacobson added. "Those words are still with me."

5.  TV show catch up binges:  The Pitt, Season One.  

                                                Adolescence  

6.  Short Stories and Articles: Tobias Wolff, Ernest Hemingway, Best Short Stories 2025, the New Yorker

7.  Pink is a Healing color, so....:

Paul Signac, Antibes, The Pink Cloud, 1916, oil on canvas

Smart Cars --- Days 14/264-274

Walks:  Many Short Hood ones dues to covid 😒

Distances: 3 miles average

Our driverless Waymos are getting super smart.  They've learned San Francisco's roads since they got here in 2009, welcomed their first riders in 2021 and now they are picking up our Flower Power spirit. 💮💮

Team Effort --- Days 14/258-263

Walks: Presidio, Hood, PT

Distance: 4 miles average

"We won!!!!" Carlos Alcaraz yelled the moment after his ace serve put an end to the battle against Jannick Sinner for this year's U.S. Open Men's Singles Champion 2025 title.  We?  Watching the astounding individual play of each player, it is easy for Ciwt to forget their careers are group efforts.  The players do not forget and the winner's first trip after the match is up to the very stadium section where their team has been sitting and their first acknowledgements after congratulating each other go to their extensive teams - not all of which have traveled with them.

In case you wonder like Ciwt did what roles all these people play in support of the top professionals (or those with enough money to support a full team), here are some typical jobs:

• Coach: Guides technical and tactical development.
• Fitness Trainer/Strength & Conditioning Coach: Focuses on physical fitness and endurance.
• Physiotherapist (Physio): Addresses injuries, prevention, and recovery.
• Manager/Agent: Handles business aspects and endorsements.
• Family and Friends: Provide emotional support and companions 
• Sports Psychologist: Works on the mental aspects of the game.

• Nutritionist/Personal Chef: Manages diet for optimal performance.
• Hitting Partner: Provides practice and helps simulate opponents' styles.

Grounding --- Day 14/257

Walk: TJ's, Monday errands on Tuesday

Distance: 3 miles, PT, more things from storeroom to sidewalk

There is something grounding about letting things go. Which surprised Ciwt.  Yesterday she took her brass fireplace andirons and tools* out to the sidewalk.  This was a big deal for her; they were from her grandparents' home in Connecticut and actually have some value.  But not so much on the West Coast and, furthermore it has become something of a pain to sell antique things - at least out here.  Far fewer antique dealers, too much competition from Craig's List and the burgeoning online free furniture and such websites.  Then there is the matter of whether Ciwt wants to let a stranger into her environment or whether the stranger will actually show up (with money) if she decides yes.  All these avenues Ciwt pursued, going around to dealers or going around in her mind for years.  Until, yesterday, she was ready to just let them go, knowing if someone took them they would be valued by that new owner.

So, out to the street they went.  They sat shining in the Labor Day sun all afternoon, and when Ciwt went to bed, she planned to bring them back in next morning. No one even wanted them; it felt forlorn. Times change. But today when she woke up and looked out the window they were gone, the sidewalk was empty.  So later today she brought out the brass fender - which once upon a Connecticut time - reeeeally had value.  And this time a neighbor rushed out immediately to fetch it.  (He said he is going to repurpose it for his garden.  Who knew?  And what an original idea.  It should look lovely).

When it was taken away, Ciwt suddenly felt she was standing more solidly on the sidewalk in front of her 'new' home.  All the years of holding on to East Coast, then her home of 43 years, apparently had kept her a bit (or a lot) suspended in 'as if' time.  Or something.  Anyway, letting go had a physical effect.  A good one.

* It's looking like, in all those many years,  Ciwt never took a proper portrait of the brass things she's been telling you about in.  You can see them peeking up below the painting she bought to complete her living room look back then.  It is also gone now because it didn't work in her next home, this time sold through a dealer.  Almost everything else in the picture gone too - except, happily, for her cat, Tawny.

In and Out on Labor Day --- Day 14/256

Walk: storeroom to sidewalk carrying things, sidewalk to storeroom empty handed, again and again and again

Distance: 1.5 miles

Ciwt's cats are professional relaxers so Labor Day was just another one for them.  Meanwhile Ciwt (finally) got a significant start at cleaning out her storeroom. The actual beginning of that project was over a year ago when she moved into her new home.  Since then she's had fantasies of placing the things in her storeroom in a second home, a cabin in the woods, a small house with a screen porch by a lake, even just converting her storeroom into a cozy nest.  All to not have to let go of her 'beloved' or something things.  Gradually reality did its real thing.  A second home wherever it is unnecessary at best even if she could afford one, the things are shabby or at best more useful to someone else.  So she started putting the things she could carry on the sidewalk and noticed them slowly disappearing to new homes where someone else will start becoming attached.

Now she will join her cats on the window seat and try to stay awake while she relaxes with a book in the sun.