San Francisco – where the Heck is mom

My swing through San Francisco was actually a few hours visiting with Roger and Sandy and I was so glad for it. I hope I didn’t do them in…both remarking upon their need for a nap!

The above picture is of Sandy’s recent work from a class, building art inside a small box. Of course Sandy being Sandy, she searched through antique stores to get just the perfect boxes. Below is a picture of a part of two of the many walls covered in her art.

Roger has been doing Uber Eats for some work these days and he doesn’t seem to mind terribly – he likes making people happy when he brings them what they want. He enjoyed it very much when his phone binged indicating a tip had come through, and he brought delicious treats from a nearby bakery, and he made us a chicken salad. Thank you Roger!

Sandy gave me one of her paintings! She had done the painting years before and recently added the frame. I LOVE it! It’s Nancy on the left, me in the middle, and Sandy herself on the right. Isn’t it fabulous!

We went for a short walk around the ‘hood, this is inside the community garden. We think that’s some mutant Swiss chard, Roger and Sandy for scale.

This picture is one in a series of recent collages on the theme of New York New York (it’s a helluva town). I’m *still* planning to go there soon…

I want to add one of Sandy’s poems. She used it as a contribution to Roger’s Voices of Humanity discussions and it was a big hit. You can click on over and join in too.

Looking for My Nitty Gritty

Still with the wounds that come with age
(and I’ve had my share)

Years of discovery and recoveries
Of digging and pealing at the truth
To get to the core, the heart,
My own Nitty Gritty

Years with my hands in the dirt
Scuffing and chipping my
Nails to behold the tuber
That started it all

I haven’t seen her for a while
My Nitty Gritty

I wonder, is she near, is she close?
Is she in something I do
Or make?

In a painting, a collage, a drawing
Of a wavy headed girl,
In a poem I am writing?

In something I wear
That takes flight?
Like my Mexican twirl skirt,
A patchwork of colors, bold and muted
With ancient Aztec and modern designs?

Is she in the kitchen, in the fruit
That I sliced and put in a
Bowl to eat now or later
With crumbly cheese?
In the apples
Simmering in a pot with cinnamon
And cardamom?

Is she outside
Wrapped in a tea towel
And left by the door?

What could be easier?
I’m always here
Opening and closing cupboards and doors,
Sweeping and fixing,
Hammering nails
Watering and wiping
Metal and glass

Back in the kitchen I sift flour with baking
Soda and salt
Whisk butter and sugar,
Eggs and vanilla,
Folding the wet with the dry
Kneading the dough

Still wondering –
Is she hiding under the sink?
Among old plant containers and worn out
Sponges, jars with lethal
Smelling Substances
Things you don’t want to touch
Or get into your eyes
With left over dirt
Like the stoic cat in a Repetitive dream
That hasn’t been fed or Brushed in years
But continues to live in spite of neglect

Am I the cat?
Am I the Nitty Gritty?
Am I the tuber?
Am I my thoughts? And wonderings?

Tired and spent
I rest to still my mind
Awakening to the fragrance of baking dough
I smile, forgetting my Nitty Gritty

I walk outside and squat in the Garden
Giving the half eaten pear on the cutting board,
Its flesh turned brown,
A new home on the compost heap