Yesterday I had a day filled with moments that I should make sure to appreciate and savor. And I hope by sharing my little moments it might remind you of a couple nice things that may have happened to you yesterday too.
First I had a drive up into San Francisco, on Highway 280. Now, driving in the City? Definitely not my cup o' tea...but driving up the winding wide lanes of 280 on a crisp sunny day, outside of rush hour, with plenty of fluffly clouds and good music cranking on my car stereo...that's a little slice of heaven.
What other little happy moments reminded me to count my blessings yesterday? Read on...
I was meeting one of my close friends and BlogHer partners, Lisa Stone, along with a new colleague for a business discussion. Knowing I am vegetarian Lisa suggested we meet at Greens Restaurant, which just happens to be my favorite restaurant...and the scene of my 3rd date with my longtime Significant Other...the first date where it felt like it had a future...you know those kind of dates?
I don't get to Greens very often unfortunately (and never had been for lunch before) but every time I do it's a wonderful all-around experience. One of my favorite parts of the restaurant is its locale and view. It is part of the Fort Mason complex near the Marina, and as you can see from the photograph, the view from the tall, tall bank of windows face the water and the boats.
I happened to arrive about a half hour early. So I had a little time to pop into the store associated with the Museum of Craft and Folk Art. Picked up a couple of presents for this holiday season while I was there. (Have you read my Secrets of the Savvy Seasonal Shopper yet?) Still with time to kill I walked to the end of the road and sat on a bench looking at the water and the birds. (OK, I checked email too, but it was very relaxing nonetheless.) While sitting on that bench I spotted 6 different species of birds just hanging around my feet. Crows, pigeons and a variety of smaller birds. I'm sure they started out hoping for some crumbs to be thrown their way, but I didn't have any, so they soon spread out a little further. (That's a good thing: I saw Hitchcock's "The Birds" when I was far too young to see it, so crowds of birds still give me a very uneasy feeling.)
At the appointed time my lovely afternoon continued at Greens. Sure, the food and the service and the ambience were terrific as always, but just as terrific was hanging with two smart women. Talking shop. Talking sex. Talking sports. (OK, we didn't actually talk about sports, but I felt I needed a third 's' word.)
Let's just say we got some productive work done, and we laughed. A good combo.
Finally we closed up shop and headed our separate ways, and I drove down 280 back home.
To cap a perfect day, last evening I had concert tickets at my very favorite venue, Villa Montalvo. And the artist is one of the few of my favorite artists that I had yet to see live. I'm a bit of a music freak, as my iPod with 12000 songs on it (so far) will attest. Concerts have always been a big part of where I'm willing to spend my money, and I've seen nearly all of my fave artists live, Richard Thompson being one exception. Thompson has been around since the 60's and is an amazing guitarist, affecting songwriter and idiosyncratic and compelling singer. He was playing the 300-seat Carriage House Theatre...just him and his acoustic guitar.We were in the 3rd row.
He played all of my favorites, including 2 requests I threw out from my seat. Not familiar with Thompson? Here's my gift to you, your very own Richard Thompson song.
You want to know one of the very best parts of the evening? The aforementioned (and perennially tardy) S.O. got home at exactly the time I had asked him to be home. Usually we're in a big rush, and I'm stressed out (yes, I should do my relaxation and breathing exercises, thank you.) But no need last night. Just a lovely evening, enjoying music in an intimate setting.
Now you may think that the concert tickets and nice restaurant lunch and buying of presents were the big parts of my day, but the sun and the water and the birds and the good conversation and the nice gestures from loved ones were what really made the day special.
What nice things happened to you yesterday?
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