Lots of time in the car

First of all, I'm still working and things are going well. This working thing takes some getting used to though. By the end of the week, I find myself with tons of saved shows on the DVR. In fact, I am still working my way through last week's shows.

Commuting has also taken some getting used to. For the last five years, I have had a commute of no more than 30 minutes each way. Friday night I was not looking forward to what was going to be a long time in the car -- more than likely an hour and a half -- so I did what I used to do when I worked in South San Francisco. I took the scenic route home. 280 to 1 to Skyline to Great Highway to Lincoln to 25th to MLK Jr. Way to Park Presidio/1 to 101 to 580. And then I decided that y'all deserved some photos. Not many because I had to take them while stopped at lights or stop signs.


Along Great Highway.


I've always loved the houses along Lincoln Way.


Along MLK Jr. Way in Golden Gate Park.


Entering the Golden Gate.

My next stop was to do some shopping. On Friday, I was noticing how everything at my desk was so organized. And then I started wishing that I could organize some of the clutter at home. So I stopped at Bed Bath & Beyond. My intention was to start on everything Friday night. But I got home to a party on the stoop. Needless to say, nothing has made it out of the bag yet. Because not only was there a party on the stoop but my neighbor two floors above me was having a party as well.

Saturday I awoke and suddenly remembered that I had planned on going to Pt. Reyes Station. Saturday was the last day of their Farmers' Market. So I downed lots of liquids, got dressed, and hit the road.


Nicasio is one of my favorite parts of the drive.



I also love this bridge on the road between Nicasio and Pt. Reyes Station.

I was happy to see both Beekind and Windrush Farm at the Market. And they actually had the Redwood honey at Bee Kind this time. It's dark and kind of tastes like coffee. One of these days I'm going to have to make it up to the store. Every time I go to the the Market, I get asked when I plan to visit the store. And apparently the folks at Windrush are having an event next week -- with an opportunity to see the sheep, llama, and alpaca. I'm supposed to have a hair appointment but now I'm debating about rescheduling it so that I can to join in the fun.

And of course, I had to stop by Cowgirl Creamery to check on the latest offerings from Wild Pear. As luck would have it, they recently got in a supply of the Bartlett Pear Jam, one of my absolute favorites. And then I needed another jar of the Pink Lady Apple Jam. And what the heck. Let's give the Lemon Curd a try as well. Right before getting everything rung up, I mentioned how last year around this time there had also been Mandarin Orange Marmalade. There was this time too; they just hadn't had time to put any out. So I grabbed a jar of that as well.

While driving back to Berkeley, my mother called. I had to call her back though because cell phone reception is kind of sketchy in western Marin. Of course, she asked where I had been with such bad reception. She then proclaimed that I was nuts for driving all the way to Pt. Reyes for jams. I explained to her that she would understand if she tasted the stuff. Her answer? "You belong in Berkeley."

Once I was back in Berkeley, I stopped at Target -- more storage containers -- with the intent of stopping at Chipotle for lunch. (In the Bay area, Chipotle uses meats from Niman Ranch. Tasty burritos.) Leaving Target, I guess I was taking too long to make the left onto Gilman. So the jerk behind me started leaning on his horn. Driving up Gilman, the car in front of me stopped to make a left into the Office Depot parking lot. The jerk behind me started leaning on the horn again. This would be about the point in time that I flipped him off. I also toyed with stopping the car and getting out to give him a piece of my mind. Near Chipotle, the street widens and so the offending jerk pulled into the lane next to me. His passenger window was down, so I rolled down my window and yelled, "Why don't you lay off the mother fucking horn?" And then I rolled up the window and pulled into the Chipotle parking lot.

Luckily the stop at Chipotle was able to get me back into my nice peaceful state that the asshole had disrupted. That and the view on the rest of the drive home.


For Neil because I seem to remember that he likes fall colors.

And today? Well, it's time to finally unpack the bags. And to make some more butter chicken and saag paneer.