gurdymonkey | Merrymaking on the grass and other adventures.

gcmadtown81 arrived on Thursday not too much the worse for wear after taking the bus from the wilds of Wisconsin - and laden with gifts, the naughty boy - three kinds of exotic teas, a stunning peacock blue obi with a silver fan motif, and a shawl he'd spun and knitted for me.

So I took him to Moe's. I managed to get out empty handed - after all I was there recently and dropped some money on a very nice book on that visit. They had copies of Noma's excellent Japanese Costume and Textile Arts, so he got one. Dinner at the Berkeley Thai House, gelato at Figaro's in the Public Market food court over in Emeryville.

Friday was San Francisco day. We started in Chinatown. Sure, Grant Street is totally touristy, but that's OK. We mostly just walked up and down the streets people watching. G found a pair of cheap geta for $13 and I bought a kite. On our way back to the parking garage, we discovered a vintage clothing store the name of which I cannot remember at the moment. Probably pricy given its neighborhood, but it was fun to browse even if all the women's stuff I liked was in anorexic-girl sizes, and the lady behind the counter was friendly, so I took a card.

From there, we headed up Post Street into Japantown. I am the mortified owner of a $40 parking ticket because I didn't think we'd overstay the 2 hour parking zone. I finally braved the intimidatingly beautiful array of packages and purchased a mochi sampler at Nippon-ya for Saturday's picnic. We lunched at Kushi Tsuru - he ordered a combo that turned out to be huge. My bento consisted of refreshing cold soba noodles with dipping sauce, a generous portion of veggie tempura, three pieces of the inevitable California roll and three pieces of nigiri sushi. G was in heaven and shopped till his knapsack was bulging and he was laden with shopping bags. I can't remember what all he bought, but I did treat him to some incense at Asakichi, and I got a book at Kinokuniya that seems like a Saionji-Must-Have: Uncovering Heian Japan: An Archaeology of Sensation and Inscription, by Thomas LaMarre. Final stops were at Soko Hardware to clean them out of Big-ass Japanese Hats For The Second Time In Six Months, and the Nijiya Market for supplies for our picnic.

Across town via Geary through the Richmond, past the Cliff House and the beach (which looked cold and blustery or we would've stopped and gotten out, then into Golden Gate Park for a walk around the tea garden. The mist was blowing in through the trees and, being June, we'd missed some of the spring blooms, but it's still lovely, despite rude people who think their picture taking is more important that yours. I opted to demonstrate the art of courtesy, but some people just cannot take a clue. At least her boyfriend was mortified.

We returned to the East Bay and had dinner at La Mediterranee on College Avenue in Oakland. Yum! Then home to prep for A&S. G made filling for abura age while I packed plates, cups and utensils.

Got out of the house and to the event site on time. You know, Ed Levin Park is a very pretty, scenic place to hold an event, but the parking situation is, well, let's just call it limited and leave it at that. In addition, one has to haul one's gear in on foot because they don't allow you to drive into camp. I did not appreciate being treated like a moron newbie by a Member Of A Peerage Who Shall Not Be Named for discretion's sake. "You can't park here!" "Yes, I know, we're just unloading." (You know, just like YOU are, you officious butt, only I'm not taking up the entire freaking road with a pickup and trailer? Was the little red wagon being the first thing out of my truck not your first freaking clue that I not only know the drill but came prepared?)

I spent first and second period taking Moshe and Vittoria's class while G did historical knitting things with

xrian. It is impossible to sing with Moshe and not feel good. It really, really helped. I know I've got a long way to go, but as baby steps go, yesterday morning was an important one.

The Japanese picnic was a great success, if I do say so myself. Between what we brought and what

bovil and

kproche showed up with, there was plenty to eat and drink and everyone enjoyed themselves.

sarahbellem,

trystbat and

adelheit had laid out their own picnic next to our spot so sake and mochi was being ferried back and forth.

I never heard the heralds call for court, so I missed Vyncent's laurel ceremony. You know something? The more I think about it, the less sorry I am. Don't get me wrong, Vyncent's a friend, I am very happy for him and he is most deserving, but I was in the middle of doing something that turned out to be as special as I hoped it would be and made me happy. My friends and I achieved an afternoon that could have happened on a summer's day in Kyoto in the 1500's. Well, maybe not with tea coming out of thermoses or a Radio Flyer as buffet table cum pantry, but the rest of it was right out of "The Maple Viewers." Photo shamelessly pickpocketed from

sarahbellem because we just look too fabulous for me to resist:

(G was busily knitting out of frame, which is a shame because he would have fit in very nicely in his striped hakama and kosode. Well, his hakama, my kosode, because I knew he would roast in the black brocade one he'd packed so I put him in one of mine.)

EDIT. I love this picture, anachronistic site tokens and namban pavilion in the background notwithstanding. I look petite. Dainty, even.

EDIT:
Beneath waving boughs
Shading sun dappled grasses
The meadow welcomes.

Merrymakers take their ease
Sharing in the day's delights.

People kept wandering past and saying how wonderful it all looked - so we'd offer them tea or sake and goodies. Then there were people we ran into when we went out visiting later in the day who said, "Oh, your picnic looked so wonderful!" - yet hesitated to come over and say hello. Their loss - we'd've been happy to wine and dine 'em like everyone else. I WILL cut slack for Her Highness of the Mists - she had duties of her own, not to mention a very active toddler.

gcmadtown81,

bovil,

kproche and I were a hit with the staff at Sushi Totoro when we came through the door in our Momoyama cacophony of plaids and stripes. The relentlessly upbeat J-pop on the sound system and the big screen TVs showing anime were a different sort of ambiance than the more traditional sort at the places I tend to go, but the food was terrific and plentiful.

Today, after a leisurely morning, G and I took the BART over to the city. We stopped at the Ferry Building to browse the food shops, and G decided then and there that he was going to cook dinner for me when he found Far West Fungi. We walked up the Embarcadero to ~~Tourist Central~~ Pier 39. It was a brisk day, but still pretty crowded. We were both in the mood for burgers after hiking up from Market Street, so lunch was at the Wipeout Bar and Grill. Prices were what you'd expect at the Pier, but the burgers were very good, and the young man covering our table gave us pretty decent service. We ducked out of the wind into the Musee Mechanique. I love the old player pianos and musical machines, but some of the other automata are a lot of fun too. It was a bit surreal to see someone paying for the privilege of playing Pong with his daughter. I dropped a quarter into a viewer that flipped 3-D stereopticon slides from the SF Earthquake, which was pretty cool. We walked up to the Cannery only to discover that Lark In The Morning has moved. Just as well - I can't adopt any more musical instruments.

Back home to the East Bay. G fed me a lovely dinner of chicken, pasta and asparagus with those great mushrooms (EDIT: pioppinos per my very own take-home chef) and we popped "Sansho the Bailliff" in the DVD player. For dessert, mango ice cream and fresh strawberries drizzled with the chocolate wine sauce I picked up at La Rochelle.