renewal...update!

pictured: the magical place of Musee Mecanique

days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months.

it's now been nearly two months since we said our farewells to the now-lovely-in-our-minds wwoofing experience.

while i miss the piggy noses and work routine of physically doing something, the days of today are filled with exciting new adventures - the migration towards the west has started and next week is the long haul, for real.

san francisco is the only city that i ever really imagined living in (okay, besides that early high school obsession with boston). hills and hills of beautifully crafted houses, yummy eateries, people with a californian glow of happiness, and natural wonders (complementing man made wonders) are all practically in your backyard. i knew i loved san francisco from the second time i visited (the first one was when i was 5 or something and i remember absolutely nothing from that). don't get me wrong, i love brooklyn too, but san francisco is a place you can grow old in.

pictured: outside our new home

the teeny tiny adventures

we found ourselves an apartment. it's teeny tiny (think ship cabin) but it has built-in furniture that adds charm and makes it feel san franciscan. and it's cheap - even cheaper than our brooklyn home. and it's in an amazingly wonderful location - nestled between the castro and the mission.

after confirming that we actually would be offered this tiny home of potential, i started on an obsessed rampage thinking of ways to maximize space. smaller can be better...after all, didn't i say in one of my first posts that i wanted to find myself a teeny, tiny house? got one!

there are plans for building structures - part tree house, part box house - and there are plans for using refuse wood rather than new (both for aesthetic and environmental purposes) as well as finding paint that's free of toxic fume. there's lots and lots to learn and think about, which is probably why i can't worry about the fact that i'm practically unemployed and not sure what my calling is. i like this new life.

pictured: nasturtiums // buena vista park (where the foraging walk took place)

walk on the wild side

getting comfortable in your new surrounding is probably the hardest part of moving. that's why this weekend alex and i went on a wild (urban) foraging tour - learning to identify and enjoy the many plant species growing in sf parks and backyards. the best of the best in our opinion, turns out to be nasturtiums - a common addition to salad mixes in the west, and a common weed almost everywhere. unfamiliar to us, we were delighted by their fresh looks and spicy, tasty flavor. the whole plant is edible from the roots to the leaves to the flowers to the oh so delicious pods. other highlights on the walk included wild fennel and wild radish. i can't wait to be in our teeny tiny home with our not so teeny kitchen (kitchen is half the space) and start cooking again!

pictured: alex on top of a rock by the coast (if the fog weren't so heavy you'd see the bridge right behind him) // map time // the bridge to nowhere

of course other walking adventures have taken place. there was the fog heavy adventure by the coast and across the golden gate bridge - which is hella scary (esp. after watching a documentary about how more than a handful of people jump from there yearly). there was the return to the sutro baths and the wonder of what had once been. and there was a walk on ocean beach filled with survival of the fittest, discovery channel stuff - a seagull waits, a crab gets caught on sand and is exposed as a wave retreats...the bird goes for the crab, the crab fights back... a crab gets eaten alive...oh ocean beach you are soooo much better than coney island, maybe the closing of playland was actually a good idea.