crispy days

There is a pleasant crispness to the air today, its finally getting cool and I love it. Now the weather will be like SF is most of the time, a bit cool, but not too much so. Soon, however, I know the coolness will turn cold, and then the cold to freezing. I have to enjoy this while it lasts. I had a lovely afternoon today. My first attempt at lasagna went over fairly well, possibly because of the nice Italian red wine served with it. Next time I will have to buy more cheese, never skimp on the cheese!

Yesterday morning I spent missing San Francisco and fantasizing about a perfect day in my old town: going to the cottage bakery behind the Liberty café for a cup of coffee and a croissant while watching women dressed all in white baking desserts and breads in front of the giant ovens, going grocery shopping at rainbow picking up rennet-less cheese, Bocca burgers and extra-thick blue corn chips, taking the dog for a romp on Bernal hill, going for long run on the beach with the sea spray and a strong wind in my face. But then spent the rest of the day in the reality of London: taking the dog to Highgate Wood to chase squirrels and stocking up on kitchen roll and cream cleanser at Tescos. One of the few items the British don’t have different word for (i.e. cooker for stove) or pronounce differently (I have started pronouncing 'basil' and 'pasta' in my head the English way, it is only a matter of time before I start blurting it out) is Haagen-Dazs. So I also claimed the last pint of the very English banoffee flavor at the store as well. It is hands down my favorite, being a combination of banana and caramel with pecan cookie pieces in it, apparently based on a popular British pudding created in Sussex. Its not all bad, as long as there's ice cream!

I took the picture above on a rainy afternoon a few days ago. I hope to get back into taking tons of photos again. I really like the way the city looks in the rain.