Robert and I went to San Francisco yesterday--it was a beautiful day.  I did some shopping, of course.  Then we sat in Union Square and watched the people and listened to a rock band.  We went over to the St. Francis Hotel (they have a lovely ladies lounge) and then rode the outside elevators to the highest floor so we could see the fantastic view from up there.  Coit Tower on the left and the Oakland part of the Bay on the right, with lots of architecture in between.

Then we did our usual walk through Chinatown.  I bought some tea at Ten Ren Tea Shop.  We had seen a documentary called All in This Tea, about a man who went to China for years buying tea.  I'm sorry I forgot his name just now, but I really enjoyed seeing him trekking through the tea farming areas of Southeast China.  

Roy is coming today to continue working on the back garden.  The rock fountain is working, burbling away!  I love it. It is perfect, with layered rocks creating tiny waterfalls, and some pebbles and ledges.  The gray Buddha I bought a year ago at the Redding Target sits serenely on the ledge.  We are trying to finish the yard before Sigrid, Jim and Trevor and Chloe come on Thursday.  It's her birthday, and they will be here all weekend.

Roy put up my Target Gazebo last week, and I found a "chat set" --a loveseat, 2 chairs, and a coffee table, for the Gazebo.  It's like having a new room outside the family room.  I love it.  You can see that I shop at Target a lot.  I love Target for many reasons.

Back to work.  I'm just working on finishing my book on Aliveness for Shufunotomo, my publisher in Japan.  I'ts coming along, and I love including all the stories of exceptionally alive moments sent in by people.

Tonight Rainey and I will drive down to Kepler's Books in Menlo Park to hear Ellie Coppola discuss her new book, Notes on a Life.  I love her writing and everything she does.  She is so very, very talented, and so very modest about it all!