Monday, June 29, 2020

End of June post

This is the first time in many years that SF isn't filled with festivities and packed with people for Pride weekend. After our bike ride through the Golden Gate Park today, I was sitting with my husband in a neighborhood green-space along Haight St. when a man wearing a rainbow-colored mask and backpack walked by and I ask aloud: Is this Pride weekend? Normally, one would never need to ask. 

Although many businesses are either still closed or only open for partial service, I am seeing an increased presence of folk out and about. Our bike ride through the park today was met with slightly more motorists than last week's ride. I noticed quite a few picnic-goers. We're still not seeing the normal number of park visitors for June, as its museums are still shut, but Golden Gate Park is definitely filling up as the days of quarantine wear on. The mask-order is still in place in California, but I think I'm seeing less folk adhering to it now than before. Are we having collective mask-fatigue? Probably.

All of my beach-combing over the past few months has paid off. With some wee sea bits collected, I've 'beshelled' the heck out of a cheapie, wooden Kiste I picked up at a craft store the other day. I think, all in all, the 'beshelling' took nearly two hours to complete. I really enjoyed the process of deciding how to place the shells. The set-up was me roughly fitting all the bits together on each side of the box, snapping a photo of it for reference purposes, then removing said shells before gluing them on, one at a time. The whole process felt very meditative. 

Here are snaps of the Kiste below plus another goodie--




First, the lid.







21 comments:

  1. It seems pretty much business as usual around these parts by day; the few restaurants open are packed at night but generally speaking, it's as dead as a dodo at night. It's like going back in time ... What are you going to keep in your Kiste? Did you make your Schreibfeder?

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    1. I did make the Schreibfeder, but the tip was just a bit too crude. The ink line isn't what it should be. Trying to cut into the feather's shaft in order to shape it was tougher than I thought it would be! They are seemingly built to last. :D

      I may give the Kiste to my friend's daughter who is about 10 years old. I wonder what she would put in it. Were I to keep the Kiste, I might (rather boringly) just put shells in it!

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    2. A youtuber I check on occasionally makes her own, but she calls them - surprise surprise - quills. Where's her German? we must now ask! She may be "historically accurate" but I need those videos now to give me a vocab lesson as well. You've spoilt us with this cultural enrichment!

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  2. I am thinking what fun to lay them out perfectly, then remove and glue them. Well done.I think a ten year old would fill it with treasures unknown.

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    1. It was fun, Joanne. I've a decent selection to choose from, so if a certain sized shell didn't quite fit, then there was always one waiting in the wings that did.

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  3. I do love the shell display and can see how the process could be quite meditative. And of course I love the fevver.
    We are having restrictions loosened and unsurprisingly some people have been given an inch are taking a mile (or two).

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    1. -worried a bit about the loosening of things. We could be in a situation of one step forward, two steps back. Trying to fashion the quill nib was interesting, to say the least. The stalk on the feather--don't know what type of bird it came from--is awfully strong. It was very tough to cut through.

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  4. I remember those beshelled (another word I like today, including Joanne's 'upchuck') from my childhood. Very evocative.

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    1. 'Upchuck' is a good one. There are so many good words for 'vomit'.

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  5. Nice shell box! What treasures are you going to keep in it?

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    1. More shells? :D Glad you like the Kiste, btw.

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  6. I hear that bars have to close again. For the best. I think it's time for me to make another mask. By the time this is over, I'm going to have a dozen of them.

    The box turned out great. Glad it was a joy to do.

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    1. Thanks, Liz. Yeah, it was a good time. From what I've heard on the radio, we seem to have been a bit too eager with respect to going out. Folk are not able to keep socially distant and masked, I guess. I'm none too excited to get back to dining out, to be honest. Just because we may be able to, doesn't mean we must!

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  7. The Kiste is awesome. Nicely done. We had to go back to stage 3 because we were being bad here in Idaho. We will find out in 30 days if we can go out and play again. Take care.

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    1. Thanks, man!

      I would think that the one great thing about living where you do is that you're able to go out into nature and explore---away from people. Who needs bars and restaurants?!

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    2. I hear ya on the bars. That hasn't been my scene in years. Hope you are having a nice July so far.

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  8. what a fun Kiste. so you still use German words for things?an excellent idea (the be-shelling not the word) it’s surely very therapeutic.
    Maybe I should go out and about in the wilds round here and pick up things too? No beach, I am miles from the sea, but there is lots of stuff just crying out for being creative with.

    Viel Spass und viel Glück.

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    1. Good to hear from you, Friko! In April, I created an Instagram account where I showcase German vocabulary and 'Strandfunde' in photo format. The Kiste photo is one from the Instagram page. Yes,'be-shelling' wee boxes is very therapeutic. I wonder what sorts of things you could collect in your area?

      Danke für die Meldung!
      LG Bea

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A piece of your mind here:

Wood/Driftwood

Bartie in the yard. Backyard horse, Palo Alto Ocean Beach after a recent storm. Wild wood in Golden Gate Park The most I've 'made...