OUR CUP RUNNETH OVERDearest Family and Friends
57 Cumberland Street, San Francisco CA 94110
Phone Number: +1 415 738 2112
June Highlights
10:10
How Are We Doing?
The principle behind 10:10 is that everybody - whether individuals, businesses or institutions - can tackle climate change by cutting their carbon emissions by 10% this year. 
We took no flights and only hired zipcars four times in the month, although Colman did fly to Washington for high level meetings on the work front.
May saw our energy usage decrease but fail to hit the 10% target. Alarmingly, June’s energy usage actually increased, especially gas. So we have now turned down the hot water thermostat, hoping this will do the trick for July.
We kept up our localvore regime, actually one to delight in given the superb summer produce now gracing our veg boxes . 
Food transportation requires immense use of activities that contribute to pollution, waste and greenhouse gas emissions. Buying locally produced food, especially meat, dairy products, vegetables and fruit which require keeping fresh, helps the environment, fosters ties with the land and also boosts the local economy. If one can switch to a veg box for fruit and vegetables, rather than overpackaged supermarket produce sourced from too wide a radius, so much the better.
I realised our original veg box is in truth an organic seasonal supermarket; its advantage is you can ‘customise your box’ which prevents waste, and is helpful for planning dinner parties and camping weekends. However, the spring onions and cucumbers actually mostly come from Mexico although are advertised as being from California on their website.
So in an effort to become more local, we now get an additional fruit and veg box from Farm Fresh to You which is a CSA – Community Supported Agriculture.
Defined as ‘a socio-economic model of agriculture and food distribution’, this movement started in Europe originally in the 1960s and spread to the US in the 1980s. A community supports a farm operation so ‘the growers and consumers share the risks and benefits of food production’.
The produce from our second fruit and veg box is excellent, although you get no choice of its contents, and I expected to churn out of the original, but as we keep getting house guests, going on self-catering weekends and entertaining, I try to customise Box 1 so that Mexican produce doesn’t appear, and thus we are actually consuming two veg boxes a week for now – and thus double the produce in season sometimes (this week’s star entry is corn on the cob).
There are challenges: for the Sunday Streets bake sale I had to make goods without sugar so used honey forgetting this isn’t a vegan ingredient so was passing off almond cupcakes as vegan to my shame… And we have found it difficult or impossible to source non-grain items such as crackers, pasta and oats locally. So cheat on these items very occasionally. But we now do buy bananas as permitted by How Bad are Bananas?
Top tips for 10:10 this month:
- turn down the hot water thermostat a few degrees. The only difference we’ve noticed is the piping hot water not lasting as long, which encourages shorter showers
- I’m training myself to automatically turn on the cold water tap rather than the hot
- And we’re going to start washing clothes in a cold wash rather than warm; warm wash rather than hot
- grow diverse, wildlife-friendly (native if possible) plants in your garden, front yard, any outside space you have. Make sure to leave trees and old branches whenever possible, avoid any cutting during the breeding season 1 March – 30 August; a well-designed garden uses less water; try to cut down on pesticides and fertilisers
- and volunteer! No Impact Man’s No.1 recommendation is that you volunteer for your local environmental non-profit
VolunteeringSo I contacted 10:10 asking if I could help in any way.
They put me in touch with the chap organising the 350.org movement in the Bay Area, which is partnering with 10:10. This grassroots movement aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the current 392 parts-per-million of CO2 to the 350 ppm scientists calculate we need to return to (last seen in 1988), to prevent a climate tipping point. Pre-industrial levels were at 298ppm.
Neighbour Tom and I attended the UN World Environment Day’s 5th anniversary in North America held in SF Temple nightclub downtown, organised by 350.org. The owner strives to provide a ‘green’ nightclub: it has a rooftop vegetable garden, Zen-themed Asian antiques decorate the ground floor, a sustainable restaurant and an ‘energy generating dancefloor’. 
Various biodiversity activists and passionate environmentalists hobnobbed for a while, short speeches extolled us to have fun while being the change we all want, and an emotive video of man’s destruction of our fabulous planet was played with a live mash-up DJ spinning tunes.There is also a Day of Action planned for 10/10/10 across the globe, we are thinking how best we can work on this.
And I also volunteered for Golden Gate Audubon and attended their monthly SF Conservation Committee meeting. The meeting turned out to be more about planning than ornithology as they discussed the arcane points of local planning law, specific roads, habitats and housing. It was hard for me to contribute. I was also the youngest there by 10 years. It was a full hour before a single bird species was mentioned!
But I did take part in a GGA-sponsored beach restoration project beside Crissy Field underneath the Golden Gate Bridge.The threatened Snowy Plover has an area of beach demarcated for nesting and people are requested not to stray on that part of the beach; hard as it is a hugely popular recreational area for dogs, walkers and joggers.
I was given a bucket and spent two back-breaking hours picking up rubbish. It was astonishing how much debris had accumulated on a beach, which is cleaned every year. Plastic cigarillo holders, plastic shot gun cartridges, Styrofoam cups, plastic bottles, shards of plastic of every weathered hue. It was profoundly depressing. We have resolved to pick up plastic wherever we see it polluting our environment from now on.
And the impact of our appalling over-reliance and careless disregard for plastic is brought home in this heart-wrenching video.
The good news is that the UK coalition government has signed up to 10:10! If they manage the full 10% cut, it'll be equivalent to taking about 200,000 cars off the road. Watch the announcement here - http://www.1010global.org/uk/2010/05/video-cameron-huhne-1010-interview?utm_source=1010lizzie&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20100601
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Santa Rosa
Adventure of the Month
Camping close to home is a pretty low cost and low carbon holiday option, beloved by all.
Seized by the success of last year’s camping expedition to Big Basin, the same team (Armani, Geoff, Marcus, Adam, Jen, Christine) reunited at the Spring Lake Regional Park campground just on the outskirts of Santa Rosa, an hour and a half North of SF, for the hottest weekend of the year so far.
We were also joined by FredAnd Inbar and Ben.
Adam drove Esme and me up in the advance party and completed erecting tents just as Armani, Marcus, Inbar and Ben arrived.
So Adam and I seized our opportunity and swanned off winetasting, leaving Esme with Armani and Inbar.
We had a fine old time, visiting two contrasting establishments, getting very merry, meeting all sorts of interesting types, before a polite call from Armani asking our ETA (subtext, where the hell are you).We hotfooted it back.
Geoff and Colman were the next arrivals; supper was on the go before Fred and Christine made it.
Adam serenaded us by the light of the campfire; the family adjacent had a daughter who played America the Beautiful (or some other such patriotic dirge) on her violin – we clapped her with enthusiasm at the end of her recital.
The hammock was in great demand all weekend.
So much so that it had to be withdrawn from public use on occasion.
SaturdayWe all ambled to the rather lovely lake, fringed with willow and reeds for some cooling activity.
The adjacent swimming lagoon was ringed by Canada Geese, and several broods of goslings too.
Geoff was very disapproving of the muddy lagoon, whose shores were embellished by goose feathers and other less attractive avian delights.But there were lifeguards on duty, and plenty of willing swimmers; I kept my head firmly above water nonetheless.
Esme refused at the point of hysterics even to put one toenail anywhere near the water, the boys splashed around naked and excited.
The heat meant the lagoon became our default location.England v USA
Half the party were very keen to see this much-hyped and heralded soccer match. The other half ranged from lukewarm to indifference, but nevertheless, we all piled into cars and drove through ever-expanding Santa Rosa to Christine’s brother’s house to watch the game.
Easton was very good-humoured about the goose-infested gaggle who took over his place for the duration. Sister Marie acted as host.
Adam and Jen took a keen interest in proceedings.
As did Esme and Marcus mesmerised by that Great Satan, television! Most of us dipped in and out of the match – I missed England’s goal by going to the garage to buy milk – preferring the BBQ in the garden, standing in a paddling pool to keep cool.
We returned to the campground when the water fights started to lose their appeal.
Creatures of the Murky Lagoon
And returned to the lagoon for swimming, sunbathing and reading – and ice creams.
Esme lost the plot completely with a seemingly never-ending crying fit, which ended only by falling asleep on top of Daddy for two hours in the shade.Colman could sympathise – he loses it in the heat too.
That night, Easton and Marie managed to run the gauntlet of the suspicious and officious park rangers to join us for dinner.
The boys were exhausted by all their frantic activity, whereas a revived Esme was on top form, charming a neighbouring family whose son, Lucas, is three months older.Esme: What are you doing today? What’s your name? Where do you live? Let’s go to the lake!
And they set off determinedly at 10pm before being rounded up.Our little soiree was closed down at that point by the rangers anyhow.
Sunday
Sadly, Ben had a bad night with earache, and when we woke, it was to find that Inbar had packed up and left, so we were unable to say goodbye.
And thus, are not in the final group shot.Geoff, disgusted by the lagoon, and blaming it for Ben’s ills, toyed with the idea of heading off somewhere else before it was agreed to simply head home.
We all packed up, and I waved a fond farewell to Esme and Colman who departed with Geoff, Armani and Marcus, before heading back to the lagoon for a final session of lounging with Adam and Jen.
It was a boiling hot day, we took it very easy.Harmony Festival
And drove to Santa Rosa’s Sonoma County Fairgrounds to rejoin Fred and Christine, and Easton for the Harmony Festival.Described as a celebration of ‘32 evolutionary years of new ideas, community activism, environmental awareness, spiritual wisdom, holistic products and conscious art’.
How very NorCal!It was nearly a year since I’d been to a festival, such a treat to go.
We shambled about, watched an EXTRAORDINARY piece of performance in the Goddess Groveand grooved in the main field to SoCal’s own Slightly Stoopid who played reggae styled with acoustic rock and blues.
At this point Christine succumbed to Fred’s disinterest and left the four of us to it. We listened to part of the Climate Change Action Panel Discussion featuring both 350.org and 10:10 on the Wisdom Speakers Stage.
Probably most of the audience were there taking refuge from the sweltering sun.
Check One Two
The headliner was Ms Lauryn Hill who impressed with her excellent warm up mash up DJ whose barnstorming set played over the sound checks.But unfortunately to the subsequent detriment of the band’s sound mix.
Lauryn came on for the last hour-blaze of sunshine, hair blowing in the breeze, wearing parachutist-meets-Eighties Bond girl garb.Her idea of rectifying the sound was to repeatedly demand of the hapless mixing engineer to “turn me up, turn the girls up, turn me up, turn the guitar up, turn me up, turn up the drums, the bass, me, me, me…”
For a while it was all too much, but eventually they sorted themselves out, and she did apologise to the good-natured (extremely stoned) crowd.
And we stayed for the first hour of the final act, Galactic from New Orleans, whose funk and jazz jam style kept us hopping.
Thanks to Adam and Jen for driving me home to SF that night, tired and happy, brain whirling most satisfactorily, while stargazing at the planets symmetrically strung across the sky. It does help to have that Starmap iphone app…
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David and Mel: Part One
Visitors of the Month
David and Mel left a sweltering, football-fevered England for a fabulous two week voyage around the highlights of NorCal, beginning and ending in San Francisco.We were THRILLED to see them.
For the first half they were treated to some fine displays of San Francisco pace, attack and ball control, especially in the Castro, on their first day.
They arrived fresh as daisies, having followed an impressive in-flight regime. Esme took to them instantly on their first acquaintance.I took Esme to see the Sippy Cups, that well known popular beat combo, playing in Dolores Park, while Colman took D&M for a walk around the ‘hood.
In the park, Esme and I bumped into Theo and the ever-pregnant Anne-lise. Theo and Esme danced together with great gusto, especially to a hippy version of Dear Prudence. Or was that me…A perfect SF afternoon.
After a light dinner, and several more layers as the dread fog crept upon the city, I took David and Mel to an outdoor screening of Singalonga Grease in the park. Tom joined us.
Mel and I were in raptures on our picnic rug. Both of us gazing at the screen, faces fixed in permanent goofy grins, mouthing lines and cackling hysterically.
Until we peered round to see the shivering, hypothermia-wracked David, whose jetlag and lack of sufficient layers had rendered him prostrate.We dashed back to the house for reinforcements, but David nearly succumbed to frostbite, and had to wear 4 layers of clothes in bed that night to dethaw!
Still, Mel and I had a fabulous time – and I was awestruck at her staying power – go girl!
The following morning Colman drove them up to Twin Peaks for a city view. A view Colman was unable to see properly as he had put my contact lenses in, and didn’t realise, complaining that his eyesight was failing him all morning…
For the remainder of their first half, our visitors explored San Francisco, cycling over the bridge in gale and thick fog, walking along the foreshore of Crissy Field, watching the World Cup in Spanish in local bars at 7am, and enjoyed a very convivial dinner with Adam, Jen and Armani.
Then they left on their voyage of adventure in David’s mid-life crisis car – a convertible Mustang! He couldn’t believe his luck when the car hire place said “we don’t have the vehicle you booked, can we upgrade you?”So they drove to Big Sur top down, proper California stylin’.
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Streets of San Francisco
Sunday Streets
This is a community event, held this year 9 times across the city, which involves a route closed off to motorised transport through a specific neighbourhood from 10am until 3pm on a Sunday.
Modelled after the successful Ciclovías (pictured below) held every week in Bogotá, Colombia, a street party that brings nearly two million people out to play on over 70 miles of car-free roads (30% of the entire population).This was the third year San Francisco had tried it out, and the Mission District hosted two events, the first on the 20th June.
SF went for a ‘soft closure’ where cross traffic is allowed in a few places.
We took David and Mel with us for the saunter down 19th Street starting at Mission Dolores park.Then we turned right on Valencia, our local main party street, home to eclectic boutiques, bars, neighbourhood eateries ranging from taquerias to the Michelin-starred, bookshops and yoga centres.
Soon we spied local legend, flash mob host, and ‘Mission tricycle stereo guy’ (as the Mission Mission blog dubs him) Deep on his trusty steed, raring to cycle the route with Kimberley perched alluringly on the back, blaring disco to all and sundry.Esme was mesmerised by the spectacle.
And we all loved the freedom of walking along the open, carless road, bumping into friends and acquaintances– here are Arne and Cati - listening to music (we particularly liked the all-white skinny hipster steel drum combo) and admiring the many and varied contraptions people had managed to hoist onto wheels.
There was the chap who put an upright piano on the front of his bicycle; the Rock the Bike crew who advocate a pedal-powered way of life and a trio of musicians atop their custom-made creation who jammed and poetry slammed their way along the route.The weather was stunning, really glorious.
We also saw Tom, who had played a big part in organising Sunday Streets, before heading to the Puddle Jumpers Workshop bake sale stall.
Esme got very good at calling out ‘Excellent cookies for sale!’We did manage to sell $155 worth of baked goods to the unsuspecting public (and some friends) before struggling through the sunny Mission streets with the table, takings, Esme and the remainder of the baked goods, back to Puddle Jumpers.
Another reminder of how we love life in San Francisco’s Mission District.
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Dinners and Delights
Kirsh Family
Steve, Kristan, Soren and baby Gabriela came to visit us one blustery sunny Sunday afternoon. It was a major outing to walk down our street to Dolores Park!
Lelli and Toni also came to join in the fun.It was just like old times, the gang all together again.
Soren and Esme had the best time together…
In the bath…And bouncing on the bed, stark naked.
Esme most distinctly prefers her birthday suit to any other form of dress these days – it is a struggle to get her clothed, even in this less than balmy San Francisco summer!
Gabriela is really growing fast now, SUCH beautiful skin…
Hugs all round after a big Sunday feast.
Tom’s Birthday
Every year, the burghers of San Francisco celebrate the life and times of Tom Radulovich by putting on a small event for him – Gay Pride. This takes up the whole weekend and takes the form of the Dyke March on the Saturday when Dolores Park is filled to bursting with (mostly lesbians) of every shade, shape and stripe, and the Gay Pride march on the Sunday.
This year we chose only to attend the exclusive and intimate portion of the celebrations: the birthday BBQ in our back garden, accompanied by the sounds of the neighbourhood ‘going off!’
We had already hosted Tom for dinner with Deep, Kimberley, Sophia and Gerardo.
Saal ran his legendary cantina – that bottle of vanilla vodka is STILL doing the rounds. 
Santiago went to Bi-rite for some heirloom tomatoes and returned with a pair of new heels – purrfect.
And we bought Tom a Tartine tart!Goldfrapp
And then headed through merrying throngs down south to stay with Rob and Jecca with whom we were venturing out to see Goldfrapp at the beautifully restored art deco Fox Theater in Oakland. 
So we left Esme in the tender care of Billy and Luca (and babysitter).
And had a great night out. Goldfrapp were suitably ethereal and weird, and what we hadn’t really grasped hitherto, very very camp. And so were the audience.
Best moment was when their silver inflatable whoopee cushion started to deflate –these recessionary times clearly dictating the stage set.Rob was less than impressed by their performance but Colman and I enjoyed it.
But we were all more impressed by Germany the next morning.Who trounced England to our (expected) dismay.
And Luca’s disgust.
It was actually rather nice not living in the UK during the World Cup: no saturated media coverage, not having to buy in to the hype of the distinctly average English team. The event was acknowledged, supported even, by our peer groups, but at a safer distance.
Jenn’s Going Away Rooftop Brunch
Jenn has gone to India for work for three months, we attended her farewell event on her roof in the Marina.Excellent 360º panoramic views from the Golden Gate Bridge through Alcatraz, Bay Bridge to Coit Tower and the Trans-America pyramid.
And Celeste managed to snap some good pics of a (mostly) reluctant Esme.
Gorgeous day and lovely food!
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Bird of the Month
Oakland Outing
Esme expressed the wish for a Stella and Bella playdate.
So the three girls (chaperoned by their mothers) met up for a cultural and historical morning at the recently renovated Oakland Museum of California. 
This impressive 1969 building reminded me of the Barbican with its tiers of gardens, terraces, sculpture gardens and ponds, and of the National Theatre with its walkways and poured concrete. 
Esme wasn’t on her best form, but Bella was, loving the exhibits in the history of California section.It was outside the museum that I spotted it.
A Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticoraxPerched on top of a street light.
In downtown Oakland.
In broad daylight (as their name suggests, they’re a nocturnal species)!
I was dead impressed.
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Mural of the Month
Stencil of the MonthBumper Sticker of the Month
