Que Bella!

In Chicago at our Purple Palace Reunion, I spent a lot of time with our little honorary Purple Palace Lady, Bella. Bella is Monica’s little two-year old girl. She is about the sweetest, most considerate, most loving, most adorable little girl I’ve ever met. She constantly impressed me and charmed me…and I was constantly impressed with Monica, as well. Bella didn’t just happen to turn out the way she is, I firmly believe that it has everything to do with Monica and her husband Eric. Bella and I got along really well, and for the first time I really felt in my heart, “Hey. I can do this. I can be a mom.” Of course it was just a long weekend…definitely not the same as the real 24/7 deal, but still, I felt really good about it. That’s not to say I didn’t have a couple of little reality checks reminding that maybe I’m not quite ready to be a mom just yet…example: one night out at a restaurant I was feeling really good about helping Bella cut her macaroni-and-cheese into little bites and warning her that it was hot…and then I emphatically blew on one bite to demonstrate the hotness and help her cool it off…and I blew so hard that cheese flew into my eye. Ooops. Then there were a couple of dicey moments where I almost spiraled into an existential crisis. You see, Bella is at the age where she likes to ask ‘Why?’ all of the time. I applaud her curiosity and I tried to speak to her in an adult way (none of that baby-talk crap)…however sometimes I took things a bit too far. Example:

Tina: Bella I think we should walk down the stairs instead of me carrying you.

Bella: Why?

Tina: Well, you’re kinda big and I don’t want to drop you.

Bella: Why?

Tina: Well, I’m not strong enough to carry you.

Bella: Why?

Tina: Well, I don’t work out enough and don’t have a lot of upper-body strength. Besides, I’m worried I could drop you. I’m very safety conscious.

Bella: Why?

Tina: I think it has to do with birth order; I’m an oldest child. Or maybe I’m just kind of neurotic?!?!

…….….Or for another example:

Tina: Bella, don’t push on my stomach, please.

Bella: Why?

Tina: Because it doesn’t feel very good when you do that.

Bella: Why?

Tina: Well, I have digestive problems.

Bella: Why?

Tina: Well, I think it might be stress related.

Bella: Why?


….And so on and so forth.

It was a really fun weekend and even though I’d already spent some time with Bella when she was younger, it was really great to get to see her again and see how much she’d grown. It was also great to feel like maybe I really could be a good mom someday…and also to see that it’s a ton of work and that day is definitely a few years away.

I Heart San Francisco

About a week after the wedding Bruno and I took a trip to San Francisco, and had a wonderful time. We stayed with my friend Lilia, who I met in Paris a few years ago. She was gracious enough to invite us into her home for the long weekend, me who she hadn’t seen in a few years and Bruno who she’d never met. She made us feel so welcomed and it really contributed to the good impression we had of San Francisco. It’s a pretty amazing city…my feeling is that it has all of the advantages of a big city without really being a big city. We got around easily on foot and with public transportation, we ate really well and thought the city was really beautiful. One night I saw a bum digging in a dumpster for things he could salvage and some trash spilled onto the sidewalk and I saw him carefully pick up the trash and put it back in the dumpster. Gotta love San Francisco!

So, I'm no expert on the San Fran area- but I always love to pass on a few 'travel tips'. Here are some things we really enjoyed:

Friday night at the DeYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park- we went and checked out the exhibit and there was also live jazz and a bar. Afterward we had some really good food in the neighborhood at Park Chow (1240 Ninth Ave.). Later that night we headed for the beach…bring stuff to make a bonfire if you want, or else just go and join one that is already blazing. People are friendly! But be sure to bundle up…it’s cold down there at night!

The Ferry Building- it’s down by the water and inside are little restaurants, a few shops/bookstores, fruits and veggie stands, wineries, places selling olive oils and spreads and the oh so delicious Cowgirl Creamery. They call it ‘artisan cheese,’ I call it ‘yummy.’ I have to admit, living in Paris has turned me into a cheese snob…but Cowgirl Creamery did not disappoint!

Taqueria Cancun – (at Mission and 19th) I’m sure there are a million good taquerias in the city…but this one has won awards like “Best Veggie Burrito in San Francisco” and I can see why. They served me the best damn veggie burrito I have ever tasted. We pigged out on delicious burritos, tacos, taquitos, chips, green and red salsa…and it cost $8.50 total for two people.

We met up with some friends from old Iowa City and had dinner at Magnolia Pub & Brewery at Haight & Masonic. I loved my beer, the food and the atmosphere…murals, little white lights and big wooden booths. I had a baked coriander and lemon chicken that was oh so good! Bruno had mussels with a spicy white wine sauce, and our friends really liked their choices: gnocchi and duck.

Esperpento – Spanish/Basque restaurant at 3295 22nd Street (between Bartlett St and Valencia Street in The Mission) Our last night in town we went for tapas and paella at a great Spanish restaurant…the food was wonderful and the restaurant had great atmosphere as well. There was live Spanish music, which was very good (even if sometimes a bit loud) and if you love garlic then you cannot afford to miss this restaurant.

We ate really well and had a great time just wandering around the city, up and down the hills and getting the different views, checking out the bookstores, wandering through the different neighborhoods, we were really surprised by the beauty of the Place of Fine Arts (which we stumbled on pretty much by accident), but one of our favorite things we did was going sailing with our friend Lilia. She belongs to the Cal Sailing Club (www.cal-sailing.org) and she brought us on one of the Sunday open-house days. The club is at the Berkeley Marina and the membership is $60 for three months…which includes, sailing and windsurfing lessons, wetsuits, use of boats and equipment, bay cruises, races and BBQs. Whoa!!! Sign me up!!! We had such a good time and everyone was really friendly. If you live in the area- check it out! And if you are just visiting, go on the website to look for the dates for ‘Free Sailboat Rides’ and open-houses…it’s free to go out in the boats and you can pay $5 to eat at the BBQ. When we were there the BBQ had beautiful and seasoned tri-tip steaks, grilled chicken, tons of fruits & veggies, a delicious salad, fresh guacamole, chili, brownies and plenty to drink. Good times!

If you’ve never visited San Francisco, we highly recommend it! And maybe if you wait a year, you’ll be able to visit us there………

My Trip Home

Well, here I am sitting in Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport, waiting for my flight ‘home’ to Paris. I really do feel like Paris is ‘home’ for me…but I also feel like I have been ‘home’ visiting my family and friends during these past six weeks. I’ve been living in Europe for most of the last four years, and have learned to redefine what ‘home’ means. It’s a lot more than a house or a place to hang your hat, and it’s a lot more than the stuff we buy and put inside to fill it up or decorate it. To me ‘home’ seems to have a lot to do with love and acceptance. Home is a place where you can go to be yourself, to take a break from the world outside, where you can regroup, rest up, eat well and sleep well. These past six weeks I have most definitely been ‘home.’ It’s been great to see everyone and I’ve done so much since I arrived here in this airport on June 27th. One of the most important things that has happened since I’ve been home was the marriage of my sister Angie.

Angie Sherwood is now Angie Hudy (pronounced Hooody- like the blowfish) and I am certain that she and Greg are going to be very, very happy together. The wedding was outside of Milwaukee, where they live and where Greg grew up. My sister was absolutely beautiful and everything went so perfectly…everyone had a wonderful time, ESPECIALLY the happy couple!! Bruno came with me to the wedding and he had a really good time, too. I think he really liked experiencing an ‘American wedding’. It was so good to spend a few days with lots of family from all over the country.