Beginning Again

Current events have definitely changed our course during the last eight months. My thoughts concerning our President and his Administration as well as the ideas that are now shaping our country and the rest of the world, and how these changes might affect our resources, have led me to consider the prospect of becoming more self-sufficient (but that's another post).

Something must first be said about the property we had our hearts set on. Less than two weeks before escrow was scheduled to close, we received a call from the lender informing us that they were no longer funding construction loans. The banking crises collapse felt around the world proved to be disastrous for us as well. Though our credit scores were above 800 with a perfect debt-ratio, our loan and our dream simply vanished into thin air. Our $5,000. deposit, along with $4,000. in preliminary drawing/plan fees, were hard losses to swallow. But we moved on. We layed it down as best we could: it had been God's money first, a gift given, and for reasons unknown, a gift taken away.

Eight months these days seems like an eternity of living, but I must go back to our trip up north and our visit to San Francisco for those memories did prove to be more memorable with the passage of time.


Part of the day we strolled along the streets of San Francisco allowing the architectural allure of old buildings to take us back to a time that seemed ancient to us.


We charted the crooked street on foot, hill after hill.


In the early afternoon, hungry tummies indulged themselves with bread bowls of steaming clam chowder and fresh baked bread from the Boudin Sourdough Bakery on the Fisherman's Wharf.




I was thoroughly intrigued by the arrangement of moving baskets that delivered warm bread from the kitchen to the cafe, and thought seriously if such a thing could be invented to travel from bedroom to bedroom for the purpose of collecting dirty clothes that could be sent directly to my laundry room.








Standing inside the Coit Tower at ground level, we were first mesmerized by the incredible murals depicting the Great Depression (which I was not allowed to photograph), and secondly, by the breathtaking views of the city after completing a short elevator ride.


Upon exiting the Coit Tower, I persuaded a passerby to demonstrate the first automatic, self-cleaning bathroom we'd ever seen. Unfortunately, no one in our family wanted to try this contraption for fear that certain unmentionable, naked body parts would be cleaned without permission.


The toilet, however, was not the focal point of our day. Earlier that morning we decided to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. I opted not to bring my camera because I was afraid I would drop it (I have a terrible fear of heights).












After we turned around to begin our walk back to the other side, we noticed the presence of several helicopters and rescue boats out on the bay and assumed they were performing some kind of rescue drill. We were amused for a time. But then a small crew of bridge men appeared and seemed to be searching quite intensely for...

you guessed it; a man overbridge (suicide). It was eerie. We watched the rescue attempt for what seemed like an hour. Though the older girls were enthusiastic over the idea of seeing a dead body dragged to shore, one was never found.


We encountered some pretty interesting stuff that day, including this very LONG light on the way back to our hotel.
















Now here's a SIGN that was crystal clear. It's a good thing too, otherwise, the designated driver (my significant other) would have ran it after 30 seconds.

To be continued...

Sneak Preview: A Birthday We Weren't Forced to Postpone.