Click to expand

It’s a beautiful day outside.  But I’m sick, indoors, cranky and trying to stuff myself full of Vitamin C and Zinc.

But life outside continues.  Sunday I brought you a shark, today it’s a mouse.  And it’s looking for love.

I’m not sure who this artist is, but I wish I had more info.  I do notice that I it’s changed my life in a little itty bitty way.

Until I noticed this street art sprouting up in the Outer Sunset, I found myself overly-focused on what I was doing, looking down and hurrying through life.

But the last few weeks have been a little different.  I am constantly looking up.  Constantly searching for little bits of treasure hidden on SF’s utility poles.  And it’s actually made life more interesting.

So whoever you are, please don’t stop.  I’m sure I’m not the only one that’s intrigued, interested and grateful for the little smiles you’re adding to life through these carved wood surprises.

Click to Expand

I know I should be blogging about San Francisco real estate, but instead, I’m running around trying to keep up with active buyers, both in and out of escrow, and getting some listings up and running!  (In fact, check out this 1BR steal of a condo in Diamond Heights and this 2BR 2BA 2PK condo in NoPa for some AWESOME opportunities!)

So when things calm down, I’ll have some more real estate posts for you soon – but in the meantime, I thought I’d share some more rogue Outer Sunset art with you.

And you know what, readers?  If you’re stopping by to check out my posts, you are sweet.  But I promise, I won’t bite.

First, out here on the Great Highway, we had to SURRENDER!

Now, there’s Tulips and Nervous Virgins.

Our utility poles in the Outer Sunset are just getting more and more interesting…………

Click to Expand

Click to Expand

Sunday Streets is back for 2011!  The kick off event is coming up THIS weekend and runs along the Embarcadero.  As of now, the outlook looks to be a little rainy, but really, if all you got it a little sprinkle, I know you’ll still have a good time!

And the events usually run till just about 2pm, so you still have plenty of time to visit all of those Open Houses in SF too!

Visit Sunday Streets for more info!

Sunday Streets 2011 Season Schedule (subject to change):

• March 20: kick off event along the Embarcadero from Fisherman’s Wharf to Mission Bay;
• April 10: Great Highway and Golden Gate Park; ‘Penguins to Penguins’:
• May 8: Mission route, including the popular route along 24th and Valencia Streets;
• June 12: Bayview route, 3rd Street from Mission Bay, Dogpatch to the Bayview Opera House;
• July 10: Great Highway route #2;
• August 14: Civic Center/Tenderloin route;
• September 11: Western Addition route, including North of Panhandle, Alamo Square and Fillmore and Japantown neighborhoods;
• October TBD; Mission route #2

This year’s event calendar features monthly events from March 20 through October of 2011, with events occurring on the 2nd Sunday of each month starting in April.

Sunday Streets 2011 Season continues the tradition of visiting diverse communities throughout the City with a variety of routes in different neighborhoods. While returning to popular areas along established routes, 2011 events will extend into new neighborhoods and include more diverse program elements that highlight each neighborhood’s unique character and often overlooked community attractions and institutions.

Returning activities include the ever-popular bike programming: free bike rentals offered by Bike & Roll, Bay City Bike Rentals and Tours and Blazing Saddles, bike safety courses presented by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and Presidio YMCA’s Y Bike Program, as well as bike maintenance programs and adult bike education. The CA Outdoor Rollersports Assoc and David Miles, aka ‘The Godfather of Skate’ will bring out a mobile roller disco with free skate rentals, and the YMCA of San Francisco will coordinate activities for children and families through local YMCA branches near each route.

Click to expand

Well – it’s not so much at staying at the YMCA as it is raising money for the sake of the YMCA!

It’s that time of year again, when the Richmond District YMCA throws their annual silent auction/fundraiser event!

In case you didn’t know, I was a Richmond YMCA kid!  I spent my summers at YMCA Day Camp at Star of the Sea.   In fact, I knocked a front tooth out there while playing a game of cat and mouse (always check to make sure your shoes are tied, kids!)  I made my first homemade pizza there, and it was the YMCA that took me to my first Giants game at Candlestick Park.  I don’t remember the game, but I do remember the Carnation Chocolate Malts they used to sell.  (I guess you can see where my priorities were and frankly, still are.)

And speaking of priorities, this silent auction will feature food, drinks and lots of goodies for you to bid on!  I’ve gone home in the past with chocolate covered strawberries, Go-Kart Racing certificates and a certificate for a Facial from the Blue Turtle Spa.  And that’s just what I could carry out of there in one trip!

The event invite:

You are cordially invited to the YMCA Richmond District 5th Annual Silent Auction!
Join us for amazing auction prizes, a raffle, live music, and of course delicious food and wine!

When: Thursday, April 7
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Where: Congregation Beth Sholom,
301 14th Ave., San Francisco 94118

Tickets are $25 presale and $30 at the door

Please purchase tickets online at Brown Paper Tickets!

Feel free to invite your friends, co-workers, family, clients, your significant other, whomever!

Buy tickets and then give them away at the door if you want! (It’ll earn you good kharma! )

Hope to see you there! And I’ll be there so stop by and say “hi!” if you come!

Get ready to spend some money and win some fun stuff for a good cause!  (Just don’t try to outbid me – I take my silent auctions seriously!)

Want more proof that there is life in the Western half of San Francisco?  Well, the restaurants in SF’s Parkside district are here to show you we KNOW how to eat.  From classic delicious Italian (waiters in tuxedos!) at Gold Mirror and Ristorante Marcello, fresh sushi at Ninki to Shepherd’s Pie and karaoke (Friday nights!) at Parkside Tavern – we Sunset/Parkside dwellers are never at a loss for yummy treats.

The Second Annual “Tastes of Taraval” will take place March 11 through 17. This is a wonderful opportunity to check out our neighborhood restaurants, many who will be offering discounts and raffle prizes to patrons who mention “Tastes of Taraval”.

Last year’s first “Tastes of Taraval” event was a surprising success, with over 200 new customers trying out restaurants on Taraval Street. This year there are eight participating restaurants, each offering a special deal. Not only do the customers get a discount offered by the restaurant, they also are given a raffle ticket to fill out for a grand prize given at the end of the week by each restaurant.

Participating restaurants include:

Gold Mirror
Parkside Tavern
Shimo II
Ninki Sushi
Tennessee Grill
Brown Owl Coffee
Eagle Pizzeria
Kingdom of Dumpling
Ristorante Marcello

“Tastes of Taraval” is sponsored by the Taraval Parkside Merchants Association. For more information, visit
http://taravalmerchants.blogspot.com/

Click to Expand

I’ve had a few rough days.  First, it was a sinus headache that (still) makes me feel like I’m being continuously punched in the forehead.  And then, it was the passing of a matriach, my step-grandmother, a 91 year old woman with the spirit of a twenty-something, the memory of an elephant and a heart of gold.  I always knew her as “Babushka Luba” (yes, there are more Lubas out there than just me) and was amazed to discover that she had a life long before she was a Babushka and in fact, she was one of a few female soldiers with the Soviet Army in WWII.  Her platoon made it all the way to Berlin before the war ended.  And, well, her collections of medals was truly impressive.  She’ll be missed by her kids, her grandkids, her great-grandkids, and by anyone whose life she touched.

So when Bennett Hall sent over the above picture of the Golden Gate Bridge, it brought a happy moment to a few otherwise stressful days.  Here he described the photo:

This photograph of the bridge was made in 1980 between passing storms with an 8×10″ view camera.  Waves from the heavy surf hit the sea wall causing these spectacular curtains of water, shooting up to 20′ into the air.

The motion effect is created using a slow shutter speed, about 1/4 second.

Available as a limited edition giclee from the artist studio Studio printed archival 12-color pigment print on premium photo paper Signed and numbered by artist

The original photograph is available.

And as a bonus, readers of Luba’s SF real estate blog get 40% off.

A little bit about the guy kind enough to provide us with such an awesome pic:

Bennett Hall, San Francisco native, photographer and design, operates a San Francisco studio dedicated to sustainable U.S. forested custom picture framing at lower prices for everyone.  Currently, Hall is selling his 30-year collection of framed and unframed San Francisco, and world historical photography, personal art photography and other collectible pieces at clearance prices.  Services for businesses are emphazed through Hall’s company Business Image Group, creating graphical environments that express the culture, history and marketing messages of his clients.

This, seen on a telephone pole in the Outer Sunset today.

$10 Java Beach coffee card to the first person that can REALLY tell me to what or to whom I should be surrendering.  Another $10 Java Beach coffee card to the first person that can tell me if there’s more of these around, and where.  (And yes, I’ll be confirming their location.)

For now, I’ll take it to mean “surrender to the sunshine.”

And you people think that the Mission is the only place where “interesting” things happen.  Hmph.

I know, I know, you’re tired of me talking about our awesome weather, but I just couldn’t help but smile as I went past these Cherry Blossoms trees in Hayes Valley (Pierce Street to be exact.)

We’re seeing Cherry Blossoms in bloom ALL OVER SF!  The glorious sunshine has fooled the trees into thinking it’s really spring and they’re blooming left and right.  Driving through Golden Gate Park is, frankly, magical!

And remember, Cherry Blossoms are a symbol of the fragility of life – here today, gone sooner than you realize – so don’t just enjoy the Blossoms while you can, but get out there and enjoy San Francisco!

UPDATE!!!!  CORRECTION!!! STOP THE PRESSES!!! 

Thanks to James leaving a message in the comments below, I now know those are PLUM blossoms!  NOT cherry!  But they still sure are PURDY!

We San Franciscan’s love our dogs.  In a 2006 National Geographic article, it’s estimated that SF has 745,000 human residents and 110,000 canine ones!  (And a gratuitous plug here, the pic up top is from the the Animal Care and Control’s website.  His name is Moe and YES, he is available for adoption, as are dozens of other cuddly and loving animals!)

We REALLY do love our dogs.  And we love the various places we can take them.  Fort Funston, Crissy Field and Ocean Beach are just a few favorite places to let our four legged friends frolic.  But a lot of them are a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) and to make a really long story short – your dog’s favorite place to burn off some energy may become a “No Dog” zone!

Supervisor Carmen Chu was kind enough to share the below information about the proposed changes as well as ways for you to give YOUR input on what to do with San Francisco’s parks.  They might be Federally owned, but it’s San Francisco’s citizens that use them on a daily basis, and we deserve to make our input heard!

Here’s the scoop from the newsletter:

GGNRA dog management plan

The Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA), a Federal agency, recently released their Dog Management Plan/Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The voluminous document and its recommendations would have significant impact on use of Ocean Beach, Fort Funston, Lands End, Sutro Heights, Baker Beach, Fort Point, Fort Mason and Crissy Field. The document is available at all San Francisco Public Libraries and also online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/dogplan

The Dog Management Plan/Draft Environmental Impact Statement presents several different alternatives for each park in the GGNRA, ranging from “no dogs” to severely restricting off leash areas. Our office wanted to make you aware that public comment on the plan will be accepted through April 14, and that it is important that the GGNRA and National Park Service (NPS) hear the concerns of San Francisco residents.

How to comment:

• Online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/dogplan
• By mail: Frank Dean, General Superintendent, GGNRA

Fort Mason, Building 201

San Francisco, CA 94123

Public Meetings:

• March 2, 4 – 8pm , Tamalpais High School, Marin County
• March 5, 11am – 4pm, San Francisco State University, Seven Hills Conference Center
• March 7, 4 – 8pm, Fort Mason Bldg. A, San Francisco
• March 9, 4 – 8pm, Cabrillo School, Pacifica

Comments will be considered during development of the final plan, which is expected to be completed by late Spring/early Summer 2012. When making your comments, please refer to the specific area of the plan you would like to see changed, and your ideas for alternatives.

If you have any further questions about the Dog Management Plan/Draft EIS, please call the GGNRA at 415-561-4728.

The GGNRA is the nation’s largest urban national park, and includes areas of San Francisco, San mateo and Marin Counties.