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Sunday 16 April 2006
	Passover breakfast at our house: note the matzah and grape juice on the table: two rarities.
Saturday 15 April 2006
	It's Saturday night, and my beautiful daughter dresses in her pink best. A girl's got to look good for a night on the town. Check out her glittery red shoes! After dinner, probably at the South Sea Seafood Village, we had over to the Kaleo Café for a bit of Hawai'i. (The café lost its moorings, went to an erratic schedule, and almost went under. The staff are giving it another year, with planned events, to see whether they can make it work.) Lila takes the "digital camera" and wanders around, taking pictures. Here are portraits of Dziadziu and Zofia:
Thursday 13 April 2006
	We met a nice German family and, being the wonderful ambassadors to San Francisco that we are, we invited them to Zante Indian Pizza, another kid-friendly delight. Here's the mommies chatting away: Isaac takes photos of papa and baby; the kids love baby-sitting.
Wednesday 12 April 2006
	As my father-in-law is somewhat under the weather, my mother-in-law didn't want to take on the traditional cleaning and cooking of Pesach (Passover). So I said "hey, I can do it!" The deal was (1) nobody brings anything at all and (2) the food would be Sephardic rather than Ashkenazi. Rose did the lion's share of cleaning (thank you, honey), and I did three days of on-and-off cooking. It turned out great! The veggie matzoh balls were just delightful (and quick); the brisket was cookind in a sauce of many spices, tasting savory and something like a BBQ but more exotic. Ahhh. Above you see ten people around our eating nook table; not bad, eh?
Tuesday 11 April 2006
	We head over to Piedmont to celebrete Rachaman Tzvi's brit milah. From left, here's Papa Ken holding Rachaman Tzvi, Rabbi Shalom Ezran (Magain David Sephardim Congregation, 4th Ave. @ Clement; where we got married) and Rabbi Chanan Feld (mohel extraordinaire). On the way back home we stop by Ikea. Isaac is just too tall for the playspace, but as there's nobody there the lady slips him in, and the siblings get their one time together.
Sunday 9 April 2006
	Courtesy of the Kagaimi Kai group here I am pounding mochi once again in Japantown. The musicians (left, out of the frame) made accompanying music which made the pole-bashing much, much easier. Isaac smiles as the professionals take their turn making the mochi. When each batch is done a group (right, out of the frame) cuts it into walnut-sized chunks, dusts it with sweetend soybean flour, and hands it out to the crowd. Mmmmm! The Kagaimi Kai drums are given over to the kids, who help out in their own way. (We met the woman in the red-and-white top over breakfast this morning at May's Coffee Shop; she told us 'bout the mochi-pounding. Thanks! It's been years since we've done that.) Later, day done, we dine on zaru soba at Mifune. Lila has recently developed a fierce taste for shrimp tempura.
Saturday 8 April 2006
	It's a beautiful day here in San Francisco, and we're taking a break on Twin Peaks. On our after-dinner walk, leaving Zante Indian Pizza, in the Mission, we come across this new establishment: Goood Frickin' Chicken. With a name like that, you know it's gotta be good!
Friday 7 April 2006
	This evening was Isaac's Hapkido yellow belt test; his first-ever rite of passage (except, I guess, learning to ride a bicycle or graduating from pre-school). Here's the students of all pre-black levels getting ready to be called up in groups, by belt level. (I've marked Isaac's location with a red arrow.) Here's my vantage point from the far edge of the mat, facing the judges, between assistants Miles and Jason. After his test Isaac broke with tradition and sat with the purple belts; nobody minds. Here's Louis, green-belt, showing his mastery of the flying side kick. Jason is thrown by XXX, brown-belt. All the tests are done, and the students show thanks to the judges and the audience. Starting the testing an hour earlier, at 18:00, gives us time after the test to celebrate the undertaking. The kids head over to Bubbie & Zadie, Rose and I enjoy some quiet conversation at Bursa Kabab, in West Portal.
Thursday 6 April 2006
	Today is Jump For Life Day at Isaac's elementary school. I like how they stress physical fitness, and how fun the goings-on are. Here's Isaac doing the limbo, early in the first event. Here he is, doing the running jump-rope relay: To round out the day, here Isaac is practicing his Hapkido pinans with Miles.
Wednesday 5 April 2006
	Lila: This is Doctor Local Heritage... Lila: Pinch, party, pinch, party, pinch, party; which do you prefer? I have no idea what she means by this patter, only that it tickled my fancy as I overheard it from my office.
Tuesday 4 April 2006
	After my exceedingly miserable experiences with the Casio Exilim EX-Z4 and EX-Z750 I needed another digital camera. More importantly, I needed a pocket camera which can survive the ravages of the lint and dust usually present in pockets. There are the first photos with the new camera: It's the first sunny day in a long time; 30-some days of rain. You can see the flooded construction trench at left. Looking back, towards home, I enjoy the blue skies. It's Free Day, so we're off to the San Francisco Zoo after we pick Isaac up at school. A peacock, chasing a peahen, displays for a good long time.