Quick recap on today—
My aunt called me early this morning to see if I’d be interested in joining her and the twins, Edward and Estelle, at the Farmer’s Market. Going to the market is a usual Saturday occurrence for the Emery’s and the best way to scope out fresh, local produce, etc. Naturally I was completely excited to join.
We drove down to the market, set up along The Embarcadero at the waterfront. Amy and the kids were equipped with plenty of totes to carry their goods in, and we created a plan of attack. There was so much fresh produce! Beautiful varieties of organic peaches, nectarines, pluots (plum/apricot hybrid), delicious cherries, strawberries and gobs of green vegetables. I marveled as my aunt and cousins had their selection process to an art: scoping the prices, sampling, purchasing the best of the best. We sampled the morning away, skipping from fruits to sea beans to all sorts of dips: chutneys, lemon quarks, hummus with capers, zesty garlic spreads, walnut and olive tapenades. The most delicious flavors I’d never think to try, and instantly developed a taste for. I sipped on a lemonde as we strolled in the heat (it was HOT here today, quite unusual for San Francisco, I’m told), people-watching, poking through the pier’s various shops, and filling the totes with fresh goods. It was a neat, neat experience.
After the market we made our way to “The Haight,” or the area of town more famously known for the 1960’s hippie revolution and Haight-Ashbury. I was excited to see where it all went down, and feel a new San Francisco vibe (all the districts I’ve visited so far have their distinct atmospheres). Haight was not short on excitement, from top-knotch thrift and vintage stores, homeless hippies with guitars singing for change (“Ain’t got no dolla’s for Doritos”), tie dye and good grub. We stopped for lunch at Cha Cha Cha, a funky Haight staple serving Caribbean cuisine. Amy was quick to introduce me to new food, including fried plantain (similar to bananas) smothered in black beans, warm spinach salad, and “real” sangeria (none of that Applebee’s wannabe sangeria). It was all so new, and so delicious. I feel like I’ve been missing out on worlds of food. I could have really dug in to the Haight, but the afternoon was tiring and being under a time restriction, I decided to return soon to further investigate.
When we got back, I polished up my resumé and sent it off to a photo studio that I’m —fingers crossed— hoping to land an internship or such. I’ve applied for a job and have been looking for other work, but it’s slow—then again, I’ve been here not a week. Money goes fast here and I’m hoping for some sort of income, or at least a way to kill time that’s not also killing money. If things don’t work out soon, my sights are set on volunteering somewhere in the area, to fill time and add accomplishment to the summer.
Dinner was a delicious collection of market purchases, and I once again got to re-sample the foods I’d helped select this morning. Amy and Michael are fantastic cooks and have been serving fantastic fresh meals, for which I’m very grateful.
The meal was followed by perhaps the most interesting event of the day: Edward and Estelle’s rats’ funeral. The rats, Herb and Mo, died roughly six months ago and have since been frozen in Emery’s kitchen freezer. Tonight Estelle placed the rats in their monogrammed burlap sacks, while Edward dug a hole in the backyard garden.
Then proceeding to the grave site, the entire family took part in the ceremony where the appropriate interment music was played, a series of candles were lit, an impromptu eulogy was recited, burial ensued, flowers placed over the grave, and that was that. Closure. (Three photographers documented the funeral, arguably the biggest event in the Bay area for those fifteen solid minutes.) We all moved back inside as though it’d never happened.
Then recalling that it’s Saturday night—our first Saturday night together in San Francisco—Adam and I went out for a beer and good people watching in North Beach. I’m in early with hopes of waking up early, digging into the city once again, getting my morning coffee, going for a walk, finding a park or a shop or a street that fascinates me.
Today was a treat. This place is a treat.
approximatelyes.com 