Greetings from San Francisco

I hope you all will forgive me for my recent hiatus from blogging! My poor excuse is our cross-country move and getting settled in our new home, which takes much longer with an energetic toddler. However, I can happily say that there isn't a box left in the place and everything has found its place and is organized, down to my collection of books by subject matter.

This picture is the view from our new home. It is a delight to sit at our dining table and take in the surroundings of the Marin Headlands and Golden Gate Bridge. And the view is always changing. Here is the same view with a thick blanket of fog. Miss L can now imitate the sound of the fog horn!

We have had a nice transition back to California. Miss L is having fun playing in the neighborhood parks, going to the pool at the JCC which is only a few blocks away, and visiting her grandparents on the coast. She has adjusted quite well, even with her first molar coming in during our first two nights here.

Mister T and I are having fun exploring what feels like a new city since it has been over seven years since we last lived here. We are enjoying the fresh fruits and vegetables from the Ferry Building and seeing old friends. I've been able to take a few day trips with Miss L to visit extended family throughout Northern California. Yes, I am driving our car on a regular basis! It took about a week before I would back the car out of the garage. Mister T said I couldn't keep calling him to come down and park it for me.

While the transition has gone very well, I do miss my mama friends terribly. At the oddest times during the day I will have a deep yearning to go for a walk up the Hudson to Rockefeller Park or take a stroll to the Seaport to pick up summer CSA veggies, and that is when it really hits me just how far away I am. I miss seeing my friends throughout the week and feeling that close bond of knowing everything about their lives in that moment. It is during the week that it feels the loneliest. I know it will take time to make friends here, but I must say that my friends in New York cannot be replaced. So there have been a few tears along the way.

On a lighter note, I am the only one here with a Stokke stroller. I am in the land of the BOBs. I am often stopped on the street to explain my strange, high-tech stroller. It is really odd not to see Stokkes and Bugaboos pass me by on the sidewalk. I also tried to have a bagel last week and almost couldn't swallow it. There really must be something special in that New York City tap water to make such delicious bagels and pizza.