Oh WOW! What a fantastic day you had. Looks like the only thing better than the views and the food was the company. Glad you all had fun and thanks for sharing your day with us

Alexa

Man these get togethers are coming fast and furious! Thanks for posting the pix. It always makes me feel as if I almost were there! Looks like another great time!

Howdy gals! Nice to see you. Lee you look great. I'm glad you could take a break to do this.

What a lovely time that must have been!

Your food and company all look just wonderful Eileen.

Halibut cheeks....lucky ladies!

Nice too to see a photo of Helene after such a long time.

SharonCb

I forgot to mention, Lee generously treated us all to lunch! Thank you again, Lee!

Awwwwww. Nice folks, nice food, dessert, and wine! Glad to see everyone together!

And Barnmom arrived with wonderful packages for Lee and me. A bottle of Predator wine, a selection of gorgeous notecards featuring Eileen's photography, and a jar of delicious orange marmalade (perfect on my sourdough toast with low fat cream cheese this morning).

Thank you both, Lee and Eileen. I had such a blast. The drive home was easier than the drive up, traffic-wise, but I think the ride was easy because of the afterglow of the great company.

Hi everyone! Lunch sounds perfect and I know the company was great!
Thanks for sharing.

Nancy

How fun for all of you! Not to mention the fabulous food, and of course the company, I want to sit right at that table and look out at the water! (From landlocked CdL.)

Sushipup, your kitchen is the ''second'' I remember most from the Kitchen forum, and you were the inspiration for helping me to decide to ditch upper cabinets completely. If I never said ''THANK YOU'', I'm saying it now! (Not to mention your breed of ''pup'' has been my heartsong for years.)

Thanks Eileen for sharing your wonderful day!

So glad another CF meeting took place. It's so wonderful to put faces with names. I wish I could be at every new meeting but of course that's not possibly.

How lucky you all are!

Karen

Such a great group! It's wonderful to see everyone (Lee- I'm happy to see you looking so healthy!) and share in the fun. Thanks to Eileen and Helene for making it happen! I miss you all!

These are great pictures! But as long as I've been here, I can't figure out who folks are as I still only "know" most people by their user names.

Could someone post everyone's CF name corresponding to the the pictures - Thanks!

From left to right: barnmom, lsr2002, lsr2002's friend Mimi, and sushipup.

What a lovely setting for a lovely get together!

Thanks for sharing your wonderful day.

I'm jealous!

Great pictures.

I too like to be able to associate a face with a name!

Looks like you ladies had a lovely time. Thanks for sharing.

Di

Thanks, gina w!

Looks like a good time was had by all. It's fun to see the pictures. I want to meet up with Eileen just to get the goodie bag.

Oh what fun!

A chef I worked with for years now works at Skates in Berkeley! I wonder if he cooked your meals? I keep in touch with his wife, and will forward her this thread. She'll tell him y'all enjoyed your lunch. How funny, how small the world is! :D

Wjat a beautiful view and the food looks delicious. I'm envious, I wnated to meet Eileen when I was in California, but perhaps, the next time...

Annie

As good as that lunch looks, the company looks even better! So glad you all were able to get together, I am sure you all had a blast!

Linda

We are having a fabulous week and Wednesday's meeting was definitely a major highlight. I love meeting CF friends and there has never been a meeting when we didn't all feel that we've known each other forever IRL and my good friend Mimi, who has heard much about the CF for years from me, also felt that she had known Helene and Eileen forever. Years ago Eileen helped me with buying Easter basket gifts for our new step grandson who is just a few months younger than her son, that was a lifesaver.

Eileen, Max loved your bottle design - clean, elegant and sophisticated! We're taking the wine home and I know we'll love it too. And I thank you for the wonderful cards with your photographs and the orange marmalade.

Helene became a wonderful in person friend within the first few minutes we all were together and I can only hope we can meet again.

I'm missing the two to three biz trips I had to SF every year (and missing the LA ones too) so I guess we'll just have to vacation more.

Rachelellen the food at Skate was indeed fabulous, so please do pass that message on.

And our lunch was actually Max's treat, sweet man that he is!

I've also had lunch at the Metropolitan Club (picture of desert to follow later) that was wonderful. It followed a slide show talk on Art Deco architecture in Shanghai given by a woman who is now 80 (in her case 80 must be the new 50). She has lived there long enough that she has great photos of the Deco buildings when they were newly constructed followed by more recent photos which, sadly but necessarily, are filled with webs of electric wires everywhere and room air conditioning units dotting the walls in a random, haphazard way. She was a knowledgeable and entertaining speaker. When asked if she would be back in San Francisco soon to speak again her cryptic answer was that she was 80 and no longer buying unripe bananas, but she hoped to come back next year! She has written a number of books and I'm sure I will order the Art Deco one, unfortunately only able to be ordered from her in Shanghai and shipped.

Last night we saw the Birth of Impressionism exhibit at the de Young Museum. The hundred or so paintings are on loan from the d'Orsay in Paris, available to travel only because that museum is undergoing major renovations. It was our favorite museum in Paris and it was fun to see the same paintings in a different environment.

Our high level of activity caught up with me yesterday and I was really wiped out but overall I'm doing pretty well and really appreciate your comment Ellen; it has been a long struggle and I don't feel like myself yet (well, my brain seems as normal as it ever was, but my body still rebels).

On Tuesday, Mimi and I took Oliver and met another old friend for a two hour lunch in Burlingame. We ate outside at an Afghan restaurant, again great food, and Ollie watched the world go by from under the table the entire time. He is a good dog!

Tuesday night we cooked pasta at Mimi's using the Wild Porcini Sauce that Sciabica's delivered to Mimi's store for me. That is the first sauce I have ever had that I could just open the can, heat it and use it. I might add some red wine and fresh basil when I use it at home but it was great as it was. We also had paper thin ribbons of zucchini, simply dressed with one of the Sciabica olive oils, a little lime juice and S&P. We brought the baby zukes from Max's garden and this has been one of our favorite ways to eat it. After about an hour of marinating in the small amount of dressing the zucchini, which is uncooked, becomes softened and mellow, I just shaved some parm on it before serving. Mimi made a tossed salad and it was a great healthy meal until we got to dessert from Bombay Ice Cream. I cannot come to San Francisco without at least one stop there and this time we bought saffron-pistachio ice cream and lychee ice cream.

The condo we are staying in is fine, and accross the street from a great park to take Ollie for morning and night walks and Mimi lives just on the far side of the park so it has been a very convenient location in the Marina. Ollie has spent every other day with me and the in between ones at Fog City Dogs daycare. He's having a great vacation too. Today we are again taking Ollie out to lunch and then to dinner at a close friends house with two young children who will adore him. I would never just presume I could have him with us, but he has been really good when goes with us and had a great time in daycare when he was there.

The only downside to the condo is that the public wifi connection that they advertised no longer exists, or is down this week, or who knows, but that is why I have been unable to post. Oh to have the quick and accurate touch that teens have on iphones - it's a struggle for me to text a two liner from it. My BlackBerry keyboard was easier to use. Guess it just takes more practice. I'm at Mimi's connected to her wifi to post today.

Max is loving his watercolor workshop and they have painted all over the city. He says he's learning some new techniques and using brushes that are new for him. The week has been a mix of success and frustration - but he's having a great time.

We're ready to leave for lunch so that's all for now. Thank you all for your help and well-wishes. This is beginning to feel like I've written a tome, but I wanted to share with all of you who were virtually, and on the phone and net, with me and Max when I was so very ill that I'm so much better now and really able to enjoy this trip.

Lee

It looks like a great time and you all look great as well. As does the food and the view... wow!

I've been meaning to post to Eileen's thread since Thursday.

What a great forum get together with Mimi given honorary CF status.

Lee, you look wonderful. After what you have been through it is great to see you looking so well.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

Ann

Hey there all y'all! Too cool that everyone got together for a great afternoon. I agree Ann, Lee look GREAT and it's good to see Eileen and Helene (college FB kicked of today pal) too....along with Lee's friend Mimi friend.

Lee, sounds and looks like you are having a great time. Mom has always said she would love to spend some more time in SF after being there for a short week years ago.

Thanks for the pics and sharing ladies!

David

Oh man! The food looks great and you ladies look as good as the food!

Eileen, you have the most beautiful blue eyes! Amazing. Lee, I'm so glad to see you again. You do look great! Helene, I haven't seen your picture in years and you are looking fabulous. Hello Mimi, Good to "meet" you. Sounds like a perfectly lovely day. Thanks for sharing.