Mother’s Day Dream
May 10, 2020

Make your Mother’s Day a dream this year, although I always tell my children that every day is Mother’s Day. Although this year’s festivities have been invaded by COVID-19, thus making us more creative in finding a special way to celebrate. Here is my plan: a loving red rose freshly cut from my late husband’s rose garden, a glass of Perrier Jouet Belle Epoque Brut champagne with softly spread French Brie on sliced apples, watching Mamma Mia on Neftlix and for dessert: an online chat via Zoom with my loving kids, adorable grandkids, and two dogs, Kona and Scout. None of it replaces the real warm hugs and kisses from my family, but wedream…

What are your plans? But the way, did you know that the most popular flowers for Mother’s Day are roses, lilies, orchids, tulips and peonies? Happy Mother’s Day!

Photo by Sasha Broydo

Stay-at-Home Homebrewing

Bored to the max after two months at home? Have you started experimenting with baking your own cookies and sourdough bread? Now that you are into a home gourmet journey, how about home-brewing beer? Staying home, drinking, and not driving is a perfect combination! And let’s face it, most of us love beer. As of last week, over 1,800 homebrewers in 55 states and 44 countries had pledged to start their own brew.

Did you know that Denver University of Colorado is now offering a degree in homebrewing? Well, college is not all about chips and technology. If this is your first brew, Google to find a brewing supply store in your neighborhood or search the American Homebrewing Association (AHA) website for local supply shops that are open for curbside pick up. By the time COVID-19 bids farewell, you will have a new hobby and a fun new profession with lots of new friends. Hopefully your kids are of drinking age. Cheers!

Information
YouTube offers educational classes with virtual diplomas.
homebrewingassociation.org

Photo courtesy of AHA

Keeping Score with Maestro Michael Tilson Thomas and the SF Symphony

The sounds of music can reach your living room. A creative partnership between Maestro Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT) and the superbly talented American composer Aaron Copland culminated in Keeping Score, a wonderful television series created and narrated by MTT and available now for free via global online streaming.

In the early 20th century, the sounds of America burst upon the world with jazz, blues, spirituals, folk, Latin and the music of Tin Pan Alley – each of them defining a different musical experience of being American and that’s exactly what Aaron Copland did: listened and absorbed everything around him. Filmed on location in New York, Brooklyn, and Prague, these episodes visit the places and explore the ideas that shaped Aaron Copland’s life and music.

This is a priceless gift from the musicians of the SF Symphony under the brilliant baton of the one and only MTT as he bids farewell in his last season of conducting the SF Symphony. Bonus Features: Full-length concert performance of Copland’s Appalachian Spring by the San Francisco Symphony originally filmed in high-definition 16:9 widescreen and 5.1 surround sound. Look for the YouTube stream.

Information
sfsymphony.org/MusicConnects

Photo courtesy of SF Symphony

San Francisco’s Presidio Golf Course Re-Opened for Play

Golfers rejoice! Presidio Golf Course is open for action. The course is implementing sanitation and physical distancing practices in order to keep visitors safe. With these new protocols, golfers can enjoy a pristine 145-acre, 18-hole public course located in the city’s national park. The park’s scenic overlooks, open spaces, and beaches remain open. However, many coastal parking lots are closed and picnic areas, ball fields, tennis courts, and Rob Hill Campground are still off-limits. Unfortunately the popular Golf Course restaurant, Presidio Café, and the club house remain closed. But you are welcome to bring your own gourmet lunch and a bottle of mineral water and enjoy the most stunning views in the world.

Information
www.presidiogolf.com
Presidio Golf Course
300 Finley Road at Arguello Gate
Tee times must be booked in advance by calling (415) 561-4661. Drop-ins are not permitted.

Photo courtesy of Presidio Golf Course

Lina Broydo immigrated from Russia, then the Soviet Union, to Israel where she was educated and got married. After working at the University in Birmingham, England, she and her husband immigrated to the United States. She lives in Los Altos Hills, CA and writes about travel, art, style, entertainment, and sports. She hardly cooks or bakes, with no borsch or piroshky on her home cooking menu. Therefore, she makes reservations and enjoys dining out, mostly sushi.