Sir Bopps

Some younger members of the family have requested that this blog show all the dogs in the family, not just Madeline. I do not know what that has to do with the stock market, restaurant reviews, etc., but what the heck.

Here is Sir Bopps, the proud pet of Nicky, Alexander, and Katherine Polyzoides taken on Christmas Day. The young lady in the background is John Moule's wife, Rosie. I know that it is confusing to have Rosie in the background. However, Christmas is a little confusing. Pets are running around. Children are running around. Dog photography turns out to be more difficult than photographing wild animals in Africa. At least this photo conveys a little of the confusion.

(If you click on the photo to make it bigger, you can see Sir Bopps eyes better. That makes it a better photo.)

Moule's Law

Yesterday we ate lunch at Campton Place in San Francisco. Under Chef Daniel Humm, this is rated by various guidebooks as one of the best restaurants in the United States. I would have to agree.

First, I had a cauliflower and lobster soup. It was served in a shallow soup dish with a very wide rim. In the center of the dish was a small pile of lobster meat about the size of a large radish. The server poured about half a cup of soup into the bowl.

Second, I had scallops. Three scallops were served in the same style of bowl. They rested in a pool of very creative and interesting sauce.

These two dishes cost a total of $39.00. I thought about that. I compared this to other restaurant experiences, particularly an enormous breakfast served at Dot's Diner in Boulder, CO for $5.00. Then I thought of a serving of caviar at Petrossian in New York. All became clear. Moule's Law:

"The more expensive the dish, the smaller the size."

Carmel, California

Last week we visited our friends, Bob and Diane Reid, in Carmel. This is a photo of the beach at sunset.

Carmel has grown from a small artist's community of humble cottages in the early 1900s to a major destination for the well-to-do. It has many things in common with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Over-building has created a severe water shortage. The downtown area is being taken over by art galleries, restaurants, and motels - driving food markets, drug stores, book stores, etc. to the outskirts. Traffic is often gridlocked.

Despite it all, like Santa Fe, Carmel retains a unique charm.

Downtown Denver

There are many new buildings in downtown Denver. Walking around, one sees views that are reminiscent of abstract paintings.

Denver, Colorado

After visiting Allison in Boulder, we stopped at the Denver Museum in downtown Denver on the way back to the airport. (This photo is the capital of Colorado, taken from in front of the museum.)

The Denver Museum does not try to be everything. It is very strong in pre-Columbian, American Indian, and Spanish Colonial art and has outstanding exhibits of those. For the rest, rather than arranging the exhibits by time and place (Dutch Masters, English, Impressionist, Modern, etc.) there are three collections: One of portraits, one of "places" (mostly landscapes and cityscapes), and one of objects (still-lifes). Each collection shows how artists of many different eras and places approached that genre. This was very interesting and effective.

Included in all that were two absolutely sensational Charlie Russell paintings, probably the best I have ever seen.

Boulder, Colorado

This is a photograph of the County Courthouse in Boulder, Colorado. We just returned from a 4 day visit. I had not been there since 1954.

We were told in advance that, "Boulder is just like Berkeley, but more so." Well, we did find many similarities. Both cities are dominated by a large university. Both have excellent restaurants. We had dinner at Frasca in Boulder which is at the same level as Chez Panisse. "The Buff" in Boulder is a breakfast and lunch restaurant similar to but better than Berkeley's beloved Rick & Ann's. Both cities have interesting shopping districts; 4th Street in Berkeley and Pearl Street in Boulder. Both cities have civic buildings build in the Art Deco style of the 1930s. But that is where the similarity seems to end.

Most of the buildings in Boulder are brick and seem quite new. There is a lot of new construction underway in Boulder including tract homes and big box shopping malls. Berkeley is full of older buildings mostly wood and stucco. There is limited new construction. Berkeley opposes big box buildings and shopping malls. It may be the weather, but we saw few homeless or aging hippies in Boulder. You can't walk around downtown Berkeley without tripping over them.

Perhaps the biggest difference is that with much larger shopping districts, many more upscale stores, and major expansion of retail space underway one senses that there is much more money in Boulder than in Berkeley. We did not stay long enough to understand why. I suspect that it is because Boulder encourages high tech industry and Berkeley does not.

Madeline

Allison Moule has a new puppy, a French Bulldog named Madeline. Here she is with Santa claus. I did not know that there was such a thing as a French Bulldog, but there you are. Allison has signed up for a training course for Madeline and eventually hopes to train her as a therapy dog.