Read.Eat.Listen: On 'paws'

After the flurry of getting the CD out and playing a run of back-to-back shows, a pause was in order. The weather turned, leaves needed raking, Alameda beach was walkable again after its re-sanding, the laundry needed to be done, medical check-ups were called for, as were extra naps. So of course it seemed like a good time to adopt a cat. We've been in our new-to-us-old bungalow for more than a year already, not the longest I've lived in one place in a while but definitely the most rooted. And despite loving animals, I haven't had a pet to call my own in over a decade. But in recent moths, we've been spontaneously drawn into pet stores (including in the middle of the MEOW Conference in Austin last month).

Sammie!

After a recent gig, we popped into a nearby Pet Co and found the one, a feisty little rescue cat named Sammie. We appreciated the high level of disdain for overzealous children she displayed, and the curiosity expressed at the appearance of two people with guitars in hand milling around the cat display. After an interview with Island Cat Rescue to see if we had it in us to take on the responsibility of pet ownership, and some calendar juggling with her foster parent, Sammie moved in and promptly found favorite nooks atop guitar cases and stereos. A big shout out to Island Cat Rescue, whose passionate, all-volunteer advocates are fulfilling a big mission "to reducing the suffering of abandoned and feral (wild) cats and to educating and empowering the local community to relieve them from their plight."
If you want to support them that much more, or adopt a pet yourself, stop by ICRA's  Holiday Boutique next weekend, Dec. 7 in Alameda.

ICRA'S HOLIDAY BOUTIQUE
Saturday, December 7, 2013, 10 am until 6 pm at the Alameda Elks Lodge, 2255 Santa Clara Avenue (click for map)

Gifts, decorations, baked items, jewelry, cards, gift wrap, and so much more – all at prices well below retail (cash or checks only) Come and support the work we do with our community’s homeless cats and kittens needing spay/neuter, medical care, and forever homes!

Read: Lightweight reading dept: In need of more grounding after running around, gigging and traveling all over the past month, I found myself on a reading binge of "Sunday Routine" in The New York Times.   Each week, the paper interviews cultural luminaries from editors to conservation biologists, opera singers to designers about how they spend their Sundays. I was taken with common themes among successful folks including getting up early, owning pets that figure into their daily routines (and help police them) and having ritual restaurants.

Woodhouse Fish Co, Fillmore St, SF

Eat: For Californians, tacos are comfort food. As such, we've developed somewhat of an unofficial hunt for the best fish taco. Of late, we've found taco sustenance at Off the Grid gigs via The Taco Guys, in our 'hood at El Caballo, and when in the Fillmore this week, we ordered up a batch at the low-key but a little upscale (for tacos) Woodhouse Fish Co. Jury is out on batter-fried versus sauteed fish, and I'm partial to corn tortillas, but I can wholeheartedly recommend all these taco purveyors for the discerning taco aficionado.

Listen: I was driving down the road the other the day and this over-the-top live recording of Van Morrison singing with John Lee Record came on. Instant uplift awesomeness.