It was such a warm bright San Francisco afternoon when I left the library that I abandoned my plan to to see the new show of European paintings from Berlin at the Legion of Honor and instead took a longish walk down Sacramento Street (lined with antique shops and gracious-lady boutiques) over to Fillmore. My first stop was Kiehl's, to stock up on their lip balm. Next stop was Paper Source where I was tempted by many attractive papers, but settled in the end for a pack of raspberry-colored envelopes. After that, Japantown. As usual I wandered the endless winding aisles of Kunokuniya Books in a daze of wonder.
Back outside, sat on a ledge along the edge of Peace Plaza (as the shopping center has named this open space) where I watched mothers talking among themselves while keeping an eye on their small children who were chasing each other in circles. The careful rows of cherry trees had begun to drop leaves.