iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

when you do a good post they send someone to tell you in person, but I know some of you wouldn’t know that

0102 10

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

ugh watching people you love get hitched rules, also my husband bought a green suit and I’m obsessed with it

A selfie of a woman with dark red and bright teal hair wearing an orange dress with a tall man wearing a green suit and an orange tie, and they’re super goddamn ecstatic cute because his little sister just got married to a dude that’s great

370 7

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

“Nathan’s still sleeping, maybe I’ll just go sit in the sun for a sec before it gets too—“

A screenshot of the iOS weather app showing that Palm Springs is 100 degrees at 8 a.m. and will be 111 in a couple hours

000 0

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

(It’s this fuckin’ thing if you’re as damaged as I am, and I would like to let the record show that my current bloodstream is composed of nothing but barbecue sauce, gin, and Boulevard beer.)

A bottle of Koia cacao bean smoothie, some nonsense I find perfectly pleasant when I want to cosplay healthy

111 1

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

You ever just know four out of five pieces of news are not going to be what you want them to be?

A screenshot of Bluesky trending topics:

1. Gavin Newsom
2. Mitch McConnell
3. Immigration Court
4. Music Challenge
5. Platner Campaign

251 5

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

I am extremely sick and trying to get better during the fucking World Cup, so I did what any bed-resting healing person would do and rearranged the entire guest entry downstairs to accommodate my childhood record player that arrived a month ago from Kansas. I love her.

A dimly lit room with a window in the corner, wine racks, and a 1940s vintage record cabinet with some vintage glassware sitting on top

150 5

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

It is someone’s least favorite day.

A dining room with a barely-distinguishable big grey cat hiding in the center of two dining chairs in a pretty good makeshift cave under the table

020 2

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

So I walked out to the end of the Pacifica pier on Sunday afternoon, when it was totally full of fishermen and looked like this. It’s insane to me that’s the last time I’ll walk it.

A photo taken from the cafe owners’ gofundme of the same pier deteriorating into the ocean

040 4

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

This is my first stab at 82-0 and I am going to destroy my phone battery this afternoon as a result.

A screenshot of the game 82-0 where I scored 74-8

000 0

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Researching something completely unrelated, found the most @solomonmissouri.bsky.social headline imaginable in a 1908 issue of the Oakland Tribune.

A headline from the 1908-06-30 issue of the Oakland Tribune:

DOESN'T BLAME MAN WHO STOLE HIS PRETTY WIFE
Husband Says She Is Lovable Woman

0201 20

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

ooh the unbridled thrill of tracking down where a random-ass bar photo is from (two different sources call this 1910s and 1922 and I secretly hope it’s 1922 because if it is, my man here is doing a real shit job at pretending this is a soda shop) (it’s Higher Grounds in Glen Park)

An old photo of what is very clearly a bar, with a middle-aged Swiss man proudly standing behind it

100 1

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

It was absolutely not what I was looking for, but thrilled to have stumbled across this photo of the San Francisco Seals headed off to Hawaii in 1946. (On a BOAT!) (Copy from the San Francisco Call in alt text, courtesy SFPL: digitalsf.org/record/40959...)

"NEXT STOP - THE LAND OF GRASS SKIRTS AND POI--Bon voyage, fellahs. Waving aloha to a crowd of followers who were at the pier to see 'em off, the Seals started their ocean jaunt to Hawaii yesterday where they will condition themselves for the 1946 Coast League baseball race. Pictured on deck above (from left to right) are Ed Stutz, Elias Castro, Ted Jennings, Don White, Francis Russo, Cliff Melton, Ray Perry, Roy Nicely, Al Lien, Ferris Fain and Bill Werle. Today the gang was far out on the bounding main in fine fettle (we hope). They won't return here until late in March."

000 0

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

The only useful mail is here.

020 2

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

you are going to need to be fucking kidding me

a screenshot of StubHub of prices to a Wednesday day game between the giants, who won’t be playing baseball, and the padres who might consider it, showing prices that are so absolutely comical a person going alone would not consider them

310 3

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

the sun is shining, the 35 came on time, it’s pork chop night and I bought a new dress covered in oranges so what I’m basically saying is can’t no one tell me shit

A selfie of a woman wearing a dress covered in many many little oranges

010 1

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

this IS what they took from me though (1951-1976, becomes five other bars before a fire in 2013, reopens as a coffee shop)

The Jury Room on 4/17/1957, a bar on the ground floor of a cool old Victorian that has a sick neon sign on the front and very limited windows

000 0

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

So I’m running this Instagram account about old bar stories in San Francisco now, and I don’t really have a full build for this one but it’s my favorite. In 1945, you could absolutely call your friend an idiot and it would make the news, but like in a fun way. (Philly Club 9/29/45, Chronicle)

WAGER: While on the subject of overall frustration, consider the case of Ed Sullivan, detective story writer and retired newspaperman. One recent evening, Sullivan was enjoying a midnight snack
Thomas Bertram, who operates
Philosopher's Inn, In the West Portal district, and Terry Stafford; who runs the Parkside Tavern; In discussing improvements he'd like to have at his spot, Bertram mentloned that he was about ready to bounce $150 for a new neon sign to attract more business.

“That is very silly." said Sullivan. “I will bet you the one-fifty that l can bring in 100 new customers in one day-without any neon sign."

Bertram took him up and wrote the terms of the bet in soap across his back bar mirror.

Bright and early on the day the bet was to be decided, Sullivan and his aide, Wally Moore, phoned their friends and told them to be sure to get down to the Philosopher. Then they got a small sack of street car tokens, went downtown and stopped sailors in front of the service clubs, explained the bet carefully and handing out numbered identification cards and tokens, with directions as to how to reach the tavern. At least 80 sallors took the tokens and vowed: "I'll be there if it kills me."

Sullivan and Moore relaxed. It was in the bag.

That evening, confident and jovial, they dropped in to gloat over Bertram. Bertram threw down a handful of the cards by which the new customers were to have identified themselves.

"Count 'em," he sald solemnly.Sullivan counted them. There were 15. And they included Fred Little of Pete and Fred's over on Fulton street, a tavern keeper himself, who'd left his own bar and brought over five friends in order to help out his old pal,
Sullivan.

Frantically, with three hours to go before midnight, Sullivan and Moore tried to hire a Greyhound bus to tour the streets, pick up
any one who wanted a drink and bring him to the Philosopher. When this falled, they couldn't think of anything else and threw in the sponge. And when the cards were counted at midnight, they numbered a dismal 25. Sam Protzel, the West Portal druggist and stake holder, handed the $300
over to Bertram.

What devastated Sullivan, though, is the fact that, during the next three days, some 60 sailors showed up, sheepishly handed the cards to Bertram and said they knew they were a little late, but maybe the bet was still on. All Bertram could do was say no, it wasn't. All Sullivan could do was groan.

010 1

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

On Sunday my neighbor surprised me by leaving a bunch of yet-to-bloom daffodils and a bottle of champagne on my doorstep. They all opened up as of this morning and look how pretty!

A hand holding a bunch of bright yellow daffodils in a mason jar

040 4

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

this article about my neighborhood is from 1970

"This is a nice neighborhood. I'd hate to see it turn into a Haight," said 30 year old Con Crowley, a beefy Irish cop who drives the Mission Station paddywagon.

“It used to be an awfully nice neighborhood," said Mrs. Clara Conley, an absolutely charming 83 year old history buff. "But it has changed a lot. The hippies are moving in."

"I have nothing against hippies. They have their own life, but it's changed a lot." said Mrs. Ruth Adams. another longtime resident. "I don't feel safe at night any more.”

000 0

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

for dinner I had seventy-five picklebacks, liverwurst and cottage cheese may every day of the rest of my forties have this spirit

Liverwurst and cottage cheese on a bar top. “Scrap sandwich”, composed of whatever charcuterie bits are left over from the fancy plates they make, in the background.

A birthday candle on a plate next to an overturned shot glass implying that the bartender is buying my next drink

A shot of whiskey next to a shot of pickle juice in front of a bottle of Coors Banquet

010 1

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

guess I’m 41 now, an age so dumb I might just spend two years saying I’m 42

Two people wearing sunglasses standing on the sidewalk at a parade

140 4

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

maybe you wouldn’t be so warm if you took off those SOCKS

a fuzzy grey cat with little white feet who doesn’t like my jokes whatsoever laying on a blue chair

040 4

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

Cool neighbor shit of the day: so I own an original 1909 Block Book for the Mission and Horner’s Addition (now Noe). A bar friend is trying to research his house, which he knows moved somewhere in the 20s when they built James Lick. Got my book out of its sneaky safe hiding place and found it!

The cover of “San Francisco Original Handy Block Book: Mission and Horner’s Addition”

The inside page of the block book, noting that it’s the fifth edition from September 1909

A map of present-day Noe Valley, from Sanchez to Noe and 24th to 26th

111 1

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

having a cat is cool because you just have this little thing that lives in your house and visually displays all the ways that you are personally feeling in real time and it yells

An extremely hot fuzzy grey cat clinging to the arm of a couch experiencing ennui

120 2

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

Went to a place in Sonoma County last weekend that nearly hits this criteria - happy hour bites are <$10 each and meant as “two servings of 2-3 bites each”. Small versions of their regular menu. Husband and I split five.

A happy hour menu showing snacks including tacos, mac and cheese, a mini wedge salad, fries, deviled eggs, calamari, steak skewers, kung pao prawns, prime rib dip, all under $10 per dish

A mini wedge salad and a three-bites-for-each-of-you French dip

000 0

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

I am on my way to tonight’s Brandi Carlile show and a bartender just asked if I chose my extremely loud bright floral jumpsuit specifically for the occasion and yes yes I absolutely did if you see me plz feel free to tell me I’m pretty

A very bright floral jumpsuit with stars and shit on it

241 4

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

I’m not going to pretend I was like on my way to a hospital or taking dinner to my kids or something but there is some irony in that I was on my way to sit at a small business and read an urban policy book

A picture of “A Paradise of Small Houses: the evolution, devolution, and potential rebirth of urban housing” by Max Podemski next to a gin and tonic

010 1

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

hey so my 35 is completely blocked by a GODDAMN ROBOT

The front of a Waymo that tried to pass a fucking bus on a basically one way hill because we can’t teach a robot about right of way in a SOCIETY

2112 11

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

unfortunately there is no way to tell

A definitely not crisis-driven millennial series of books purchased at a local book store:

Yes to the City
A Paradise of Small Houses
Adventures in Languageland
Doing Nothing
Radical Abundance

010 1

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

The coffee shop and the bookshop are friends! Every day I sit here while parents get their coffee and their kiddos get to excitedly choose a new book. There is nothing quite like watching a four-year-old toddle in and yell DINOSAUR!! (This happened four minutes ago.)

An interior shot of bookshelves inside a coffee shop, featuring kids books right at the front. There are tiny googly eyes on a support pole.

000 0

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

This is my neighborhood coffee shop. Bernie, who owns it, is the kindest person I know in real life and she always tells me she loves me when I leave. I love her too. I also love hibiscus tea and an iced latte, but I think I love Bernie more. I’ve bought three different copies of The Serviceberry.

An iced latte and an iced hibiscus tea on a window table with “The Serviceberry” laying in the foreground

110 1

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

This is my neighborhood bookstore. I walk in there to preorder new releases in person, partially because it's an excuse to buy something else, but mostly so they know I love them and want to continue supporting them forever and ever.

The front of a bookstore on the ground level of a cute Victorian. It says “bookshop” in the front windows.

100 1

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

Here are some nice things. This is my oak-leaf hydrangea. During the summer the fucker can grow a foot a week and it takes over the entire deck. It was warm for exactly two days and out of nowhere the hydrangea is like 🌱 spring?? for plant?? 🌱

An overhead shot of a hydrangea that will easily be three times this size by May

Tiny little buds on a trimmed-back hydrangea bush

121 2

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

weird, what’s your boyfriend doing in the midwest

A screenshot of the iOS weather app with Kansas City’s weather (70 degrees) showing a Red Flag Warning

020 2

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

I sent your post to my husband and here’s what ensued

husband: PICKLE
me: plz save notes for my fiftieth birthday
husband: yus
me: I can't be clear enough that I don't want a party, I just want a pickle fountain

110 1

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

went for an hour walk in the sunshine while listening to baseball

A screenshot of a Reductress article titled “If Going Outside is So Great Then Why – Oh, Oh Okay Yeah This is Nice” with a photo of a skeptical and slightly irritated woman

061 6

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

I went to what I think might be the worst restaurant I’ve ever been to in San Francisco for dinner last night (it’s family-owned, I won’t shit on them by name) and having a bad meal bums me the fuck out, so I went to Catch in the Castro for fancy solo lunch today and now I have fixed everything

A perfectly medium-rare piece of salmon on top of corn risotto

010 1

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

I closed my business tonight. I’m not sad. I’m emotional, and I regret nothing, but sadness isn’t something I’ve considered for a second. We did it by making a lot of food, giving it away for free, and asking everyone who came to throw cash in a plastic pitcher to support the fight against ICE.

A bar patio that once held a lot of food that was made to do a lot of good, night lights on an empty space

100 1

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 25/12/2025

thank you for waking up the entire bay area at three on Christmas morning to tell us to not travel until 6 a.m., this information impacts everyone equally and I’m grateful to know it

An iOS notification at 3 a.m. alerting people to flash flooding that somehow will end three hours from now

120 2

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

our transit app has a Wrapped and I swear to god there’s a page that simply reflects that I take the bus

A screenshot from Transit’s end of year report telling me I take the bus more than I take the train:

“You brought some serious star power to *the bus*”

100 1

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

The organization of this thing is delightfully bonkers. Neighboring such recipes as “ham loaf with fruit sauce” and “stone sandwiches” [n.b. also ham] you get a recipe for fuckin’ chelo kabab? Invite me to your potluck

A 1976 recipe for Chelo Kabab:

CHELO KABAB (STEAMED RICE AND BROILED MEAT)

Chelo Kabab is the most favorite Iranian dish; good for any occasion.

Cooking equipment needed: One large pot with lid; charcoal broiler.

Cooking time: One hour.

2-3 lbs. lamb leg or shoulder
Yogurt
1/4 onion, chopped or grated
2 cups rice
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 tablespoon salt (for meat)
1/2 tablespoon salt (for rice)

How to prepare: Cut the lamb meat into strips of 1-1/2 to 2 inches. Marinate the meat in yogurt with the grated onion (or with lemon and onion). Cover with waxed paper and refrigerate overnight.

Rice preparation: Wash any good long grain rice and soak for an hour before cooking in warm water.

To cook the rice: Rinse the rice and add cold water to one inch above the rice. Add the salt and boil 10 to 15 minutes. Rinse the rice in a strainer with warm water. Melt one half of the butter or margarine in the pot; put the rice in the pot one spoon at a time and pour the remaining butter on top of the rice. Cover the rice tightly with a cloth and lid on the top. (The cloth protects any additional moisture from going back into the rice). Cook the rice for 25-30 minutes on a low flame or medium heat. Rice cooked this way has a golden crust on the bottom and the rest is white and fluffy.

To cook the kabab: After you have the rice covered, it is time to prepare your kabab. Season the meat with your favorite seasoning. Charcoal or regular broil the meat. Serve Kabab with your Chelo (rice). Iranians prefer extra butter, egg yolk and sumac added to their rice and kabab when they serve this dish.

Serves 8 to 10.

Manouchehr Pedram

020 2

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

In today’s episode of I Go Through Old Church Cookbooks, some weekend wine advice from the All Souls Unitarian Church from 1976.

A cookbook page, the bottom of which reads:

We'll talk about wines for a moment. Some of the Napa Valley wines are excellent. More stable than inexpensive foreign wines whose quality will fluctuate and buying unknown brands is always dangerous. It is now possible to buy Beringers wine here in Kansas City; I highly recommend their Pinot Chardonnay. This is always excellent. A new wine in the market from Napa Valley-Sinoma Vineyards Summer Riesling.

I will be happy to give you any additional instruction or accept your invitation to the next cocktail party.

110 1

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

ooh, an exciting moment to share with those of you who stay friends with me despite who I am as a person: I finally passed 50,000 unread emails!

A screenshot of my Gmail app in iOS showing that I have 50,030 unread emails despite being married to an inbox zero husband who somehow still loves me

020 2

Jen Watson @jwatson.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

I assure you I'm in the middle of researching something entirely different, but man what I wouldn't give to know what was in Dr. Liebig's Wonderful German Invigorator as advertised in the San Francisco Call in 1892.

An 1892 newspaper advertisement reading:

"MEN: Dr. Liebig & Co., [German I don't know how to translate sorry I'm typing this manually from a screenshot]

400 Geary Str., San Francisco

The Oldest and Most Reliable Specialists.

THE REASON THOUSANDS CANNOT GET cured of Special, Private, Chronic Diseases, Weakness, Loss of Manhoow, Gleet [sp?], Varicocele and results of abuse or excesses which unfit men for marriage or life's duties, is owing to complications. Most successful treatment for diseases of men. Qualification and responsibility unequaled. Being known, testimonials or photographs never put in newspapers. Everything sacredly confidential.

Dr. Liebig's Wonderful German Invigorator, the greatest remedy for above complaints. To prove its power trial bottles given free.

je7 WeSuWy eow

010 1