Living Beyond the Diaper Pale

Just your typical January day at the beach

2011-01-25T18:13:00.000-08:00

Saturday was a glorious day at Venice beach- 66 and sunny on the sand. That's better than most July days!

Miramar Beach for MLK

2011-01-18T23:12:00.000-08:00

The San Mateo County beaches have fickle weather. Half Moon Bay can be completely socked in, yet just 10 miles down the coast can be perfect. So it was with Miramar on MLK day. It seemed to be the only sunny beach between HMB and Pacifica, but what a glorious day it turned out to be.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-23T21:26:00.000-08:00

Home Fires

2010-12-12T22:29:00.000-08:00

Holiday decor doubles as haberdashery at our house.

The Usual Suspects

2010-12-12T21:37:00.000-08:00

Practically since birth, our kids have slept, ate, loved, fought, infected, and yes, bathed with, the Nichols Boys; Spencer and Tyler. Now that Gaby is nearly five, the coed bathing days are probably over. But here is one last photo from the innocent time!

Thus begins Gaby's eventing career

2010-11-20T23:07:00.000-08:00

Gaby's pony introduces her to the cross country course. They go big and tackle the water jumps first. Why start small when you can just go all in??

Mommy Loves Charlotte Meat Too!

2010-11-18T11:22:00.000-08:00

At Cavallo Point, overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge

Family Camp!

2010-11-14T22:20:00.000-08:00

We beat a clear path to Memorial Park this year, camping there 4 times over the summer. Nevertheless, this is the only family photo we have to show for it!

Cognitive Dissidence

2010-11-11T07:06:00.000-08:00

I don't usually chat with cab drivers- I'm one of those dreaded awkward silence passengers who'd rather eat toenails than make small talk as a captive in a confined space. However I casually inquired of the cabbie who picked us up from the Vancouver airport whether Vancouver had a global wifi connection that I could connect to.

He shocked me by asking what Wifi was, and then explained that he doesn't own a computer or use the internet. He went on to explain that after his children left home, he and his wife chose to "live a simple life". They sold their house and moved to a $700/month apartment (utilities included). The have no credit cards and zero debt. He works three days per week as a cab driver. Together, he and his wife make about $2800 per month. The save $1300 of that, and only live on $1500 monthly. With the money the save, they take an annual trip to London to visit their daughter.

He said, I could chose to make more money if I wanted to, but why would I? We are happy! We have friends and everything we need!

I am fascinated by this. Our lives are so wrapped around mortgage payments, credit card bills, property taxes, stress stress stress. Everyone we know is rushing to get ahead, climb the ladder, make mo money, become something.

Sometimes, late at night, after the kids are in bed and we've had several glasses of wine, we'll sit around with our friends and fantasize about slowing down. Sell the house, move to a cheaper neighborhood. Work less. Live more. Just strip some of the all consuming stress from our lives.

I was mulling this over as the cab pulled up to our hotel. Our luxurious, 5 star international beauty of a hotel. On the waterfront. With everything you could want, and a bevy of doormen to ease your entrance into the spa like interior.

Part of me wanted to tell the cab driver, "Wrong hotel sir, take us to the Motel 6 please", but of course, that would be stupid. The girls and I practically waltzed into the gleaming foyer. Ahh, yes. Cognitive dissidence is alive and well.

Doing Vancouver, Mommy Style

2010-11-08T20:15:00.000-08:00

In which I, who have not been mounted on any two wheeled thing in 10 years, saddle up and take the girls for a spin around the waterfront. In case you are wondering at the injustice of my having to tow both kids solo, Phil had to catch an early flight home and I needed a way to entertain all of us for the morning.

Granville Island

2010-11-08T20:08:00.000-08:00

We spent Saturday morning discovering the galleries- and playgrounds- of Granville Island.

Daddy has Charlotte cheeks for breakfast

Oops, did you see that?

Who, me?

Sleepy baby with her "manky" blankey.

There was a little of this...

2010-11-08T20:03:00.000-08:00

Phil was unable to travel with me, and then missed his flight, so the girls and I did Vancouver solo for the first day. I'm proud to say that we made it to the aquarium, and back.

Charl0tte inspects the Vancouver Aquarium fish nursery.

And meets a toothy resident

There was a lot of this....

2010-11-08T19:57:00.000-08:00

What you do when you are a kid staying at a hotel. Ahh, the novelty of a freshly made bed.

Herding everyone togethjer for the requisite family photo

2010-11-08T19:55:00.000-08:00

Cousin Helena's Vancouver wedding was intimate, cozy, and beautiful. We enjoyed revisiting the city where we honeymooned 10 years ago, although with two kids in tow, it was a very different trip.

Have you ever seen anything cuter??

2010-11-01T16:20:00.000-07:00

Gaby is riding at a barn with imported Welsh ponies. I want one in every color, please.

Naughty Naughty

2010-11-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

Halloween Folly, Part A

2010-11-01T09:20:00.000-07:00

Messing around at home on a sunny Halloween afternoon, Phil gets dressed up as a Jellyfish. He was supposed to be a Southern Belle, but the costume really said "Squid".

The Golden Boys.

Mumtaz Mahal and the invading Mongol warlord. This is the only time you will see Phil with a soul patch. Feast your eyes on the awesomeness.

The Queen of Hearts steals the show. This house had an awesome Alice in Wonderland display.

Halloween Folly

2010-11-01T09:16:00.000-07:00

Mumtaz Mahal and her daughter.

My nearly 9 months pregnant friend Loren was an AMAZING sport and came dressed to the festivities as a pregnant cheerleader. You rock, girlfriend.

The Pregnant Cheerleader with the man who knocked her up and her son Colin.

Bindi Princess

2010-10-31T13:55:00.000-07:00

Gaby's preschool is strongly influenced by the Reggio-Emilia philosophy. The "curriculum" is almost completely child-directed. This year, the kids have been very interested in the Taj Mahal after seeing photos from a classmates Indian adventures. The teachers run with this interest, developing lessons based around the theme of the Taj (symmetry, fractions, patterns etc). Gaby has been particularly interested in India, and choose to be one of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan's daughter's for Halloween. She tells anyone who asks: "I'm a Bindi Indian, NOT a Feather Indian".

Daddy's Violin

2010-10-20T11:25:00.000-07:00

I've tiptoed around putting Gaby into lessons and activities. Thus far, we've stuck to riding lessons only. Lots of kids in her class have been doing suzuki for months, or have had private guitar lessons already, or are otherwise well on their way to musical accomplishment. Phil and I are hesitant about this though. Phil played violin- grudgeingly and with much bitterness- throughout childhood.

I briefly took violin lessons in third grade. My wonderful childhood friend, Gabriela, is/was an amazing violinist, and I aspired to be just like her. However, unlike Gabriela's private lessons, MY violin lessons consisted of 1 teacher instructing TWENTY KIDS in the cafeteria of my public elementary school. We met 1 hour per week for a watch-and-follow mismash where all but the most dedicated kids fell through the cracks. I was stuck in the back of the class, couldn't see the teacher, received no feedback on even the most basic technique. Gotta love music education in the public school system. What a complete joke. But this post isn't about my deprived childhood- sniff.

In 2nd grade, my mother-bless her- decided I needed piano lessons and put me under the tutelege of a cranky old Russian spinster whom I'm fairly certain was a high ranking SS officer at one point. Her high pitched whine still rings in my ears "Vee must seeet straight! Pay attention! Vy is your mind vandering? Vee must train ze mind!! Haff you no desceepleen??" So, we want to avoid Music Nazi lessons for Gaby at all costs.

However, Gaby was very interested in her friend Kate's violin. At an Indian Doll Festival playdate for her classmates last week, Gaby spent about 40 minutes just playing the violin while all the other kids played with Robo-Bugs and silly bands. Time to give her a musical outlet.

We still have three of Phil's childhood violins, which I extracted from the attic yesterday. They are so mistreated that one of the bridges snapped in half as I tried to tune the violin. I sort of stuck it back together and tightened down the strings to hold it in place. Viola. A working violin. It needs to be tuned, the old bows have mildew on them, and the resin block had long since hardened into a lump of coal. Oh well. It needs a bit of work. Nonetheless, Gaby is totally enchanted.

Gaby tries to turn her watermelon ukelele into a violin by adding a bridge. In this case, she commandeered a wooden block from her train set to serve as the necessary wooden support. Alas, she realized that ukelele strings don't vibrate when you run a bow over them. Great concept, but maybe we'll try the violin instead.

Daddy's violin sounds much better.

I dug waaaaay back into the recesses of my memory to try and remember the correct finger placement for the bow.

Tragedy

2010-10-17T18:17:00.000-07:00

We came home from a camping trip this afternoon to find our favorite hen, Lola- who I raised from an egg- torn to pieces in our back yard. I suspect a raccoon killed her to get the eggs out. I hate raccoons.

Even before finding Lola's destroyed body scattered in the yard, I had had a draining day. I took the girls camping without Phil, which is stressful enough. The other families that I went with all had small kids, who were acting up and whining all weekend. Added to that was all the damn traffic from the Half Moon Bay pumpkin festival (curse that stupid festival and all the effing traffic), which I had to slog through. Then I come home and find that some jackass dug out all the mulch from our flower beds and flung it all over our front walkway. I immediately suspected the obnoxious kid next door, since he has a history of ripping up my flower beds, and I was getting really steamed. Phil was not home yet, so I had to unload the car and get my two filthy kids bathed by myself. Of course, the fucking hot water heater was crapping out, so the bath was lukewarm and the house, which was empty all weekend, was a frickin' refrigerator. Damn the hot water heater! Damn the furnace! Damn Damn Damn!!!

While the kids were in the bath, the doorbell rang. I was too pissed to answer the door, and anyway I figured it was my neighbor coming to apologize for his kid's yard destruction. I fantisized about where, exactly, he should stick his apology, but I figured I should have some wine before touching that situation.

Shortly thereafter Phil gets home and tells me that our Ameraucana hen is wandering around our next door neighbor's back yard. Fucking clustercluck!!! Damn and blast. How did she escape? It turns out Gaby left our garden gate open and the hens had been running amok all weekend. So, the mystery of the messy mulch was solved. It was not in fact, the 5 year old hellion, but my own damn hens digging up my the flower beds. Fuck. I start to feel some remorse for my anger toward the more-or-less innocent kid (but only a little remorse) and head over to capture the wayward Ameraucana.

Once captured, I headed back to lock her into the coop, when I find Lola's battered corpse splayed in front of the coop door. My anger disapeared and I was filled with sadness and regret.

I feel ambivalent about this. On the one hand, I am crushed becuase Lola was truly a pet. She came when I called her, would jump into my lap when I sat on the back porch, and always tried to find a way to get inside the house. She was the first chick to hatch of the 12 eggs that I incubated and has always been my favorite.

On the other hand, it was stressful making sure we locked her up before dark each night. To make matters worse, she and our other chicken took to sleeping on top of the coop, far out of our reach, but well within a raccoon's ability to attack, so I was constantly anxious for her. Now that she is dead, I feel like something I have been dreading for a long time is finally over. Like people who watch their parents suffer and finally die. At least she is in chicken heaven and nothing more can happen to her. Someone once said that loving another creature is like having your heart walk around in someone else's body. I think they were probably talking about children, but in a small way, this applies to Lola. I tried and failed to keep her safe, and my heart hurts.
Granted, we still have another chicken, but I am thinking of finding her a new home. One lone chicken will not be happy, and I'm not ready to get more chickens at this point.

The first raindrops of fall came while we were packing up our camping gear, which means our chicken coop will soon be a soggy mess. We need to put a proper roof on it, which is a project I just can't find the motivation for. So, for now I think our chicken era will be over.

Fresh eggs are priceless, but you have to pay a pretty high price for them.

Nature at Play

2010-10-14T21:06:00.000-07:00

What better to teach your preschooler about decomposition than to show her 200 tons of rotting whale meat? Such was the sight at Bean Hollow beach and tide pools this week. This pregnant Blue whale was hit by a ship and washed ashore about a week ago. Her baby was born after she died- probably a result of gas pressure. Nature is already hard at work decomposing the body. The shallow waters are full of crabs and little sharks nibbling on the tasty blubber.

Drinking Chocolate with Che

2010-10-07T19:51:00.000-07:00

We stumbled upon a fabulous cafe in San Miguel- If you plan a visit, definitely look up Cafe Etc also known as Juan's Cafe. Juan is a talkative and engaging Leftist who serves up fabulous Chocolate Mexicano along with The Nation. His charming cafe is graced by a huge flatscreen TV streaming apocolyptic/socialist films from Europe. Its the kind of place that appeals to the Marxist in all of us. Like the Porno cafe, the socialist bent is not apparent until you sit down and observe the wall art. It's the best kind of sit-all-day and read cafe. Full of chatty locals and expats.

While in Mexico, I fell in LOVE with Guatemalan textiles, but Phil wondered why we would purchase Guatemalan textiles in Mexico? You're absolutely right, I said. That doesn't make sense. I guess we'll simply have to plan a trip to Guatemala.

Churros y chocolate

2010-10-03T11:00:00.000-07:00

Coupa Cafe in Palo Alto serves up the best cup of spicy mayan hot chocolate north of the Rio Grande. South of the Rio Grande is another matter entirely. One of my goals on this trip- not that this trip is about anything more ambitious than getting out of bed by early afternoon- is to consume as much Mexican chocolate as possible. Mary Roach, in her book "Stiff- The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers" writes that the human stomach can hold about 4 liters of liquid before exploding. I realize that this is a disgusting thought, so I'll stop here.

Yesterday visited our first chocolate cafe. Our friend Gary, the tilapia fish monger/ spa owner, gave us directions in what can only be discribed as a casual attitude towards the exact. I can't remember the name of the place, he says, but just go down the hill (what hill?) and turn right a block before the jardin, then go to the next street and turn right like you are going back up the hill (again, what hill?) and then go 40 feet and it will be on your right across from the church. San Miguel has about 50 churches.

After stumbling around for about 20 minutes, we finally found the very quaint cafe filled with happy people munching on fresh hot churros. It wasn't until we sat down that we realized, in a truly Mexican fasion, that this bustling spot filled with happy Mexican families enjoying a Saturday sortie, was- in fact- owned by a soft core porn actress. The illustrious wall-hung photos testified as much. "Ten ganos el sexo en paz" proclaimed one rather naughty example. Let's just say that the teen ages boys dining with their parents at the table adjacent to ours were very interested in said wall art. Despite (or because of?) the Playboy magazine covers surrounding us, the chocolate was quite delectible. We had both the Mexicano and the Spanish versions. Frankly I couldn't really tell the difference. Neither were as thick as the pudding like drink I remember from Spain, unfortunately.

Speaking of pudding, flan (egg custard similar to creme caramel or creme brulee) is another Latin American food worth binging on. I told my friend Ryan that I intended to "eat my weight in flan" and he was - understandibly- disgusted. He used to like flan, poor man.

It is 1:30 in the afternoon and we are still in our jammies. We were going to head to the hot springs, but neither of us can find the motivation. So, we wil read, eat, and sleep. What a vacation truly ought to be.

Artesana

2010-10-01T17:45:00.000-07:00

Don't hate me when I tell you about "Cindy', who came to our colonial hillside casa to give me an massage this morning. I have to admit, hoisting myself out of bed in time to shower and have some desayuno before she arrived was challanging, but I told myself it was for the greater good. "Cindy" whose name has been changed to protect the privacy of the world's most talented massage therapist, set up shop in our sala and ushered me inside. She had set up incense, soothing tibetan chanting courtesy of her ipod, and heated hot stones. The greater good was going to be good indeed.

While I was enjoying my 90 minutes of aromatherapeutic bliss, Phil was sleeping off a mysterious fever of unknown origin. It struck last night, after a day of uncharacteristic crankiness and irritability (I won't say whose).

"Cindy" told me about a tried and true fix for fever. She told me to apply a cold washcloth to Phil's huevos to "suck out" the heat. She warned me that men are typically skitish of this method. Indeed when I suggested we try freezing his balls off, Phil was suddenly feeling much better. No need for such drastic measures. Anyway, don't they have Tylenol in this country?

After the housekeeper, Teresa (may her name be praised as she is a fabulous cook), served us an exquisite comida of homemade enchiladas we set out to explore the artesana (Mexican folk art market) followed by a tour of the uber snooty Fabrica la Aurora artiste galleries. I say artise with no small amount of sarcasm.

Aurora was an interesting study of self-important rich while retirees who like to gossip about so-and-so's latest plastic surgery debacle whilst drinking bad wine and mingling amongst bad art. They flock to San Miguel in droves. I'm sure they must all be from stuffy sophmoric places such as Palm Springs. They carry small dogs in designer handbags and flirt with the sexy latin hombres de arte whose work either looks like a Thomas Kincade knock-off or is so bizarely disturbing that one would have to be eiter blind (come to think of it...) or so high on cocaine to be unaware of one's surroundings.

On the walk back home, Phil started to feel a bit under the weather again, so I suggested we pop into the closest farmacia for a fix. I secretly hoped we could get our hands on some serious Mexican pain meds, as such things are doled out without prescription in these parts. Phil just wanted Tylenol, but alas all they had was some kind of hard narcotic. We may or may not have purchased this. Phil is feeling better now though. What is it about Mexico that is so enticing? Fever remedies run the gamut from frozen cojones to happy drugs. What an interesting place to be.

Tomorrow we will set out for an adventure in the countryside. Our destination is the "Grotto"- a much recommended hot spring spa. Assuming Phil's fever stays at bay.

Tiene Huevos?

2010-09-29T17:16:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting in the quiet 300 year old mountain casa, watching Monarch butterflies the size of dinnerplates flit and flutter in the gardens below. It is seven thirty, and the sun is just begining to set, turning the church spires into firey gold. I like Mexican time. No rush. No schedule. We rolled out of bed at 10, sauntered into the sala for fresh papaya, mango, watermelelon, and banana follwed by eggs scrambled with homemade salsa, fresh bread topped with local mexican cheese and jam, and fresh squeezed orange juice. By 11:30, we were back in bed, digesting our enormous meal like pythons. Only the fact that we had lunch plans with a friend of a friend got us up and showered and out of the house by 1 pm.

We lunched with the owner of the Archangel Mayan Hotspring Spa, who incidently also raises tilapia fish on his 50 acres outside of town. He mentioned this casually, as his tilapia was featured prominently on the menu del dia at Cafe Rama. I've never had fish so fresh. Prepared in a light curry sauce, the fish was flaky and tender, cooked within hours of being caught. The chef of Cafe Rama- a vancouver transplant- explained to me, in great detail, how best to cook fresh fish (hot, smoking pan, cooked quickly and finished in a warm oven).

This tilapia has a cult following, I learned. I've been ruined on all other fish for life. How can any other pescado compare?

After lunch, we wandered through the local craft market. I bought twin handpainted metal peacocks as an art installation for Gaby's wall. I hope she likes them. I bought them from a family whose 5 month old baby was sleeping above the shop and whose 4 year old daughter showed us all the pretty things for sale.

The streets of San Miguel are made of ancient cobbles and rise straight up hill, making for an exhausting walk home with said art installations. We finally made it through the huge carved wooden doors of the casa, flung our shoes off, and spent the remainder of the afternoon lounging pool side. Now the sun is setting, siesta time is done- its time for dinner and flamenco music, follwed by a night of tequila shots with my husband. The hike back up the narrow, cobbled streets, exhausting during the day, will no doubt be a greater adventure after we "take the waters" as it were.

Oh, and "tiene huevos"? I was trying to find a clever way to tie in this delightful double entendre. I learned today that huevos mean both "eggs" and "balls". Asking a guy "tiene huevos" will no doubt start an impressive display of machismo. I'll post photos.

A brief reincarnation

2010-09-28T19:51:00.000-07:00

Phil and I are down here in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico staying at a friend's lovely hacienda in the hills overlooking the city lights. We arrived a few hours ago, and already I feel like we have mentally downshifted a bit. You really don't understand how tightly wound American's are until you come to a place like San Miguel where life feels benign. Being a mile above sea level probably has something to do with the exquisite drop in blood pressure that occurs to discombobulated gringos upon arrival in this ancient colonial city. Do they lace the water with acid? Who knows. Perhaps its just tequila runoff.

This jolt of tranquility makes my fingers itch. I have time to collect my thoughts and time to write them down. Hello blog, te toca a ti.

Charlotte being Charlotte

2010-05-16T23:55:00.000-07:00

18 months old and LOTS of trouble! But damn cute.

Lola's chicks

2010-05-16T23:49:00.000-07:00

Lola's chicks

2010-05-16T23:47:00.000-07:00

Goodbye, Blogger.

2010-01-02T20:54:00.001-08:00

I will be moving my bloggityness to my Facebook page since I no longer have time to update both! For photos and stories of all of us, friend me on Facebook!

Snow Day in California!

2009-12-07T12:17:00.000-08:00

A snowy view over our golf course this morning!

Mexico!

2009-11-13T06:40:00.000-08:00

My friend Hannah and I holed ourselves up at the gloriously serene Pacifica Holistic Restreat and Spa in Cabo San Lucas for a girlfriend getaway. Ohhhhh, life doesn't get more relaxing that yoga on an empty beach at sunset. When I say "holed-up" I mean literally planted ourselves pool-side with a long book and a Margarita for three perfect days.

One evening, we strolled down the beach just in time to join a sea turtle conseration group releasing 1 hour old babies into the ocean at sunset. We each got to hold a tortuga, name it, and release it onto the beach for its mad scramble into the crashing surf. One of those once in a lifetime moments.

Phil took excellent care of the home fries, who were all too glad to have mommy (refreshed and eager to see her bambinos!) back in the nest.

I can't wait to bring los bambinos to Mexico- Gaby would have loved to hold a baby sea turtle.

In Three Years....

2009-10-27T09:17:00.000-07:00

I am musing over old photos as I do a house-wide re-org and de-junking project. Looking through old photos is emotionally exhausting for me so I need to sit at the computer and have a think.

As I clean out closets and make space for all of our stuff, I think about all the work we've already put into our house. Since we moved in three years ago, we have:

1) Remodeled the entire guest house, including new tile flooring, paint, woodwork, lighting, a new bathroom, and of course added a cable line.

2) Installed a 4 x 4 foot entryway skylight.

3) Painted interior of the house (every square inch!)

4) Built a deck off of the playroom

5) Landscaped the entire back yard

6) Installed new fencing/gates around property perimeter

7) Built a chicken coop!

8) Built a pergola over the garage to give the house a bit more curb appeal

9) Scraped and painted all the exterior windows, railings etc

10) Built custom screen doors

11) Painted and repainted and repainted the master bathroom (still in progress)

12) Installed window screens for all windows (our house did not have screens. go figure)

13) Made custom Roman shades (thanks mom!)

14) Replaced the 50 year old furnace

15) Installed new playroom carpeting, and put in recessed lighting

16) Built flower beds/ landscaped side yard (still in progress)

17) Installed new sprinkler system

18) Replaced garage door springs

19) Replaced 30 year old dishwasher.
.
20) Installed skylight in guest bathroom.

21) Installed plantation shutters in the bedrooms.

Wow, what a lot of projects! I wish I had taken photos of the house when we moved in, so I could look back and remember what things used to look like. The next big project will be the kitchen and entry remodel.... we've been putting that one off for a while. Eh, maybe in another 3 years.

Ok, back to work.

Then and Now

2009-10-24T18:38:00.000-07:00

Lola Then, Lola Now

Gaby and Lola, Hen Extraordinare

2009-10-24T18:36:00.000-07:00

First EGGS!

2009-10-23T19:23:00.000-07:00

Our hens have finally delivered! We got two little brown beauties in the nest box today! We have five hens, two will lay green eggs, two will lay brown eggs, and one is a mystery. So, the brown eggers (Silver Laced Wyandotte's) are leading the pack! They are all 5.75 months today. By 6 months, all should be laying an egg a day. 5 eggs a day will feed us, appease our neighbors, and give our friends something to talk about!

Family Time

2009-10-10T20:41:00.000-07:00

Emily and Cliff are expecting their first baby, so we had a big party in the park for them. Cliff, I love the pink boa. It works for you.....

Julia's Princess Party

2009-10-10T19:58:00.000-07:00

Our friend Julia had a 40th birthday Princess Party for which we were all expected to arrive in Royal Costume. Phil was Julius Cesar, I was Empress of the Japanese Dragon Triad. Hiyah!!! I kicked Ceasar's butt. Et tu, Nike?

From Julia's Party

Empress of Dragon Triad.

From Julia's Party

Grand Princess Julia with her Burger King

From Julia's Party

Charlotte of the Manchu Dynasty, upset that she had to kiss the Frog Prince.

From Julia's Party

But wait! The Frog Prince turned into Julius Cesar! Happy Manchu Baby.

From Julia's Party

Spanish Royalty were in attendance (Princesses Kaitlyn and Madison, daughters of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella)

From Julia's Party

Indian Princess Gaby sports her mad Mardi Gras shades.

From Julia's Party

Court Jesters, of course..

From Julia's Party

The Obnoxiously Delicious Royal Confection

From Julia's Party

Note the lipstick wearing Pig in the background. (No seriously. That is not an insult).

From Julia's Party

Torched

From Julia's Party

Can you manage all those candles, lassie?

No Eggs in Sight.

2009-10-05T07:27:00.005-07:00

Our six month old hens are living on free room and board. We have five hens, and not a single egg in sight. Our hens are such funny, sweet little birds that I don't mind extending them some credit for another few weeks, but after that I'm going to have to have a long chat with them about household expectations. I cook for them, clean their rooms, and all they give back is prolific piles of garden fertilizer. (My garden looks great, by the way).

In other news, Gaby starts preschool next week! I picked this school out of ohhhh, 20 or so because we have two friends with kids there and I know that those parents have high standards. That was the extent of my research. :-) Well not really: we toured the school with Gaby and she didn't want to leave! The playground is massive and the school is clean and well run. Our big girl is ready for more formalized education.

In further news, my internship continues to be filthy and fascinating. I love the hands- on medicine!! I'm learning to give IV injections without shaking too much. Steady as she goes.... We also did a physician assisted suicide and post-mortem last week. I was at the clinic until 8 pm to watch and yes, get my hands dirty. I had my arms inside the body cavity up to my elbows. Cause of death? Adhesions in the small intestine.

From India with Love

2009-10-03T09:49:00.001-07:00

Bangles Bangles Bangles!

2009-10-03T08:03:00.000-07:00

Sorting the bangles

Gorgeous from Goa

Sad Goodbye. "Don't Leave, auntie Jody!!!!"

My aunt came to stay with us for a few days, on her US tour. She and her SO have been globe trotting for the past year and a half- 1 year studying yoga in India, various stints in Singapore and Asia, and finally a move to the South of France. She'll be in Aix for the next year or so. Hopefully we can manage a visit!

Friends for Dinner

2009-10-03T07:53:00.000-07:00

We've been busy busy busy! We've squeezed in a few moments of fun between work and house remodeling (more on that later) to have some friends over for dinner. As you can see, the kids had fun!

Wine Country Wedding

2009-09-07T10:08:00.000-07:00

Our second official family vacation was a success! The Vintner's Inn proved to be as wonderfully kid-friendly as it was wonderfully beautiful for our friend's wedding weekend. The kids had a babysitter for the evening, so Phil and I could enjoy ourselves on the dance floor. The bride and groom provided apres-banquet cigars, chocolates, and warm blankets for the cool Sonoma evening under the stars. The moon was luridly full and bright- no privacy for anyone trying to escape into the vineyards for some serendipity....... :-)

naughty boy

2009-09-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

This little devil is one of 6 raccoons that have laid siege to our garage. He has 3 siblings and two massive parents living in a nearby oak tree. I nabbed him on Wednesday night. On Thursday, his three siblings played hide and seek with me for over an hour as I tried to get our stubborn chicken off of the coop and INTO the coop late at night. I had heard a ruckus around 9:30, so I ran out in my robe to find these juveniles plotting an attack on our hens. I finally got Lola into the coop just in time.

I debated how best to rid myself of the rodent- animal services didn't want him and the exterminator was too expensive, so I had to chauffer his hissing rear out to the hills far far away. I didn't have the heart to drown him, which is apparently the only legal way to kill raccoons. They are nasty buggers, but awefully cute if they don't have their fangs attached to your fingers.

Furry Bedevilment

2009-09-04T22:59:00.000-07:00

I went and got myself a job (what was I thinking???). I have no time to blog, so I'll summarize.

Its been two weeks and so far my on-the-job training has included a) 1500 lbs of flesh to necropsy b) rupturing abscesses reminiscent of Mt. Krakatoa c) skull punctures d) abscessed teeth that smell of cat pee e) opioid pharmacology f) frequent rectal exams and g) florid intravenous drug use of Ketamine and dormosedan.

Its wild, its crazy, and I think I just might really like it!

Friendship Grows like a Rose....

2009-08-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

With a lovely scent but the prick of thorns. So it is with two firecracker sisters, the apples of my eye.

Guitar Heros

2009-08-21T20:11:00.000-07:00

Phil's high school and college buddy is getting ready to move to Singapore in a few months, so we had them over for dinner and a night of Uke music. I think their kids were getting the hang of it....

Alfred's days are numbered

2009-08-15T06:50:00.000-07:00

Our cock crowed three times this morning before I could gallop out to the coop and whisk him into the house. He started these shenanigans yesterday, with a full, throaty cock a doodle doo around 5 pm. Actually, he blasted 10 crows in rapid fire succession. Of course all the neighborhood kids were out and heard the illegal crowing. I am a marked woman, a dealer in illegal poultry. Now that Alfred has proved his manhood, I feel shame for my wanton chicken husbandry. As if all the neighbors, city code in hand, were hiding in the shrubbery, just waiting for him to crow.

Ok, so I plead guilty to one count of cock possession. Nobody's perfect. And I never inhaled.

Lest you forget....

2009-08-12T20:15:00.000-07:00

Its about time for a little Charlotte update lest you forget that we do, in fact, have two kids even if one of them sleeps a lot and doesn't say much.

Actually, we very nearly didn't recognize Charlotte when we got home last week- she has changed so much! She learned to say "mamma", "poo poo" and "gaga" (Gaby) while we were in Scotland. Her hair, always bushy and a little askew, is now a slightly foppish mop resembling Hugh Grant's bed head. Her 4 new teeth complete the adorably rakish look.

Her first port wine laser treatment went well- I notice a 10-30% lightening across the stain after 6 weeks. She'll have at least 5 more treatments as an infant, and probably a few as a teenager in case it isn't completely resolved (deeper penetrating lasers are being used in older kids to destroy more of the rogue capillaries).

Charlotte is as much of a people person as Gaby is an independent. As soon as I turn my back on Charlotte, she throws a fit. She wants someone's undivided attention at all times, though it doesn't necessarily have to be from me. She has Gaby, Phil, and all grandparents wrapped around her finger too. Actually, just about anyone will do. I dropped her off at the gym Kid's Club for the first time today, and she was instantly engrossed in all the new toys, wild creaming kids, and Big People who picked her up at the merest hiccup. Meanwhile, I Belly Danced (no sniggering). I was inspired by the 10 hours of Bollywood movies we watched en route to London. I was the only one in the class without a bare midriff and a cute jangly skirt with the coins on it, so I felt a bit awkward (overdressed, as it were). I'm inspired.

Bon Voyage, Adam and Sarah!!

2009-08-09T17:24:00.000-07:00

The pair of lovebirds leave tonight for a new life in Melbourne, Aussie. Best of luck with the move, safe travels, and may Adam be upgraded! Here here!

Cheerio, mates!

Home at last

2009-08-06T16:24:00.000-07:00

And in a move of stunning generosity, not only did we make the standby flight home from Chicago (no airport overnight!), but United put us in Business class for our flight from Dusseldorf. As we sat and sipped our french wine, watching movies in the new fully reclining seats, we pondered this sudden show of airline largess and realized that it was our ANNIVERSARY! Great end to a great trip.

Hellish Helifactory Hellification

2009-08-03T15:35:00.000-07:00

By virtue of the damn Mileage Plus United Airlines scheme, we have a hellish overnight stopover in Chicago. Not only that, be we are being routed through Dusseldorf on the way home. Sigh.

At least we aren't toting small babies through the airport this time. There are two types of travel: First Class and With Children. Even with a crazy flight back home, it will be luxury compared to any flight with kids..... Blah.

Phil (did I mention that he is a drill sergent?) marched us from Angie's flat near Vauxhall Bridge, to the British Museum, around Trafalgar and St. Martin in the Fields (of course we had to hit all the highlights) through China Town (no surprsies there...), around the Theatre District (picking up tickets for Oliver on the way), and finally back down to China Town for dinner (Phil was suffering from a rice restricted diet which was gainfully quenched at first opportunity) winding up the day with a fantastic performance of Oliver at the Royal Theatre.

Food, Glorious Food!
Not Haggis, nor 'tatties
But Noodles and Dmplings!
Food, Glorious Food!
Asian Rice Creations
Not steak Pie Damnations
Oh Food, Glorious Food!
Thank God that London has a
VAST CHINA TOWN!!!!!!!

Tomorrow we are hankering for a good Londistany Curry house fix. The national food of England. Can't wait!

London

2009-08-02T15:14:00.000-07:00

We have arrived in Europe's great metropolis. We'll be here long enough to explore the British Museum and catch a broadway show before we head back home. So. Ready. To. Be. Home. Miss my kids terribly. :-( We're here with Phil's cousin Angie, who has lovingly put us up in her spare room, and even gave our golf clubs accomodation behind her piano. No small task for our huge travel bags. She plied us with chinese noodles (ahhhhh, so tired of Haggis, neeps and tatties....) and Corsican wine. Why is the room spinning????

This second honeymoon in Scotland has been a huge gift. THanks mom, Ray, Momma and Pappa Wang for taking such good care of the girls whilst we've been cavoting around the British Isles to bagpipes and tin whistles.

Can't wait to see my girls. Just three more days!!! Can't remember the last time I've been homesick, but all signs point to missing home. Sniff.

The Great Pack Up

2009-07-18T12:15:00.000-07:00

In the chaos of our 2 kid life, I forgot to mention that Phil started his own law practice! Besides marrying me, this is the best decision Phil ever made. His practice is growing by leaps and bounds already and neither of us miss the 24/7 Big Firm Hours. Weekends, evenings, vacations were never free of work stress, but after the Big Leap into the unknown, we are free! Well, OK today is Saturday and Phil, Gaby and I are all in the office (Gaby is watching Kipper on YouTube) working. Nevermind that we leave for Scotland tomorrow and haven't packed a single thing... we are all here packing up Phil's files to move into his fancy new office space, which by the way, is biking distance from home! We'll be in the UK on moving day, so we are doing our best to tidy things up for the movers. Nothing like a giant, disorganized mess to make friends and influence people :-)

The great pack up will continue at home as we hurl random bits of clothing into luggage tonight. The only thing guaranteed to make it are the golf clubs..... :-)

Natural Bridges Tide Pools

2009-07-15T22:11:00.000-07:00

What would a trip to California be without a jaunt down the coast to that archetypal beach town, Santa Cruz? So it was that Lori and Sophie, Gaby and I began our search for beloved coastline.

Yesterday we discovered a hidden gem in San Gregorio state beach. This slice of golden sand requires rappeling down the cliff face to reach, but it is well worth the effort. Even on a baking summer day, the beach was pristine and quiet. The trail access point has no signage- the best way to describe it is between Half Moon Bay and Pescadero, about 3 miles south of the Ritz. There is a pull-off and overlook point where you can access the trail and rappeling ropes.

Sharing the Magic of Muir Woods

2009-07-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

Muir Woods with Sophie and Lori

My friend Lori and her daughter Sophie have been visiting us for a whirlwind week of nonstop Bay area exploration. Muir woods- a favorite silvan enclave just across the GG bridge- was first on our list of spots to check out. The giant redwoods were a big hit, especially the ones big enough to play house in!

Lake Arrowhead Fourth of July

2009-07-15T09:30:00.000-07:00

Charlotte post Laser 1

2009-07-06T19:35:00.000-07:00

2009-06-23T14:18:00.000-07:00

2009-06-23T14:16:00.000-07:00

Sisters on the porch!

2009-06-19T21:46:00.000-07:00

Sonoma County Agricultural Experience

2009-06-19T17:07:00.000-07:00

After taking our leave of the Gasc compound, we took more scenic routes throughout Sonoma County. Sonoma's famous happy cows and tidy dairy farms proved particularly alluring to our Virginia sensibilities, so we had to stop and heave contented roadside sighs at every bucolic farmlet that we passed.

Picking wildflowers and catching lady bugs.

We wound our way down the coast, stopping for a mid-afternoon snack at a waterside seafood shack in Bodega Bay. We admired the peaceful fishing boats and oyster men plying their trade on Tomales Bay, finally stopping again for a romp on Stinson Beach. Someone stole my shoes. Why would someone steal my stinky sweaty shoes??? Whatever. 'Tis a curiosity.

I couldn't let my mom leave Sonoma without introducing her to our favorite Marin County hideout, Cavallo Point, so we stopped in briefly for a light dinner. Gaby got a bit of a tummy ache on the windy roads south of Pt. Reyes which, she adamantly informed us, could only be remedied by an ice-cream. The lovely Farley Bar brought her a "Chocolate Mouse" to soothe her tummy. This mouse had a fat little chocolate ice-cream body, two round milk-chocolate ears, a white chocolate tail, and was set on a bed of diced strawberries. I wish I had a picture, but we all devoured the mouse so quickly that the only thing left was a lonesome whisker (chocolate, naturally).

Road trip!

2009-06-19T16:45:00.000-07:00

Since my mom is here visiting for my graduation, she, Gaby and I took a little road trip to Sebastopol to visit the Gasc's (mom's next-door neighbors from Miami). After a long drive and many wrong turns (we took the scenic route), we arrived at their.... compound. 11 gorgeous acres of fruit trees, ponds, forest, and the world's wildest rope swing. Here Serge demonstrates his swing acumen.

7 year old Andrea swings 50 feet out over the canyon, and shows off some Cirque du Soleil-worthy flips in mid air.

Here we are with Andrea, Matteo and Serge on the back porch.

Co-ops Home to Urban Coops

2009-06-19T16:34:00.001-07:00

Co-ops Home to Urban Coops

Shared via AddThis

Graduation Weekend!

2009-06-15T22:32:00.000-07:00

It turned out to be a gorgeous afternoon for graduation ceremonies under the tent on the med school lawn.

Gaby was a little overwhelmed by all the professors and students in their gowns, hoods, and caps. During the processional, Gaby ran up to me with a lei and got swept up into the parade of students. She walked through the whole processional with me, to the amusement of the audience. Phil had to come on stage and extricate her to the "kids section". I was embarassed, but I think everyone thought it was cute. Everyone except the organizers and administrators who weren't counting on a little jam in the wheel.

Despite the toddler mishap, both girls got to walk across the stage with me, and they even received a little "diploma" for helping me graduate and allowing me time to study. Ha.

Fabulous Lecture on Emerging Infectious Diseases

2009-06-11T11:31:00.000-07:00

Lucy Shapiro from Stanford University gave a talk covering H5N1, MRSA etc. Its a great education for anyone wondering what all the fuss is about. Highly recommend watching it. Here is the YouTube link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYH4MdfbxVU

The Denim Paradox

2009-06-03T23:19:00.000-07:00

Stupidly, I got roped into taking golf lessons every Wednesday in the month of June*. The problem with Wednesdays is that they tend to come after Tuesdays; Tuesday being the day of my intense presentation and source of several years worth of stress and anxiety.

As we celebrated the end of my masters research with friends last night, I sank into utter bliss, thinking I would be able to sleep in today.

Except Phil reminded me about the damn golf lesson. Which, by the way, is probably the most maddening, stress-inducing form of torture one could heap on oneself first thing in the morning.

Dressing for the course was perplexing enough. No denim allowed? What the heck am I supposed to wear then? Phil approved my stretchy green PrAna capri yoga pants, which befuddled me. I can wear my favorite jeans to a nice restaurant, but not to the golf club. Because golf has standards. "Denim" is low-brow, I guess. But my comfy pranas, which I may or may not have worn to bed the previous evening, are fair game. How does this make sense???

* The golf lessons are a result of some hard bargaining on my part. We are taking a kid-free trip to Scotland for my Scottish Clan reunion at the clan castle overlooking the west coast of Scottish awesomeness. In return, I must play golf with Phil at every amazing course that the wee country has to offer. Fore!!! In return, he must bring and wear my clan kilt whilst dancing to pipes and drinking scotch.

Hi Life, its Me!

2009-06-02T15:48:00.000-07:00

Booyah. My presentation on the Geographical Variations of Primary Cesareans in California was a success! I made them ohhhh, I made them ahhhhh, I made them laugh. 30 professors argued, debated, and fired inane questions at me which I handled with aplomb. I got to aim the giant bamboo pointer like a scepter at my questioners. I got to say "Further Research is Needed" to the 1,000th seemingly innocuous but really obnoxious nit picky question. I had fun!

I broke all moral speeding limits doing 90 down 280 and did not get pulled over!

I parked illegally in the med school lot and didn't get a ticket!

Today is a great day.

Lunch at Stonebrae

2009-05-31T23:14:00.000-07:00

I lost a bet with Phil (over something really stupid), so I owed him a 45 min massage. This was about ohhh....2 years ago. He never did get that massage, finally realizing hell would freeze over first. So he changed the repayment. In liu of the not-happening massage, I had to come have lunch at the golf club that he joined over a year ago. That's right, he's been trying to get me to set foot on his beloved course since LAST January. So, we schlepped the kids over the water for lunch at the club. I don't like golf, so this was actually a big sacrifice on my part. Whine Whine Whine.

Gaby and Lola

2009-05-31T23:03:00.000-07:00

Lola is our sweetie pie chick. She loves cuddles, unlike Bernice. Bernice is the most unfriendly chicken I have ever met. I don't know what her deal is.

I found this while researching for my presentation- hope you enjoy!

2009-05-28T13:24:00.001-07:00

Ahh, a little lighthearted humor for your Thursday afternoon.......

Birdie Birdie in the Sky........

2009-05-26T10:20:00.000-07:00

Phil had to pitch a case this morning, requiring a suit and tie. He was in a rush to get out the door, so I assisted with his assembelage, selecting a beautiful green silk neckpiece that I bought in Paris. As Phil lovingly removed the 4-in-hand from the tie rack, we both saw it. A gooey mucilage that looked like chocolate and smelled like sap. Phil was befuddled, but I knew with instant horror exactly what that squelchy mystery substance was.

Chicken crap.

How in the hell does a chicken crap on a tie that is hanging on a tie rack??? (just Phil's favorite, most expensive tie, mind you. The others were spared).

By flying out of the brooder box, having an adventure in our bedroom, flapping onto the tie rack perch, and cheerfully defecating with abandon, all while we were sound asleep and unaware.

Phil wanted to strangle the chicken with the tie, but fortunately for the chicken, it wisely joined its companions in the brooder, so we don't know which chick was the culprit. Until Phil can prove guilt, the chickens will all be innocent. They are all on probation, however.

Birdie Birdie in the sky
why did you do that on my TIE?
Looks like chocolate, smells like sap,
OMG it's Birdie CRAP!

The Day of Reckoning Awaits

2009-05-25T19:35:00.001-07:00

Next Tuesday I defend my master's research. I will lay bare 2 years of work to be picked over and scrutinized. If I pass muster, I'll be almost DONE. Usually the professors are friendly, but there are an unnamed few who always ask seemingly innocuous questions that require a quick and crafty answer such as "Further research is needed". It's intellectual verbiage for "Let me get back to you on that one because I have no idea and why are you asking me these questions anyway?"

Phil took Gaby hiking in Tahoe this weekend, so I have the house (relatively) to myself for three days, with only Charlotte to mind. Babies are so easy at this age- they sleep all night as well as huge swathes of the day. When they are awake, they want to cuddle and play, eat, have a bath, diaper change and then back to sleep. I haven't had to get out of my pajamas- I eat at random hours, and spend the remainder writing and thinking about all the details I need for Tuesday.

I'll be glad when I'm finished. I have other things planned.....

And then there were 10

2009-05-05T10:57:00.001-07:00

I sold two of my green-egg laying chicks yesterday. It was remarkably sad to see them go, even though we had to reduce biomass.

A New Hampshire Red chick about to hatch!

Bernice Bernice Bernice!!!!! Isn't she a cutie pie? She will grow up to be a green-egg layer, just like the ones I sold. We are definitely keeping her though.

On needles and vaccine

2009-05-02T10:57:00.000-07:00

I spent my morning vaccinating my chicks for Marek's disease. Rehydrate vaccine, mix vaccine, inject vaccine. I am supposed to be at a conference right now, but I'm still waiting for chick #12 to pop out. Chicklit is taking its suweeeeeeet time. Alright already! The egg is nearly busted open, and I can see the wee beak and lots of fuzz. I feel like an Ob/gyn. Push, push, push, push so I can vaccinate you and go on with my day.
This is called a "draggy hatch", due to incubating eggs from different hens laid over a two day period. Ideally, all chicks would hatch within 6 hours of each other- this usually happens when you are incubating eggs from hens of the same breed on the same day.

Its fun nonetheless!

Chick Update

2009-05-01T16:49:00.001-07:00

It's chick madness around here! 6 chicks hatched in the past 12 hours, with 5 more hatching right now. So, it looks like all TWELVE eggs will hatch. 100% hatch rate is excellent- anything above 80% is considered very very good.
Now the sorting begins. I only want to keep three or four of these chicks, so I'm selling the rest for $7.50 each.

We are definitely keeping Lola bird, as well as a cutie pie named Bernice.

Meet Lola the Chick

2009-04-29T23:12:00.000-07:00

Miss Lola came two days early! I glanced into the incubator and saw her nestled among the other eggs tonight. She must have hatched out quickly because I didn't see any "piping" (when the chick starts to peck its way out of the shell). I'm expecting the rest on Friday, but I could be surprised!

Her down hasn't even fully dried yet- just a wee tiny thing.

First Batch in the Oven

2009-04-28T13:14:00.000-07:00

Chicks are nearly ready!
I'm quite anxious, the wait is killing me.
What if NONE hatch?
What if the incubator was too hot?
Too Humid?
Too Dry?

*sigh*

Egg hatching is an addictive venture, however. I'm bringing the girls to pick up a friend's excess clutch of Welsummer eggs this evening. I'll pop them in the incubator tonight, and the process will repeat itself..... 21 days of waiting and wondering. I'll probably need to sell some of my chicks, because 20 fowl definitely exceeds the city limit. By the way, the whitish looking egg is actually light blue. It comes from the Amerecauna breed- they lay easter egg colors!

Baby Charlotte 5 months

2009-04-28T13:01:00.000-07:00

Madame Squeezable in all her cheekiness.

Yoga Baby Toes.

Gotcha!

Animal Shelter

2009-04-23T14:12:00.000-07:00

Wherein we exercise extreme restraint. Note that we did not bring home a single creature. Though I'm told they almost always have chickens, none were there today. That's probably a good thing.

Rehabilitating wild animals.

Too many rabbits to mention! If you want a pet rabbit, visit the humane society and take your pick. This guy was especially cute!

Possibly the world's fattest cat. And I thought Mojito was a jolly glutton. I am a sucker for fat cats though. I was tempted to bring him home.

The poop on the coop

2009-04-23T13:59:00.000-07:00

We have just finished what quite possibly could be the world's most expensive chicken coop. It started, as these things do, rather simply. A wee enclosure for the chooks with a bit of roof to keep them happy in the winter.

Ahh! But what if they knock over their water dish and die of dehydration???? Well, we'll solve that by running copper pipe out to the coop with a unique shut-off value, an automatic timer, and a seperate spigot. Great! That'll keep them watered on hot summer days.

Oh, but what about the raccoons breaking in and killing my hens?? Well, we'll just add lattice on top of the poultry wire walls. Good idea.

But raccoons might dig under the coop! Okay.......so we'll have to sink wire mesh 18 inches into the ground to prevent diggers. Oh. Okay. That should do it.

But what about the door? We need a lock on the door- perhaps a combination lock in case the raccoons learn how to pick locks? Right, back to the store.....

Oh, but we forgot nesting boxes! Surely the hens need nesting boxes to lay their eggs? Right.

And on and on.

At least we have lemon blossoms. We can make our own lemonade this year.

Jesus installing the custom built nest boxes onto the "finished" coop.

Our California poppies are in full force this year. Chickens really like to eat poppies. Bye bye garden. Hello hens!

Beach Bum Babies

2009-04-21T19:33:00.000-07:00

Too hot. Went to beach.

Pescardero has lovely tide pools and a nice wading area for toddlers. Gaby met a little boy named "Junior" with whom she played amicably enough until he threw sand at her. Little monster.

Charlotte's "Tree Hugger" shirt was meant for yesterday's silvan adventure. Alas Muir Woods proved to be too hot for long sleeves. Oh, and I forgot to tell the best part of yesterday's sortie- Gaby was nekkid in a cold mountain stream when a militantly holier-than-though mom and her brood happened upon my gleeful nymph and gave me a non-verbal tongue lashing. In other words, a stare of death. She very primly told her three kids "PEOPLE stay on the MARKED trails". Is she calling my daughter an animal? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, lady. She's three. Its hot. If you could possibly extract that huge stick from your prominant fanny, maybe you could sit down long enough to enjoy God's creation rather than pontificating on the laws of man.

Escape to Muir Woods

2009-04-21T08:03:00.000-07:00

Today was hotter than Phil baking bread barefoot in the kitchen, so the girls and I had to escape to the big trees for some relief!

Sweet Charlotte hanging out in the back of the Phil and Ted's!

Gaby doing gymnastics inside a tree trunk.

Self timer of Gaby and I in front of really huge tree.

My fearless daughter couldn't resist climbing this massive sequoia. I had to turn my back for 2 seconds to tend to screaming Charlotte, and this is what I saw. That girl moves fast.

Mokey See, Monkey Do

2009-04-19T23:07:00.000-07:00

You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose.

"Hmm, this looks like fun! I'll give it a whirl."

"Oh Gaby. That's gross"

"Now, for the other side...."

Dinner on the deck

2009-04-19T23:02:00.000-07:00

Mari Ines and Terry joined us to test run our grill for the summer. We grabbed an old table for the deck, tossed a nice cloth on, and voila! Romance, vino, and candlelight.

Terry fell in love with our chicken coop- he told me it was gorgeous and well designed. No, actually, he said it was the most beautiful coop he'd ever seen. I plied him with a nice Malbec in return.

"I'll get you my pretty..... you look tasty in the moonlight". Really, he's a nice guy.

Daddy and the little chick

2009-04-19T22:48:00.000-07:00

Proud papa and his wee chick in front of the newly finished coop!

Our fruitless Santa Cruz Olive. I planted this to replace the overgrown crabapple tree that we chopped down (our neighbors were horrified. We are tree huggers though, I promise)

Daddy and Bunsy. Bunsy really loves the Bjorn. We hope she'll really love the baby chicks too!

Mexican Summer Dress

2009-04-19T22:39:00.000-07:00

Twirling ballerina

Peekaboo

Summer Sweetness

Sushi and Beer for Toddlers

2009-04-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

Jamba Juice Tattoo. Loyal customer.

Jason with 5 month old Lucas, Charlotte's stroller buddy.

Polishing off the last of daddy's Rogue Brown Ale. Gaby calls the beer guy "Mr. Cruncher" a joke I don't really get.

Farm Day

2009-04-18T18:51:00.000-07:00

Something funny about this fellow...

Charlotte and Lucas strollercised while the big girls got to ride ponies and pet the goats.

Olivia and Gaby stylin' in their shades. Note the "Lay or Bust" sign in the background.

Park Day

2009-04-17T19:34:00.000-07:00

Shake out the sandy shoes....

Now, bend down and pick your toes. Ahhhhh, that feels better.

One- arm slide launch

Gaby as marrionette

Morning Tea

2009-04-17T19:22:00.000-07:00

Gaby prefers Earl Grey. With lots of sugar.

Yippee for Tea!

Un Coup de Main

2009-04-16T23:01:00.000-07:00

The "before" shot.

Un coup de pinceau.

Jesus Barron -our handyman- finishes the rest. He has 10 kids. In his free time, he makes slipcovers.

Honeysuckle at Dusk

2009-04-16T22:43:00.000-07:00

Honeysuckle starts to open after one of the first warm days of spring. Hummingbirds are going crazy in our yard now.

Mojito Extraordinire

2009-04-16T22:36:00.000-07:00

He has wee paws

Really likes his ears rubbed....

Will stare you down for food

Love machine.

Back at the ranch....

2009-04-16T22:32:00.000-07:00

Iceland poppies reaching for blue sky

Iceland poppies in foreground, chicken coop in background.

Gold-Flame Honeysuckle buds

My Darling Charlottine

2009-04-16T22:20:00.000-07:00

Names for our baby chicks!

2009-04-13T11:52:00.001-07:00

I posted a list of possible chick names- let me know what you think!

A few more that I've just thought of:

Since Francois is totally unpopular, what about:

Francis or Francie
Calla
Cherie
Layla (high hopes for this one. Too much pressure??)
Flo
Flor
Flora
Bernadette
Ophelia
Olive
Rosie
Antonia

Can't wait to hear your ideas!

Just in Time for Easter!

2009-04-11T09:24:00.000-07:00

We have EGGS!! They are in the incubator now- hatch day is May 1. They are an assortment of 12 mixed breed chickens from Ranch Hag Hens in Petaluma, CA. Dawn-the proprietor- is incredibly helpful and has the cutest menagerie of farm animals ever. Gaby especially liked the nubian goats. They are sooooo cute. Here's a photo of Gaby about to hop into the pasture with them.

Dawn's Polish Crested Rooster. I love his hairdo. Very sweet little dude. All her chickens free-range, so I don't know if he is the father of any of my eggs, but I hope so! Her other rooster, an Americana named Pansy, is SO stinkin' cute I wanted to pick him up and give him a squeeze. Big fat boy with gorgeous iridescent feathers and plenty of macho 'tude.

And for the UGLIEST animal on earth, we have this turkey. He fascinated me with his ugliness. Like one of the characters from Star Wars, though I can't quite put my figure on who it is.
Did you know that domesticated turkeys have to be slaughtered when they are 1 year old because the get too large to walk and end up having heart attacks? This ugly beast is only 1 year old and his brother died 2 weeks ago- keeled over from heart failure.

Why are turkeys on this earth???? Who ever got the idea to domesticate them? Wild turkeys I can understand, but this?? They don't even taste good!

And, of course we have the aformentioned rusted-out truck on blocks.

Our twelve eggs we laid by the following breeds: Americana (Easter Egg Hens- they lay blue and green eggs), New Hampshire Red (good brown egg layers), Red Sex Linked (male chicks are darker than female chicks so its easy to tell them apart- since we can't keep roosters, this is a good thing), and Buff Orpingtons (very cute and docile animals). Besides Pansy and the Polish Crested, she has a Gold Laced Wyandotte, so my baby chicks will be some kind of cross between the breeds above.

San Mateo Chickens!

2009-04-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

After trolling the web for a group of like-minded chicken owners near San Mateo and coming up empty, I decided to start a Yahoo group. Its for anyone living in or around San Mateo (Redwood City to San Francisco) who wants to keep a few hens in their back yard. San Mateo Chickens

I've already gotten a 500% membership increase! What an auspicious start. I started with 1 person (me) and now there are five of us. YOU could be #6. Think about that, an "early adopter" of the nouveau age du coq in San Mateo.