Z's Third Birthday Party

Zach and Sarah are now THREE! They had a joint birthday party at Bachman Park with a hired Jumpy House. PERFECT! It was a sunny day in the seventies with sixteen little kids jumping, bouncing endlessly in the pumped up jumpy house, running around the park, blasting open the pinata, blowing twirly, squeaky horns usually seen at New Year's Eve parties, and generally having a great time. It was a fabulous day in its absences: no fights, no melt-downs, no mean behavior. The only tears were from accidental mishaps, no hard feelings.

Sarah and Zach were like an old couple celebrating their anniversary. At one point, Sarah said, "Zach, get over here NOW!" and she pointed to the ground next to her. Zach started to protest, sighed and walked over and held her hand and the two of them walked off. He knows who's boss and loves her for it.

Z is 3!

We walked downtown to Z's favorite restaurant for his birthday dinner. He ordered himself, "Rice, beans and a tortilla, Please!" At the end of the meal, the owner brought him three oreos with a candle and sang Happy Birthday to him. The margaritas weren't his.

Have you ever seen a Dragon Fish?

I went to the Monterey Aquarium today with an old friend and his two delightful teen age kids. I must say the dragon fish (native to Australia) captivated me and many others.

Thanksgiving in sunny California is not like New England. Zachy and Jack-Jack played spitting games in the outdoor jacuzzi, for example.

Dexie liked Grandpa Gibson's Gold Toe socks.

Zach spent the early morning helping his dad prepare brussel sprouts for the Big Meal.

I finished three more mifflettes for holiday orders.

Please vote!

Bunny Mifflette with Camilla Engman ribbon

Mouse or Bear, Bear or Mouse? Please cast your vote for which you think it is. (just make a comment)
S/he is made from vintage bark cloth, a recycled angora sweater and Rosa Pomar Snow White and the Seven Dwarves ribbon! (Snow White is hidden on the side)

This green mifflette has a combination of vintage fabric, limbs from a cotton baby's shirt, vintage cotton trim and contemporary cotton ears. He's ALL monkey!
As dogs are to skunks, I am to cacti. A couple of weekends ago, I decided I HAD to have one of these cacti buds for my seed pod collection. Naturally I got 3,629 cacti needles in my hand and had to count on Dexter's patience while I tweezed as many out of my palm as I could. Did I learn a lesson? Apparently not as yesterday I just HAD to take a close up photo of the developing pods. This time I backed into a neighboring cactus and you KNOW where I got 2,194 needles this time.
In a box marked FREE on University Ave, lay these three porcelain raku bowls. They are exquisitely thrown and glazed, with no cracks or chips whatsoever. I had to wonder if they were misplaced, but not enough to leave them there. Now I'm wondering to whom I should give them. Any takers?

California Mifflettes

No mifflettes have been born for months. Finally, this little family emerged yesterday. They're ready for adoption.

For Mr. T:

Another Borani Kadoo recipe, this one from San Francisco Chronicle, Nov. 5, 2008

1 large yellow onion, peeled and quartered
1/4 cup olive oil
1 3 lb sugar pie pumpkin
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 small jalapeno pepper, halved, seeded, diced
1 T tomato paste
1 T ground turmeric
1 T fresh ginger, peeled and diced
1/4 c sugar
1/2 t kosher salt
1 1/2 - 2 c vegetable broth

YOGURT SAUCE
1 c plain yogurt
1 clove garlic, minced
pinch of salt

Puree the onion in a food processor. Heat the oil in a 14 in. saute pan or large casserole over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender; about 10 minutes.

While the onion is cooking, cut the pumpkin. Set the pumpkin on its side and use a sharp chef's knife or bread knife to cut the top and bottom off the pumpkin. Put the pumpkin right side up and cut off the peel, trying to remove as little of the flesh as possible. Cut the pumpkin in half down the middle and scoop out the seeds and string. Cut the pumpkin into 1 inch thick wedges and cut those wedges in half crosswise.

Once the onion is tender, add the garlic, jalapeno, tomato paste, turmeric, ginger, sugar, salt and 1 1/2 cups broth. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.

Once the mixture boils, turn the heat to low and gently press the pumpkin pieces into the pan. It's okay if the pieces overlap somewhat. Every few minutes, move the pumpkin around so all the pieces cook evenly in the sauce and the bottoms don't burn. Add more liquid if the pan gets dry. Cook until the pumpkin is fork-tender but doesn't lose it's shape. (about 30 minutes)

While the pumpkin is cooking, combine the yogurt, garlic and salt in small bowl.

To serve, spoon the yogurt over the pumpkin and pour any remaining yogurt around the outside edges of the pumpkin.

Serve with warm pita or naan bread.

She Has Her Hands Full

...of boys with colds. Also, she says she feels like a mail order bride at her new job.

Telling Stories

I think women love to share their stories, the stories that have shaped them, the stories that perplex them, the stories that are both finished and unfinished. That is partly why novels are read largely by more women than men.
My strongest and deepest friendships revolve around the ability to share stories, current and past, and feel accepted and loved. It involves revealing struggle as well as joy in those stories and to expect not only understanding and connection, but new perspectives that help one to change, shift, and rethink positions, attitudes.

A has been my friend for over thirty years and one of the most desirable things about living in California has been her geographic accessibility. We were together yesterday for the third time in the six weeks I have been here. It's delicious time, rewarding us with a sense of unique energy that abounds between us.

We have been friends since my daughter was almost as young as my grandson is now, three years old. Yesterday A told me some valuable stories about her daughter's youth and her son's. The stories were poignant illustrations of A's parenting skills, of not responding in prescribed ways to typical childhood issues.

A's daugther who is now in her thirties, complained as a five year old, that she had never been a flower girl like her friends in a wedding. A asked her what it was that made her unhappy. What a good question! Instead of explaining why she had not been a flower girl or trying to change her feelings of unhappiness she asked her to analyze what exactly made her feel badly.

It turned out, of course, that the DRESS was the main thing! She wanted one of those frilly dresses that came with being a flower girl. So A bought taffeta and lace and sewed her daughter a flower girl dress which was then worn happily in and out of the forest surrounding their house in the woods of Maine.

Santa Cruz

Sorry Folks, we went to Santa Cruz beach today and I FORGOT MY CAMERA! Syl took a bunch of photos of the boys and Bob, so maybe later I'll add them here.

Meanwhile, let it be known that the water was warm enough (in NOVEMBER) for the little boys to run/crawl naked in and out of the surf for hours, get sand in every imaginable crevice of the human body, be kissed by innumerable dogs and puppies ALSO in every conceivable crevice of the body.

I couldn't believe we saw THESE:

Loads of them, diving and diving!

Los Gatos Creek Trails

The Los Gatos hills are a fabulous place to run, with various trails that twist and turn upwards. I find I can't run the whole distance the way I could in the past, ie: when S lived here the first time, in the 1990s. It is quite pleasant, though, to run for ten minutes and then walk for five, repeatedly. Unlike SOME people, I like it that I encounter others who are exercising at the same time. Most people, all ages, many with dogs, are quite friendly.
This sign greeted me near the top. I read it carefully and wondered what I would do if I indeed DID happen upon a mountain lion. Part of me would be very excited to see an actual mountain lion in the wild. I both hoped I would and hoped I wouldn't. I thought about the fact that if I got bitten by a rattlesnake, someone would probably help me find aid pretty quickly and it would only strike at me once. But I wondered how I would hold up to a mountain lion. I turned around timidly and started on a lower trail, but then encountered six women walking together and asked THEM what they thought? They said they had been walking the trail for years and never seen any signs of one. Encouraged, I headed back and took the original trail, looking overhead most of the way, expecting to see one on a branch, the way I had seen a jaguar in Costa Rica.

Later at home, B told me he rides his bike there all the time and HAD seen a mountain lion there this month! He said it really freaked him out as it was mid-day and there were other people around. Hmmm. I haven't decided if I will return to that spot by myself yet or not.
It's difficult to indicate the altitude in the hills. It's quite precipitous in many places and I refrain from looking over the edge.
The manzanita trees are spectacular. Ohhh, I just LOVE them!
There are canopies and twists and turns all along the way. The trails are more heavily used than the ones we use at Acadia, but c'mon: this is November and the temperature is still hitting eighty most days! I'm liking it.

The Quiet Life

I live with a fair amount of silence. I have no audio or visual media in my cottage. Though a radio has been installed, it's quite static-y and so annoying and I haven't used it yet. I like the silent life a lot. It feels meditative. When my door is open, as it is today because it is 80 degrees F and sunny, I can hear the hummingbirds pretty much all of the time. With my handy dandy new bird identification book, and with the help of the internet, it seems as if Anna's Hummingbirds are my most constant neighbors.

I think I mentioned the Northern Mockingbird that seems always to be in the bushes between my cottage and the house on Rose Ave. That would be at El Sombroso Oaks. I love the cheeriness of this talkative bird. S/he must be an extrovert!

I spotted a Brown Headed Cowbird in the garden. These parasitic birds lay their eggs in the nests of other birds and those nest-owning-moms raise the cowbird young as if they are their own. Because the young are often twice the size of the mothers, the maternal birds are unable to keep up and their own young fail to thrive. Even among animals, life isn't always (ever?) fair. Luckily they haven't a concept of fair. We humans create that misery among ourselves.

It's NOT even Christmas

I received two splendid gifts recently. From my dear friends, Margaret and Tom, came this tiny heart shaped box which fastens with magnets. It's so precious, finely wrought, smooth and aesthetic. Tom said he "found" it and thought of me. Where does one find such a treasure? It came filled with more tiny treasures: the smallest sand dollar I have ever seen and three soft pebbles that have been worn with time. Ohhhh, I just love this box of heartfelt sentiment from Maine. Does it make me homesick? Yes, yes, yes.
Yesterday I had visitors from Seattle; ALSO dear friends, Hazel and Adam! I am thrilled with a bird identification book for California which Hazel gave to me! I have noticed a bird in the bushes as I walk between my house and Rose Ave. The same bird seems always there to greet me. What pleasure to identify it as a Northern Mockingbird. The author has great tips: this mockingbird is unafraid of people and allows close observation! No wonder it seems like my friend. I have a new focus for my time here in CA.

Story Hour

Z has been enjoying the Los Gatos Story Hour more each week. Yesterday I made sure he was sitting up front for the first time. That increased his enjoyment, it seems, as he was less distracted by books on the shelves and the children in front of him.

The culmination of Story Hour is playing with toys from the big Toddler Storage Box. Z pounced immediately on the truck puzzle and completed it proficiently.

He wasn't interested in doing another one, but wanted to redo the same one. After all, it was TRUCKS! A little Indian girl decided she wanted to do it too and tried to take the whole puzzle from Z. He was having none of it. As responsible caregivers, of course, the word SHARE was repeated over and over. They did a really nice job together and then clapped for themselves upon completion.

Castle Rock Hike

I've been wanting to take some field trips on the weekend, out into the gorgeous California country. I thought it would be good for the whole family to spend more time in natural surroundings, away from concrete. Bob pounced on the idea and so we found ourselves hiking at Castle Rock State Park on Saturday. It's in the Santa Cruz mountains.

Syl said she hoped that Zachy's hiking techniques were NOT a metaphor for his path in life, as mostly he chose the harder route. Here, he could have gone directly on the path over the lowest point on the fallen branch, but NO, he chose the highest point to climb over!

The rock formations were awesme, volcanic. Zachy was ecstatic the whole trip, taking to the rock-climbing adventure like a little mountain goat. He expended so much energy, he took a three hour nap, as did his parents. Not so the sleep-resisting little brother, Dexie, who spent the afternoon playing with me.

Two Projects Completed

On to Dylan's Christmas stocking....Yay!
I hope blocking the hat helps. There are NO mistakes in this one, albeit it took three times to get it right.

Superlative Elation

Today there is nothing more to say.

At the Apple Store

Lately when I try to upload photos to iPhoto, I get a warning that my startup disc is almost full and I should eliminate files. Also a huge amount of my photos are now overlapping, ie: I have one on top of another since I have stored more than five thousand photos. When I press a thumbnail, something entirely different is apt to appear.

Since the Apple store is within walking distance, I decided to see what kind of advice I could get there. Yikes! I was happily impressed with the level of FREE help I received.

It seems I am just about out of space on this computer. I have a few choices and must sort that all out. For the first time, I see why people buy computers with more than minimal space on their hard drives, why they purchase external hard drives and why they clean up their files from time to time. I haven't done any of those things. Now I must do at least one of them.

I'm also considering personal training at Apple. It cost $99 and one can get help once a week for an hour for a full year. Though I won't always be within walking distance of a store (that dirt road sure is long) the advisor pointed out it's a bargain even if you only have three sessions. After all, you take your computer and ask them whatever you want.
SIGN ME UP!