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Showing posts from April, 2008

Waffles, a Quilt, Thai, the Model A, Mentos and Coke, and Telegraph Ave.

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This is the quilt that Maddie made at her Camp Sew Fun last summer. We managed to finish the top with the borders, and we'd bought the batting and backing, but we ran out of steam there. So we brought it with us, and Maddie and Grandma got it all ready, tied it, trimmed it, and then Grandma taught Maddie how to do a blind stitch to bind it. They watched Enchanted and Pride and Prejudice while they worked. Grandma told me that Maddie kept up with Jane Austen really well, probably because she's familiar with the bollywood version. We're so proud of them for finishing and it's a beautiful quilt that Maddie was involved with at every step. Friday night after a waffle dinner and a Mentos and Coke experiment when Grandpa got back from teaching his international engineering students at Cal, he took the kids out in the Model A. I didn't know it until this trip, but this car was green and white when he bought it, which was before he'd even left for college. It was a maj

Walking too far in Piedmont

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Friday morning Rob and I walked through Piedmont. Rob took pictures of landscapes and architectural details he liked, because we've been known to use them even in Provo. Our criss-cross ivy wall is a copy of two or three houses in the bay area (and it's starting to grow in, which is exciting). These two were both houses on my walk to school. Speaking of which, my elementary school is in terrible shape and the playground is covered with portable classrooms while they fix it or knock it down to build a new one, or both. This home has an amazing garden, though I'm not certain you can tell from the picture. It takes about 40 hours a week of gardening and is always changing. It wasn't a long or particularly strenuous walk, but it was more than I can handle at present, and I was sneaking a rest on every bench we passed by the time we made it back to the center of town. I walked around the rest of the day feeling like my legs were going to fall off at the hips.

Whirlybirds at Alameda

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From the Lawrence Hall of Science, we drove straight down to Alameda beach on Shoreline. This is another specialty beach at the bay. It is flat and warm, and great for taking kids to. I had looked up the weather and the tide, so we were there on the warmest day of our week at low tide. The kids could run several blocks out and still not get up to their knees, which makes the water unusually warm for northern California. When we were down in San Diego last fall, I saw most kids on the beach at Coronado wearing wet suits, and it had just never occurred to me before, because we'd grown up jumping around in water with ice crystals in it. Coronado's surf seemed pretty balmy in comparison. Rob, good father that he is, swung all the kids around multiple times in the water, tossing them into the sand at the end. For some unknown reason, I didn't bring my bathing suit (inherent distrust of sunny weather in SF, I guess), so I ended up wearing Rob's t-shirt and his shorts, which

Lawrence Hall of Science

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On Thursday, I was determined to get a couple of things in. We went and tried out our museum passes at the Lawrence Hall of Science. I'd been there a few times as a kid, but had never taken our children there, and now, suddenly, they seemed old enough. The picture above is of their Forces in the Bay exhibit where kids learn about plate tectonics and water and earth erosion. Like their father and uncle before them, the kids here are making dams. Inside, there was an exhibit on speed. Maddie and Will both showed an uncharacteristic interest in the skiing video game. And both of them did a lot better on it than their parents would have. This was Sebastian's favorite part of the whole experience: computer software that made your car any way you wanted it. Sebastian made about 15 of them in different models, paint jobs, with special accessories and details. He was a really good car designer. And he had a great time designing with huge vinyl blocks too. He and Rob had the whole u

But Wait! There's More!

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In the afternoon, we convinced the boys that they needed to come out with us (and give Grandpa a rest from basement and babysitting). We went to a beach and a playground and then walked out on the pier with all of the substance-abusing fishermen to see the lovely sunset. Three beautiful children having a great break from the snow while they play at Shorebird park at the marina. This is Maddie at the beach; we told the kids we were going to find sea glass. Now I know, you all have your own favorite beaches, and favorite sources for sea glass -- picturesque places called Sea Glass Beach with a little bistro just off to the side. But believe me, if you want to find sea glass, this is the place. It's ugly, it's filthy, and it's full of sea glass. This is because it's directly behind Golden Gate Fields (the racetrack) where lots of fortunes are lost, and lots of dreams and glass bottles are broken. Even Sebastian was able to bring home a bag full of the stuff. I think that

Berkeley Wednesday with Maddie

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So Wednesday we went to Berkeley with Maddie. And what did we do? We drove around places we used to drive. We took her up to Smyth Fernwald where the eucalyptus was chopped down, the plantings and oak trees are filling in, and I still don't understand the people who would live there and drive a BMW SUV (who are these people?). We went to Monterey Market to rejoice in their produce (there are two kinds of people in Berkeley: the Monterey Market kind, and the Berkeley Bowl kind -- we became the former when we lived on MLK and never did convert). Then we went to the Berkeley horticultural nursery where Rob was very good and didn't buy any live plants this year (it was a ticklish business getting home a clematis a few years back), but exulted in their water plants and bought some seeds. We stopped by Mr. Mopps and checked out all of the classic and politically correct and environmentally friendly toys. Then we drove down Solano and went to Sweet Potatoes where we managed to clean

San Francisco on a Tuesday

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On Tuesday all seven of us went to San Francisco. As with so many of our outings back in California, this one revolved around food. We saw the Ferry Building on farmers' market day. We bought Acme bread and Cowgirl Creamery cheese and some amazing orange honey almonds and walked up and down. Grandpa took the kids out to the back and they fed the pigeons. I'm still sorry I didn't try the candycap mushroom cheesecake at the vegetarian stand, but I was still trying to be good on the no-sugar diet at that point. We went back down the embarcadero to Red's Java House for lunch. My dad used to take me here when I would meet him in the city while I was working here. It has an eclectic clientele -- everyone from men in shipping and loading at the docks to executives pulling up in their BMWs and Mercedes. You get cheeseburgers and fries here, and a few other options, but you come because it's a dive. The kids loved it. My mom had never been before, so we were spreading some

Settled In

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Once we got them to Grandma and Grandpa's house, the kids didn't want to leave. We got them to church on Sunday, with a special tour of the temple and visitors' center, but I had great plans to take them all over the bay area. They wanted to curl up and stay at home insted. Here Will is reading the Complete Collection of Calvin and Hobbes on one side of the fireplace . . . While Maddie tucks into The Princess Bride on the other. Monday, Grandma took them to see Horton Hears a Who and to lunch at Fuddruckers while Rob and I scoured the Expo looking at tiles and all the kitchen and bathroom options. Then we went to Blue Haired Betty's, who makes the most ambrosial food, bar none. We were there for late lunch, so we each got one of her fried chicken sandwiches, and then shared a strawberry shortcake for dessert. That woman is entirely responsible for the fact that I'm off my no-sugar diet once again. Finally, we went to Trader Joe's to stock up on some of the gro

The Nut Tree and Memory Lane

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SHHH!! Against my doctor's orders, we drove out to California for spring break. But I had a couple of good reasons: 1. the kids got off school for a whole week, which doesn't usually happen 2. Rob's schedule actually aligned with them for once so that he could take off, and 3. when I asked my doctor, he gave me financial reasons not to go (which I'd pay attention to if he were my accountant, but if he can't give me good health reasons, then why do I care what he says?). So we drove out halfway on Friday, stayed in Winnemucca, then drove the other half on Saturday. My dad was out on business, but my mom drove up to Vacaville to meet us, which was a big nostalgia trip for me. When my grandparents were driving down from Portland, we would often drive up to Vacaville to meet them at The Nut Tree and have breakfast there. It was a big restaurant with groovalicious yellow and orange vinyl chairs and two aviaries in the dining room and exciting things on the walls like a

ARRRGH! Sebi's PARRRTY!

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Last Saturday, Sebastian turned 4. I know, it's absolutely impossible, but it happened anyway. Having seen several of his siblings' birthday parties, he's been planning his for months. Thankfully, he wanted a pirate party, which we could do, because we'd done it before. Hence, we drank a lot of root beer and sent out invitations in the bottles. We brought out all the old pirate paraphenalia. We decorated the living room and dining room with the great set of treasure chests bought by Grandpa last year in Eureka and table settings donated to the cause by the Isaaks. We made paper boats (the kids decorated them, and then bombed them, at left, in the pool, with walnut 'cannons'). Will set up cups to shoot down with rubber band guns (a very popular game). We blew up a lot of black balloons (the checkout lady thought it was a fiftieth birthday celebration, and I didn't have the heart to tell her that no, they were just more cannon balls. the kids jumped aroun