Weekend :: Me ::

I did not have my camera with me most of the weekend, so I missed out on 'documenting' the most important part...time spent with my kids and dear friends!

Scotty and I 'babysat' our friend Aidan on Friday night. Aidan is actually Tommy's teacher's little boy, and she and her partner went to a 'parenting class'. They take it so seriously! haha Aidan is a cutie pie in Scotty's preschool classs. He calls me "Mama Mia" and snuggles into my lap every time I see him. Love.

Before we babysat him at his house, he and Scotty, plus Tommy and his friend from school, all came home with me for a few hours after school. As I was leaving school, every mom who saw me... four boys in tow, backpacks akimbo, voices permanently at "11" (because it's one louder, isn't it?)... mumbled something about either "brave" or "crazy" or both. Pretty funny!

Saturday, after the baseball game, my friend Marjan dropped by and I got two hours of her all to myself. She brought me a piano bench which is the perfect size and height for weaving on the loom! She's moving next weekend, and though she's not going too too far, she'll be a couple hours away by car. I'll miss her so! She's part of a small but tight group of four that I get to spend time with every few months. Last time we saw her was at her house, and I had brought her a crocheted dish rag. She loved it so much that she asked if I'd show her how I did it. So we sat on the back patio, alternating between our little projects in the sun, negotiating pool protocol between the boys, and painting with them, too. She'll be moving (temporarily) in with her son and daughter-in-law to help with their kids, so she was making lots of mental notes when dealing with my rowdy bunch!

Later on Saturday, I took the boys to the Anthony Chabot park in Oakland off Skyline for a brief, but lovely, birthday celebration. We sat in the sun, ate apple cake, and caught up with friends. Playing catch, running through the playground. *sigh*

After watching Erik's show on Saturday night (and getting pleasantly tipsy), we went out to breakfast the next morning ("For the first time since 2004!" according to Erik!) and picked up our boys. I got zucchini from my mom's garden, and some beautiful red and white onions too. I grilled them for dinner...be still my heart.




On the way home, we picked up another friend for another play date with Tommy. More swimming, more playing, more projects in the sun. Under 'happy coincidences', I was packing up a few of the zucchini, a loaf of bread I was baking while the boys played, and a dozen eggs from mom's chickens...as I was handing it off, they passed me a half flat of huge, yummy strawberries! Life is so good! Next time I'll be sure to have a commemorative tote knitted up for their goodies. haha!


I also baked chocolate chip cookies, but it was after they left. When they were leaving, Tommy got ready for baseball practice and we FINALLY got home (last game of the season was Monday night...I will miss baseball, but NOT the endless output of hours on those benches in the (too) windy evenings or (too) hot days) and the cookie cooking commenced. These are, bar none, the BEST chocolate cookies EVER. They are big and chewy and homely, exactly like they are supposed to be!

1 c margarine
2/3 c golden brown sugar
1 1/3 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 extra large eggs
3 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt 24 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 c. chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325 f. Cream margarine with sugars until light. Beat in vanilla and eggs. Mix together flour, baking soda, salt; beat into batter. Add chips and nuts, mix thoroughly. Drop onto baking sheets (lined with parchment paper or a quick spritz of non-stick spray). Bake 12 mins. Cool on sheets, move to rack to cool completely. (If they last this long, you're a better woman than I am.)

Makes 60 large cookies. LARGE. And yes, 60. This recipe is no joke. It was given to me by a teacher I used to work with in my first couple years of teaching. All four years of undergraduate, one year of credential work, and 2 years for my Master's? All paid off when I got a job with Pat Keanan, who shared this recipe one day so casually, it was like it hadn't changed her life at all. Me? I'm still reeling.

By the way...you should know that I make the biggest mess when I'm cooking. It doesn't matter if I'm making homemade pizza, a four-course meal, four dozen cookies, or boiling water and pouring cold cereal. It's the same mess. I literally destroy the place.





And, thanks to apple cake, warm bread, and chewy chocolate chip cookies, there was a little of this, too!

Weekend :: Aftermath ::

Super glue.








Bedtime crashes.








Scrapes and bruises.








Happy painting, outdoors.








Piles of laundry, waiting to be folded. And put away. Again. :)








High fives, all around, because we survived a baseball game, a picnic, two play dates, an overnight trip to grandma and grandpa's, falling off the hammock, tripping over second base, swimming in an unheated pool (it's possible that Tommy does not feel "coldness", whatsoever) and having to share. Deduct a point for breaking my painted clay dish from Oaxaca.

Weekend ::Erik::

Last week was a bit of a bust. Erik and I were under the weather most of the week, and by Wednesday I was exhausted from work, headaches, the lack of sunshine, and sleepless nights.

I was heal-toe-ing it into Thursday, but Scotty finally came down with "it" (whatever "it" was?!? still not sure!) and that was the end of things. I was grumpy and he was exhausted as we left Thursday.

But by Saturday, the sun was shining and we were all feeling better, at the same time, for the first time all week. And it was meant to be, because Erik's band played at a winery in Livermore (Confidential to Susan: Free food, and, wait for it, free wine too! I drank, um, a little bit of a 2006 Petite Syrah and a 2006 Sirah and, the whole time, I was thinking how right you were!).

I dropped the kids off at my parents' house and then met Erik over at the windery. Our friends Shawn and Dana came, as did Todd (without Mari! Boo!) and My Glenn (he took all these pictures, and a whole bunch more, and I think they're beautiful). Erik's brother came with a friend, all his work friends were there, and everybody else was a friend or relative of somebody else in the band. It was an invitation-only benefit for a local women's shelter (over a thousand dollars was raised that night!) and it was sunny and glorious and Erik, I hope you don't mind me saying so, sounded amazing on his guitar. His three guitars. Ahem. I only wish that was all of them!

After the show, we packed up and met friends for drinks in Oakland. I think my favorite part was listening to everybody tell Erik how incredible he is at playing guitar (and he is) and I think the most interesting part is where I found out that, in addition to the four guitars I knew about at home, he apparently has a fifth guitar at his work, which was sent directly there, so as to bypass my disapproving glare, apparently. Huh.

And although this bothers me not at all, not even one iota, I had to spend a minute pretending to be mad at him about this OUTRAGEOUS turn of events, just in case I need a chip to play in some later scuffle. It's a lot of work, being married.


Truthfully? It doesn't bother me about the guitars because he loves them...and I love him. His happiness makes me so happy.

Magical

I took this picture from my bedroom window. It is a magical spot for me, yet I don't think that's captured in these simple photos from my mediocre camera.





What the picture doesn't capture?

:: The variety of birds that are constantly lighting in and out of the trees and perching on the clothesline...one time one of those birds landed on a small branch right in front of the window as I was staring and daydreaming, and it freaked me out because at first I thought, "Holy cow, that's one UGLY bird!" until I realized that it had a moth in it's beak, which made it look wildly deformed.

:: The sound of the waterfall, which is so soothing and makes me incredibly happy.

:: The smell of the flowers.


:: The sound of my boys, using the playhouse directly under the window (you can see the slope of the roof there) as a castle.






:: The rustle of the lizards moving through the dry grass on the hill to the left of what you can see in this picture.

:: The clothesline is empty at the moment, but there are often linens hanging there, and I love how they look, swaying in the breeze.

There is so much wildlife in our yard! Birds and lizards, also butterflies, bees, snakes! From this window, I can watch the birds take baths in the waterfall, and the bees and hummingbirds feeding on the flowered bushes. I feel so lucky to have this little spot, and I try to visit it every day.

Mother's Little Helper

I worked in the backyard for 17 hours this weekend. On the evening of the second day, Erik poked his head out and wondered what I was doing.

Fortunately, I have Scotty, who 'helped' me so much! It takes a little longer when he's chipping in, but I can't thank him enough, and I always let him know, 'I couldn't have done it without you!'

Scotty likes to help me clean and garden. He's like a little Mini-Me and I'm milking it. Believe that!

Crafty Boy

Tommy was invited to a "play date" on Saturday. I found out Saturday morning at 9:30 that it was a "birthday party" and he would be the only "guest". I guess that's a play date!

We had to meet them in about an hour, and Tommy was very excited. His school friend got to invite one special person to go to the Chuck E. Cheese with him and his mom, and Tommy definitely likes to rate.

Tommy is a bit of a fanboy. Like his father, ahem, he becomes unnaturally obsessed with whatever thing that is occupying his mental and emotional space, and that's all she wrote. Legos, Star Wars, Bakugan, Hannah Montana (shut up), and each new thing, it's just stacked on top of the others! He doesn't relinquish anything so that he can make more room.

The newest thing is something called "Gormiti" and, following the foolproof success of "mutant creature" and "trading card" recipe of nearly every other serial collector's item for young boys, Gormiti is off to a roaring start. I saw them on sale at Target last week some time and picked up a few packages, thinking that I'd eventually spring them on Tommy. He loves surprises!



Thankfully, these were still on hand (what can I say? I'm a lazy gifter.) when the surprise attack birthday came about. Tommy got to split the creatures and cards between him and his friend, and he helped me make matching draw-string pouches to keep their treasures in.

I just got such a kick out of this big old clod-hopper boot driving the sewing machine pedal!











At first I was all: 1. fold fabric in half. 2. fold and hem tops of each side. 3. sew up the sides. 4. Run drawstring through. Bob's your uncle!

Except, then I was all: How am I supposed to get the drawstring all the way through, when the sides are stitched shut? Dang it! So I sort of 'engineered' it with some problem solving.

First, I ironed a scant 1/8th inch seam along the sides, all the way up through where the folded hem would be at the top. Then I stitched down, just the length of the hemmed area at the top.







This mess will be on the inside, when I fold it under, and stitch the hem, leaving a seamless outside edge.

Sew the hemmed edge all the way across.










Sew up the sides, going passed the hem seam, but not all the way to the top. There will be a small, largely unnoticeable gape at each side, which the drawstring passes through.

Run a piece of slim bias tape through, using a safety pin attached to the edge.

Tie a knot at each end of the tape.

Simple! I used some of the blue wool felt (to match the bias tape) and put the boys' initials on the front, using a simple handsewed running stitch.







Now! Now Bob's your uncle!

Mom's Garden

I took the boys over to my mom's house on Saturday night. My parents were at a wedding, and would be spending the night out of town. I needed to take care of the animals that night, and again on Sunday morning, so we just decided the easiest thing to do would be stay the night.

I had to go over Saturday morning and go through the routine with her. I scribbled notes about who got what, when, and made fun of her the whole time. Do you know she had a diabetic dog once? Yeah, the vet told her he wouldn't live another year. She gave that dog insulin injections, morning and evening, and he lived to be 12. All of her animals are 'the rejects' that didn't sell at the pet store, or needed a home under emergency situations. Her menagerie includes (but is certainly not limited to) a parrot that plucks its own feathers, a one-eyed dove, a morbidly obese lab, a cat with a bent tail, a neurotic donkey she rescued off a tv ad, a pony that was going to the glue factory (eight years ago....still kicking), a horse that is at least 30 years old and whose teeth have grown to such sharp points that he needs to practically be spoonfed, and a group of chickens who are in constant molt.

It took me seventy-five minutes, Sunday morning, to feed and water the animals. Everybody is on some special diet, including the goats which, cute as they are, require a bottle-feeding every morning, and the sharp-toothed horse that has a specialty gruel that needs to be prepared twelve hours in advance. All three dogs have different meals/portions and cannot eat together. The chickens need to be let out, but the goats will eat their chicken food (which makes them sick) so there is a tight schedule of who goes where. There are two kinds of hay and six different garbage cans of grain for the donkey, pony, and three horses. Nobody, I mean nobody, in that group has the same meal requirements. Do you know how many combinations there are in those 6 cans? It's mind boggling. I'm still not sure how many cats she has....my current thinking is that there are three semi-domesticated cats (I had to make sure they were in at night by "shaking this bag of treats on the porch") and some number of 'barn cats' that may or may not make an appearance on any given day.

As crazy as I think she is (and she is, mark my words) I have to say I was quite touched when I stepped out of the back gate and into the meadow that leads to the horse corrals and hay barn. There is a path, no wider than 8 inches across, that is completely worn down to hard-packed dirt, that is the result of her daily (twice daily, minimum) treks to take care of her animals. She's been doing this for 35 years, in that same spot, and that path is like the evidence of her spirit, of who she is. She's retired now, and I know it gives her great joy to care for her animals, to tend to her farming chores. But, it was the same committment when she was raising three young children herself, and when she worked 70 hours a week as a small business owner...every day, and every night, rain or shine, sick or healthy, she made that trek. It sort of takes my breath away.

In order to recover from THE HORSE MENU, which took ten years off my life, I swear, I spent some time in the gardens. My mom has the most beautiful gardens. My dad makes them...the bones of them...and he is brilliant at making the perfect paths that lead to the sweetest little gates. You have to go through a half dozen precious gates and split-rail fences to get into the vegetable garden, and it just delights me to no end. My mom has the green-thumb, though, and there is every kind of garden you can imagine...fruit trees, veggie beds, a shade garden, a moss-and-fairy rock garden, a succulent and cactus patch, roses and wild flowers....it never ends. She weeds them all by hand, and, it seems, tirelessly moves dirt, rocks, and pots to ever-evolving locations.

I've been doing a ton of work in our back yard (again), and spending time this weekend here in their world was just the inspiration I needed to get over the hurdle to the last big push!

Edited to Add: I talked to my mom on the phone, and she told me that my dad said she could get a miniature horse. You have got to be kidding me. Shoot me now.