April phone photos

I was going to post a bunch of pictures from my phone over the last few weeks, and looking back over them I see that it really looks like spring around here!  The last couple of weekends have been beautiful and we have taken advantage of the sun before the fog.  

I am also getting used to the new blogger template so please bear with me if anything looks funky...

We took a morning walk along the Land's End trail.  Hands down one of my favorite SF spots.  It takes my breath away every time we go there.  And Grace did an excellent job with all the stairs, which we made her walk on her own.

Grace and I stopped at the park on the way home one warm evening.  We took her soccer ball and for the first time she got really into kicking and running around with it for an extended period - she actually wanted to play soccer more than play on the playground.  She's still working on the finer points of the game or else she's going to be a great goalie.

Doesn't this picture look like those soccer portraits?  It was just random that she happened to pose for me...

About once a month Grace's school closes early or has a day off, so for the most recent early closure, we had a girls' afternoon.  The day was warm so we went over to West Portal for some browsing and birthday gift shopping, stopped for frozen yogurt (Grace picked sprinkles!), went to the library for a pile of new books, and finished off at the playground.  Grace is the best companion.  Steve met us at the playground and then we all headed home for some evening outside-sitting and bubble-blowing (The thing I dislike most about the chilly SF summers is that we don't get to enjoy long, warm summer evenings).

Some snaps of an afternoon at Ocean Beach

(False) fire alarm in the middle of swimming lessons... all the kids were so confused, concerned and cold.

Yesterday we hit Arizmendi in the Inner Sunset (yum! however, after Grace picked out her chocolate brioche I turned around and she had her hand on a huge shortbread cookie, so we had to get that too, which she then devoured in about 30 seconds before I even realized what she was up to, the little monkey) with an old friend of mine from UCSD and then walked over to the cool playground.  It's my new favorite thing to do on Saturday.  We bumped into some neighbors and then into one of Grace's favorite playmates from preschool.  Here they are sharing some crackers.  As Grace's friend put it "my body is hungry!"   

We have been playing with the photo settings on our phones, so these next two are sadly out of focus.  You can't tell, but she was actually very gentle hold Baby Emily.  Grace had just "rescued" her from a rougher toddler who also wanted to hold her, but Emily was pretty much done with all of them...oh well.  Too bad I didn't get any pictures of Grace and the other big kids parading around in costumes and dress up clothes or, a novel thought, of the adults celebrating our friend Jane's birthday!  Oh well, we're not as cute.

Reading lately

2012 has so far been a bit more hectic than planned, but perhaps this is because I've been trying to spend much of it with my nose in a book. I have a problem, but at least I admit it. I've read several notably good books and thought I should share.

Cutting For Stone. I had been eyeing this in bookstores and was thrilled to receive it for Christmas. It was reallllly good. Wonderful writing, terrific characters, and excellent story. The kind of engrossing, epic novel you need in January. The characters were complex and imperfect but you could still love them and be so aggravated at them. Sure, the very end was a wee bit predictable, but a book can be forgiven such a transgression.

The Sea Captain's Wife. Another Christmas book. This one is about the wife of a 19th century sea captain's wife (truth in advertising) who pines to go to sea with her husband, and the adventures that entail when she does. It's a great story, an intriguingly complex relationship between the husband and wife, and interesting history. It's incredible to consider what it was like to be at sea literally for years, to be separated from family and friends, and the incredible danger. A very good read.

Joy For Beginners. You guessed it - also a Christmas gift (we are book people). I must admit I was a little worried about this one. It looked like it might be too wa-wa, midlife crisis, female off to find herself. It wasn't really or if it was, it wasn't annoyingly so and I didn't notice. Anyhow, it told the story of a woman who challenges each of her friends to do something that scares them, and then each chapter describes the women's challenge. It was a really enjoyable read, and now I'm even more obsessed with rafting the Grand Canyon on day.

The Magicians. Another Christmas gift, and another hit. I didn't know anything about it, but the premise was certainly intriguing. It's about a high school student who finds himself a magician accepted to a college of magic. It seemed kind of like Narnia meets Harry Potter and then gets really dark and geared toward an adult audience. I also really liked the writing - delightfully wry. The first of two, I'm looking forward to the second book.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Not a Christmas book! There is nothing I can say that hasn't been said. So good. I avoid mysteries/suspense generally because I'm afraid if I make a habit of reading them I will read nothing else. But can't wait to read the other two.

Maisie Dobbs. Also not a Christmas book. This is the first in a series about a female detective in London following the first World War. It also has an upstairs/downstairs angle, which, since I read it at the time I was finishing season 2 of Downton Abbey, made it especially interesting. The characters and story were charming. Also, the historical aspect was really compelling.

Okay, so this post should have been "Christmas book stack". Steve and I are now reading the HeLa book (Christmas) and next up for me is the second Maisie Dobbs (not Christmas!) just as soon I finish Unfamiliar Fishes (interesting because I picked it up for the author - Sarah Vowell - without even looking to see what it was about, and it turned out to be about early white colonists in Hawaii, something I'd been thinking I should look for).

Bits of fun

A couple fun things I've been meaning to post for a while...

Which Downton Character are you?

http://www.weta.org/tv/picks/downtonabbey/quiz

First time I took it, I was Bates. Because of my mysterious past? Second time, when I changed the answers I'd been wavering on, I was Matthew Crawley. Maybe that's closer... My boss says that I apparently run a lost of masculine energy. Which one are you?

Incidentally, Steve (who has never watched the show but just insisted on taking the quiz) was Anna Smith. At least we're married if I'm Bates.

Unrelated, this made me laugh. Some of my faves:

- Parents who let their kids eat Chicken McNuggets from the garden hose

- Parents of Chuck Norris (obv)

- Mother Teresa

- Parents-to-be who will never make any of the parenting mistakes you madeParents with no fancy book learning

- Parents who didn't birth kids vaginally because they are men

- Parents who allow their kids as much contact with germs as possible in order to build up their immune system and keep their kids healthy

- Country Parents whose kids Learn Responsibility by Running Large Farm Equipment and Who Know Exactly What To Call The Chicken Hole That Eggs Come From

- Noam Chomsky

Happy Friday!

It's only fair

Given this and this, ethics probably demand that I share the following recent conversation:

Steve: We're going to go to a baseball game.

Grace: With Anthony?

Steve: Yes.

Grace: Anthony likes soccer?

Steve: Well, Anthony likes baseball. So, which team are you going to root for? Daddy likes the Dodgers and Anthony likes the Giants. Who do you want to win?

Grace: The Giants! Like Anthony!

Gratuitous photography

Before it got all spring-like (and then stopped being spring like), I finally got pictures of Grace wearing her "Christmas" dress. I had never gotten a good picture of her in it because our Christmas was so wonderfully lazy... but I figured that although it's not so Christmassy that she can't wear it now, by next winter it won't' fit. So anyway, after totally over thinking that one, I snapped a handful of my (not really anymore) baby girl being the ham that she is.

She slays me.

One spring day

On Saturday, Steve had his first day off in 26 days. Needless to say, we were all a bit excited. The latest stretch of work has been particularly intense because he has also had three out of town trips interspersed. I think I have re-confirmed the fact that he has the next two weekends off a dozen times and triple checked the calendar because I just can't quite believe it's true. Anyhow, we took advantage of the beautiful day to head down to Golden Gate park to the big playground.

It is such a cool playground. We don't go often because the first time we went it was so outrageously crowded, but I think we will be going a lot more now that Grace is bigger and tougher and the crowds haven't been so bad the last few times we've gone. She had a great time and we took a yummy picnic and just enjoyed the sun and people watching.

Here's Grace trying not to smile...

We got her.

To really make it a treat, Grace got to ride the huge, old fashioned carousel (built in 1914). She also has learned to all it a merry-go-round rather than a ring-around. A little bittersweet, that one.

Rain

There has been a lot of rain around here lately. I like rain, some of the time, kind of, especially if I can sit by a window and watch the trees blow in the wind and listen to the raindrops and sip coffee and read. I don't like it when I have to go outside, particularly if I have to carry things and go places and function.

But here's a charming little song and dance medley for a rainy day...

PS - Happy Birthday, Jess!

Eggstravaganza

We had the loveliest Easter. Grace had been so excited, more than for Christmas. We kept seeing the Easter bunny at at the mall and she would stop and watch and wave. I'm not exactly sure how she had put it all together, but she seemed to know about the Easter bunny before we had explained any of it.

Anyhow, we started the day with Easter baskets at home and a few eggs hidden around the apartment. Grace was just beside herself with excitement. Every egg was as exciting as the first, and she was gobbling chocolate before we even realized what she was doing. She kept walking around saying "I get candy and toys - I'm a lucky girl!"

After church we went to Pleasanton for brunch with the Greats and extended family. The food and company were so good. We were being lazy with the camera and didn't get any pictures of the group or of the terrific decorations. I didn't even get a picture of Grace in her real Easter dress. She wore a dress that was mine when I was here age and it looked adorable and then she got colored bubbles all over it and had to change. Oh well, maybe I will learn my lesson to take photos first. Anyway, she got have a real egg hunt - it was serious business! Elijah helped her and was so sweet and gentle with her. He's 11 but I think she could tell he was a kid and was thrilled that he paid attention to her. She also demanded quite a lot of attention from Scott and that other one, Anthony. It was in the 70s, making it so nice to sit outside. I almost tied Steve at ping pong (well almost might be a stretch, but I was wearing heels - that counts for a few extra points, right?). It was really a perfect way to celebrate Easter.

Grace crashed in the car on the way home and slept until 6:30 pm while Steve and I had a candlelit dinner of take out, a treat in itself.

Happy Easter! Alleluia!

Stand up

A few recent conversations.

Over dinner:

Steve: Grace, please talk in a quieter voice.

Grace, totally serious, to GoGo and me: Apparently, I'm not allowed to talk in a loud voice.

At Target:

Grace, gesturing at some items in the cart: I want those!

Me: We can't have them now, they're for Easter.

Grace: Is Easter coming over for dinner tonight?

Don't tell Steve

When I read this recently, it reminded me of something I had meant to write about a while ago. If you know anything about us, you know that Steve is neat (exceedingly so) and I'm not as neat (I'm not a total slob, I keep things reasonably clean, but clutter finds me and unlike someone, I don't align things such as furniture or papers on top of furniture at right angles).

So, Steve was out of town for several days in January and I had free reign, baby. I could toss the mail wherever, leave the dishes till morning, pile up the discarded clothing options on the dresser, leave my hairdryer out, and scatter books around the house willy nilly (not to mention eat cookie dough and wine for dinner). Oh, I was just living it up as a free spirit.

And then I dropped Grace off at school one day and discovered that I had, for the first time ever, forgotten to bring her lunch. It might have been because we were rushing around finding coats and shoes at the last minute, and my bag wasn't in the regular place. Turns out all that discipline of keeping things tidy and organized pays off with less chaos. Plus, the mess just made me annoyed at myself when I came home and saw it at the end of a long day, and I had so much picking up to do before a late night airport run to pick Steve up.

The moral: he's right. Again. Don't tell him.