And this month, Darcy's the Student of the Month for her class! Yay Darcy Jo! Darcy's school does a great job of acknowledging student achievement and each month, all the teachers choose one of their students as Student of the Month for their class. At the monthly assembly, the principal calls them up one at a time, puts her arm around them, and reads what their teachers wrote about them in the nomination.
This is what Darcy's teacher wrote about her:
"Darcy's enthusiasm and energy make her a force to be reckoned with in kindergarten and everywhere else she goes! Darcy is a curious, creative learner always full of questions and the desire to know more. Darcy already reads first grade books with fluency, accuracy and wonderful expression. She is a focused student who can block out anything when she is concentrating on a task. Watch out world, Darcy is on her way, and nothing is going to stop this girl!"
Earlier in the week, I got an even bigger (in my mind) compliment. I was waiting with Darcy at her school for their PTO-sponsored December Gift Shop to open. A teacher I didn't recognize came over and introduced herself as one of the special education teachers and told me that she wanted to let me know that Darcy is always welcoming and friendly and inclusive to her special ed students. She was so sweet and told me how much she appreciates students who treat her kids as they do everyone else and that Darcy really stands out in this regard. Go Darcy Jo! Michael was bursting with so much pride over this report that he broke the no-dessert-on-school-nights rule and busted out a special dessert for her.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
The End Of Another NaBloPoMo
Ah, sweet, sweet November 30th. Last year, you may recall that I had a clever way to end NaBloPoMo. This year, I'm not sure that I can be that clever again. And I still have no photos, so I'm breaking the promise to include at least one more before the end of this whole month of blogging.
The best inspiration I can find for tonight comes in two parts from my friend Karla. She revealed today that instead of doing NaBloPoMo, she participated in the much more serious NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month, the goal of which is to pen 50,000 words of a novel in 30 days. She hit 50,700 this afternoon, so she won! Many congrats to Karla. I considered doing it last year and maybe this will give me the courage to try next year.
The nice thing about NaBloPoMo is that after the last post on November 30th, it's over. It's a complete cycle. I think there's slightly less of that with NaNoWriMo because it's unlikely that participants have penned a fully realized novel, so there's still work to be done, even if you're allowed to set it aside for months at a time instead of mere hours.
Karla posted a link today as well. It was to an NPR story about tiny paper sculptures that have appeared around Edinburgh over the past year. They are truly exquisitely made and as mysterious as they are lovely. NPR provides a link to a more comprehensive version of the story, with many, many more photos of all ten of the sculptures. There's a point to pointing you towards these stories beyond the fact that the artistry and sentiments embodied by these paper sculptures are worth looking at on their own.
When the last sculpture was left, anonymously as they all had been, there was also a longer note. It was written cryptically, but the first stanza (?) read:
"It's important that a story is not too long...does not become tedious....
"You need to know when to end a story," she thought.
Some of you might think it would be great if I kept blogging Every Day, but it would get tedious. Our lives are interesting, but not that interesting!
The best inspiration I can find for tonight comes in two parts from my friend Karla. She revealed today that instead of doing NaBloPoMo, she participated in the much more serious NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month, the goal of which is to pen 50,000 words of a novel in 30 days. She hit 50,700 this afternoon, so she won! Many congrats to Karla. I considered doing it last year and maybe this will give me the courage to try next year.
The nice thing about NaBloPoMo is that after the last post on November 30th, it's over. It's a complete cycle. I think there's slightly less of that with NaNoWriMo because it's unlikely that participants have penned a fully realized novel, so there's still work to be done, even if you're allowed to set it aside for months at a time instead of mere hours.
Karla posted a link today as well. It was to an NPR story about tiny paper sculptures that have appeared around Edinburgh over the past year. They are truly exquisitely made and as mysterious as they are lovely. NPR provides a link to a more comprehensive version of the story, with many, many more photos of all ten of the sculptures. There's a point to pointing you towards these stories beyond the fact that the artistry and sentiments embodied by these paper sculptures are worth looking at on their own.
When the last sculpture was left, anonymously as they all had been, there was also a longer note. It was written cryptically, but the first stanza (?) read:
"It's important that a story is not too long...does not become tedious....
"You need to know when to end a story," she thought.
Some of you might think it would be great if I kept blogging Every Day, but it would get tedious. Our lives are interesting, but not that interesting!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
The Interview
Michael Thomas Glore arrived just a few minutes late for our interview, looking devilishly handsome in his two-day stubble. He appeared slightly worn-out from working his day job, from which he hopes to retire when he hits the entertainment big-time. He accepted a beer when I offered drinks and we got right to the interview.
Glores Around The Parks: You've recently been cast as Willy Wonka in the Lighthouse Repertory Theater's production. How does it feel to be thrust into such an important role on such a large stage at this point in your acting career?
Does that answer your question?
GATP: Maybe. But let's move on. I didn't realize that you'd been in the "biz" for so long or with so many accomplishments under your belt. Could you talk—briefly—about your earliest experiences in musical theater?
MTG: Time is so relative. And does it even matter, really? It's actually kinda discriminatory and rude, isn't it? I don't ask you how old you are. And even if I did, I wouldn't judge you or make generalizations about your oldness. I'm sure other, less sensitive people might (bigots), but I never would. Anyhow, I would never ask an actor how long he (or SHE--see how important equal rights is to me? I don't even see gender. You know what I think about God? I believe SHE is great...)--anyhow, I'd never ask about length of time in the biz. It's just inappropriate, A, and kinda shows a little bit of inexperience on your part. But I won't judge you. I am a little embarrassed for you though.
GATP: I appreciate your candor, but I wasn't trying to be rude. I'm asking the questions the people want asked. They want to know all about you. Where you've been, what you've done, what has brought you to the stage.
MTG: Fine, fine. Let's see, earliest experiences in musical theater...
I'd have to say the first musical I ever tried out for was pretty
memorable. [chuckles] I basically auditioned for every part! Hard to
believe now, I know, but I'm not one of those cocky Hollywood types. So,
imagine my surprise when I got the lead role! Looking back, it probably
wasn't a surprise to everyone. After the audition, every one kept
coming up to me, saying things like, "You're the best," or "I got into
acting because of you," or "You're the best actor since Marlon Brando." I
think someone else told me I was "better than Shakespeare."
GATP: As a playwright??
MTG: Anyhow, I don't put much stock into those sorts of things but at the time, it did have a big impact on me. Totally memorable. I remember about a week after the cast was announced, we had our first read-through at the theater. Basically, no one had even heard of me then (unlike now, of course!). Anyhow, we were to meet at the theater and I walked-in with my head down, a little shy and embarrassed. I could tell that all the other actors were already there in the seats--I didn't look up, really, but it's just a sixth sense or something. I've always had that. I'm also really good at tracking in the wild; used to be a survivalist, but that's another story [chuckles], but it probably does help explain my acting "instincts." Anyhow, I start walking up the aisle and a man suddenly gets up from his seat and stands in my way. I don't look up, but I can tell by his acid-washed jeans that he's the other "big actor" that I beat out for the lead role. So, it's a bit awkward and I'm more than a little nervous. But then I hear clapping. Soft at first, but then loudly. I look up, and this man is clapping. He's looking at me with tears in his eyes, nodding his head. Soon, clapping erupts all around the theater. I look around and everyone--the whole cast--is on their feet, applauding and hollering. Anyhow, I just wanna sit down and get to my craft, so after a minute or so I smile and put my hands-up, like I'm gonna give a speech--it's clearly what they wanted. As the clapping FINALLY dies down, I'm about to open my mouth when I hear a young woman in the back yell, "You're the 'Zeus of acting!'" Then, the whole place erupted in cheers again. Anyhow, I remember that like it was yesterday... And that nickname has stuck ever since.
GATP: I'm sorry. This sounds very much like what happened YESTERDAY. Are you saying that you have no previous acting experience before you were cast as Willy Wonka? And what does the "Zeus of acting" mean, anyway?
MTG: I've been acting my whole life. And what if I was to tell you—which I'm not—that I had no previous acting experience? You're not sure what the truth is now, are you? See? It's 'cause I'm such a good actor. Maybe I've intentionally blurred the boundaries between real life and fantasy (I've done it before, if you know what I mean... Just kidding! Or am I?). But that's the heart of my ancient craft. Anyhow, I've always been acting. In my youth, I starred in One Good Cop II (limited release)...
GATP: One Good Cop II? You mean that six-minute home-video detective story you and your brothers made when you were barely a teenager?
MTG: As well as Outtakes from One Good Cop II among others. Also, there was Family Vacation to Chicago and Camping Trip in Yosemite.
As for that whole "Zeus of acting" nickname: Again, if other people wanna label me, that's fine. It's really not important to me. What do you think it means? All I know is that Zeus was a god and was really tan, and that he ruled the oceans and had a trident and was awesome at martial arts and was Ariel's dad n' stuff.
GATP: I think you have your ancient gods confused.
MTG: Whatever. Does some of that ring true about me, but with acting instead of the sea? Maybe. Probably. Some people clearly think so. But I don't have a mermaid daughter or anything. The point is, I would never label myself as such. And in my master classes, my young actors almost never hear me talk about myself. It's not about me and all my nicknames. It's about them. And the craft. And what insight I can provide into the craft based on my own truly unique experiences and stories.
GATP: I don't think I can even bear to ask about your master classes, so we'll just skip that. What do you think you'll bring to the role of Willy Wonka that will make it unique? How will you make it your own?
MTG: I'll just do what Gene Wilder did. Even Johnny Depp couldn't do that.
GATP: Wow. Ok, Mr. Zeus of acting. I guess we'll all have to wait until March to judge your success for ourselves. Best of luck in the preparations. I hope this interview has gotten a lot of this -- whatever this is -- out of your system.
And that's it, fans! You now know next to nothing about Michael Thomas Glore than you did before reading this interview. Congratulations -- this is ten or fifteen minutes of your life that you will never get back. Stay tuned for more coverage of the lead-up to Opening Night for Willy Wonka. I'll bring you up-to-date breaking stories of Michael's rise to fame and fortune as it happens.
Please. Help me escape. Take pity.
Glores Around The Parks: You've recently been cast as Willy Wonka in the Lighthouse Repertory Theater's production. How does it feel to be thrust into such an important role on such a large stage at this point in your acting career?
Michael Thomas Glore: Well,
I've gotta tell ya, A. BTW, can I call you "A?" It's
GATP: Well, I'd rather...
MTG: It's just something we
do in the "biz" to save some time. You know, we just need to really
concentrate on our art, which is to give ourselves fully to the written
word in a script; some words, like names, just really aren't as
important. I'm not saying that you're not important or worth my
or our time, but as an artist I really have to make some important
decisions for the sake of my ancient craft. I also sometimes make other
important decisions, too. Like the time when I decided to pull-over off
the highway and help deliver a baby, or when I stopped a hot chick from
being mugged. You've probably heard about those, right?
GATP: Um, no, actually. Can we get back to...
MTG: You know, that's
so embarrassing to me when that stuff gets leaked. I don't do it for
"the press." Actually, both those things have happened a lot of times,
but it's just not in my nature to boast about my many accomplishments.
I'll let you guys do that, A—the press, the paparazzi. Man, you guys are
always in my face [chuckles]. I'll let other people like you talk about
me or label me, but I'm just not into that. I don't believe in labels.
You guys can try to figure me out, but I know who I am... Anyhow, A, I
just want to focus on my craft in this interview, 'cause that's what's
really important—or should be—for you and your readers. So, I'll call
you "A" and use the word "biz," which is short for "showbiz" or "show
business," cause I just want you to understand my world. The world of
art. And acting. That's my world. Welcome.
GATP: Thanks. I think. Getting back to the LRT's production of Willy Wonka, how does it feel to be part of this community theater?
MTG: It feels great to be able to support the local theater. It's not like
it's Broadway or anything (though I've been there, BTW), but that's
what's so special about it to me. I grew-up in this environment, it's
where I mastered my craft--I guess you could call it the theater of hard
knocks. The streets. I would get in a lot of fights with other kids.
[chuckles] I don't wanna brag, I busted a few noses when I had to, but I
took some licks of my own, too. Sometimes I would get a black eye and
look like Rocky in the movies. In fact, that's what they called me for a
little while, "Rocky Balboa." It was kind of a gang name. It had double
meaning, too, cause Stallone is a good actor, too. Actually, some might
say he's one of the greatest. But I'm not a fighter anymore. I just
fought because I had to do to survive. Today, I'm much more of a
pacificist. I know people are misled when they see me on the street on
in the media. They're generally intimidated by my looks and
accomplishments. And my studded leather jacket. But what they don't know
is that I spent some time in India with the Dalai Lama, where I learned
how to be a peaceful warrior; to meditate; and, to became an expert at
martial arts. I sure I hope I never have to use the latter [chuckles]!
The point is, it may be a storm outside, but inside this fortress
[points to head], inner-peace rules.
GATP: And how does that relate to LRT?
MTG: It's great to be at LRT. It's
great to be down among the people, where I'm most comfortable. Honestly,
I don't feel right amongst all the glitz and glamour. Sometimes I'll
stare out the window of my house on a rainy day and I'll cry—a solitary
tear will roll down my stubbly cheek. Because out there—out HERE—is
where I belong. I need this. But it's not about me. It's about the
people. So, I'll play Willy Wonka since they practically begged me. I
haven't asked to be paid for it either. This isn't about the money. It's
about the art. And what's right for me. And the people.
GATP: Maybe. But let's move on. I didn't realize that you'd been in the "biz" for so long or with so many accomplishments under your belt. Could you talk—briefly—about your earliest experiences in musical theater?
MTG: Time is so relative. And does it even matter, really? It's actually kinda discriminatory and rude, isn't it? I don't ask you how old you are. And even if I did, I wouldn't judge you or make generalizations about your oldness. I'm sure other, less sensitive people might (bigots), but I never would. Anyhow, I would never ask an actor how long he (or SHE--see how important equal rights is to me? I don't even see gender. You know what I think about God? I believe SHE is great...)--anyhow, I'd never ask about length of time in the biz. It's just inappropriate, A, and kinda shows a little bit of inexperience on your part. But I won't judge you. I am a little embarrassed for you though.
GATP: I appreciate your candor, but I wasn't trying to be rude. I'm asking the questions the people want asked. They want to know all about you. Where you've been, what you've done, what has brought you to the stage.
GATP: As a playwright??
MTG: Anyhow, I don't put much stock into those sorts of things but at the time, it did have a big impact on me. Totally memorable. I remember about a week after the cast was announced, we had our first read-through at the theater. Basically, no one had even heard of me then (unlike now, of course!). Anyhow, we were to meet at the theater and I walked-in with my head down, a little shy and embarrassed. I could tell that all the other actors were already there in the seats--I didn't look up, really, but it's just a sixth sense or something. I've always had that. I'm also really good at tracking in the wild; used to be a survivalist, but that's another story [chuckles], but it probably does help explain my acting "instincts." Anyhow, I start walking up the aisle and a man suddenly gets up from his seat and stands in my way. I don't look up, but I can tell by his acid-washed jeans that he's the other "big actor" that I beat out for the lead role. So, it's a bit awkward and I'm more than a little nervous. But then I hear clapping. Soft at first, but then loudly. I look up, and this man is clapping. He's looking at me with tears in his eyes, nodding his head. Soon, clapping erupts all around the theater. I look around and everyone--the whole cast--is on their feet, applauding and hollering. Anyhow, I just wanna sit down and get to my craft, so after a minute or so I smile and put my hands-up, like I'm gonna give a speech--it's clearly what they wanted. As the clapping FINALLY dies down, I'm about to open my mouth when I hear a young woman in the back yell, "You're the 'Zeus of acting!'" Then, the whole place erupted in cheers again. Anyhow, I remember that like it was yesterday... And that nickname has stuck ever since.
GATP: I'm sorry. This sounds very much like what happened YESTERDAY. Are you saying that you have no previous acting experience before you were cast as Willy Wonka? And what does the "Zeus of acting" mean, anyway?
MTG: I've been acting my whole life. And what if I was to tell you—which I'm not—that I had no previous acting experience? You're not sure what the truth is now, are you? See? It's 'cause I'm such a good actor. Maybe I've intentionally blurred the boundaries between real life and fantasy (I've done it before, if you know what I mean... Just kidding! Or am I?). But that's the heart of my ancient craft. Anyhow, I've always been acting. In my youth, I starred in One Good Cop II (limited release)...
GATP: One Good Cop II? You mean that six-minute home-video detective story you and your brothers made when you were barely a teenager?
MTG: As well as Outtakes from One Good Cop II among others. Also, there was Family Vacation to Chicago and Camping Trip in Yosemite.
As for that whole "Zeus of acting" nickname: Again, if other people wanna label me, that's fine. It's really not important to me. What do you think it means? All I know is that Zeus was a god and was really tan, and that he ruled the oceans and had a trident and was awesome at martial arts and was Ariel's dad n' stuff.
GATP: I think you have your ancient gods confused.
MTG: Whatever. Does some of that ring true about me, but with acting instead of the sea? Maybe. Probably. Some people clearly think so. But I don't have a mermaid daughter or anything. The point is, I would never label myself as such. And in my master classes, my young actors almost never hear me talk about myself. It's not about me and all my nicknames. It's about them. And the craft. And what insight I can provide into the craft based on my own truly unique experiences and stories.
GATP: I don't think I can even bear to ask about your master classes, so we'll just skip that. What do you think you'll bring to the role of Willy Wonka that will make it unique? How will you make it your own?
MTG: I'll just do what Gene Wilder did. Even Johnny Depp couldn't do that.
GATP: Wow. Ok, Mr. Zeus of acting. I guess we'll all have to wait until March to judge your success for ourselves. Best of luck in the preparations. I hope this interview has gotten a lot of this -- whatever this is -- out of your system.
And that's it, fans! You now know next to nothing about Michael Thomas Glore than you did before reading this interview. Congratulations -- this is ten or fifteen minutes of your life that you will never get back. Stay tuned for more coverage of the lead-up to Opening Night for Willy Wonka. I'll bring you up-to-date breaking stories of Michael's rise to fame and fortune as it happens.
Please. Help me escape. Take pity.
Exclusive Interview With The Future Willy Wonka!
That's right, fans! Thanks to my fantastic celebrity connections, Michael Glore -- soon to be Crescent City's very own Willy Wonka -- agreed to an exclusive interview with Glores Around The Parks. We'll ask all the questions you've been dying to ask yourself: Where has he been all our lives? How did he get to where he is today? How does he plan to prepare for this role of a lifetime? And just how many hours of beauty sleep does he need to look so damn good day in and day out?
All these questions and more will be asked and answered tonight as I sit down with Michael Glore for my exclusive interview. You won't see this anywhere else, so check back with Glores Around the Parks for the world's first look at this rising star!
All these questions and more will be asked and answered tonight as I sit down with Michael Glore for my exclusive interview. You won't see this anywhere else, so check back with Glores Around the Parks for the world's first look at this rising star!
Monday, November 28, 2011
When To Swim?
I promise that I will have at least one more post with pictures before NaBloPoMo ends this week. We took some pictures with a borrowed camera in Bend, but I haven't had the camera and the computer together to be able to get the photos off yet.
A few summers ago, when Darcy was almost three, we enrolled her in swimming classes in Simi Valley. They offered classes for her age, but they really didn't go well and I thought her instructor was pretty clueless about how to deal with preschoolers. Later, I actually read a little bit about swimming lessons and found that most advice on the topic says that she was too young. It kinda ticked me off that they accepted her as a student if it's not generally recommended. She didn't lose her love of water, but she gained some fears and stubbornness around learning to swim.
So I've been hesitating a bit about putting her back into swimming lessons and although I kept meaning to do it, I never actually took the steps to sign her up until quite recently. She needs to be able to swim sooner rather than later because the child has no fear of water whatsoever. She continues to try to walk right into the ocean any time she is near it.
Her first lesson was today. I was nervous about how she was going to act when it actually came time for the lesson, but she was great. She did her usual Darcy thing and talked to everyone else (mostly much older kids) who were waiting for their lessons. And she told me, "I'm going to go underwater without even being teached how!" (We'll work on those irregular past tenses some other time.)
Parents aren't allowed to stay near the pool for lessons, so I took a walk during a lovely sunset while she swam. I peeked in the window a few times and saw her laughing and talking pretty much non-stop, but also doing all the things that Josh-her-instructor told her to do. She let him help her start floating on her back and kicking on her back, both with her ears under water. She fights me if I try to do that as if I were attempting to drown her. Which is clearly not the case. All in all, I think swim lesson was a hit today and she's looking forward to Wednesday's lessons. The great thing about our pool is that sessions are just two weeks long with two lessons each week, so there's not a lot of commitment or pressure. If she likes these, we'll sign her up for another two weeks in January or February. Or March. It all depends on her level of interest and excitement.
A few summers ago, when Darcy was almost three, we enrolled her in swimming classes in Simi Valley. They offered classes for her age, but they really didn't go well and I thought her instructor was pretty clueless about how to deal with preschoolers. Later, I actually read a little bit about swimming lessons and found that most advice on the topic says that she was too young. It kinda ticked me off that they accepted her as a student if it's not generally recommended. She didn't lose her love of water, but she gained some fears and stubbornness around learning to swim.
So I've been hesitating a bit about putting her back into swimming lessons and although I kept meaning to do it, I never actually took the steps to sign her up until quite recently. She needs to be able to swim sooner rather than later because the child has no fear of water whatsoever. She continues to try to walk right into the ocean any time she is near it.
Her first lesson was today. I was nervous about how she was going to act when it actually came time for the lesson, but she was great. She did her usual Darcy thing and talked to everyone else (mostly much older kids) who were waiting for their lessons. And she told me, "I'm going to go underwater without even being teached how!" (We'll work on those irregular past tenses some other time.)
Parents aren't allowed to stay near the pool for lessons, so I took a walk during a lovely sunset while she swam. I peeked in the window a few times and saw her laughing and talking pretty much non-stop, but also doing all the things that Josh-her-instructor told her to do. She let him help her start floating on her back and kicking on her back, both with her ears under water. She fights me if I try to do that as if I were attempting to drown her. Which is clearly not the case. All in all, I think swim lesson was a hit today and she's looking forward to Wednesday's lessons. The great thing about our pool is that sessions are just two weeks long with two lessons each week, so there's not a lot of commitment or pressure. If she likes these, we'll sign her up for another two weeks in January or February. Or March. It all depends on her level of interest and excitement.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Thanksgiving In Bend
In case it hasn't been clear, we spent Thanksgiving in Bend, OR, and arrived home safe and sound a few hours ago. We didn't want to broadcast our absence too much, because you know that house-breakers spend their days reading obscure blogs to see who's out of town. We didn't want to invite them back to steal our hand-me-down chairs or Moomintroll books.
Now that we're home again, let us talk of Bend! We love Bend! How I lived forty-two years without knowing how great Bend is, I'll never know, because I feel very at home there. We went with a family of friends, so Darcy had a play mate and we could all take turns with child-wrangling. Thursday, we had a more or less traditional Thanksgiving meal with our friends from Crescent City and our friend Kathy who worked with us in Katmai and is now living in Bend. Michael and I got a date night on Friday and spent it in downtown Bend eating lovely Thai food, browsing used bookstores, and previewing a few stores for after Buy Nothing Day was over. We decided that buying our meal couldn't count -- it was date night!
Michael and our friends all skied on Saturday. Bend -- amazing Bend -- has a drop-off play center/day care, so for twenty bucks each, Darcy and H played in an indoor play ground for almost four hours. This was because two kids and a baby was more than I was willing to take on by myself. I know that many, many people do it all the time, but there is a reason Darcy is an only child. They had a great time, the skiers had a great time, and once two of the skiers came back, I got to wander downtown and do a little Christmas shopping at the local toy store and an Etsy collective store. Fun!
Today, in order to wear out the small beasts for the drive back to Crescent City, we all started with a trip to Juniper Pool, the site of Darcy's summer stitches. Although it's much smaller, the indoor kids' pool was just as big a hit as the outdoor one was. We splashed around for over an hour, with a few adult trips to the hot tub and steam room (my first -- it was insane! I felt like a boiled lobster). And the ploy worked. Darcy stayed awake and apparently very hungry while we went back and cleaned out the last of the rental house and went to a fun pizza place that lets kids make their own pizza. It was very cute. They brought the stretched dough over to the table on a peel with bowls of sauce, cheese, and the kalamata olives Darcy requested for her topping. She put it all together and then we sat at the "pizza bar" so she could watch them put it into the wood-burning oven.
Ten minutes into the drive home, she was sound asleep. So was I, for that matter. It turns out that three children, five and under, in one house leads to less-than-wonderful sleep for everyone. Darcy slept for half the ride home, which was perfect.
Now we're all gearing up for a totally insane week. Darcy is taking swim lessons two days a week for the next two weeks. Her first is tomorrow. Tomorrow night, Michael has a read through for Willy Wonka! Tuesday is Food Council for me in the evening. Thursday, we're going to do some sort of complicated switch-off with Darcy in Orick in order for Michael to teach a training there during the day and for me to be able to make an evening meeting of the Humboldt Food Policy Council. Whew! We'll be all tuckered out for the weekend just in time for a birthday party Saturday and a bead party on Sunday.
Life doesn't stop.
Now that we're home again, let us talk of Bend! We love Bend! How I lived forty-two years without knowing how great Bend is, I'll never know, because I feel very at home there. We went with a family of friends, so Darcy had a play mate and we could all take turns with child-wrangling. Thursday, we had a more or less traditional Thanksgiving meal with our friends from Crescent City and our friend Kathy who worked with us in Katmai and is now living in Bend. Michael and I got a date night on Friday and spent it in downtown Bend eating lovely Thai food, browsing used bookstores, and previewing a few stores for after Buy Nothing Day was over. We decided that buying our meal couldn't count -- it was date night!
Michael and our friends all skied on Saturday. Bend -- amazing Bend -- has a drop-off play center/day care, so for twenty bucks each, Darcy and H played in an indoor play ground for almost four hours. This was because two kids and a baby was more than I was willing to take on by myself. I know that many, many people do it all the time, but there is a reason Darcy is an only child. They had a great time, the skiers had a great time, and once two of the skiers came back, I got to wander downtown and do a little Christmas shopping at the local toy store and an Etsy collective store. Fun!
Today, in order to wear out the small beasts for the drive back to Crescent City, we all started with a trip to Juniper Pool, the site of Darcy's summer stitches. Although it's much smaller, the indoor kids' pool was just as big a hit as the outdoor one was. We splashed around for over an hour, with a few adult trips to the hot tub and steam room (my first -- it was insane! I felt like a boiled lobster). And the ploy worked. Darcy stayed awake and apparently very hungry while we went back and cleaned out the last of the rental house and went to a fun pizza place that lets kids make their own pizza. It was very cute. They brought the stretched dough over to the table on a peel with bowls of sauce, cheese, and the kalamata olives Darcy requested for her topping. She put it all together and then we sat at the "pizza bar" so she could watch them put it into the wood-burning oven.
Ten minutes into the drive home, she was sound asleep. So was I, for that matter. It turns out that three children, five and under, in one house leads to less-than-wonderful sleep for everyone. Darcy slept for half the ride home, which was perfect.
Now we're all gearing up for a totally insane week. Darcy is taking swim lessons two days a week for the next two weeks. Her first is tomorrow. Tomorrow night, Michael has a read through for Willy Wonka! Tuesday is Food Council for me in the evening. Thursday, we're going to do some sort of complicated switch-off with Darcy in Orick in order for Michael to teach a training there during the day and for me to be able to make an evening meeting of the Humboldt Food Policy Council. Whew! We'll be all tuckered out for the weekend just in time for a birthday party Saturday and a bead party on Sunday.
Life doesn't stop.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Too Tired To Really Blog
Having three children in a single house is chaotic and does not lead to good nights of sleep. If one wakes up, the others stir, too, and therefore, so do their parents.
I should have blogged earlier in the evening to fulfill my NaBloPoMo obligations, but I didn't. It means that my brain is dead now and I can't really think of much to say. We still love Bend. We're having a great time again and finding even more great things about this town. Michael skiied this morning and loved it. I did a bit of Christmas shopping in the downtown.
That's the whole story for today.
I should have blogged earlier in the evening to fulfill my NaBloPoMo obligations, but I didn't. It means that my brain is dead now and I can't really think of much to say. We still love Bend. We're having a great time again and finding even more great things about this town. Michael skiied this morning and loved it. I did a bit of Christmas shopping in the downtown.
That's the whole story for today.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Coincidence? I Think Not!
The Moomintrolls are taking over! Just the other day, I was writing about the glorious wonders of the Moomintroll books. Tonight, after a lovely Thai meal, we browsed in a couple used bookstores to draw out our date night a bit. And there, on a few shelves of new books, were FOUR of the Moomintroll books. With accolades on the covers by Neil Gaiman of all people. One of them was one I haven't ever read, but it is Buy Nothing Day and we'd already skirted the concept by buying a meal.
Date Night!
That's really all there is today. I'm getting a night out with my sweet husband! We've had a day with kids and we'll provide daycare tomorrow night for our daycare providers tonight. I'm not sure where we're eating yet, but I'm sure it will be tasty!
It doesn't happen very often, date night, so it's exciting.
It doesn't happen very often, date night, so it's exciting.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Things I'm Thankful For
Michael has just gone to bed. I'm waiting up for friends who are having a longer drive than I think they expected. We will celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow with Crescent City friends and an old friend from King Salmon. Darcy is sound asleep. The house is warm. I'm typing this on our new computer that is, at least for now, replacing the two that were stolen last week.
I have a job. Michael has a job. We have excellent health insurance, two working vehicles, and a house that is slowly, but surely becoming the house we want it to be. Sort of.
Darcy loves school and learns something every day. When I ask her how her day was when I pick her up, she says, "Great!" When I ask what her favorite part of the day was, she says, "Everything!" She is healthy and happy. She reads and writes and counts and plays. She has a new favorite fairy and has insisted on blue clothes for three days now to honor that fairy.
We live in an incredibly beautiful place. Any day we want, we can see the Pacific Ocean and the beautiful rocky coastline. We can see the tallest trees in the world in their fern and moss world. It rains. A lot. And that's what makes the redwoods spectacular and our rivers clean and clear.
My work is busy. My hours were cut in the first real expression of the recession in our household. In 32 hours each week, I try to cram the same amount of work I used to do in 40. But every day, I do something that helps people and that lets me think about and write about food and agriculture and gardening. And in those extra eight hours I have outside of work each week, I manage to get our yard a little tamer, cook a good soup, work on our house, and just generally get a bit more living done.
I am getting to go to New York for Christmas for the first time in three years. I hope to catch up with good friends I haven't seen in too long. I will get to see my extended family. I will visit Ashokan and see in person the huge, but positive changes that have been happening since my last visit.
Michael will be Willy Wonka in March. Every day, we will watch Darcy learn more, do more, and become her own even more interesting self. I will get to help several communities figure out how they most want to improve their food system and find ways for them to achieve some of their dreams.
I have many, many reasons to be thankful. Given the current state of our national economy, just having a job, a house, and health insurance is a wonderful place to be in and we have so much more. I have a most amazing husband and a daughter who leaves me in awe at her talents. Every one of my days start and end with kisses and hugs from them. I am incredibly lucky and I am grateful.
It is now after midnight. It is the 24th day of November and of NaBloPoMo. It is also Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!
I have a job. Michael has a job. We have excellent health insurance, two working vehicles, and a house that is slowly, but surely becoming the house we want it to be. Sort of.
Darcy loves school and learns something every day. When I ask her how her day was when I pick her up, she says, "Great!" When I ask what her favorite part of the day was, she says, "Everything!" She is healthy and happy. She reads and writes and counts and plays. She has a new favorite fairy and has insisted on blue clothes for three days now to honor that fairy.
We live in an incredibly beautiful place. Any day we want, we can see the Pacific Ocean and the beautiful rocky coastline. We can see the tallest trees in the world in their fern and moss world. It rains. A lot. And that's what makes the redwoods spectacular and our rivers clean and clear.
My work is busy. My hours were cut in the first real expression of the recession in our household. In 32 hours each week, I try to cram the same amount of work I used to do in 40. But every day, I do something that helps people and that lets me think about and write about food and agriculture and gardening. And in those extra eight hours I have outside of work each week, I manage to get our yard a little tamer, cook a good soup, work on our house, and just generally get a bit more living done.
I am getting to go to New York for Christmas for the first time in three years. I hope to catch up with good friends I haven't seen in too long. I will get to see my extended family. I will visit Ashokan and see in person the huge, but positive changes that have been happening since my last visit.
Michael will be Willy Wonka in March. Every day, we will watch Darcy learn more, do more, and become her own even more interesting self. I will get to help several communities figure out how they most want to improve their food system and find ways for them to achieve some of their dreams.
I have many, many reasons to be thankful. Given the current state of our national economy, just having a job, a house, and health insurance is a wonderful place to be in and we have so much more. I have a most amazing husband and a daughter who leaves me in awe at her talents. Every one of my days start and end with kisses and hugs from them. I am incredibly lucky and I am grateful.
It is now after midnight. It is the 24th day of November and of NaBloPoMo. It is also Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!
Children's Books I Love
Yesterday's post title, In Which My Husband Has A Wish, is an homage to some of my favorite children's books. Books, quite frankly, that almost nobody seems to know about. It might be because they're Norwegian (I believe). I was introduced by my first-generation Norwegian-Australian third-grade teacher. I own very ratty copies purchased many, many years ago at the Barnes and Noble Annex for one dollar each. I know this because they both have their price stickers still on them. The list price was a buck and a quarter. I got a bargain.
What are these wonderful books? I'll let this post be a Thanksgiving treasure hunt. It's about time I had a truly interactive blog post. My blog title was in the format of the chapter titles/headings. My hint for the treasure hunt is this: "Chapter IV: In which owing to the Hattifatteners' night attack the Snork Maiden loses her hair, and in which the most remarkable discovery is made on Lonely Island."
Do you know these books from your childhood and recognize the description? Or are you just good at Googling? Either way, try to Name That Book/Those Books in the comments!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
In Which My Husband Has A Wish
It's getting near the end of NaBloPoMo and I have no pictures because of the stolen computers, etc. My pickings are slim. Last year, I could just post random cute pictures of Darcy and pretty much get away with that. The lack of access to our photos is really interfering with my blog.
Luckily, my husband has a wish, and that is clearly material for the blog.
(Of course, really, my husband has many wishes. He wishes he could have an iPhone. And an iPad. He wishes people would buy all the CDs and books he has listed on Amazon. He wishes the wind hadn't blown down a gazillion leaves and redwood needles last night after he spent time raking on Sunday morning.)
The relevant wish is that he has a goal for the Redwood National and State Parks Facebook page. He created and maintains the page as part of his job. His goal is to get 1,000 "likes" before the end of the year and he now has 971. If you have a Facebook account and you don't yet like the Redwood National and State Parks page, would you please follow the link above and like it? And if you wanted to repost or let your friends and their friends know about his wish, that would be awesome!
If you need some heart-string-tugging to make you do this: we decided last night that we need to skip presents to each other this year because of the money we'll spend replacing the stuff we had stolen in the break-in. The total loss is not enough over our deductible to make it worth having the insurance claim on the books. By liking this page, you will help me give him a gift that is free of financial burden. How great will that feel? I'm banking on pretty darn great!
Luckily, my husband has a wish, and that is clearly material for the blog.
(Of course, really, my husband has many wishes. He wishes he could have an iPhone. And an iPad. He wishes people would buy all the CDs and books he has listed on Amazon. He wishes the wind hadn't blown down a gazillion leaves and redwood needles last night after he spent time raking on Sunday morning.)
The relevant wish is that he has a goal for the Redwood National and State Parks Facebook page. He created and maintains the page as part of his job. His goal is to get 1,000 "likes" before the end of the year and he now has 971. If you have a Facebook account and you don't yet like the Redwood National and State Parks page, would you please follow the link above and like it? And if you wanted to repost or let your friends and their friends know about his wish, that would be awesome!
If you need some heart-string-tugging to make you do this: we decided last night that we need to skip presents to each other this year because of the money we'll spend replacing the stuff we had stolen in the break-in. The total loss is not enough over our deductible to make it worth having the insurance claim on the books. By liking this page, you will help me give him a gift that is free of financial burden. How great will that feel? I'm banking on pretty darn great!
Monday, November 21, 2011
An Unconvincing Day
I had a surprisingly unproductive day at work today. I had anticipated selecting two candidates for the VISTA positions I'm recruiting for right now. A rescheduled interview with one of my top candidates derailed that. I got a few small tasks off my desk, but the day was just so unmotivating. Gray skies. Wind. Rain. My office never really got out of the original gloom. My overhead lights buzz, so I don't use them, and the floor lamp I bought to replace them doesn't give off all that much light. Most of the year, that's just fine. But today, I felt like I was in a hibernation cave all day and got about as much done as a hibernating bear.
Now, that's probably not quite true, because I answered a lot of emails and took many calls, so it seems likely that I accomplished something over the course of the day. It just doesn't feel like it.
Tomorrow will have to be extra-special-productive to make up for it. It would be more likely if I had made a to-do list before I left today. But again, it was a very unconvincing day. I think it was really just one long twilight. With heavy rain. And wind.
Now, that's probably not quite true, because I answered a lot of emails and took many calls, so it seems likely that I accomplished something over the course of the day. It just doesn't feel like it.
Tomorrow will have to be extra-special-productive to make up for it. It would be more likely if I had made a to-do list before I left today. But again, it was a very unconvincing day. I think it was really just one long twilight. With heavy rain. And wind.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Dog Rehab
This summer, Darcy had a somewhat traumatic interaction with a dog named Gus. Darcy met Gus when he ran into a room where she was along. Gus, who outweighs Darcy by probably a couple dozen pounds at least, ran right at her to say hi. She ran and jumped on the couch to get away from him. He jumped up next to her. To say hi. And as I got into the room to intervene, Darcy was climbing off the couch and onto the end table in an attempt to escape Gus. She was truly terrified. I'm not sure I've ever seen her so scared, even though Gus was most definitely not trying to scare her. He just wanted to say hi. Up close. And personal. With a wet tongue and drool.
We were bummed out because she avoided dogs like the plague for quite a while after that incident. It took a lazy old lab to help get her warmed up to dogs again. Recently, it's been clear that the fear is gone, but there is still a bit of hesitation about actually touching dogs.
Our park friends came by today for brunch and brought poor cooped-up Gus to play in our yard. This is a different Gus, considerably smaller and less interested in saying hi unless he's saying it to a ball or frisbee. Darcy was quite fond of Gus and did eventually pet him. Here, though, she was just insisting on getting her picture taken NEAR him:
The picture was taken with an iPhone and emailed to me because, of course, our camera was stolen, so the quality is not the greatest. But you can see our gorgeous sunny day with my proud girl interacting with a dog. It was a great visit and it will be very nice to have Gus and his person living in California, even if they'll still be 8 or 9 hours away.
We were bummed out because she avoided dogs like the plague for quite a while after that incident. It took a lazy old lab to help get her warmed up to dogs again. Recently, it's been clear that the fear is gone, but there is still a bit of hesitation about actually touching dogs.
Our park friends came by today for brunch and brought poor cooped-up Gus to play in our yard. This is a different Gus, considerably smaller and less interested in saying hi unless he's saying it to a ball or frisbee. Darcy was quite fond of Gus and did eventually pet him. Here, though, she was just insisting on getting her picture taken NEAR him:
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Park Friends
We're all just back from a wonderful dinner with friends. The talk was all national parks and Alaska with the current Chief of Interpretation at Katmai National Park and the just-about-to-start Chief of Interpretation at Pinnacles National Monument. They hadn't seen Darcy in a couple years, so her chatter amused us in between stories of dream parks and former coworkers. It was a great evening.
Pinnacles is not exactly the most-well-known park out there. We passed a sign for the western entrance about a year ago on our way to Simi Valley for Christmas. I looked it up and was entranced. The name-sake pinnacles are part of an ancient volcano that formed on one of the many, many faults in California. Over time (lots of time), half of the volcano stayed where it was born and the other half traveled north with the fault line about 600 miles to its current location in central California (if I'm remembering correctly from my research a year ago). That is pretty darn cool if you ask me!
I know that an awful lot of my blog readers are already big fans (or employees) of the national parks, but seriously, if you're not already, you should start reading. Our national parks protect some of the most incredibly beautiful and truly awesome places. They are everyone's backyard and should be on everyone's bucket lists.
Pinnacles is not exactly the most-well-known park out there. We passed a sign for the western entrance about a year ago on our way to Simi Valley for Christmas. I looked it up and was entranced. The name-sake pinnacles are part of an ancient volcano that formed on one of the many, many faults in California. Over time (lots of time), half of the volcano stayed where it was born and the other half traveled north with the fault line about 600 miles to its current location in central California (if I'm remembering correctly from my research a year ago). That is pretty darn cool if you ask me!
I know that an awful lot of my blog readers are already big fans (or employees) of the national parks, but seriously, if you're not already, you should start reading. Our national parks protect some of the most incredibly beautiful and truly awesome places. They are everyone's backyard and should be on everyone's bucket lists.
Friday, November 18, 2011
The Roads Less Taken
I don't know about you, but I really hate driving the same exact route both coming and going to a destination, even a local destination, like from home to work and back each day. For someone with this particular pet peeve, I live in a brutal place. Only two paved roads go in and out of our county, one north-south along the coast and the other, north-east away from the Ocean into Oregon. For most other towns we go to, there IS only one route to choose from.
The one exception is when I head south to Arcata or Eureka. Southbound, there's a great scenic by-pass that winds through old-growth redwoods AND saves gas because it's significantly flatter than the highway. I take that most of the time, even sometimes in both directions. But recently, it's been unavailable because of this:
There was a massive tree-fall across the by-pass several weeks ago. This picture comes from the Redwood National and State Parks Facebook page. I've been reduced to stealing photos because of the whole business of the computers in the hands of thieves and the hard drive in the hands of the sheriff. It's annoying.
I have to admit that I'm ok with the trees having fallen -- even though a couple of them were massive old beauties -- because it's a natural process that occurs to trees. It's not as if someone cut them down. But I was definitely not ok with having my alternative driving route taken away for weeks. It's almost ready for action now, after massive efforts to remove the enormous amount of biomass these trees hold. You can watch them on this YouTube video, also courtesy of the amazing media specialist Park Ranger at Redwood National and State Parks.
And you? What are some of your favorite drives?
The one exception is when I head south to Arcata or Eureka. Southbound, there's a great scenic by-pass that winds through old-growth redwoods AND saves gas because it's significantly flatter than the highway. I take that most of the time, even sometimes in both directions. But recently, it's been unavailable because of this:
I have to admit that I'm ok with the trees having fallen -- even though a couple of them were massive old beauties -- because it's a natural process that occurs to trees. It's not as if someone cut them down. But I was definitely not ok with having my alternative driving route taken away for weeks. It's almost ready for action now, after massive efforts to remove the enormous amount of biomass these trees hold. You can watch them on this YouTube video, also courtesy of the amazing media specialist Park Ranger at Redwood National and State Parks.
And you? What are some of your favorite drives?
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Shattered Glass Flies
The glass in our door was some special kind of safety glass (I guess) and shattered into a gazillion teeny-tiny pieces when the f&%*ers who broke into our house yesterday smashed it. And those gazillion teeny-tiny pieces went everywhere. Four rooms had glass shards to be swept and vacuumed up. They made it onto the desk on the opposite side of the room from the door. They were all over our washer and dryer, and even a few inside the washer lid.
And then there's the metaphorical glass shards. It's amazing how so much is affected even though so few things were taken. I have gone through a variety of emotions since walking up to the house to see the smashed window. My first reaction was a series of loud expletives and anger. My second, on seeing that a light was on in the guest room, was a momentary fear that someone could still be in the house. My third, while on the phone with the dispatcher two minutes later, was sadness at knowing that I was going to have to walk through the house once the sherriff arrived and see what else had been taken. There might have been a few tears.
As the sherriff observed, however, I am a glass-half-full kind of person, so I am back to that comforting sense of knowing that it is just STUFF. We might lose some photos that hadn't been backed up to the external hard drives. But the computers themselves and all their power cords and cables can be replaced. Our power drill can be replaced. The change bowl will fill back up as we empty our pockets over the next few months.
It won't be pleasant financially. It's not like we have piles of money sitting around waiting to buy new computers. I mean, we DID have one pile of money sitting nicely in a bowl, but the f*&%ers took that, too.
The day did end well, however. Michael went to a call-back for a community production of Willy Wonka at 6:30 and went straight to his office afterwards to work on changing account passwords and finding specifications of our stolen stuff to give to the sherriff's office and our insurance agent. He called from his office around 11 to say that the cast list had been posted and, despite never having been in a play before, he is going to be Willy Wonka! He's going to be GREAT, but it will be a lot of work from now until March.
Today, we are taking turns being home so that the house isn't empty. I'm at work and I'm hoping to pick up a borrowed laptop on my way home later this afternoon and then we'll have internet, but still no land-line phone, at the house.
And then there's the metaphorical glass shards. It's amazing how so much is affected even though so few things were taken. I have gone through a variety of emotions since walking up to the house to see the smashed window. My first reaction was a series of loud expletives and anger. My second, on seeing that a light was on in the guest room, was a momentary fear that someone could still be in the house. My third, while on the phone with the dispatcher two minutes later, was sadness at knowing that I was going to have to walk through the house once the sherriff arrived and see what else had been taken. There might have been a few tears.
As the sherriff observed, however, I am a glass-half-full kind of person, so I am back to that comforting sense of knowing that it is just STUFF. We might lose some photos that hadn't been backed up to the external hard drives. But the computers themselves and all their power cords and cables can be replaced. Our power drill can be replaced. The change bowl will fill back up as we empty our pockets over the next few months.
It won't be pleasant financially. It's not like we have piles of money sitting around waiting to buy new computers. I mean, we DID have one pile of money sitting nicely in a bowl, but the f*&%ers took that, too.
The day did end well, however. Michael went to a call-back for a community production of Willy Wonka at 6:30 and went straight to his office afterwards to work on changing account passwords and finding specifications of our stolen stuff to give to the sherriff's office and our insurance agent. He called from his office around 11 to say that the cast list had been posted and, despite never having been in a play before, he is going to be Willy Wonka! He's going to be GREAT, but it will be a lot of work from now until March.
Today, we are taking turns being home so that the house isn't empty. I'm at work and I'm hoping to pick up a borrowed laptop on my way home later this afternoon and then we'll have internet, but still no land-line phone, at the house.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Parents, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Meth-Heads
Crescent City has had a major crime spree recently, with dozens of break-ins over the past two weeks. The fingers are always pointed at our out-of-control meth addiction in the community and addicts' need for money for their next fix. Our neighbor, Michael's supervisor, lives around the corner from us and was broken into last week.
Today, I came home from work shortly before two to find the window in our door was smashed. I probably interupted the burglar, as our other door was wide open and our external hard drive, wireless router, and other things were completely unplugged and disconnected, but still on the floor.
We have no home computer as of now because they stole both laptops, and no internet anyway until the sherriff's department returns our router after finger-printing it.
This sucks, but I wasn't willing to let it stop me from blogging.
I'm using the Family Resource Center's computer to update you here. The idiots stole our phone base (but not the phone), so we have no land-line right now. Family, you'll have to use my cell phone for the time being. We will only be able to check email at work for now as well.
Today, I came home from work shortly before two to find the window in our door was smashed. I probably interupted the burglar, as our other door was wide open and our external hard drive, wireless router, and other things were completely unplugged and disconnected, but still on the floor.
We have no home computer as of now because they stole both laptops, and no internet anyway until the sherriff's department returns our router after finger-printing it.
This sucks, but I wasn't willing to let it stop me from blogging.
I'm using the Family Resource Center's computer to update you here. The idiots stole our phone base (but not the phone), so we have no land-line right now. Family, you'll have to use my cell phone for the time being. We will only be able to check email at work for now as well.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Darcy's Party
Happy birthday, Darcy! Fairy-party style:
Monday, November 14, 2011
The Darcy-Fruit Paradox
Birthday pictures will come tomorrow. Today, enjoy my fascination with my child's love-hate of fruit.
My child does not eat fruit. We sneak some into her with an occasional 100% juice serving, but she mostly spurns that, so her daily fruit consumption comes in the form of Trader Joe's freeze dried bananas. It's the only thing that resembles fresh fruit that enters her body. When asked, she will tell you -- and that IS a universal you because she is not shy with this information -- that it's "too juicy". When her beloved Miss A brought grapes for the weekly nutrition-in-the-garden activity, Darcy was the only student out of 900 Miss A sees every week who refused to taste it. Too juicy.
Despite this stubborn refusal to eat fruit, Darcy likes to play with pretend fruit (she has Melissa and Doug's wooden fruit that can be "cut" for a fruit salad because the pieces are velcroed together) and has long-term jokes/stories about fruit. For the longest time, she would talk about "mam fruit", always with a giggle, and when we moved to this house, she decreed that the dogwood fruits (ripe this time of year, about golf-ball sized, and red) are mam fruit. So she's really excited now because she just noticed that some of the mam fruit are ripe.
It took us months to figure out where she had come up with this term. One day, we were watching Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends and she said, "This is the one with the mam fruit!!" That perked me up and I watched carefully. In this particular episode, a firefly loses his glasses and while he's looking for them, he bumps into a fruit and says, "Oh! Excuse me, ma'am, have you seen my glasses?" Thus is born the mam fruit.
So it should not have surprised us when she created the lemange this weekend. A lemange is half lemon/half orange and it easily created when you own the Melissa and Doug fruit set described above. When I asked about the flavoring for her birthday cupcakes, she asked for lemange-flavored cupcakes and that's what she got, thanks to the miracle of lemon juice and orange extract. But the best part about this is that shortly after deciding on the name for this new creation, Darcy sat down with her paper and coloring supplies at her small table. When she was done, she came and showed us this paper:
I love that she can write. In sentences. With the correct spelling. And punctuation. And I love her imagination. I would love it even more if she could imagine herself EATING SOME FRESH FRUIT juice and all.
My child does not eat fruit. We sneak some into her with an occasional 100% juice serving, but she mostly spurns that, so her daily fruit consumption comes in the form of Trader Joe's freeze dried bananas. It's the only thing that resembles fresh fruit that enters her body. When asked, she will tell you -- and that IS a universal you because she is not shy with this information -- that it's "too juicy". When her beloved Miss A brought grapes for the weekly nutrition-in-the-garden activity, Darcy was the only student out of 900 Miss A sees every week who refused to taste it. Too juicy.
Despite this stubborn refusal to eat fruit, Darcy likes to play with pretend fruit (she has Melissa and Doug's wooden fruit that can be "cut" for a fruit salad because the pieces are velcroed together) and has long-term jokes/stories about fruit. For the longest time, she would talk about "mam fruit", always with a giggle, and when we moved to this house, she decreed that the dogwood fruits (ripe this time of year, about golf-ball sized, and red) are mam fruit. So she's really excited now because she just noticed that some of the mam fruit are ripe.
It took us months to figure out where she had come up with this term. One day, we were watching Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends and she said, "This is the one with the mam fruit!!" That perked me up and I watched carefully. In this particular episode, a firefly loses his glasses and while he's looking for them, he bumps into a fruit and says, "Oh! Excuse me, ma'am, have you seen my glasses?" Thus is born the mam fruit.
So it should not have surprised us when she created the lemange this weekend. A lemange is half lemon/half orange and it easily created when you own the Melissa and Doug fruit set described above. When I asked about the flavoring for her birthday cupcakes, she asked for lemange-flavored cupcakes and that's what she got, thanks to the miracle of lemon juice and orange extract. But the best part about this is that shortly after deciding on the name for this new creation, Darcy sat down with her paper and coloring supplies at her small table. When she was done, she came and showed us this paper:
I love that she can write. In sentences. With the correct spelling. And punctuation. And I love her imagination. I would love it even more if she could imagine herself EATING SOME FRESH FRUIT juice and all.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Happy Birthday, Darcy Jo!
On this very day five years ago, our Darcy Jo came into the world awake, alert, and ready to kick.
And after initially expending much energy with an alert first fifteen minutes, she then proceeded to sleep.
She slept as she was bundled into her carseat to go home. Believe it or not, the hedgehog outfit was a neonate size -- still way too big!
She slept bundled up as a baby burrito. Until she was a couple weeks old, when the swaddling started to interfere with the kicking. Then, no more baby burrito.
She slept while being held. No surprise, that was her favorite way of sleeping.
The After Picture.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Apparently, I Need To Get Cranky More Often
That's the lesson I'm taking from my previous post. I threatened crankiness and I got comments! Keep 'em coming, because otherwise I'm left to seek out pageview stats for positive reinforcement -- in other words, more comments = more frequent posts after NaBloPoMo is done. There aren't enough comments in the world that will make November posts more frequent than they already are. Just so you know.
I actually had to go look at the date stamp on my last post because I had a sudden panic that I'd skipped a day. This is a way of saying that today has been a Very Long Day. Tomorrow is our girl's birthday. She will be five. She has told this to everyone she has seen today. Some of them have heard it multiple times. There might be a little excitement over this event.
Just about exactly five years ago right now (adjusting for the time difference) we were packing up our stuff at the birthing center after my midwife decided that we needed to move to the hospital. My job was to stay in labor indoors until Michael and my M-I-L Betty had moved everything to the car and gotten it warmed up. It was Anchorage in mid-November and it was below zero heading to 30 below for Darcy's birth.
I had recently gotten my diploma for my PhD completed several months earlier, and on the way out to the car, Betty asked Michael, "When we get to the hospital, will they call her doctor?" He stared at her blankly. He asked her why on earth they would do that. People were tired. There was some misunderstanding. It was cold. And I had been having regular contractions for about 15 hours at this point. Michael got very frustrated trying to figure out why his mother thought the hospital knew or cared that I had just finished my doctorate and why they would be that formal anyway. And Betty, although she has never said so in the many recollections of this story, probably thought her son was being kinda bone-headed for not realizing that she was inquired about an OB. As it happens, my midwives all had full privileges at the hospital, so there was no doctor involved. It's one of their favorite stories about the day before Darcy was born.
Mine might be that my midwife spent quite a lot of time teaching Betty the joys of sodoku after learning that she had never tried them. After checking in with me at our temporary housing, she went home to feed her family breakfast and returned with several books of sodoku. I wasn't all that important after that.
Check in tomorrow for The After Picture.
I actually had to go look at the date stamp on my last post because I had a sudden panic that I'd skipped a day. This is a way of saying that today has been a Very Long Day. Tomorrow is our girl's birthday. She will be five. She has told this to everyone she has seen today. Some of them have heard it multiple times. There might be a little excitement over this event.
The Before Picture
Just about exactly five years ago right now (adjusting for the time difference) we were packing up our stuff at the birthing center after my midwife decided that we needed to move to the hospital. My job was to stay in labor indoors until Michael and my M-I-L Betty had moved everything to the car and gotten it warmed up. It was Anchorage in mid-November and it was below zero heading to 30 below for Darcy's birth.
I had recently gotten my diploma for my PhD completed several months earlier, and on the way out to the car, Betty asked Michael, "When we get to the hospital, will they call her doctor?" He stared at her blankly. He asked her why on earth they would do that. People were tired. There was some misunderstanding. It was cold. And I had been having regular contractions for about 15 hours at this point. Michael got very frustrated trying to figure out why his mother thought the hospital knew or cared that I had just finished my doctorate and why they would be that formal anyway. And Betty, although she has never said so in the many recollections of this story, probably thought her son was being kinda bone-headed for not realizing that she was inquired about an OB. As it happens, my midwives all had full privileges at the hospital, so there was no doctor involved. It's one of their favorite stories about the day before Darcy was born.
Mine might be that my midwife spent quite a lot of time teaching Betty the joys of sodoku after learning that she had never tried them. After checking in with me at our temporary housing, she went home to feed her family breakfast and returned with several books of sodoku. I wasn't all that important after that.
Check in tomorrow for The After Picture.
Friday, November 11, 2011
A New Look In Honor Of NaBloPoMo!
Yes, in honor of the glories of NaBloMoPo, I decided to give our blog an update. It was feeling a little stale. I hope you like it! Feel free to tell me whether you like it or not by clicking on the comments at the bottom of the post. I'm starting to get cranky when a post has had 75 pageviews (like my embar...um, flattering of Michael did) and no comments! I allow anonymous comments! There's no excuse!
Just so you get a nice picture as well as the nice new blog look, here's a picture of Darcy that was taken as part of a photo shoot by one of our great local newspaper photographers. A local non-profit was building a set of generic photos of local kids, teens, residents, etc., to use in their publications instead of truly generic photos. Darcy was in need of a haircut. Or at least a combing. We are terrible parents.
Just so you get a nice picture as well as the nice new blog look, here's a picture of Darcy that was taken as part of a photo shoot by one of our great local newspaper photographers. A local non-profit was building a set of generic photos of local kids, teens, residents, etc., to use in their publications instead of truly generic photos. Darcy was in need of a haircut. Or at least a combing. We are terrible parents.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
My Bags: Confessions Of A Bag Hoarder
A while back, I started attacking some of my belongings that I really don't need to own anymore. We have too much stuff and while we can try not to buy a lot more, there's accumulated stuff to get rid of. I wrote about some of the shirts I got rid of here.
My bags seem like a useful collection: I try to avoid using plastic bags, so I take bags with me, but I find that my canvas bags aren't the best for grocery shopping. I have lighter-weight bags with gusseted sides that hold more and take up less space. But many of my bags hold sentimental value. They were easier to get rid of than my shirts because I had somewhere to send them. A co-worker's niece makes hand bags out of old canvas bags, so I gave them to her. Here are a few of my favorites, photographed this spring in our yard:
Mosquito Books is in the Anchorage Airport. I bought it when I went to visit Michael during his second summer at Katmai. I was trying to get a giant CostCo bag of tortilla chips to Brooks Camp without having them reduced to crumbs. I didn't have any way to carry them on the two flights from Anchorage to Brooks and bought this. The float plane crew treated it like the most delicate cargo they had and we had a great picnic with a bunch of the Interp staff. With intact chips.
We celebrated my birthday while I was in King Salmon, I won a chowder cook-off as part of Fishtival, and then I managed to cut my finger to the bone the day before I left. I then used this bag to carry two copies of the new Harry Potter around Anchorage before sending one back to Brooks Camp for Michael and taking one on the plane with my heavily-bandaged finger. It served me well.
The Warwick Valley Farmers Market bag was one of the hardest to get rid of. I was part of the large group of folks who helped get the market started, I was its treasurer for a while, and I sold my beautiful veggies there for two years. More than just a special market, the bag itself is special because my friend Barb designed the logo and helped get our original merchandise. Barb was a great graphic designer. Her specialty was children's book catalogs and many of her rejected, coverless books are now on Darcy's shelves. She loved her puppies and her orchids. She hated removing the frogs that would fall into her pool on a regular basis. When she was sick, she ate only white foods, including white beans straight from the can. Barb died after being diagnosed with leukemia. I still miss her and her blunt opinions. I still cook with her pots and think of her every time I do.
I think it will make an exceptional hand bag.
My bags seem like a useful collection: I try to avoid using plastic bags, so I take bags with me, but I find that my canvas bags aren't the best for grocery shopping. I have lighter-weight bags with gusseted sides that hold more and take up less space. But many of my bags hold sentimental value. They were easier to get rid of than my shirts because I had somewhere to send them. A co-worker's niece makes hand bags out of old canvas bags, so I gave them to her. Here are a few of my favorites, photographed this spring in our yard:
We celebrated my birthday while I was in King Salmon, I won a chowder cook-off as part of Fishtival, and then I managed to cut my finger to the bone the day before I left. I then used this bag to carry two copies of the new Harry Potter around Anchorage before sending one back to Brooks Camp for Michael and taking one on the plane with my heavily-bandaged finger. It served me well.
I think it will make an exceptional hand bag.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
It's Not All About Michael
Tonight, we went out to dinner because my husband is wonderful and I was really, really tired. Darcy fell asleep in the car on the drive home and so we were free to enjoy our evening starting at 7:35! Unheard of. And this story makes today's post NOT all about Michael, as he requested when I asked him to provide me some links for the rest of the post.
Which is all about Michael and some of the amazing things he does in his job.
Michael looks great in a park service uniform. Those of you who haven't seen him wearing the badge are missing out, but you can get a small taste of it in this post and this one (which also gives you a sense of the wonders of a desert flower display). Michael is an interpretive park ranger, so he's the kind of ranger who teaches you something and touches your heart in a program around the campfire, not the kind of ranger who pulls you over for speeding in the park. Just want to make that clear.
(And apologies to our friends who are or love law enforcement rangers: I'm not trying to say that one kind of ranger is better than the other or anything like that. Just clarifying.)
However, he has a particular specialty these days, as the park media specialist. So he tweets and Facebooks for the park, makes the park newspaper great, creates site bulletins, picnic table signs about feeding animals, and almost any other thing that could count as media. I'm pretty proud of the work he does and I thought I'd share some of it during NaBloPoMo.
First, if you want to know what's going on in Redwood National and State Parks on a day-to-day basis, you can follow him on Twitter or "like" the official Facebook page. The parks also have a YouTube channel where the "Redwood Ranger Minute" series (produced by Michael) is housed (they're video podcasts and can also be found on iTunes). He also maintains much of the park website and is working on an update now. As you can imagine, taking care of the social media for five combined parks every day can be tiring. But Michael still does more!
Recently, the interpretive staff at Redwood have been taking turns writing the "Hey Ranger" column in our local paper, the Del Norte Triplicate (formerly known as the Daily Triplicate, but now it's down to three days a week, so not very daily). Michael wrote this one and helps edit and organize the others.
He's a busy and productive man-in-uniform, despite what many Republican members of Congress want you to think about government employees. I haven't even mentioned the roadside signs, posters, event flyers, and who knows what else gets designed and produced on the giant pair of computer monitors in Michael's office. He's a all-around good guy and I just thought I'd share some of the stuff he does and doesn't talk about much. I hope you enjoy the vicarious tour of Redwood National and State Parks while admiring my man.
Which is all about Michael and some of the amazing things he does in his job.
Michael looks great in a park service uniform. Those of you who haven't seen him wearing the badge are missing out, but you can get a small taste of it in this post and this one (which also gives you a sense of the wonders of a desert flower display). Michael is an interpretive park ranger, so he's the kind of ranger who teaches you something and touches your heart in a program around the campfire, not the kind of ranger who pulls you over for speeding in the park. Just want to make that clear.
(And apologies to our friends who are or love law enforcement rangers: I'm not trying to say that one kind of ranger is better than the other or anything like that. Just clarifying.)
However, he has a particular specialty these days, as the park media specialist. So he tweets and Facebooks for the park, makes the park newspaper great, creates site bulletins, picnic table signs about feeding animals, and almost any other thing that could count as media. I'm pretty proud of the work he does and I thought I'd share some of it during NaBloPoMo.
First, if you want to know what's going on in Redwood National and State Parks on a day-to-day basis, you can follow him on Twitter or "like" the official Facebook page. The parks also have a YouTube channel where the "Redwood Ranger Minute" series (produced by Michael) is housed (they're video podcasts and can also be found on iTunes). He also maintains much of the park website and is working on an update now. As you can imagine, taking care of the social media for five combined parks every day can be tiring. But Michael still does more!
Recently, the interpretive staff at Redwood have been taking turns writing the "Hey Ranger" column in our local paper, the Del Norte Triplicate (formerly known as the Daily Triplicate, but now it's down to three days a week, so not very daily). Michael wrote this one and helps edit and organize the others.
He's a busy and productive man-in-uniform, despite what many Republican members of Congress want you to think about government employees. I haven't even mentioned the roadside signs, posters, event flyers, and who knows what else gets designed and produced on the giant pair of computer monitors in Michael's office. He's a all-around good guy and I just thought I'd share some of the stuff he does and doesn't talk about much. I hope you enjoy the vicarious tour of Redwood National and State Parks while admiring my man.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
VISTA: Exciting Work, Lousy Pay!*
Many of you know that I served as a VISTA for one year of national service. VISTA, for those who don't know their AmeriCorps acronyms by heart, stands for Volunteers In Service To America. VISTA was created in the 1960s as the domestic version of the Peace Corps and VISTA members still get a hybrid of benefits that straddle those given to Peace Corps members (non-competitive status for federal jobs, anyone?) and AmeriCorps (what? 5,500 bucks towards my student loans???).
Right now, I supervise two great VISTAs at my job and I will hopefully soon supervise a third. They work to improve our region's food system in a variety of ways, working with many different people and communities. They are part community organizer, part researcher, part grant-writer, and part a few other things, depending on the day.
This week, we are recruiting for two of these positions. They are both challenging in their own ways, but offer opportunities to make real, positive change in the world. One is located in Crescent City and will work with two community groups trying to improve food in our schools and neighborhoods. The other will be working in the upper Yurok Reservation, doing similar work, but in a different cultural and geographic setting. They will both be part of a dynamic and friendly team -- my food team!
If you work with young people -- people, for example, who have recently completed undergraduate anthropology degrees -- and are having a hard time finding a job in this economy, encourage them to consider this opportunity. VISTA is a year of service that gives back through training, real-life experience, and a small, but meaningful financial benefit.
For those who love numbers, our VISTA positions provide the VISTA living stipend of $927 a month plus a local housing stipend of $800/month. At the end of the year, members get an education award of approximately $5,500 (it's tied to the Pell Grant maximum) that can either pay off existing student loans or pay for further education.
Please spread the word! My VISTA service was an incredible experience and I highly recommend it for anyone who isn't sure what they want to do with their degree or their life.
*Really, in this economy, the pay's not all that lousy for a single person around here.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Welcome To Bend!
The house we rented in Bend for our vacation this summer was great and one of the best parts about it was the dress-up clothes. As noted in the previous post, my sister and I drove to Bend separately from Michael and the fashion plates in this photograph. When we arrived, they had been at the house for about half an hour and the girls had already found the dress-up clothes. When they noticed the car, they poured out of the house like this.
Now those of you who only met Darcy recently have not experienced her curls, so you should check out this post and this one, too, to see what her hair used to be like, especially in high humidity. Then you can click on the picture to see it in a larger format and see that this wig is virtually identical to her old hair. It's amazing. In this picture, Darcy's still wearing her trusty Mary Janes, but they spent a good amount of time for three days in plastic kitten heels, raising fears of broken ankles or worse.
When you start a vacation like this, it can only be wonderful and it was. So much so that we're going back for Thanksgiving! I suspect it will be a little chilly for the knickers-and-beads look, but the dress-up clothes will be well-used again, I'm sure!
(I know there are all kinds of warnings about showing semi-nude pix of your kids on the internet and I apologize to any of you who are either squeamish or hyper-vigilant about these things.)
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Long-Awaited: August Vacation Part 2
I noticed recently that I did a part 1 blog about our wonderful vacation with my sister and niece, but never went farther than their first full day in Crescent City! There was much more to our vacation. We had four or five days here so they could see where we live and enjoy the redwoods and the beach, but our solution to getting to take time off to visit with them AND have a vacation away was for them to join us for the first part of our vacation in Bend, Oregon.
We rented a great house on the outskirts of Bend, but not too far away from downtown and fun stuff to do. Ev and I traveled to Bend via Eugene for reasons that turned out to be not valid, but had a great visit with a friend of hers who lives just south of Eugene. Michael took the girls more or less directly to Bend. Here are pictures of their journey:
Hey! I just realized that this post actually goes with our blog title -- two National Parks in one day!
We rented a great house on the outskirts of Bend, but not too far away from downtown and fun stuff to do. Ev and I traveled to Bend via Eugene for reasons that turned out to be not valid, but had a great visit with a friend of hers who lives just south of Eugene. Michael took the girls more or less directly to Bend. Here are pictures of their journey:
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| Darcy and Liana review their Junior Ranger books at the Hiouchi Visitors Center on their way out of town. |
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| Showing off their brand-new Junior Ranger badges! |
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| They stopped at beautiful Crater Lake on the way and happened to run into our former neighbor from Mojave, Anne. They got a second Junior Ranger badge each -- in one day! |
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| Crater Lake still had plenty of snow nearby, despite the calendar claiming it was mid-August. They stopped for some snow play, of course. |
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| Michael's trip was made much more pleasant by the addition of the portable DVD player that made its way from North Carolina. More than five hours in a car is a lot for two Junior Rangers! |
Hey! I just realized that this post actually goes with our blog title -- two National Parks in one day!
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Rain: You Knew It Would Come
It is that time of year again. The weather forecasts now show much more rain than sunshine or even just plain old clouds and today was no exception. We woke up to rain, played out our day through showers and rain, and now it's raining hard.
I'm not sure what our plan for the rain will be this year. Our first winter here, we lived in a very small rental, so finding entertainment inside was very difficult. Last winter, our house was a constant construction zone. This year, the house is a little closer to complete, although Michael has some designs on our bathroom that will involve us not being able to use it for a long stretch of time. But other than that, we have space to be inside and less pressure to be painting, installing trim, etc. Darcy is fond of board games now and played hangman successfully for the first time in the car today, so there are more options of indoor activities this winter.
The real joy is that Darcy can read books by herself now. I'm waiting for her to be able to spend hours reading novels so *I* can spend hours reading novels. She's not quite there yet, but it will come as no surprise to regular readers of this blog that one of the first books she sat down and read by herself, cover to cover, was one of her Wright Brothers books.
I'm not sure what our plan for the rain will be this year. Our first winter here, we lived in a very small rental, so finding entertainment inside was very difficult. Last winter, our house was a constant construction zone. This year, the house is a little closer to complete, although Michael has some designs on our bathroom that will involve us not being able to use it for a long stretch of time. But other than that, we have space to be inside and less pressure to be painting, installing trim, etc. Darcy is fond of board games now and played hangman successfully for the first time in the car today, so there are more options of indoor activities this winter.
The real joy is that Darcy can read books by herself now. I'm waiting for her to be able to spend hours reading novels so *I* can spend hours reading novels. She's not quite there yet, but it will come as no surprise to regular readers of this blog that one of the first books she sat down and read by herself, cover to cover, was one of her Wright Brothers books.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Do You Prezi?
I think that almost sounds dirty, but it's not, I promise! Prezi is a new presentation tool that threatens PowerPoint as the be-all, end-all of meeting presentations. A really wonderful Prezi that makes the rounds of Facebook is "This Anthropology", a response to Florida's Governor Rick Scott's announcement that subjects like anthropology don't need to be taught in Florida's universities. Because, of course, anthropologists like the Glores don't do anything useful. It's well worth watching (which you do by clicking on the arrow at the bottom of the presentation when you're ready to move on).
So I've been playing with Prezi for work. I practiced by making a Prezi about our Food Day event. It's not perfect: Prezi makes it very easy to embed YouTube videos, but videos from other sources, so I had to swap out one movie. You can watch the Prezi and get a taste of the film festival we put on here. And if you'd like to watch the wonderful movie about a school bus renovation project we couldn't include in the Prezi, you can watch it here. It's only eight minutes long and it is awesome.
So, do you Prezi? If you do, you can post a link in my comments so I (and the millions who read my blog) can check it out.
(And as you may have noticed, I'm thinking that some work-y stuff mixed into the family stuff may make NaBloPoMo less stressful. Deal with it.)
So I've been playing with Prezi for work. I practiced by making a Prezi about our Food Day event. It's not perfect: Prezi makes it very easy to embed YouTube videos, but videos from other sources, so I had to swap out one movie. You can watch the Prezi and get a taste of the film festival we put on here. And if you'd like to watch the wonderful movie about a school bus renovation project we couldn't include in the Prezi, you can watch it here. It's only eight minutes long and it is awesome.
So, do you Prezi? If you do, you can post a link in my comments so I (and the millions who read my blog) can check it out.
(And as you may have noticed, I'm thinking that some work-y stuff mixed into the family stuff may make NaBloPoMo less stressful. Deal with it.)
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