Sunday, December 9, 2007

Mouse, Memorial & Crab Feed


We had a mouse in the house a few weeks ago! Grady woke up and made eye contact with the little guy early in the morning. That set the tone for the day and he was determined that he and Steve would "catch" the mouse (not kill it). Well, when they came home in the afternoon they had another face-to-face meeting with the little mouse and caught it by placing a bowl on top of it and sliding a flattened cereal box underneath it. They took it out to the field behind our house where Steve "launched" the mouse.

Steve and Grady were heading out of town and Grady decided to give me some sage advice. "Mom, if you see the mouse and get scared - just go into my bedroom and get my turkey feather collection and flap them in the air. The mouse will think you're a bird and mice are scared of birds, okay?" Where does he come up with this stuff?

It was a long week without the guys as they ventured down to Southern California for Thanksgiving with Steve's family. I worked most of the weekend and was under the weather. To make myself feel better, I ventured to Glass Beach in Fort Bragg for one of the lowest tides of the year (-1.8") on the Sunday following Thanksgiving. That definitely lifted my spirits. I traveled with Shona, a fellow seaglass lover and we gathered over 500 pieces each. It was a gorgeous, long day. When I returned home, I received the sad news that a childhood friend had passed away earlier that morning. I was sad to hear that, but glad he was surrounded by family.



I flew down to Southern California for the memorial of Jack Hill, who turned 40 on New Year's Day 2007. It definitely made me pause and think about slowing down, loving your friends and family more, and try to appreciate each and every day here on earth.

It was a quick trip and when I arrived home on Sunday, we went directly to the Valley Ford Crab Feed (which is an all-you-can-eat feast of crab, pasta, bread, etc.). The dessert table is fabulous too and it was a nice reminder of why I love living out here and how much I love my kidlet, friends, husband and family.



I've been making improvements to the shop lately with new shelving and moving a block of wine to the back corner of the shop for easier display. It's pretty quiet on the coast in December, but the weather has been really nice. The shop already feels infused with new life with just the minimal changes. We are in the process of buying the building the shop is in and when that closes, we look forward to doing bigger changes.

I won't be posting for a little while, but will update about all of the December happenings at the beginning of the year. Until then...take care.

Monday, December 3, 2007

Thanksgiving in SoCal

I was lucky enough to be able to take Grady down to SoCal for my favorite family holiday - Thanksgiving. It's been about 6 or 7 years since I've been with everyone for the big day and it was really special for Grady to finally share in the festivities.

After a brief stay in Paso Robles at the amazing Melody Ranch Motel (room 8) on Tuesday night, Grady and I spent about 7 hours getting to Newport Beach for a long awaited Bulldog. It was good to be there.

Turkey Day started with Dave, Cindy and the kids arriving - Grady had been REALLY looking forward to seeing Kerrigan and was very excited to finally see her. And he hardly left her alone. Until his cousin Mya arrived. After a short acclamation period, they broke out the instruments and before you knew it, they were holding hands and having dinner together. We have some cute kids in the family.


After all was said and done, Grady got to spend a laughter-filled family holiday with many of his cousins, aunt, uncles, grandparents and even his great-grandmother Bea. Next year, I hope that Tammi can join us so that we have our entire family together.

In the days following Thanksgiving, Grady got to go for a boat ride with Popo...
Had dinner with Grandma Bea, Uncle Bob, Grandma Jan & Popo and Kerrigan...
And even got to spend some time with his buddies Jack & Harry.

It was a great trip and can't wait for the next one...
Steve

Monday, November 19, 2007

Handwriting, Horses & Harmonicas

Grady can now write all of his letters from the alphabet and spell his name. As you can see, the letters are very long for "Y" and "T". He can also spell a few words like Ball, Grady and tells us the time every morning when he wakes up.

This week was filled with activities. Grady attended a birthday party for his friend Ellie. She loves horses, so he dressed up like a cowboy for her. Cowboy hat, horse necklace from mom and rubber "cowboy" boots. Yee-Haw!

We spent a day in Petaluma with my mom (Gigi) and rode Champion, the mechanical horse on Kentucky Street. This is a ritual for us when spending time in Petaluma.

This is a rather disturbing photo of Grady and his Grandma posing as Madonna and a boy-toy? We also went bowling and had a great time! Grady wants to win a trophy (aka Piston Cup) for his skill at rolling a bowling ball. The boy dreams big...



Grady is studying the artist Joseph Cornell at his preschool. He was a self-taught artist who relied mostly exclusively on found materials. He has an exhibit at SF Museum of Modern Art and we're going to take Grady there next month. Above is a picture of Grady's found objects that he converted into a window box to display his "treasures". He goes on walks with his Gigi and collects items that strike his fancy (bottle caps, feathers, broken wire, etc.) and saves them to create his art. This artist is right up his alley!

Steve gave Grady one of his Christmas presents early this year. A real harmonica. Grady had received a bunch of plastic toys from China and we had to throw them all away. He was so sad that Steve felt the need to give him a small token to help him forget about all of the other things in the trash. With Grady's love of music and his good rhythm, off we went to the Valley Ford Hotel to listen to a real, live singer/harmonica player. He invited Grady to play on one of the songs and so a very dark video clip is attached below with Grady helping out with the song "Me and Bobby McGee".





Monday, November 12, 2007

Bees, Books & Bad Behavior


Last week started off with a sick little boy and a report about his bad behavior at preschool. Apparently, still not listening to his teacher (who is a Goddess in my eyes) and spitting on other kids. Real cute. We're working on consequences with Grady and taking away any of his beloved stuffed animal dogs or horses seems to do the trick...temporarily. The terrible-twos seem to have set in late, as he's been an angel from two until present. I know this is normal, but it's hard to get used to. Let the games begin.

We went to take him to see the "Bee Movie" later in the week and it was really good. He was recently stung by a yellow jacket and really afraid of "bees". He didn't know the difference and how important bees are to the world. When he left the movie he asked Steve if he would stop killing flies. Steve did not acquiesce, but I promised Grady the killing spree at our home on flies would stop with me. When you live in the country where cows and llamas surround your house, flies can be a bit of a challenge. Wish me luck. The photo to the left is of Grady posing by dead fly...

The highlight of last week was taking Grady to get his first library card. He was so proud and only wanted to check out books that had "animals with fur" on the front covers. He is such a dog fanatic and made our book browsing really easy. Stepping into the Sebastopol Library was like stepping back in time. It reminded me so much of the library I went to as a kid. I loved going to the library and escaping for a few hours on the weekend. Since Grady loves books so much, I thought this would be a great way to take him to town to get something, without buying him some thing.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Auctions, Accordians & Acoustic Guitars

We attended the Bodega Land Trust Auction recently and bid on all sorts of savory items. This is a small town fundraising event that takes place at the Bodega Fire Hall in the next town over and where Grady attends preschool. Last year was my first year attending and there was great food, wine and bidding wars all over the place with my good friends, Jill Davidson & Linda Mahley. This year the food was not as good, I didn't drink any wine and the worthy items were scarce to bid on. I couldn't even outbid Jill on anything and that just took the fun out of it. All monies still went towards a worthy cause, but I just wasn't up for it this year. Grady hung out front with a few local characters who taught him how to play hopscotch, so all was not lost.

We went to our weekly Sunday music night at the Valley Ford Hotel (VFH) and listened to Amber Lee & the Anomalies who played a sparkly red accordian and sang soft, beautiful music. She invited Grady to play the slide whistle and a little percussion. His musical timing and rhythm is really good and I'd like to get him involved in some kind of lessons in the near future for piano, violin or guitar.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Halloween with Friends











We went to Southern California for our annual Halloween trip to the Christiansen household. It was also Kacy's birthday and we had a slumber party and stayed up until all hours of the morning. Somehow I don't recover as quickly as I did in my teens and 20's after a slumber party...hmmmm. We had a great trip, but traveling with a toddler is always challenging. By the time you check in, get through security and to the gate - you're exhausted. Grady has been quite the trooper this last month, as we've had a lot going on and he's been hanging in there. However, we have been getting reports from his school the last few weeks of attitude issues and we're working on those with a series of consequences. Wish us luck.



Grady was Scooby Dooby Doo, Jack was Young Darth Vader (I don't know the proper name) and Harry was Yoda (this was the greatest costume on him). The boys went to a neighborhood Halloween party and played games, broke a pinata and ate very creative Halloween food like hot dog mummies, peanut butter and jelly headstone sandwiches, spider deviled eggs, blood punch, etc. By the time we went trick-or-treating the kids were ready to go. The first year we went Grady didn't quite know what to do. He knocked on the first door and when they opened it up, he just walked right on in. The second year he knew what was about to happen and went from door-to-door asking "Trick or Treat" and admiring all his loot in his pumpkin basket. This year was a whole new game for him, as he ran from house-to-house yelling trick-or-treat and then running down the street and advising the pack lagging behind that "there's no light on, we're going to keep going to the next house!". The most memorable moment for me was when he went up to one door and she was handing out full-size Snickers bars. Grady turned around and said "I got a Whooooo-Hooooooo Bar Mom!" and bounced down the driveway. She asked me if he said he had to go poo? I'm not sure how it was lost in translation, but it was really funny.

Next year Grady will be in kindergarten and we'll most likely be home. I haven't had a trick-or-treater in the last six years out here on the coast. We are isolated and there are not many children, so that's why we've always gone to Kacy's house to share the day with her boys. We will miss it, but know that every year holds something new and fun for him. Depending on where we send him to school, I'm sure we will find a new Halloween tradition. Halloween is actually my favorite holiday with him - just dressing up, pretending and getting candy that he doesn't really want to eat has been great (he opted for dessert this year instead of any candy).

Friday, November 2, 2007

Tips & Ted Nugent

Well, it all started off innocently enough. We went to the Sunday night music at the Valley Ford Hotel and it was our favorite band Dgiin (pronounced "Gin"). French, funk, gypsy, folk. This band is so sweet to Grady and they let him play in between their sets. He brought his guitar and played "Cat Scratch Fever" by Ted Nugent, as well as "Beans, Beans the Musical Fruit". The band manager passed around a bucket and he made $12 in tips. His smile was infectious and was so proud.

Of note, was the fact that the band manager also pulled me aside and started tearing up and telling me what a presence Grady has and that she is in "awe of him". This made me a little uncomfortable, but she didn't stop there. She told me that he was a great inter-galactic leader and that he was going to do great things. Consequently, we kept her away from him after that! Oh, Sonoma County. Gotta love it.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Wasps, Waves & Wedding Anniversaries



We had a belated wedding anniversary celebration in Timber Cove. We rented the home of Bob & Lauri Miller (who own the Bodega Bay Surf Shack) and had a very restful two days. See www.sonomacoastretreat.com

Grady got a wasp bite on his neck/throat area the weekend before we left and had to go to Kaiser. He had two chins and a very swollen neck and tongue. Once he got started on his prescriptions the swelling went down, but they made him a little hyper! We let him run it out on Glass Beach in Fort Bragg. It was high tide, so we all ended up getting pretty wet - but found some beautiful seaglass to add to our collection. I found part of an amber glass clorox bottle. My friend told me they stopped making those in 1929!


We unplugged, unwound, played scrabble, laughed a lot, listened to music, read and relaxed. Very needed.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Phoenix, Tucson , Nogales....Oh My!

Well, I went on a two-day trip to the Salas Family Reunion in Nogales, Mexico. While living here in Sonoma County is great, traveling is kind of a pain. We left the house at 3:30 am to catch a 6:10 am flight to Phoenix. We barely made the plane and were the last people to board. Grady was a trooper and ran as fast as his little legs would take him. We landed in Phoenix, met my brother (who flew in from Ontario), rented a car and visited my aunt and grandma for lunch. We then drove down to Tucson and met up with my cousins. The following day we drove to Nogales, Mexico and attended my aunt's renewing of her vows for her 30th wedding anniversary.


It was an emotional trip, as I didn't know much of my dad's side of the family. He never taught us Spanish and, therefore, we were a little out of the loop on the ceremony and subsequent conversations. They were gracious, kind and happy to see us. Grady was a complete joy to travel with and they all loved him. He kept saying "I have so many cousins!"


My father has been estranged from his family most of his life and we didn't get the opportunity to know them. This was a great chance (after 37 years) to embark on this journey and get to know everyone. I did liken the feeling to being adopted and finding out you have this entire family you knew nothing about. They should have felt like strangers, but they didn't. They were completely accepting and I wonder why my father didn't help us to know them. As a parent now, I vow to make sure Grady knows all of his family. In the end, that's all you have.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Remodel & Reflection

Well, the bathroom facelift is almost complete...just waiting for the sink. I have a few before and after pictures. There were issues with our subfloor and drywall near the shower due to years of previous water damage from the shower. We knew this when we purchased the house and were just waiting until we knew what materials we wanted to use to update our sole bathroom. After many lovely marital debates, we finally decided on all of the details (retexture the crazy uneven ceiling/walls and get rid of the institutional powder blue paint and repaint with Ralph Lauren "Oatmeal", replace the 80's linoleum with marmoleum in Hecht green, fixtures from Restoration Hardware and a gorgeous chocolate brown cabinet and rectangular porcelain sink/counter top). We kept the shower/tub in tact, but changed everything else.






The final outcome is a bathroom that looks updated and feels bigger. Grady was such a trooper over the past 10 days and the guys at Home Depot gave him an apron on one of his many recent visits. He likes to help Steve with projects around the house and carry various animals, screws, rocks, etc. Our contractor broke our toilet during the demo and Grady thought this was hilarious. Not as amusing to us, but quickly replaced.



I'm still trying to figure out and learn all about this blogging site, but hopefully it will help keep everyone up-to-date on what we're doing here in Northern California. It finally feels like we're in the right place since we moved to Valley Ford exactly one year ago. We love our 1950's farmhouse, the views from every room of the valley & hillsides, the llama farm next door, as well as all the weeds and list of projects that will probably never get completed. However, it's ours and it feels good to call this place home.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Fundraisers & Fried Chicken



Yesterday started off fairly normal. We're undergoing a bathroom remodel and have been living at the Mahley's house in Bodega Harbour for about a week. We had brunch at the Valley Ford Hotel, went home to do a few things and then I went to Grady's Art Show in Forestville at Frame of Mind. I donated and poured wine, listened to music, purchased art and came back home. Then things got weird...

We decided to go to the Valley Ford Hotel to listen to the music of "DGIIN" (french, gypsy, funk). Grady loves to get his groove on with this band and they let him play percussion for most of the night. The saxophone player said he has good rhythm and they were very sweet with G.

The interesting part of the evening was that we were sharing a table with a couple from Sebastopol and they seemed harmless enough - a little tipsy, but harmless. As our food arrived, she started reaching over my plate and eating Grady's french fries. She was giggling and acting sneaky and her husband told her to do it again. I offered them the fries, since they had shared their table with us and it was clear she wasn't going to stop eating any time soon. This was my peace offering or so I thought. Grady asked me to dance with him and off I went. When I came back to the table she had taken my fried chicken off my plate and was devouring it. Grease dripping off of her chin like a Chris Farley skit and my jaw must have hit the ground. I couldn't believe my eyes. All I could do was pick up my plate, confront her and walk off in a huff. My only witness was Patty and Steve, but he wasn't sure what had just transpired - so he was left to deal with her and told her to finish the chicken she had started. I had her 86'd from the VFH, but not until she licked the bones clean from the now infamous fried chicken. Come to find out, she was on her third bottle of wine + fries and chicken. See http://youtube.com/watch?v=-xgnIVchSCc

Strange things happen to me here on the Sonoma Coast and this blog is going to help keep track of mi vida loca.

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