Equinox & Easter

Grady's preschool always likes to party, so this week was no exception.  The Spring Equinox party was on Thursday and I asked my friend Katy to join me.  We helped plant lettuces and strawberry plants in the garden.  They ate edible flowers alongside their breakfast of homemade muffins.  Everything Stacy (his teacher) does has beauty and style.  The kids had their faces painted and Scott Vancleemput took pictures of all of the activities.  Katy mentioned that she didn't know a school like this existed in Bodega.  It's the best-kept secret and I'm so glad we found it when we did (almost 3-1/2 years ago!).

The shop (Gourmet au Bay) was extremely busy on Friday and Saturday night.  It kicked my butt!  Spring break is in full swing and I guess that makes people want to drink copious amounts of wine....?  In any event, the shop is doing well.  We've made a few improvements and after six long years, Steve has finally fixed my front door from slamming EVERY SINGLE TIME THE DOOR SHUTS!!!!  Miracles can happen.

I was so exhausted Saturday night when I got home, but we had to paint eggs...or whatever you want to call what we did to the eggs.  We stamped them, put stickers on them (dogs, of course), used markers, real paint, etc.  Grady loved it and that's all that really mattered, but they were a sad lot of eggs.

We celebrated Easter on Sunday with my mom and John, as well as Scott & Jill.  Grady found his eggs accidentally.  He didn't really know the hunt was on until he sat on a hard-boiled egg outside on his little chair.  He then went to fill his watering can to water the plants and found another.  He gasped every single time he found an egg and was so excited by each discovery.  He ate smarties and said that if he ate one every day, it would help him get smarter.  Nice try little one.  He also loved his dog easter basket and the chocolate Cadbury eggs (mom's favorite).  It was so warm out that we put out the fancy plastic pool and he had a swimming good time.

On Monday I received word that a friend's son died and Grady heard me on the phone and asked about it.  I then had to explain the circle of life to him right on the spot.  I did pretty well, as he has a very healthy understanding about death due to his time spent at Pastures Preschool on the farm there.  He also has been through a pet death and understands that things are born and then they die.  I was a little nervous about the enormity of his question but, as usual, he took it in stride and didn't make a bigger deal out of it.  It's amazing when you're direct with a kid how it truly satisfies them.  I like the direct, truthful approach to parenting.  It seems like you don't have to have do-overs and the constant re-explaining of yourself because of what you said in jest.  Just plain easier for me.  I used to think Steve and I were on different parenting ends of the spectrum when Grady was born.  However, the older he gets - the more we agree with how we're raising him.  It feels like we're finally on the same page...hey, it only took five years.

San Francisco, Mom's Birthday, Beach & Grady's Teacher

Well, what a week! We attended the Chambers & Chambers wine event at the Presidio in San Francisco on Monday. I've never attended, but it is a beautiful, elegant and amazing winery participation event. We joined Shona & Brandon from the Valley Ford Hotel and Bert Rangel from the River's End. We ended up dining at Le Colonial for a wonderful vietnamese feast. I always forget how much fun I have in San Francisco. It's only an hour away, but so many varied things to do and see.

It was a pretty quiet week. I took Grady to the beach to look for beach glass and "dinosaur bones". We have the best time at the beach. We build dams, look for shells and glass, meet lots of random dogs. Grady pretends he's a K-9 companion dog and has me whistle for him. I like to indulge him, obviously.

I had a great tasting at the wine bar this week with Mick Unti. He's one of my favorite winery owners and always has such delicious, rhone varietals to try....and he's really cute. No harm in that, right? To commemorate the end of my boot camp (one month of intense, early morning workouts), I joined Patty at the Valley Ford Hotel and had a great dinner. Living out here feels so good due to the friends and relationships we've created over the last six years. At times, it can feel too small - but most of the time it feels like home. There's no place like home, as Dorothy would say. Scott and Jill are moving forward on buying the house down the street from us and I'm just crossing my fingers that all goes well for them and it closes on time.

My mom's birthday was on Saturday and I actually took the day off. I made her breakfast and we lunched at River's End with Grady and her husband. The views were amazing that day. It was really windy, but the ocean looked 5 different shades of blue/green. We're so glad that she's here to share in Grady's life and hope that it has improved her quality of life as well. She used to live in Phoenix and has been here almost two years. Grady calls her "Gigi" and they are partners in crime every Saturday together.

On Sunday we went to the beach again for a negative low tide with the Matthews' family. We found lots of glass and ran into lots of people we knew. Again, really windy - but great to spend time with friends and picnic at our local beach. People wonder why I never want to leave town....I never have to because there's so much to do and enjoy here. Seriously, I'm not trying to sound like a Hallmark greeting card but I LOVE it here and never want to leave.

Sunday afternoon we entertained Grady's teacher, Stacy, and her husband, Wylie. We had a lovely afternoon and tried to cook using local ingredients and drinking local wines (and, eventually, whiskey). We ended the night with a serenade by Wylie (from the band Stiff Dead Cat) with a little song about dogs for Grady. It was a magical evening and Grady told me he "loved" Stacy, but that he still had enough "love" for me too. That's good to know.

Boot Camp, Memorial, Kindergarten & 100 Mile Dinner

I started off the week at my exercise Boot Camp in Sebastopol on Monday morning at 5:30 a.m. It is unreal that I actually get up at 4:30 and head out the door by 5 a.m. in the morning, but I've been doing it! It's not easy, but I am completely energized and on a high when I finish. I get a lot done in the mornings now and I'm going to try and incorporate an early morning sunrise into my daily routine from now on. I have one more week left, so wish me luck.

I went to walk on Dillon Beach on Tuesday morning with Steve & Grady. It was beautiful, clear and just a little windy. There were a lot of shells and the tide was way out. Grady and Steve played in the water and used their walking sticks to write the alphabet in the sand. I can't believe I've never walked that beach before. It's so close and hardly anyone there on a weekday. After the beach we came home and got ready for our trip to Sacramento. Hugh Flournoy's celebration of his life was held at the USC Capital Center and we were invited guests. It was a beautiful ceremony and I learned a lot more about Hugh and got to meet a few of his friends that I'd heard so much about. I haven't been to Sacramento since I was nine years old and took a field trip with my fourth grade class. We flew on a plane and spent the day in the Capitol. I'm not too sure I would let Grady do the same without me, but my mom must have known how responsible I was as a child and trusted my teachers...

Our friends, Jill & Scott, have an accepted offer on a house at the end of our street. We are so excited for them and cannot wait to have them as neighbors. They start inspections and all of the other fun stuff you do when purchasing a house. Grady thinks it will be "so cool mom".

We had an appointment to visit the Bodega Bay Elementary School on Thursday morning to look into kindergarten for Mr. Grady. It is a sweet school in a great location, if we continue to work in Bodega Bay. There are approx. five kindergartners enrolled and he would be in a K-1-2 classroom with appprox. 15 children. It's a long day (8:30 - 2:50 pm), but I just know he's ready for it. We're also checking out Tomales Kindergarten and Harmony/Salmon Creek School later this month. Living in Valley Ford puts us about seven miles away from each school and they all seem very different in terms of structure and school philosophy. I'm sure we can't go wrong with any of the choices, but we're new parents and just need to check it all out beforehand.

I held book club at my house last week and the book we read was called "Plenty" and it was about a couple that ate only what was grown within 100 miles from their house for an entire year. I went out Thursday to shop for my own 100-mile dinner and it was not as easy as you might think. Berries, avocados, asparagus, potatoes, apples, etc. were all from either Mexico, Chile or Washington. Bread was a bit of a challenge, considering no one could tell me where the wheat source came from. In the end, it really made me think about how I shop and that shopping locally is so important - but still a challenge. The average meal travels 2,500 miles to your plate. That is astonishing to me. Therefore, I've vowed to seek out and/or research more local farms this year and only purchase dairy products that are within a 100 mile radius. This book was really inspiring and I think anyone can do better in this arena...given the inspiration and statistics to the contrary.

Today the time sprung forward and it was a gorgeous day! Everything is blooming (daffodils, cherry blossoms on the neighboring trees, calendula, the grasses are so green and tall). After me and Grady went to brunch at the Valley Ford Hotel, we headed towards Tomales for Straus organic ice cream cones and a walk to Mostly Natives Nursery. Grady helped the staff water some plants and we selected strawberry plants, lettuces and a sticky monkey plant - don't ask. We came home and put on our gloves and started weeding a bed in the back of the house. I soon realized that the job was too big for me and Hecht got the weedwacker going and helped put a dent in the weeds. My goal is to utilize one bed for planting a test garden this Spring. I am not an avid gardener, but I aspire to be. We'll see how it works out this year.

We ate local greens tonight from Farmer George with the prettiest edible flowers and seared ahi tuna. I asked Steve where the tuna came from and he said "Indonesia"....so much for my 100-mile dinner tonight! I can only try to do better tomorrow.

January/February 2008

January 2008 - where did this month go? I always look forward to January because it's a great time to catch up. Scott & Kacy spent the last week of December with us and we rung in the new year together. The kids had a blast and we did a lot of laughing, as usual. They headed home and a big storm headed our way. Most of the coast was without power for about four days, however, we had power in Valley Ford. We hosted many of our friends for dinner, lunch, coffee until the power came back on late Saturday night/Sunday morning.

When the power returned, I spent the first Sunday afternoon of the new year with Hugh Flournoy. Hugh was a dear friend of mine and long-time customer. We did our usual banter and mild flirting, discussed who he was going to vote for in the coming election, his kids and grandkids, his service in the Korean War and his aversion to seat belts. He was chartering a private plane to spend the afternoon with his dear friends, Betty Lou & Roger, in San Diego. He was nervous about the plane flight due to the turbulent weather and storms we'd been having. His caregiver Nelson was going with him. We said out goodbyes and I teased him that he better wear his seat belt on the plane. Houston Flournoy passed away after his lunch with his friends on the flight back to Santa Rosa on January 7, 2008. He will be forever in my thoughts and memories.

Steve had his 44th birthday, which always gets overshadowed because of Christmas, New Year's etc. We're usually on burn-out mode after the New Year and we spent a quiet night with Bert & Steph at Bistro de Copain in Occidental. Jill D. had her 40th birthday celebration at our house. Steve went to Reno with David Silpa and weathered a pretty big snow storm. Kacy & Alex flew down and met me in San Francisco for the gift show and a little fun. January also held another trip to Glass Beach to meet the Rangels for an afternoon of seaglass gathering!






February 2008 - Superbowl. Willie Nelson concert. Mammogram....God I'm getting old. Amgen Bike Tour through Bodega Bay. Bluebellies at Valley Ford Hotel. Well, February was another action-packed month. I kept Grady home from preschool a little more this month, so that we could spend more time together. We went to the Exploratorium in San Francisco and he LOVED it. There was a very sweet Valentine's Day party at his preschool and they had a Chinese new year's celebration. We're getting ready to check out kindergartens next month and it makes me more than a little sad. He's such a well-adjusted, happy, imaginative little boy and he's more than ready for kindergarten. We entertained on Sundays this month with friends we haven't seen for some time and it feels good to catch up.

The pastures around us are just gorgeous. I took Roblar Road the other day and told Grady it was a "short cut" to Cotati. He said it felt more like a "long cut". Out of the mouths of babes. The mustard is blooming everywhere and there is a sea of yellow as far as you can see from our house. The daffodils are in full bloom and I'm toying with the idea of trying a test garden in our backyard. I'm not a green thumb, so we'll see how it goes.

I'll work harder on updating this every Sunday night. Mainly, this is just a way for me to keep track of where all the time goes with Grady and our family. I hope others enjoy the updates and get a glimpse into our lives. Below is a small video of Grady's interpretation of Valentine's Day...