Historic Week on Many Levels

Inauguration Day was a bevy of activities for us.  We were asked to attend a small breakfast soiree at the Santa Rosa Country Club by our friend and former 5th District Supervisor, Eric Koenigshofer, wherein we watched the inauguration and applauded, cried tears of joy and toasted President Obama & Vice-President Biden.  I can't seem to recall ever being so relieved and happy to see a President leave office and such an awareness by the country for the new one taking office.  

We taped the inauguration so that we could watch it later with Grady, as he was so excited the night of the election results.  He was glued to the t.v. and I hope he remembers this day, along with the rest of the nation.  The above photo is from the night we went to an "Inaugural Ball" at the home of our friends in Bodega, Charlie & Patty.  Grady did not attend, but that didn't stop him from playing dress-up while channeling a Chippendale dancer?

All of the Pollock-inspired paintings I've been working on with G's school are now hanging at the Tomales Bakery and they look beautiful against the yellow tin walls.  Three sold on the first day and we're hoping to raise close to $1,000 for the school PTA.

We had the pleasure of going back to G's preschool this week to help out for a few hours.  One of the teachers was in a really bad car accident and we asked to help in any way we could.  G was so excited to be a "teacher" for the day.  He brought a book to read to the class and kept saying the cutest things about being an example for the little ones and he got to climb his favorite tree.  When he started kindergarten he got a time out for doing something on the playground he wasn't supposed to.  He came home and told me that his new kindergarten wasn't as "daring" as his preschool.  His first lesson in new school, new rules.  

After his first "teaching" day, Steve took his training wheels off of his bike and he learned to ride without them.  He was so proud.  We don't have a lot of pavement for him to ride on, but he just pushed on in the gravel and dirt and did a great job.  Later in the week, he sat camped out by our driveway waiting for over an hour for his dad to come home, so that they could practice more of his riding skills.  

We love going to the beach.  The above photo is of Grady and his friend, Iain, up on a rock at Doran Beach.  After a day of frolicking in the sand, we went to the Open Mic Night at the Tomales Town Hall.  Grady had wanted to perform with a few instruments and a friend, but he got too nervous.  It was a very eclectic group and I enjoyed seeing the community come together and support the array of artists it had under one roof.  Rap, folk, new age, rock, etc.  At events like this, I reflect on the choice of leaving suburbia and moving to a small town.  I'm always reminded that it was the absolute best choice for us to uproot our lives and move north and wouldn't trade it for any strip mall in the world.  The absence of fast food chains, a Walmart or Costco and an abundance of nature, animals and stretches of beach are the things a childhood should be made of.  

The round out the week, we headed to Cambria to meet up with Scott & Kacy.  We left G with our friends Scott & Jill and my brother/mother.  We have such a great network of friends, family and neighbors.  As Hillary Clinton once said...it takes a village.  We belong to an amazing village.

Heatwave, Pollock & My Weed Garden

The week started out with a nice January heat wave.  Santa Rosa was 84 degrees on Monday and the coast was gorgeous.  We called the Rangel girls and went up to our "Secret Beach" north of Jenner.  I've posted a few pictures below of the amazing afternoon.  We hiked, found beach treasures & had dinner at River's End when it was all over.  Grady was filthy, hungry and tired.  What a way to start off the week.  It was one of the best days I've ever had at the beach and I'm so glad we seized the opportunity, dropped everything and went north on Monday.

I've tossed around the idea of gardening for years.  Usually, when I go to the nursery I buy a few plants, bring them home and then let them die in their containers.  Not this year.  I went to the Mostly Natives and purchased a few native plants in October and put them in the ground.  A novel concept, but I'm hopeful.  When we moved into our home here in Valley Ford with one acre of actual land that was ours, I was so excited.  However, I'm not a gardener.  The previous owners left us with lots of plantings, trees & bulbs that still amaze me when they bloom or pop up out of the ground.  It's from nothing I've done, but I appreciate their hard work.  I do have an asparagus patch and from what I've read, it could produce for up to 25 years (if taken care of).  So this week I went out and started weeding the asparagus patch and a few surrounding beds, and unearthed a circular rock area (pictured below) that would be perfect for a firepit.  I filled our "green" bin with all of my weeds and started planning my Spring garden.  I'm sure it will be a lesson in futility, but I'm going to have to start somewhere.  It seems hopeful to plant a garden and I'm hoping it will be gratifying if and when I can produce a vegetable to eat with my family.  Stay tuned...

I've also been volunteering at Grady's school on behalf of the PTA.  We're doing a fundraising project wherein the kids get to paint a Jackson Pollock-like inspired paintings.  I have a few of these in my home and I just love the fluidity of the house paint used and that the kids create a true work of art that is indivdual and one-of-a-kind.  I was inspired by Grady's preschool teacher and how she could get them to create such beautiful work.  We have just completed the last canvases and we are going to hang them this week at the Tomales Bakery, where they will be for sale and on exhibition for the next few months.

This is a before picture of my garden.  I hope to grow SOMETHING and have an after picture for later posting.  We'll see what happens!

Quotes of the week from Grady:

1.  "Mom, I don't like ear wax.  It tastes sour."

2.  "Good-bye nature, good-bye ocean, good-bye sky, I love you!"

3.  "Mom, I think you look pretty in the morning.  And always. And at night.  I love you too much."

Women's Christmas, Working for the Man & 1964

Every year on the day of the Epiphany (on or around January 6th) our friends throw a Women's Christmas Party and it is a wonderful way to start the new year.  Ginny Bassi & Cathy Tennant are amazing chefs and hostesses and entertain a group of up to 75 women in their home in Bodega Harbour.  It's a fantastic time to chat with your friends and I've met authors, winery owners and eccentric retirees.  The women who host this fete are such seasoned hostesses and always make their guests feel at ease.  The food is amazing and you leave with a beautiful ornament hand-created by them.  Completely spoiled on a Saturday afternoon.  What could be better?

I left this lovely party and headed to Gourmet au Bay to "cover" the shop for approximately four days.  I was a little apprehensive, but after learning the new computer system - I was off and running.  It was great to see familiar faces and get back in the swing of things.  The view from our deck is amazing (we purchased the building in January of 2008).  One of the best spots to have a glass of wine and appreciate the bay.  After my tour of duty, I felt happy to still be a part of Gourmet au Bay - but know that selling was the absolute best thing for us to do.  Frequent visits will satisfy me for now.....and lots of wine.

Steve's 45th birthday was upon us and he wanted to head to Lake Tahoe and introduce Grady to his first snow.  Needless to say, we were all pretty excited.  I think the attached video should say it all.

As I type this blog, I realize that I will include a lot of Grady-isms or Grady firsts.  This week has been quite full....

1.  First visions of snow in Lake Tahoe, along with sledding exhibition in Heavenly;

2.  "Mom, my life is changing.  I don't need to sleep with any stuffed animal.  I'm changing.";

3.  Ate his first Italian wedding soup and LOVED it.  Major feat for us, as he usually consumes air for dinner;

4.  Gondola-ride in Heavenly...we felt like we were flying.

I'm finishing up Barbara Kingsolver's book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" and believe it or not, we're getting chickens come Spring....all the fresh eggs I can handle!  This book is amazing and really makes you think about the way you shop, ingest, harvest, seek out, appreciate, gift and consume food on a daily basis.  I am going to try and be more mindful of how I purchase and consume food.  Our local markets and farmers need my support.  As a mother, woman, wife and friend, I hope to share in my experiences and reap the benefits of local food enjoyment and pass them on to those who dine at my table.

Resolving & Reminiscing

Well, I haven't written on this blog in over nine months!  However, when I was thinking of resolutions for the new year - I figured resolving to keep up this blog on a weekly basis would be a great way to remember the year and share what's going on in our life with close friends.  The format may be wacky and my grammar not always perfect, but I'm going to jot down my thoughts (mostly so that I can enjoy them later).

I was so glad to see 2008 come to an end (for many reasons).  So much changed for us last year.  A few of the more memorable highlights:

1.  Grady turned 5 and started kindergarten;

2.  We sold Gourmet au Bay & I became a stay-at-home mom;

3.  I ran/walked the Nike Half Marathon w/ my good friend Patty;

4.  We took a real family vacation to Portland;

5.  We celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary;

6.  Our good friends, Scott & Jill, purchased their first home just down the lane from us;

7.  I completed 5 Adventure Boot Camps; and

8.  We hosted Thanksgiving at our house & Christmas Eve dinner w/ friends.

We ended 2008 with a quiet dinner at home with just us.  I love to entertain and in 2007 we did a nice prime rib dinner and then partied (a little too hard) at the Valley Ford Hotel on New Year's Eve.  However, a quiet end to this last year seemed fitting.  We made dinner, played a few games with Grady, watched a marathon viewing session of Mad Men and stayed up until just past midnight.  It was Grady's first ringing in of the New Year by staying up until midnight.  That was fueled by a major banana split earlier in the evening.  All-in-all a wonderful night with my guys.

To start the year off right, I enlisted Jill & Stephanie to go to a 4-hour yoga/hike workshop in Bodega.  It sounded intense, but I just knew I would be happy to start the year off this way.  The weather was gorgeous and it felt great to work out and spend quality time with such like-minded women.  We grabbed lunch and ate on the deck at Gourmet au Bay and toasted our accomplishment with a bottle of bubbles!  After all, it was New Year's Day.

We're only a few days into the new year, but I always enjoy the opportunity to take a moment to reflect, make small resolutions and set goals for the coming year.  I'm hoping this blog will help me to remember all of the wonderful moments of 2009 and beyond.  Happy New Year!