Well, last week was filled with lots of social activities involving food. Our good friend from Jenner came over last Tuesday and spent the afternoon in the garden with us. She had yet to meet the chicks and she knows a ton about birds and native plant species. She pointed out so many wonderful things that are in our very own backyard and G hangs on her every word. In my handy-dandy breadmaker, I prepared a loaf of yummy
seedy bread, fresh egg salad sandwiches (
eggs courtesy of Fernando's chickens) and a lovely pot of tea to take us through the afternoon. We have vowed to do it again soon.
I also hosted the third anniversary of my Babylon Book Club last week and our book selection was
"Frisco Pigeon Mambo" by C.D. Payne. Hilarious book, lively conversation and we let the chicks roam around us as we gathered in the garden. I also made a really easy (and somewhat healthy)
bolognese sauce that I adapted from Everyday Food Magazine. I tweak it by adding half fresh ground beef and half ground turkey meat. I use a lovely thick cut of bacon that I get from our local butcher and I also use a dry rose wine instead of sauvignon blanc. Sometimes the book is all but forgotten at book club, but we had a nice dialogue while we were waiting for dinner and it's so fantastic to sit with a group of like-minded women and hear what they have to say. I learn so much from what is shared around my kitchen table...and sometimes what is not said!
I was lucky enough to attend a Mother's Day Tea at G's school and it was magical. Presents, performances, my son serving me tea and cake and clearing MY place. It was by far one of the most special days I've had with him. His teacher went all out and really gave the moms a day to remember. I posted a string of photos about Mother's Day weekend in a separate post - because there were too many sweet things to write about. You can click on the photos displayed to get the larger image.
On Sunday morning, Steve and G made me
WHO bread and then turned it into the most delicious french toast. I was served the perfect cup of coffee in bed and enjoyed my morning with the guys. I took G to hit golf balls in the afternoon and then we returned a plethora of driftwood, shells and river rocks to Doran Beach (a/k/a - Mother Earth) for Mother's Day. To top it all off, Steve came home and made me dinner and did the dishes. I was truly spoiled rotten and loved every second of it.
Grady quotes from Mother's Day:
Mom, you're prettier than a diamond
Mom, I love you more than a guinea pig
Mom, you weigh three pounds
Mom, your favorite food is 'pasghetti & wine?
With the help of my party planning committee, we helped decorate and host a party for about 50 volunteers at the Bodega Bay Grange last Friday night. My goal was to go green and spend as little as possible. We reused, reduced, recycled and spent a grand total of $19 for the whole thing. Of that total, $7 was for ice and the other $12 was spent at a thrift store for votive holders that we will use again next year. It looked beautiful (but I forgot to document any of the party) and it was nice to work with my friends to help do something nice for the people who worked so hard at this year's annual
Fisherman's Festival AND keep the excess waste that a function like this produces down to a minimum. Job well done, but boy was I tired afterwards.
Rounding out school week, G took his first solo bus ride to school on Friday. Can you feel his excitement from the above photo? Ah, youth.
:: Our poppies in full bloom
:: Steve's mom and dad's wedding photo
:: Grady rocking out to the Green String Farm Band at Oysterpalooza on Sunday
:: G is full horse costume and hugging the girl he wants to marry
:: The magnetic wall in G's bedroom that holds his most important treasures!
:: The silhouette pillow that I ordered from Diffraction Fiber a few months ago
:: Sweet boy feet
:: Celebrating Stacy's 40th birthday & 8th Wedding Anniversary at Shell Beach on the Sonoma Coast
:: Rock star sunglasses, of course.
Okay, I'm officially addicted to thrifting (not a word, but it means looking for treasures at thrift stores, flea markets, Goodwill...you get the idea). It's not only my favorite thing to do, I've recruited my son to tag along and enjoy it as well. He spotted this sweet owl at the 
Jam. I've canned once with my friend Linda. It turned out alright and I gave as Christmas presents, but it seemed like a lot of work to me. Last week I bought a flat of strawberries for $5 and needed to use them quickly. I noticed on my bread maker that there is a jam setting, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. Well, it was easy-peasy and turned out perfect. It's stored incognito in the pickle jar above. I would definitely try this again when I can get bulk fruit at a good price. If you have a bread maker, check the settings and your recipe book that they included with your machine. Fruit, sugar, lemon juice and a little pectin and you are good to go.
:: Surprisingly good lunch (and bloody mary) at the 
:: Visit to 
:: We ended the day by stopping by the 
Last week was Grady's introduction to real, live, professional baseball. We took the ferry over to AT&T Park to see the Giants and Dodgers play. A friend had given us great tickets behind home plate and Grady LOVED the friendly banter with all of the ladies that surrounded our seats. I didn't appreciate the rude fan behavior exiting the ferry, but G was oblivious to the profanity and mean-spirited Giants' fans...I felt like a real mom yelling at the fans "there's a kid down here" and thinking that someone should wash their mouths out with soap. I digress...
Anyhow, the best part of the night was the whole part of the night. Watching G & Steve root for their team, watching their team lose, eating stadium food and seeing the gentle effects of sports brainwashing on my child. Priceless.
I helped set-up for the PTA Fiesta Night & Silent Auction Fundraiser at G's school last weekend. The kids made all of the ornaments that were hung from the ceiling and centerpieces on all of the tables. The food was great and G was so excited to be at school on a weekend. He even passed up staying at Grandma's house to attend...so you know it was special.
My son has a lot of love for the Sharpie pen(s) lately, so I purchased a colorful pack at the art supply store this week and he has been drawing with a vengeance. He's also had a real interest is the ocean, the Marine Mammal Center and seals lately. Since we've cut regular t.v. out of his life this school year, I've been checking out nature-inspired documentaries from the Marin Mobile Library. Last week the focus was a movie I brought home on the deep sea and we had an early morning date on Saturday to have hot chocolate and watch the film. It was our special time and we learned a lot. After the movie was over, G created the above picture (jellyfish, clown fish, killer whale and manatee, of course).
My brother has been helping me pull carpet from the garden (used as a weed block, but not at all effective after the years of weeds growing up through it), as well as lots of old wood, wire and sorting out decorative rocks. He put down a 15 year weed block that wasn't a synthetic rug in a former life (the carpet thing was probably a good idea for a year or two, but really is a pain to remove) and prepared the area for mulch. The picture above is the final prep picture.
With the help of my husband and brother, my tiny corner of the garden is complete. I planted zinnias and feather (aka - Dr. Seuss plants according to G) and learned that you can get two yards of mulch from the Petaluma dump for only $15!!!! It all sounds easy-peasy to me because I didn't have to do most of the physical labor, but I keep telling my brother and Steve that it's a lot of hard work being a visionary. Yeah, they didn't buy that line either. 
The new chicks made their garden debut this weekend and were seemingly happy in the warm mud. The newest chicks haven't pecked at us once and they let us hold them. My older "girls" are crazy as all get-out. I'm not sure what's going to happen when we put the two groups together, as the older white silkies seem nervous and schizophrenic. We haven't named everyone yet, but G has two more names picked out: Harry and Disco. 
Flat Stanley arrived a few weeks ago from my sister's little girl, Madison. Have you heard of this? Flat Stanley is supposed to hang out with us, go on adventures, get a few photos snapped and then we are to write about his adventure and send back to Madison to share with her classroom. So far, Stanley hasn't helped much in the garden - maybe he's a visionary too?
