Monday :: Link Love List

sipping...a perfectly mixed Caipirinha, the National cocktail of Brazil, of course

preparing...our home for a visit from our dear friends from Paris this week!

potlucking...batches of simple hors d'oeuvres to accompany us on a multitude of party-hopping adventures over the weekend

visiting...Iota Press to learn a bit about the art of printmaking and bookbinding

making...floral arrangements from freshly cut plum blossom branches that I foraged from my neighbor's yard

wanting...this fantastic Wok Fire Pit from The Potted.com as seen in the latest February issue of Sunset Magazine

admiring...Melissa Garden Strenblow's illustrations here

reading...The Lost City Radio by Daniel Alarcón for my upcoming March book club discussion

watching...a double-feature of Toy Story 3 and Despicable Me with my little man

listening...to several of NPR's This American Life podcasts and falling in love with Ira Glass just a little more every time I press play

gathering...with dear friends this past week for too much fun, dancing, sweet conversations, hilarious impersonations, Oscar fashion-bashing, high-heel coveting, champagne sipping and realizing my good fortune to have found my tribe on this silly Isle of Misfit Toys

enjoying...the fact that my husband cleaned every square inch of our wood floors this weekend while I was at the beach with Grady!

Buh-bye February

This month a whole lot of reading was done under this little roof of ours.  With stacks of books covering many surfaces in our home, they are a constant, quiet reminder that we will always have something to do.  

I realized we were fast approaching the one year mark on being a cable/satellite-free household this month.  It wasn't as painful as I thought it might be when I wrote about it here last year.  The upside has been the seamless departure from mainstream media's marketing of things I can do without.  To say that removing the daily TV habit has changed our lives for the better, is an understatement.  I have seen the results and feel really fortunate to have a husband on the same page as me when it comes to parenting our little guy.  

Netflix is our guilty indulgence.  We still watch movies on the weekend, but they are the reward to a week full of work, school, lessons, volunteer work, family time and chores.  I don't see us going back any time soon.  Steve even survived without the Dodgers, Lakers and an entire football season!  What a guy.  

However, upon our DVD player dying late last year, somehow a Blueray DVD player with a built in Sony Playstation made it into our home.  What the hell?  How did that happen?  Who would want that?  Long story short:  My husband doesn't ask for much and he puts up with a lot of my crazy shenanigans.  He won this round.  Let it be known.

G spends many hours in his room on the top bunk reading stacks of books in the "on deck" pile at the foot of his bed.  G is a voracious reader and can go through several books a day.  He's really looking forward to reading the first Harry Potter book the very day that school gets out for summer.  He has six of the volumes perched high upon the bookshelf in his room and he keeps a watchful eye on them.  The question of the day is:  How many more days left until school gets out? There are 102 days left, but who is counting?  He cannot wait to get his hands on that book.  Watching him get lost in books brings back such great childhood memories for me and my love of books and the libraries that housed them.  I still love me a good library and, let's be honest, I even adore the small Marin Mobile Library that treks over to Tomales the first and third Wednesday of the month.  Small, but with a mighty librarian (a dying breed, you know).

Molly draped in a cape - she is a Superdog!

While the weather was freakishly warm for the first part of the month, the rains caught up with us and flooded Highway One a few nights during the third week of February.  We had hail storms, rainbows and power outages.  It's been quite a month weather-wise and the mustard, magnolias, plum blossoms and daffodils are blooming all around us.

The first part of the month teased me into reading seed catalogs and plotting my garden.  It was tank top and flip-flop weather and it seemed like winter was going to stay far, far away.  When the storms finally did hit, I snuggled up and did research on cover crops.  We're on an acre and more than half of our property is full of weeds and thistles.  I am bound and determined to change the weed-to-crop ratio on our property this year.  My escapades will be chronicled here and I hope to succeed in transforming some of our land into beautiful, flowering cover crops and amend the soil in a few of our garden beds to produce the edibles that will get us through the next season.

Oh, how I love these kids.  G and his God-sisters always have a good time together.  Saturday we hit the golf cage at the Links at Bodega Harbour, the basketball-turned-impromptu-tennis court and Doran Beach in Bodega Bay.  As they went from one activity to the next, they were happy together and having a blast.  I think the above picture best sums up how they felt about it, too.

I lugged along another bag of seaglass to deposit at the shore's edge.  The girls picked out some of their favorite pieces to take home and Grady made sure I saved the really rare red one.  I still have a lot more to take down to the beach, but this was a good dent in my over-abundant collection.

This was the perfect way to end the week.  Just sitting there with my friend in the warm February sunshine, watching our kids dig holes, splash in the water, roll in the sand, get muddy, giggle uncontrollably and truly enjoy each other.  The oldest asked that I take a picture of their feet and I think she's got a future in art direction or ruling the world.  Knowing her, it will be the latter.

Ain't No Reason

Grady has graduated from his transistor radio and Steve's old boom box.  He has confiscated my old iPod and listened to it a lot over the three day weekend.  He put this song on replay and I heard his little voice singing the lyrics over and over again.  It's a favorite of mine, too, made sweeter by his interpretation of it.  In light of all the unrest going on in the world, I thought I'd post the lyrics.  Such beautiful poetry.

Ain't No Reason by Brett Dennen
There ain’t no reason things are this way.
Its how they always been and they intend to stay.
I can't explain why we live this way, we do it everyday.

Preachers on the podium speakin’ of saints in seance,
Prophets on the sidewalk beggin’ for change,
Old ladies laughing from the fire escape, cursing my name.

I got a basket full of lemons and they all taste the same,
A window and a pigeon with a broken wing,
You can spend your whole life workin’ for something
Just to have it taken away.

People walk around pushing back their debts,
Wearing pay checks like necklaces and bracelets,
Talking ‘bout nothing, not thinking ‘bout death,
Every little heartbeat, every little breath.

People walk a tight rope on a razors edge
Carrying their hurt and hatred and weapons.
It could be a bomb or a bullet or a pen
Or a thought or a word or a sentence.

There Ain't no reason things are this way.
It's how they always been and they intend to stay
I don’t know why I say the things I say, but I say them anyway.
But love will come set me free
Love will come set me free, I do believe
Love will come set me free, I know it will
Love will come set me free, yes.

Prison walls still standing tall,
Some things never change at all.
Keep on buildin’ prisons, gonna fill them all,
Keep on buildin’ bombs, gonna drop them all.

Working your fingers bear to the bone,
Breaking your back, make you sell your soul.
Like a lung that’s filled with coal, suffocatin’ slow.

The wind blows wild and I may move,
The politicians lie and I am not fooled.
You don't need no reason or a three piece suit to argue the truth.

The air on my skin and the world under my toes,
Slavery stitched into the fabric of my clothes,
Chaos and commotion wherever I go, love I try to follow.

Love will come set me free
Love will come set me free, I do believe
Love will come set me free, I know it will
Love will come set me free, yes.

There ain't no reason things are this way
It’s how they always been and they intend to stay
I can't explain why we live this way, we do it everyday.

Adventuring :: Erickson Ranch

Mama & Baby Goat posing for the camera!

Last week, in between severe hail storms and power outages, I had the privilege to visit the Erickson Ranch property of my good friend, Anna Erickson.  

Anna owns Hands Full Farm and I've written a bit about her here and here.  She is a gal that can do just about anything and being around her can-do attitude is infectious.  She is also the assistant cheesemaker at Barinaga Ranch and their Txiki (pronounced cheeky) cheese was just featured in Sunset Magazine last month.

Anna is a 5th generation farmer and the 350-acre Erickson Ranch property has been in her family since 1897.

On today's visit, we had homemade lemon cookies and lemon-mint tea.  About 15 minutes before these pictures were taken, a huge wave of hail came down on the farm and blanketed the fields with thousands of tiny, frozen raindrops.

The goats were busy eating and didn't mind us tromping through their pasture on our way to see the cutest little "kids" in the world.

Anna built this greenhouse with her own two hands last year, along with the help of her good friend, Dan.  It is made entirely from recycled glass windows that they repurposed from Recycle Town at the Petaluma Dump.  Like I said, she can do anything.

Hundreds of seedlings were safe and warm in the greenhouse awaiting the last frost to come and go.  Her cover crops were still busy growing and fixing the nitrogen in the soil just outside the greenhouse.

This gorgeous head of purple cauliflower was just asking for its picture to be taken.  Several varieties of garlic, chard & artichokes were thriving in the winter garden.

The baby goats were the highlight of the visit.  Here they are just jumping and those ears just look too sweet, right?

I do believe this white little number wanted to be front and center in every picture.  A goat supermodel in the making.

This little goat was receiving all kinds of attention from Anna.

Beef cows and sheep graze a portion of the 350 surrounding acres.  The land is also used for haymaking and the views are gorgeous and far-reaching.  I pass by this ranch every day on the way to Grady's school and can even spot it from my kitchen window.

Mr. Rabbit - quite appropriate for this Chinese New Year

Anna graduated from Montana State University where she majored in Photography and Fine Art.  She returned to her family's ranch in 2007 and has been working hard cultivating the land and growing her business.  She can be found every Friday night in the summer months at the Occidental Bohemian Farmers Market.

Everything she does is creative.  It just oozes out of her.  Check out what she did (with the help of a friend) to display all of her sewing thread.  I think it's absolutely beautiful and a very clever impromptu art installation.

Anna in front of the house that she helped renovate

Thank you for the afternoon Anna.  You are a true inspiration and definitely a one-of-a-kind spirit.  Your fearless nature and off the charts creativity is a true breath of fresh air.  You walk-the-walk as a true steward of the land and have helped me to see the food on my plate differently than I did before.

I look forward to our next sessions of beermaking, berry-picking, Salvation Army thrifting, potholder sewing and whatever else strikes our fancy!

Monday :: Link Love List

preparing...and sending off year-end tax return packet to the CPA!

sipping...more J Cuvee 20 Brut NV sparkling wine that I scored from Petaluma Market for $14.99 a bottle!  A girl really can't have enough of this on hand, right?  Especially, post-tax return packet send off.

cooking...a homemade batch of granola that should last us a few weeks

signing...up for a beekeeping class here with two of my friends & reading about this contraption

making...plans for this year's garden and buying seeds from the Petaluma Seed Bank

enjoying...all of the mustard fields blooming along the roadsides in Sonoma & Marin County

reading...just finished The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food & Love by Kristin Kimball

dreaming...of a summer road trip

learning...that I can't get raw milk direct from our local neighbor/dairy due to the many restrictions of the California Food & Agriculture Department

ordering...new baby chicks from Toby's Feed Barn

watching...the lovely Claire Danes in the amazing life story of Temple Grandin

wishing...I knew how to knit so that I could make this pretty little shawl

sharing...several meals (and laughter) with good friends over the course of this past week

researching...how to make the dream of this dishwasher become a reality

listening...to the amazing and thought-provoking band Acres and Acres on a continuous loop

gathering...inspiration from Victoria on what to do with all my magazine tear sheets

enjoying...the heavy rains, intermittent power outages & the sense of community a raging storm can bring

Monday :: Link Love List

sipping...glass of J Cuvée 20 Brut NV sparkling wine on the eve of Valentine's day

cooking...lots of Meyer lemon poppyseed bread

reading...Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

learning...how to shrink images for my blog using the Seashore application

making...a batch of homemade waffles for Valentine's Day breakfast with my guys

watching...my son's face light up in a make-shift igloo at the California Academy of Science while he learned about the Northern Lights

feeling...nostalgic for Grady's baby years

growing...and harvesting my first butter lettuces from seed!

enjoying...Spanish anchovies on top of a salty wheat thin from the Sonoma Coast Fish Bank

wanting...this fun book to help me with my listmaking!

loving...my husband, son & dog on this sweet day of love, candy hearts & homemade cards!

7-3/4 years old & holding

Grady's been going through many changes lately.  For one, he's changed his name to Ash.  Yep, Ash.  Only wants to answer to Ash.  He is also so over his hot pink sock fetish and it makes me a little sad.  He claims he only has girl socks and, therefore, nothing to wear on his feet.  Oh, that one hurt.  I was hoping to ride the creative sock-wearing style he has been sporting since birth for a few more years, but I think the jig is up.

His uniform of late has been soccer shorts and a short sleeve t-shirt.  Not a long sleeve shirt.  Not jeans or sweatpants.  No way.  We've had a lot of chilly morning with frost throughout the valley, but that has made not a bit of difference to my little guy.  Shorts or a full on morning meltdown.  His father says "let him freeze and then he'll figure it out on his own".  Oh, husband, you know this is not my way and it's hard to send the boy who sprang from me out into the world without a coat and pants on!  I'm a mom.  I'm supposed to say crap like "you'll catch a cold" and "you'll shoot your eye out".  It's in my mama DNA.

Last night he wrote out his Valentine cards and needed absolutely no help from me (or wanted for that matter).  He knew what he wanted to say to each and every person in his class, including the teacher.  He did the artwork, he wrote the notes, decorated the envelopes with his new code name and adorned them with stickers to fit each kid's personality (i.e., if they lived on a farm, they got farm animal stickers; if they liked dogs, they got dog stickers, etc.).  He also told me he's in love.  Real love.  Top secret love.  I wasn't ready for that.

He still let's me comb his hair, but then shakes it out so it looks like Justin Bieber.  What?  Why?  Who?  Yes, I feel out of it and I guess it's all normal for this I'm-almost-eight-mom-and-you-are-not-privy-to-my-every-thought stage he's going through.  Oh, but it makes my heart ache just a little bit when I notice the growing up he's doing.

Sunday we watched Old Yeller.  The first time for both of us.  Steve was off watching the Superbowl at the Valley Ford Hotel and I guess I thought it would be a good idea to inflict some mild childhood trauma on my son before he went to bed.  I know, I know - I should have known better.  The truth is, I've never seen it!  He didn't cry at Marley & Me or Where the Red Fern Grows, so I just thought he had a real healthy sense of the circle of life and such.  Perhaps throwing in rabies and a foaming-at-the-mouth dog was a bit much...for all of us.  We talked through the end of the movie, everything was hunky-dory and then he went to bed to read.  The sobs wafted through the house and I went to see what was happening back in his room.  I walked in on a father and son hug that was so heartfelt and dear.  Grady was sobbing and Steve was comforting him and talking it out.  I just watched and listened from the door and tried to savor the moment they were having.  I loved my husband just a little bit more for the kindness he showed our son that night and appreciated the sensitivity of my animal-loving, dog-obsessed kid.  I am so lucky.

So I guess we're all growing and changing in our household.  My little guy is testing the waters with the words he's using, the books he's reading and the clothes he's wearing. It's bittersweet to watch this unfold, but I want to support him as he finds himself and tests it all out in the safest place on earth - our home.

PTA-ELAC Clothing Swap

As President of the Grady's school PTA this year (and last), I had the honor and privilege to chair this year's annual clothing swap.  We ask for gently used shoes, clothing items and accessories to be donated by the parents and community.

Wow.  Did we end up with some fantastic items for the swap!  This event is awesome.  It's totally free and was created to build community among the parents at the school.  The hardest part is sorting the donations, but once it's done - let the shopping begin.

We all felt like personal stylists and oohed and awed over how cute this was, and how cute that was.

The inner supermodel in a few of us came out strong and why wouldn't it?  We were listening to Madonna's Vogue after all.

Shoes.  My weakness.  I think all of the ladies had a weakness for the tremendous selection of shoes displayed on the gym benches and once we started, well we just had to photograph our finds.  Neutral peep toe on Jill D. pictured above.

Sassy silver heels with cute little bows for me.

Shannan's awesome heels that she wore into the joint.  They had been recently acquired from Red Umbrella Consignment and she was not swapping these babies for nothing.  Who could blame her?

2010-2011 PTA Executive Board post-clothing swap

In the end, we had dozens of bags of clothing and shoes to donate to our local area thrift stores.  See, we were still spreading the love all around Marin & Sonoma Counties (but the largest recipient was the the Pt. Reyes Thrift Stor!).

Three pairs of shoes came home with me, but I'll have to donate two of the pairs back to the local thrift store.  My excitement got the best of me and the sexy heels just don't fit!  The good 'ole reliable leather Mary Jane's by Born are the clear winners.

Grady shopped the swap and did his mama proud.  Silk black clip-on tie (pictured above), black converse tennis shoes, Sonoma Coast Surf Shop t-shirt, new pajama pants and a really lovely Disney logo K9 sports jersey.  You can't win them all.   Oh, and he's sporting a D&G hoodie sweatshirt and baseball hat.  He has no clue that D&G is a second label for the designers Dolce & Gabanna  and, heck, either did I.  He just liked that his initial was featured prominently on the hat & hoodie and that he would now match his best friend at school.  His thrifting mojo was on at the swap and, of course, it was all free for the taking.

What's not to love about that?

Monday :: Link Love List

sipping... a Bulldog (made with Steve's homemade kahlua) while enjoying a post-Alameda Flea Market high and having my own little anti-superbowl party

cooking... the yummiest Root Vegetable Gratin from Sunset Magazine's best recipes of 2010

reading... an Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken

learning... how to use the timer on my camera(s) and stumbled upon this fantastic free iPhone app called gorrilacam to help facilitate self-portraits

making... or wanting to make valentine garlands like these this week

watching... the original Old Yeller with Grady

feeling... like a bad mother for subjecting my dog-loving boy to Old Yeller!

enjoying... all of our free clothing & shoes that were scored at the Clothing Swap this weekend

wanting... to paint my entryway this color

loving... this unique artwork

Happy Monday.

Alameda Flea Market :: February

Need a chandelier made of antlers?

How about a sweet little cement deer from Paris?

A Nutella crepe for sustenance?

We are at the Alameda Flea Market for our yearly, early morning pilgrimage on this Superbowl Sunday.  I handed the camera over to Grady to help squelch his whining and keep him engaged a little bit longer, while I searched the rows of antique goodness.

We saw lots of animal statues and nature-inspired goodies. 

Vast collections of vintage keys. 

Dominoes anyone?

Grady negotiated a deal with this vendor for a sweet peace sign to hang in his room.  

After a few hours of walking the aisles - we were ready to go home!

Loved this little piece of stolen property?

Perhaps my flea market and thrifting days are nearing an end with the boy.  He did not enjoy waking at 6 am and walking the market.  The Nutella crepe was the highlight of this flea market experience, along with a jeweler's loupe he obtained early on with his money.  I'll give him a thrifting reprieve for the rest of this month.

We made it home by noon and the day was absolutely warm and gorgeous.  Not bad for a thrifting adventure on this Superbowl Sunday.  Not bad at all.