Just Like That

After a month of wiggling his first loose tooth, he pulled it out tonight.  Just like that.  He was so stinkin' proud of himself.  He called the neighbors, his grandma, his dad and left messages for anyone who wasn't home.  He ran down the lane and showed the elders of Johns Street the hole in his head!  He was brimming with exuberance and could barely contain himself.  He oozed self-confidence.  He did it all by himself.

His wheels were turning and trying to figure out this Tooth Fairy thing.  I told him to put his sweet little tooth in a small container and put it under his pillow.  He found a small Altoids tin and did just that.  He was hoping for money or a toy.  Toy?  When did that start?  Anyhow, he did receive a big fat one dollar bill and that is only because it was his first tooth.

Oh, turns out Steve is the tooth fairy.  Who knew?

Vintage Love

Before:  $3 Harmony House Dresser from the 1960's - missing middle drawer.

After:  $70 worth of supplies is what it took to rehab this dresser, along with my husband's elbow grease.  Sanding, staining, sanding some more, waxing and creating custom screen covers for the lower drawers took him a few weeks of late-night stints in his shop.

The bottom "drawers" are actually just screened covers that hide the components.  Pretty awesome, huh?  He also tacked up all of the wires to the back of this unit, so that they don't show.  I absolutely love it.  Now the hunt continues for a large sideboard for the kitchen...

Another little bit of vintage goodness was the present Steve recently gave Grady for his seventh birthday.  He has been saving this present since Grady was born and knew he would be ready for it when he turned the ripe old age of seven.  Perfect timing (no pun intended!).  The Mickey Mouse watch from Steve's childhood was thoughtfully given to our son on his seventh birthday, along with a typed up history of the watch and the significance of it to my husband.  Grady was delighted and they shared a big smack-a-roo and sweet hug to seal this father-son deal.

Old is new in our house this week.  Thanks husband.

Happy Birthday Eve Grady!

Earth Day

My guys planted a Maple Tree in honor of Earth Day this year.  My dad used to plant a tree, shrub, flowers - something on Arbor Day (back in the day before Earth Day!).  When Steve came home with this little sapling, it made me think of what a great steward of the earth my dad was.

My dad used to light kerosene lamps and use them in the house during one of his "save electricity" phases (note: huge safety issue).  We had a rooster and a garden that he tended after working long 12-hour days in Los Angeles.  It seemed to relax him.  He was concerned about the environment before it became trendy.  He walked-the-walk you could say.  Never wasteful and very resourceful.  Always recycled cans, glass and motor oil.  Went out of his way to conserve energy in the most comical of ways (as mentioned above).  He, rather my mother, hung his clothes to dry on our back porch for years and years.

I rebelled against all of that when I left home.  Silly me.  Now that I have a child and live in a place where beauty is everywhere, I fully understand my responsibility on this planet and my responsibility to teach my son the same and be an example for him.  What will he remember?  Here are a few things I hope make the list:

• never accepting plastic bags for any reason, from any store
• our weekly pilgrimage to Taylor Maid Coffee Outlet to refill our coffee cans with fair-trade coffee
• thrifting for the things we want - even if it takes awhile to get what we need
• plastic water bottles, capri suns & juice boxes have disappeared from our home and have not been missed
• knowing the farmer who grows our vegetables - thank you Farmer George & Anna
• our bi-weekly trips to the library to check out books and movies, rather than buy new
• saving our yogurt containers and glass food jars to reuse and regift with
• composting
• saying goodbye to disposable plates, cups & napkins
• our flock of laying hens and all the shenanigans that go along with them!
• frequenting our local, small businesses and avoiding large chain stores whenever possible
• no new toys from China (this has become a funny game with us)
• the nightly ritual of setting the table with cloth napkins 
• vintage bed sheets will always = tablecloths & beach blankets
• line-drying our clothes in the warm months on our front deck

We're not perfect and surely we make exceptions, but our rules have changed.  Being mindful about how we spend our money, time and resources is at the top of our priority list.  

How did you celebrate Earth Day?

Bodega Bay Fisherman's Festival 2010

Our annual Fisherman's Festival was this weekend and it was a rip-roaring success.  It is a 100% volunteer supported gig.  I helped with a few things this year and was able to see it from start-fo-finish.  The proceeds from this event go to local non-profit organizations within our fire district zone.  I worked on behalf of the Tomales Elementary School PTA and the Bodega Bay Fireworks Committee.

As usual, Grady loved visiting the local non-profits and gathered free literature about mosquitoes, how to prevent fires from the fire department, lots of data from the Marine Mammal Center and a plethora of books from the Sonoma County Free Library.  That was just on Day One!

We danced, ate, drank and were merry.  Friendships were galvanized and I feel so fortunate to live in a place where people come together (almost 500 volunteers total) and selflessly donate their time and energy to this wonderful town that we live in.

If you want to read more about the weekend's festivities, please visit Bodega Bay Life's Blog.

Spring Break: Camping in Philo

Spring break is here and we are headed to Hendy Woods State Park in Philo with another family.  We have the menus planned, bike packed, s'more fixings, adult beverages and enough junk food to make your teeth hurt.  Let Spring Break officially begin!

We had the best time.  The kids went skinny-dipping, we ate like Kings & Queens, G had a tick removed from his back (not so fun...) and he rode his bike for hours and played baseball with other camp kids.  Exactly the kind of Spring Break every little boy should have.  

This campground is featured in Sunset Magazine's May 2010 issue.  We paid $40 a night for the sweet, bare-bones cabin and it was so worth it.  Little wood stove and bunk beds in the cabin.  First-come, first-served basis for the cabin we stayed in, but you can reserve others throughout the campground.  

I'm not usually up for roughing it, but this time around I was a happy camper.  Food, shelter, good friends (and wine) helped make this a trip to remember.  

Seeds & Such

Every year my asparagus patch gives me these lovely little spears.  I do nothing to deserve it.  It just simply takes care of itself.  I weed it a bit in February and Steve takes it down to nothing in the Fall.  I really should be nicer to this patch and I will try this year with amending and adding new soil, as well as cover it with straw this Winter.  I will.  I promise.

The next round of seeds to get planted directly in the garden were Chioggia Beets and Butter Lettuce.  I'm feeling less sure about this process.  They are just outside my back door, but not under my watchful eye (like the seedlings pictured below in my kitchen window).  I've covered the rows with wire caging to help keep the chickens from scratching and clawing the seedlings right out of the ground.  I hope they survive.  

One week into this virgin gardening thing and I already have radish seedlings!  Whoo-hoo.  I read that I can plant these every two or three weeks and keep a steady supply coming my way.  Oh how I love a crisp radish, dipped in softened butter and dabbed in kosher salt.  Delish.

Lastly, these are two trays of zinnia seedlings.  It is so danged fun watching something grow from a seed.  I haven't killed anything.  Yet.

Along with this experiment, I'm also reading Second Nature by Michael Pollan.  I'm gaining a little bit of gardening knowledge and expertise from a man considered to have a green thumb.  His insights are encouraging and I realized that this is just the beginning for me in the garden.  Every year you learn something new about your garden, the land, the water runoff, frost warnings and that newfound information takes you into the next gardening year.  And so on and so on.  Research, common sense and diligence seem to be the common thread.  I'm definitely picking up more information from other recreational gardeners, books, blogs and farmers.

I'm hoping for another lovely year of growth, both personally and in the garden.

Easter Sunday

I had to wake G to start Easter Sunday.  Steve hid 24 plastic eggs (I know, I know, but I reuse them every year) around the house with marshmallows, albino chips (white chocolate chips), raisins and chocolate chips, as well as notes good for ice cream, new book, etc.  G was thrilled, as this was all he wanted:  An Egg Hunt.

The rest of the day was filled with food, lots of rain, DVD's, mimosas and a quick visit to our friend's farm for an Easter Beer Hunt.  She made the beer and also hid a few eggs for G.

He has been drawing and creating a tableau in our entryway for the last few weeks.  He totally enjoys setting a scene up for the holidays and I love that about him.  Lambs, pretty eggs, bunny drawings, as well as all of the cards he had received in the mail for this rite of passage into Spring.  He relishes putting them on display.  We talked about Easter and how it started and that it symbolizes birth, renewal and paying homage to the egg and the rabbit.  He said he knew all that.   Of course he did.

April Fool's Day Performance

Look at this dapper young man!  He posed for me with such a different look.  I did mention he's getting older, but c'mon.  He looks like he's posing for a J.Crew catalog.  I scored this sweet jacket at the PTA clothing swap (for free!) and had it dry cleaned.  When I brought it home from the dry cleaners my son was ecstatic.  He proclaimed that he wanted to wear it for his pre-formance (I can't correct him, as it sounds too cute).  On the big day, he popped out of bed and picked out his entire outfit all the way down to the plaid sneakers and sparkly xmas socks.  No hat needed.  Just his choices.  Okay then.

The real surprise for us was that he had a harmonica solo and never told us about it.  When they called him up and he did his thing, we were a little shocked.  

This was why he wanted a fancy jacket.  He knew he would be performing for the masses and he wanted to look extra nice.  It was hard to hear his "solo", but my face hurt from smiling after the pre-formance.  He was SO proud of himself and loved that he kept this a secret from us.  Should I be worried?  I think so.