Bodega Baycation :: Golf, tennis & swim camp

We hit the ground running for our week away in Bodega Bay.  A mere seven miles from home, but we treated it like a real vacation.  The Mahleys generously give us their home each year during the last week of July and we pack up the car and move on in.

The week was pretty grey, warm & insulated.  Typical July weather on the coast.  Lessons took up a good part of every day from about 9 - 2 pm and we lingered poolside most days after the end of Grady's swim lesson.  I finished two books in a matter of days and we napped, watched a few movies and  even took in an art show.  Grady also squeezed in some bike riding with Steve & a soccer practice.  Good God - we were busy, but we balanced it all quite nicely and decided not to be too social with friends and treat this like a real family vacation.  It was just what we needed.

Golf camp ended with a few holes on the actual course with a foursome of boys ready to put into practice all they had learned.  The etiquette of the game was loosely engaged and they helped each other keep track of their strokes and reminded one another what club should be used and when.  I think the real highlight for the little golfers was the chance to hang off the golf cart, as we shuttled them from hole to hole.  What service!

Tennis was Grady's favorite part of the week.  He loves the game and wants to start playing more often.  He even missed the end-of-the-week swim party just so that he could take his full tennis lesson.  He did grumble a bit about being the only kid with a used racket, but got over it quickly and seemed pleased by the tennis racket holder his dad let him borrow.  This kid loves accessories.

The yearly Bodega Bay Elementary School PTA-sponsored swim lessons were a big hit with my guy.  And while he perfected the backstroke, he still has a bit of work to do on his freestyle.  He swam every day and lingered with friends in the pool for an hour or so each day.

It was nice to see Grady's improved skills at the end of the week, as well as witness the stronger bonds of friendship formed with a few of the boys.  

As we rolled out of town late Friday afternoon and made the short trek home, I felt a wonderful sense of calm come over me.  Our week away from home was a nice pause to our normal daily routine(s) and we enjoyed much needed family time.  Grady thanked his dad for spending time with us and I think we all slowed down and enjoyed each other.

Same time next year?  You betcha.

Summer is...

:: Handmade margaritas

:: Warm, freshly picked strawberries that melt in your mouth

:: The time to learn new chores & responsibilities

:: Abundant artichokes served warm & cold

:: Our first meager harvest from our little blueberry bush

::  Haying (and allergy) season in Valley Ford

:: Bowls of cherries

:: Roadside gardening of the most fragrant sweet peas

:: Just plucked basil for the oh-so summery caprese salad

:: A good reason to celebrate dear friends

:: The time to work on home projects

:: Inflatable pool wrestling season

:: All about picking, eating, preserving & enjoying all the fresh fruit you can

:: Making time for simple art

:: Crunchy hillsides & billowy clouds

:: After dinner hikes behind our house with our family

:: A lovely reminder to slow down & bask in the sunshiny glow.

Lessons & Adventures

Soccer has started up and our son is totally into it.  Last year was his first time on a league team and he was fast, but mostly confused by the game.  This year he clearly understands what the game is about and is going for the ball and sporting his trademark long hair and running as fast as he can down the field.  It's a nice sight to see.

This summer has been pretty packed full of activities for the boy.  I usually don't over schedule our son, but I knew he would need to be busy or he would just sit in his room and read or play Legos.  All. Summer. Long.  So, I signed him up for summer academy, golf & tennis camps, swim lessons and a week long CYO camp in Occidental.

I also called a local birding legend, Don Toms, and asked if he could take Grady out for a few birding adventures in and around Bodega Bay.  They had two such outings last week and spotted terns, pelicans & 10 barn owls in one siting on Short Tail Gulch trail.  I love our community so very much and feel lucky to have this network of adults who really care about my kid and take the time to help broaden his view of this world.

The newly reopened Sebastopol library has been a godsend this summer.  It is new and improved with a wonderful children's literature and media section.  Last summer it was all about the books on tape, but this summer has been all about Lemony Snicket, the Geronimo Stilton series and the Percy Jackson series.  I'm also reading him the most gorgeous and magical book called Wildwood and I just love it when he begs me to keep reading just one more page?

Stephanie called yesterday and wanted to take the kids on a bike ride to Tomales.  The gang suited up and went out for a 2-1/2 hour ride that clocked them 14.5 miles all together.  I am so very proud of my little man and his godsisters.  They are such strong and amazing children.  And that Stephanie?  Well, you just can't say no to her infectious spirit and can-do attitude.  I'm so lucky she's in our lives.

Camping :: Gerstle Cove

So, let's start this off with a disclaimer that I'm not really much of a camper.  There.  I said it.  Actually, it's no secret.  Our family didn't really tent camp during my formative years.  They got a motor home when I was in high school and, of course, I was way too cool to spend my weekends with them in the sand dunes known as Glammis.  I think I missed out on a lot of fun with this camping business and I'm glad we joined our friends this week to rough it for a few days.

Steve purchased us a beautiful knew Coleman stove and prepped a big pot of Hecht chili the night before our departure.  I shopped for simple food and pre-cut & bagged most of our necessities.  We packed the car to the gills with tents, bikes, ice chests & golf clubs (see I told you we were roughing it!) and meandered up the coast to Gerstle Cove about 40 miles north of us.

Grady slept in his very own tent right next to ours (which he put up with his father's help).  He whittled marshmallow sticks for us and did a fair amount of bike riding with his dad.  We hiked, read books and ate really, really well.  One minor injury incurred by the boy was a fat lip from falling and hitting his mouth on his water bottle, but he shook it off quickly and was ready for the next adventure.  The campsite had an incredible amount of bird life and dozens of Stellar's Jays descended in the afternoons to try and steal unattended food from our table.

We really needed this little camping trip.  We slowed down, disconnected from our devices and made some really nice memories for our family.

July happenings

The month started off with a little home improvement and has steadily picked up steam.  We had a plumbing issue that required SL to remove part of our laundry room wall.  G was quick to help and discovered a new love of peeling paint.  Oh, the little pleasures.

Speaking of paint, check out the neon orange "Tequila Sunrise" paint on the entryway that I thought would be an awesome idea.  Um, NOT.  Oh, Steve indulged me and even painted over it all a few days later with a very safe, very boring "Burlap".  Live and learn, right?

The guys attended their annual Dodgers-Giants game in the city (where the Dodgers were creamed, by the way) and we volunteered at the annual Bodega Bay fireworks' show.  Laying on the asphalt parking lot at Westside Park is still the best seat in the house.

We have been picking, freezing, canning, eating, sharing & drinking our fair share of strawberries from Swallow Valley Farms (just around the corner).  I just love the produce this time of year.

We have met with friends old and new lately.  A Ukrainian student named Anastasiya is a new friend and we attended an all-American BBQ in her honor.  We've dined al fresco on our front deck with neighbors and rendezvoused in Petaluma with our Walla Walla friends, the Hartleys (who just moved to Hawaii).

Grady has been taking art lessons with a new teacher, Jean Warren, who is an amazing watercolorist.  He's finally enjoying this medium and has been keeping a summer drawing journal here at home, too.  I am going to absolutely love looking at that journal at the end of August and see all the little things that interested him over these summer months.  So far it has been birds, hillsides, flowers and Legos.

G attended a three week summer academy at his school.  Their focus was marine biology and he loved his teacher, Mr. Risley.  There has been a lot of summer learning going on in and outside of the classroom.

We have harvested our garlic and planted tomatoes and flowers around here.  Grady has taken on new responsibilities around the house and we've had him cooking & cleaning bathrooms (which he totally loves!).  He's assisted his father with DIY home projects, taken a fancy to his new mountain bike and helps me pace my morning runs.  He just completed a workshop with 15 year old cartoonist, Emma Capps, at the Charles Schulz Museum.  He was also schooled in the art of plant propagation from our dear friend and neighbor, Scott.

Food is ever present in these summer months and it's been so great to sit outside and enjoy our view and new deck heater.  S'mores have been incorporated to many an after-dinner meal around here and I made my first attempt at refrigerator pickles just this week.  We enjoyed our first heirloom tomato of the season and the blackberries are just starting to ripen on their thorny, inhospitable vines.

We attended a garden party at Patty & Charlie's last night on Bastille Day and I was reminded how very lucky we are.  Surrounded by redwood trees and dear friends.  Both very solid, beautiful and sacred.

And...I'm back.

Well, I guess three months was all I needed to get inspired, once again, for this little blog of mine.  I've actually quite missed coming here to this space and recording the miscellany of our daily lives.

So very much has happened in the time that I stopped writing here.  Our son turned nine years old, my mother came for a visit and helped out while I worked a long stretch of days for our community's biggest fundraiser.  I finished working on my first political campaign and celebrated same with a girls' trip to Big Sur.  School ended mid-June and it has been non-stop fun with the boy ever since.

I'm going to try to write here on a weekly basis and see how it feels.  For now, I will just pick up where we are and share with words and photos the rhythm of our home and lives.

Feels good to be here, again.

this moment

{this moment}

. . . . . . . .

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

this moment

{this moment}

. . . . . . . .

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

. . . . . . . . .

9th Birthday

Your 9th birthday started off bright and early.

With deep-fried donuts and coffee for your parents, Scott & Jill.

You happily woke up and jumped out of bed to a kitchen table full of wrapped packages and cards from friends far away.

The requisite bi-yearly measurements were taken and recorded on your door jamb.

Birthday songs were sung.

Presents and sweet cards were opened.

You left for school looking a little bit older.

You came home from school to find your new bike that your dad bought you.

And a super cool bike helmet to keep you safe.

I picked up Gigi from the airport and she helped us ring out your birthday in the evening.

Playing with fire.

The requisite Hecht family kahlua kake, per your special request.

We have a nine year old.  How did that happen?

hello, goodbye

This blog has been a place I visit at least once a week to record my life, our life.  It has been a place to jot down the miscellany that I don't want to forget and help me to remember the fabric of our days for the last five years.  It's never been easy for me to do this.  I have had to force myself to edit photos and reach for words that are always just beyond my grasp. I have grappled with technology all along the way.  Slow internet speed, lack of photo editing tools and figuring the ins and outs of blog formatting have all proved challenging.

I'm approaching my 500th blog post.  This blog was a place I started coming to record silly happenings in our lives.  It then became a place to share what I was interested in at the very moment I was interested in it (thrifting, beach combing, cooking and books).  I developed a love of capturing nature and my life through the lens of a camera.  I began to see the world differently and my place in it.

After the sale of my business, this blog helped me transition from being around hundreds of people a week to being with my husband and son, a flock of chickens and my thoughts.  It sounds silly to say that this blog saved me but, in a way, it did.  I tethered myself to this web address and tried to look at the beauty in my life and focus on it, with my words or with the lens of my camera.

And you know what?  It worked.  This silly little blog helped me see all that my life was and it helped me to make better choices, seek out new adventures and document my little boy as he navigated his way from his little farm preschool to public school.  It has helped me to view my life with reverence and appreciation for all that I have.

The blogging world is really open and is a sort of community in and of itself.  I have found so much inspiration and formed bonds with people I have never even met and deepened bonds with friends I might have otherwise lost contact with.  I log on every morning and read blogs about motherhood, cooking and art.  I grab the positive and start my day off inspired.

And now, I'm ready to take this little blog and tuck it away.  It has served me well all these years and I'm more than ready to release my self-imposed assignment of sharing in this space.

Hello, goodbye.

nuggets :: spring break

nuggets :: little bits of the season in photos and words about the last week, as inspired by dig

Our small community has been buzzing with activity due to the arrival of the tall ships into the Bodega Bay harbor, the 200th anniversary of Fort Ross and the impending 39th Annual Fisherman's Festival.  We did a little t-shirt folding at last week's book club and this year's t-shirt artwork is designed by local artist, Kai Samuels-Davis.  We attended a Vodka & Caviar fundraiser where I actually dressed up in something other than jeans and then totally forgot to take any pictures of the lovely evening.  It was a grand time.

We received a rather mysterious package from Amazon.com via Larry the UPS driver.  There was no gift card enclosed.  Inside the box was a set of two pink flamingos.  Awesome.

It turned out to be a thank you gift from our good friends, David & Manuella, but it also turned out to be the gift that keeps on giving.  Flo (as we quickly named her) packed her bags and said goodbye to her twin, hopped in the back of the car and went on a road trip with us to Southern California.  She had so many adventures.

The Christiansen Clan welcomed us with open arms and we quickly settled in to catching up, being real silly, swimming, lounging, cooking, sipping adult beverages and watching our boys play together.

To say that Grady loved their pool would be an absolute understatement.  I think the above pictures pretty much say it all.

As we settled in to our requisite chairs on back patio and got to the business of catching up,  I was reminded how much I love this family.  My friend is also like a sister to me and we shared stories and caught up on the good (and bad) stuff that life is made of.

There is something very magical about visiting with friends who you have known for 20+ years.  There is history, sure, but there is a comfort built in that is other-worldly and hard to put into words.  I'm home when walk through my best friends' front door.  My kid picks up where he left off with her boys.

Easter Sunday was a beautiful day with loads of food and sweets.  My friend calmly prepped food to feed 26 people and showed me how to hostess, minus the hostess stress.  She is an inspiration.

Flo got a little beat up along the way and, ultimately, lost her legs and retained a bit of water from floating in the pool all evening.  She's such a trouper.

I quickly captured a blurry shot of Alex, Kacy's first born, as she was on her way out the door on a hot date.  These kids are such a love to me.

Grady swam, skinned his knees and played Legos.  We cheered Harry on at his t-ball game and watched him hit three straight home runs!

The trip recharged us and as we drove the long eight hours home, I felt so satisfied.  It was like I was so thirsty and parched and didn't even know it.  I drank from the best friend well and was rejuvenated, my thirst quenched.  

My soul was lighter, my son was happily exhausted.