Right this Minute

2011-03-27T21:57:00.000-07:00

The Day of the Lemon Cake

Sierra has been wanting to make a cake for a week. No particular reason. Well, if sugar counts as a reason, then yeah, one particular reason. So after searching for just the right flavor and recipe, she came upon a Lemon Cake recipe that looked pretty tasty.

We didn't realize that it also happened to be Gluten Free until we were really concentrating on writing down the ingredients for the shopping list. One would think it would be difficult to find brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, xanthan gum, guar gum, and maybe even lemon extract. But guess what? Whole Foods has every single one of these items in one aisle!

So with our ingredients in hand, Sierra began the cake making process. First the cake part - pretty straightforward - mix a bunch of stuff together, pour in a pan, and bake. One ingredient we somehow overlooked was canola oil. I always have coconut oil on hand, so I got it out, heated it just enough to bring it to liquid state, then gave it to Sierra to add to a milk/lemon zest mixture she needed to do before incorporating into the cake batter. Guess what happens when you mix coconut oil with cold milk? Uh huh. Back to solid. Oh well, warmed the mixture again back to liquid and had no problems after that.

Next was the lemon curd. This was where she used the guar gum. Very easy and it thickened up really nicely.

So we split the two cake layers in half and basically made lemon curd sandwiches of them before putting them back together for frosting. This is the only part I was allowed to do because she didn't trust herself to split the cakes horizontally.

Finally, there was frosting to be made. I cannot believe it has taken me all these years to realize it - but I only learned about a month ago that you can make your own powdered sugar by putting granulated sugar in a powerful enough blender. What a money saver. So she made some powdered sugar, added it to butter, lemon, lemon extract, and lemon zest and that was the frosting. Oh, 1 1/2 times the recipe of course, for decorating purposes.

It was time for the base level of frosting.

But just a simple layer of frosting isn't too exciting, now is it? So you need some whoop-te-doos and piping and whatnot, and of course some sprinkles, because what is a cake without sprinkles? Wait...I wonder if the sprinkles un-gluten-freed the cake!?! Hmmmm.

And the finished cake with the baker.

And finally, the cake after cutting. It always gets dark outside when I'm trying to photograph food and you just can't see the layers as well as I'd like - but they're there, believe me.

UPDATE: Daytime photo of the yummy layers

I told Sierra this and I don't think she truly believes me...but this is the best cake I have ever eaten. I cannot explain exactly why - of course it was made with love, and it's flavors that I adore, etc. - but the flavors shine through with the exact right amount of sweet, moist, and flavorful: not too much or too little of anything.

I would say that you could potentially double the lemon curd recipe if you really like lemon curd....I thought we really weren't going to be able to taste it at all because it's a pretty thin layer, but surprisingly it held up really well and you could definitely taste it.

If you'd like to try it yourself, you can go to the Lemon Layer Cake recipe at Epicurious. It's from the November, 2005 Gourmet, which, like any good packrat, I have in my "November section" of my food magazine racks.

And yes, I did call this The DAY of the Lemon Cake for a reason. What was supposed to be a 2-hour-total-time cake recipe somehow took around 5 hours. Oh well, that's okay. It was worth it.

2010-04-09T16:59:00.000-07:00

Ryan finally wanted me to video the whole song....so here you go:

2010-03-30T15:12:00.000-07:00

A couple of minutes of Ryan's latest song....

Don't forget - Train at the Fox Theater in Oakland April 10!

2010-02-01T09:23:00.000-08:00

COBRA STRIKE!

Check out the new video from Judgement Day, a local "string metal" band made up of guys playing violin, cello and drums. The strings players happen to be the sons of Sierra's violin teacher, and they were nice enough to ask her to be part of the video. Click here for some behind-the-scenes info.

You'll see Sierra at 1:49; 2:02; 2:19; 2:28; 2:31; 2:41; and 2:47. It's fast, so pay attention!

2009-11-10T22:00:00.000-08:00

HOMEMADE HERBAL COUGH DROPS

It's that time of year again folks. Cough/cold/nasty what the heck is that person hacking up time. We go through bags and bags and bags of Ricola. The only person who is a bigger baby about having a sore throat than me is Sierra. Way bigger. Where'd she get that from? So I thought...hmmm...how hard can it be to make these things? Turns out not hard at all. You just have to approach it like I try to approach sewing - NO FEAR.

So I researched (you know...I googled it) recipes, formulas and herbs and settled in on one recipe. All properties described are internet-retrieved, so you choose whether to believe the purported properties of the herbs. However, I will say that my brain believed them as I sucked on the finished product.

Here's the recipe:

1 cup dried herbs (see here for herb guide). Mix and match according to your preference

3 cups boiling water

3 1/2 cups brown sugar or same amount of honey [see note about honey]

2 teaspoons peppermint extract if desired (may not go with honey?!)

Candy thermometer

First you will want to steep the dried herbs in the tea. Steep for about 30 minutes or so. Strain well using a tea press or cheesecloth.

Next add brown sugar or honey over medium heat and bring to a boil slowly. Be sure to keep stirring constantly. When the brown sugar or honey herbs mixture reaches 290 to 300 degrees and pulls apart in threads it is done.

At this point remove from heat and add the peppermint extract if desired. You can then proceed to pull the mixture like taffy and make little balls. Or the easiest and fastest thing to do is spread over a cookie sheet. I tried putting them in a loaf pan (I made a 1/2 recipe) and scoring them. When the herbal mixture it hardens you can then break into pieces. Use wax paper to store them.

[Note about honey - These tasted great but after a couple of weeks in a container began to draw in moisture and try to become liquid again. Still edible....just had to twist a piece off. Someone suggested putting one of those little silicon(e)? packets inside the container to prevent this which I think I'll try next time]

The herbs were easy to find. Whole Foods was my first stop and they had everything but horehound. However, next time I'll just go to Lhasa K to get everything, which is where I found the horehound.

This is what the dried herbs look like pre-tea:

Horehound has been used for decades for coughs and bronchial upsets. It is a great herb for breaking up congestion. It contains murubiin which stimulates bronchial secretions.

Mullein is an herb that will help soothe the bronchial and lungs. It is extremely gentle and effective. It will help ease coughs.

This herb is used to help relieve inflammation of the bronchial.

So you make up this big pan of tea and then do the straining:

The tea comes out looking like this:

Then, put it back in a pan with the brown sugar or honey.

Pour it in a pan (for a 1/2 recipe I used a loaf pan)....next time I'll probably line the pan with wax paper and butter it, for easier removal.

If you decide to pour it on a cookie sheet you're done. You'll simply break it up like brittle when it's ready. But if you use a pan like I did (thinking I could make the shape of the original herbal flavor Ricolas) you need to score the cough drops...unless you're a hard candy expert and know how to quickly and efficiently pull and shape the taffy-like candy into little balls. That's not me so I'm scoring. The challenge is that you have to score when it's not too hot and not too cool. I would run my small, sharp knife through a little butter, then dip the tip in and draw a line. Sometimes I'd start at the edges and do the edges all the way around, then wait as the middle cooled a bit more a go back in a little at a time. When it's too hot the candy sticks to the knife - too cool, you won't be able to score it at all.

Sounds hard but it's not. Although I do want to look into getting hard candy molds so I can make nice little round balls without the taffy-pulling part. Good luck!

2009-07-26T00:01:00.000-07:00

HELP NEEDED FROM CREATIVES (OR WOULD-BE CREATIVES):

I am trying to reimagine our front yard. My imagination is currently hovering somewhere between art garden and/or courtyard found in San Miguel de Allende. And frankly, I don't believe they're mutually exclusive. Why San Miguel? Color, color and more color, natch.

A few inspiration photos:

Sort of art garden meets the casa. Our house style is Monterey Colonial, which is already kind of a mash-up, so I figure let's mash some more. We obviously have a long way to go...

The old yard:

It's okay. But the boxwood and the camellias bored me to death. And I wanted a front porch somethin' fierce. So, after putting the camellias on Craig's List (free to whoever came and dug them out-3 offers within 2 hours), I built me one.

It hard to see, but I've got some great slate-like tiles, bordered and sectioned by railroad ties. The front tie, 15 feet long, I drove to Modesto for, had them load it on top of Scott's ski racks, and pushed the sucker off the car myself into the front yard. I don't mess around when I want something done.

(Oh, and did you notice the lovely carpet of leaves is basically unchanged? Yes, that's my solution to the drought....never let them see your lawn - or lack thereof.)

The loveseat and chair are an Ohmega Salvage purchase, for which I have the cushions and fabric for recovering. I finished one since last summer.....speed's not my middle name.

I also made these end tables, inspired by a french pigeon basket coffee table I saw (for $1200!), and I love them with the loveseat and chair.

Also note the hanging lanterns purchased a separate time from Ohmega, as well as the wall lantern, for which I am still looking for a mate.

So in the casa-inspired version, all the brick comes out, the gate moves to the corner, there's some kind of pavers curved to the front door, the house gets painted, there's a cool-ish new fence and a fountain.....somewhere.

So now you're mostly you're up-to-speed. Oh, well, except for the piece of....ummm....art?.....that I bought at Urban Ore. Some employee had put it together as a display for their area, and I happened to come in on a day she was gone, and they sold it to me. The best shot I have of it is from behind Ryan and Sierra's heads. It's a frame, built from leftover electrical components and such, and I'm still figuring out how and where to place IT in the front yard.

OK, now to the part where I need some help/ideas/suggestions. Here is my latest Ohmega Salvage purchase:

It's galvanized steel, and it's former life was as a floral display used with individual pots. For those not familiar with Ohmega, they have lots of great architectural salvage materials, and then lots of just plain WTF? stuff. Not sure into which category my new purchase falls, but that's neither here nor there. I don't intend to use it the way it was originally intended, and here's where I need your help.

I envision putting it upright (full upright-not slanted upright like in the photo)......

But then what? What am I not thinking of? What could it do? What could it look like? What could it represent? Would love your input.....just comment, e-mail, or Facebook me. Thanks!

2009-07-16T10:37:00.000-07:00

What do pierced ears and chickens have in common?

Sierra finally got her ears pierced. For those who don't know, she had to complete a goal first in order to be able to do so. The goal was to keep her room clean for six months straight. Some may say, so what? She should keep her room clean all the time anyway. Uh huh. Is your room clean 24/7 for six months in a row? Mine is certainly not. Others say...six months? Harsh! Well, there is a good reason. I needed for her to prove that she was responsible enough to be able to care for her ears. Too many of her friends seemed to be getting infections after getting their ears pierced. If she is responsible enough to keep her room clean for that long, she is responsible enough to keep her ears as clean as they need to be for the first 6 months of piercing. She started this journey when she was 8...went for about a month, then it all fell apart and she had to start over. Then she decided to time it out so that right around her 9th birthday, if successful, she could have pierced ears. And hooray! She made it! And let me tell you, I have never seen anyone so responsible with their ear cleaning. Her ear cleaning solution and cotton balls have gone with her EVERYWHERE. Sleepovers. Summer day camp. Oregon. Three times a day, without fail, she cleans and twists, twists and cleans. This Sunday is a very exciting milestone...she gets to change earrings. She already has a strategy that she'll change them every other day, always leaving in the originals for overnight. This will be the strategy through November, which will complete the first 6 months of pierced ears. She's not taking any chances. And I'm extremely proud.

So, having watched this all unfold, Ryan has decided that he has a goal of keeping his room clean for six months. And the prize he wants? Chickens. He really really really really wants to raise chickens so we can have fresh eggs. Sierra's violin teacher has four chickens that roam around her Oakland yard, and many other families in the hills have them, as they're legal to have in Oakland. Obviously chickens are a big responsibility. I'm not quite sure taking care of chickens is equivalent to taking care of newly-pierced ears, or if keeping your room clean qualifies either, but somehow we've embarked on a let's-see journey. We'll let you know what happens!

2009-05-15T22:51:00.000-07:00

Did you hear about the hottest new band? Uh huh....they're called Rock Candy and they're all the rage! Their latest gig was at the Starry Plough in Berkeley. Oh, you haven't heard? Well you can read today's SF Chronicle Datebook section....or go online to SFGate and read the article (be sure to click through the "view more images" link for a super-secret suprise image!).

2009-03-15T10:57:00.000-07:00

Time to praise Craig's List again. In this economy, I can't imagine how or why anyone buys anything new. Of course, there's the whole argument about needing to stimulate the economy in order for businesses to make it through these times....so if you're of that mind and able to do so, go for it. But the environmentalist in me (and we all have some of it in us somewhere) says, reduce, reuse, recycle - and of course Craig's List satisfies that particular need in me.

Ryan loves model trains, and has wanted to put together a track plan. We have absolutely no space....but figured out how to put together a 4 x 8 space in his room if we cleaned, cleaned, cleaned and then moved everything around. So we thought about how to create even more space, and a loft bed seemed like a good option. If you look around at loft beds, they can be really flimsy....and expensive for what you get! But then I went to CL, and found this:

This was custom-made for a boy by his dad. The boy is now off to college.....and we get the benefit of being the second owner. This guy knew what he was doing....the craftsmanship is beautiful. By the way, he's moved on from woodworking....currently he's building an airplane in his garage....not a model airplane.....an actual airplane. We got to see the wings portion...very cool. Anyway, we paid way way way way way less than other beds that are out there - and they gave Ryan a deal because he was paying for it with his own money. It has 6 drawers - which then meant we could get rid of the huge dresser in his room as well....hooray! And the other side has a bookshelf - which meant we could get rid of a book shelf in his room....and mom and dad gained a bookshelf in their room....double hooray! So then, a small desk was needed. And where did I turn? CL natch. And in the small world category, the desk I found (which is identical to the one we already own in our office but in a different color) was being sold by a woman in my book club who then lowered the price by $10 when she found out it was me. So a desk that we paid around $200ish for a few years ago, I picked up for $70. Oh, and that drum stool under the desk? That was a bonus stool from the drum set Ryan bought off CL last year.....for some reason the kid had two drum stools (which we didn't originally know) so it's the purchase that keeps on giving.

2009-02-08T16:55:00.000-08:00

Today, a collection of writing from Sierra:

E-mail one sent from car ride home from Tahoe yesterday (I stayed home while everyone else went skiing for the day). I am not correcting spelling or grammar - but will insert a word or explanation in parenthesis and italicized if clarification may be needed:

This is a really cute picture of me when I was drinking hot chocolate with extra whipped cream! We had two stops for hot chocolate. Both times it was very very good. The 2nd time there was no whipped cream. But we had to add "all perpose cream". The contaner of crem was stuck in a huge tub with a bunch of ice and water foer some reason. I thoght that it was quit weird and interesting. My favorite run was the easy one but they had split it in half and one side was a train [terrain] park. I liked the train park the best. Right now, we are stuck in traffic for some reason. Dad thinks that there must have been an acsadent ahead. I think that he just changed what he thought was ahead but I couldn't quit hear what he said. Got to go because Ryan is complaning that it is to long and that I should send it abot now.

Love,

Sierra

E-mail two, half an hour later:

Here is another picture for you.

Love,

Sierra

And finally, e-mail three, another half an hour later:

Here is another one. You should read this ones caption before you read the other caption of the picture in the email above this one because other ways it doesn't make any sence at all. I have chose that I don't really like to go skiing with dad, dad and ryan, or in ski school or blue angels. I don't like blue angels because of the movies and the middel school and also the dinner at in and out [this is the program last year where they rode up on the bus with 7-16 year olds - hence the movies on the bus reference, the middle school kids reference...and finally the reference to In and Out Burger where they made a dinner stop on the way home after a full day of skiing]. The food there is really really bad. It is gross. I hate it. I am really board and hungry right now and I am defenentaly not in the mood for sushi right now. I do not have any shoes on right now or socks and I am really really hot. Ryan does not like me typing long emails for some weird reason. He keeps complaining about it. It is just a long email for goodness sake! I am learning how to text emails on dads phone just like I am right now. It is really fun once you get your fingers used to putting them in the right places. There Ryan goes again complaining about the long email again! My butt herts from sitting so long in the car. I can not wait to see you when we get to the resterant. I hope that I spelled resterant right. We are going to call you in about five minets dad says but I do not know why. We have a full moon tonight. It is very very pretty. You will want to see it when we get home because it is so beatiful. The snow in Tahoe looked like the softest cloud blanket made of snow and the houses looked like huge ginger bread houses.

And now a little touch from today....she went online to make a drawing and e-mailed it to me. I've captured it with her words.....

I'm not sure who the subject is....however I do know that there is no loss of self-esteem in Sierra right now. And her stream-of-consciousness writing.....well, does it remind you of anyone?

2009-01-19T11:59:00.000-08:00

I've fudged the dates a bit on the new Inauguration blog....so you'll see lots of photos and links on a January 16 post that I actually created today.....so make sure to scroll down.....and from now on new posts will appear chronologically with the newest being first.

2009-01-18T21:38:00.000-08:00

Erik T. Johnson for the New York Times

I've started an Inauguration Scrapbook blog. I don't know why I do this to myself...but I figure if I can start to put it all in one place online, then when I finally do a real scrapbook, I'll have somewhere to start......it's the first item under Links to the right. Enjoy!

2009-01-12T10:31:00.000-08:00

FREE STUFF!!

Ah, the power of the free. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love Craig's List. I love the buying, I love the selling, I love the friendships I've made (oh yeah....really) and I love the best book ever about the sheer power of it - One Red Paperclip - who the heck can beat trading a red paperclip for a house? And now apparently he's looking to trade the house! I don't peruse CL for free stuff normally, however, because it's too time-consuming, and frankly, anything good goes within about a second. Even the for sale stuff goes with lightening speed. I've been looking to purchase a small desk for Ryan's room for a couple of months, and the 3 or 4 I've replied to were within hours of posting and I missed out on all of them. When we bought Ryan's drum set I had vowed to sit in front of the computer one Sunday morning and just keep hitting refresh on my "drum kit" search and guess what? The seller was shocked that I responded within 20 minutes of their post....and it takes CL at least 10 minutes to get it up there after you list it! But if you really really really want something, that's what you need to do.

However, when you're not in the market for something in particular, that's when free and happened-upon is the best ever. I have two very recent examples. First, Sierra and I were hiking back down from the ridge above our house along the streets, and lo and behold someone had set out bunches of free stuff. The usual suspects....old lamps, chairs, furniture, children's stuff.....and this true treasure - Mancala.

Look at the beautiful glass pieces. Sierra was beside herself with joy....she has wanted a Mancala game for a couple of years but it's one of those things that we just forget about at gift-giving times because it's not the big, showy thing. We brought it home, cleaned it up (although not much cleaning seemed to be required) and now she literally plays it at least three times a week....often by herself. In fact, we had a few guests over recently and one little girl's mom set out to find her - and happened on her all alone in Sierra's room happily playing by herself. There's something mystical about it somehow because I often find Sierra doing the same thing.

And the next free treasure? It's what the Mancala is sitting on. Stressed about cleaning my house up for same said guest get-together, I was really thinking about how to have our games in a really accessible place that didn't look too cluttery. A bookshelf would be good, but not a likely candidate for long-term because one day I vow to truly have a "put-together" living room, and this would not be included in that plan. As I was off to do some last minute errands that day, I drove to the end of the street and - AHA! - saw some furniture left out with the always-exciting FREE STUFF sign. I was on my way out so I called home and asked Scott to go to the end of the street and check it out. When I returned, both he AND both kids reported that none of it was any good. I said, "hmph, y'all don't know what you're talking about" and stomped to the bottom of the street (which can only happen if you live on hilly streets). Ryan decided to come with....probably to watch what it looks like when a crazy lady inspects free stuff....and the minute I saw this bookshelf I knew it was perfect. Again Ryan tried to talk me out of it...."it's paint is peeling"...."Sierra didn't like the color" (and by the way - where did I get this daughter who shuns most colorful stuff in favor of restrained, earthy tones - it's almost worse than discovering I'm raising a republican)...."blah, blah, blah." "Yeah, yeah - help me carry it home." So up the hill we went carrying this thing and then I got to show Ryan the magic of a power sander. "Look!" "Watch this!" "Magic!" And there it was.....a bright, beautiful, appropriately-brightly-hued-to-highlight-a-fun-game-collection shelf. Bring it inside, place it with care, line the top with Ipus homemade by me and Sierra, and now we're happy.

Is it stately? Well-appointed? Heck no. Does it represent me and my personality? Heck yeah. And it doesn't overwhelm the room too much, as evidenced by the above photo. And you know I had these pillows WAAAY before I got the bookshelf.....the whole beige-on-carribean-blue thing works kind of well, yes? I think Ryan's now a convert (power tools go a long way in making something cool to him). Sierra? Well, who cares - she can be in charge of her own room.

2009-01-01T19:52:00.000-08:00

If you hadn't heard yet (which probably isn't possible since I've literally told every passing person I've seen), Ryan is one of 43 boys with the San Francisco Boys Chorus chosen to sing at Barack Obama's Inauguration ceremonies. Along with 43 girls from the San Francisco Girls Chorus (for whom Sierra sings - but not quite at that level yet), they will be the only children who are part of the official ceremonies - besides Obama's children, of course. Below are the 43 boys (Ryan is front row, 5th from the left with his hair pulled back) and SFBC Artistic Director Ian Robertson.

When we first heard about it, we were, of course, very excited. Something about "prime placement on the steps" is what was said. I was proud....but truly - the impact of the honor didn't really hit me until I saw the official schedule:

Festivities will commence at 10 a.m. on the west front of the U.S. Capitol and will include:

• Musical Selections: The United States Marine Band, followed by the San Francisco Boys Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus

• Call to Order and Welcoming Remarks: Senator Dianne Feinstein

• Invocation: Dr. Rick Warren

• Musical Selection: Aretha Franklin

• Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden, Jr. will be sworn into office by Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, the Honorable John Paul Stevens

• Musical Selection: John Williams, composer/arranger with Itzhak Perlman, (violin), Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Gabriela Montero (piano) and Anthony McGill (clarinet)

• President-elect Barack H. Obama will take the Oath of Office, using President Lincoln’s Inaugural Bible, administered by the Chief Justice of the United States, the Honorable John G. Roberts, Jr.

• Inaugural Address

• Poem: Elizabeth Alexander

• Benediction: The Reverend Dr. Joseph E. Lowery

• The National Anthem: The United States Navy Band “Sea Chanters”

Some more background info is available on the New York Times blog.

The program participants were invited by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies and chosen by the Chairman, the President-elect, and the Vice President-elect.

Obviously this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and honor. It is also so much richer because Ryan was the most fervant Obama supporter in a household full of Obama supporters. He's the kid who yelled at the tv during the Republican convention when McCain spoke ill of Obama's remarks...."THAT'S NOT WHAT HE SAID!" The kid who whole-heartedly believes in Obama and his plans and hope for our future. And the kid who, when asked how he would feel if McCain had won and he was given the opportunity to sing for his inauguration, said "I would feel honored to sing for the President of the United States...no matter who it was." Such a pro.

Ryan will turn 10 twelve days before he sings in Washington, DC. I can't think of a better way for him to usher in his 10th year.

2008-12-02T21:16:00.000-08:00

This is my idea of paradise. This little beauty will go up for auction at this year's Barrett Jackson car auction in Scottsdale in January. For those of you who thought they only sold hot rods, think again. Imagine where you could go with this. If Slow Food is all the rage, Slow Driving shouldn't be far behind. I heart VW buses.

2008-11-01T14:08:00.000-07:00

People should have the right to marry and be happy. Period. End of subject. Vote on Tuesday.

2008-10-23T21:59:00.000-07:00

If you find yourself available at 3pm on Sunday afternoon, head on over to Grace Cathedral (1100 California St.) for Voices of America’s Future, a concert bringing together local youth choirs including the San Francisco Boys Chorus, and of course, Ryan. The concert is free - can't beat that deal! And the California cable car stops right in front.....come on now...you can't pass it up!

2008-10-20T14:27:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again....time to get your altars ready for Dias de Los Muertos. See my October 8, 2006 post for resources....they're all still good. Last year we had a great time at the Oakland Museum with Ry and Si and her friend Maya....what's better than crafts, music and food? So mark your calendars for this coming Saturday.....and best of all, it's free!

2008-10-04T16:18:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd share a little article I wrote for our PTA newsletter this month. Reprinted with permission from the author.....me!

Does the following scenario sound familiar in your household?

Your son forgot his homework…he did it – but he forgot to put it in his backpack. After he leaves, you see it and run it down to the school to make sure he has it.

What’s wrong with this scenario? What are the outcomes? What are the alternatives?

Letting our children manage their own lives has got to be one of the most difficult parenting challenges. We just want to do what’s best for our children – love them, support them, step in when they need help. Our challenge is being able to actually use stepping back as a strategy towards moving forward.

When we step in to “save” our children, we actually reinforce behaviors that we really don’t want to reinforce. This happened in my home just this morning. I left the house before anyone else…..but I knew there was a piece of errant homework sitting on the coffee table that my daughter needed to bring in. I could have so easily called home and asked my husband to tell my daughter to put it in her backpack. However, I needed to determine how I could support my daughter, without stepping in and taking over.

I decided to call my husband to get him on board with my strategy…..I asked him to simply check with the children before they left by saying “is there any homework, anything due, or anything else that needs to go in your backpack before you leave?” If my daughter takes that cue, and looks around, she should find it. If she doesn’t, then she will go to school without it.

What happens if she doesn’t have her homework? Well, homework will be called for, and she won’t have it. Ouch. Her teacher may ask her about it and she’ll have to make the choice of how to respond. She’ll most likely be marked “0” on that homework for the day. Ouch again. Or what if it was her lunch that she forgot to bring? Lunchtime comes….and yikes, she’s hungry. Not fun. Not life-or-death either.

These are the natural consequences and reinforcers for shaping a different behavior – in this case, the “forgetting” behavior. And frankly, it may need to happen a few times in order for it to truly reshape her behavior. Unfortunately, if we make the choice to step in and bring the homework, or the project, or the lunch to school, we continue to reinforce that it’s okay to forget because someone will step in to save you. This doesn’t fare well for successful life strategies. Someone will not step in to save you in college and in your career.

What would be more helpful is to help structure the strategy for not forgetting in the first place. Take a look with your child at their processes. If they are consistently forgetting things, then their systems aren’t working – and you can help them by working out some new systems with them that they can implement. What is happening to get organized for the school day? Is their backpack packed up before they go to bed? Do they use a checklist of items to check on before they leave for school? Do they look around the house just before leaving as a backup? Do they need a designated homework spot so that they always know where to look? Do they need to wake up 10-15 minutes earlier to give themselves time to do these things?

And what’s the academic implication of that homework that doesn’t get turned in? Well, that depends. In many cases, homework reinforces, enhances or delves a little more deeply into a subject taught during the week. Because she actually did the homework, then she hopefully captured that deeper understanding. She should easily be able to participate in further discussion of the subject. If she is tested on it, she should be fine. She simply has to deal with a score of “0” on her homework (possibly more than once). It is not the end of the world.

We all do our best to be great, supportive parents. We feel like we’ve failed if we don’t support them in the every possible way. Sometimes, we just need to take a fresh look at their needs and decide what is truly most helpful – saving them for now, or teaching them for now and forever.

Next month: The Importance of Family Dinners.

2008-09-29T08:45:00.000-07:00

Planted pot of lettuces, chives, basil and flowers on our deck - easily accessible from the kitchen

I've decided that unless I can eat it, I'm not planting it. So if you've seen my lawns lately, well, actually, what lawns? The front lawn was a goner awhile back when I decided to stop trying to water the dead grass. And the back lawn has been claimed by the water shortage. And they're not going to be replaced with grass. It's just too maintenance heavy and not environmentally sound. But what to do? That's the eternal question. I like this Synthetic Grass website, but it's a pretty pricey option and I'm not that big a fan of the lawn look anyway - it's fairly uninteresting. There's also the Edible Front Lawn option, which I personally love, but the fact that our front lawn is on the North side of the house, and mostly completely shaded, doesn't fare well for that option. And the back lawn is subject to Comet's wanderings, so not a good choice either - and we already have an entire terraced garden where he cannot trespass.

Our house style is considered Monterey Colonial - already a mash-up of styles - and so more of a Spanish theme seems to be appropriate. So that would be a fountain, crushed rock, curved paths and either terra cotta colors or perhaps some brighter hues. But I'm also not that big a fan of that look. A pond of some sort would be nice, with natural rock all around....but sounds expensive. So for now, I believe that the fallen leaves from the four trees shall be my front lawn....and by end of winter they'll be perfect to scoop up and put in the composter that Scott got going again in the garden. If anyone knows of edibles that thrive in shade, let me know!

2008-09-26T21:49:00.000-07:00

You may have read about this play in the SF Chronicle - if not, you should, and either way, you need to go. Anyone who is a parent in the east bay and struggles on a daily basis with their choices for schooling needs to see this. Not because it will answer any questions for you - quite the opposite. Because it will gut-wrenchingly highlight and magnify every hope and conversely every concern you have about the choices you make everyday, how those choices are effecting your children as humans growing up in this world, and ultimately will leave you realizing that no matter what you do, your child is going to have to question everything he/she knows, believes in, and was raised around.

Ryan, Sierra and I have a joke - we know that whenever we go to Berkeley around 3:30 or 4pm, we will run into "those crazy teenagers". Now this doesn't apply just to Berkeley High students - it applies to all high schoolers including those traipsing around Montclair Village around the same time. But the joke started with Berkeley High students because that's where we tend to spend the most time. Capoeira is in Berkeley, the best library ever is in Berkeley, my sewing machine/vacuum repair place is in Berkeley, we bought Ryan's bike in Berkeley, their City Camp program for two summers starts every day in Berkeley, sewing camp is in Berkeley, the farmer's market is in Berkeley, Spun Sugar-the only place I know of to get sheet gelatin-is in Berkeley, the annual Halloween store is in Berkeley - okay, you get the picture? And frankly, all but one of these listed places is within 3 blocks of Berkeley High. So we see these kids A LOT. They're not any crazier than any other teenager, but there are MASSES of them milling around. And they are a varied lot. Which is exactly the point of this play. And all your preconceived open-mindedness does not prepare you for the coming together of this varied lot. Think not only racial inequalities, but shades, sub-shades, and sub-sub-shades of how this plays out in an atmosphere and environment that prides itself on being so open-minded. I truly found the writing brilliant, poignant, and unbelievably entertaining. They've just extended their run through October 19 at Berkeley Rep. Please, please go see this play. Parental guidance: I would not find it appropriate for children below 7th grade.

2008-09-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

The sewing family thing continues to work out really well. Ryan made this cycling cap for Scott from an online Cycling Cap Pattern that we found. He picked out the fabric himself, cut it, sewed it, and gave to daddy for his birthday. It's worn under the bike helmet....or you can flip up the visor to look cool:

Also, again frustration for me with my sewing machine....it wouldn't switch stitches. I tried this, I tried that, I finally threw up my hands and said...Ryan, can you please try? It probably took him 3 minutes to get it to work. I love my little sewing technician.

2008-09-03T09:07:00.000-07:00

The Pledge

I, Laurie, pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of "new" manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 2 months. I pledge that I shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovated, recycled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy thriftiness brings! Signed Laurie

Hmmm.....what have I done? While I've been dabbling for awhile, I'm giving myself a kick in the butt to stay focused. I have so many half/quarter/not-finished sewing projects it's crazy. I still haven't lost my desire for creating some kind of sewing circle, but haven't quite figured that one out yet either. So be forewarned.....if you get a phone call/e-mail from me you may want to clear a Sunday afternoon......

So here's my first project. Now it just so happens that I completed it just as I joined up so I'm counting it.

And in fact, it's the 2nd refashion of this sweatshirt. My first issue was that this plain, black sweatshirt was waaaaay too big for me. But because it supports my daughter's halau, I really wanted to wear it. So first I actually took some old pajama pants in a pretty, silky fabric and replaced the arms. I loved the fact that I reused pj's that were too big AND cut down the sweatshirt to fit a bit better at the same time. But unfortunately it didn't go over too well....the asian-inspired, black & white fabric pattern wasn't loved by the hula kumu. And while I could have kept it and been rebellious, that's not in keeping with halau culture. So I decided to find a nice island print that we can all be happy about. And because I had already put on the pinkish ruffle on the bottom (from an old skirt....again - too big), I really love how the new fabric colors tie together with sleeves, ruffles, etc.

I basically just detached the sleeves and cuffs, cut fabric to the same size, layered new fabric on top of sleeves to keep warmth, and sewed it all back together. Because I cut down the sizing of the sweatshirt, I had to gather the sleeves at the top to create a little "cap" or whatever. Clearly I'm a beginner and don't have appropriate terminology or technique....but I'm giving it a go. And I don't have to wear a boring black sweatshirt.

2008-08-23T14:09:00.000-07:00

Recipe for a basketball jersey:

1. Find out Thursday night that Friday is Jersey day at Hoops Camp.

2. Be told by your 9-year-old son that his favorite player is Kobe Bryant (huh? has he ever even seen a Lakers game? oh well)

3. Look online to see what a Lakers jersey looks like.

4. Look for appropriate existing clothing and fabric in gold and purple.

5. Find some:

(Mom's old muscle-T - waaaay too big for mom now...how's it gonna fit him?)

(Ry's old shirt....too small now)

(Mom's old sports top......really really really old and not used anymore)

6. Check for appropriate size by looking at appropriate-fitting tank.

7. Start cutting.

8. Go online and find a Lakers logo and Kobe's name and number and download them, then print them out on cotton laser printer paper that you happen to always keep around.

9. Sew, baby, sew!

And voila:

(Tried to place name and number low enough so hair didn't cover it....turned out a little too low - oh well)

Look, it ain't perfect but it made a 9-year-old very happy....especially when somebody at camp did something wrong and the coaches made all the kids who had NON-California team jerseys do push-ups... he was thrilled.

2008-08-08T23:28:00.000-07:00

Today's project - homemade peppermint patties. Yum-yum. I looked up this recipe almost two years ago and never got a chance to make them until now. Why now? Because I'm avoiding finishing my other project....sewing box cushion covers. Whenever I get to a particularly tricky part of a sewing project, I completely retreat to something I know I can accomplish. Ah well - at least I'm getting through some of the recipes on my To Do list.

These are the easiest thing to make ever. I found the recipe here, but I substituted 1 bar of Scharffenberger 70% Dark Chocolate (9.7 oz) for the 16 oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips. It was plenty of chocolate and I love dark chocolate.

This is what it looks like in the process:

After mixing and kneading sort of like a dough, it gets rolled out and cut into it's circles. I used the top of a salad dressing bottle. I would have taken a photo of the kneading process, but it was so sticky I had to get a rubber spatula and go over my hands with it to get it all off....not a good combo for trying to use a camera.

Little circles all lined up, waiting for their chocolate bath:

Ahhh.....dunking in the good stuff (and by the way - the recipe says you can put the chocolate in the microwave or a double boiler - I highly recommend the double boiler):

Now fork me out of here:

And let me rest in the refrigerator to firm up:

And finally, the inside of the finished product:

Perfection. But I guess tomorrow I really do have to get back to those covers. Aargh.

2008-08-07T17:38:00.000-07:00

It's project time around here....the last couple of weeks before back to school, and I'm feeling the pressure to get things done I've been wanting to do. I didn't know this was going to be something I wanted to do. This is called a French Pigeon Basket Table, and it seems to be the rage right now. Apparently it has been used in the 2008 Coastal Living Idea House in WindMark Beach, FL, which you can apparently enter a sweepstakes to win through September 30 (the home and all its contents).

I actually first saw it on some blog, and my apologies to whoever I'm not crediting....I think I'll just throw a few out there that I like just to cover myself - shelterrific, Etsy, Apartment Therapy, More Ways to Waste Time....okay - I think I'm covered. ANYWAY, it made me a little crazy that it actually costs $1385 + $150 shipping....yup, that's right folks....$1,535.00!!!! Don't believe me? Check here. So you know what happened, right? Yup, that's right....a do-it-yourself project. And here we go:

Okay....so let me explain the differences. I really wanted these for outdoor use for our new patio (more on that in another post)....and I really wanted two, as we now have a loveseat and a chair, where we'll want people to be able to sit and sip a cool drink. I gave Craig's List about 10 minutes of my time, then decided I needed to head out for Cost Plus World Market. While I really would have loved to do it all as a recycle project, it wasn't to be. I found these baskets at Cost Plus on sale - they were originally $36 each....I picked them up for $8.75 each. Since I saved so much money on them, I decided to splurge on two wood trays to put on top to finish the look, instead of the glass on the original. I got two different shapes, because I don't like it to all be matchy-matchy.

Then it was time to go to Home Depot and OSH to get a nice piece of 1" thick wood to mount to the bottom, as well as big castor wheels and hardware to attach it all together. Fortunately we already had some wood stain in the garage for the wood we attached to the bottom, which seems to match the trays pretty well....I kind of like that look!

So in all, how much did my two side tables cost? Surprisely, $199.57 for everything, which breaks down to $99.78 per table. I actually thought I would spend a little less, but the castors are kind of expensive, and of course, the big outlay of $19.99 each for the trays was a lot. Oh yeah....and of course I wanted finish nuts for the inside of the suitcases on top of the bolts just in case I want to store stuff inside and I want it to look pretty (in unison with Scott now...okay-Crazy [crazy being a noun in this case]). Anyway, I did save $1,335.43 over the French Pigeon Basket Table, and frankly, I'm just as happy with the results. What do you think?

2008-08-06T23:30:00.000-07:00

Why is this little girl smiling? Click over to Ry and Si to find out!

2008-07-30T10:27:00.000-07:00

We're off to Reno - the capital of Polynesian dancing in case you weren't aware (right after Modesto and San Jose.....ritzy, huh?) - for a hula competition. Here are the girls rehearsing...I'd load the video but we wouldn't want any competitors to see their dance ahead of time! We're going to spend a couple of days in Tahoe afterwards.....so seeya next week!

2008-07-24T18:28:00.000-07:00

Take 8 minutes out of your life and watch Tina:

If she doesn't get you up and moving, I don't know what will. It just doesn't get any better than this. Nuff said.

2008-07-23T23:55:00.000-07:00

This is the sign that greeted me on Si's door when I went upstairs to check on her after she stomped up to her room. You have to understand that my room happens to be right next to her room.....you know....right where the arrow is pointing. Fortunately I had waited long enough that by the time I got up there, ignored the sign, and walked in, she had calmed down and let me know that "I just needed some alone time."

The next morning I woke up and found this on her door:

In case you can't read it.....it lists "snugel" hours (which is snuggle to you and me). I partook of the offer.

Another day I found this on Ry's door:

Unfortunately, the next morning I found no addendum, but I was allowed entry. Later that day, I needed a little time and space from their shenanigans....so I promptly removed the sign from Ry's room, put it on my doorknob, and crawled in bed with a book for about 30 minutes. The sad part is that no one ever even saw it. They were too busy playing with each other to notice....sigh....

What good is a tantrum if there's no one there to witness it - even if it's a silent tantrum thrown via door signs? I need to refine my methods......

2008-07-18T16:03:00.000-07:00

Conversation with a 9-year-old boy about shoes:

Me: Would you like some new shoes to replace the ones you've worn into the ground?

He: Sure!

Me: New Keens?

He: Sure!

Me: Here are the colors....what color would you like?

He: Any color!

Me: How about this one?

He: Sure!

(Tries on shoes)

photo credit: fashionrat.com/from-thongs-to-flip-flops

Me: How are they?

He: Great!

Me: Do you want to buy them?

He: Yeah!

Conversation with an 8-year-old girl about shoes:

She: I want some new tennis shoes!

Me: You have tennis shoes....how about something like this?

She: (spying brother trying on new Keens because he has literally worn a hole through them) I want some new Keens!

Me: You have Keens. They fit perfectly fine. You like the color. You never wear them.

She: Look at these flip flops!

Me: You have flip flops......two pair. You need something nicer than Keens, flip flops and tennis shoes. How about these?

She: Well..... (puts back on shelf).

Me: Okay, well, there's not really anything else here.

She: (picking shoe back up off shelf) I want to try this one on!

(Tries on shoes)

She: They're really tight.

Me: Try on the next size.

(Tries on next size)

She: They're really tight.

Me: Try on the next size.

(Tries on next size)

She: They fit!

Me (putting full finger between heel of girl and heel of shoe): They're too big.

She: But I want new shoes!

And on and on and on and on for every single pair of shoes we have ever looked for. And even when they are pronounced fitting, they come home, get worn once, then suddenly "hurt my heel," "hurt between my toes," or "are too tight." So if you happen on us at a very formal occasion, and one of us is wearing flip flops, you'll know why.

2008-07-13T12:54:00.000-07:00

And here are the Jetz. Enjoy!

2008-07-11T22:16:00.000-07:00

Girls Rock! Check out this video and see if you know who that girl is in the green shirt playing the drums? Hint: she's in a band called the Jetz, she's friends with the guitarest they interview named Allison (who is also in the Jetz), and you may just know her. To read more, you can hit this link to the article from whence the video came. Bottom of the Hill here we come!

2008-07-09T10:18:00.000-07:00

I'm completely infatuated with creating a new space for projects. Projects being sewing or whatever thing I happen to be obsessing over in the moment. For many years I've being eyeing the space in our backyard that is currently occupied by the chessboard (young Ry and Si, huh?), because it's a nice square that would be a perfect location. It needs to have electricity....but plumbing is not really necessary, although that would be nice. This all started a few years back when I spied what looked to be the perfect type of shed/office/whatever room in a Sunset magazine. Of course, the owners had had it built and it was great. Now, prefab is all the rage. The top photo Kithaus actually comes pre-wired, and you can call about a solar option. Of all the prefabs out right now, it seems to be the most ready-to-go. You can also take a look at options by Modern Cabana (photo right below chess), as well as Modern-Shed (photo below right). If you've got the contacts, cash, and time, you could definitely go the architect-designed route, as is often highlighted in Sunset. Or half the time the ingenious owner spent a weekend and put it together....how does that happen? And if you want to take another approach altogether, the Yurt option isn't half bad! You'll just have a circular space.....and the outlet must go in the floor? Sigh.....I'll just have to dream about this space.

2008-06-25T22:56:00.000-07:00

I'm trying more of a pictorial approach today. Clearly I'm having trouble blogging lately, so thought I'd try a little something different. Truth be told, it's actually part of the letter I put together for Ry and one of the several I'm sending while he's away at camp for 10 days. I dropped him in SF to catch the bus, then went up to Marin to start conquering their terrain. I've been a little bored with the East Bay options lately, so had to perk up the menu. I do have to say - there's nothing quite so sweet as hiking so close to the ocean. I started at the Tennessee Valley trailhead, then did a 6 mile, 1500 vertical ascent loop that included the Fox Trail and the Coastal Trail.

The Coastal Trail was truly beautiful. As I go further up onto Mount Tam, I don't think I'm going to get these kinds of views. But who knows? Well, lots of people know actually. But I suppose I'll find out.

The East Bay still has fantastic trails, but I'm a sucker for the straight up ocean view. We'll be in Mendocino over the July 4 weekend, so I hope to get in some more coastal hikes.

2008-05-27T18:50:00.000-07:00

It's time again for the Empty Bowls event to benefit the Alameda County Food Bank. On Thursday, June 5, for only $40, a family of four can go, get a bowl of soup, some bread, and you get to take home a bowl hand-painted by the students at Redwood Day. There is also a guest speaker, and this year it is Erin Lewellen from Revolution Foods, which was founded on the simple desire for all students to have access to healthy, fresh food on a daily basis. What is great about this event is that it's early and short....it starts at 5:30 and you can be out of there by 7:00 easily.....and have made a difference. You might even get published in Oakland Magazine...as Ry and I did last year! We'll be there again this year.....let me know if you want to join us!

2008-05-23T23:30:00.000-07:00

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY SI!!!

Click over to the Ry and Si Blog to see the cast of QP sing for her!

2008-05-21T11:25:00.000-07:00

Our lives right now:

This is the opening scene.....New York street scene - Ry is the paper boy and Si is the little tourist girl, circa 1960-something. It's not too late to come! Four more performances! Oakland Metro Operahouse

2008-05-02T21:35:00.000-07:00

"The large volume of emails I receive on a daily basis necessitates brevity in my replies." I absolutely love this tag that comes at the end of our school psychologist's e-mails. I need to amend it for my life, however. Mine shall read: "The large quantity of my children's activities on a daily basis necessitates brevity and long lapses of time in my replies, or in fact, any interaction you may hope to have with me." While the calendar below is a bit challenging to read, you probably get the picture that the big grey sections are chunks of committed time in the next week. The areas that aren't dark grey happen to be when Ry and Si are in school. A couple of months ago I called a friend to get a restaurant recommendation in her area....she gave me a few great ones, then followed up to see how we liked the one we chose. And then she followed up again. Oh yeah - and guess what? I still haven't actually given her the info. And Ry and Si hadn't even started Queenie Pie rehearsals yet. So I'm giving you fair warning. If you don't hear from me, or I don't return your phone call/letter/e-mail/carrier pigeon, don't take it personally. The few moments I am able to get fingers on keys, I need some kind of release in the form of the blog....so that may be where I put my 2 ounces of leftover energy. Unless, of course, I'm running around trying to find the stone for my front patio and crying over the fact that they want to charge me $8 per stone for hand selecting my pieces. But that's a whole other story of a renegade homeowner-landscaper that must be told some other time.

2008-04-30T17:23:00.000-07:00

"I have always relied on the kindness of strangers....." I believe this is the line uttered by Blanche DuBois in "A Streetcar Named Desire." Kindness. So maybe I'd don't rely on it, like Blanche, but the little kindnesses in the world can definitely perk up my day for hours. I was thinking about this the other day when I was looking for a parking spot at Berkeley Bowl and a woman pointed out a spot that was kind of hidden by crates and forklifts. If you're a BB shopper, you'll appreciate what a big deal this was. Or the 6th grade boy who reached the door to the office at school just behind me, so I opened it for him, just to have him say...no....go ahead and wait like a gentleman for me to pass through. But I hit the mecca of kindness last night....and it happened to be at the ball game. Ry sang the National Anthem at the Giants game last night. (To see it, and more photos, click on the Ry and Si Blog link at right). We bought the tickets offered, at $15 each, which were here:

No problem.....we can check out the bay, right? But of course, I wanted to get video of the boys on the field when they sang, so I talked my way down to getting close enough for a good shot. Fortunately, I made the mistake of putting my video camera on top of the visitor dugout in order to stabilize the camera, at which point the usher came to let me know that wasn't okay, which brought me to the attention of the gentleman in front of me, who graciously told the usher lady that the four seats I was galavanting around happened to be his, and they weren't being used, and we could in fact have them, and pow! here are the tickets....have fun! Huh? What just happened here? Are we really sitting HERE?:

Yeah, baby....that's right....3rd row, 1st base line, right next to the dugout. That is my actual photo....no zoom. And you know what these seats come with......Field Club level services: food brought right to your seat....or walk in through the tunnel to the nice food concessions....no mucking around with the unwashed masses up on the concourse. Of course, we had already partaken of Garlic Fries and Clam Chowder Bread Bowl prior to this....but we did our best to stuff as much food in our faces as was possible, and as is apropos to the full ballpark experience. Sadly, Ry is NOT a Giants fan (when they sang at the A's, they got to meet a player, so has switched allegiances.....we're working on it....) so I kind of had to keep his inappropriate cheering for the Rockies under wraps. To further my streak of random acts of kindness bestowed upon me.....I went up searching for a hot chocolate and Bailey's to the concourse (okay...so I didn't want to pay the exhorbitant price for it to be brought to me) and a guy says...."hey - you dropped something!" and proceeded to pick it up and rush it over to me - it being my wad of moola with a $10 bill wrapping the outside.

Who does that?

Giants fans apparently.

It's a good week.

2008-04-17T18:00:00.000-07:00

Save the date(s)! Ry and Si have been cast in their first musical play. It's called Queenie Pie and it's being staged at the Oakland Metro Operahouse, May 9-25. They are chorus kids and have 6 songs. The whole production is very cool.

Backstory: This is Duke Ellington's last large-scale work and only opera, which he wrote as a tribute to Madame C. J. Walker. The daughter of slaves, Madame Walker invented a hair straightener and discovered the virtues of mail order and door-to-door sales, thereby allowing her clients to buy cosmetics and hair products without leaving their homes. For this innovation she became the first female African-American millionairess.

Queenie Pie, the story of a Harlem beauty queen, was originally commissioned by Public Television for the WNET Opera program and designed to be an hour-long work, with Ellington as narrator. The idea for the work was not new, Ellington had begun the opera several times, in varying versions, since the 1940’s. Even after the telecast fell through, Ellington continued to work on the piece until his death in 1974. He left the work unfinished.

Oakland Opera’s Skye Atman began a researching quest into the origins of Queenie Pie, which eventually lead to a compilation score based on versions found among the Ellington papers at the University of California, Irvine and the Smithsonian Institute. The Oakland Opera assembled an expert team to finish the orchestration and create a version of the Duke's unfinished opera much like it might have appeared on television in the 1960’s.

The score for this is amazing. There are some songs with 7 part harmonies (huh?). He was the "Duke", after all, and the jazz arrangements are phenomenal. So how did these two become Harlem street kids? Well, Ry found out about the audition from the school music teacher and jumped on it....brought home the info, etc. Si, is interested in anything Ry does, so we thought...sure....let them audition...it'll be a great experience. We worked up different song treatments for them of chorus songs they knew already...with a musical theatre edge, of course. These are kids who are used to standing there with their hands to their sides and singing. They didn't believe me when I showed them some "Broadway" hand movements to show emphasis, etc. So thank you to You Tube, once again, where I could show them I wasn't crazy. They were ready.....they had significantly loosened up....so off we went. Well guess what? They never even got to sing their songs. The audition consisted of teaching them one of the songs from the score to see how they could sing and how they could pick up the music. When I saw the process I started to get worried. This is all they've done since they were two....listen to music directors and then do exactly what they were supposed to do - in key, on pitch, and in tempo. This was supposed to just be for the experience. They weren't supposed to make it in. We really don't need to add this to our plate, do we? Ah well. They'll actually be singing and dancing and moving around all at the same time.....can't wait. There is an awesome orchestra and I think it's going to be a really fun show. This is not a kid's show. That doesn't mean it's inappropriate for kids.....but if you want to bring the kids, just be aware that there are only 5 or 6 scenes with kids it it. Very cool ones.

2008-03-29T16:15:00.000-07:00

I must sing the praises of Craig’s List. I've always had great success both selling and buying, but this really takes the cake. I'm doing a little home improvement project in the front yard, and I really needed to get rid of my two 13 foot tall Camillia trees. Frankly, as I looked around, I realized there are 9 Camillias total in the front yard, so they really won't be missed. So I thought, what the heck, I'll put them on Craig's List....."Free if You come dig them out". I thought maybe in a couple of days I'd hear from someone. Not true. Within 20 minutes I had my first taker. Then #2-8 lined up after her within hours. Seriously. 8 people wanted to come and do the manual labor of digging out trees. Okee dokee. So when the appointed day came for #1 to come get the trees, she called an hour or so before before she was supposed to arrive and said her husband's truck wouldn't start. When dealing in "Craig's World", you always expect flakes, but I have to hand it to her for calling....it can often happen that they don't. No problem. I called #2 and left a message. He called back within 5 minutes, came to see the trees 15 minutes later, went home and started calling around for a truck, and came back 30 minutes later to dig them out. So let this be a lesson.....if there's something you want to get rid of, even if the person who gets it has to work for it, try Craig's List first. Because you just never know.

2008-03-11T21:29:00.000-07:00

This is my official plug for the movie Girls Rock!. We took Si and Ry to see it on Saturday and Si keeps talking about the empowering messages......let me back up. I've been keeping my eye on Girls Rock Summer Camp in Portland, Oregon for a couple of years. As is the norm, it begins at 8 years old (as does BandWorks). I thought maybe we'd take a week's vacation in Portland one summer so she could do it. Well, they're expanding, and for the first year they're going to do it here. It's called Bay Area Girls Rock Camp and it's for one week in July at the Julia Morgan School for Girls (serendipitous for those of us interested in this school, no?). It's run by women involved with the Portland school, so hopefully the transition will be fairly seamless. Okay, back to the movie. It focuses attention on mostly 4 girls (two 8ish year olds, a 15ish year old and a 17ish I think year old). You can read the Common Sense Media review (be sure to watch the video review as well). They each need this camp for different reasons, but in the end it is because they need something......Si keeps commenting - "I can't believe that girl didn't like herself! Who doesn't like themselves? But by the end of camp she did! She learned to like herself through the music!" Are you ready for your 8 year old to see this? You should be. Research does show that girls' self-esteem begins to drop starting at 9. Yes that's right - 9! In grad school I did research and a proposal for a psychoeducational girl's group for 6th graders that I hope to implement this year. Why? Let's start with body image. The average American woman is 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 140 pounds. The average American model is 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 117 pounds. Most fashion models are thinner than 98 percent of American women. More than 50 percent of high school girls want smaller hips, thighs and/or waists. The media plays a huge role in shaping our standards of beauty. The models that are chosen by companies to sell their products help to frame those standards. Studies of prime-time television indicate that programs are dominated by thin body types and that thinness is consistently associated with the portrayal of favorable personality traits. There is a shift in focus from the pre-teen to teen years for girls; the body becomes an all consuming passion, project, and barometer of worth. Self-esteem becomes too closely paired to physical attributes. Oh, you say....but I live in the bay area.....my kids don't watch t.v. Okay - well do they interact with kids who do? Say, at gymnastics? Or swimming? Or soccer? Or singing class? Etc. etc. etc. Yeah, you can run, but you can't hide. So the faster we figure out how to empower our daughters, the stronger they'll be. And I've only touched on body image. What about brains? Between 5th and 9th grade, gifted girls, perceiving that smarts aren't sexy, hide their accomplishments. I'll make it easy on myself and give you the Julia Morgan link as to why it may be advantageous to go to a school for girls only. Biased, to be sure....but definitely based on a demonstrated, researched need for girls to have an alternative environment in order to help find their voice.

Sigh, all this for a movie review you say? Well, yes and no. All this from a woman who had to go back to graduate school and get a counseling degree with all the requisite child development and child psychology classes because when she had children they didn't come with a manual and she needed to figure out what to do with them. This is obviously my passion.....and not only am I going to promote these kinds of things to my personal friends, but to my school parents as well. It's that important. So in that vain, a few resources for you:

Girl Power

The Body Positive

NYU Child Study Center – Self-Esteem

Enough for now. Si has sent in her application for summer camp so she'll be rockin' and rollin' this summer along with her brother who'll do another session of BandWorks.

2008-02-27T16:46:00.000-08:00

Google Earth. That's what I was thinking about for a portion of my walk today. Well, actually the Google maps, but I think of it all under the umbrella of Google Earth. I dropped off the kids at school, then continued on to Berkeley Bowl (14 miles, roundtrip) for a little grocery shopping. Something happens when you're out walking....or biking....or running - at a certain point your brain kicks into some kind of strange clarity where thoughts and ideas and solutions just flow. Not about world peace or anything like that (well, maybe for you), but about things in your life. Frankly, I think up some really eloquent musings that I frame out in my mind as a blog entry. The problem is that my clarity wears off by the time I return home, not to mention the fact that my exhaustion takes over, so I often don't get to put fingers to keyboard in time before my brilliant thoughts are long forgotten. On this subject I've devised a strategy....I'll carry my mini tape recorder. You know - the one I used in graduate school 3 times....not to mention the times I tape recorded Scott snoring....because he just didn't believe me. Then I'll come home and transcribe my brilliance.....just you wait.

Back on track......one of the things I do remember thinking about is that I have this whole love-hate thing with my GPS and Google Earth.....I know I could be doing so much more with them, together as well as separately. But as usual, my techno knowledge only takes me up to a certain point, then leaves me on the side of the road like a spent cigarette [bad I know, but I like the image]. I even took a GPS class at REI, but I knew as much as the dude teaching it, to my and his mutual frustration. Anyway, one of the thoughts that occurred to me after about mile 6 (that seems to be my ”walker’s high” point) was how much I love the "Street View" feature on the google maps. It has really helped me a lot. I happened to discover it the day after it launched (hadn't read the oodles of press releases in the paper, as usual) - just in time to look at where I needed to take one of the kids for their chorus audition in San Francisco. It grounded me....I knew the area, but seeing the building and zooming through the cross streets was awesome. Similarly, a couple of weeks ago I bought a mini-fridge off Craig's List for my school, and while the apartment in San Francisco was close to where we used to live, it was on the corner of a one-way street and had a big garage/lot behind it.....so I knew which direction to come from, and could see where to park behind the building. Believe me, it really takes the stress out of not quite knowing where you're going. So where am I going with this? Well, I've noticed that most of the Oakland and Berkeley Hills aren't ”Street-Viewed”. So I'd like to offer my services to take the photos as part of my walks. What better way to gather the photos than from a walker? I think I read the original photos were taken by Google employees driving down the street taking photos from their cars. A walker has to be able to do just as good a job as that, yes? It will take awhile of course, but it certainly is a great way to continue keeping up walking all over the place. There could even be a network of walkers.....and some tie in to health and the American Heart Association.....oops sorry....reverting to my marketing and promotions hat. Really, all I care about at this point is me. And I want Street View for the hills. Plus, think about how cool I would sound at a cocktail party. So, what do you do? Oh, I'm a school counselor part-time, and the other part, I'm doing photography for Street View. Huh? Oh yeah....I'm the only one they trust. I'm methodically going street by street....so make sure your property is all cleaned up....because you never know when I might be going up your street. I'm willing to do it. Really. Now does anyone know someone at Google Earth? Tee hee hee.

2008-02-14T20:48:00.000-08:00

It's Valentine's Day so how could I not take the opportunity to make a crazy-rich dessert? This is called "Love and Death by Chocolate" and the original recipe can be found at the blog raspberry eggplant. I did/would change a couple of things....I used a different meringue recipe that included cream of tartar and I'd probably make a smidge more chocolate mousse. Fair warning: there are six different recipes to be made before even contemplating assembly....so I started on Sunday. Frankly, that made it easier because with such great pre-planning (for once), it felt like a really easy dessert to make. However, if I added up all the time spent on it.....well, I don't think I'll do that...... Here's a photo of the assembled parts before pouring on the final ganache and plating:

If you're interested in the recipe, I've put it into an easy-to-follow order in Word and I can e-mail it to you. It really is a crazy amount of chocolate, and one of these things is easily enough to feed 2 or 3 people. So is anyone interested in the leftover four that are in the fridge?

New Hidden Post 5.26.08: Here is the vegetarian marshmallow recipe info.....combining the Chocolate and Zucchini recipe with the xanthan gum version in Elizabeth Falkner's "Demolition Desserts". I have not yet tried this....but the recipes seem to be equivalent in volume, so the xanthan gum quantity should be correct....but may need to be played around with a little. Good luck!

Updated Hidden Post 7.21.08: Success! I finally got a chance to make these today and they turned out GREAT! Just like they should! I decided to omit the chocolate version altogether. I didn't like the consistency on the original, so I know I still won't like it vegetarian. So I've updated the recipe to reflect this. The consistency is slightly softer than the gelatin version - so you'll see I've suggested maybe adding a smidge more xanthan gum and maybe a couple less teaspoons of rose syrup - but either way they will turn out fine. They are not the most shapely of squares or rectangles, but you might be able to work it out better than me with a little practice. They taste great - but I'm not sure if you can roast them. Somebody try and let me know!

Guimauve à la Rose Vegetarian Version

- 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum (maybe a smidge more....like 1 ¾ tsp)

- 3 egg whites

- 40 grams (2 rounded tablespoons) agave syrup (substitute honey)

- 230 grams (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons) sugar (vegan if possible)

- 6-8 teaspoons rose syrup (substitute rose water) (if you don't want rose-flavored, try substituting vanilla - maybe around 4 teaspoons or 1/2 to a whole vanilla bean boiled with the sugar mixture, then removed)

For finish:

- 2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar- 2 tablespoons potato or corn starch, sieved (I think I use a lot more....just sift a bunch into a bowl - better safe than sorry)

On day one:

Line a square 20 by 20-cm (8 by 8-inch) baking dish with parchment paper (alternatively, you can use two loaf pans or small silicon molds).

Have the egg whites ready in the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a mixing bowl if you're going to use an electric whisk.

Combine the agave syrup, sugar, and 90 ml (6 tablespoons) water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stir to dissolve, and keep at a simmer for 8 minutes. Remove from heat.

Beat the egg whites until soft peaks just begin to form. Don’t overbeat the egg whites: they should be foamy but still soft-peaking - definitely not stiff - when you pour in the syrup.

With the beater still on, add the hot syrup in a slow, steady stream. As soon as you’ve added all the hot syrup to the egg whites, add 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum while continuing to whisk. Keep whisking until the mixture cools down to just above room temperature.

Whisk in the rose syrup (or alternatively vanilla) quickly.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and even out the surface with a spatula. (At this point I sift confectioner’s sugar on top). Refrigerate for 24 hours.

On day two:

Combine sifted confectioner's sugar and/or potato starch in a wide, shallow bowl.

Have ready a mug of very hot water. Lift the parchment paper to remove the guimauve from the pan, and transfer the whole thing carefully to a cutting board, and cut the guimauve into squares, using a sharp knife that you'll dip in the mug to keep the blade warm.

Transfer the cubes of guimauve three at a time, using your fingers to separate them delicately, into the prepared bowl of confectioner's sugar and coat them well. The cubes will have a maddening tendency to stick to one another, to your fingers, and to the bowl (the top surface is especially sticky), so keep them separate and handle them lightly.

Once coated, set the cubes aside on a plate, and leave them out to dry for 2 or 3 hours, flipping them halfway through. Transfer them in a fine-mesh sieve a handful at a time, and shake over the sink to remove the excess confectioner's sugar.

Guimauve keeps for a few days at room temperature in an airtight container. I also like to keep them in the refrigerator.

2008-02-07T20:08:00.000-08:00

I just love Ry's weather station he got for Christmas. He's now the official forecaster for the entire family. Scott climbed up on the roof to put up this wind thingy majiggy (also known as an anemometer) and it's great fun to see the wind speed. I'm not sure if my favorite thing is to read the outside temperature (with wind chill) or to see the sunrise and sunset times each day. Soon we're going to let him hook it up to the computer and then maybe we can become one of the weather stations on Weather Underground. If you look closely, you can see that in the last week we've received more than 3 inches of rain. Thankfully we're in the middle of some sunshine for a couple of days.....I needed it for recovery of the flu I've had for the last 10 days. The white bucket thing is the rain gauge - and of course there's a digital thermometer. The only thing we haven't put out yet is the UV measurer - haven't been too concerned in January and February about the UV counts. But we will!

Anyway, the learning opportunities for Ry with this thing are endless....so I highly recommend getting your 9-year-old real-life products that can benefit the whole family!

2008-02-04T13:35:00.000-08:00

For those of you who enjoy the flavor of mint chocolate chip ice cream.....I'm going to share my recipe for this year's birthday cake for Ry - After Eight ice cream cake. I mashed up a few different recipes.....ice cream recipe adapted from the Ben & Jerry's ice cream cookbook, the cookie layers from a great frozen grand marnier/cranberry torte I made for Thanksgiving, and the supreme inspiration of all - Martha Stewart's take on the ice cream bombe. Why "After Eight" you may ask? Well, when we went to Barcelona a year and a half ago, that was the equivalent flavor to mint chocolate chip.....it was EVERYWHERE, and if you don't already know, in European cities ice cream itself is EVERYWHERE, so there was no escaping partaking of it many, many times. So now After Eight is the favorite ice cream around here, and since it doesn't exist anywhere around the bay area, I had to make my own. So here goes:

First you must purchase the requisite After Eights. The challenge is the lining of the bombe must be done with the original - these individually packaged, thin, square candies. However, to make the ice cream itself, it's much better to use what is new to me....the After Eight candy bar. I found the originals at Beverages and More, and the bar form at Cost Plus World Market.

Make the ice cream. One recipe in your ice cream maker should be perfect if you've got a 1 quart maker.

1 cup coarsely chopped After Eight bar

2 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups heavy or whipping cream

1 cup milk

2 teaspoons peppermint extract

Place chopped up After Eight bar in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate. Whisk eggs in a mising bowl until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Pour in cream and milk and whisk to blend. Add peppermint extract and blend again. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer's instructions. After the ice cream stiffens (about 2 minutes before it is done), add the chopped After Eight bar, then continue freezing until the ice cream is ready.

Line a medium size metal bowl about halfway up with the original mints. They are square, the bowl is round. Deal with it.

Add ice cream about halfway up the bowl. Add plastic wrap so that it touches the ice cream, and place in freezer for at least 30 minutes.

For cookie crust layer (and bottom):

1 9-oz. pkg. chocolate wafer cookies
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons sugar
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Finely grind cookies, chips and sugar in processor. Add melted butter; blend until wet crumbs form.

Remove half-filled ice cream bowl from freezer and add half of cookie crust crumb mixture.

Line bowl the rest of the way up with After Eight mints. Add the rest of the ice cream, leaving room for the cookie crust bottom. At this point I don't recall if I stuck it in the freezer for a little while again before adding the bottom crust......I think I did.....again with plastic wrap on top for a little while.

Add the final layer of cookie crumb mixture to the bottom.

After freezing again until ready to serve, you'll need to unmold by dipping the bowl into very hot water for about 7 seconds.

Turn it over onto a large platter, and unmold!

If I were serving this to guests outside the immediately family, I would have removed a few of the candy pieces around the top and replaced them with new ones.....which would have aptly covered up the melty look. Fortunately, this wasn't necessary for us......we gobbled it up just the way it was.

2008-01-22T21:34:00.000-08:00

I finally figured it out! Videotape to YouTube to Blogger! I think I'm going to cry. Seriously. I've been dabbling in and out of this forever and it's not yet perfect but.....

First up for your enjoyment - Kalanta of the New Year featuring Ryan with the SF Boys Chorus. This is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever seen him perform and I'm so happy I captured it (it's 2 min, 17 sec). They performed on December 15, 2007 (5-ish weeks to post it....that's not too bad). Look for more to come probably on the Ry and Si blog (see link to the right).

2008-01-19T18:26:00.000-08:00

This image frightens me. It is our local District 4 council member Jean Quan (council member of what? I have really got to go back to 4th or 5th grade and relearn civics....strike that...that would imply I actually learned it in the first place) with Oakland citizens learning how to use a radar gun. A blurb from her newsletter: "Do neighbors drive too fast by your street or school? We are training citizens to use a radar gun. Owners of vehicles clocked by our volunteers exceeding the speed limit will be sent warning letters by the police. There is still room in our second class on January 26. The first pilot will be on 35th Avenue; at least one other neighborhood group is organizing. Participants must register first with our office. (Above) Last Saturday's class practices along 73rd Avenue." Yikes. Is this scary to anyone else? Where does it end? What if your neighbors are ticked off at you for something? And what if they have just way too much time on their hands? I don't know....I suppose it could be a good thing. Obviously it may free up police to do real police work.....much-needed in Oakland. Although when someone almost took the door off my car, I waited over an hour and they never showed up, so I don't think they're spending too much time dealing with these kinds of things anyway. And I suppose we should be driving within the speed limit in the first place....but for some reason it still is a little creepy to me. Comments?

2008-01-10T21:02:00.000-08:00

Happy 9th Birthday Ryan!

January 8 was his birthday (along with Stephen Hawking, Elvis, David Bowie, and Cynthia). We leave on Friday for his annual birthday ski trip to Tahoe....along with 10 million other people. More photos to come....plus the recipe for the After Eight ice cream cake....(with homemade After Eight ice cream, natch).

2008-01-05T00:45:00.000-08:00

This is the view of my house from about my halfway point in Alameda

Epic. That's the word I consider when I create routes for walks sometimes. Because you always need to have one or two epic walks to pull out as your "go-to" story. Epic tends to change over time. My first walk I considered epic was from home to downtown Berkeley - 6.9 miles. At that time, it was a lot. My next epic walk was from downtown Berkeley to home....not only was it further because of the route (11.9 miles), but I had to climb up to Grizzly Peak and walk back over to Skyline, which is intensely more vertical. Sunday the family decided to go up skiing for the day, and not being a skier, I decided I needed to create an epic walk for myself so that they couldn't be the only ones complaining of sore legs. So I decided to walk to Alameda and back. 17.3 miles, thank you very much. Unfortunately I started much later than I would have liked, so it was dark by the time I got home.....but only just. To answer the questions I've already answered and I know that you have.....yeah there are a couple of rough sections walking down through Oakland to Alameda. Fruitvale can be a challenge. Sometimes, youth + boredom = trouble. Like the kid (which, sadly to me, can be anyone up to about age 25, and in this case was about 17ish) who was with a group of friends and asked me for a quarter then called me a liar when I told him I didn't have one. Which I didn't. Which I wouldn't have given him anyway. Because I didn't like how he asked. However, for the most part, if you put out respect, you tend to get respect back. Plus I walk really fast. Anyway, highlights of the trip: finding out that it's about 5 miles between the Fruitvale bridge (actually called the Miller-Sweeney Bridge - pictured above) and the Posey Tube. Who knew Alameda was this long....and I didn't even enter at the furthest end of the main island. Also, trying to find the pedestrian entrance to the Posey Tube (above). Finally got help from the Yacht sales guy at the Marina Village. Oh, and the two motels right on the estuary which I will recommend to people as nice, quiet alternatives for overnight stays - the Marina Village Inn and Extended Stay America. Walking back through downtown Oakland was a breeze....headed up Harrison to 12th and then around Lake Merritt for a bit. Another advantage to the walk.....scouting out new dining locations. As I headed up Park Blvd. through Glenview, I walked past the Thai restaurant Banana Blossom and remembered I wanted to try it. So a few days later we did, and you can read my Yelp Review along with dozens of others. Walking is good. Walking is fun. Walking reaps rewards - like food. See? There's a method to the madness of the epic walk.

2007-12-26T20:50:00.000-08:00

I have a new love of my life. No disrespect to Scott, but I swear I could marry this thing. Scott's mom Pat gave us a Roomba for Christmas and it has already changed our lives. Mostly we wanted it for the family room, where Comet spends his time. Pet hair needs to be vacuumed a lot. Roomba can be scheduled to vacuum, or you can simply push the button and off it goes. It takes about an hour or so, and at the end it finds it's docking station so that it can recharge itself for the next go-round. So in the family room I've scheduled it for every other day at the same time. However, since Ry and Si seem to be building some kind of super-railroad project in the family room right now, I decided to move it to our bedroom today. Wow. Not only did it find every corner, go from area rug to hardwood floor and back with no problem, it even went into the bathroom and went between toilet and vanity, under clawfoot tub, into all corners, and even tried to climb the toilet (must have thought it was really dirty). At first Ry, Si and I layed on our stomachs watching it go under the bed, the chair, the table, etc., then after awhile it was just me.....it's oddly mesmirizing to watch this robotized thing zoom round and round and back and forth and just when you think it's not going to pick up that piece of lint, zoop....there it goes.....back to get it (zoop is officially copyrighted by me now....don't even try to steal it). And there is some wierd high you get from cleaning out the lint filter and brushes.....all that dust and hair and yuckiness.....there it is....gone from your floor! This is as life-changing as TIVO. Run, don't walk, right out and get yourself one.

2007-12-16T20:34:00.000-08:00

I know that I will be fully ostracized for even admitting that I crossed the threshold into a Walmart, but you'll be happy to know that karma took care of my lapse in judgement by serving me up a nasty dose of the reality of being in this corporate behemoth. There were certain personages on my holiday gift list who wanted a gift certificate to said monolith. And while I could refuse to do so and try to figure out another gift, frankly, I don't have the energy to do so. So off I went.....to the newest (and closest, at 20 miles away) Walmart in the area. As usual, I had drinken too much coffee, and I needed to use the powder room. This is where the story cannot continue....my stomach is too weak and you'll appreciate my restraint. However, I must say that there is something terribly wrong when the bathroom at the Walmart is more disgusting than the bathroom at the Sather Gate Garage, which is 1/2 block from Telegraph Ave. - THE Telegraph Ave., of the homeless, the hippie, the downtrodden, the eclectic, far-left, and, scariest of all, (audible shriek) CAL students! I had driven directly to this parking garage from the evil empire, and yet again, nature called. (And yeah, I know, I should see someone about that). As I entered the bathroom, a custodial worker gently reached his hand to the door to hold it open a moment to ask....."is it clean enough?" I thought I misheard....."excuse me?" said I. "The bathroom...is it clean enough?" Uh, well, let me look around....."yes, it seems to be." "Okay." - and off he went. Huh?

Enough latrine fodder. Have you people heard of Mr. Mopps toy store in Berkeley, and if so, why haven't you told me about it before? Imagine that perfect grocery store that blends the best of Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and the occasional run to Lucky's. (That's sort of Berkeley Bowl, but in my dream world I can go there without having to fight with a bunch of grumpy customers who run into me with their shopping carts). Mr. Mopps is the perfect toy store - sort of a Back to Basics combined with Hearthsong combined with Imaginarium before being sucked up by Toys R Us, thrown in with a smidge of Target selections. And the prices are extremely reasonable as well. You can find stocking stuffers as well as main gifts all right here. Oops.....I didn't check out if they have any electronic selections - but y'all know how I feel about that anyway.

And finally, if you're so inclined, there's a new entry to check out at Ry and Si.

2007-12-09T21:01:00.000-08:00

There is nothing better than free money. Lest you go through your seemingly-junk mail too quickly, be sure to look at those return addresses. If it says "U.S. District Court Settlement Administrator" on the return, open that little puppy up right away. I did that tonight and found that I was 3 clicks away from $25, and so was Scott! It seems there was a class action suit against credit cards charging too much for foreign exchange rates made on purchases in foreign countries between 1996 and 2006. If I wanted to try to itemize for those 10 years, perhaps I would be due more, however, I find my time more valuable than the extra nickel or two I may glean from that beleaguered process. Regardless, $50 is a nice little amount of moola to come in the mail (and timely considering I just dropped off that 1st of 2 property tax payments.....ouch).

This reminded me of one of my all-time favorite websites - the California State Controller’s site, where you can search for unclaimed money due to yourself or anyone else you can think of. It's a great way to get in touch with old friends....just find out if they're due money, then e-mail to let them know. Maybe they'll cut you in. It is so addictive you'll find yourself glued to the keyboard trying to remember all the people you ever knew......I think it's the manual precursor to social networking sites.

While I'm sharing free money tips, be sure to check out the CoinStar machine in your local supermarket. Normally they charge an outrageous fee to count your coins and give you cash....but during the holidays there is an abundance of retailers who are dying for you to convert your change to giftcards and are willing to absorb that fee. So if you shop at Amazon or Borders or Starbucks or Home Depot, etc. - take your change in and cash out.

2007-11-24T18:02:00.000-08:00

The other day one of the moms at Ry's boy's chorus asked him what kinds of things he does with his time, given the fact that he doesn't have a gameboy, or video games, or any of the other electronic equipment that seems to be de rigueur for a boy of 8 (or younger, or older, I guess). At the time, he was too embarrassed to answer, given the fact that there were peers around, and he didn't want to appear uncool. And I had to think about it too....but of course, wasn't allowed to answer either as I'm sure I would embarrass him to death. Now I do know that we're not the only family who doesn't have this.....as evidenced by the swarm of boys who gather around whenever another boy brings out the gameboy during break from chorus practice. You really have to see it to believe it.....I counted 15 children around one boy and his handheld electronic (Ry's told me several times what it's called and I still can't remember).

So for the last week or so I've tried to be aware of some of the things he does outside of his school day. If you're interested, migrate on over to the Ry and Si site.

2007-11-21T10:20:00.000-08:00

I am so excited by the new Goodwill/Nick Graham partnership. If you've missed the hoopla, Nick, who created, then sold Joe Boxer, is working with a team of designers and Goodwill to repurpose selected clothing items. They go in, find pieces they like, clean them, then cut, sew, add a dash of whimsy, and voila! Like new! They call it William Good.....get it? They've put in a little 200-square foot boutique area within the Fillmore & Post Goodwill, and you can also buy online within their E-Bay shop. Si and I had the best time yesterday while Ry rehearsed a block away for his chorus holiday concert.....she gave me fashion advice while I tried on several items. I came away with three things, including the big-eyed vest at left, which is, to put it mildly, the least favorite of Si's. The eye kind of freaks her out. Which is probably what attracted me to it. We have discovered, very early on, that our tastes are distinctly different. And we're okay with that. Anyway, the hope is that they will roll this concept out not only to other Goodwill locations (probably Chelsea in NYC next), but also to other retail locations. This has been a long time coming.....I love it and it inspires me to do this on my own. I can sew well enough to throw an eye, or lips, or words or ruffles on something! I can even rip something up and sew pieces of it on something else! Which just regenerates my interest in a sewing circle. Not the kind where you sit around with an embroidery ring and do little crosses and flowers. The kind where you have a few ladies around a table with sewing machines, all on different projects and helping each other with their knowledge. And of course imbibement most likely should be involved. And perhaps some snacks. And definitely music. These ideas are certainly not new. Just check out stitch lounge. These ladies rock...and have the kind of business I would love to have. Of course, you need the talent for it. They've written a couple of books - Sew Subversive and Subversive Seamster. For some reason I don't have a problem trying things out for Si....check out the skirt I just made her.....she picked all the fabric and trims, of course....and I have to say that it was definitely inspired by some fun skirts I saw at another very talented lady's shop -
Siobhan van Winkel on Telegraph Ave. So I got a simple pattern, and we now have two of these fun skirts....if you don't attach the fancy trim, you can knock out this skirt in less than an hour. So, anyone who might be interested in starting up an East Bay sewing circle, let me know.....I'll bring the wine.

2007-10-28T17:54:00.000-07:00

Today I finally decided I needed to find the labyrinth inside Sibley Regional Volcanic Preserve. It never fails that when I'm on a walk, either through Sibley, or on Skyline outside of Sibley, someone stops to ask me if I know where it is. In fact, I never knew it existed until I read about it on the Walking Berkeley blog (this is the post where I also began my web circumnavigation ultimately finding my way to my Wednesday morning hiking group). Quite frankly, I am not a big fan of Sibley. I've always found it somewhat ugly....lots of wide fire-road sized trails, and really rocky. It looks like what it is....a former quarry. Amazingly, however, the Bay Area Ridge Trail is quite lovely through Sibley. It's between the Huckleberry and Tilden portions, and it's probably the most forest-looking part in all of Sibley. Scott and Ry went off, once again, to mountain bike in Redwood, so Si and I decided the girls were going for a hike to find this labyrinth. Fortunately I did my research online before leaving, and found out that there are actually six labyrinths throughout the park, with the Mazzariello Labyrinth being the largest of the six. According to Friends of the Labyrinth, it was originally created by Helena Mazzariello (of Montclair, natch), as a classical earthen labyrinth, but was added to by various hikers until it became the rock labyrinth that it now is. Also, apparently "the mere presence of the Mazzariello Labyrinth violates laws and codes of the East Bay Regional Park District. Although warmly embraced by some park officials, their sanctions of the Labyrinth are unofficial." No wonder it's not on any of the official maps or web pages. The top picture is the Mazzariello Labyrinth, as is the one with Si placing an offering, which had fallen off, back on the altar in the middle. If you look closely, the other picture is of Si in one of the smaller labyrinths above the Mazzariello Labyrinth you can see beyond. It's a very easy and enjoyable hike, and I highly recommend it if you want to spend a little outdoor time in a peaceful and meditative space.

2007-10-22T19:55:00.000-07:00

This shot just about wraps up the Metrathon. What a great day. If you haven't heard yet, Ry walked 32 kilometers. That's around 20 miles! He definitely walked the most in his class, and he may also win the most in 3rd grade. The tenciousness of the Capricorn in him was evident in the fact that, while Si used the day as a somewhat social occasion (as well it should be!), Ry only walked with friends part of the time, then kicked into high gear and ran some laps and never stopped....except once for a quick lunch. I've added photos to the Ry and Si site, so jump on over if you're interested.

2007-10-17T12:32:00.000-07:00

I don't normally discuss politics. But I'm going to go out on a limb, and endorse my personal preference for our next President of the United States:

By the way, for those who are interested in more Ry and Si photos (as opposed to my political endorsements), I put up a link on the righthand side of the page. You'll have to just check in periodically to see if there are updates, or you can directly bookmark their site once you've linked in.

2007-10-14T16:48:00.000-07:00

What a strange weekend. Yesterday early a.m. I went for a hike up on Skyline, and here's what I found....an entire tree had been uprooted and fallen on one half of the road.

Then, after having an absolutely lovely time making sugar skulls for Dia de Los Muertos at Corazon del Pueblo on International Blvd., as I was getting into my car, an SUV-ish type vehicle could not wait for me to close my door and decided to squeeze by....which wasn't possible and so practically took my door off. The door got munched - thankfully none of us was hurt - and the driver proceeded to speed off. Dummy. Did he think I couldn't see far away enough to capture his license plate number? So I waited for an hour for the police to arrive, and when they didn't, I had to hightail it home anyway because Scott and I were due in Nicasio (West Marin) for a fundraiser for Gavin Newsom. The good news is that we got there just after he did (even though we were an hour and a half late!) so didn't miss a thing. We then decided to drive back through San Francisco (stopping to eat at PlumpJack just to make it a full-on Newsom-supported evening) and stay the night....(highly recommend the new Hotel Vitale at the Embarcadero), and this early a.m., Scott and I went for a walk over to Pacific Heights, and saw this car. Upon further investigation we discovered that it was a matching planter to one that still remained in front of the doorway of the large apartment building right on the corner where this car was parked. I would have felt tremendously sorry for the owner of this vehicle, however, I had (have) it fresh in my mind that I, in fact, will probably see this person in the insurance office first thing Monday morning as well. Like I said, strange weekend.....and there's not even a full moon.

2007-09-24T18:54:00.000-07:00

On Monday, October 2 from 3-6pm, there will be a reading from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone at the Berkeley Central Library in recognition of Banned Books Week, which is September 29 - October 6. Ry will be signing up to read a passage, as he just finally read this first in the series....without being too scared! He's now moving on to book 2, and writing his first book report at his new school on book 1....so it seems fitting that he should participate. They'll be reading in front of the library with a microphone, so anyone who's interested, just come out, sign up, and read! J.K. Rowling is the 4th most frequently challenged author between 1990 and 2004. A little background from the American Library Association website: "A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others." And guess who challenges materials more than any other group? Parents, of course. So, for my part, during Banned Books Week, and beyond, I shall try to live by their motto, shown above.

2007-09-19T10:22:00.000-07:00

Some tidbits for your weekend planning...........Speaking of mariachis, (a few posts ago, which of course you know because you read every single post, yes?) there is a Mariachi Festival this weekend in San Jose that will have three stages of music and dance, food, drinks, and family activities. I know, San Jose sounds far, but it's really not that bad. What I discovered through this website also, is that the Mexican Heritage Corporation offers the Mariachi Youth Program in 5 San Jose area schools. It offers skill-based sequential mariachi music instruction with bi-lingual instructors. Students choose from the trumpet, violin, guitar, guitarrón or vihuela. Everyone also receives instruction in voice, and ensemble musicianship. And it's free! I wish we had that in Oakland.

Mariachis (and San Jose) not your thing? How about a Clothing Swap in San Francisco on Saturday? I could kick myself.....just yesterday I took an entire trunk full of clothing to Goodwill....and while everything will hopefully find a good home, it would have been a lot more fun to take it here. Everything that doesn't get traded gets donated at the end. And it's a party-like time with music and refreshments! Who wouldn't want to be there?

On Friday, it is once again PARK(ing) Day. The mission? "To rethink the way streets are used, call attention to the need for urban parks, and improve the quality of urban human habitat....at least until the meter runs out!" Check out this video overview and then go to the PARK(ing) Day site for ideas on how you can create your own PARK. Also be sure to click on the map page for all the locations to go view the PARK(ing) spots. (Thanks to streetsblog.org for the image)

Saturday night you might enjoy a free movie brought to you by your East Bay Regional Park system. The Princess Bride will play at the Lake Chabot Fairmont Ridge Staging area. The movie starts at 8 pm but get there early and bring your chairs.

And finally, on Sunday, the Little Farm at Tilden will be having their Little Farm Fair with music, entertainment, crafts, and old fashioned games, including pie-eating contests, sack-races and more. They're dedicating their new cow barn, so come on out and celebrate!

2007-09-17T20:53:00.000-07:00

Oh, oh....I think we might have a little A's fan now. We all had a great time and if I could figure how to upload a video of them singing, I would. So I used my charm (no really, I can be charming) to talk my way down to the front row right over the visitor dugout, and by the time the boys had finished, a very nice couple gave us their extra tickets so we could sit down there for the game. So part of the game we got the big picture view from the 2nd level in foul territory past the 1st base line, and part of the game was right over the Mariner's dugout. Who beat the A's by the way. Badly. Which Ry now cares about because the A's have become his 2nd favorite team. Hmmm.

2007-09-16T22:16:00.000-07:00

Ry's first gig with his new Chorus will be Monday night, 9/17, at the A's game. They'll be singing the National Anthem.....so check your local listings for the A's vs. the Seattle Mariners. The game starts at 7:05, I believe, and chances are probably pretty slim that they'll televise the National Anthem, but you never know. We have to temporarily set aside our Giants loyalty in order to commit to this. We feel that we can do it for the greater good of musicality in the bay area.....or something like that.

2007-09-13T20:56:00.000-07:00

Separated at birth?

2007-09-08T21:06:00.000-07:00

I went paddling on the outrigger canoe today for the second time in about a month. Before that? Two years. Before that? Four or five years. Before that? Every week! When we lived on Russian Hill I could walk down Larkin to the steps that essentially led all the way down to Aquatic Park and paddle every Saturday morning. Or ride my motorcycle (Honda Rebel 250 baby!) with my paddle slung on the side. But even more than having children, the move to Oakland really put an end to my weekly paddles. For those who don't know, I actually own an outrigger with a community of women, and have since the early '90's. In the mid-'90's I also joined a formal outrigger canoe club and raced as a novice. The kids love to look at my shiny medals (I have to admit....I do, too). But one season of racing was enough, and I realized that I much preferred my little community of wahines and a nice paddle on the San Francisco Bay without any training agenda. So no matter how many years go by, how many kids gets born, how many husbands and boyfriends come and go, we still go on.....and maybe go for a skinny dip in the bay a little less than before (except for the new recruits....and by new I mean the less than 10 year wahines.....who enjoy stripping down if you just mention the phrase "anyone for a swim?"). I've decided that if I can find the time to hike, I can certainly find the time for a 25 minute drive over to my old stomping grounds to do what I truly love to do. And by the way.....those are the sea lions at Pier 39 in the photo taken today. Hard to see with the phone-cam, but you get the idea.

2007-09-01T18:27:00.000-07:00

Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano

Photo by Rosalie O'Connor

Single tickets for the 2007-08 San Francisco Symphony season have gone on sale. Four highlights not-to-be-missed - two new, two familiar. The familiar: Peter & the Wolf (see Dec. 17, 2006 post) and the Chinese New Year Celebration (see Feb. 25, 2007 post).

The new and very exciting: The Wizard of Oz playing at Davies with the Symphony playing in front of it. They will have a couple of family performances with children's tickets at half-price. But my personal favorite has to be Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano. On one of our many trips to Rasputin, this is one of the bands I chose and have been listening to for about a year. You can read a whole bio on them as well as on mariachi music and Mexico in this excellent University Musical Society Study Guide from the University of Michigan. They performed there a couple of years ago. They are going to perform on Saturday, December 22 and it will be in celebration of Festival de las Posadas which is a traditional holiday procession that symbolizes the journey made by Joseph and Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem and Joseph’s search for shelter at an Inn. Ry and Si can't wait.....even though it's an 8 pm performance, Si said "well, if I just fall asleep in my chair, that's okay mommy." Indeed it is.

2007-08-27T22:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Me!!! hee hee hee

Recipe for delicious birthday cake I made for myself (courtesy of Gourmet, Sept. 2007):

Coconut Rum Cake

Active time: 45 min
Start to Finish: 2 ½ hours

For Cake

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs plus 3 large yolks
1 ½ cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled
¾ cup well-stirred sweetened cream of coconut such as Coco Lopez

For Coconut Slivers

1 medium coconut
2 teaspoons confectioners sugar

For Icing

3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons well-stirred sweetened cream of coconut
1 tablespoon dark rum (I used Coconut Rum)
1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream
½ cup confectioners sugar

Make cake: Preheat oven to 350 F with rack in middle. Lightly butter cake pan and line bottom with a round of parchment paper. Lightly butter parchment, then flour pan. Whisk together flour (1 ¼ cups), baking powder, and salt.

Whisk together whole eggs and yolks, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl. Gradually whisk in flour mixture until combined, then whisk in butter until just combined. Pour into cake pan and rap pan on counter to expel air bubbles. Bake until golden brown and cake starts to pull away from side of pan, about 45 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes. (Leave oven on.) Invert cake onto rack (discard parchment) and cool 10 minutes more. Generously brush top and side of warm cake with cream of coconut, allowing it to soak in before brushing on more. Cool completely.

Make coconut slivers as cake cools: Pierce softest eye of coconut with a small screwdriver, then drain and discard liquid. Bake coconut in a shallow baking pan 15 minutes. (Leave oven on). Break shell with a hammer, then pry flesh from shell with screwdriver (I actually use an oyster shucker – it’s the best thing ever for separating coconut from it’s shell). Thinly shave enough coconut with a vegetable peeler to measure 2 cups and toss with confectioners sugar, then spread in 1 layer on a baking sheet. Bake until just dry but not golden (some tips may color), 5 to 10 minutes. Cool coconut completely. (It will crisp as it cools.)

Make Icing: Beat together cream cheese, cream of coconut, rum, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons cream with an electric mixer until smooth, then beat in confectioners sugar. Icing should be smooth and slightly runny; stir in remaining tablespoon cream if necessary. Smooth icing over top of cooled cake, allowing some to drip over side, then top with coconut slivers.

Yummy!

2007-08-26T10:50:00.000-07:00

I have this never-ending quest to find the perfect thirst quenching beverage outside of water. I'm not a soda fan, although I definitely have gone through some years of Pepsi addiction. It's never really quenched my thirst, though - it simply helped to satiate my desire for sugar. Beer is too bitter, and the beer that's so light that it's not bitter just tastes like nothing - so why bother? And sports drinks make me crazy with all the added sugar.....is that really necessary? So I'm delighted that recently I've discovered O.N.E. Coconut Water! 100% pure coconut water is from the green young coconut...you know - if you've ever bought your own coconut and poked the holes, it's the 1/2 cup or so of liquid that comes out first. You do have to enjoy the flavor of coconut - although the water is extremely mild and really has just a hint of coconut. It is fat free, higher in potassium than a banana, has no added sugar (and is naturally low in sugar content, at only 14 grams per 11 oz. container), and five electrolytes which is what the sports drinks are always trying to convince you that you need to replace what you've lost during exercise. Ry and I discovered this at Farmer Joe’s one day while waiting for Si to have her piano lesson. We thought we'd run over and quickly get something to drink, and spent 30 minutes reading labels, amazed, as always, at the sugar content in EVERYTHING. One warning-there is another brand out there called VitaCoco. While it seems the same, the flavor isn't. There's some strange aftertaste that I don't care for. So be sure to get O.N.E.

Another thirst quenching favorite for the past year has been my Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Maker. I always thought iced tea took too long to make so never did so, but now it's a breeze. It literally takes 10 minutes. You can either throw in tea bags, or use a filter and use loose tea. I love to mix and match. So maybe some Celestial Seasonings True Blueberry with English Toffee, or Republic of Tea Pomegranate Green Tea with Ginger Lemon Grass. The possibilities are endless.

And finally, my favorite alcohol-infused thirst quencher? Discovered last summer in Barcelona at the home of new friends, the Clara. It combines beer with either lemonade or lemon soda (like Pellegrino Limón). For me, it's that just-right combination of sweet and bitter....and actually very thirst quenching on a very hot day. There are different names in different countries - it's Shandy in England and if you click on the link, you'll see all the other world names and variations. Yummy!

2007-08-15T23:48:00.000-07:00

I love Ed Begley, Jr. Had you asked me a year ago about him, I'd have said that I knew who he was, that he was mega-pro-environment, but that's all I knew. Now I know a lot more. There is a really terrific show on HGTV called Living with Ed and it's about to begin it's second season. Here's a paragraph from the show's website description:

"Living with Ed usually starts early. He pops out of bed way before Rachelle and is always full of energy. In order for Ed to make toast for breakfast, he hops on a stationary bike. Unlike an ordinary exercise machine, this one is hooked up to the batteries that run the house. By pedaling he can make energy to run his toaster. By biking for 10 minutes, Ed creates enough energy to make two pieces of toast. After hitting the correct amount of wattage, Ed can enjoy his toast knowing he earned it."

So when you read this, you think....ha ha, crazy eco-actor....get a life. But you know what? I saw this episode and I've got to tell you, it made me want to hook up my stupid bike to my toaster (or at least Scott's bike because we all know he could pedal up some toast lickety-split).

Another direct lift from the website - this time from the amazed production crew that shot the first season:

"He never preaches about what he is doing. If he is asked, he will tell you exactly what he thinks and never pass judgment on those who are outside of his box of thinking."

"He doesn’t expect everyone to live like him. It’s this little thing he does where he has his personal goals and you just naturally aspire to be like him. He makes it look so easy and he doesn’t ask anything of you."

"He walks the walk 100%."

"He is way ahead of the rest of the world. Ok, maybe the rest of the world has been told to take care of the planet over and over again, but he actually listens and cares about future generations. We all are obsessed with being more technologically advanced, but maybe Ed has it right with his one simple phrase: Live Simply…So Others Can Simply Live."

I agree whole-heartedly with these quotes, and that is why I got so sucked in. Because Ed makes it look so easy, so natural, and just does his thing because he wants to do his thing without being preachy......it makes me want to follow.

The very best part about the show is his wife, Rachelle. She is very clearly NOT ED. Rachelle likes nice things. She likes to look good (I wonder how long Ed has to pedal for the electricity it takes just to blow out her hair). She likes her house to look good. She likes to fly in airplanes to go to far-away destinations. Ed spends much of his time trying to mitigate the destruction she may be causing to the environment. It's awesome. She flies to Sundance....he drives the hybrid car and buys TerraPass credits to try to reduce her carbon imprint. Ah, love. Please try to watch this show. Check your local listings for the 2nd season opener on HGTV - beginning on my birthday - Monday, August 27 (probably 7:30 or 8:30 pm).

2007-08-11T22:00:00.000-07:00

Hiking. This is a blog entry I have written in my head many, many times over the past few months. That’s because I’ve had the opportunity to have a very clear head whilst hiking several miles. Now, one of the points of explanation must be to define “hiking” because it holds very different meanings for people. Purists may believe that it means being off-road and surrounded by wilderness. Here’s what I believe – a hike can serve many purposes and take place in many surroundings – just adapt it for YOUR needs. Personally, I appreciate what I’ll call the urban hiking experience – for many reasons.

The genesis of my interest came from too much sittin’ around. Take Si to Hula....sit around and wait. Take Ry to Capoeira....sit around and wait. I couldn’t take it any more. So I began walking during Hula in Hayward. Now this itself was a challenge. Have you ever tried to go for a nice walk or hike in Hayward? It’s not exactly walker-friendly. So out came my handy dandy Thomas Guide and I staked out some good walks from downtown into the hills. Then came Si going to Hula/Tahitian on Saturdays from 8a-noon. Uh huh. So Scott and I fought over who HAD to take her. Then we both wised up – hmmm, whoever takes her gets 4 hours to bike or hike – let’s fight over who GETS to take her! And so it began.....

I figured out quickly that it was interesting for me to walk where there is stuff to look at. And by stuff, I mean houses, yards, fences, businesses, views, etc. It kept my interest, and with my handy phone-cam, I could snap some pics for ideas. Then I figured, well, if I like to walk around the cities...why not make the walk part of my errand-doing. So, if I wanted to get some fabric, then why not walk to Poppy Fabric (3.1 miles one-way)? Or, if we all go to Capoeira on Friday nights, why not walk and meet the rest of the family there (6.9 miles)? I also found a couple of cool maps for doing this kind of hiking in Oakland and Berkeley.

One of my favorite hikes was when I had to get my brakes replaced a couple of weeks ago. I started out at San Pablo and Hearst in Berkeley, walked up to Grizzly Peak, and then circled back down. (See lame-o Google map above - their blue lines never actually land on the streets you actually travel on) Have you ever walked up Marin Ave.? Holy hiking hill, Batman. And 7.1 miles to boot. (Thanks to inl.org [what the hell is this?] for the photo [right] and grades).

So I wondered.....I’m obviously up for the East Bay hills, having tackled Berkeley and several Oakland Hills locations....but could I hold my own on the real deal.....Tahoe? Turns out....yeah baby, I could. I started in Squaw at the Village (6,200’ elevation) and hiked the Shirley Canyon trail to Shirley Lake and then up to High Camp at 8,200’. What’s that? A 3.6 mile hike with a 2,000 foot ascent? Like I said.....YEAH BABY! Did I have to stop and rest? Well, yeah. Did I at one point think I needed a beacon on my phone so that Search and Rescue could find me and bring me a Hyperbaric Chamber? Well, yeah. Altitude is a butt-kicker for sure. What would have taken me 2 hours or so at bay area altitude took about 3 hours in Tahoe because of all the resting to wait for my lungs to capture enough air. But I did it and would do it again.....but this time with another hiker.

Urban (and non-urban) hiking essentials? Fanny pack containing water, natch. Lip balm (preferably Scharffenberger Mint Chocolate – hey...we’re still in the bay area, right?), salmon jerky (the BEST quick protein fix ever during a workout as far as I’m concerned), breath mints (for actually talking to people post-hike) and the little clip-on shopping tote. See the tiny little purple flowery thing in the photo? Unsnap the little packet and out pops a full size tote. For when you run into a fruit stand, the Elephant Pharmacy, or any myriad of other shopping opportunities on your urban hike.

My view on hiking has evolved into believing that your perfect hike is being able to concentrate on what is important to you. If you want to be technically challenged by the terrain – always having to pay careful attention to where your feet are (as well as your body for fear you don’t get lost) and hone your tracking skills like Sacagawea – then hike those mountains, baby. If you’re more interested in learning about your own area where you live, and maybe get in a little shopping or idea-mining for gardens and fences (like this awesome purple artichokey-looking thingy) then do that urban hike. The bottom line is.....just get off the couch and go somewhere.

2007-08-05T22:28:00.000-07:00

Si was absolutely beautiful today in the Aloha Festival in San Francisco. It was a typical summer day in the City....blustery cold, fog, and a light mist throughout the day. If the poor child comes down with pneumonia, we'll know why. I do have to say, though, that I appreciate the fact that the festival was running ON TIME......unheard of in the hula world! So this officially ends our summer dance season, and we'll begin our focus on fall. October is the ho'ike and November brings a hula competition. In order to gear up for all this, and the beginning of school looming far too closely, we're off for a few days to Tahoe for some R&R. See you when we get back.

2007-08-04T19:03:00.000-07:00

I know it gets impossibly mundane to read about cupcakes over and over, but get over it. Si, Ry and I made 112 cupcakes for Si's hula halau bake sale. Plus Fruity Coconut Balls. Many thanks again go to Chockylit for her Chocolate Chai Spice recipe. No one in the house thought they would like it but it ended up being one of the favorite flavors! Thanks also go to a new (to me) cupcake blogger - DaisyCakes - to whom I owe thanks for posting recipes for Double Chocolate Cupcakes with Mint Buttercream, Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Rum Buttercream, and Caramel Cupcakes with Espresso Fudge Frosting. They were truly all winners. And also a thousand thanks to DaisyCakes for educating me about the Williams Sonoma Mechanical Pastry Bag. How did I a) not know about this thing; and b) live without it? It sure made four frostings go very quickly. But the biggest hit of the bake sale? Fruity Coconut Balls - Si's original recipe idea that she had seen in Your Big Backyard - the National Wildlife Federation magazine subcription from Keith and Grandma Nancy. Boil dried fruit (whatever you like - we used papaya, mango and pineapple) in orange juice, add crushed graham crackers, and roll in coconut. Simple, easy and SOLD OUT!!! Sadly, not the case for the rest of the baked goods. 112 cupcakes is just never necessary. So we continued the bake sale in front of the house, and if you can read the sign (just click on the photo and it will enlarge for better readability), added a new purchase option to the assortment. We made a few bucks from kindly neighbors, but the bad part of living on a quiet street is the lack of any kind of traffic coming through. So if you need about 60 cupcakes, let me know quick, and I'll get them over to you!

2007-07-24T20:34:00.000-07:00

Cal State East Bay (formerly Hayward) is doing two summer productions - both seemingly altered to a PG-13 rating. Much Ado About Nothing plays this weekend and next, and then my beloved Hair begins on August 10. I have something of an obsession with Hair. Lest you question my complete devotion to this play, I offer the following as evidence: I have albums (yes-albums) from the Broadway theatre production and the movie (some say this version is heresy - I say there can never be too much Hair, even if the movie storyline does stray from the original - and this was my first introduction to the delectable Treat Williams). I also own the album from the true original New York Shakespeare Festival Public Theater production, and the album produced as "Divine Hair - Mass in F", which is the Broadway cast of Hair celebrating the third anniversary of the production by singing appropriate selections from the play, as well as the Solemn Eucharist in the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City along with the choirs of St. Martin's, Manhattan and St. Mary's, Staten Island, and of course, the Choir of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Oh, and I musn't forget Hair: Performed by the Original French Cast in - yes, of course - french. And finally, "DisinHAIRited" which is a collection of songs written by the original trio of Jim Rado, Jerry Ragni and Galt MacDermot that "was meant to be an extension, an amplification and a continuation of "Hair." It features members from various past and present tribes in songs that were first written or projected for either the original New York Shakespeare Festival production or for Broadway, as well as songs written specifically for the album. The defense rests.

2007-07-23T20:49:00.000-07:00

Ry and Si learning to knit has garnered a new favorite recipe. Let me explain. The Berkeley Central Library currently has free knitting class for kids on Fridays from 4-5 pm. It's really great because the women who teach have great energy and it's really fun. So while they knit, I peruse the shelves. I often find cool DVDs on different world music and dance - anything you can think of, really. So, as I was trying out the magazine section thinking I could find something trashy like People or Us, I happened upon Vegetarian Times. If you know anything about me at all, you know that I'm a cherry freak. Those first cherries that start creeping out pre-Spring get me going, and when full-on cherry season is here I reach somewhat of a nirvana. But I digress. My discovery in the July/August issue of Vegetarian Times:

Sweet Cherry Soup
Serves 8

5 cups fresh or frozen pitted cherries, divided
1 cup tart cherry juice
½ cup port wine
¼ cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp. cornstarch
8 whole cherries

1. Bring 4 cups cherries, cherry juice, port, sugar, cinnamon stick and 1 ½ cups water to a boil. Reduce heat to med. Low and simmer 15 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick and puree until smooth in blender or food processor, or wit immersion blender.

2. Whisk cornstarch with ½ cup soup in a small bowl. Return mixture to soup and whisk to combine. Chill 3 hours or overnight.

3. Coarsely chop remaining pitted cherries, ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with chopped cherries, garnish each bowl with 1 whole cherry and serve.

By all accounts this recipe was a hit. And let me tell you that the next day for lunch it was even better. I highly recommend making it the day before you want to serve it. The flavors co-mingle during their refrigerator time in a way that is wholly satisfying.

I did find another recipe in the same issue that I love as well. It didn't photograph quite as well, but it was also a big hit.

Hot Tamale Burgers
Serves 8

1 cup short-grain brown rice
1 ½ tblsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 ¼ cup)
1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped (about ¾ cup)
¾ cup fresh corn kernels (from 1 medium ear)
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, minces, plus 2 tsp. sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 tsp.)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup instant masa harina or yellow cornmeal
½ cup chopped cilantro
1 ½ tblsp. fresh lime juice
¾ tsp. lime zest

1. Bring rice and 3 cups water to a boil in medium saucepan. Reduce heat t low, cover and simmer 40 minutes, or until water is absorbed and rice is tender.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, corn chipotle, adobo sauce, garlic, cumin and salt. Sauté 2 minutes, then reduce heat to low. Cover, and cook 15 minutes, or until vegetables are tender, stirring once or twice. Whisk ½ cup water with masa harina in bowl. Add to skillet mixture, cover, and cook on low 10 minutes more, stirring once or twice (mixture will feel like thick cornmeal mush).

3. Remove from heat, and stir in hot rice, cilantro, lime juice and zest. Cool 20 minutes. Wet hands and shape mixture into 8 burgers. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

4. Prepare charcoal fire or gas grill for medium heat. Brush burgers and grill rack with olive oil. Grill 7 minutes per side, or until crusty on the outside. If adding cheese, top burgers during the last 3 minutes of grilling.

I omitted the bell pepper and cilantro because, well, yucch. They had just a little spicy kick at the end - but not too much because Si ate hers all up and wanted more. We served them inside warm tortillas (flour and corn) with some avocado. And they stayed together on the grill...which can be an issue with rice-burgers.

By the way, if you haven't been to the Berkeley Central Library, you really should go. It's quite beautiful.....and everyone can learn something new!

2007-07-22T18:38:00.000-07:00

Shotgun Players are staging The Three Musketeers and have apparently been intensely rehearsing the fencing choreography for maximum reality. It looks really interesting and really exciting. I have no idea whether this is child-friendly or not....but I'm guessing that since it's free and outdoors in a park, it can't be too bad. We can always just have the kiddos look away if necessary. The Musketeers is a real favorite for Scott, and although we have TIVO'd a wishlist for any and all Musketeer programming to record, it seldom comes up with anything besides a 1939 singing version with Don Ameche, and the Mickey, Donald and Goofy fiasco. There are dozens of versions that have been made into movies and tv, and apparently, most every time a theatre company mounts a production, they do their own adaptation as well.....and this production is no exception. So it should be entirely fresh, and you can't beat the price! It's at John Hinkel Park in Berkeley, weekends at 4pm through Labor Day.

2007-07-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

We've just survived Si's first Tahitian dance competition. I do mean survived, as we arrived in Milipitas at 7:15 am and left at 8:30 pm. There is a lot of hurry up and wait involved in a polynesian competition, but it really was quite exciting to see all of the dancers perform. They begin with over 200 dancers broken into age categories - Si was in the 5-8 Beginner group. They begin by going on stage in groups of three or four - and dance to the house drummers - switching the dance based on hearing the beats of the drums. They are scored and later find out who advances to the finals. And guess what? Si advanced to the finals! So then in the afternoon, they go on stage alone to perform a solo, and get to perform with their own halau (school) drummers. Each halau has their own choreographed dance, so it's up to each dancer to remember it and do it their very best. Si had no problem being up there all alone - in fact it was her favorite part. The best part was cheering on all of the hula sisters.....and seeing beautiful dancing. If you're interested in seeing Si perform with her halau (Ke Ola Loa), they are closing the Aloha Festival in San Francisco this year. Their scheduled performance time is 4:00 pm on Sunday, August 5. If you're not into crowds, Ke Ola Loa will have their own halau ho'ike (show) on Saturday, October 6 in the beautiful new Castro Valley Center for the Performing Arts. If you'd like tickets, let me know so that I can reserve some for you.

2007-07-13T20:57:00.000-07:00

It's been a musical few weeks especially for Ry. Sadly I don't have a photo of his June piano recital (all video), but I do have his vocal recital where he was part of a trio singing a beautiful Hungarian song.

We then move on to his Capoeira Batizado, where they began by letting those kids who can really play the instruments do so. Here he plays the berimbau (that's him sitting on the bench with the long stick-looking thing in his hands), and sings - in Portuguese, of course.

And finally - what we've been waiting for since he was seven and found out he needed to be eight - BANDWORKS! It's been a week of rock n' roll camp folks, and Ry rocked out on the guitar and drums. He worked the vocals a couple of times, but let me tell you, the kid's been wanting to play drums forever and a day, and he sure did prove his case that he should continue. We can highly recommend Bandworks, should your kid have any interest in expanding their musical experiences.

The culmination of the week is a concert where they play about five songs. Since he did the morning and afternoon sessions, we got two concerts and ten songs. I'm not even going to pretend I knew all the songs - I'm not so up on my Nirvana, White Stripes and Jimi Hendrix. But I did know the Led Zeppelin, Beatles and Green Day so I was happy.

2007-07-11T22:39:00.000-07:00

If your house is anything like ours, you're right in the middle of high-tv-viewing season. Why's that? Because it's time for the Tour, of course. Oh, you aren't familiar? Here's what's happening in Stage 5, which is about to begin (live) as I write this. I have absolutely no sympathy for so-called Football "Widows". What are there - 10 football games in a season that last 3 hours or so each? Try July 7 to July 29, every day, with prologues, epilogues, fanlogues and various and sundry ancillary programs meant to enhance your knowledge of the event. In the neandratholic pre-TIVO days, our VCR recorded tape after tape. While this is another example of why one can't live without TIVO, even it's capacity is not unlimited, and when it is set to record 4-5 hours every day, even my Number 1 Season Pass selection gets bumped....which makes me very grumpy. Do not mess with my Denis Leary. Fortunately for Scott, the t.v. network Versus brings him pretty much all the coverage (and seems to be the sole reason why we pay $10/month extra for the sports package on our satellite dish). Okay...so that was a long way to go to get to the real point....there is a very cool game that you can get that is a Tour de France game. When we actually went to a stage in the French Pyrénées a few years ago to see Lance Armstrong kick some booty, we watched this father and son playing a cool cycling game called L'échappée Infernale. I bought one a couple of years later, and it really is awesome. Ry absolutely loves it. The cyclists have on the correct sponsor jerseys and are on these little bicycles...and you can update each year based on sponsorships - you know - like if somebody switches from US Postal to Discovery or something like that. Be forewarned that currently the site is only up in French....however, they're working on the English portion, and if your French is even only a little bit better than - bon jour, ça va aujourd'hui? - you'll be fine.

2007-07-04T15:30:00.000-07:00

Something fun to do on Friday evening with the whole family: First Fridays After Five at the Oakland Museum of California. It's a Jazz and Blues Summer Series and you can stroll through the galleries and gardens, have a cocktail from their "full cash bar", get a light entree from the café, and generally have a relaxed evening from 5-9. They even offer a couple of yoga classes and a ranger-led talk on Yosemite. So let's see, mom goes to yoga, dad has a drink and listens to jazz, kids are learning about the flora and fauna of one of our greatest national parks. And you can still say you spent the evening together as a family.......Can't beat that!

2007-06-26T23:49:00.000-07:00

Aargh.....I finally decided it was time to migrate the blog over to the new Blogger templates...supposedly functionality is easier. Some is easier, some is not. So please bear with me as I fiddle around with the look. If those of you who signed up for e-mail actually get an e-mail about this, I'll at least know I'm having some migration success. And if you haven't signed up for e-mail......come on now, what's the problem? The only e-mail you'll receive by doing this is the one that tells you when I've updated my blog! How could you not want that? Oh, what.....you want to waste your time by checking back every single day? You could be using that time to search for something else......like this attractive Aquarium Sink that you really must have for your bathroom remodel. Random, I know.....I'm tired. Good night.

2007-06-21T22:25:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it but, yes, I am going to write about yet another event happening this weekend. It is the Laurel Village Summer Solstice Music Festival. There will be 65 musical groups performing at sites along MacArthur Boulevard (I'm guessing between the two arches....35th Ave. to High St.) and surrounding Laurel Elementary School from 1:00 – 7:00 p.m. If you're not familiar with the area, think "original" Farmer Joe's, and my personal favorite, World Ground Cafe, where I spent many, many, many afternoons studying during graduate school, as it was easy access off I-580 on my way to pick up Ry & Si at school. They have organic, fair trade coffee, pastries, sandwiches, soups and salads. Plus - free wireless internet. Between World Ground and A'Cuppa Tea in Berkeley, I'm not sure where I spent more time or which I liked better........but I digress. Check out the festival and come out and support the Laurel District.

2007-06-20T20:37:00.000-07:00

For the next two weekends (Th-Sat, June 21-24 & June 28-July 1), there are showings of Muppets, Music & Magic at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. The daytime screenings feature films for younger audiences, while evening programs focus on Henson’s experimental work, rarities, and films for older kids and all the adults who never grew up. We rented the original Muppet Movie (1979) last fall for an outdoor showing in our backyard outdoor theatre, and I must say it held up very nicely. Speaking of our outdoor theatre, we screened Born Free (1966) last month and it was a huge hit with the 6-10 crowd. Boys and girls alike, by the way. It's an absolutely beautiful movie, from cinematography to acting to, of course, the gorgeous animals.

2007-06-19T21:51:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year! The Summer Solstice Concert at Chapel of the Chimes! What's that? You say you don't know about this? Chapel of the Chimes is a beautiful Julia Morgan-designed columbarium.....yes really. They have taken it upon themselves to create the ultimate in venue repurposing...... concerts for the living, set amongst the dead. It's brilliant, really. And not only do they do a summer solstice concert, but they also do a candlelit winter solstice concert. You must be prepared, however, to stretch your narrowly defined idea of what a concert should be. Read through this Berkeley Daily Planet article to give you some insight as to what it's all about. We discovered Ya Elah at this concert about four years ago and fell in love with their beautiful music. We bought their CD when it came out and have practically worn it out. The picture I've chosen here is 100% right on the money as to the vibe of the event. Bring all ages and watch them wander. I did spend some time looking for the 2nd (very small) child of one friend last year, so be prepared to be extra vigilant - it's very labrynth-esque. However, it's also very safe, as many families are there, and we were never really worried. June 21, 5pm-9pm at 4499 Piedmont Ave. in Oakland. If you go, let me know what you think!

2007-06-07T19:51:00.000-07:00

New Music Recommendations: Run, don't walk, to get Angélique Kidjo's new CD Djin Djin. Lots of duets with people like Joss Stone, Peter Gabriel, Ziggy Marley and Santana. Listen to this track called Lonlon which is a vocal rendition of Ravel's Bolero. Absolutely beautiful.

Another good one is the new Pink Martini CD Hey Eugene! This is my third reference to Pink Martini on this blog, so get on it already.

And apparently I've been under a rock for awhile, because I've only just discovered Amy Winehouse. Her voice is soothing in a raspy-too-much-bourbon-at-age-23 kind of way. Another definite must-have.

Man, this looks like total chick-music review. But Scott grooved on all these ladies and dug them too. If you have any recommendations, here's a novel idea......hit the comments button and tell me who you like right this minute. And if you haven't done so yet (and why haven't you) - sign up for e-mail!!!!!

2007-06-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, June 5 there is a great opportunity to take a moment to help out the Alameda County Food Bank. Tuesday is National Hunger Awareness Day and there will be an Empty Bowls event from 5:30 - 7:30 pm at the Food Bank, 7900 Edgewater Drive in Oakland. The family-friendly event features Chef Ann Cooper, Renegade Lunch Lady (Berkeley, natch), as the keynote speaker. Guests will be invited to select a hand-painted bowl to take home as a reminder of hunger and the empty bowls in the community. A silent auction will feature ceramic pieces from local artists and gift certificates from local businesses. Delicious soup and bread is being donated by the San Francisco Soup Company and Semifreddi's Bakery. If you don't live in this area, check out the original Empty Bowls website to see the history of the idea, and to find an event in your area.

If you aren't able to attend an Empty Bowls event, check out the KQED Food Blog for other ideas on how to support people in need on National Hunger Awareness Day.

2007-05-23T22:00:00.000-07:00

HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY SI!!!!!

2007-05-22T19:00:00.000-07:00

Let's take it down a notch or ten from the $3500 for the WinePod. This little beauty is just as ingenous. It's called a Moka Pot (or Mokka or Muka) and it's the precursor to fancy espresso machines. I have never tasted coffee so delicious (except for a hundred years ago at the Flying Saucer in the Mission). The traditional pot is made of aluminum, but I have to say that I prefer the18/8 Stainless Steel version - it just feels more solid. What to put in to savor the exquisite mouthfeel (uh huh, I used that word....ya got a problem with that)? Fair Trade and/or Organic would be best. And freshly roasted - like Blue Bottle Coffee which puts beans in customer's hands 48 hours or less after roasting. And they're an Oakland company - Oaktown represents! And please, please, please don't sully this brew with anything other than Demerara sugar (see my Sept. 18 post). And if you can steam some milk to add, great....if not, a simple shot of cold milk works just fine.

2007-05-19T15:41:00.000-07:00

Oh my gawd.....no seriously.....oh my gawd.....these are the best cupcakes ever. FINALLY - I baked cupcakes for a bake sale and got to use my Cupcake Courier for it's intended purpose! These S’mores Cupcakes are actually better than the original concept - and you don't have to get all dirty and buggy sitting around a campfire and sleeping on the cold hard ground somewhere in the wilderness. One of my very favorite food blogs (see 2.19.07 post) is Cupcake Bakeshop by Chockylit and she really created a spectacular recipe with this one. Honestly, I'm now adding her link to my sidebar.....or you can sign up for her e-mail (hmmm....sound familiar?) and get the new recipes as they come out. Here's a piece of advice for you though - don't start the recipe at 6 pm on Friday night when they need to be there at 8 am on Saturday morning. Especially if you've never done it before. And if you're math isn't very good when you're trying to make 36 cupcakes with a recipe for 15. And the 15 turns out to be 11 because you fill the papers a little full. And the graham cracker bottoms turn out to be 18....well, just because. So you have to make a whole new batch after you figure out that you only have 22 cupcakes.....huh? And you decide to use canned frosting because the demographic at the bake sale won't understand or appreciate Valrhona 61% cocoa ganache (and don't even get me started on return on investment - that's not really the point) but then you run out of frosting at 1:30 am and have to make some out of powdered sugar, butter and cocoa. And then you have to learn to fill and use the new culinary torch you bought specifically for the purpose of "roasting" the homemade marshmallows (see 12.3.06 post) without lighting your own hands on fire at 2 am. And you finally lay your head on the pillow at 2:45 am after your husband went to bed at 12:30 am without helping, saying "you made your Martha, now you lie in it" or something to that effect. And after all the effort did I even get to try it? Not until just now - and I never have to eat another dessert again - this is IT. Was it all worth it? Well, let's just say I now have a story to tell, which,when you think about it, really is better than a sharp stick in the eye. And guess what? I get to do it all again for Si's birthday on Wednesday. Sigh.

2007-05-16T23:20:00.000-07:00

Do you imagine yourself to be a home winemaker? Do you think you can grow a few grapes, bring them into the kitchen, then stomp them a la Lucy-style, sieve them, then drink? Ah, but if only......Now you don't have to because you can purchase the WinePod, set it up in your kitchen, family room, wherever, and after appropriate fermenting, pressing and aging all in this one device, you'll have up to 60 bottles to start enjoying. It's only 4 feet tall by 2 feet, 2 inches wide! The WinePod company will even act as your vineyard manager and sell you grapes from established vineyards, in case your land isn't yet producing. For those of you trying to eat within your Food Shed, this will help you achieve your goal. So let's see.....at $3,500, your first batch of 60 bottles = $58.33 per bottle before grape costs (which would be free if you were growing them yourself)........so by the time you kick out around 25 batches, you've lowered your cost to right around the same as Two Buck Chuck. Sounds worth it to me!

2007-05-14T20:34:00.000-07:00

Go directly to the San Francisco Symphony website right this minute and purchase your tickets to the July 6 or 7 performance with Pink Martini. I wrote a smidge about them in my September 15 post (my 2nd ever!) and now I'm thrilled they're coming back to SF. Directly from the SF Symphony press release: The sound: 1930’s Cuban dance orchestra, classical chamber ensemble, Brazilian street band, and Japanese film noir. The band: Pink Martini, an eclectic 12-member ensemble heard around the world. Part language lesson, part Hollywood musical, the Portland, Oregon-based “little orchestra” was created in 1994 by Harvard graduate and classically trained pianist Thomas M. Lauderdale to play at political fundraisers for progressive causes. The group made its European debut at the Cannes Film Festival and in the years following went on to tour Europe, Turkey, Taiwan, Lebanon, and the United States. Equally at home performing its multilingual repertoire on concert stages and in smoky bars, Pink Martini draws a wildly diverse crowd. Scott and I will be going sans children....but only because of the 8pm start time....the concert is appropriate for all ages.

Also not to be missed as part of the same Summer in the City concert series - the inimitable Patti Lupone on July 28. I was not lucky enough to see her as Evita, but her voice is burned into my brain as the only true diva good enough to play Eva Peron. Don't even get me started on the Madonna debacle - although, truth be told, I'll take looking at Antonio Banderas as Che Guevara over Mandy Patinkin any time.

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Another reminder dear readers - sign up for e-mail. You know, if I really believed you were reading, I might work a little harder at this blogging thing. As it is, it's purely for my amusement. Which is okay. Sometimes. But mostly not. Sniff sniff whine whine. Now go.......sign up!

2007-05-12T09:56:00.000-07:00

This is the solution to all my bicycle issues. What issues? Oh, the fact that we live in the hills and to go anywhere I need to put my bike in the car first. Or the fact that any bike ride I might want to go on with Scott is simply a warm-up for a "real" ride that he'll need to go on later. This is the newest Schwinn Electric Bike. In fact, I think it's Schwinn's entry into the electric bike market. There have been many other electric bikes before this one, but finally an electric that doesn't look all clunky and completely unattractive. Now mind you, this is not going to win any beauty contests either, and it's a tough choice between this and retro-fitting electric components to this sweet little Petro Zillia-designed bike, but I like the direction the market is going. I truly would go down to the village and pick up a few things on this. Or maybe even do a BART/bike combo on Bike to Work Day which is coming up this Thursday, May 17. I would pedal part of the time - I swear - but it would certainly put my mind at ease to know that I could rely on a little help, if necessary. Lest you think this is not, in fact, a better environmental solution - join the discussion in the comments area over at Treehugger.com. It makes for a lively debate.

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Don't forget to sign up for e-mail updates - see sidebar to the right!

2007-05-10T22:38:00.000-07:00

Okay....now you really can EASILY subscribe to my blog. Just fill in your e-mail address on the right, do a quick sign-up, and then each time I update my blog you will get an e-mail with the first line or so of my entry and you can then click in. I have subscribed to others (especially my favorite cupcake blog) and it works like a charm. I highly recommend you do so in order to not miss any timely information....especially if you live in the bay area! It is coming up on the summer season, you know, and soon I'll be coming out with my famous calendar spreadsheet with free musical performances (and other types of performances) to catch from San Francisco to Concord and all points in between. So sign up Right this Minute!

2007-05-01T17:13:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, May 6, the African Children’s Choir will be performing at 6:00 p.m. at the First Covenant Church, 4000 Redwood Rd. in Oakland. This is the same church where the elementary children performed in the Kodaly festival last Saturday. It's a beautiful venue and very easy to access for most of us.

If you're up for a trip into the City earlier in the day, be sure to check out the How Weird Street Faire from 11:11 to 5:55 the same day. It's on Howard St. between 10th and 11th and it's going all-green this year. All stages will be run with bio-diesel and there will be much sustainable technology education happening.

If jazz is more your [groove] thang, there's a free outdoor concert at Yerba Buena Gardens at 1:00 on Saturday. Harriet Tubman: Bound for the Promised Land is a world premiere jazz composition and will feature an orchestra and guest vocalists in an oratorio in honor of Ms. Tubman.

And of course, not to ignore my heritage, there is a Cinco de Mayo-inspired Spring Breakfast by the Bay at Pier 1 1/2 in SF at 9:30 am featuring spring's harvest from the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Then you can take Muni up to Dolores Park to hang out at the Cinco de Mayo Festival from 11 am - 5 pm. Have a great weekend!

2007-04-22T17:25:00.000-07:00

We absolutely love this song by Heywood Banks. Check it out and see if it cracks you up too. You'll never look at toast the same again.

2007-04-12T10:15:00.000-07:00

I got the chance to use my Stacking Bento Boxes at the park a couple of weeks ago. I used it for lunch, and it's really kinda big....so I decided it would be ideal to use to take snack to the park. It was so easy to throw in nori rice crackers, dried bing cherries, freeze-dried strawberries into the 3-section layer, grapes in the next layer, and mini corn muffins and pita bread in the bottom layer. I thought I maybe brought too much as usual....but 5 hungry children proved otherwise.

2007-04-11T09:17:00.000-07:00

Yum yum. Try these oven-baked fries from the May 2007 Bon Appétit. The key is a spice that is sprinkled on - shichimi togarashi. It is a Japanese table seasoning that has dried chiles, black sesame seeds, roasted orange peel, seaweed and ginger. I found it very easily in the Japanese food section at Berkeley Bowl. You also add some salt and sugar to the shichimi.......I repeat.......YUM. I looked for the recipe on Epicurious but it's not yet there so here you go:

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3 large baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 lbs) peeled, cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-wide planks, each plank cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-wide strips

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt (actually-I would cut this in half-use 1/2 teaspoon)

1 teaspoon shichimi togarashi

1 teaspoon sugar

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Place rack in top third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Place potato strips on rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil; toss to coat. Roast 25 minutes. Using spatula, turn fries over. Roast until tender and golden brown around edges, about 25 minutes longer.

Mix salt, shichimi, and sugar in small bowl. Sprinkle over fries.

2007-04-10T14:09:00.000-07:00

In Memory of Ursula Guidry

I went to the memorial service for Ursula today, whose children have gone through the same school as Ry and Si. No one should have to experience a loss like this - she was 41 years old and died as a result of breast cancer. She leaves behind 3- and 5-year-old boys, a husband, and more family and friends than you can possibly imagine. What really touched me was her unbelievable breadth of friendships. From her fellow cardiologists to her mom's group, she just seemed to enjoy people. Hug your loved ones today, and be thankful for one more day on this earth.

2007-04-07T11:28:00.000-07:00

And now a musical interlude from 1971 for your viewing pleasure.

Happy Saturday!

2007-04-04T21:27:00.000-07:00

Once a month or so we all head down to Rasputin in Berkeley and we each get to pick one new CD to introduce to the rest of the family. Here's our little hippie chick listening to one of her options. It's a great place to go - all you need to do is scan the bar code of any CD, and it will play excerpts of most tracks on the CD. The selection is unbelievable. Si mostly chooses from the Hawaiian or Polynesian section, while Ry is rock and roll all the way. We've brought home the Tianjin Buddhist Music Ensemble, Ravi Shankur, Ky-mani Marley, the Monkees, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Pink Martini, Crazy Frog, Arab pop songs, AC DC, and so much more. We love Rasputin!