Uno!

I've been teaching the kids how to play Uno. We picked up a Magic Treehouse Uno deck at Barnes and Noble the other day. Perfect. Tonight, Kinder won the first hand, very exciting as any of you who are not first in birth order can attest to.

The picture is a bit dark because the flash kept causing a glare...

Heirloom tomatoes

I love 'em. In Sacramento, the food co-op would get lovely specimens from local farmers (all their produce was organic). I was partial to the red-orange ones with the yellow streaks. Yesterday we got some in our farm share and, mmmm, this morning I enjoyed some of this succulent green one. My thumb is touching it, to give you a point of reference.

Ikea

"It feels like we're in a whole new house." (First)

Yesterday afternoon the stars lined up and we dropped the kids off with Danielle and drove over to Ikea. Our fifteen year old pair of full-size futons and frames have been showing their age quite a lot lately (both frames are broken and one futon very shabby---the other futon is mysteriously like Dorian Gray) and it was time for a change.

We were both prepared to be conservative, not even planning to buy, only to test pieces out. But, Cap felt an urge to get things taken care of before the semester starts next week and Ikea literally had the goods.

We now have a new sofa bed with eggplant (or should I say "aubergine" :-) slipcover and a funky pair of Miro-y cushions.


And a great chair, the Poang chair. It's design is so simple, using a minimum amount of material, and it has this gentle bounce/rock. Sitting in it last night it was easy to imagine myself knitting away happily in it.


We actually got the chair for Cap so that he would have a comfortable chair to read in. I think we may have to go back and get another one for me. Think Papa and Mama bear.

Because the kids were not reluctantly shopping with us, I was able to do some perusing of the bottom floor, where all the fun stuff is for me---glassware, ceramicware, frames, textiles... I picked up another set of our "Poem" silverware, a fluffy sheepskin, an ergonomic pillow, a stepstool for the bathroom sink, a storage container for recyclables, wrapping paper, a shower curtain... I was quickly overwhelmed in the fabric area and decided I'd have to come back again when I had more time and a bit more knowledge about making curtains.

Cap tinkered away last night while we watched the Red Sox fall to the Yankees and this morning, as First said, our livingroom is feeling like a space with new possibilities and promise. (All for the price equivalent to my new pair of glasses---still waiting for their arrival.)

Silke just called, they are back and she and the kids will be over this afternoon to play!

Tidbits

• I drew up a list of things that both kids like to eat, with their input. Their tastes have been changing and diverging even more than before. Once we hit next week and our official start of our second year of homeschooling, I want to establish a weekly dinner plan of foods that they'll eat. Tired of the whines and barely nibbled food I am. Also, during the week, I want meal prep to be more efficient.

This is the plan:

Mon - bean burritos, brown rice, veggie

Tue - Cap's chicken (sautéed breast with balsamic vinegar), white rice, veggie

Wed - potato night (latkes, homemade fries or tortilla patata), veggie, apple sauce

Thu - spaghetti with meat sauce, breadsticks, veggie

Fri - sushi (First)/pizza (Kinder) night, veggie

• The Upside Down Show. It's on Noggin and it's great.

• Definitely enjoying Deadwood. I'm about five or six eps into the first season. A wonderful variety of characters, all interesting and well played.

• The sunflower buds have arrived!!! I've been neglecting the garden a bit. When I checked on it today, I found two flower buds. One is on a stalk that had bent...it may be lost, but I'm going to try to nurture it along. The tomatoes have really slowed down in their ripening/reddening. Not sure if it's due to weather conditions or mold (there is some kind of mold on some of the plants out there) or what...

• The kids back-to-school prezzies are tucked under my desk --- a Ben 10 backpack for Kinder and a Ben 10 shirt for First. They picked them out (my first choice fell through, a home business that makes t-shirts using batik and Celtic designs --- a dragon for First and snake for Kinder [their Asian astrology signs]), but they don't know that the gifts are in the house. A little surprise for next Tuesday.

• A couple of hours ago, Kinder punched First in the arm. In kind of classic punch throwing form. Reason? Frustration. First's response? Mildly indignant. I talked to them about it because it seemed to bother me much more than it bothered either of them. Turns out, First wasn't bothered because "it didn't really hurt". Kinder knows he shouldn't, after the fact, but the kid has very little impulse control when it comes to certain emotional situations. I decided to put aside my desire to knock some sense into Kinder with a big consequence.

• I bought a sewing machine, on sale at Target (thanks for the tip Julia :-) We'll be making a trip to Ikea soon for some curtain fabric and arm chair hunting. We're finally going to get rid of the broken futon frame and the hopelessly lumpy and schlumpy "blue" futon. We'll put the "red" futon on the rickety, but still standing, remaining futon frame and put a reading chair for Cap in the space that will open up from losing one of our couches. We've had both frames and futons for fifteen years!

• I'm bummed to hear the rumors of Owen Wilson's alleged suicide attempt.

• Eagerly awaiting my new glasses. Cap found some piece of paper in his office yesterday that has info on it about eligibility for a free pair of glasses once a year. A few days late and $500 short.

Overheard in bed

I opened an eye this morning and that was First's cue to report: "you can floss with hair!" And sure enough, there was my firstborn, flossing his teeth with a strand of hair...

Blah

I don't know if it's a side effect of this cold or of being very cooped up due to rain and the cold (now the kids have it, too), but I feel caught in my head.

Last night I walked into the kitchen after the kids were in bed and looked for something to eat. And nothing appealed. My tongue felt dulled and my neurons couldn't make any positive associations or connections. So, dinner waited till 9:30 when Cap came home, taking a break from his past due project. The chicken parm sub was okay (took a risk with the cheese but am feeling no ill effects this morning) and the caramel apple cake slice was disappointing.

One of the nights that Mary was here we got take-out from Smokey's and I finally got to have the crabcakes (they're usually out). Well, now I know why they're usually out. They were amazing. And the sweet potato pie was scrumptious (that's what got my caramel jones going there was a completely unexpected and incredible caramel undertone in that pie).

I watched Feasting on Asphalt last night (love the dvr!) Alton Brown is my new crush. They were in Memphis in last night's episode and the ribs looked so good. David gave me a rec for a place in Austin that has good ribs, that reminds me (thanks David!)

Okay, blah is moving on. Cap booked our Austin stuff. Hotel and flights. He has a conference and I'll be joining him for the weekend. Takai and Lisa will have the kids. I'll have two nights and a full day there, my first time in Texas. This will be the weekend after Thanksgiving. I'm psyched.

Recently we caught a Throwdown with Bobby Flay that took place at a crepe place in Austin. So, ribs and crepes will be had. I'm hoping to hear of other good eats and fun things to do, though of course, I'm looking forward to exploring and discovering, too.

We're not going to Massachusetts this weekend. The kids popping fevers yesterday did it. Mummu's health cannot be compromised as she is recovering from surgery. We'll go up in September...between Cap's schedule (no classes on Fridays) and homeschooling, we've got some nice flexibility this semester. Still a bummer though. I would have liked to participate in Amy's blessingway which will be on Saturday. If Boston was 2 hours away instead of 4 life would be so much better...

I joined a local unschooling Yahoo group and that's been fun. Kelly had said they are a bunch of very friendly and supportive women and that has been evident. There are some other Waldorf inspired folks there which is nice, too.

I finally talked to Erika which was...perfection.

So, we're looking at a weekend alone (no guests!) and without plans. Sounds foreign...but good.

Word books

For a year or so now Cap and I have talked about putting up a "word wall". Anyone that's been or worked in a lower elementary classroom has probably seen one. The words are organized by their first letters and are sight words (high frequency words that are not phonetically easy to read) which become easily accessible once they're on the wall to encourage standard spelling and more fluid and independent writing (less of "how do you spell ____?") One of the nifty general education tools of the trade I learned about when I worked with El. Cap is familiar with many of these tools through his graduate coursework from way back when.

Well, tonight, I improvised. I plucked two old notebooks out of a basket and made each of the kids their own "word books". They've been writing and drawing their own comic books like mad lately (which is what they are doing right now) and there's no time like the present.


(click on the pic for a closer look)

Mummu sent them a kids' thesaurus today, another perfect learning and writing tool!

I love homeschooling. I love simply working with the kids on what is rocking their world and embedding my teaching into these interests to develop their skills. After dinner, on a Tuesday night, in summer.

I'm looking forward to sparking their curiosity and making connections with them via some of my own interests in the coming months like nature appreciation and study (I'm attempting to round up some friends for a "Second Saturday" series of family hikes), fitness and exercise (joining the Y still on my "to do" list, handwork (sewing, knitting, embroidery, appliqué --- Target has the basic Singer sewing machine on sale right now for $75), and the performing arts (Chinese acrobats, a Moomintroll puppet show, Dan Zanes' Holiday Hootenany, the Symphony Orchestra family subscription series...)

Life is good :-)

Pause

Saturday evening my body hit the pause button. I have a cold for what feels like the first time in years. I've been sleeping when I can, trying not to feel the weight of Cap's having to pause on his work (deadline came and went today) in order to pick up the slack to keep the household humming.

In my dazed and aching waking hours I've been learning how to program our dvr system and have been taping documentaries, movies and tv shows galore. Also guzzling cold prevention tea (it would seem too late, but maybe it's helping it from getting worse) and thinking about fabrics for curtains and embroidery. And hoping I'll make it to Massachusetts in a few days as planned.

Acupuncture it is

Dr. Lu pretty much kicked ass. He fixed my shoulder with some "torture" as he put it. I canceled the rest of my PT appointments from the car in the parking lot of Dr. Lu's office. He felt my pulse, looked at my tongue and concurred, "you really have no energy". So I'm taking some herbs and will probably go back in a few weeks.

When I showed the kids my range of motion was back while they ate dinner, that I was "fixed", First whispered in awe, "that's amazing" and Kinder asked me to pick him up (which I haven't been able to do for a few weeks).

Dental blues

Me

Good news: if I floss regularly (time to make another decision) my gums should be absolutely fine

Bad news: I have two cavities!

Cap

Good news: no need for a root canal

Bad news: he has one cavity and will need two crowns

First

Good news: ... (cue sound of crickets chirping)

Bad news: he has his daddy's teeth---he has two baby teeth cavities and needs two of his 6 year molars sealed up

Kinder

Good news: he has perfect teeth

Bad news: none

Thanks to Kelly for the rec, the dentist, his staff and office were great. Our playdate with Kelly and the girls continued at the dentist's office when Lila decided she wanted to watch First and Kinder get their teeth cleaned and checked out. Fun.

Also fun, watching Kinder bond with Lila (they both loved watching I Spy episodes today) and Kinder discover another warm lap and pair of encircling arms in Kelly

And Pippa? She is all that and a bag of chips. I felt a twinge of sadness thinking of Holly...I think she had a soft spot for Pippa.

Early morning air

Two wakings in a row now. The air is cool, the breeze rustles the leaves in the trees in a strong and restless way. A nip suggesting the new season galloping closer. I wish I could bottle this sensation. It washes up against my skin and then transforms my molecules layer by layer infusing me with refresh and awareness.

One more thing

I'm also in the market for a basic sewing machine. I talked to Julie about it when she visited (she is a crafting wiz) and she recommended going with a Singer which sounds good to me. I dream of making curtains and maybe some clothes.

I just popped some challah in my mouth. Mmmm.

Nudging the kids to bed and wondering if tonight's the night and Eleanor and I finally get to chat after over a week of fairly rigorous phone tag.

Anna called. She's in her new house. She can't find any of the small wooden pegs which hold up all of her Ikea shelving. Ah, moving.

Chocolate rugelah

The chocolate rugelah has jacked up my body to high buzz. The excellent massage Kelly gave me a few hours ago I'm sure has opened up my system to maximum buzz potential. I need to drink some water. Never underestimate the wonder of a good massage. Go get one. Soon as you can.

Quick random thoughts.

For once, I was patient and waited to find good shoes at a good price. I'm waiting for my "bright avocado" faux Dansko clogs to arrive from L.L. Bean any day now. They were reduced to $40. With a Bean card you get free shipping with every order.

I'm thinking about going to church! I may go Sunday depending on how things are here with Mare and Sask staying over. Next Sunday we'll be in Massachusetts. I'm going to try the local UU church. It's a step forward in terms of the self-care thing and the making decisions thing. I first started thinking about it when the kids were born. I am most interested in the social justice and service aspects of joining up.

Corn came in the veggie share today. As delighted as I was (First loves corn. He fingered the tassle at the end of an ear and said, "what beautiful silk".), it also signifies the beginning of the end of the summer for me and that's a little sad. Even though my favorite season is fall.

Kelly is one big present for me. Not only is she warm, cool, funny and interesting to talk/listen to, she's a gifted body worker! She joins Maria and Catalina in my pantheon of trusted masseuses.

My pms is different yet again. Very tender "itis" in the mammary region and big cravings for bread. We almost never bring gluten bread into the house, but I couldn't resist the squishy loaf of challah at Whole Foods this afternoon.

I miss Erika.

Y-M-C-A

I was all set to join when I hurt my shoulder. With physical therapy set to start tomorrow and my first appointment with my new acupuncturist scheduled for Thursday, I figure I'll have some good (ie. informed) feedback about what sort of exercise/ activity/ movement will best match my body's needs and abilities.

My non-starting relationship with regular exercise has been an albatross for years now. In trying to make this decision/commitment yet again, I took a harder look at some of the players in my personal drama.

Fear.

I have a resistance to being out alone outside which lies near healthy, but a little towards unhealthy.

When I was twelve, I began commuting to Manhattan to go to school (this continued until I was eighteen and graduated form high school). This involved walking about a dozen residential (read sleepy) blocks in my leafy Queens neighborhood to the subway station and then taking 2-3 subway lines to my school.

During this time period, enough men exposed themselves to me or molested me that I had to suck up a regular dose of dread and loathing just to get to school and back every day. (One guy targeted me for I don't know how long on the N train and would actually follow me when I tried to dart into another car to avoid him.)

I think I talked to my mom about it, but what could she do other than to be sympathetic and advise me to be alert and careful. It was "shouganai" (what can you do?) and I felt so lucky not to be my sister who was with a friend when she was mugged in a girls' bathroom at her high school during the first week of school a couple of years later.

Cost.

The Y is appealing because they are family friendly. But, it has been out of our price range the last few years because of the cost, and also, because we haven't been geographically stable enough to make the investment of joining a gym worthwhile. Now that we're here another four years at the very least, I'm feeling ready to take the plunge. Also, my last grad school student loan was paid off this summer. We're still carrying credit card debt, but the extra $200+/month will help to cover this new cost.

Climate.

I'm sensitive to heat and humidity. I'm back in the northeast where soon enough it'll be getting dark at 4:00 pm. And cold. And icy. Joining a gym cuts all this out of the equation. The Y is about a 10 minute walk from the apartment and once I'm there, the climate will be controlled.

Age.

At 41, I'm much more conscious of my mortality and really want to make the most of things and try to prolong my life in the ways that I can. Exercising will give me more energy and make me happier (hello endorphins). And, will give my organs and body systems a break. I'm pretty healthy overall, but incredibly sedentary. I could stand to lose 25 pounds or so and loosen things up.

Self-Care.

I'm trying to give myself more time and space. Our parenting style has been very hands on. The kids still come into bed with us (and given their druthers would always sleep in the big bed), Kinder nursed till he was 3, and they have never been cared for by a paid caregiver. Homeschooling is a natural progression of our parenting style. We've been very lucky and blessed.

Now that the kids are 5 3/4 and 7, I am parenting and homeschooling kids who are more independent in their skills and desires. I'm still with them nearly 24/7, but am no longer attached at the hip. I can do things like blog at the table while they draw (this morning, they started with their Ben 10 comic book creations and have moved onto their own versions of the Scrambled States of America).

Cap's academic job gives us more flexibility than his former 9 to 5 job (which so often means 8 to 6 unless you live 5 minutes from your work). We know his schedule for the fall now and are starting to construct a family schedule around it.

I'm blogging, I'm reading more (I cleaned up around my desk yesterday and collected all the books I'm in the middle of reading in a basket---surprising since I am usually a book-at-a-time kind of girl), and getting out of the house on my own to improve my health fits right in with my needs and desires.

It's really easy for me not go out every day. But then, I do go out, like this morning when I walked down the street to get my mammogram, and I loved the fresh morning air... Yesterday I checked the movie listing of our local art house theater. I can walk to this theater, I need to get out more!

Weekend

We had a great day Saturday with Sandy, Mike and Momoko. We had a simple yet sumptuous lunch which highlighted our farm veggies. We looked at Sandy and Mike's vacation pics and caught up with Momoko a bit about her two months in Paris.

Then we drove over to a nearby park and rode the paddle boats! It was hot, sunny, sweaty fun. After some iced goodies to cool down, we strolled around the lake and saw an egret of all things (this was a suburban park), a turtle, and took a break to clamber onto a wonderful, branchy tree.

I awoke the next morning to a wonderful aroma wafting through the bedroom. First and I wondered to each other what the source could be (he likes to wait for me to get out of bed to get out of bed himself and was mildly chagrined at my late awakening---Cap let me sleep in :-) Kinder, First and I wandered into the kitchen to this:


Cap invited Danielle and co. over for crepes and we ate alfresco on the patio. It's rare that all four of us adults get to relax together and it was very nice. Then they invited us to the lake. Kinder and Cap went and had a blast. First had a low grade fever and was forced to stay home. We had a quiet and productive afternoon. We spent abut two hours cleaning his and Kinder's room---one of those true cleanings.

And, I made a decision. I upgraded our cable tv service to include HBO and dvr (like Tivo but built into your digital cable system). Our promotional billling price for our bare bones service was about to come to an end and because of the company's smart/sneaky service structure, we could have paid $20 more a month for the same bare bones or upgrade for $29 more a month. HBO and BBC America, here I come!

The dvr is an experiment. My plan is not to watch more tv, per se, but to watch when it is convenient for me. So, with the dvr, instead of watching entertaining Food Network filler while I wait for Rescue Me to come on at 10:00, I can chill in some other way, go to bed at 10:00 and watch Rescue Me some other day at 8:00...

The kids are snuggling down for the night. Time for the night time blessing.

Kb toys

A shout out to them and a great local store manager. They accepted my return. So, two opened and used deluxe Omnitrixes went back to them a day after purchase for a full cash refund ($50).

The boys handled it well, took it in stride, really. I think First was not surprised because he has consciousness about my "no handheld video games" policy. I think they also realized that they have a pretty good life as we drove from the mall directly to our local comic book store where one of their comics was waiting for them in our "hold" bin. This followed by an errand to our doctor's office and dropping into our bookstore which is two doors down from the doc's.

Our new books:

Kinder • Night of the New Magicians (Magic Treehous #35)

First • Stage Fright on a Summer Night (Magic Treehouse #25)

Äiti • Stardust (Neil Gaiman)

Japanese eggplant

My heart did a little joy dance when I picked up our veggies this week. Japanese eggplant! I cooked some up this morning for breakfast, just like my obaachan used to do for me when I would summer with her in Yokohama (every five years during my childhood). I told First my story of Japanese eggplant as he perched on a stool eating some yogurt.

The eggplant was so tender, especially the beautiful purple-with-a-touch-of-magenta skin. As I thought about the difference that fresh, organic produce harvested in small batches, makes, I realized a there-all-along-but-new-to-my-consciousness element of my memories of Obaachan's cooking. What Farmer John does, is what Obaachan did, though on a much smaller scale.

Obaachan had a big vegetable garden and most of the veggies she used to prepare her meals came directly from the ground a stone's throw from her kitchen. I never appreciated her garden as a kid. I was impressed by its size and location more than anything. It was on a piece of land, an outcropping, that was below the sight line of the house or yard. We would have to pick our way down a path hugging the wall of dirt on one side lest you lose your balance and tumble down into garden plot.

Once in the garden, I was a kid whose eyes began darting about imagining all the worst creepy crawly, multi-legged, madly stinging bugs just hiding under the next leaf, perched on the tendril just over my head.... It became all about being ready to defend myself against these cursed beasts of nature.

I'm glad that something positive stayed with me, the image of my grandmother planting a seed in me completes the whole picture, doesn't it. I have been acting on my desire to bring our kitchen and nourishment closer to the garden. We've been enjoying our cherry tomatoes, green beans, chives, basil and mint. Our weekly CSA share has brought us a wonderful variety of veggies and herbs.

But, man, not having air conditioning in the kitchen and my recent shoulder injury have really put a dent in my kitchen productivity. (Productivity in the kitchen is key in order to keep up with the summer harvesting!) I miss the central AC we had in Sac. The shoulder pain is completely gone, thankfully, but I think my range of motion and arm strength are going to be problems till my physical therapy gets going next week.

So, there have been a lot of hotdogs, frozen potato products, pizza, sushi, and coldcuts being consumed as of late. Thank goodness for Whole Foods where you can buy processed and prepared food that isn't as bad for one's health as what's available in the mainstream (and is gluten and casein-free!)

But, this morning, the Japanese eggplant returned me to a better place. Simple and whole nourishment. Thanks, Obaachan.

Serenity personality quiz

Your results:
You are Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic)

Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic) 90% Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command) 80% Malcolm Reynolds (Captain) 80% Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic) 70% Wash (Ship Pilot) 65% River (Stowaway) 50% Alliance 30% Inara Serra (Companion) 30% Derrial Book (Shepherd) 30% Jayne Cobb (Mercenary) 10% A Reaver (Cannibal) 0%

Medicine and physical healing are your game, but wooing women isn't a strong suit.

Click here to take the Serenity Personality Quiz

What were the chances, Chancer?

Chancer, a Clive Owen British tv series was next on my Netflix queue, but, how bizarre, a "short wait" for Chancer bumped Deadwood Season One Disc One ahead of it. Well, now I'll learn sooner than later what all the DW fuss is about.

And while I'm here, what are the chances that KB Toys will honor a toy return because the kids bought identical toys yesterday (the deluxe Omnitrix at $25 a pop using their own money) and I didn't realize until we were home and the kids were playing with them that they contain a tiny videogame and I have nixed the toys outright? Of course the toys are out of their packaging...

"Girl" talk

The orthopedist/sports medicine guy I saw yesterday? His last name is Filion. The physical therapy guy I'm going to see next week? His last name is Ruffalo. Too bad their first names aren't Nathan and Mark.

http://www.myspace.com/nathanfillion

http://markruffalo.net/

Oh, now I'm all hot and bothered. I had no idea Nathan Fillion had a mySpace page till I just googled him right now. Julie, are you reading this?