Cirque du Soleil

Many apologies for the horrible lack of posting...but I ran off to the circus.

Sewing Mishap

I'm teaching the 5th grade girls to sew for Colonial Days at school. Racquel hobbled up to tell me she had sewn her purse to her pants. Luckily, Jack had some scissors and cut her free to sew again. Thanks, Jack.

Yom Ha'Atzmaut

Israeli Independence Day and the kids have a day of fun planned. First, we follow the IDF guys to the obstacle course, then a fun art project, snack, Israeli dancing, and top off the day with songs on the stairs. Exhausting, but a lot of fun.

Encinitas Trash

I love Encinitas. It's an arty sort of town - home of the Kook, the Surfing Madonna, and tiled trash bins.

Congratulations Pat and Debbie

Fine time at Pat and Debbie's wedding...

Dr. Edie Eger

Dr. Edie Eger, Ph.D, public speaker, mom, grandma, and Holocaust survivor. I've heard her speak a number of times and I'm still so impressed by her story. Sent to Auschwitz as a teen, she survived by turning cartwheels for the guards. Later, she danced for Dr. Mengele himself and along with her sister, survived the war to have children, grandchildren and grandchildren. At 85, the woman can still kick her leg up over her head and joke with 11 year olds about the food they eat. Tremendous spirit.

Speaking of Art....

A majestic and historical Torrey pine had to be cut down at Swami's beach earlier this year because of beetle infestation. The remaining log was carved by a local artist and will remain as stump reminder for a few years. It's hard to see the empty space, but I do like the wise face.

Illegal Surfer

One night, some "artists" crept under the railroad trestles in Encinitas and painstakingly attached hundreds of mosaic tiles to the underpass. In the morning, the community woke up to a beautiful piece of "illegal" art...not sanctioned by the City. Yikes! Now the art is the subject of heated debate - does the city tolerate such acts of artistic defiance or do they pay big bucks to have it removed? Isn't the point of art to cause one to think? Stay tuned....

More Like Pigs

The bird feeder was filled to the top yesterday. Whoever coined the expression "eats like a bird" obviously doesn't know our birds...

Cutie Cat

Sometimes, he is just so darn cute!

May Day Darby

I was terrible about posting pictures in April - a trip to Indy, spring break, report cards - I took photos but never posted. May 1 brings a new resolve, and of course, what better way to start than with May Day Darby?

W&W and B&B.

Another celebration for Lee's birthday involved the wine and whine ladies and the men. Michelle ran in at the absolute last second to be "that guy". I guess she just likes being one of the boys!

Hi Will

Took the day off to take Will up to see Auntie Kathi and have lunch. It was an interesting meal with the non English speaking exchange student...but we somehow managed with lots of hand signals and a hand held translator.

Pot O' Gold

There's something special about a rainbow, but this one was especially magical. Perfect double arc over the ocean and as I pulled into my school's parking lot, it remained perfect and bright over the school. I joined the crowd in the parking lot snapping pictures!

St Pat's Part 2

Annual St Pat's party at Jeanne's - green clothes, corned beef sandwiches, and good friends. Good blond friends.

Goy-van!

Enough said...

St Patrick's Day 2011

Just enough time for a $2 green beer on Thursday night...got to go home and get ready for Will to come home! Thanks, CJ and Debi!

Cow Eyes

Really, nothing says fun like a bucket of cow eyes...
5th graders at our school culminate their unit on the senses with cow eye dissection. We've never had a barfer, although some of the toughie boys looked a little pale. The kids, led by our wonderful science teacher, dig in and find corneas, retinas, and vitreous humor. "Eye" love this science lab!

Side View

Darby's fluffy side...

50!

Happy Birthday Deb and Lee - Frank and I are just along for the ride!

March 11

It's the start of the 50th birthday month long celebration with friends and family. Deb hosted a BBQ the night before the big party with a few close pals. Lee's parents made it down from Santa Barbara and we all enjoyed yummy food and raspberry ring cake for dessert

Bare Bones

It's just paper mache bones right now, but in a few weeks - our preschool will have an exciting collection of gorillas, elephants, pandas and even a life size baby giraffe! They all get auctioned off at the preschool event at the end of the year. Stay tuned.

Vine Spaghetti

Seen at Swami's meditation gardens in Encinitas - a palm tree with the vines of another plant growing round and round the trunk. It was quite a tangle and quite impressive.

Flea Circus

Southern California is home to nearly every flea on the planet. We always wish it was OUR house getting the tent treatment, and one day, the wish will come true. For now, we are content to watch the circus on the corner.

50 Looks Darn Good!

It's Deb's birthday and we managed a teeny celebration at Ruth's Chris. I think 50 looks pretty good!

Fly Away Home

It's spring and the ladybugs are out in full force. My students feel they must show me each and every one. I blow a kiss at the bug and tell them to let it go eat aphids in the garden where it belongs.

$10 Tuesday

This is what happens on $10 Tuesday at Wine Loft. The wine was actually pretty good. And it was a GR8 price.

Levana's Garden

We love to garden - my second graders have planted potatoes and carrots so far and we are going to plant sunflowers and strawberries next. Our garden helpers let us taste sweet peas and sour lemons and the kids know the difference between mint leaves and weeds. I do love watching this garden grow.

Crack Cupcakes

Sprinkles Cupcakes opened up in La Jolla Village and judging by the line that stretched out of the store and around the corner, they are either giving them away or lacing them with something addictive!

Ladies of the Havurah

Strategic planning meeting for Bay to Breakers in May. We've gone on a few power training walks and have our costumes ready. Watch out San Francisco!

Girls Night out?

We never got around to taking the group shot.

Mischevious Madeline

She doesn't like being up off the floor - we never catch her on the counter and the sofa is about as high as she goes. Every once in a while, she gets very very brave and hops on the table, but she looks so uncomfortable up there and jumps down really fast. This morning I found her on the back of the arm chair - not a forbidden spot, but she jumped down moments later.

ooh...scary

Caught mid-yawn between one of the many naps of the day.

San Diego

Sailing on San Diego Harbor on the perfect 75 degree February afternoon. The parade of 100 years of Navy planes flying right over our heads was a cherry on top. The Coast Guard kept a close eye on the hundreds of boats floating around and kept us all at bay, not allowing us too close to the main part of the harbor. We saw old fighters, Harriers, Osprey helicopters, F18, Blue Angels... Thanks Chris, for a wonderful afternoon!

So Crazy

Crazy Hair day at school. Most of us forgot , so we improvised with forks and spoons.

Cujo

$10 Tuesdays at Wine Loft. All fine and well, but we needed a little more. Cujo might be dangerous, but we aren't scared of a little puppy.

No Mas Taco Bell

It's just gone, and that was a surprise. Usually someone knows something, but not this time. Adios Taco Bell.

Bed Head

He was brushed about 10 minutes ago...for the third time today.

Now!

This is the "get me a treat, and get it now" look. Don't worry, Darby - you can have that treat anytime you want.

Color Darby

It's a color picture although Darby is fairly colorless with his silver and white fur and light blue eyes. And a sweet pinky nose.

Out of Order

Out of order photos...out of order house.
I took a picture of this same house in December - a winter garage sale explosion of penguins and polar bears. It's the end of January and it's all still there. The only change is the house across the street - it's for sale now.

Tea Time!

Met Kathi and Lisa at a sweet little tea parlor, "Paris in a Tea Cup" in Orange County. It was very reminiscent of Angelina's in Paris...lots of tempting pastries and sipping chocolate. We had very English tea with scones, cucumber sandwiches and petit fours and it was all delicious! Merci, soeur et amie.

Good Kitty

Usually Darby runs down the stairs ahead of me to meow impatiently while I fill his food bowl. This morning, he was not waiting, he would not eat - not even the fishy flakes that he loves, and he was very silent. I thought for sure he was starting the decline - we've been on "cat watch" for months, now. I left a pile of fishy flakes by his napping place and left for work practically in tears. When I came home 6 hours later, Darby was perfectly fine, fish flakes were gobbled up and he was waiting for more. Big sigh of relief...

Ethos Magazine

Couldn't figure out a way to get a good picture of Will's name on the masthead - he's an intern at Ethos, the multicultural magazine on campus, so I had to settle for the cover. Yes, that's a monkey on his back.

She's a Pretty Kitty

Miss Madeline - our sweet little tortie friend. She keeps a wary eye out for Darby at all times. And she's a little passive aggressive - he'll go into the kitchen and she will run and cut him off at the pass. Still, she's a sweetie pie and we love her.

13.1

Done! Not our best time, but the view from the 101 made it worth every step. Thanks, Jeanne - 5 half marathons under our belt. What a ride!

Coming Soon...

On my way to the Expo to pick up my race bib and saw the traffic signs. Deep breath.

Bimbo Baked Goods

Bimbo Bakery supplies baked goods to convenience stores and markets all around southern California. The first few times you see the truck, you look twice. Now we just smile at the little bear.

Birthday Brooke

Brooke the Cook had her birthday party at the Black Market Bakery in Orange County. The very brave owner lets children come into her kitchen and prepare yummy items like pizza, scones and snickerdoodle cookies. They made and enormous mess and ate sugar all afternoon long. Sounds like the perfect party!

"Pokey Fruit"

As a little boy, Will loved the exotic fruit section at Von's. Fuzzy kiwi fruit, wrinkly avocados, dragon fruit, and teeny kumquats - stuff he would never eat, but he loved holding them. His favorite was the "pokey fruit" and sometimes I would grab one and he would hold it all the way through the market. We'd give it back to the produce man after the trip. If I could send one to Oregon, I know it would make Will smile.