Community

Our second grade showcase is all about community - the kids interview community workers, build a model city of San Diego, and present everything to their parents.  The best part is watching 40 kids work together - problem solving with few disagreements, and make their own community. 

Squinky

Today is the 2 year anniversary of my father, so Kathi and I went up to Forest Lawn in Hollywood to mark the occasion.  We wrote notes on coupons and slid them into the cracks and left a Squinky for company.  Brooke had asked earlier if Papa was an angel or a fairy - definitely a fairy - and more likely...an imp.  Miss you daddy-o...more than words can say.

Jumping Winers

It's probably never a good idea to mix wine and a trampoline, but did that stop us? Or the men - with cigars? Nothing and no one was broken or injured in the snapping of this photo, although we had a couple of close calls. Gotta love the wine crowd!

Poor Garland

Just take a moment and look carefully.  His name is also a sentence!

Cross it off the List!

One of the items on my "List of 50 Things for the Next 50 years" was to be dance on stage en pointe.  Item #8 is officially checked off - I went on stage between performances, tied on the pointe shoes, and danced a teeny dance.  Not to an audience (except Diane) but that wasn't my objective.  Maybe that will be an addendum to #8.

Handsome Gamash

Dress rehearsal for Don Quixote and Gamash and I are quite in love...

George the Butterfly

The best part of the second grade field trip to the Monarch Program is getting to hold butterflies. First we go into an ancient schoolroom - complete with slide carousel, and listen to the quirky docent tell us all about the life cycle of the monarch.  Afterwards, we get pieces of watermelon to entice butterflies to land on us.  I think Rikki's pink fingernails were a bit more enticing!

Dear Aunt Sally

Math teachers and math field team coaches - we look for any excuse to wear a dorky math shirt!  Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally.

Calypso Gypsies

We thought we'd show guest dancer Val a little Encinitas night life, so we went off to Calypso after our rehearsal.  In honor of Don Quixiote, we drank some sangria and then listened to Val tell us stories about our own Mr. Valeri. 

Pancake Tutu

The stiff, flat tutus are called pancakes and these excited little ballerinas are dancing with joy at the fitting of their very first "real" tutus (Dasha's words).  They hopped and twirled and admired themselves in the window. I can't wait to see them in their first pointe shoes!

5K Victory

An impromptu text at 8pm the night before and next thing I know - I'm running the Encinitas 5K with Jeanne and Tracy.  I like a 5K - we can be done and at Potato Shack within the hour.

20 Years

Marylyn, Jordan, Evan and me - too bad we didn't get Alysse in the picture, after all it was her graduation party!  I was her preschool teacher 20 years ago and Mom Marylyn and I stayed friends.  Evan is the younger brother and was friends with Will all through elementary school. Jordan was also a very good friend for many years.  Everyone is so grown up (except the moms, of course!)

Bird House

Friday night at the Birdhouse Restaurant in Leucadia.  We love this little place - the food is Turkish delicious and we can bring in our own alcohol to drink.  Friday and Saturday nights bring in belly dancers for an hour of non stop entertainment.

TuTu Much to Do...

Encinitas Ballet is putting on it's spring performance - Don Quixote, in a few weeks, and the sewing circle is in full frenzy - sewing and tailoring our costumes non stop. It's a little assembly line of cutting, sewing, sequin-ing and round after round of fittings. 

False Alarm

See that shadow on the back fence? I saw it too - a shadow means sun, but this was taken at 6:40 am and it's NEVER sunny at 6:40 am in May.  Not to worry, the sun was gone by 6:50 and we were back to our normal May Gray.

Miracle

Miracle, the next door cat, is quite the brazen feline - he wanders through our yard, meows in our window, and generally irritates our own cats to no end.  While I was preparing for the Bunco ladies, he prowled his way into the back and decided on the perfect sitting spot.

Va-va-va-Voom!

Jo pulled this out and our mouths dropped open! To see our very proper, well mannered Jo as pin up girl was quite astounding - sex kitten Jo!  I wish I had such a photo!

Truffle Trouble

No comment, except to chide my fellow co-workers for their dirty minds....

Hidden Gem

Solana Beach Coastal Rail Trail - it runs parallel to the train tracks and is a gorgeous 2 mile walkway.  Perfectly maintained and always in bloom, I love driving alongside the trail.  I've even run it once or twice.

New Parents

Not sure if these are new tenants or the old ones, but it doesn't matter - we have 4 new chicks in the nest.  The "old" babies flew the coop, we dumped out the used nest, and within a day or 2, a new nest was being made and 4 speckled eggs were laid.  And you know I check them daily!

Psychedelic Madeline

Just playing around with some of the features on Lee's new Ipad.

No Hurry

No hurry, no worry - this place will open up soon enough.  Perfect Southern California casual beach attitude.

Chick-Fil-A

My friends in Alabama will laugh at this - Encinitas is getting pretty excited about Chick-Fil-A...and with good reason.  We are not Chick-Fil-A adjacent, in fact, the franchise only came to San Diego a few years ago and the nearest one is not so near.  I DID have some October 2010 in Raleigh, NC with Lee and Jef and sadly,it was not as good as I had remembered. But the sweet tea - delicious! 

Naked Kook

Sometimes the Kook has decorations, and sometimes he doesn't.  I love him no matter what - and I try to drive by on the way home most every day.

Box With a View

If there's a box, there's a Darby.  This one is a little roomier than the "napping" box and if he'd wake up, he'd see a lovely view of the birds.