So far we have had two Thanksgiving dinners- both nontraditional except for the "eating with friends" part! We had our Canadian friends over on Saturday (they are from Victoria) and they are expecting their first baby next spring. We ate salmon which seemed appropriate for us BCers for giving thanks! Then on Monday night I invited our neighbors Katie and Mary Anne as well as Jesse and Dominick for dinner. Dominick was busy so the 7 of us enjoyed a rather splendid dish of macaroni and cheese with cranberry sauce!! Sure tasted like "thanks" to me!! Strangely there were no left overs. . . . . we will be going to another more traditional Canadian Thanksgiving dinner this weekend which should satisfy the October need for turkey. :)
We had dinner over at K and MA's Thursday evening. They (especially Katie) are having a really sad time in their lives right now. That was the day that they were to be expecting friends visiting from Portland. Tragically they both died in a murder-suicide at the beginning of September. Guns are just so wrong. Ami and Mimi are such a great healing conduit for both Katie and MA and we have been making sure that we go on lots of adventures together during this difficult time.
Last night we had a potluck/BBQ out in the courtyard with at least 6 of the households in our complex. Another reason to give thanks. A neighbor who lives kitty-corner from us came by yesterday afternoon with her darling little 16 month-old girl Koko. They have been coveting our grass as they have no yard at all and finally wandered in yesterday for a visit. Koko was so delighted to be at Nichols and we were happy to get to meet a neighbor and to share in the bounty of this place. Koko did NOT want to leave. I could feel that the woman was wishing she could live in such a complex- especially when it became apparent that we would all be eating together. It will be a culture shock when we move from here. This is the way that people are supposed to live I am sure.
Showing posts with label picnics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label picnics. Show all posts
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Saturday, October 9, 2010
day in SF
Because Martin and I never went on an official honeymoon (he went to work at 8 AM the day after we had our wedding), I believe that we get to have mini honeymoons for the rest of our lives to make up for it. Saturday was a partial honeymoon day. As a subscriber to the San Francisco Opera one of my "benefits" is that I get a complementary tour of the opera house. I missed out on the opportunity last year as I tried to book too late in the season and they were all full. So this year I planned ahead and with our desire to experience as much of the Bay Area as we can during our last year here we set aside October 2nd for a day in the city. Since the tour was in the AM we decided to go out for breakfast before. Katie and Mary Anne graciously agreed to hangout with the kids and we set off for the BART around 8:30 or so. I had done some research as to where we could eat in the vicinity of the opera house and had found a place called Stacks a few blocks from the opera house that had excellent reviews. It was super fun to go out for breakfast. We usually think that breakfast isn't a legitimate meal to go out for since you can usually make it very easily at home but we might be changing our minds about that! Because it was just the two of us, and because we were on our honeymoon (!), we were very flexible about seating and decided that it would be fun to sit at the bar. It was indeed fun- easier to chat because we sat next to each other! We both had Eggs Benedict and I indulged and got a smoothie as well.
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| From Aida |
We both felt a little nostalgic for our lives that used to be spent so much in theatres. . .
We had made a tricky plan to spend the day with Katie in San Francisco. When we got out of the tour she and the kids met us at the opera house. They were all giddy from already having had some SF fun. We had plans to go to Crissy Fields and get lunch from an Italian deli that Katie loves. We decided to do a couple of other SF touristy things before heading for lunch. First we drove down Lombard street (the twistiest street in the world). Then we took in Coit Tower. The fog/clouds in the bay were quite spectacular was they completely obliterated the towers of the GG bridge. Then we went and got our lunch from Lucca Delicatessen at 2120 Chestnut Street in the Marina District. It reminded me of Bosa but with even less space to move around. They specialize in making fantastic sandwiches with really great breads etc. We took our lunches down to Crissy Fields to eat them. Now we had a sea-level view of the GG bridge with no towers!! The fog horns were very active and they kept sounding an interval which sounded so much like a piece of music I couldn't quite name. When we checked at home it was indeed Pictures at an Exhibition. It was all very dramatic with the fog and the horns and the reams of cyclists with rented bikes racing past. We walked a little after lunch but the kids were not up for much walking- it was a bit chilly.Before we left sea level we went to visit the "Wave Organ" that is on the yacht club pier. I had been wondering what the "wave organ" was all about and was very glad to get a chance to see it in action. Basically it is a project where you can hear the ocean/tide through tubes that have the other end in the water. The whole thing looks like a fabricated "ruin" with these weird looking tubes sticking out everywhere. Katie had already brought the kids here before they came to pick us up at the opera house but that did not diminish their interest in the organ. Apparently the kids were telling Katie what they understood the organ to be saying. I wish I had been there for that! I am ready to take my recorder down there and get some great samples of cool sounds.
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| black conveyor belt at front desk takes shoes somewhere magical? in the ceiling? |
It had a neat conveyor belt storage thing that had all the jobs that were complete (I assume) and an amazing stretch of conjoined chairs that looked like they were for getting your shoes shined. They told us that we should take pictures because they were getting rid of them any day.. . .
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| I wonder if there was ever a time that this many people were waiting for their shoes to be fixed! |
We employed Katie and Mary Anne's parking angel "Kevin" very effectively for our trip to SF. He found us spots at Coit Tower, across the street from Lucca's, at Crissy Fields right down at the bridge and literally outside the door of the Camper Store. Thanks Kevie
A fun day in SF indeed!!
Monday, September 1, 2008
Changing Patterns
Being in a new place without all our stuff (yet) has resulted in a few refreshing pattern changes.
Because we decided to freecycle our dishes in Vancouver, we have matching chinaware for the first time. We don't have a dishwasher so with our rather small kitchen we have to clean the dishes multiple times a day. I can't imagine we would be able to carry on that way of doing things if we had our dishwasher handy! But with less dishes maybe it would be necessary? It is way easier to put dishes/toys/things away when there isn't much. It is also surprisingly/unexpectedly easy to lose things in our empty house. Martin and I spend time everyday looking for things we have put down SOMEWHERE... We need to establish where things "go" in order to find them again. I think that we are making headway on the dog-leash, keys and wallets.
I now have to plan when i would like to do laundry as we share coin laundry with the rest of the families in the complex. I really needed to do it today as we had two wet beds last night (Miriam is taking off her diaper more and more - i am taking it as a sign of good things to come) so luckily there was a spot open this afternoon for me to do the job.
I am also planning meals/food more. The effort it takes to get inexpensive food here is much more than at home. I either have to get our our car from an incredibly small parking spot under our complex (and return it to same said spot) or I have to walk DOWN to the expensive local shops which is all very well on the way there... It gives one pause for thought either way.
This morning our whole family walked to Codornices Park where the kids and I have visited a few times already. (it seems less and less uphill every time you go there!) It was a chance for the kids and I to show Martin the great 40-foot cement slide built on the hillside, the park's creek and the Rose Garden across the road (actually through a tunnel if you are walking). The slide is really something else. It seems like a grandfathered piece of terrifyingly fun park equipment. Gone are the teeter-totters and the merry-go-rounds but not the SLIDE. Strangely in this land of lawsuits there isn't even a warning sign of the dangers of hurtling down a cement slide or the inherent risks of using a piece of cardboard to make you go FASTER! Parents and kids alike enjoy it and much screaming ensues). Amiel is getting to be an expert and today was brave enough to try out the cardboard. (People seem to bring old box pieces to the slide and leave them there for every one's enjoyment). Miriam took her first ride today and did the requisite joyful screaming even on the first run. (don't worry, she hasn't gone down alone - though I'm sure she'd be game...) We enjoyed a picnic in the park and Miriam wolfed down her chicken sandwich like a pro!
The Rose garden was very beautiful and Bodhi became our third child in the stroller as dogs are not allowed in the garden. Roses are not in their prime right now but some of them still smelled amazing. I didn't smell very many but my favourite was the "Handel" variety. Seeing the kids smelling the roses is priceless. The amphitheatre structure of the garden (though not really conducive to strollers) is really neat and the view of the Golden Gate Bridge is excellent.
I was just looking on the Internet to see if there were any pictures of the hills of Berkeley and came across a site which headlines the very hill the Martin needs to ascend to get to his first class tomorrow morning. The mentioned "first block past Euclid" is part of the route to Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary. And he thought that signing up for Hebrew was the challenge of the semester... (I'm not sure how he will get there - will keep you posted!)
Because we decided to freecycle our dishes in Vancouver, we have matching chinaware for the first time. We don't have a dishwasher so with our rather small kitchen we have to clean the dishes multiple times a day. I can't imagine we would be able to carry on that way of doing things if we had our dishwasher handy! But with less dishes maybe it would be necessary? It is way easier to put dishes/toys/things away when there isn't much. It is also surprisingly/unexpectedly easy to lose things in our empty house. Martin and I spend time everyday looking for things we have put down SOMEWHERE... We need to establish where things "go" in order to find them again. I think that we are making headway on the dog-leash, keys and wallets.
I now have to plan when i would like to do laundry as we share coin laundry with the rest of the families in the complex. I really needed to do it today as we had two wet beds last night (Miriam is taking off her diaper more and more - i am taking it as a sign of good things to come) so luckily there was a spot open this afternoon for me to do the job.
I am also planning meals/food more. The effort it takes to get inexpensive food here is much more than at home. I either have to get our our car from an incredibly small parking spot under our complex (and return it to same said spot) or I have to walk DOWN to the expensive local shops which is all very well on the way there... It gives one pause for thought either way.
This morning our whole family walked to Codornices Park where the kids and I have visited a few times already. (it seems less and less uphill every time you go there!) It was a chance for the kids and I to show Martin the great 40-foot cement slide built on the hillside, the park's creek and the Rose Garden across the road (actually through a tunnel if you are walking). The slide is really something else. It seems like a grandfathered piece of terrifyingly fun park equipment. Gone are the teeter-totters and the merry-go-rounds but not the SLIDE. Strangely in this land of lawsuits there isn't even a warning sign of the dangers of hurtling down a cement slide or the inherent risks of using a piece of cardboard to make you go FASTER! Parents and kids alike enjoy it and much screaming ensues). Amiel is getting to be an expert and today was brave enough to try out the cardboard. (People seem to bring old box pieces to the slide and leave them there for every one's enjoyment). Miriam took her first ride today and did the requisite joyful screaming even on the first run. (don't worry, she hasn't gone down alone - though I'm sure she'd be game...) We enjoyed a picnic in the park and Miriam wolfed down her chicken sandwich like a pro!
The Rose garden was very beautiful and Bodhi became our third child in the stroller as dogs are not allowed in the garden. Roses are not in their prime right now but some of them still smelled amazing. I didn't smell very many but my favourite was the "Handel" variety. Seeing the kids smelling the roses is priceless. The amphitheatre structure of the garden (though not really conducive to strollers) is really neat and the view of the Golden Gate Bridge is excellent.
I was just looking on the Internet to see if there were any pictures of the hills of Berkeley and came across a site which headlines the very hill the Martin needs to ascend to get to his first class tomorrow morning. The mentioned "first block past Euclid" is part of the route to Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary. And he thought that signing up for Hebrew was the challenge of the semester... (I'm not sure how he will get there - will keep you posted!)
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