California days

It is as though we had a long deep sleep with a dream that we were in New England. Being back here after seven months away has been wonderful! Though the locals are not too happy with the apparent 'cold spell', we are quite enjoying the mild temperatures ourselves.

How lucky that we get to take a break from the cold harsh winter back in Boston, only if it's for a few days. I feel revived to see plants growing, flowers blooming, birds chirping. The kids are ecstatic to be able to play outside, barefoot even.

We will savor these next few days before going back to celebrate the New Year, perhaps in a snow storm.

Christmas Eve

We break the rules every now and then around here. We let the children open some Christmas presents this morning - Christmas Eve. It was partly to help them digest it all slowly, or as slowly as they can. A lot of presents in one sitting is a lot for the little people. And plus, the three of us are heading West tomorrow, so we thought they could enjoy some presents today.

Merry Christmas, everyone! I probably will not be blogging from California. But I sure will have lots of photos and stories to share when we return on New Year's eve!

The Nutcracker

It is now our family tradition, to go to the Nutcracker Ballet around Christmas time each year. We started taking the kids when they were barely two years old, in Santa Cruz. We did it last year, and this year is no different. Well, except that the kids got to go back stage, hug the bear and the mice, and shake hands with the ballerinas!

As part of Jim's fellowship, he is sometimes the doctor to the Boston Ballet company. So tonight was one of the nights that he 'worked' at the Ballet performance, and he brought his little family with him. Because he only gets two tickets per show, the kids took turns being backstage with him, and I got to sit in the audience the whole time with one child. I have seen the performance numerous times now, before and after having children. It sure is different to watch it through their eyes. Asked what was their favorite part of the performance, Claire answered without hesitation: "The mice, Mommy, the little mice - they are sooooooooo cute!"

A difference of a year

If you have forgotten (or never knew) what our life used to be like, you can click here to see where we were exactly a year ago! Quite different, isn't it? Just a little 'home-sick' today...

By the by, happy winter! Hasn't it been winter for a long time?

Snowman

Our first snowman of the season came to life today! He even has a friend: snowbear. Nobody expected quite so much snow today, but here we are, another few inches of white powdery stuff on top of the brown ice and slush of the other day.

Is there any question about white Christmas this year? Actually, it's supposed to be quite warm in a few days, so we will see how much melting will happen. For now, our snowman and snowbear are cold and happy in this winter wonderland.

Cheese Article in Lincoln Journal

Today in The Lincoln Journal, you can read my article on mozzarella cheese! As some of you have read in previous posts, I got to spend sometime with the cheesemaker, watching her make these delicious mozzarella balls from start to finish. I have some future assignments, so I will keep you posted on what is next! PS: it's still snowing outside!

Icicles

As promised, here are some photos of these beautiful, though dangerous frozen water! The kids are fascinated by them, wanting to eat each one. The one good thing about seeing these icicles is the reassurance that Global Warming is not quite a daily phenomenon...yet.

Ice and Beach

First time experiencing 'ice' in Santa Cruz. March 2006

Beach in winter. Also 2006

Yesterday was snow. Today was ice. Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera with me for fear that if I focused on taking photographs today, there may have been major accidents related to the ice itself! Perhaps tomorrow I will get a chance to show you some icicles...

But for the fun of it, here are some photos from the past! I would be lying if I told you that we (all) are not yearning for the (temperate) California winter!

Snowed In

Snow again? Isn't there something else I can write about? Nope. Not really. That's pretty much our life right now. And it looks like it's going to be this way for a long while!

Luckily, we will get a break from it next week when we go to Sonoma, California! I am saving my excitement over that until we are safely in the air, heading directly West, away from any further possible snow storms.

But for now, we are snowed in. We got out this morning to play before the snow turned into sleet. And now it's more like rain - rain on a whole lot of snow. Enough said. Our kids were crying for Natural Bridges Beach! We don't blame them!

MORE SNOW!

No snow day. Not sure why. But we found a way to have fun with snow regardless. We got almost a foot of snow, and we hear there is more to come tomorrow night! I hope you are enjoying these photos from somewhere warm!

SNOW!

It's snowing as I write. The kids got to enjoy the snow on the way home from school. They liked to catch the flakes with their tongues, or licking the new blanket covering everything around us.


We are inside for a bit to warm up and we will go out again when there is even more snow to play with. We are supposed to get 4-8" today. Or maybe 9 or 10" as the meteorologist predicted last night.

Who really knows? There might even be a 'snow day' tomorrow! I haven't had one of those in 12 years. And this time it won't mean no classes for me...!

Our Tree

A christmas tree is one of those things that needs to be experienced in person to really appreciate its beauty. I tried to take a picture of the whole tree, but none came out quite right. I can assure you that our tree this year is pretty, and unlike the previous years, it's actually not a Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

It's a real Balsam Fir from Nova Scotia, just about 5 feet tall, with lots of branches for ornaments. The kids and I picked it out the other day after the night of freezing rain. Each needle was encased in ice, so when we took it home, there was a pool of water underneath the tree after it thawed. We really are not in California anymore (after all these months, am I still in denial?)!

Momo and Claire helped me decorate the tree with old and new ornaments, some of which were made by me and the kids last year. We surprised Jim with it all lit up when he got home that night. Though born and raised a Buddhist, there is a special place in my heart for Christmas trees!

New York City

New York City. Just saying those three words can put one into a different state of consciousness. It's the zenith of city life, the arts, theatre, finances, culture, entertainment. And it never lets you down. We just got a little taste of all that this weekend!

Our friend Tom invited us to stay in his 'extra' apartment on the upper west side, right next to Central Park. You don't turn down that kind of offer, if you can afford it! So we thought going to New York city to visit an old friend around Christmas time would be fun: we would go see the Rockerfeller Christmas tree, play at Central Park, take the train to Brooklyn. We forgot that everyone else in the world had the same idea.


Our journey to and from was on the infamous Amtrak train, notorious for being delayed for whatever reason. Thank goodness our kids are good travelers and managed to sleep or play through the unexpected delays on both ways. Regardless, we made it to the city and made the most of it.

New York really is the city that doesn't sleep. We arrived at one in the morning and most shops and restaurants were bustling with people and patrons. Time Square looked like Disneyland for adults, and Central park, lit up with holiday lights, looked like a page from a fairy tale.

We did go see the big Christmas tree, and even had a hot New York pretzel from one of those ubiquitous street vendors. We visited Tom's financial trading office, caught a children's performance in Brooklyn, and played a bunch in Central Park. Of course a trip to NYC wouldn't be the same (for children) without a visit to the Natural History museum. Our kids were giddy with excitement as they skip and run around the animal exhibitions. I think they even begged to stay forever.

One of the most memorable moments for me, however, was at a humble burger joint where we had our last meal with Tom. Forgoing the regular quarter-pounder, I asked for an 'open turkey' dish with mushroom sauce. Once the food arrived, the waiter presented the dish I had ordered in front of me. It looked nothing like what I had imagined. Not only did I not see any turkey, but the dish looked more like a large pot of stew with dill leaves floating everywhere. "Good luck with that, Miss, " wished the waiter (with a very New York accent), a bit pessimistic about my ability to consume the order. How very New York was that?

Dinner Talk

Momo eating ice cream - at our California home

Jim came home early today for a change. He even picked up the kids from school after lunch! Yup, not a usual day around here.

We had dinner as a family, sitting around our little dining table, chit-chatting about this and that. Claire started telling us a story of how she and her friend 'solved a problem for Momo' today. This was during dessert, and we were having panettone with ice cream. Of course we had to ask a lot of questions. "What problem? Momo, what happened? Clairey, what did you do?"

He put down his spoon, and started telling us from beginning to end.

Jim had more questions. But priority is priority, so the little guy said:

"Daddy, may I finish my ice cream first, and then I can tell you?"

Polite isn't he?

And as for Claire, she somehow ate all of her ice cream and told us the story at the same time. She multi-tasked. We were not surprised.

Father's Day - Thailand

I must admit that this day often sneaks up on me, and sometimes takes a detour around my head. Why? Because Hallmark doesn't register it as an important holiday (so you don't hear about it in this country). Because they would rather celebrate 'administrative assistant day' instead of honoring, oh, the fathers and King of Thailand.

Today, I remembered. It dawned on me this morning when I checked the news on line and I saw what day it was. Quickly, I emailed my father and wished him a happy father's day (even though the day was almost over in Thailand's time). The day carried on as normal as any other day until tonight when I decided that I needed a flu-shot.

What does a flu-shot have to do with Thailand's Father's day? Well, it so happened that the 'flu-clinic' was held at Mount Auburn Hospital, right down the street from where we live. And that happens to be where the King of Thailand was born on this day, 80 years ago!

So after someone injected me with a small amount of inactivated flu protein, I visited the altar where there were framed images of the King and the Queen of Thailand. I took the elevator to the fifth floor which houses, not surprisingly, the maternity ward. Right underneath the images stood a freshly delivered bouquet of flowers from one of the Thai restaurants in town. For a short moment, I felt at home, and fulfilled. I had made an homage to the significance of this very day! Long Live the King of Thailand! And Dad, Happy Father's day, again!

Snow Angels

The little snow angels took a nap today. It started to snow again while they were sleeping, so waking them up was a piece of cake when all I had to say was "Guys, it's snowing outside, look!"

We ventured out, complete with snow pants and snow boots, ready to make some snow angels, and snow bears, and snow balls. I am glad somebody likes snow around here!