Railroad visit

April 15: cometh the day, cometh the tax man for most of you, but not for our kids! It was Al Smith Day, whether you knew it or not!

To be honest, no one in our family knew April 15 could be a day of joy until our good friend John Steinmetz told us about a small railroad just up the coast, owned by Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, that ran engines twice a year: New Year's Day and April 15, Al Smith Day.

Yes, just up Highway 1 past Davenport, not too far from the beach where Mommy and Daddy got married, is the Swanton Pacific Railroad!

Apparently Al Smith was a benefactor to Cal Poly and a lover of railroad engines on whose property a small gauge track with engines exists; he bequeathed the property to the University, and on those two special days a year the engines roll and children of all ages flock to our little neck of the woods for a ride.

As readers of this blog know, Momo especially is a big fan of the iron horse. It had been a long week for Mommy, since it was school vacation week; and so I decided to take the kids out for a day's adventure and leave Mommy at home to re-charge the batteries (she actually more or less took the opportunity to clean the house, but assured me it was great fun to do so without distraction).
Momo, Clairey and I had a ball!!!! Began the day with a donut, spent all morning riding trains and playing in the fields, and ended with ice cream. And the cherry on top? I got to provide a guest entry to my wife's blog! What could be better than that?
--Jim (Daddy)

Strawberries

What do you get when you take some sweet strawberries...


Add some whipping cream...


A taste...



A Happy Boy!

Morning at the Farm

I made the decision to spend the morning at the UCSC farm instead of anywhere else. The weather was beautiful and rain is expected for tomorrow. And I knew that things must be starting to grow up there.


The apprenticeship program is about to begin at the farm. Some 38 apprentices will live on the farm, in tents, for the next 6 months! If I were still in college, I would do this program in a heart beat. I wonder why I didn't know about this then? At least I got to spend some quality time with a colony of Roseate terns on a very small island in the Atlantic Ocean. That was quite an experience, too.


At any rate, we met a lot of people at the farm this morning, gathering weeds, making compost, setting up tents. One of them picked Claire a rose, one of them offered that we could pick a couple of strawberries in the field. They all seemed to adore seeing two little people tramping around the magical place. In the middle of it all, I found the two monkeys verbally fighting. After giving some attention to the content of the fight, I found out that they were arguing about the color of poop. Claire says it's brown, Momo thinks it's black. It went on a while until I had to break it up. Just imagine what else they will disagree on later in life!


We walked all over the land, picking strawberries (just a couple), smelling flowers, watching things grow. We even found a dead mole. There are not too many weeks left for us to visit the farm. I hope the kids will retain some memories of this place as a big part of their life in Santa Cruz. I know I will.

Happy Songkran (Thai New Year)

Spring Break

So it's been a spring break week for the kids. I was always a fan of spring break when I was a student myself. But now... I am not too sure about spring break.

It's spring, sure. But it's not a break for me! Yes, I know - it's meant to be a break for the wonderful teachers that take care of these little people day in and day out. They deserve a break so that they can come back fresh - ready to go again. But let me tell you something: I NEED A BREAK!


So, I exaggerate. Nevertheless, it's been a tiring week. It's partly because Master Miller (as he is known in his Thai passport) has become an occasional napper since the break began, oh, 5 days ago. He went three days in a row with no nap. Thankfully, today, as I write, he is snoozing, but that's only because I intentionally tired them out this morning on the beach.

Though it's been tiring, and the new (no)nap schedule is a bit daunting (thank goodness his dear sister still savors hers), we have been having fun, too. We visited the Children's museum yesterday, the beach and Long Marine Lab today, and tomorrow I may take them to the Monterey Bay aquarium. Or maybe I will take them back to the beach since it worked today!

San Francisco Get Away

I surprised Jim with a night away in San Francisco last night, our 5th anniversary. It was the first time for us to be away from our children over night, and we had a good excuse for it. Jim found out somewhere between the Santa Cruz mountains and the foggy city, that we were not going back home that night! I must say, the surpise thing was fun! I am proud of myself to have been able to keep it a secret until then. Hard for me - those of you who know me, know this about me.




I had made a dinner reservation at Hyde Street Bistro, our favorite French Bistro in the city. That, too, was a surprise to him. We had a great night walking up and down the steep hills of the city, and eating the best French food since who knows when. We came back to the hotel and found champagne and truffles waiting for us. A nice touch from the Omni Hotel!


A drizzly morning greeted us. We walked through Chinatown amazed that we were still in the US. Once you are in the middle of this part of the city, there is little that will remind you that you are not in mainland China. Until you get closer to the North Beach area that you realize that oh yes, we are in San Francisco, in deed. We found a wonderful French boulangerie for breakfast before walking back to the hotel and heading home.


It was a fun get away. And we have Marjorie to thank - our long time go-to person to care for our children. The children were in great form when we returned. It was wonderful to be back with them, and we will always have fond memories to look back to for our 5th anniversary.

Santa Cruz

"Keep Santa Cruz Weird" is a famous car bumper sticker that you see around town. Not all of Santa Cruz is weird, of course, but there is definitely a sense of the 60's here that doesn't exist elsewhere.


Having lived in Harvard Square for many years prior to coming here, this was no culture shock to us. As the years go by, however, I continue to discover that there is 'more' to this place than Harvard Square ever had to offer. And I am sure that I am just scratching the surface of both places. For instance, this 'Penny Artist' gladly let me photograph her art. "That's what it's for," she said, as she moved away for me to get a better view. I guess the biggest difference that I see between East and West coasts, no matter how hippie one gets, is that here on the West coast, the wall between human beings is much thinner, much lower, much more accessible. There is a door through the wall, let me just say it that way. On the East coast, hippies are darker, deeper, more intense. It's hard to get through to them. But when you do, they become your friend, a true kind of friend ( I can say this because I had some hippie friends in high school).


See what I mean? That's what you see sometimes when you walk through that door in the wall, here in our weird city.

Santa Cruz Weekend

We literally went from the mountains to the sea within a few hours this morning. That is the beauty of living in Santa Cruz. But it also meant going from peace to chaos, mindful to mindless. It was a complete Santa Cruz experience.


We first did a good deed and visited Land of Medicine Buddha. This Tibetan monastary is hidden in the redwood forest above the little town of Soquel, just a few miles from where we live. The darkness and coolness of the evergreens opened up to a sunny terrace where several buildings housed meditation halls, living spaces, a bookstore and even a swimming pool. It's a well known place for the Buddhist minded people. Even the Dalai Lama had spent some time here.


The children enjoyed spinning the prayer wheels, sounding the gongs, and saying hello to all sorts of buddha statues. A small hill led us to the biggest pagoda with a large buddha inside. It is a very peaceful spot, hidden from all the hubbub of the rest of the world.


Especially from the Santa Cruz Boardwalk! In just a few minutes, we descended from the most peaceful and picturesque locale, to the noisiest, gaudiest place in the Bay area. None of us had visited the amusement park before, however, so we thought, why not?


We found some rides for small children that put smiles on their faces as well as ours. We also found some very unhealthy foods which also put smiles on our faces: ice cream, cotton candy, french fries, corn dogs. You name it, we had it!


The good thing about this whole morning was that it distracted me from feeling the flu that attacked me a few days back. Now that I am thinking about it, I think I should go lay down and take a nap before the little monkeys wake up from theirs!

Photo Blog

I have created a new blog devoted to my photographs only. I find that some photos do not need any stories or explanations. They should be viewed solo, like a painting or photo in a gallery.

So, if you would like, you can go to this photo blog, or click on 'my photography' under the favorite link column and view the photos leisurely. I plan to post at least one a day.

Real Moms...

I was tagged by my friend Emily to expose a little bit of life as a Mom to little people. I don't know if I am doing this right, but here goes...

Real Moms...acquire a new sense of fashion, or lack thereof. For instance, recently I wore something white, and everyone commented on how I NEVER wear white. Guess why? Another example is this morning, I noticed in the mirror after having worn the same thing the last three days, that my sweater has a huge blob of dried up something on it. I don't even want to know what it is (I am still wearing it as I write), and honestly, I don't really care.

Real Moms...eat anything that the kids don't eat, but are supposed to. This is happening less now that the kids are getting older, but still, it happens. For instance, tonight, my dinner was the fried rice that I made earlier in the day that the kids decided they didn't want to eat. They just wanted plain rice instead. Normally, I don't let them boss me around, but today I figured I would enjoy eating the fried rice, so I let them be the boss. And should I even get into veggie booties?

Real Moms (and Dads)...dread the day that their kids stop napping. So far, so good for us. But that day will come, and I will be waking up at 5am so that I get some quiet time with myself.

But truthfully, Real Moms...love their children, and would not want to change anything for the world.

Heaven

Obviously, I can't get enough of these flowering trees right now. It doesn't seem to matter that the closer I get to them, the worse my hay fever. Once my father told me a story about his friend who is deathly allergic to the Durian fruit (very stinky, but amazing delicious tropical fruit). But he loved it so much that he planned his hospitalization after feasting on the fruit until he could no longer breathe. I am not quite so bad, but I am beginning to understand the man behind the story.


In just a few days, these blossoms will be gone, and the leaves will emerge in their place. I hope you can enjoy a slice of heaven with me while it lasts! (The deep pink flowers are crab apple blossoms. The rest are still the cherry blossoms that keep blooming in front of our house and around the neighborhood).

Pizza Night

I am not the only cook in the kitchen. Sometimes I am a sous-chef.


Every so often, we do a pizza night at home. Homemade pizza, that is. I usually prepare the pizza dough in the afternoon while the kids are napping. By the time they wake up and ready to perform, the dough is ready.


The kids get to choose what they want to put on their pizza, and they also get to creat it. Most of the time, Claire will put tomato sauce, olives, anchovies and cheese on hers, and Momo usually just likes pesto and parmesan cheese on his. Tonight, we had no pesto, so his pizza was very Zen-like. We liked how he put the olives all in a row, on the edge.




Making pizza is like painting, actually. And I didn't really see it from that perspective until I started making pizza with my children. I find myself guiding them with the same vocabulary I use when I am helping them with their drawing or painting: "stay in the line, guys!", "spread it all out, guys!". After all, food is art, isn't it?

Market Meal

What do you get when you cut up some asparagus, add some eggs and cheese, salt and pepper?


I was inspired by the evening meal when I saw the asparagus sitting so prettily at the market. The asparagus man convinced me to buy the beautiful shoots even more when he said that they were just picked this morning. My next stop was for apples, but as I was getting ready to pay, I saw the free range eggs in front of me.

And voila, as simple as that, I had a meal - at least in my head at that point.


Back at home, after sauteing some portabello mushrooms with onions, I added asparagus and broccoli. Then I scrambled some eggs with milk, and added that to the saute. And to top it off, I sprinkled grated gruyere cheese, salt and pepper to taste. After a few minutes on the stove, I put the whole pan in the 400 degree preheated oven for a few more minutes.

It may not look so pretty here (because my camera can't seem to take good pictures at night), but it really turned out quite delicious. I love it when the market inspires me to make a simple meal like this!

Spring

Spring officially begins tomorrow, I believe. We are lucky to be in a place where it actually feels like Spring. The poor Yankees in New England are still digging out snow and avoiding icicles from falling on their heads. If they are lucky, they may see one or two crocuses trying to make it out from the still frozen ground. That will be us next year! The return to icicles and frozen grounds... What are we thinking?


These cherry blossoms are on the tree in front of our house. The whole street is lined with these cherry trees and when they are in bloom, they add such a sweetness to the neighborhood this time of year. It may sound cliche, but these blossoms truly make me feel like I am walking in heaven sometimes. At least, that is how I imagine heaven to be.


Claire loves flowers just as much, it seems. She enjoys gathering whatever flowers that she is allowed to pick. Then she turns them into pretend-soup, pretend-cake, or a birthday bouquet. She may have trouble finding bouquets next Spring, you think?

Bloom

These two trees stand right next to each other, and appear to be of the same species. Why is one more clustered with blooms and the other more sparse? I think they are both quite beautiful in their own unique ways. They remind me of our children. Momo and Claire share the exact same starting point in life, almost to the minute. Yet each one was given unique genetic codes and specific characters not so different from these trees. So beautiful, yet so individualistic, even when they stand right next to one another. May our children always grow, blossom, and spread their branches like these trees do.

Trikes

Today we bought Momo and Claire their frist tricycles. They had tried other trikes before, at school or at friends' houses. But now they have their own! They both seem very comfortable on the trikes. Momo, naturally, is already trying to find new tricks he can do with his. Both Brown Clouds get a ride in the back bucket as the children pretend to take them to school.


My favorite thing about this new phase is seeing the kids with their bike helmets. Momo tries to find a way out of wearing his, whereas Claire embraces her so very pink one. Oh, the difference between the genders!

Flowers and Lemons

I would die a happy woman if the back of my truck looked like this. But... I don't have a truck. And I am not ready to say goodbye. So, it was just enough to see and smell. No need for more.


My love for spring flowers isn't all peachy. Lately the back of my throat has been very itchy. And I sneeze about 27 times a day. Any clue as to why this is happening to me?


Perhaps I should stick to fruits and veggies. Meyer lemons in particular has the most brilliant color, and a rather sweet taste as far as lemons go. They make amazing lemon bars, lemon tarts, lemon pudding... This just gave me an idea!